It was AIS who scored first in a free flowing and evenly matched first half, with Adelaide only drawing level in the shadows of half time.

The second half was a completely different story as three quick goals after the break to the Reds blew the opposition away.

First it was Canberra-born Dane Milovanovic, playing the villain to his home town with a well-taken free-kick just outside the box in the 62nd minute.

And then the floodgates opened.

Evan Kostopoulos was gifted a goal when AIS defender Sam Gallaway and keeper Aaron Lennox failed to secure a through ball by Adelaide striker Brendan Hamill in the 74th minute, which he put into an open goal.

Two minutes later Kingsley Francis stunned the AIS with a sensational 25 metre goal which put the game beyond doubt.

The scoreline didn't reflect the closeness of the match early, a steady downpour before the match led to a free flowing game with a host of chances for both sides.

The AIS hit the front after 32 minutes when dangerous midfielder Terry Antonis controlled a cross from Patrick Dixon inside the box and put it into the back of the net and they deserved to go into the break ahead.

It wasn't to be though, Adelaide drew level with two minutes left in the half, a poor clearance by AIS keeper Lennox was intercepted and a string of passes led to Fabian Barbiero slotting home coolly from close range.

Adelaide striker Brendan Hamill had a great match, drawing the free kick which resulted in Milovanovic's goal and proving a constant handful for the AIS defence.

Delighted Reds Youth Coach Joe Mullen said the performance was credit to his side's ability to follow out the game plan to great affect.

"It was very satisfying and the effort and the pressing for long periods of the game high up the ground was carried out really well and that was one of the main reasons why we got the result we did," Mullen said.

"We maintained our will to press high and our transition from defence into attack was quick and it is something we have worked on for the first three weeks, and even though we were one goal down, I didn't think we deserved to be behind and it made us just stick to our basic game plan."

In the absence of A-League goalkeeper Mark Birighitti, who is in Townsville with the senior side, Codey Larkin made his first start for the season while Kostopoulos capped off a memorable debut appearance with a goal shortly after coming off the bench.

Mullen added: "I think they know that the last two weeks have been four points lost but it wasn't so much about that, it was about maintaining the effort they have shown at training and carrying our the instructions that we've given them, so full credit to the boys, they've been amazing.

"The AIS were very good and they looked to play so we knew we had to work hard not give them time on the ball and I think we did that very well and got what we deserved."