Veteran midfielder Steve Corica produced a dramatic stoppage time winner to give 10-man Sydney a dramatic 1-0 A League victory over Newcastle at Sydney Football Stadium.

Corica stooped to head home a cross from substitute Terry McFlynn in the second minute of additional time to claim the points in the dour NSW derby.

Sydney played the last 38 minutes with 10 men after referee Matthew Breeze sent off Olyroos midfielder Ruben Zadkovich for a reckless tackle on Newcastle's Adam Griffiths.

Three other players were booked, Sydney's Robbie Middleby and Tony Popovich and Newcastle's Mark Bridge in a rugged contest which occasionally threatened to boil over.

A 67th minute incident in which Joel Griffiths was floored by Sydney defender Mark Rudan could attract post-match scrutiny.

The result put fifth placed Sydney to within a point of fourth placed Newcastle.

It stretched Sydney's unbeaten record under coach John Kosmina to six games and snapped a sequence of three straight draws.

Despite playing a man down, Sydney produced the better chances in the second half.

They were foiled twice in the 62nd minute when Alex Brosque had a shot saved by Ante Covic and Michael Bridges had a follow up shot blocked by Andrew Durante.

The Jets were unable to make their numerical advantage pay and created few chances.

The first half produced only one decent chance with Jets goalkeeper Ante Covic saving well from Bridges.

Both teams had just one corner in the first half, and both came after more than 40 minutes.

It took Newcastle 49 minutes to produce their first meaningful chance.

Olyroos striker Bridge, reportedly a transfer target of Sydney's, had a low shot from outside the penalty area comfortably saved by Clint Bolton.

Heavy rain three hours before the game contributed to Sydney's smallest crowd of the season of 7,732.

Those that stayed away missed little, though the pitch could hardly be blamed for the lack of quality as it held up remarkably well after the downpour.

Sydney coach John Kosmina praised his side for showing "bucket loads of character" in the late win which left his Jet's counterparts Gary Von Egmond questioning the belief of his players.

"We talked about before the game wanting to win it the most and we did, we wanted to win more than Newcastle," Kosmina said.

"We showed bucketloads of character right to the death.

"We grounded out tonight, especially going down to 10 men and we showed a lot of character and also developed more character that we need for the future."

A largely drab and uneventful match was a disappointing contrast to the eight goal spectacular in Sydney's last much publicised match against David Beckham's LA Galaxy.

Chances were at a premium and the game occasionally threatened to boil over, with two players on each side booked in addition to Zadkovich's dismissal.

Kosmina expressed surprise Newcastle sat back and didn't push for the victory with an extra man.

Von Egmond said his team didn't deliberately attempt to sit back, but couldn't get into certain areas and didn't overlap enough and make runs in their attacking third.

"Tonight I felt there was players out there who lacked a little self belief and there was also players who lacked a little belief in the team that was on the pitch," Von Egmond said.

Both coaches felt Zadkovich made contact with the ball and might have been unfortunate to be sent off.

"I'll have to look at the replay, but to me I thought he won the ball cleanly," Kosmina said.

Von Egmond said any two-footed challenge nowadays was probably deemed dangerous even if the ascender made contact with the ball.

"You raise your foot and you're in trouble and that's what the rules are, and I don't think he had any malice to try to kick Adam Griffiths, I thought he got the ball, but the rules have changed," said Von Egmond.

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