The spoils have had to be shared in the Hunter with the Newcastle Jets drawing with Adelaide United in a tight 1-1 contest.
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The reigning champions were sluggish early with the Jets more than happy to take full advantage.
After Kokko hit the crossbar following a deflection from a Eugene Galekovic kick, Wayne Brown opened the scoring in the 17th minute in spectacular fashion. The English number ten with an expert first touch to squeeze between two Adelaide defenders and drill a home a volley from outside the box to the bottom right.
Just minutes after the goal, the Jets almost made it two with a Andrew Nabbout cross finding Andrew Hoole in the box but his tame shot on goal from point blank range was saved well by Galekovic.
Despite the slow start, United found their feet quickly enough and in very fortunate circumstances. A mix up on the top of the Jets box seeing Jets keeper Jack Duncan take out his own defender and hand the ball to Jesse Makarounas who guided the ball into an empty net from outside the box in the 29th minute to level scores.
After the first-half ended all square, the second half began rather slowly with United looking the more hungry side.
Adelaide’s best chance of the half coming when Henrique was played into the box in the 70th minute only to be brilliantly denied a shot on goal by Daniel Mulled who injured himself in the process.
Despite a more subdued second-half, the Jets went very close to taking the lead when Devante Clut found Hoole in the 74th minute. But despite dribbling past Galekovic, Hoole couldn’t control the ball with the United defence doing enough to interject and stop a shot.
In what was a much slower second-half with both sides struggling to click, no goals were scored by either side to ensure the spoils were shared.
A decent result for both sides still trying to find their feet with the only concern for the Jets three injuries to Kokko, Jason Hoffman and Mullen. United leave the game unscathed and will be looking for a better display next week in a Grand Final rematch with the Wanderers.
Final Score:
Newcastle Jets 1
Adelaide United 1
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