The new club on the block, the Western Sydney Wanderers FC, finished Round 1 with a draw while both Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets failed to capitalise.
Perth Glory v Brisbane Roar
Mehmet had only been on the field for a matter of minutes when he got on the end of a Scott Jamieson cross to head home the 89th-minute winner in front of 14,085 fans at Patersons Stadium.
Both teams had several chances earlier in the match to break the deadlock, but failed to capitalise.
Brisbane looked the more likely of the two teams to score late and had just seen a number of Thomas Broich free-kicks in dangerous positions go wide of the Perth goal.
The Mehmet goal was the result of a well-worked counter-attack down the left-hand side from Perth after Brisbane had been camped in Glory’s defensive half.
Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United
Adelaide United spoilt the debut of Newcastle’s star signing Emile Heskey with a strong 2-0 win over the Jets in their opener at Hunter Stadium on Sunday.
Dario Vidosic stunned the Newcastle crowd of nearly 15,000 when he snatched a goal in just the second minute of the match before the Jets worked their way back into the contest to create several chances in the first half.
However, Newcastle’s chances of a comeback were curtailed early in the second half when they were reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Mark Birighitti was shown a red card for a handball outside the area.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Central Coast Mariners
Western Sydney Wanderers begun life in the Hyundai A-League with a well-earned point after playing out a 0-0 draw with Central Coast.
There wasn’t much in terms of goalmouth action in the early stages as both sides adjusted to the slippery conditions, with the heavens opening just after kick-off.
The home side had some nervy moments late on when the Mariners had three corners in a row before they almost pinched all three points themselves when Ryan again blocked away a Kresinger effort.
Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC
It was the Phoenix’s debutants, Belgian Stein Huysegems and Wellington teenager Louis Fenton, who found themselves on the score sheet as the Phoenix dominated at Westpac Stadium.
The pair ensured Alessandro Del Piero’s A-League debut ended in disappointment with a convincing 2-0 win over the away team.
Wellington dominated from the start and created a plethora of chances, particularly in the first half when they hit the woodwork twice and had a goal disallowed before Huysegems scored the opener two minutes before the break.
Melbourne Victory v Melbourne Heart
Heart head coach John Aloisi has praised his players for executing his high-pressing and direct game plan in their 2-1 win over Victory.
Aloisi revealed after the opening-round triumph on Friday that Heart had ‘studied (Victory) pretty closely’ and the first-year senior coach claimed his team would not always play such direct football but believed it was the perfect way to defeat Ange Postecoglou’s side.
