It was east against west in Sydney's south - and the west once again came out on top.
Sydney FC's 13-game winning streak at Kogarah is over after a late Mitch Duke header gave Western Sydney a 1-0 victory on Friday night.
The 24th Sydney derby was worth the wait after it had been postponed 20 days ago due to an unplayable pitch at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after storms had hit the St George district.
A sold out crowd of 18,501 packed into the famous old ground with the bulk hoping the hosts would continue on their way towards the A-League premiership.
But as well as their 13-game winning streak at Kogarah, Sydney FC also saw their 13-game unbeaten run in the league ended thanks to their first defeat since round three - also to the Wanderers.
It was Sydney FC's first home derby loss since round three of the 2013-14 A-League season. And while the defeat might do little to derail the Sky Blues' season, it again gave the Wanderers bragging rights as they continue their late push for a finals place.
"It was similar to the last game, I think we dominated the game. They created some chances as well but I thought majority of the game was down their end. I'm very proud of the boys I thought they were outstanding again tonight," Sydney FC coach Steve Corica said.
"We had a lot of intensity as well and showed a lot of intent to win the game. I think mentally we were fine. I thought we dominated the game and spent most of the time in their half. We may have switched off a couple of times which they created chances from.
"We're still 13 points clear, but luck wasn't on our side."
A tactical, cagey affair for most part, Wanderers appeared to be finishing the stronger as they missed two golden chances to take the lead inside the final 15 minutes through Simon Cox and then Nicolai Muller.
But it would be third time lucky for the visitors when Wanderers captain Duke planted a sublime header from a quality Tate Russell cross past Andrew Redmayne with nine minutes to play, sending the Red and Black Bloc at the southern end of Kogarah into wild celebrations.
Western Sydney had to close out the match the hard way after Daniel Georgievski was sent off in stoppage time after lashing out at Marco Tilio, with the video assistant referee upgrading his yellow card to red after the fullback caught the Sydney FC youngster in the face with his boot.
Adam Le Fondre had the first real chance of the match on 20 minutes when he produced a sharp turn from a well disguised Luke Brattan pass, only to not realise he had more time than he thought before blazing his strike over the bar.
Muller then hit the bar from distance at the other end, beating Redmayne with a wicked dipping effort only to strike the frame of the goal.
Brattan then went close from a free kick before Duke had a great chance just before half-time following a lightning Wanderers counter attack but the skipper was unable to nod home Muller's cross.
Incredibly, Kosta Barbarouses may have had the best chance of the first half just moments later as Sydney FC went straight down the other end in added time. Le Fondre did brilliantly down the right before picking out Barbarouses at the back post, only for the attacker to put his volley wide.
The Sky Blues had another great chance to take the lead early in the second half when Milos Ninkovic headed a Joel King cross wide.
And the Wanderers would make the hosts pay for their sloppiness in front of goal with Duke's winner nine minutes from full-time.
Sydney FC return to Kogarah on Wednesday night when they host Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in their Asian Champions League group stage match.
The Sky Blues play two more A-League games at Jubilee next month, hosting Perth Glory on March 14 before welcoming Wellington on March 18.
Leader Scoreboard
A-League round 18
Sydney FC 0
defeated by
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Mitch Duke '81)
at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah
Crowd: 18,501
