After boxing in and pressing the visitors, the Sky Blues were rewarded in the 13th minute when Nikola Mileusnic slid in on Milos Ninkovic on the edge of the box. Despite appearing to win the ball, a free-kick was awarded. 

Siem de Jong then curled his scintillating free-kick over Adelaide's wall to finish into the top left corner, which caused Paul Izzo to stay rooted to the spot. 

De Jong's strike remained the standalone goal for the remainder of the half, as both sides failed to spark up anything else in attack.

Jacob Tratt put in an impressive indiviudal performance, and topped it off after making it 2-0 for his side, heading in from a corner. 

In the 49th minute, substitute George Blackwood used clever skill to win a penalty after being brought down by Aaron Calver. Craig Goodwin halved the deficit when he slotted in the spot-kick. 

De Jong looked to put the Sky Blues up 3-1, but due to Adam Le Fondre coming back from offside, the goal was overturned. 

Mileusnic found the back of the net in added time, but it was ruled offside. Andrew Redmayne then denied Ryan Kitto from close range to save the three points for the hosts. 

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne (GK) - 7.5

Had a pretty solid game between the sticks. Went the right way on the penalty but Goodwin's hit was well put away. Made an excellent stop to save the three points for Sydney. 

Jacob Tratt - 9

Played passes well and was eager to get involved. Was brilliant defensively winning key balls several times.

Saw his header gathered by Izzo following a corner. Headed powerfully home from close range to make it 2-0. 

Aaron Calver - 6.5

Desperate defending to clean up at the back and thwart Adelaide's attacks. Brought down Blackwood to give away the penalty. 

Alex Wilkinson  - 7

Quite solid defensively and worked tirelessly

Michael Zullo - 6

Fairly solid but gave away a few fouls. Was great defensively towards the end of the second half. 

Daniel De Silva - 6

Provided early intensity. Had glimpses of great moments but didn't provide anything spectacular. 

Josh Brillante - 7

Held the midfield well and generally dominated.

Brandon O'Neill  - 7

Also held the midfield well and won possession. Didn't give Adelaide much space. 

Milos Ninkovic - 7.5

Gorgeous skills by the Serbian to beat his markers and set-up attacks. Didn't stop running throughout the 90 minutes and won possession regularly.

Siem De Jong - 8

Beat markers and boxed in Adelaide's defence with intensity. Brilliant technique with the dead ball to open the scoring. 

Adam Le Fondre - 7

Great run to win the ball in the box, but his flick at goal was palmed away by Izzo. De Jong's second goal was overturned due to Le Fondre coming back from an offside position. 

Subs

Alex Brosque - 6.5

Had a chance smothered by Izzo. Provided a bit more in attack.

Paulo Retre - N/A

Adelaide United

Paul Izzo (GK) - 6

Couldn't stop De Jong's strike or Tratt's header, but made a few great saves throughout the game. 

Ryan Strain - 6.5

Pressed well at both ends of the field.

Jordan Elsey - 6

Won back possession by blocking and executing slide tackles.

Michael Jakobsen - 6

Solid defensively in the first half, but not so much in the second.

Scott Galloway - 5

Great cross into the area in the first half. Didn't provide much else. 

Vince Lia - 4

Did better in the second half to win possession in the midfield. Gave away the ball in the lead-up to the third goal which was then chalked off. Wasn't his best performance overall.

Isaias - 5

Not much intensity or movement like the previous match.

Nikola Mileusnic - 6.5

Gave away the free-kick that eventually led to the opener, but in his defence, he did get the ball in his tackle. Great use of his body to pick out Ken Ilso in the 23rd minute for a chance on goal. Great finish in injury time but it was ruled offside. 

Ken Ilso - 6

With his confidence high, his effort was flashed wide and only missed by inches. Was subbed off at half-time.

Craig Goodwin - 6

Great composure to convert a quality spot-kick. His cross in the 60th minute nearly found Halloran at the back post.

Ben Halloran - 4

Put in plenty of effort but couldn't fashion up anything 

Subs

George Blackwood - 6

Did very well to win a penalty

Michael Marrone - N/A

Ryan Kitto - N/A

Last minute chance to steal a point but it was saved by Redmayne.