On 26 August 2005, Australia's new football league - the A-League - kicked off with a pair of matches that involved half of the new league's membership.The A-League was founded in 2004 to replace the National Soccer League, which folded that year after 28 seasons due to financial difficulties. Four teams - Perth Glory, New Zealand Knights, Newcastle Jets, and Adelaide United - made the move to the new A-League and were joined by new clubs Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC, and Central Coast Mariners. The group of eight was rounded out by former NSL side Queensland Roar, who had been playing in the Queensland State League as the Brisbane Lions since 1988.
On that opening day, Perth Glory hosted the Mariners, winners of the league's preseason Challenge Cup, while Newcastle hosted Adelaide. In both matches, the visiting sides won by identical 0-1 scores. It was a sign of things to come as both teams would enjoy success in that first season: Adelaide finished at the top of the regular-season table, while Central Coast advanced to the Final of the playoffs, losing 1-0 to the A-League's first champions, Sydney FC.
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