It's the kind of instant impact that New York City FC will be hoping for when their 2015 expansion season kicks off in March.

Designated Player David Villa, who's on loan with Australian A-League club Melbourne City ahead of the start of MLS training camps in January, scored a goal on his Australian debut on Saturday, netting an equalizer just 15 minutes after coming into the match against Sydney FC in the opening weekend of the new A-League season.

The 32-year-old forward came off the bench three minutes into the second half, finding the back of the net on a feed from Damien Duff in the 63rd as Melbourne City tied Sydney 1-1.Dallas 2011 season reeked of redemption for a lost 2010 season much of the way through. Despite close (and awkward) losses to the Patriots, Jets and Lions, the Cowboys rolled into December on a four-game winning streak, with a shot at closing out the NFC East. Then things absolutely fell apart: Jason Garrett iced his own kicker in an overtime loss to Arizona, Tony Romo overthrew Miles Austin in a tight Week 14 loss to the Giants, Romo was injured the next week in a meaningless game against the Eagles and Dallas got pounded by the eventual Super Bowl champs on New Years Day. Then Jerry Jones team had to watch the 9-7 Giants march to a Super Bowl victory. Not a fun couple of months for them.