The first 45 minutes were an open game of football, with both sides having opportunities to go in front, but it was Adelaide who produced the opening goal.

Ben Halloran looped the ball over and Nikola Mileusnic was in the right place to welcome the simple tap in.

Second half started with an explosion from the home side. Newcastle thought they equalised through Roy O’Donovan but the Irishman was ruled off-side, before heading his first goal of the season on the 75th minute.

But Adelaide United has a winning mentality instilled by Marco Kurz and when Ryan Kitto ran into the box, Nigel Boogaard's lazy tackle brought him down. Craig Goodwin cooly slotted the ball into the back of the net, sending Italiano the wrong way, and securing the 2-1 win.

NEWCASTLE JETS

Glen Moss – 7

Couldn’t do anything about the opening goal. Fantastic save stopping his side going two goals down. Cut to his thigh saw him subbed at half time.

Jason Hoffman – 7

Working nicely down the right-hand side, good passing range. Making his presence known to Goodwin.

Nigel Boogaard – 7

Solid in defence, doing the simple things right. Good positioning, reading the play well. Late on poor tackle on Kitto caused the penalty

Daniel Georgievski – 7

Had a good scrap with Nikola Mileusnic. Pushed forward when he could. Looked dangerous when pushing up. Strong defending when tracking back into position.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley – 7

Solid defending, working well with his partner in crime Boogaard

Ben Kantarovski – 7

Chasing back well, good energy and went about his business securely.

Steven Ugarkovic – 6

Fine effort on goal midway through the first half. Faded a little and subbed.

Ronald Vargas – 6.5

Comfortable in possession, always looking to create an opening. Should have equalised from Dimitri Petratos' cross, very poor header on goal only six yards out. Sloppy pass which only found an Adelaide player. Good tracking back early on in the second half.

Dimi Petratos – 8.5

Fantastic delivery to O’Donovan. Taking control in the midfield, working the ball very well, pulling the strings. Out of frustration, sent a wild shot towards the end of the first-half.

Fantastic strike, hit with power low and hard but garnered a good save from Izzo. Again, Izzo denied him a goal late on to cap of a brilliant performance. Quality crosses all game. Should be in the Asian Cup.

Jair – 6.5

Needed to do better early on. Needs more composure in front of goal. Kept himself busy. Subbed mid-second half.

Roy O’Donovan – 7.5

Nice glancing header just wide. Good energy early on. Found space running off the defender's shoulder. Thought he scored but was called off-side but a good header to equalise moments later.

Ran tirelessly all game and never gave up.

SUBS

Lewis Italiano – 6.5

Season debut. Called on regularly and produced a good save from Craig Goodwin but sent the wrong way from Goodwin's penalty.

Kaine Sheppard – 7

Great cross for Roy O'Donovan's goal.

Matt Ridenton – 6

Strong runs in the midfield but nothing of note.

ADELAIDE UNITED

Paul Izzo – 8.5

Two, three, four fantastic saves by Izzo. Another professional performance saving Adelaide numerous times.

Scott Galloway – 7

Wild shots but worth the effort, had a good battle with Petratos. Looking good in the right-back position though, solid display and subbed late on.

Michael Jakobsen – 6.5

Lovely weighted ball to Ben Halloran. Standing strong in defence. Couple of foolish tackles that he got away with.

Taylor Regan – 7.5

Experience showing early on, solid defending, reading the play well. Superbly supporting his defenders. Standing strong in defence towards the end of the match.

Ryan Strain – 7

Working well with Mileusnic down the left-hand side. Looks comfortable in possession. Good defensive headers, worked hard for his side.

Isaias – 6

Wayward passes form the captain, didn’t make too much of an impact in the midfield.

Ken Ilso – 6

Quiet all game, no real impact but had a clear early chance to put Adelaide one nil up. Subbed on 60 minutes.

Vince Lia – 6

Quiet so far. Couple of poor passes with not enough weight on them.

Craig Goodwin – 7

Needs to control his crossing of the ball, couple of times they were too long. Better second half, finding more space, had a lovely shot and produced a solid save from Italiano. Cooly slotted the penalty home.

Ben Halloran – 7.5

Dropped very deep to pick up the ball. Great run, looped the ball over, hit the side post and Mileusnic slotted the ball in.

Fine effort on goal near half-time but it was good goalkeeping from Moss. Displaying good ball control, he worked endlessly for his teammates, put a good shift in.

Nikola Mileusnic – 7.5

Looked lively early on. Good crossing for Ilso and fantastic ball control. Again, in the right place at the right time, easy goal to toe-poke and put the Reds in front.

Followed on from his performance last week, working hard up and down the wings, another player who put an honest shift in. 

SUBS

Michael Marrone - N/A 

Ryan Kitto – 6.5

Looked lively after coming on but needs to drop back to support. Great run to cause the late tackle from Boogaard which won Adelaide the match

George Blackwood – 6

20 minutes for Blackwood was his first appearance since Round 2. Produced a tame effort late on but encouraging signs for the Reds. Finding his feet again.