Sydney FC go top after surviving 0-0 A-League draw with Adelaide United Adelaide United 0 Sydney FC 0 Deft touch: Adelaide United's Nigel Boogaard slides a pass through the Sydney FC defence. Battered from pillar to post by a rampant Adelaide United, Sydney FC will board their plane home on Saturday morning with the hardest-earned point they'll pick up this season. Yet while the Reds dominated the match from start to finish, save for brief interludes from the visitors, it is Sydney who will gain more from their scoreless trip to Hindmarsh. Knowing that you can keep such a marauding side at bay - one which failed to finish their many chances - will give belief they can defend anywhere. Ask Tony Popovic where that can take you. Disbelief: Sebastian Ryall (left) and Nikola Petkovic react to Sydney FC's disallowed goal. Although there was no deciding goal, the match was best summed up by an 86th-minute tackle by Sydney's Sebastian Ryall on Adelaide's Craig Goodwin. As Goodwin burst away in space, Ryall rugby-tackled him to the ground and wouldn't let go, earning a yellow card. Sydney were determination personified. Alex Brosque was given every chance to play despite rolling his ankle last week but in the end, Graham Arnold went safety first.the Sydney coach admitted if it was a Sunday match, he would have started. But while Brosque did make the trip, his place was taken by Christopher Naumoff. There could be no doubting which side would be dominating possession. In the first 10 minutes, Adelaide had 65per cent of the ball, exactly as Josep Gombau would have wanted. Calisthenics: Adelaide's Isaias Sanchez battles for the ball with Sydney FC's Milos Dimitrijevic. There was nice amount of spite brewing between Sasa Ognenovski and Bruce Djite, with two early mistimed tackles from the Sydney defender giving Djite a pair of bruised ankles. Ognenovski's in-your-face demeanour caught the attention of referee Alan Miliner and some back-chat earned him a caution. He walked the finest of lines for the remaining 70 minutes. One of the interesting aspects of Adelaide's play is their ability to launch both speedy counter-attacks, not just knock the ball in clever triangles. Sergio Cirio was the centrepiece of a coast-to-coast move that ended with him brilliantly linking the play for Marcelo Carrusca, only denied by Vedran Janjetovic's save. Carrusca and Cirio were always the men most most likely, and their weaving runs repeatedly created havoc. One touch from Carrusca - a diagonal backheel to Cirio - had to be seen to be believed. They both hit the post in the first half, and while Carrusca's chance was speculative, Cirio's effort seemingly had Janjetovic beaten. Sebastian Ryall takes control of the ball for Sydney FC. However, while Adelaide were doing most things right, Sydney weren't doing that much wrong. And the more those missed chances racked up for the Reds, the more the feeling that they would come to regret them later grew. Undoubtedly, Arnold sensed his side had to play a smarter game rather than a dominant game. They needed to pick moments to exploit but make defence their priority. The Reds were dealt a blow at half-time when Djite's night was halted by a left quad injury, although Gombau's choice of replacement, right-back Michael Marrone, was a surprise. While Adelaide maintained their possession in the second half, they didn't quite look as threatening. The early pace appeared to take some of the puff out of them as the Sky Blues absorbed the pressure. Mabil had another crack on the hour mark with a decent effort but Janjetovic was equal, again. His third straight clean sheet beckoned. A warning shot from the visitors was fired when Bernie Ibini's overhead kick found Seb Ryall, who headed goal-bound but was denied by an acrobatic clearance from Nigel Boogaard. Sydney went even closer again soon after, although a glorious free-kick from Nikola Petkovic was stopped by Miliner's whistle, enraging several Sydney players. When the kick was re-taken, Petkovic superbly picked the run of Marc Janko but the marquee slid his effort into the post. That was as close as Sydney would get, and while Shane Smeltz was brought on to give Janko support in attack, it was Adelaide who still looked more capable. The moment would seemingly come deep into injury time, where substitute Bruce Kamau teed up a perfect opportunity for Carrusca to seal the win. Somehow, the A-League's best feet were tangled, and the Sky Blues got the point they wanted.