Carlton gave New Zealand's first professional soccer club, Kingz FC, a sobering introduction to the world of the Australian National Soccer League at North Harbour Stadium on October 1, handing out a 3-0 defeat to the newcomers in front of a crowd which, while reported as 8,200-strong, looked to be nearer the 12,000 mark in the eyes of many. The Kingz, in direct contrast to their New Zealand rugby league equivalents, the Warriors, five years ago, opted for the "softly, softly, catchy monkey" approach in building up to the advent of professional soccer in this country, so many of those who came along on opening night were, if nothing else, inquisitive as to just what they were all about. What they witnessed will likely have them coming back for more. A number of comments were made regarding the "good standard of football" witnessed, while the Kingz, once they have their full squad available - the transfer clearances of a couple of players were not received until, quite literally, minutes before kick-off - and fully match-fit, will certainly prove themselves capable of matching anything the majority of their trans-Tasman counterparts can come up with on the park. In Carlton, however, they came up against opponents whose pre-season preparations have been thorough, to say the least - how else do you describe a six-week tour of China and Singapore? As well, they have recruited a few "name" players with which football fans on both sides of the Tasman will be familiar. Classy defender Dave McPherson has won bucket-loads of medals with Hearts and Rangers in Scotland, while lively midfielder Stuart Slater is a graduate of the footballing academy that is West Ham United. And in new coach Stuart Munro, they have employed someone who is steeped in the Rangers tradition - winning. That said, the Kingz have attracted one or two players of like ilk in this regard, none more so than player-coach Wynton Rufer. His was the name to which the biggest cheer was given as the line-ups were announced, moments after a spectacular fireworks display had climaxed Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight", and moments before Te Waka Huia unleashed a stirring rendition of the haka in the direction of the visiting team. It was a powerful pre-match package which the Kingz carried into the game itself. Just three minutes in, and they engineered the first opening of the campaign, Ivan Vicelich picking out a player who is going to be a real crowd favourite, crafty Chilean striker Aaron Silva. He looked to return the favour to the galloping Vicelich, but a deflection instead sent the ball towards Fred de Jong. Before the striker had a chance to react to the opportunity, however, McPherson had intervened. Being six foot three can make this twenty-seven-times-capped Scottish international appear rather awkward, his long neck and longer legs offering a giraffe-like impression to those for whom this was their first opportunity to see him in action. But can he defend! On this occasion, he tidied up a somewhat difficult situation with the minimum of fuss, an action which delivered two messages to those on the park. To Carlton, it was one of confidence - the sort instilled by a rock-like presence in the centre of defence. The message to the Kingz was of the "you're going to have to do something rather special to get past me!" variety, as proven by the fact that the home side, despite being willed on by the gathered throngs, had just four clear-cut chances to score in the entire ninety minutes. Before they could muster the first of these, however, they were two goals in arrears. There had been a few warning signs prior to the first goal being struck, almost all a result of a square defence being penetrated by a probing through ball. Joe Tricarilo squandered the first chance generated in this manner in the fifth minute, when firing tamely at Michael Utting, who, after watching a

Lubo Lapsansky free-kick whistle past his upright in the 23rd minute, was relieved to see Levent Osman, the Kingz best defender on the night, denying the rampaging Mike Conroy with a timely tackle, after he had strode onto a defence-splitting pass from Carlton's captain, Andrew Marth. Two minutes later, the same player was the architect of the opening goal, although he was greatly aided by the surging run of All White defender Sean Douglas down the left. It was a run the Kingz never even contemplated, and when Marth's pass arrived in the overlapping defender's path, there wasn't an opponent within ten yards of him, and the way to the byline was wide open. To it he strode, before pulling the ball back to the near post for Alex Moriera, who gleefully steered home to silence the locals and set Carlton on the road to victory in the 27th minute. A further four minutes had elapsed when the same player cemented Carlton's grip on the points. Mark Atkinson, the other All White in the visitors' contingent, played the early ball forward which unhinged the Kingz offside trap. Moriera's pace took him clear of those chasing, and after rounding Utting, he confidently stroked the ball home, despite Osman's despairing lunge to clear. At 2-0 down with just over half-an-hour gone, the local faithful were understandably despondent. But their spirits were raised almost instantly, their inspiration being the dancing run of Silva, who weaved his way this way and that into the penalty area, where he made an unanticipated appointment with terra firma in the 32nd minute. Referee Simon Micallef had no hesitation - penalty, which sparked off a sea of Carlton protests which, from this vantage point at least, certainly had some justification. In some ways, then, justice was served, as Chris Jackson's tame spot-kick was saved low to his right by the visiting goalkeeper, Dean Anastasiadis. A further three minutes elapsed before the Kingz best chance of the match came to pass. Silva was its creator, another weaving run taking him down the right to the byline, from where he pulled the ball back for de Jong. The striker would love to have celebrated the birth of his third child on Tuesday with the goal which brought the Kingz back into the match, but his diving header rattled the crossbar, much to Carlton's relief. Just before the interval, Tricarilo tested Utting with a fiercely struck first-time drive which the goalkeeper needed two attempts to save. In the second spell, one of the undoubted stars of the All Whites' Confederations Cup campaign was required to produce saves from both Moriera and John Markovski. But by this time, the Kingz were 3-0 down, and Carlton were well on their way to a deserved opening night triumph. The killer third goal came just four minutes into the second spell. Moriera turned provider on this occasion, breaking down the left before cutting past Osman into the penalty area. To the near post a clipped cross came, one anticipated by both Marth and half-time substitute Che Bunce, which freed Rufer from the unfamiliar role of sweeper. Bunce got the vital touch - just - and guided the ball across the bemused figure of Utting into the far corner of the net to wrap up the scoring. The Kingz had two further chances to score before the end. Silva's cheeky chip of Anastasiadis in the 56th minute, on receipt of a Vicelich pass, deserved better fate than to narrowly clear the crossbar, while Jackson's penalty claims, upon being felled in the area, were turned away by referee Micallef in the 83rd minute, despite this being a far more deserving case for a spot-kick than that which the Kingz captain spurned earlier in the match. Kingz:  Utting, Moya (Bunce 46), Osman, Vicelich, Stergiopoulos (van Steeden 77), Jackson, Middleby, Mennillo, Rufer (Perry 77), de Jong, Silva      Carlton:  Anastasiadis, McPherson, Deans, Douglas (Packer 57), Marth, Slater, Atkinson, Moreira (Thompson 81), Lapsansky, Conroy (Markovski 69), Tricarico Referee:  Simon Micallef