Soccer: Kingz coach savours rare victory

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Tommy Mason was first on the table for a rub-down after the Football Kingz' upset 2-0 victory over South Melbourne.

As coach, Mason had, of course, not made a tackle all night but reckoned he had kicked every ball in cajoling his unsung players to the upset of the NSL season.

"I have to be ready for beach soccer on Sunday," quipped Mason as the fingers worked the magic on his aching muscles on Saturday night.

Any pain was more than compensated for by the satisfaction he took from his team's almost complete performance in beating one of the league's best.

"They stuck to the game plan to the letter. It was superb. Even better in coming away with our first clean sheet of the season."

From the pre-match warmup it was obvious that only one team had come to play. The other was simply going through the motions confident that victory would follow.

The opening minutes showed the Kingz had it right. There was a new-found urgency and their task was made easier by Souths' unwillingness, or inability, to compete.

The Kingz won an early corner. The die was cast. They would attack at any opportunity and leave the visitors in a state of uncertainty.

There were no passengers in the Kingz lineup on Saturday.

The central defensive pairing of Danny Hay and John Tambouras gave Souths' Michael Curcija and his co-strikers nothing.

The inspired play at the back rubbed off across the park, with youngsters Jeremy Christie, Craig Wylie and, in particular, Jason Rowley showing great maturity.

Their performances begged the question why they were not considered for the under-23 Olympic side's recent qualifying series.

Mark Burton was on form and played a key midfield role and up front Harry Ngata and Noah Hickey combined superbly to taunt South Melbourne's often-hesitant defence, their goals, one apiece, deserved reward for an excellent night's work.

Souths' defensive uncertainty was exposed in the 19th minute when Jeff Campbell crossed to Ngata, who unselfishly pushed the ball back to Hickey for the finishing touch.

The match-winner came in the 58th minute from the Kingz' fourth corner, Ngata, at the near post, beating former Kingz goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos.

At the other end, Kingz custodian Michael Utting had an armchair ride.

Hindered for the past six weeks by injury, Utting was not at his sharpest but he was rarely tested as the home side recorded their first clean sheet of the season.

The facts, however, remain unchallenged: 16 losses, three draws and just three wins in 22 outings do not make happy reading for the Kingz.

But search a little deeper and there is some reason for hope. Of those 16 reversals, eight have been either 2-1 or 1-0.

"There are a few games we should have got points from," said Mason.

"I got slagged by the Melbourne media when they beat us by six over there. This result is especially satisfying for me and, more particularly, the players."

Like many, Mason was bemused at statistics which showed Souths enjoyed a huge advantage in possession.

"There is only one stat that counts," said Mason, "and that's the final score."

Enough said.

The season so far

* The 2-0 win over third-placed South Melbourne was the Kingz' third in 22 games this season.

* They still sit bottom of the table on 12 points, four behind the Melbourne Knights, who also have a game in hand.

* Their last two games are away to the Northern Spirit on Friday night and home to the Brisbane Strikers on February 29.

* Top scorer Harry Ngata's goal was his sixth of the season. His tally makes up almost a third of the Kingz' 21 goals.