At the start of this first year of the 21st Century, midfield playmaker Jeff Campbell's footballing priorities were focued on one thing - being one of his country's sporting representatives at the 27th Olympic Games in Australia this September. For that priority to be realised, he has to help the OlyWhites overcome the fourth-best African nation in a home-and-away play-off within the next ten weeks. In the ensuing two months, however, the goalposts have moved somewhat significantly for the 21-year-old son of former All White, Clive Campbell. Jeff has become an All White himself, having made two appearances for his country this year, in China and here in New Zealand during the two-test series against Korea in January. Since then, a successful two-week trial period saw him sign up for the Football Kingz, New Zealand's first professional soccer club, in late February. And on March 3 at North Harbour Stadium, he was given his first taste of the professional environment from which many players the world over earn their living. Any number of said players, on making their debut in the big wide world of professional football, seem quite content to just get a feel for the action, more intent on not doing anything wrong, but at the same time doing enough to say to their boss something along the lines of, "Yes, I quite like this stage. When can I have my next chance, please?" Campbell, however, ignored this approach, preferring instead to stamp his mark on the game in no uncertain terms, much to the chagrin of the visiting Sydney Olympic combination. The number ten was the architect of both the Football Kingz goals in a famous 2-0 victory which saw the fledgling football club add the scalp of the league leaders to that of defending champions South Melbourne, as clubs who have succumbed to the Kingz both at home and on the road. Entering the fray alongside the worldly-wise Wynton Rufer in the 65th minute, the hard-working pint-sized front-running pairing of Mark Elrick and Batram Suri stepping aside for Oceania's footballing sorceror and his new apprentice in an enterprising double-substitution. Campbell grasped the opportunity granted him with both hands, and made the unsuspecting opposition pay within two minutes of his introduction. A slide-rule pass through the inside-right channel gave the oft-overlapping Jonathan Perry yet another chance to stretch his legs down Olympic's left flank, something which the hard-working wing-back had done with gay abandon, but with little reward, throughout the preceding 67 minutes. This time, however, his reward was ample, albeit courtesy a timely stumble by Olympic's left back, Lindsay Wilson. Hesitating at the sound of fast-approaching Kiwi hooves - a sound many in the Australian harness racing and galloping industries have come to dread in recent years! - Wilson froze like the proverbial rabbit in headlights, and paid the penalty. Perry relieved him of the ball, and proceeded to relieve the concerns of many in the 3,762-strong crowd with an unerring finish from twelve yards into the far corner of the net, the ball careering under the diving figure of Jim Kourtis en route. Campbell led the celebrations, and was instrumental in doing so again twelve minutes later, as Olympic's defence committed the cardinal sin of leaving an opponent unmarked at the near post, a zone into which Campbell curled an inviting corner. On some occasions, such lax defending can go

unpunished. This time round, however, the opponent Olympic had neglected to pay attention to was, of all people, the Kingz player-coach ... Rufer's fourth goal of the season sealed a much-needed three points for the local side, and left the University of Technology, Sydney-sponsored side contemplating the loss of a league placing they have enjoyed since the end of round eleven. And what of Campbell's dream debut? "Maybe if I'd scored the winner, then, yes, it would have been!" joked the 1998 winner of the Bluebird Northern Premier League Player of the Year award, an honour after claiming the Young Player of the Year award in the same competition. "But it's certainly pretty close to being one. It was a great experience playing alongside Wynton, particularly as I've mostly played in central midfield. But I'm now starting to get the hang of it up front, too". This from a player who scored thirteen goals in his 22 North Island Soccer League appearances for Mt. Wellington last season, and has struck twice for the OlyWhites since their Olympic qualifying campaign began in earnest last December. Olympic - the Sydney variety - could easily have scored as many goals themselves in this match before the introduction of the Rufer-Campbell dream ticket gave the Kingz the cutting edge which tipped the match in their favour. Zlatko Arambasic rattled Jason Batty's left-hand upright with a bullet-like header in just the second minute, while OlyRoos captain Brett Emerton, Scott Baillie, Nick Carle and prolific goalscorer Pablo Cardozo, whose 200th NSL match this was, all went close before the interval, a period in which Scott Thomas was in outstanding form, although he was far less influential in the second spell. In ever-willing man-of-the-match Perry and the style-conscious celebrant of 150 NSL appearances, Marcus Stergiopoulos, the Kingz, whose play-off prospects were revitalised by this victory, had two players were toiling tremendously up and down the flanks. But Olympic's "all court press" approach dogged the home side at every turn, and gave them little time to develop their usually patient approach play through other outlets, meaning that as the first half ended, the home side, while level on the scoreboard, were trailing on points. Inside the first fifteen minutes of the second spell, the visitors had their hosts on the ropes, and were intent on providing the knockout blow, in the form of an opening goal. Somehow, it remained elusive, Cardozo, Arambasic and Carle all going close during a period of the match in which 21 players were often sighted in one half of the field. But the Kingz stood their ground, albeit at times tremulously, and the efforts of Riki van Steeden, Lee Jones and Che Bunce, in repelling this incessant onslaught, should not go unmentioned. Later, Batty, too, was to the fore, fellow All White Chris Zoricich, Emerton, Norman Tome and Ante Juric all being thwarted by the custodian. By this time, however, the debutant had turned the game on its head and scuttled Olympic's dream of returning home with three points in the process. Jeff Campbell's own Olympics dream lives on! Kingz:  Batty, Bunce, Jones (booked, 41), van Steeden, Perry, Jackson (Moya, 84), Ngata, Vicelich, Stergiopoulos, Elrick (Rufer, 65), Suri (Campbell, 65) Sydney:  Kourtis, Zoricich, Baillie, Juric, Wilson (Zorbas, 72), Carle, Emerton (booked, 89), Thomas, Mendez (booked, 87), Arambasic (Tome, 76), Cardozo Referee:  Con Diomis