Sydney FC have moved up to second spot in the A-League table after a late Robert Stambolziev goal earned them a 4-3 victory away at Newcastle Jets.

Sydney started the stronger of the two sides, with Marc Janko wasting a volley inside the box on the quarter-hour mark, but midway through the half, Newcastle went ahead when Enver Alivodic got in behind the defence before lifting the ball into the net.

Falling behind didn't discourage the visitors, who were using the presence of Janko to great effect, but the Austrian couldn't find the decisive touch in the penalty area and Newcastle managed to hold on to their slender advantage until the break.

However, Sydney turned the match on its head in the opening seven minutes of the second half. Alex Brosque finished coolly after being sent clear of the defence before four minutes later, Bernie Ibini-Isei netted at the second time of asking after his initial shot had been saved.

Sydney continued to plough forward and they scored their third goal in 10 minutes when Brosque scored a header at the near post after being found by Alex Gersbach.

Newcastle were rocked, but midway through the second period, they found a way back into the match when Edson Montano got on the end of a cross from Andrew Hoole to halve his team's deficit.

Eight minutes later, they were back on level terms from the penalty spot. Gersbach brought down Hoole inside the area and the midfielder stepped up to fire the ball into the bottom left corner.

The momentum was with the home side, but with 10 minutes left, Sydney found the decisive goal when Stambolziev got on the end of a knock down from Shane Smeltz to poke the ball past the goalkeeper.