Sydney FC scored their 10th consecutive win at Jubilee Stadium as they downed Central Coast 1-0 in their A-League clash on Saturday night.
The Sky Blues extended their lead at the top of the table with a win in the round 10 fixture thanks to Kosta Barbarouses' fifth-minute strike, with Central Coast asleep following a quick Sydney free kick.
Sydney were the better side for much of the night but the Mariners refused to go away, with Sky Blues goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne forced to make a handful of quality saves.
The only concern for the Sky Blues was the loss of influential attacker Milos Ninkovic who was forced off with a calf problem after an hour.
The win was the Sky Blues' 10th in a row at Kogarah in a run that continues back to last season. It was the second win of the 2019-20 campaign at Jubilee for Sydney, having also beaten Melbourne Victory in round six.
Sydney FC coach Steve Corica said he was delighted with the way his team battled to overcome a plucky Mariners side.
"We're not going to win every game 5-1 or 5-0, sometimes a 1-0 win is even more important," he said.
"A clean sheet is something I'm extremely happy about. Sometimes you've got to win those games 1-0 and put on an extremely good defensive performance.
"Redders made a couple of saves but other than that a lot of their shots were off target.
"We looked dangerous when we did have the ball especially first half in transition. We just wanted more final third actions really but I'm really pleased with the three points."
Sydney FC return to Kogarah for a historic triple header on December 29, with their A-League, W-League and Y-League teams all to play on the same night.
The Sky Blues take on Melbourne City in the A-League match, Adelaide United in the W-League and Central Coast in the youth fixture.
