The woes of bottom-of-the-table Brisbane Strikers continued at Ballymore Oval on November 23, as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Football Kingz in a National Soccer League match which in no way reflected the final scoreline.      Had the home team scored even half of the chances they created in this match, they would have collected a most welcome three points against opposition who weren't exactly shot-shy themselves.      The undoubted star of this highly entertaining chance-laden encounter was Michael Utting. The Kingz goalkeeper produced four quite outstanding saves to keep his team in contention, and copped a right earful from his coach, Ken Dugdale, in the dying stages of the match, as Joshua Rose just failed to make the most of a spot of contemptuous ball-juggling by the peroxided shot-stopper.      That moment of disrespect for Brisbane apart, Utting's performance was imperious. It contrasted sharply with that of the defensive units of both sides, whose efforts were on a par with those of referee Angelo Nardi, of whom more later.      The first ten minutes of this lively affair gave no hint of the drama which was to follow, but after Jason Kearton swatted Patricio Almendra's cross-shot to safety in the eleventh minute, the seat-belt signs came on for the benefit of the watching faithful, who were treated to an abundance of attacking opportunities for the remainder of the first half.      Within seconds of this opening, Utting was forced into pulling off the first of his memorable denials. Peter Grierson released Shane Stefanutto on the left, and he laid the ball back for the feisty figure of Matt McKay.      His cross was made to measure for the reigning NSL Player of the Year, Fernando Rech, whose splendidly angled downward header would have had most goalkeepers clutching at air. But Utting got down low to his left to turn the ball roujd the post at full stretch - a splendid stop.      McKay's resulting corner was cleared to David Pilic on the edge of the penalty area, and his subsequent grass-cutter sizzled through the throngs amassed in the Kingz goalmouth and narrowly past Utting's right-hand post.      From the resulting goal-kick, Almendra came close to opening the scoring. Picked out by Chris Jackson, the Chilean international controlled the ball on his chest, and instinctively let fly with a volley on the turn as the ball dropped. Kearton was beaten all ends up, but the crossbar came to the rescue of the former Everton custodian on this occasion.      Back came Brisbane, only to find Utting in one of his 'Thou shalt not pass' moods. Rech had fallen to the ground in a screaming heap, and was receiving treatment on the sideline when referee Nardi dropped the ball to restart play.      The normal practice across the globe is for the recipient of the drop ball to return possession to their opponents, usually with a pass through to the goalkeeper. But the evidence would suggest that such unwritten rules do not apply to bottom-of-the-table combinations, as Brisbane proceeded to launch an attack, much to the ire of the visitors.      Justice was served, however, Utting's fine save low to his left denying Pilic's drive from the edge of the penalty area, the goalkeeper then being well placed to foil Rech's hopes of opening the scoring from the resulting McKay corner.      In the 23rd minute, the vast majority of the 1695 present were groaning again, Rech this time drilling his shot across Utting but wide of the far post, after setting off on a surging run to the edge of the Kingz penalty area on receipt of a Pilic pass.      If the local faithful were groaning after that chance, they must have been close to tearing hair out seconds later, as the Strikers squandered a glorious chance to open the scoring. Richie Alagich - a fine display - pursued a lost cause and managed to direct the ball down the line to Kris Trajanovski before it crossed the touchline.      The striker, who was breaking at pace as the Kingz defence admired Alagich's athleticism, whipped in a low cross which screamed across the face of the penalty area. Rech, at full stretch, just failed to get a touch on the ball, while McKay, who was following in beyond the far post, was thwarted by the presence of Jonathan Perry.      From the resulting corner, a cross from Pilic picked out Rech, whose header flashed over the crossbar. The resulting goal-kick careered downfield, and prompted the Football Kingz answer to Team USA's famed "Triple-Edged Sword" to strike with devastating effect.      For April Heinrichs, Michelle Akers and Carin Jennings - the attacking triumverate which spearheaded the US women's team to their first Women's World Cup triumph in 1991, read Patricio Almendra, Harry Ngata and Andy Vlahos.      The trio bamboozled the Brisbane back-line with a wonderful cameo of passing and movement, culminating in a flighted pass from the Chilean which Vlahos controlled expertly before laying off into the path of Ngata, who swept the ball home from twelve yards into the bottom right-hand corner of Kearton's net in the 25th minute.      Brisbane restarted play while the Kingz were still in celebratory mode, and Rech rampaged downfield into the penalty area, where he came to grief as Utting blocked at his feet. The Brazilian went down over the goalkeeper, and promptly appealed for a penalty, but referee Nardi wasn't having a bar of this, and promptly booked the striker for diving, a decision which was to have far greater significance later in the match.      Unperturbed, the home team kept on coming, Trajanovski slipping McKay in on the left. But the

