In a see-sawing and entertaining contest, Sydney FC spoiled the party for Wollongong's newest team with a hard-fought 2-1 victory to kick off their A-League campaign in style in front of more than 3500 spectators.

Calem Nieuwenhof announced himself on debut with a spectacular long-range strike to give the sky blues a 1-0 lead, before Wellington's Mirza Muratovic responded with a scrambling goal in the lead-up to half time.

In the end, Luke Brattan's rocket from outside the box 10 minutes after the break proved the difference between the teams.

The Phoenix had a couple of good chances to score late, but were unable to muster an equaliser.

Wellington head coach Ufuk Talay said the loss was a disappointing way to begin their 2020/21 season.

"I think we finished strong towards the end. One thing I'd like to do is play the way in the first half the way we finished the second half," he said.

"I think it took two really good goals to beat us this afternoon. But overall it was a great performance. The way the boys finished off was pretty pleasing, but obviously I'm not pleased with the result.

"We just couldn't get that equaliser, which I think would have been a fair result."

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Wollongong's weather did all it could to make the Phoenix feel at home for their season opener. Players were greeted by cool and drizzly conditions at WIN Stadium, which were reminiscent of being back in Wellington.

But it was Sydney FC who dominated possession and had plenty of chances in the opening 20 minutes. Their best opportunity came via nice one-two between Trent Buhagiar and Kosta Barbarouses, which saw Barbarouses's shot hit the side of the net.

The Phoenix looked threatening on the counter-attack, with Jaushua Sotirio getting one-on-one with goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, however, his attempt just swayed wide.

Phoenix veteran Luke DeVere then had a great chance following a corner, but his header was off target. At the other end, Buhagiar continued to look most threatening for the visitors.

But it was his teammate Nieuwenof who would hit the scoreboard first.

From an unsuccessful cross, the ball spilled to the debutant who rocketed the goal into the top of the net from outside the box. The sky blues led 1-0 after 29 minutes.

However, while Sydney FC dominated the first half, Wellington were able to muster a late reply through Muratovic.

It wasn't the prettiest shot, with Muratovic's in-close attempt rolling past Redmayne and into goals. However, Wellington's first goal for 2021 was missed by most football fans, as the television coverage cut out just seconds beforehand.

The score was 1-1 at half time.

Sydney FC started the second half positively, with Nieuwenhof taking another long-range shot which was superbly stopped by gloveman Stefan Marinovic.

But the visitors were rewarded for pressing hard in the 55^th minute. After receiving a free kick, Brattan rocketed home a beautiful strike into the top of the net to give the sky blues a 2-1 advantage.

The game then settled into a pattern, with the ball moving from end to end. Sydney FC had a great chance to score in the 68^th minute, but Luke Ivanovic's cross just missed the feet of Buhagiar.

With 12 minutes left, the Phoenix nearly equalised when Ulises Davila's strike deflected off a defender, but the ball rolled past the goal posts.

The Phoenix continued to press hard in the dying stages, with new recruit Tomer Hemed in particular proving a handful for Sydney FC's defence. Davila also worked himself into a dangerous spot inside the box, but was denied by an outstanding Brattan tackle.

With the clock ticking down, Wellington looked to have mustered a second goal from Davila via a deflection off Hemed, however, the linesman ruled the striker off side. The decision was confirmed as correct by the VAR.

In the end, Sydney FC were able to hold on for a 2-1 win to kick off their title defence on the right note.

"I thought they were the better team in the second half, we obviously dug deep to keep that clean sheet in the second half. The VAR got the right call, he was off side, and that's what it's there for," sky blues head coach Steve Corica said.

"I thought we looked like a little bit tired in the second half. We defended quite well... but we weren't our usual self with the ball. And we looked tired, which is something I need to look at. We don't have a game for two weeks, our next game is against the [Western Sydney] Wanderers. We obviously need to work hard next week and freshen up for that game.

"But I feel like it was a little bit on [being] the first game as well, that happens at times. We were very pleased to get the three points, that was the main aim of the game."

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Corica was also full of praise for the Phoenix, saying he believed they would be a "dangerous side again" this season.

"Tomer obviously looked pretty good up front tonight and Davila coming off the bench gives them a big lift as well," he said.

"I think they'll be similar to last year, they'll be a very good side and very hard to beat. You saw it in the second half, they put us under a lot of pressure, so I think Ufuk has done well again."