It was a double delight for Travis Dodd who set up Fernando with a perfect corner for United's first then scored the second himself.

Brazilian playmaker Fernando headed home the corner after 17 minutes and Dodd added the second in the 32nd minute as the South Australian side bounced back from their 1-0 home defeat to China's Shandong Luneng in their opening game.

The visitors dominated play from the opening whistle and it was only the heroics of Dong Tam goalkeeper Santos that denied the Australians an early lead.

The giant Brazilian tipped over a Nathan Burns free-kick in the fifth minute and then turned aside another free-kick, this time taken by Fernando, five minutes later.

Fernando was frustrated again when his low shot was turned around the upright by Santos in the 17th minute but from the resulting corner, taken by Dodd, the Adelaide player got his revenge as he rose high to head the ball into the net off the left upright.

Santos made another save three minutes later to deny Bruce Djite but there was little he could do to prevent Adelaide's second in the 32nd minute.

Matthew Kemp made a run down the left channel and cut the ball back from the byline to Dodd, whose shot went back across goal and past the wrong-footed Santos.

On the stroke of half-time, Djite very nearly scored Adelaide's third as his diving header forced yet another excellent save from Santos.

Dong Tam hardly had a sniff of the Adelaide goal in the first half but Phan Van Tai Em nearly pulled the hosts back into the game two minutes into the second half with a fierce drive that was cleared off the line by the Adelaide defence.

The chances mounted for the V-League side as the second half progressed with Nguyen Viet Thang just failing to get his head to a cross while Congolese striker Kabanga Tshamala saw his header well saved by goalkeeper Daniel Beltrame.

Having kept Adelaide out at his own end, Santos had a chance to score a goal of his own on the hour mark but his poorly taken free-kick failed to clear the defensive wall.

Djite was again denied by a sprawling Santos midway through the second half as Adelaide sought to seal victory.

Dong Tam had the better of the game in the closing minutes but Adelaide comfortably held on to take three points home from their visit to southern Vietnam.

"It was important for us and the players to get a win in this league, and realise we belonged," United coach Aurelio Vidmar said.

"I thought the first half was excellent, but we dropped off a bit after that.

"The grass was really thick and not something the players are used to, and it was extremely humid, muggy and uncomfortable, so it was a valuable experience for the guys."