striker's shot careered across the face of goal, much like that of Vlahos at the other end of the park later in the half, both front-runners having sighted the whites of the eyes of Utting and Kearton respectively. A thumping thirty yard drive from Jackson flew inches past Kearton's right-hand post six minutes before the interval, but Rech was to go even closer at the other end of the ground three minutes later, rattling the crossbar with a rasping twenty-yarder to match the earlier effort of his South American compatriot, Almendra. The home team should, at the very least, have been on level terms come the half-time whistle. Grierson and Stefanutto teamed up on the left, the latter whipping in a fine first-time cross to the near post, where Rech and Trajanovski were arriving on cue. With Utting committed to the cross, the goalkeeper found himself clutching at air, as Trajanovski's darting run to the near post saw him meet the ball with the goal at his mercy. Inexplicably, however, Trajanovski headed wide of the mark, much to the relief of the visitors, who were denied a penalty earlier in the half when Grierson appeared to use his hand to control the ball, thus thwarting the bullocking run of Campbell, after the "Triple-Edged Sword" had sliced open the Brisbane defence once again. The early stages of the second spell carried on in much the same manner as the bulk of the first half - relentless attacking from both sides, with Brisbane doing everything but score. While there was no evidence to suggest it, it would not surprise if there were confirmed sightings of a kitchen sink being flung at the Kingz goal at some stage during this encounter - it was that sort of match for the home team! But it was the visitors who had the first chance of the half, one presented to Almendra on a plate by the busy figure of Vlahos, whose surging run was supplemented by a made-to-measure pass. How the Chilean managed to slice his shot wide of the mark from eight yards remains a mystery! Back came Brisbane, Mark Atkinson clearing the rebound after Utting had parried a Trajanovski shot to safety. Soon after, a curling twenty-yard effort from McKay fizzed past the far post, before Utting again weaved his wizardry to deny Pilic, the midfielder having been picked out by a fine crossfield ball from Grierson. Raf de Gregorio cleaned up the scraps this time round, but Hiroshi Miyazawa promptly gifted possession back to Brisbane in the 54th minute. Rech robbed the Japanese defender, and played the ball inside to Trajanovski, who was forced to the byline. From there, he laid the ball back into Stefanutto's path, and the overlapping full-back's cross picked out Alagich. How he contrived to fire across the face of goal from close range, with just Utting to beat remains a mystery. Seconds later, the game, as a spectacle, was transformed, the decision to book Rech earlier in the match coming back to haunt referee Nardi, whose issuing of a second yellow card to the Brazilian forced the premature departure of Brisbane's most influential performer, and sparked a brief flurry of handbags at ten paces in which McKay was particularly prominent. The Kingz couldn't believe their luck at this turn of events, a facet of their game which was enhanced just three minutes after the dismissal by another magnificent save from Utting, diving low to his left once more to thwart McKay's shot from the edge of the penalty area. With Rech's adieu, the game struggled to maintain its attacking zenith for a brief period, but come the last fifteen minutes, it was all on for young and old once again. And despite their best efforts, Brisbane still could not get the better of Utting, whose one-handed swatting away of a chip by Stephen Laybutt, after the midfielder had linked neatly with McKay, must surely have confirmed to the home town faithful that this was to be the Kingz day. Or was it? Kearton saved from Jonathan Taylor, then pulled off a stunning one-handed save of his own to deny Almendra's full-blooded volley, after Paul Urlovic had picked out the Chilean with a cross from the left. Brisbane's goalkeeper was again on hand to divert a Vlahos cross away from the target in the 82nd minute, after Ngata and Mark Burton had combined to release the striker in splendid fashion down the left. Unfortunately for Kearton, Almendra was following in on the far post on this occasion, and after controlling the ball, he rounded the recovering goalkeeper and slammed the ball into the roof of the net to seal a third win of the season for the Kingz. Both Vlahos and Urlovic were denied by Brisbane's last line of defence before the final whistle, but 2-0 was a result with which the visitors were quite happy, particularly given the number of chances the home team had to secure the points for themselves. But for the peerless Utting, they would have done so, quite comfortably. Brisbane:     Kearton; Heath, McLaren (booked, 55), Stefanutto; Pilic (Drake, 68), Alagich, Grierson (Carbone, 63), Laybutt; Trajanovski (Rose, 76), Rech (booked, 26, 55 - sent-off), McKay (booked, 67) Kingz:          Utting; Perry (booked, 40) (Taylor, 57), Miyazawa, Atkinson; Pritchett, Jackson, de Gregorio (Burton, 64), Campbell (Urlovic, 79); Almendra, Ngata, Vlahos Referee:     Angelo Nardi