Bruce Kamau has scored a double for Melbourne City in a winning start under new coach Warren Joyce with a 2-0 triumph over Brisbane in the A-League season opener.
Kamau bagged a goal in each half on Friday night to secure all three points for the hosts in an otherwise dour affair at AAMI Park.
He opened the scoring at the end of an opening period that proved not even a six-month off-season was enough for City and the Roar to blow out all their cobwebs.
Play was disjointed, movement static, touches heavy and passing awry.
Both teams had new strikers up front - on-loan Aston Villa marksman Ross McCormack led City's attack, while it was Italian veteran Massimo Maccarone for the Roar on debut.
Neither enjoyed the kind of silver service they would have been used to in Europe.
Kamau was responsible for couple of the more embarrassing early blunders, including one moment when he almost tripped over his own feet as he shaped to cross.
By the time a cleared corner kick reached him at the top of the penalty box in the 45th minute, the frustrated crowd of 9589 stopped groaning and urged him to shoot immediately.
The 22-year-old winger obliged and was rewarded with the first goal of the new season, his attempt sailing past a mass of bodies and into the bottom-right corner of the net.
The game soon opened up and Kamau had his brace in the 74th minute - the result of a lovely passage of build-up play involving McCormack, who found his groove as the game wore on.
An injury replacement player for the sidelined Bruno Fornaroli, McCormack sent the ball out wide to Nick Fitzgerald and Kamau guided his cross home via a deflection.
Brisbane were missing four likely starters - Brett Holman, Thomas Kristensen, Corey Gamiero and French recruit Eric Bautheac, who was still waiting for his visa to be approved despite being signed a month ago.
The Roar's new-look attack failed to fire and they were outgunned in midfield but teenager Nick D'Agostino almost drew first blood in the 19th minute, hitting the post after a neat one-two with Fahid Ben Khalfallah.
Joyce was pleased enough with City's performance.
"You're just looking to get consistency really," he said.
"The last three games, we've kept three clean sheets and I don't really think any side's had a shot on goal properly.
"You need a platform to build on. (But) it's just one game, that's it."
Roar coach John Aloisi put his side's poor performance down to a lack of cutting edge and the quality of their absentees.
"If we got completely outplayed ... we'd have to worry. But they didn't create much and we got into really good areas," he said.
"Everyone knows we've got players to come back in. We'll be fine. I believe we're on the right track."
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