Post-World Cup blues enveloped both the Football Kingz and the visiting Gippsland Falcons at North Harbour Stadium on December 3, as the outstanding success which was New Zealand '99, the title by which the eighth Under-17 World Championship of Football came to be known, proved too much for both teams to live up to. A paltry 2500 fans - a mere ten percent of the stadium's capacity - turned out to watch this National Soccer League encounter between two sides who enjoyed welcome victories in their respective round nine fixtures, but scarcely looked like delivering a repeat performance in an at times dour tenth round duel which, somewhat fittingly, ended in a 1-1 draw. The Falcons were without two key players through suspension - defender Dean Fak and striker Igor Mandic, which the Kingz showed three changes from the side which, last week, showed Adelaide they were a force to be reckoned with in their own right. Injuries forced Michael Utting and Aaron Lines to make way for Jason Batty and Dino Mennillo respectively, while Lee Jones took over from Levent Osman, suspension denying the midfielder the opportunity to play against his old club. The home team began brightly, spurred on by a couple of supporters whose efforts to enliven the 'hear a pin drop' atmosphere with a couple of English football chants were deserving of a bigger audience. Barely five minutes had passed when Fred de Jong fed the overlapping Robbie Middleby on the right, whose neat first-time pass allowed Ivan Vicelich to launch a twenty-five yard drive which curled past Bojo Jevdjevic's right-hand upright. The Falcons stretched their wings six minutes later, Mehmed Durakovic's free-kick being flicked on by John Hutchinson into the path of the lively Juan Nilo. The ground announcer was denied the opportunity to say "Juan Nilo makes it 1-0 to Gippsland in the eleventh minute" by a stunning save from Batty, the All Whites' shot-stopper flinging himself to his right to initially parry, then gather, the striker's well-struck volley. On the quarter hour, the Kingz took the lead. Harry Ngata's quickly taken free-kick released the overlapping Mennillo into space down the left, and his cross arced beyond the far post into the space in which Middleby was arriving at pace. He directed a powerful header goalwards which the unfortunate Jevdjevic could only help into the net as he dived to his left. This settled the Kingz down, and they proceeded to dominate both territory and possession, without making best use of the latter. Meanwhile, Gippsland, a team which has generally struggled to score goals in the NSL in recent seasons, showed little cutting edge in attack to indicate that such impotence in front of goal would gain an instant cure from a trip to Junior World Cup country! That said, Brian MacNichol looked the one player most likely to engineer an opening for the visitors, and in the 33rd minute only the fingertips of Batty prevented him from doing so, the goalkeeper tipping the striker's rising twenty yard volley onto the crossbar and away to safety. This prompted the Kingz to realise that sitting on a one-goal lead was perhaps not in their best interests after all, and they proceeded to up the tempo a notch in an effort to double their lead before the interval. A Ngata cross to the far post in the 35th minute bisected Vicelich and Che Bunce as they homed in on the sphere, while de Jong's desire for victory was evident for all to see three minutes later as he tackled back to win possession then instantly released Middleby down the right. He delivered a delicious cross to the far side of the penalty area where the unmarked Chris Jackson was

lurking wth intent, but before the ball could reach him, Adrian Savage - a solid performer throughout for the Falcons - produced a vital headed clearance to relieve the danger for his side. The Kingz were guilty of spurning any number of scoring opportunities from free-kicks in this match, with the delivery of the ball into the danger zone rarely passing the first line of defenders. A variation they tried four minutes before the interval succeeded in breaching the Falcons' rearguard, but Mennillo did not strike his shot as cleanly as he would have liked, giving Jevdjevic little cause for concern at the end of it. After the Falcons had scrambled clear de Jong's header from an inviting Middleby corner, the visitors spurned a great chance to level matters just before the break. Nilo and MacNichol had just Batty to beat between them, but the former's unselfishness proved costly, as Bunce was able to intercept his pass and ensure his side of a 1-0 lead at the interval. It was an advantage the Kingz were to enjoy for just five more minutes. After Jevdjevic had plucked a twenty yard curler from de Jong out of the air, following a fine move featuring Vicelich, half-time substitute Wynton Rufer and Jackson, the Falcons counter-attacked down the right, led by Clayton Bell. His cross wasn't dealt with by the home team's defence, allowing MacNichol to steal in on the far post and steer home the equaliser. Rocked by this strike, the Kingz took a while to recover their composure, with Mennillo offering the first hint that the home team was getting back into the contest in the 62nd minute, only for Jevdjevic, who saw the midfielder's rasping twenty yard strike late as it came through a plethora of players, to produce a quality save low to his right. Middleby was next to chance his arm, but failed to accurately execute his attempted chip of the Gippsland goalkeeper six minutes later. A further five minutes elapsed when Mennillo went down under pressure in the penalty area, but referee Derek Rugg, a last-minute replacement for the unavailable Brett Hugo, was well-placed to determine that play should continue. While the decision was correct, it wasn't appreciated by many in the small crowd, who considered that some of the official's judgements in this match left a lot to be desired. At times, pedantry certainly seemed to be the watchword of Oceania's refereeing representative at the forthcoming FIFA World Club Championship, but, save for a couple of instances, it was hard to find fault with his application of the Laws of the Game to the situations with which he was confronted. Eleven minutes from time, Gippsland caught the Kingz on the hop with a swift raid which saw John Hutchinson away down the left with just Batty to beat. The goalkeeper hurtled out of his area to curtail the threat, but the midfielder skipped past the advancing custodian, only to immediately stumble and fall with the gaping goal at his mercy. This was to prove the visitors' last chance, while the home team's final fling at breaking the deadlock came four minutes from the end, as Batty sent the ball forward to Mennillo. After a neat one-two with de Jong, a cross to the far post for Vicelich ensued, allowing the All Whites defender to head the ball down to Rufer. But before Oceania's Player of the Century could pounce, in stepped Savage to avert the danger and ensure a final 1-1 scoreline. Kingz:  Batty, Vicelich, Bunce (booked, 32) (Perry, 83), Jones, Stergiopoulos (van Steeden, 81), Middleby (booked, 46), Ngata, Jackson, Mennillo, de Jong, Riddle (Rufer, 46) Gippsland:  Jevdjevic, Marcina, Gotis (booked, 86), Savage, Puca, Hutchinson, Durakovic, Bell, Vargas, Nilo (Kakos, 78), MacNichol Referee:  Derek Rugg