The two sides had gone into the break in a 1-1 deadlock and finished the game at 2-2 after two enthralling halves. Sydney FC coach Branko Culina will be furious after Nathan Burns was able to easily head home the equaliser following miscommunication from his defenders Ruben Zadkovich and Iain Fyfe.

Following the match, Adelaide’s Bruce Djite believes his side is now starting to gain momentum despite failing to win saying: “I thought we played a good game. Attacking-wise we did well.

“I missed a few chances but I set up a goal and we’ll come away from here happy, Sydney are a great team. We’re still undefeated from the start of the Pre-Season Cup, which is seven or eight games, so I think we look good for the season.”

Sydney FC returned to the second-half without captain Tony Popovic after the former Socceroo succumbed to a first-half injury following a collision with Clint Bolton. Popovic was replaced by new striker Patrick, who was making his debut for Sydney.

Brosque’s goal came after a classy slide-rule pass from Juninho opened up Adelaide’s defence with Brosque cooly finishing to beat Robbie Bajic across goal to net in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. The goal couldn’t have come soon enough for Brosque, who had failed to capitalise on a number of opportunities earlier in the match.

Just two minutes later however Nathan Burns, who continues to show red-hot form, headed home a goal after Zadkovich and Fyfe failed to clear with the ball in a dangerous position. Bruce Djite, who had missed two golden opportunities of his own in the match, showed poise to head the ball back square to Burns who did not miss from point-blank range.

Juninho’s impact on the match was significant, however the star Brazilian was clearly struggling with a shoulder injury late in the match after earlier colliding with Ang Costanzo. Juninho hit the woodwork twice and provided his injury does not prove serious, will have to wait at least another week for his first A-League goal.

Both Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite were replaced late in the match, no doubt a ploy from Aurelio Vidmar to preserve his two young stars.

In a highly-entertaining first half, both sides had clear-cut scoring opportunities. Adelaide defender Richie Alagich was in the middle of the action after first scoring and then conceding a penalty-kick.

Alagich finished a brilliant dribbling display from Nathan Burns with a clean first-time shot to open scoring after just eight minutes. Burns showed a clean pair of heels to beat Terry McFlynn and Mark Rudan to get into the box and cross for Alagich’s shot.

Just four minutes later though, Alagich went from hero to villain after pulling down Sydney’s Robbie Middleby to concede a penalty. Ufuk Talay’s attempt was initially saved by United goalkeeper Robbie Bajic but it fell back into Talay’s path before he scored on the second attempt.

Both sides continued to press in the latter stages of the half with neither side able to convert. Bruce Djite had a golden chance for Adelaide, skipping past Clint Bolton in a one-on-one but only having to have his left-footed shot cleared off the line by a desperate Steve Corica.

Meanwhile Alex Brosque missed a pair of opportunities at the other end, with the left-footer benefitting from some clean passing from Juninho. The Brazilian, as he showed last weekend against the Central Coast, showed flashes of skill in the first half but his impact was greatest in the second.

Crowd: 14,233

Referee: Mark Shield

FourFourTwo says: An enthralling match with Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite still looking like stars of the future. Nice attacking styles from both sides, but equally, defensive errors may prove an issue for Aurelio Vidmar and Branko Culina later in the season it they're not addressed now. And the crowd was a bit on the small side...