Adelaide United have fired an early warning shot at critics who were predicting the Reds' demise following the departure of talismanic captain Craig Goodwin weeks before the start of the campaign.
United survived an early onslaught from the Central Coast Mariners on Friday night to defeat the defending champions 3-0 at Coopers Stadium in the opening match of the A-League Men season.
Ben Halloran, Zach Clough, from the spot, and Nick Ansell all scored, while Nestory Irankunda also starred, starting his first game for the Reds after a breakout season off the bench.
Coach Carl Veart acknowledged the boots of the reigning Johnny Warren Medal winner Goodwin were always going to be difficult to fill after his move to the Saudi Pro League but while still too early for bold predictions, he clearly felt the future may not be so bleak for United.
"When Goodie was here, we relied on him all the time to be the big-time player and to do the things that we needed to be done," Veart said.
"Now that he's gone, the other players have to step up and I think they did tonight.
"Benny Halloran stepped up and scored the first goal and we know what we're going to get with Nestor. He looks dangerous every time he gets on the ball.
"Yes, I'd still like to have Craig here but I said from day one we had to find other solutions and you can see tonight we've been working quite heavily on finding those different solutions."
Veart also handed starts to Jonny Yull in midfield and speedster Panache Madanha at right back.
Both were solid and, along with Irankunda, provided the Reds with pace and explosiveness across the park.
Musa Toure, younger brother of former Reds' attackers Al Hassan and Mohammed, also looked lively when he was introduced into the action for the final 20 minutes.
The Reds coach is confident the next crop of young stars can make an impact this season.
"Johnny Yull is a very, very special player," Veart said.
"The more him and Zach play together, they're going cause a lot of issues for teams.
"It's a completely new position for Panache that we're playing him in, so again tonight, he was good so it's a base for him to work from.
"Of all the Toure boys, Musa is a little bit different; he's a mixture of the two older ones, Mo and Al Hassan, so it's just important for him to keep working because you saw glimpses of what he can do tonight."
Central Coast started the stronger of the two sides but were dealt two crucial blows when defensive general Brain Kaltak and gun striker Alou Kuol were forced off injured in the 23rd and 34th minutes respectively.
Then Jacob Farrell was sent off on 78 minutes after receiving two yellow cards in as many minutes.
New Mariners coach Mark Jackson admitted the injuries were significant setbacks and altered the course of the contest early.
"They were two big moments in the game, particularly Brian, and the disruption of our backline," he said.
"We don't make excuses; we have to deal with those scenarios in games and it just so happens that we've had to deal with two today and then obviously the red card later on.
"Brian had a little tweak in his knee… and a knee injury as well to Alou. The severity of them we're unsure yet and we have to let them settle overnight and be assessed in the morning."
