Record crowds delivered the A-League a new high in total attendances for a single round.
Club crowd records were broken at Adelaide United, Sydney FC and Melbourne City, with 106,082 spectators in total passing through the gates across the weekend’s five games.
It bettered the mark of 100,998 set in the opening round of the 2013/14 season.
“(The 10th season of the) A-League has started with a flurry of records and atmosphere that has once again showed football’s growth,” Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said in a statement.
“It has set us up nicely as we look to meet some bullish targets for attendance and broadcast numbers over the 2014/15 season.
“The Sydney derby and Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory games in particular highlighted the box office appeal of the marquee matches.”
Adelaide coach Josep Gombau said he would support playing more A-League games at Adelaide Oval following its 1-1 draw against fierce rival Melbourne Victory on Friday night in front of a record 33,126 people.
Gombau said if the club decides to take more matches to Adelaide Oval it would only be a positive for United and the code.
“In the end it’s not my decision, it’s a club decision,” Gombau said.
“Here (Adelaide Oval) can bring more funds, financially it’s better.
“We had the biggest crowd in football in South Australia, this is something very positive.
“In the end I’m a person working for the club and I want the best for the club and if the best (thing for the club) is to play here – come here and play.”
While the clash was attended in record numbers, the spectacle failed to live up to its billing and waited until the 85th minute before reaching any great heights.
A frantic final few minutes saw Sergio Cirio put the Reds ahead five minutes from time with a superb curling effort, only for Victory substitute Fahid Ben Khalfallah to equalise two minutes later from a Gui Finkler corner.
United now face a tough week with two games in six days.
The Reds meet Sydney FC in Sydney on Tuesday in the FFA Cup quarter finals before hosting Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium on Sunday in round three of the A-League.
Gombau said he would rotate and freshen his squad ahead of the two fixtures although some players would be expected to back up and put in double shifts.
The United tactician also said it would be a good opportunity to continue to blood the Reds’ Youth League players and provide them with valuable game time at the highest level.
“For sure we will change some players, they are tired,” Gombau said.
“We are playing on Tuesday and we play on Sunday again.
“I don’t want the players to play 90 (minutes) and 90 (minutes) – some of them for sure will because of the numbers we have.
“I want that they (Youth players) have this game because they need to play games (at this level).”
In other matches Sydney FC posted a dramatic 3-2 win over Western Sydney at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, while Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory battled to a 1-1 draw in a less enterprising contest 24 hours earlier at Adelaide Oval.
Central Coast went down 2-1 to Wellington at home on Saturday.
On Sunday, Spanish superstar David Villa scored a late equaliser for Melbourne City in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle Jets.
Perth Glory then trumped Brisbane Roar 3-2 in a thrilling end to round two, taking top spot on the table.
Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Adelaide United are next on four points, while Wellington and Central Coast (both three points) round out the top six.
Reigning champions Brisbane and Asian Champions League finalists Western Sydney are the only sides yet to open their account this season.
A-LEAGUE ROUND OF RECORD CROWDS
106,082 – Highest ever attendance for a single round of the A-League
33,126 – Largest crowd for a soccer game in Adelaide
41,213 – Highest ever Sydney FC crowd. Also the biggest crowd for a regular-season match of any code at Allianz Stadium since it opened in 1988
15,717 – Highest ever Melbourne City crowd – excluding derby clashes. More than triple the number that watched the corresponding fixture with Newcastle in 2013/14.
