Adelaide United has opened the new Hyundai A-League competition with a 1-0 win over the Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
Adelaide striker Carl Veart sank the Jets with his 19th-minute headed goal in front of a 13,000-strong Newcastle crowd, and United looked the better team for the majority of the match.
Both sides had several scoring chances in the second half but failed to find the back of the net, and Adelaide held on for a deserved victory.
Adelaide coach John Kosmina praised the performance of Veart up front, but was delighted with the display put on by his entire team.
"I thought he [Veart] was superb for us tonight," Kosmina said.
"But tonight we had 11 good individuals who actually worked well as a team as well."
"To come away from here with a result like this was great."
United captain Ross Aloisi was ecstatic to lead his side to victory in the first ever A-League game.
"This is the beginning of a new era. We created history tonight by winning the first A-League game, away from home when no-one expected us to win," Aloisi said.
"We believe in ourselves, and we showed tonight that we can play good soccer - or football."
Jets manager Richard Money said he expects his side to improve in the coming weeks, with key players such as Ned Zelic and Ante Milicic getting some much needed match fitness.
"I though the best team won. They came and played very cleverly, got a lot of men behind the ball and countered very effectively. It was a good away performance from them," Money said.
"Our next home game is against Sydney, and that will pull the fans out of their armchairs, and then the team has another chance to produce what we know it's capable of."
The visitors dominated from the early part of the game and took the lead when Veart headed home the opening goal of the new competition, getting on the end of a pin-point Aloisi cross in the 19th minute.
Newcastle then immediately put Adelaide under pressure at the other end of the park, with two quick shots from close range being parried away by United keeper Daniel Beltrame before defender Michael Valkanis was forced to clear a third shot off the line.
Veart missed a golden opportunity to score again midway through the second period, having his shot blocked after receiving a neat pass 10 metres from goal.
Newcastle also looked likely in attack, with a header from central defender Allan Picken picking out Beltrame in the 75th minute, and a well-struck shot from Richard Johnson doing likewise moments later.
Jets goalkeeper Liam Reddy kept the hosts in the game with an excellent reflex save to keep out Aloisi inside the final 10 minutes, but the home side couldn't find the all-important equaliser in the game's dying moments.