Just five days after coach Ufuk Talay had questioned his side's character following a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Melbourne Victory, the Sky Blues delivered their most impressive win of the season.
In front of a crowd of 33,265 at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, the Sky Blues' teenage stars kept their composure - despite the team conceding after 40 seconds - to secure a hard-fought win over their loud-mouthed rivals.
Quintal, 19, grabbed a second-half brace, while 16-year-old Akol Akon contributed three assists.
Sydney striker Victor Campuzano got a much-needed goal to cancel out Ryan Fraser's early opener, before fellow import Marcel Tisserand put Sydney ahead early in the second half.
The victory broke a barren run for Talay's side, who came into Saturday's derby under pressure, having claimed just one win in their past five games.
"Conceding in the first minute wasn't part of the plan," Talay quipped.
"I think today we definitely needed character, and the boys showed that."
Things could have been a lot different when the Wanderers began with a bang as Fraser breezed past Rhyan Grant inside the first minute and curled the ball past Harrison Devenish-Meares.
But the Wanderers' lead lasted all of eight minutes when Akon, who was starting his first ALM game, played in Campuzano.
Phil Cancar did well to reduce the Spaniard's angle as Campuzano hit a timid effort that trickled through the legs of Lawrence Thomas and into the back of the net.
"I think other than his parents, I reckon I'm the most pleased that Victor got a goal with the amount of running he does," Talay said.
"I said to him, 'Victor, I want you to score, but if you don't score for the rest of the season, it doesn't change my thought process on you and what you give the team'."
With parity restored, the game settled into a more familiar rhythm, punctuated by moments of near-misses on counter-attacks played at a break-neck speed.
Rhyan Grant hit the side netting for Sydney, and opposing right-back Aidan Simmons was causing issues on his flank.
Neither side could edge ahead as the first half ended 1-1, but after halftime Sydney put the Wanderers to the sword.
Tisserand tapped in a loose ball at a corner in the 49th minute after the Wanderers failed to clear.
The DR Congo international has struggled with a stress fracture in his foot but stood tall with Sydney's season on shaky ground, before being substituted with five minutes left.
Six minutes later Akon made a darting run into the box and set up Quintal, firing a shot through the Wanderers defence that cannoned off the leg of Anthony Pantazopoulos and into Thomas's net.
Earlier this week, Pantazopoulos described Sydney's effort in the previous derby as "weak as piss", but that description only seemed to fit the Wanderers' second half.
They again let Akon have too much time and space, and again he found Quintal to add his second and wrap up a much-needed win.
"We were lucky to come in at 1-1 at halftime, then the second half was one-way traffic," said Wanderers boss Gary van Egmond. "We got what we deserved."
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