Jess Makarounas rescues point for Adelaide at Newcastle Jets

Reigning A-League champions Adelaide United have opened their title defence with a draw, held 1-1 by unfancied Newcastle at Hunter Stadium.

English midfielder Wayne Brown scored on debut at Hunter Stadium on Sunday, before Jesse Makarounas pounced on a comical Jets error to ensure Guillermo Amor's Reds left with a point.

A crowd of 9,145 did their bit for the domestic game, bringing the weekend's total attendance to 106,365 -- a single-round record.

On the field the new-look, more youthful Reds started brightly but could not land the killer blow in a goalless second half.

Newcastle struck first when, against the run of play, Brown caught United custodian Eugene Galekovic off his line and raked a shot straight into the top-left corner from outside the penalty area.

It wasn't long before the Reds restored parity thanks to a catastrophic miscommunication between goalkeeper Jack Duncan and defender Daniel Mullen.

Duncan raced off his line and clattered into Mullen, leaving the pair prone on the ground and allowing Makarounas to help himself to an open net.

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Makarounas was in stirring form, at one point evading two defenders and passing off sweetly to Sergio Cirio, only for the Spaniard to blast into the side netting.

A flurry of chances came and went for both sides.

Henrique clipped a dangerous ball towards goal while and Andrew Hoole and Devante Clut tested Galekovic's mettle.

But it was his Jets counterpart Duncan who passed his biggest exam with aplomb, tipping Ben Garuccio's dangerous free-kick over the crossbar.

Former Jets James Holland made an impact on debut with some brave defending that single-handedly stopped Hoole netting the winner.

Spanish striker Sergi Guardiola was quiet, but showed glimpses of ability that is ready to be unearthed with quality service.

The Jets have been hit with more injury concerns, with Finnish striker Aleksandr Kokko, Jason Hoffman and Mullen all succumbing to leg problems.