The Football Kingz tore the formbook to shreds at North Harbour Stadium on a gloriously sunny October 17, totally outplaying defending Australian National Soccer League champions South Melbourne to record a richly deserved 1-0 victory, their first-ever in the competition. The scoreline completely flattered the vanquished team, for such was the dominance of the Kingz that South Melbourne couldn't have complained had they found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-0 hiding. That they weren't was due solely to profligate finishing on the part of the home side. The Kingz missed an absolute bucketload of chances, many of which were created by the game's outstanding individual performer, Fred de Jong. The former Marconi Fairfield, Fortuna Sittard and All White targetman was in magnificent form throughout this encounter, his deft touches, aerial prowess and ability to create openings for others while himself under pressure making life a misery for more than one South Melbourne defender, whilst delighting the vast majority of the 4500-strong crowd. He was ably abetted by Robbie Middleby - how he relished the additional spaces granted him by the remarking of the pitch to its size! - and Ivan Vicelich, who, like de Jong, had a tremendous all-round game, both in appropriate defence and attack. The Kingz engineered a couple of openings inside the first four minutes. A teasing Middleby cross was gathered in front of Aaron Silva by Chris Jones, who looked on with relief moments later as a de Jong drive was deflected wide of the target. David Clarkson's driven seventh minute effort hinted that the defending champions weren't going to be a pushover, but the way in which the Kingz ripped open South's defences from the resulting goal-kick suggested that this may well be a day for the underdog. Harry Ngata combined with de Jong and Vicelich in a delightful move which resulted in the last-mentioned crossing to Middleby, whose rasping volley only just cleared Jones' crossbar. Play ebbed and flowed in the next fifteen minutes as both sides sought to impose themselves on proceedings, something which the Kingz proceeded to do in emphatic fashion from the 22nd minute until the half-time whistle. Central to much that was good was de Jong. He flicked Ngata's corner on to the far post for Vicelich, whose header was somehow cleared off the line by Con Blatsis. The resulting Middleby corner saw Jones plucking the ball off Jonathan Perry's head, as the Kingz came closest yet to breaking the deadlock. Four minutes later, Ngata, de Jong and Vicelich combined again, the targetman this time flicking Ngata's well-flighted free-kick to the near post into the path of the rampaging defender, who spurned a golden opportunity to open the scoring by blazing over the top. A minute later, it was Middleby's turn to engineer an opening. His was a most beautifully flighted cross beyond the beleaguered ranks of South's defenders into an area behind them near the far post, an area into which de Jong was arriving at breakneck pace. The striker uncorked a fulminating volley which flew past the bewildered Jones, only to crash off the outside of the goalkeeper's right-hand upright to safety - had it gone in, you can guarantee it would have brought the house down!! On the half-hour, a meticulously measured angled through ball from Che Bunce picked out Dino Mennillo's run from deep. Had Blatsis not been alert to the danger, we could well have been celebrating the game's opening goal three minutes before it actually came about. The 34th minute was the moment the fans had waited for, and, as it turned out, the moment the Kingz had waited for - their first match-winning goal. Not surprisingly, de Jong was its instigator, but the key role was that played by Middleby. His darting run left the retreating defenders in two minds, which opened up a gap into which Silva surged, at the same time as Middleby slipped the ball through for his team-mate. The Chilean deftly side-stepped the advancing Jones, and took great

delight in rolling the ball into the gaping net and celebrating the moment with the fans ... too much, in fact, at least as far as referee Mark Shields was concerned, the official's penchant for the pedantic seeing a yellow card being issued to the goalscorer for excessive celebrations!! The Kingz all but doubled their advantage four minutes later. Mennillo's teasing free-kick into the danger zone was ignored by South Melbourne, but not by de Jong, who homed in on the sphere and stretched out a leg to divert it goalwards, only to find himself a foot short of connecting. After Vicelich had headed a Mennillo corner wide, the supplier retrieved a lost cause as he gathered an overhit Ngata pass intended for Vicelich on the byline. From there, the recruit from Adelaide City pulled the ball back towards the advancing Bunce, whose thunderous drive cannoned to safety, much to the visitors' relief. One suspects a few choice words were uttered in the away team's dressing room at the interval, for South Melbourne came out looking far more interested in matters than had been the case in the first spell. But David Moya's vital block from Goran Lozanovski in the 52nd minute seemed to snuff out the visitors' new-found drive, as the Kingz were soon on top of things once more. The prime dictator of terms was de Jong. It was his crossfield ball which allowed Silva and Mennillo to combine in the 58th minute, only for the latter to be foiled by Blatsis when shooting. Four minutes later, South Melbourne's hopes of getting back on level terms were dealt a massive blow with the dismissal of Robert Liparoti, whose mistimed challenge saw Ngata scythed down in full-flight. Referee Shields, whose performance could best be described as one of the more curious seen of late, didn't hesitate in flourishing rouge, and the midfielder's day was over. Ngata was soon up and about again, and tested Jones with a twenty-five yard free-kick twenty-five minutes from time. Three minutes later, Vicelich thwarted a South Melbourne raid with a precise headed clearance to Levent Osman, who surged out of defence with Middleby, de Jong and substitute Batram Suri in close attendance. The midfielder opted for de Jong, whose shot on the run flashed wide of the upright. De Jong and Perry - with Moya, he grew in confidence as the match progressed - led the next raid, which culminated in Suri's 73rd minute shot on the turn being blocked by Nick Orlic. Three minutes later, Perry's throw-in was flicked on by de Jong to Osman, who sent a header bulleting over the top from ten yards as he arrived at pace on the far post. The one true moment of promise for Souths came twelve minutes from time. Substitute Anthony Magnacca chased a lost cause and succeeded in sending it across the face of the Kingz goal from the byline, just behind the incoming Vaughan Coveny, who was otherwise conspicuous by his anonymity in this encounter, something which can be said for a couple of South Melbourne's other "stars", Paul Trimboli and Michael Curcija. Vicelich was on hand to clear the danger on this occasion, as he was three minutes later to deny Coveny, whose somewhat forgettable return home was compounded by his receipt of the yellow card four minutes from time. Before the finish, Jones twice denied Osman as the Kingz looked to round off their win with a second goal, while the goalkeeper foiled de Jong at close quarters after the striker had been gifted the chance to round things off by Perry, following Suri's surge down the right on receipt of a raking clearance from the otherwise uninvolved Jason Batty. One goal was all the Kingz had to show for their dominance, however, but it was enough to secure them their first three points in the NSL. That they came at the expense of the defending champions, however uncompetitive they may have been, is the icing on the cake! Kingz:  Batty, Ngata, Bunce, Perry, de Jong, Mennillo (Stergiopoulos 70), Middleby (Jackson 70), Osman, Vicelich, Moya, Silva (Suri 63) Souths:  Jones, Iosifidis, De Amicis, Blatsis (Orlic 58), Clarkson, Panopoulos, Coveny, Trimboli (Goutzioulis 74), Curcija (Magnacca 62), Lozanovski, Liparoti (sent off 62) Referee:  Mark Shield