Adelaide and Sydney FC play out a draw in A-League opener

Sydney FC’s prized signing Adam le Fondre scored on his A-League debut to salvage a 1-1 draw against Adelaide United.

Sydney FC’s Adam le Fondre tries his luck against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium last night. Picture: AAP

Sydney FC’s prized signing Adam le Fondre scored on his A-League debut to salvage a 1-1 draw against Adelaide United in a cagey season-opener.

Englishman le Fondre’s poacher’s goal cancelled out an audacious strike from Adelaide’s Scott Galloway in last night’s fixture in Adelaide.

Le Fondre was gifted silver service from playmaker Milos Ninkovic’s low cross into the box in the 78th minute, and he neatly clipped his first shot at goal in the A-League into the net.

Le Fondre’s strike came after United’s Galloway produced a stunner on the cusp of halftime that left Sydney goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne red-faced.

With the clock ticking into the third minute of a scheduled two-minutes of injury time, Galloway beat Redmayne with a bold attempt from outside the box.

German midfielder Mirko Boland, busy throughout his debut for the Reds, crossed to teammate Craig Goodwin on the edge of the penalty area, who played back into Galloway’s path.

The 23-year-old took a controlling touch, settled onto his right boot, and launched a shot which sailed over a despairing and diving Redmayne, who was too far off his line.

“We all make mistakes, it’s about how you respond to them afterwards,” Sydney FC coach Steve Corica said. “And I think we showed great character, the boys stuck together and we got a point in the end.”

Galloway’s goal was just reward for Adelaide who, with Goodwin influential along the left flank, controlled much of the opening half.

Sydney’s much-hyped recruits le Fondre and Siem de Jong showed glimpses but the Sky Blues took until the 40th minute to register their first shot at goal.

Galloway’s top-shelf finish then delivered Adelaide the momentum and thereafter they set about stifling Sydney’s renowned attacking flair in the second half.

The Reds, before a parochial home crowd of 10,018, largely succeeded until le Fondre slipped the defence to equalise with the visitor’s only shot on target in the second half.

Adelaide, like Sydney, could only muster three shots on target though coach Marco Kurz was heartened by his side’s performance.

“We played a very good first half, we had game control and good pressure on the ball,” he said.

“In the second half, if you will beat Sydney you must score two goals and we missed maybe the last pass, the last consequence, in the finishing.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Glen Moss is tipping his side will face a vastly improved Wellington Phoenix in their opening fixture tomorrow.

New Zealand international Moss, who had two stints with Phoenix, expects the side to perform better under new coach Mark Rudan.

Phoenix finished ninth out of ten last season, winning just five games. They have bolstered their creative and attacking stocks by signing two players with Socceroos experience in Mitch Nicholls and David Williams.

“Those guys love to go forward, so I think they are going to be a big improvement on last year,” Moss said. The veteran keeper is wary of Phoenix’s counter-attacking potential, something that is also a strong suit of the Jets.

“They can definitely hurt us in the transition,” Moss said.

AAP