What's the point?

Two draws is hardly a jet-propelled start to the latest season, but two points from two games is probably a better start than many had predicted for Adelaide United.

What's the point? It's hope. Every point is hope.

Wooden spooners last season and severely depleted by injury at the beginning of this season, many have been spreading the doom and gloom. Alright, we may not be setting the world on fire but with tall, powerful strikers with superb, light touch in front of goal - I'm talking about Iain Fyfe here - all is not lost. The Reds are starting to look as if they might just give the finals a shake if we can get a run of luck with injuries.

Sunday's game against the Mariners, a team annually derided for their anti-football approach (in my opinion unfairly) could have been a disaster for the Reds. Let's face it, any game away from home against the league leaders is a trifle difficult when half your starting XI is out injured.

The Mariners would have been looking for a win here. The fact they only just scraped a draw says a lot for the stretched and patched-up Reds. Hughes at right-back, Shin starting, Mullen in the centre with Fyfe, Flores back from injury and playing his first league game...sure we were confident. Not.

As it turned out Adelaide weathered an early storm before taking control of the match for a large part of the first half. The much maligned Lucas Pantelis would be an Adelaide hero today if he had narrowed the angle on two of his shots. He really was everywhere for about 25 minutes (as usual, some will say). And it was his cross that set up the glorious - and bloody difficult - soft touch for goal that Fyfe put away. Admittedly it was made easier by a complete lack of marking. I love comedy football.

Credit to Graham Arnold for realising he'd been outcoached by Rini up to half-time. The changes he made put the Reds on the back foot and if not for staunch and sometimes rugged defending - and the amazing presence of HUGENE - the coasties could have had the game. But they didn't - even against ten men.

For Adelaide, Shin showed something more than we've seen before. We look forward to better things.

Hughes did what he had to. He's never elegant. He's often not even presentable. He got sent off. But he did what was asked. Just.

Flores proved that another five or six games of A-League will see him as the star he promises to be. Presently he disappears too quickly. Marked off the park, he needs to show some strength and guile - together.

Reid reinforced the fact that he is a cultured, clever and dangerous player. A leader. If he could stay fit he should be made captain.

Leckie almost....almost....almost....

Serge provided another excellent lesson in not quite being there because you don't run fast enough. It's getting a little troubling. But we still believe. Don't we?

And Fyfe was everything Sydney fans said he'd never be. I'll bet he misses you.

So, another point in the bag and Friday welcomes Heart to Hindmarsh for their first complete thrashing. I'm looking forward to that, Mr Coolen.