David Carney in trophy hunt

David Carney says he senses “something special” about Sydney FC this season.

Sydney's David Carney swamped by teammates after scoring his second goal against Victory on Saturday night. Picture: Gregg Porteous

David Carney says he senses “something special” about Sydney FC this season after his second-half cameo inspired a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory in the Big Blue at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

Coming off the bench with 30 minutes to go and with his side trailing, Carney scored twice in 15 minutes to help secure the three points and maintain the Sky Blues’ unbeaten record this season. Sydney, who have won five from five, have opened a five-point break over their nearest rivals at the top of the table.

But that record looked like disappearing after a dominant Melbourne Victory produced a quality performance to take a deserved 1-0 lead into halftime via a Mitch Austin goal. The Victorians could have led by as many as three, but only had themselves to blame after some poor finishing in front of goal, while they also spurned a penalty.

Having ridden their luck, the home side could sense an opportunity to make Victory pay, though they couldn’t take advantage until Sydney coach Graham Arnold threw Carney into the game on the hour mark.

The 32-year-old attacker made an instant impact, controversially levelling the scores just four minutes after coming on.

Replays showed referee Chris Beath had missed a clear handball by Carney.

The former Socceroo then sealed the three points with his second 15 minutes later, capping a wonderful individual performance that will leave Arnold with plenty of selection headaches.

Carney, now in his second stint with the club, did not seem overly concerned by the fact he has had to start from the bench in the past two games after figuring prominently in the starting line-up in the opening three matches of the season.

He preferred to talk about the quality in the club and his expectations.

“I’ve been around the block and I am coming to the end of my career — there’s not long left regarding football,” Carney said. “So, I just want to win things, I’ve always wanted that.

“I’ve tasted it before (with Sydney in 2006). We have the team to do it again. It is early days but there is something special about this team.”

Arnold, who claimed the win was the best he has been involved in since joining the club in 2014-15, said Carney had been unlucky to miss out on a start.

“I spoke to all the boys about how hard it is to pick a side, but they are fantastic. They accept the situation,’’ Arnold said.

“Carns told me he had no issues and that he was there for the team and would do whatever it takes off the bench.

“He did a great job. He has that X factor. He can create goals and score them.”

Over the other side, Victory coach Kevin Muscat could not comprehend how his side lost a game they had dominated for large chunks. The controversy over the equaliser hit hard.

“I thought we were great, especially in the first half. The only disappointment was that we did not lead 2-0 or 3-0 at halftime,” Muscat said. “We just lacked that bit of composure.’’