Gold Coast United have seen their top two finals hopes suffer a major blow with defeat at Sydney FC. The Queenslanders lost 2-0 to cellar dwellers Sydney as two new new lads stole the show.

Youngster Dimi Petratos scored the opener with an impressive finish on the half-hour before new signing Juho Makela put the game beyond Gold Coast's reach with a second in injury-time.

Steve FitzSimmons saw red for the visitors on 64 minutes for a poor challenge on Sydney's Hiro Moriyasu.

Under pressure coach Vitezslav Lavicka will be delighted seeing Finnish striker Makela already amongst the goals as they prepare for this year's Champions League campaign.

Sydney's win sends them above Perth Glory into ninth on 24 points after recording back-to-back victories for the first time this season, while Gold Coast remain fourth on 35 points after 22 matches.