Mariners shrug of lethargy and show champions mentality to spoil Adelaide's opening day

Michael Lynch on Adelaide United's belated opening A-League Men matchday.

A smiling Stefan Mauk took to social media on Saturday morning, exhorting the Adelaide faithful to get to Coopers Stadium for the Reds’ belated first match of the new campaign.

The spiky midfielder is never shy to express opinions, and when you put yourself out there you and your team have to deliver on the pitch.

Adelaide did just that in an opening 45-minute period at Coopers when Mauk and his colleagues, who had the first-round bye, were collectively able to release their pent-up emotion and energy to dominate the defending A-League Men champions.

But sadly for Mauk - who went off clutching his thigh late in the game - and the 9,826 fans who turned up on a warm Adelaide afternoon, his team could not sustain the momentum.

After leading at the interval they surrendered the initiative to the Mariners, who regrouped, grabbed an equaliser and, with a strong finish, ensured they went back to the Central Coast with a share of the spoils.

Mauk, who went close on a couple of occasions himself, was not alone as Adelaide began this game in a positive mood. His attacking midfield partner Zac Clough, linking well down the right with Adelaide's new boy Dylan Pierias, caused the Mariners plenty of problems with his forward forays, ability to play his team-mates into space and create opportunities for himself.

The Mariners looked sluggish and out of ideas in the opening period, and while their trip to China for an Asian Champions League game on Tuesday night and the quick turnaround here is some mitigation it doesn't completely explain why they dropped so deep, stood off and allowed themselves to be pinned back for long periods by their hosts.

Mauk had talked expansively at a pre-season media event in Adelaide on Thursday about the need for the team to make a good start, and how they were keen to finally get into action having watched the rest of the league kick off a week earlier.

The Reds do have plenty going for them in that they are their city's sole representatives and they have one of the best home grounds in the league to play in.

But, said Mauk, the fact that they haven't won the title since their only Grand Final triumph in 2016 still smarts and he and the senior players know that getting results on the board early is essential to building supporter confidence and getting the crowd numbers up at Hindmarsh during the regular season.

Clough was to the fore early, trying to free up space with some searching balls down the right and he was involved in the 10th-minute goal which gave Adelaide the early lead they so craved.

Mauk was able to play a pass to Austin Ayoubi out on the left, and the winger's cross fell to Clough who drove across the Mariners goal. What followed was an unseemly goalmouth scramble as the visitors, despite having several players on hand, failed to clear both Clough's shot and Luka Jovanavich's first effort: when the ball bounced back to the striker he was able to prod home at the second attempt.

For the rest of the half, it was largely one-way traffic, with Clough and Mauk causing all sorts of problems with their runs from midfield as Jay Barnett and Ethan Alagich sat deeper offering defensive cover.

Clough shot just wide after Ayoubi's pass, and then Mauk did well to bring down Isaias’ raking long ball but could not control it sufficiently to get the shot away. The same player then shot wide after Adelaide. who were finding it increasingly easy to play through their opponents, created another opportunity for him.

The Mariners offered little in that first period save for a tame Alou Kuol header easily dealt with by James Delianov.

It was a different story in the second period as the Mariners, no doubt relieved that Adelaide had been unable to capitalise on their dominance, sought to claw their way back into the game.

The visitors brought in some fresh legs, tightened up at the back, and, in midfield, denied Adelaide the freedom they had given their hosts in the opening period. They also played with far more intensity and the home supporters became jittery as they sensed the Mariners had the weapons to find a leveller.

It eventually came in the 63rd minute when Adelaide could not deal with a long raking ball from Brian Kaltak, who turned defence into attack when he found Ryan Edmondson.

The striker fired in a stinging shot which Delianov saved but could only parry into play in front of his own goal. Vitor Feijao, on as a second-half substitute, then collided with the goalkeeper as both scrambled for the ball. The rebound fell loose to an unmarked Sabit Ngor, who swept home from close range: it was Ngor's first goal for the club in only his second A-League appearance after joining from NPL Victoria side Heidelberg.

Mauk's afternoon ended abruptly with 17 minutes remaining when he limped off with an injury and the visitors were growing in confidence as they sensed that all three points could be up for grabs - especially when the Reds could not take advantage of another goalmouth scramble, Ben Folami, on Adelaide debut, unable to get to the rebound after a Pierais shot.

In the end, neither side could break the deadlock but there is no doubt that Mariners coach Mark Jackson would have left Hindmarsh in a happier frame of mind than his counterpart Carl Veart.

Jackson said his side were fatigued in the first half but he would not be using the midweek trip to China as an excuse.

''We twigged the formation, put on a couple of fresh legs at half time and that impetus and switching our structure helped us take a bit more of a foothold in the game. There are various reasons we felt leggy in the first half but I am certainly not a manager who uses excuses, we dealt with that last year. You have to deal with that when you compete in the Champions League, so we have to be better than that. The shift in formation certainly helped us.''

Carl Veart, the Adelaide boss, could only rue the fact that his team could not capitalise on its early dominance.

''We just didn't take our chances in the first half, we were too passive in the second half. We should have dealt better with the long ball (for the goal) , and got punished for something we should have defended better.''

He said his side's fitness and match intensity would improve from this, their first game for points in a new season, and that would enable them to keep their forward press in operation more.