The Reds started the match without a host of regulars including captain Travis Dodd, Eugene Galekovic, Robert Cornthwaite and Fabian Barbiero, while midfielder Paul Reid was a late withdrawal with a stomach complaint.

Assistant Coach Phil Stubbins once again took the reins in the absence of new Head Coach Rini Coolen, who is scheduled to arrive from Holland tomorrow morning to begin his tenure in Adelaide.

With former Melbourne Victory and Wellington midfielder Michael Ferrante trialing for Adelaide, was busy in the opening half after being given a chance to stake his claim in midfield, with the Reds having numerous opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.

Pantelis flashed a shot just wide of the post in the 22nd minute before young speedster Mathew Leckie also came close in what was an end to end affair.

Given a rare start in the absence of Galekovic, young goalkeeper Mark Birighitti was confident between the posts and would have impressed his senior counterpart with his display, although he was given a brief scare when new Phoenix signing Dylan Macallister saw his shot cannon off the bar.

Nearing half time Cassio almost broke the deadlock when his curling goal bound free kick, which was just kept out by Wellington keeper Mark Paston.

After an opening half that saw both teams keen to play open expansive football, it took just three minutes after the restart for United to strike, when van Dijk worked his way in front of his marker to head home a Pantelis cross.

Trialists Iain Ramsay and Greg Lombardo were both introduced as Stubbins continued to experiment, while he also gave a run to former United midfielder from the inaugural Hyundai A-League season, Tony Hatzis.

The Reds' second goal came in the 76th minute when Pantelis sliced his way through the Phoenix defence to bustle his way past two defenders, before managing to sneak the ball past Paston and into the back of the net.

In his assessment of the performance, Stubbins was pleased with how the Reds handled the physical presence and intensity of last season's Preliminary Finalists.

"It was a big step up for us, certainly on a physical front because we were coming up against a good outfit in Wellington," Stubbins said.

"In the first half it was a good entertaining encounter and it could have been two or three all at half time. They caught us out on a couple of occasions, and we had a chance at half time to change things around and combat that, and I think we did that."

"Obviously it was a test for us and to come up against such a strong outfit, and really be put under the pump in the first half on a physical front, for the boys to stand up and keep a clean sheet was a great effort."

Three weeks out from United's season opener against the Newcastle Jets on August 6, Stubbins believes the game style the coaching staff has tried to implement is starting to take shape.

"It was very encouraging and on a football front, I thought we played some good stuff, we scored a couple of good goals and on another night we could have had more," Stubbins said.

"I think we played the game in the right fashion, in good spirit, and I think we really tried to play football. Some of the moves were quite intricate and it's a credit to the players, they've certainly embraced the changes that we've tried to bring to the table."

The Reds will be back at Hindmarsh Stadium again next Friday night (July 23) for a pre-season friendly against Perth Glory (Kick-Off 7.30pm).  

Match Details
Adelaide United FC 2 (van Dijk 48', Pantelis 76')
Wellington Phoenix 0
Referee: Stephen Toth
Crowd: 1,516 @ Hindmarsh Stadium

Adelaide United line-up: 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN (27.Tony HATZIS 78'), 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK (15.Francesco MONTEROSSO 73'), 10.Marcos FLORES (27.Greg LOMBARDO 60'), 19.Mathew LECKIE, 25.Michael FERRANTE (26.Iain RAMSAY 52')

Substitutes not used: 30.Nick MUNRO
Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Wellington Phoenix line-up: 1.Mark PASTON (gk), 2.Manny MUSCAT, 5.DIEGO (6.Tim BROWN 69'), 9.Chris GREENACRE, 11.DANIEL (12.James MUSA 84'), 13.Troy HEARFIELD, 17.Vince LIA, 18.Ben SIGMUND, 22.Andrew DURANTE, 23.Dylan MACALLISTER, 25.Mirjan PAVLOVIC (24.Sean LOVERMORE 61')

Substitutes not used: 21.Marco ROJAS, 30.Jonathan GOULD (gk)

Yellow Cards: Diego 44'

Red Cards: Nil