Adelaide City Force continued their resurgence under returned coach Zoran Matic at Yarrows Stadium, New Plymouth, on January 24, as they recorded a 3-0 win over the Football Kingz, the eighth time in ten National Soccer League matches the South Australian combination has emerged triumphant in this fixture.      It was their fifth win from as many visits to New Zealand, and the visitors were good value for it, having travelled down to the venue from Auckland on the morning of the game, after setting off via Sydney to the latest addition to the list of grounds at which NSL action has taken place.      In front of a disappointing crowd of 2570, Adelaide set out their stall early on, with Michael Utting forced to save twice in as many minutes from Carl Veart and Nick Budin, the former's opportunity having been carved out by neat build-up play featuring the outstanding Aurelio Vidmar, Goran Lozanovski, Lucas Pantelis and Iain Fyfe.      Soon after, Utting was in action again, parrying a fierce Lozanovski drive in the ninth minute. Claudio Pelosi pounced on the rebound, but his pull-back from the byline saw James Pritchett clearing the danger.      The visitors' early pressure paid off in the fifteenth minute. A thirty yard free-kick from Lozanovski cannoned off the legs of the unfortunate Harry Ngata, standing in the defensive wall, and spun past Utting, who had to check his initial dive and was desperately unlucky not to get more than his fingertips to the deflected shot.      Buoyed by the goal, Adelaide pressed for more, and a delightful interchange between Vidmar and Pelosi culminated in the former nutmegging Hiroshi Miyazawa with a pass which sent Budin bursting into the penalty area in space. Utting parried his drive, and the retreating Mark Atkinson won the race for the rebound, ahead of the charging Iain Fyfe.      The danger was not yet over for the Kingz, however, and their defensive deficiencies, despite the presence of another new member in their back four, namely Con Anthopoulos, were again cruelly exposed by their opponents in the 21st minute.      The raid from which Budin failed to score wasn't adequately cleared, the ball finding its way to Lucas Pantelis on Adelaide's left flank. Vidmar, loitering with intent in the penalty area, drifted off his marker on the far post in anticipation of a cross to that vicinity, and was duly rewarded for his initiative.      Pantelis picked him out, and the classy number ten headed the ball across goal for the totally unmarked Fyfe to pick his spot, leaving the completely exposed Utting to read the riot act to his defenders once more.      The home team began to recover their poise after this, but given they had scored just once in their previous five games, scoring double that tally in seventy minutes was always going to be something of a mountain to climb, particularly in the shadows of Mt. Taranaki, the landmark which dominates the New Plymouth skyline.      They gave it a go, however, with Andy Vlahos turning past Ante Kovacevic on the half-hour, only to fire his twenty-five yard drive straight at Lupce Acevski, who was making his debut between the sticks for the orange-shirted Force.      The goalkeeper then saved comfortably from Ngata, his downward header lacking the power to find the net after the striker had been picked out by a James Pritchett cross from the right wing, the source of the bulk of the home team's attacks of note.      Another such delivery from that flank - Jonathan Perry obliging this time round - culminated in Raf de Gregorio's twenty yard volley ten minutes before the interval, which Acevski saved. The goalkeeper spectacularly denied Atkinson two minutes later, the versatile performer's ferocious angled volley being tipped over the crossbar after Ngata had headed an angled Perry cross down for his team-mate to fire goalwards.      Finding themselves 2-0 down at half-time, the Kingz had nothing to lose in the second spell, so caution was thrown to the wind, with the attack-minded Mark Beldham introduced at the expense of Atkinson's honest endeavour.      The introduction nearly paid dividends just six minutes into the spell. After Acevski had punched the ball off Ngata's head following the combined efforts of Perry and Pritchett on the right, de

Gregorio, Vlahos and Ngata - outstanding again for the Kingz - combined to supply an opening for Pritchett. His cross was perfectly measured for the incoming Beldham, whose header flashed past the far post with Jerzy Dudek-lookalike Acevski not knowing a great deal about it. The visitors' 'keeper had but two minutes to wait for the next opportunity to warm his gloves, as Jackson slipped Ngata in on goal near the edge of the penalty area. Like bees to honey, the Adelaide defenders converged on the Kingz longest-serving player, who deftly squared the ball into the path of the unmarked Vlahos, some fifteen yards out from goal. The striker's first-time rising drive was spectacularly turned over the top by Acevski, who would have been beaten all ends up had Vlahos applied the rule of thumb which is the hallmark of any top-notch marksman - aim for the corners! It was arguably the Kingz best chance to pull a goal back, but others soon followed. Jackson fed the charging Perry in midfield, and his thirty yard surge culminated in a cross which picked out Ngata. His header was grabbed by Acevski, while seconds later, Ngata turned provider for Vlahos, who blazed wide from a tight angle after his team-mate had beaten two defenders and delivered a slide-rule pass to feet. The Kingz contrived a delightful move on the hour, Perry, Jackson, Ngata and Beldham all performing in harmony. The last-mentioned's low cross zoomed across the face of goal, just too far in front of the incoming Vlahos. Adelaide had barely been seen as an attacking force in the second half, such was the frequency with which the Kingz attacked. But their first raid of note, in the 64th minute, killed off the game as a contest. The wily Vidmar earned a free-kick on the right flank, which Lozanovski lined up. His delivery was imperious, a delicious set-piece which left Utting in no-man's land. The goalkeeper started to come, but stopped when he realised the set-piece was curling too far away from him. It was curling perfectly into the path of the incoming Fyfe, however, and the defender, who had only scored once all season prior to this match, arrived bang on cue to thrash home his second goal of the game from the edge of the goal area, under the challenge of Pritchett - 3-0 Adelaide, this strike very much against the run of play, but just as effective as the two which preceded it. The game was up for the Kingz, who effectively raised the white flag at the concession of this strike. Vlahos and Beldham both went close in the dying stages of the match, the latter after neat approach play featuring Jackson, Vlahos, Ngata and Pritchett, but creating chances is one thing, finishing them is another, as one goal in six games clearly emphasises. It doesn't help when soft goals, such as Fyfe's first strike, are being conceded at the other end of the park, and the scoreline could have been worse for the home team, had Pelosi not squandered a gilt-edged opportunity two minutes after Fyfe's match-clinching strike. Impressive Argentinian import Mariano Aguero was given his debut twenty minutes from time by Adelaide's coach, Zoran Matic, and the South Australians look to have snapped up a gem. He rattled the sidenetting from the edge of the penalty area four minutes after coming on, and looked like the sort of player who will greatly enhance the play-off prospects of what is already a classy combination, particularly given he has only been at the club a week. Once he's settled in … in short, don't rule out Adelaide come play-offs time. But whether the Kingz are top-six material as well remains to be seen. This result, combined with their recent inability to score goals, may well mark the end of their realistic, if not mathematical, hopes of extending their season beyond mid-March. Kingz:          Utting; Perry, Miyazawa, Anthopoulos, Donoso (booked, 46); Pritchett, Jackson (booked, 86), de Gregorio (Turner, 83), Atkinson (Beldham, 46); Ngata, Vlahos Adelaide:     Acevski; Fyfe (Kemp, 76), Valkanis, Pellegrini, Veart; Lozanovski (booked, 7) (Aguero, 69), Vidmar, Kovacevic, Pantelis; Pelosi, Budin Referee:     Peter Green