A Scott Galloway wonder-goal was cancelled out by a second-half Adam Le Fondre strike as Adelaide were held by Sydney FC in the opening game of the A-League season.
Galloway was found in space on the edge of the box by Craig Goodwin and was able to finesse the ball past a stranded Andrew Redmayne in goal with the last kick of the first half.
The goal was a reward for a strong first-half performance from United as they controlled the game and had the better of the attacking opportunities.
United morphed into an inverted 4-4-2 with the ball as Mirko Boland moved forward often causing Sydney to look stretched at the back.
The stretch enabled United to pick holes in the Sky Blues defence with lofted balls from the likes of Scott Galloway and co working with some menace.
Craig Goodwin forced Andrew Redmayne into a diving save after he was played through in the 21st minute, illustrating United’s capabilities.
They stood out in a game repeatedly bogged down by fouls and offside calls which assisted in both teams struggling to gain ascendancy early-on.
In the first half, new Sydney signing Jop Van der Linden was awarded the honour of being the first carded player in 2018/19 with a foul in midfield. The Dutchman’s cynical pullback was an indication of a spiteful game which kept Jarrad Gillett busy on the whistle with Ryan Strain, Michael Zullo, Josh Brilliante, Rhyan Grant also reprimanded.
Milos Ninkovic was at the heart of Sydney releasing their shackles marginally, as they managed to work their way back after Adam Le Fondre was teed up by Ninkovic to score a classy tap-in.
Ben Halloran had a chance to win it at the death yet failed to latch-on to the through ball much to the derision of the United faithful.
Steve Corica will have some work to do before the next fixture as Sydney spent more time clearing the ball (25 clearances) than creating attacking opportunities (six shots).
Marco Kurz will also be busy as Adelaide United failed repeatedly to cash-in on numerous good chances and claim the three points.
United went into this game having not lost the last six season openers and managed to keep that record alive for at least one more year.
Next week, Adelaide welcome Newcastle Jets to Coopers Stadium while Sydney FC host the Western Sydney Wanderers for the Sydney Derby
Adelaide United 1
Scott Galloway 48’
Sydney FC 1
Adam Le Fondre 78’
Coopers Stadium
Referee: Jarrad Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream
Assistant Referee 2: Kearney Robinson
Fourth Official: Chris Beath
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Adelaide Line-Up: Paul Izzo (GK), Michael Marrone, Scott Galloway (Ken Ilso 81’) Michael Jakobsen, Jordan Elsey, Vince Lia, Isaias ©, Mirko Boland, Ryan Strain, Craig Goodwin, Ben Halloran.
Unused Subs: Isaac Richards, Carlo Armiento, Lachlan Brook, Nathan Konstandopoulos
Sydney FC Line-up: Andrew Redmayne (GK), Michael Zullo, Alex Wilkinson, Jop Van Der Linden, Rhyan Grant, Joshua Brilliante, Brandon O’Neill, Siem De Jong, Milos Ninkovic, Alex Brosque © (Charles Lokoli-Ngoy 86’), Adam Le Fondre
Unused Subs: Aaron Calver, Alex Cisak (GK), Retre, Devlin,
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