Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar admitted a slow start cost his side maximum points in yesterday's 1-1 draw with the Newcastle Jets.

The Reds had to rely on a cracking goal from Brazilian winger Cassio with less than 15 minutes remaining to take a share of the points in front of home fans and Vidmar said the poor start cost them.

"It really took us about 70 minutes to get going today and I thought the last 20 minutes or so was very good, that's how we should play and how I know the boys can play," Vidmar said.

"It was just a little bit slow and laboured to start off with and I think the first couple of minutes sort of set the scene for the majority of the game.

"I'm happy with the team's ability to keep possession but we need to take the next step which is actually moving forward and penetrating.

"A few mistakes here and there ends up in the back of the net unfortunately for us, so although the goal was early, it gave us plenty of time to get back into the game.

"The changes (substitutions) just made it a little bit more dynamic and certainly the last 20 minutes is how we expect to play."