The points were shared between Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar, but for Mustafa Amini, Saturday meant so much more.
After a nightmare spell abroad, Amini made his Sydney debut in the 1-1 stalemate against winless Brisbane.
While Sydney were left ruing missed opportunities, it was cause for celebration in the Amini household.
From ‘hell’ and back – Amini enjoys second coming
There was a special moment when the official held up his board alongside Amini.
It was almost two years in the making for Australia international Amini, who had battled injuries and dishonoured contracts in Europe.
MATCH REPORT: Sydney held by lowly Roar in Amini’s return
Filling in the void left by Luke Brattan at Sydney, Amini stepped onto the pitch in an A-Leagues game for the first time since April 2012, when he was still playing for Central Coast Mariners prior to a blockbuster move to Borussia Dortmund.
“It was nice,” Amini told Channel 10 post-game following his Sky Blues bow. “It was a good feeling after hell for me the last two years.
“Happy to be home and get some game time after a year and seven months almost.”
Amini added: “I still have quite a while (to return to my best). It’s been a long time out of the game but I’m happy. I’ve made my debut now and I need to build on that.”
WHY AMINI CAME HOME: Read more from Sydney FC’s returning Roo
Dream debut for Reds Hiro
Hiroshi Ibusuki arrived in Adelaide with extensive experience and he delivered on that instantaneously on Saturday.
The debutant Japanese striker, who recently played for J1 League outfit Shimizu S-Pulse, came off the bench and equalised during the closing stages to earn Adelaide a 2-2 draw against defending champions and 10-man Melbourne City.
Meanwhile, much has been made about Stefan Mauk’s future after the Adelaide captain confirmed he has been in talks with a Japanese club, though he was tight-lipped post-game.
READ: Ibusuki’s drew debut for Adelaide
As for Mat Leckie, he was named man of the match following a performance in which he set up both goals.
Leckie has found himself in the spotlight since returning from Germany, having failed to live up to the hype but the Socceroos star teed up Andrew Nabbout and Jamie Maclaren.
“In the end it doesn’t really mean much when we come away from the game leading twice and then come away with a draw,” Leckie said.
“…It’s very tough to play here. When you get the lead, we need to try to find a way to try to hold on and get all three points. That’s the story of many games this season. We’re drawing too many games, where we should be taking three points. It’s disappointing.”
“I think it was an entertaining game from both sides… the goals we concede are too soft and that’s the story of majority of our games, we concede really from nothing. It’s not a standard we want a set,” he continued.
Canberra hit for six: What’s next?
It would be easy to forget Canberra United are two-time Liberty A-League champions.
Usually among the elite following titles in 2012 and 2015, Canberra are in unfamiliar territory following Saturday’s 6-0 demolition at the hands of league-leading Sydney FC.
READ: Rojas hat-trick heaps further pain on Canberra
Canberra are now winless in their past eight games, stretching back to last season – this term, the team have drawn two and lost four of their opening six fixtures.
The league’s all-time leading scorer Michelle Heyman told Paramount+: “It’s a bit upsetting, we wanted to come here and give it to Sydney.
“It’s really frustrating. We are just not finding our feet. We need to go back to the drawing board and change something.”
Canberra were put to the sword by Maria Rojas’ hat-trick and Princess Ibini, who scored for the first time in 12 attempts against the strugglers.
“I scored prettier goals but I’ll take whatever I can get,” Ibini said afterwards.
