Melbourne Victory held on for a 3-3 draw against Brisbane Roar in its Foxtel National Youth League opener on Sunday.
Early goals from Pierce Waring and Lucas Derrick had Victory in control at Spencer Park in a clash pushed back a day due to weather.
Aleksandar Stanisavljevic made it 3-0 before the break, but Roar staged a second-half comeback in humid conditions.
Shannon Brady and Nicholas D’Agostino pulled goals back, and the latter had a penalty saved by Victory goalkeeper Stephen Hatzikourtis.
But Dane Ingham ensured the spoils were shared with his 75th-minute equaliser.
Victory coach Gareth Naven praised his team for adapting to the game being delayed, and was satisfied with the performance.
“Brisbane are a possession-based team, try to dominate possession a lot, and at times that’s fine,” he said.
“But creating chances from that domination of possession is another thing and our boys were quite good – at times – at defending and counter-attacking quite well, which all three goals came from those situations which was positive.”
Victory’s next outing is a clash at home to rivals City at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday.
Foxtel National Youth League 2016/17 Round 1
Brisbane Roar 3 (Shannon Brady 52′, Nicholas D’Agostino 65′, Dane Ingham 75′)
Melbourne Victory 3 (Pierce Waring 3′, Lucas Derrick 8′, Aleksandar Stanisavljevic 44′)
