Sydney FC have snatched a desperate 2-1 victory over Wellington in the dying minutes with new Serbian recruit Ranko Despotovic netting the winner in his A-League debut.

Richard Garcia opened the scoring in a classic, end-to-end battle at Allianz Stadium.

But with the Sky Blues reduced to 10 men with less than 20 minutes to go after Pedj Bojic was sent off, the Phoenix took advantage with Costa Rican international Kenny Cunningham equalising in time added on.

Coach Frank Farina went with the same starting 11 which beat Melbourne Heart 2-0 last week with Despotovic making his debut off the bench in the second half.

And the towering striker made an instant impact, netting the winner deep into injury time to secure Sydney their third consecutive win.

Wellington’s travel-weary All Whites Andrew Durante, Jeremy Brockie, Glenn Moss, Louis Fenton and Ben Sigmond all backed up from New Zealand’s 4-2 World Cup qualifying loss away to Mexico on Wednesday.

But determined to show they’re not the same side that suffered the humiliating 7-1 loss to the Sky Blues last time they came to Allianz Stadium, the Phoenix made their intentions known from the opening whistle with Carlos Hernandez having a crack on goal after just nine seconds.

Both sides had perfect opportunities to break the deadlock just moments apart late in the opening half with Brockie misfiring in a one-on-one with the ‘keeper and Alessandro Del Piero hitting the post at the other end.

But it was Garcia who finally found the back of the net with a sensational strike from outside the box, working his way into space to put Sydney 1-0 up in the 35th minute.

Sydney continued their assault in the second stanza with gloveman Moss having to make two saves in two minutes early in the half, both Bojic and Nicky Carle threatening to double the Sky Blues’ advantage.

But the complexion of the game changed for the Sky Blues in the 73rd minute when Bojic was sent off with his second yellow card for a foul on Cunningham.

Substitute Paul Ifill and Cunningham both looked like equalling late in the match with Vince Lia missing a perfect chance to level.

And it was Cunningham who finally broke through in injury time.

But Sydney struck back moments later to post their third win on the trot.