It was a lethargic affair with Adelaide off the pace and their final ball lacking conviction, while Newcastle were happy to sit back and absorb pressure. 

Adelaide United were full of energy as they pinned Newcastle back to their 18-yard box for the first 20 minutes of the match. Craig Goodwin and Ryan Kitto were finding plenty of the ball out wide, with Daniel Georgievski and Ivan Vujica off the pace. 

Jordy Thomassen and George Blackwood in the central attacking positions weren't making the penetrating runs Kurz would expect while Craig Goodwin's final ball was seriously lacking. 

Midway through the first-half Goodwin managed to skip past Nigel Boogard on an Adelaide counter attack and through on goal but his cracking shot slammed the crossbar. The second half left much to the imagination with Newcastle running out of legs without a goal to show for their efforts. 

NEWCASTLE JETS 

Glenn Moss - 7

While Newcastle were under pressure, Moss was there to hold onto Adelaide's tame goal attempts. 

Daniel Georgievski - 5

Good on the ball early, winning the 50/50s although he lost the ball in advanced positions to Craig Goodwin, who fashioned chances for Adelaide.

Nigel Boogard - 7

Let down by the full-backs who were being beaten constantly by Adelaide's wingers. Smarter defending saved Newcastle from going down early. 

Nikolai Topor-Stanley - 7.5

A commendable opening stanza as Newcastle rode the Adelaide storm whilst Topor-Stanley and Boogard had to deal with the brunt of fast counter-attacks. As we know pace aren't exactly fortes in the duo's repertoire.

Ivan Vujica - 6.5

Vujica was pinned to his backline, absorbing the pressure given by Ryan Kitto and Strain. Vujica has decent technique when it comes to crossing and with the few he managed to get away he put Adelaide under pressure. 

Ben Kantarovski - 6

Kantarovski didn't put nearly enough pressure on Adelaide's midfielders especially as they encroached on the 18-yard box. His poor match didn't help Matt Ridenton who struggled also.