An uninspiring Sydney FC bounced back from last week's humiliating loss to Melbourne to beat a struggling New Zealand Knights 2-0 at Aussie Stadium and jump to the top of the A-League.

Sasho Petrovski and David Carney both scored for Sydney, but the win was far from convincing.

The home side butchered several scoring chances - including two golden opportunities to Dwight Yorke - and nearly allowed the Knights to snag a consolation goal with a series of mental lapses in the second half.

Five days after being belted 5-0 by the Victory, Sydney jumped to top spot on the ladder for the first time on the back of the win, although both Melbourne and Adelaide can overtake them with victories this weekend.

During the week Sydney coach Pierre Littbarski made clear his disappointment after the loss to the Victory, warning his players he would not tolerate another "unprofessional" performance.

While the win was an improvement, Littbarski looked far from impressed, his frustration clearly evident on the sidelines as Sydney failed to kill off a Knights side a cut below the rest of the competition.

New Zealand has now lost six straight and look destined to be rooted to the bottom of the table for the rest of the season.

Petrovski opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Steve Corica's corner kick was headed on by Iain Fyfe at the near post, the ball falling well for Petrovski who volleyed truly from six yards.

Corica and Fyfe again combined to hand Carney Sydney's second in the 30th. This time Corica sent a free kick deep into the box, Fyfe's header rebounded off the right post and over the head of Knights' defender Ronnie Bull allowing Carney to snare the easiest of goals.

Yorke butchered the first of his two great chances late in the first half, before Carney and Matthew Bingley both bombed opportunities at the start of the second period.

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