The Sky Blues got back on the winners' list with their 2-1 win over Adelaide United on Sunday night, with captain Alex Brosque spending the first hour of the game on the bench and Paulo Retre even longer.

Sydney's win was the their third game in seven days due to the mid-week round, and they have another similar week at the end of January before the Asian Champions League starts in March.

It comes at a crucial time too, with Corica's men six points back off league leaders Perth in third, but only four points clear of fifth-placed Wellington.

"I had to rest Brosquey. Six games in a month is a lot for him and everyone really," Corica said.

"Milos (Ninkovic) at some stage, Siem (de Jong) will probably need a rest. We have the depth in the squad.

"We have some very important games at the end of the month. After Newcastle we have Wellington on the 23rd (of January) and Victory on the 26th. ... It's a busy period with it tight up the top."

Corica's replacements did the job for him on Sunday night.

Jacob Tratt was particularly impressive - scoring a goal in his first starting appearance and putting another two shots on target as he also made a number of dangerous runs.

Daniel De Silva offered up plenty of good balls in the attacking third and creating two corners in his 63 minutes.

"I thought both were very good," Corica said.

"Tratty was excellent, obviously coming up with the goal was great for him. Danny was Danny. He was very good. He did his work defensively. It paid.

"Siem probably played his best game for us and he was good. He played a little bit more up front as a second striker."

Australian Associated Press