Soccer: Yorke the big attraction as Sydney FC underline their favouritism

It is no surprise Sydney FC hit the ground running in the A-League Pre-Season Cup.

With the star-studded side having the advantage of playing last month's Oceania club championship and a couple of warm-up matches since, the Pierre Littbarski-coached side had invaluable match-play other clubs did not. It showed.

With marquee signing Dwight Yorke coming in to further bolster the Sydney side, the New Zealand Knights were always going to be up against it in last weekend's opener at Aussie Stadium.

A 26th-minute Yorke penalty gave the home side the advantage. Saso Petrovski added a second right on halftime and the third in the 73rd minute before Steve Fitzsimmons got one back for the Knights seven minutes from time.

That game attracted the biggest crowd, just under 9000, but elsewhere the support was not as great.

Fewer than 2000 turned out to watch the 1-1 draw between Newcastle and Melbourne, but newcomers Central Coast had more than 4000 to watch the 3-1 win over Queensland. Nick Mrdja, back from Sweden, bagged a hat-trick.

The points were also shared at Hindmarsh Stadium where a crowd of 5000 watched the home side Adelaide United come from 2-0 after 52 minutes to get back to 2-2 against Perth Glory.

In the clash of the second round, Central Coast are at home to Sydney FC tomorrow in Gosford, with the winner guaranteed a semifinal spot.

Central Coast have been the early surprise packet, with coach Lawrie McKinna opting largely for home-grown talent.

Apart from Mrdja and Russell Woodruffe, signed from Bury (England) and one of the three youngsters all clubs must have on their books, the remaining players have been recruited from within.