Central Coast have declared themselves the little engine that could, as the A-League’s top title contenders failed to get their motors running in the opening round.
Neither defending champions Melbourne Victory nor perennial threats Sydney FC managed to stamp early authority on the competition.
The Sky Blues had the better of the 1-1 draw at home against a depleted Melbourne City but will need some more time for their new players to gel.
Victory’s big guns Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Besart Berisha lacked their usual firepower in a goalless draw away to Adelaide, who were without Socceroos Tarek Elrich and Eugene Galekovic in Jordan.
And for all the talk of Spanish infusion, the flavour offered by the Reds was decidedly dull.
Signs that the frenzied Josep Gombau era has dissipated surfaced in his successor Guillermo Amor’s first match at the helm.
The Barcelona legend was quiet on the sidelines as a lethargic United failed to capitalise against 10 men after Leigh Broxham was handed a second yellow card for a soft foul on midfielder Isaias.
Amid all the focus of big-money signings, it was the less financially sturdy sides that produced the most pluck.
Wooden spoon favourites Central Coast stormed to a 3-2 home win over Perth via two Diego Ferreira penalties that added to Irish striker Roy O’Donovan’s opener on debut.
It vindicated new coach Tony Walmsley’s refusal to resort to defensive football against teams with more resources at their disposal.
“When you’re operating at the floor of the salary cap against teams that are spending more money on players with vastly more experience, it’s fair to assume that at times we’re going to be challenged by that,” Walmsley said.
“But that’s the bit we relish, and it won’t stop us home and away trying to play in that way.
“We can’t kid ourselves that we’re home and hosed and here we go.
“What we will have done though is given ourselves the great belief we can approach the A-League with that proactive style and be successful with it.
“Going away to Brisbane and Melbourne City in the next two weeks is a whole new challenge and we’ll be relishing that trip to Suncorp next week.”
Another coach humming with confidence against the odds is John Aloisi, whose unfancied Brisbane are top of the ladder after thrashing an error-ridden Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1 in the season-opener at Pirtek Stadium.
The pressure was on Aloisi for his first A-League match in charge since Melbourne Heart sacked him a season and a half ago, but even without Socceroo Matt McKay his squad emphatically put their torrid off-season behind them.
Last season’s wooden-spooners Newcastle also joined the party with a gritty 2-1 win away against Wellington for new Jets coach Scott Miller.
David Carney headed in the first and provided the perfect through ball for Milos Trifunovic’s winner, as the Jets hung on despite being reduced to 10 men for the closing 10 minutes.
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