A-League : Reds and Victory finish all square

A 10-man Melbourne Victory have held Adelaide United to a dogged, scoreless 0-0 draw at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

Neither side was able to do much more than wriggle out some early-season cobwebs in what was a dour arm wrestle, loaded with ordinary fouls, nervous misses and numerous off-sides.

With neither side able to trouble the scorers, Victory captain Leigh Broxham was sent packing in the 73rd minute with a softish second yellow card, giving the Reds a spark.

But aside from a late Sergio Cirio shot from the middle which was well stopped by Danny Vukovic, the home side never really looked threatening.

TEAMS

Adelaide United: Marrone, McGowan, Malik, Isaias, Cirio, Carrusca (c) (Mells 89'), Goodwin, Dugandzic (Pablo Sanchez 81'), Jeggo, Babalj, Hall

Melbourne Victory: Vukovic, Georgievski, Broxham (c), Finkler (Makarounas 90+3'), Berisha (Howard 90+4'), Barbarouses, Bozanic, Khalfallah (Deng 78'), Mahazi, Delpierre, Murnane

Scorers: Nil

Red cards: Broxham (72')

Yellow cards: Marrone (15'), Isaias (20'), Broxham (26', 72'), Finkler (65'), McGowan (83')

Conditions: 28°C, sunny

Attendance: 19,079 at Adelaide Oval

4:14 AM