Both sides created their fair share of chances in a highly competitive opening stanza but neither was able to find the back of the net as both defences held firm.

It took a moment of brilliance from Sydney substitute Mark Bridge to break the deadlock in the 77th minute, to the delight of the parochial crowd of 14,924.

Bridge, who replaced skipper Steve Corica in the 66th minute, found Alex Brosque on the edge of the box who delivered a deft flick toward goal for the former Newcastle Jet to unleash a powerful left-foot strike and secure a valuable three points.

The Reds bravely fought on in search of a point but the hosts held firm to move to second spot behind Gold Coast United at the completion of Round 2.

After a tense opening from both teams the hosts fired the first shot on goal 11 minutes in when Eugene Galekovic was forced to defuse a John Aloisi header.

Sydney continued to ask questions of the Adelaide defence and looked certain to score seven minutes later when Aloisi delivered a clever back-heel flick to Corica to unleash a powerful strike which was brilliantly saved by Galekovic.

The Reds' first chance arrived in the 20th minute but Robbie Cornthwaite was unable to control his header having won the race to a dangerous corner kick.

Lucas Pantelis was a constant threat down the left flank, forcing Terry McFlynn to defuse a dangerous cross in a nervous moment for coach Vitezslav Lavicka.

Sydney's appeals for a penalty on 28 minutes went unnoticed by referee Matthew Breeze and the hosts were almost caught out seconds later when Clint Bolton was forced to produce a quality save to deny Alemao from close range.

Cornthwaite again threatened on the half-hour finding the side netting with another aerial effort before momentum swung back in the Sky Blues' favour with Brosque and Kofi Danning both coming close before the interval.

The Reds fired the first shot at the resumption when Alemao and Cristiano combined forcing Bolton to produce a diving save.

The arm-wrestle continued but it was the hosts who continued to create more chances with both Brosque and Simon Colosimo denied by Galekovic before Karol Kisel narrowly missed the target with a dangerous free-kick on 70 minutes.

Momentum stayed with the hosts who claimed a well-deserved win with Bridge's 77th minute strike.

Sydney FC 1 (Bridge 77)
Adelaide United 0
Crowd: 14,924 at Sydney Football Stadium