The teams played out a dour 1-1 draw in front of 8154 at Westpac Stadium on Sunday, with both goals scored in the opening exchanges.

Dario Vidosic headed Wellington into the lead (5') before the Reds' Danish signing, Johan Absalonsen, restored parity soon after (10').

The visitors had a late flurry of chances to take the win but in the end had to settle for a point apiece.

Harper pulled no punches post-match, telling Fox Sports A-League on Sunday: "Neither of these teams will figure in the race for the finals if that's what's on offer.

"We know Adelaide are in the semi-final of the FFA Cup so I'll cut them some slack and say it was a scratchy day at the office.

"Wellington, maybe a consideration there with a couple of players away on international duty. But this was not a game where the other eight teams will sit back and start shaking in their boots.

"There was a lot of unforced turnovers in possession, there was a lack of quality at key moments... from experienced players who should know better, and that's about the best I can come up with.

New coaches Darije Kalezic (Phoenix) and Marco Kurz (Adelaide) were perhaps happy to walk away from the encounter with a point on their A-League debuts.

Harper's fellow pundit and former A-League multi title winner, Ante Covic, suggested it might be a case of "first round nerves". 

Even so, he said quality was in short supply.

"(They were) booting the ball out left, right and centre - no one took the game by the scruff of the neck," Covic said.

"It felt like everyone was just floating around...let's just try and get something out of this by a bit of fortune or luck. There was no quality in that somebody really stood up. 

"And we probably expected Adelaide to probably step up - like you said they are in the semi-final of the FFA Cup, we expected a little bit more of them.

"But it was just a scrap - whether it was first round nerves, get that out of the way - I'm not sure."