Wellington Phoenix and Queensland Roar battled out an uninspiring 1-1 draw in their opening 2008-9 Hyundai A-League encounter at a bleak Westpac Stadium on August 17, to the disappointment of many of the 10,516 faithful who braved the wintry conditions anticipating a memorable start to the new campaign. What they got was anything but! Instead, a tight, tense, cagey and at times boring affair ensued, one in which both teams seemed to place more store on not losing than on winning. There was a lack of genuine enterprise and endeavour in evidence throughout proceedings, creativity only occasionally overcoming the general air of caution in which this fixture took place. Defences dominated. Only rarely did either goal come under threat in the first half-hour, and for the most part, it was Queensland who sought an early breakthrough. But Massimo Murdocca could only warm the gloves of Glen Moss in the seventh minute, while Tim Smits headed a Danny Tiatto cross into the side-netting soon after as the visitors held sway. Tiatto went close with a free-kick soon after, but with five minutes to go before the interval, the tedium bordering on downright boredom in which play now appeared entrapped was cast aside by a rare display of individuality, as Leo Bertos shed the shackles of his markers and set off downfield at a great rate of knots. The Wellington man raced through from half-way and dashed past Tiatto before unleashing a shot on the run which prompted a first save of note from Liam Reddy, Queensland's goalkeeper. Three minutes later, he was beaten all ends up by another Bertos-inspired display of enterprising attacking play. Again, the wide man set off on another sortie downfield before linking with Shane Smeltz. The striker's cross picked out Adam Kwasnik, who got across a defender and left Reddy flailing at a shot from six yards which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and back into play. Queensland's response, straight after the resumption of play, saw them take the lead just fifty seconds into the second half. Murdocca released the eye-

catching Sergio Van Dijk down the left, and his first-time pull-back from the by-line to the near post saw midfield general Charlie Miller stride onto the sphere and steer it home into the bottom corner of the net. Wellington required just seven minutes to mount a response. Moss' raking clearance was controlled by Daniel, whose lay-off to Kwasnik saw the newcomer chip the ball across into Smeltz's path. With an unerring side-foot-volleyed finish on the run, he gave Reddy no chance, much to the delight of the local faithful. The home team's marksman went close again with a thirty-yarder soon afterwards, but come the latter stages of the game, it was Queensland, not Wellington, who were going all out for a three-point haul on the road. A Matt McKay raid in the 84th minute saw substitute Reinaldo just fail to make clean contact with his low cross, much to the relief of Moss, who had to be at his brilliant best two minutes later after Reinaldo had drifted past three opponents and whipped in a low cross from the by-line. Wellington somehow scrambled this to safety, but the ball only got as far as McKay, whose hanging near post cross was met by Van Dijk. His header was tipped round the post at full stretch by Moss, who denied a free-kick from the Dutchman in stoppage time, then thwarted substitute Michael Zullo as the youngster looked to fire home from a tight angle, having been played in by Murdocca's angled pass. Both teams won't have to do much to improve on this display - memorable it most certainly was not! But both achieved their respective objective - avoiding defeat in the opening day fixture - which means they now have a platform from which to build towards their ultimate goal for the season, February's Grand Final. Wellington:     Moss; Muscat, McKain, Durante, Lochhead; Bertos (booked, 56), K. Dodd (booked, 51) (Johnson, 89), Daniel (booked, 54) (Hearfield, 72), Ferrante, Kwasnik; Smeltz Queensland:     Reddy; Seo, McCloughan, DeVere, Tiatto; Murdocca, Miller (Zullo, 77 (booked, 78)), D. Dodd (booked, 65), McKay (booked, 90); Smits (Reinaldo, 72), Van Dijk Referee:     Ben Williams