Soccer: Kingz outclassed by crown contenders

Football Kingz coach Ken Dugdale believes his players were overawed by their opposition as the Auckland-based club's National Soccer League (NSL) playoff aspirations suffered a setback with a 0-5 loss to Perth Glory in Perth last night.

"It was like we were a little bit afraid of them," Dugdale said as he reflected on his team's third consecutive loss.

"They've scored a lot of goals against us in the past and that seemed to affect us."

Perth dismantled the Kingz 7-2 in Auckland last season and produced another emphatic win before a crowd of about 10,000 at Perth Oval in cool overcast conditions.

The Kingz arrived with an impressive defensive record - conceding just 15 goals in 13 matches.

Title contenders Perth unleashed a ruthless scoring burst to have the points banked by the 23rd minute when captain Bobby Despotovski beat goalkeeper Michael Utting to give the second-placed Glory a 3-0 buffer.

Dugdale believed the third strike was offside but admitted it had no bearing on the outcome.

"That broke our backs but they really gave us a lesson. It was just one of those nights. Teams like Manchester United have also lost 5-0."

The Kingz' defence was caught out early when the NSL's leading scorer Damian Mori turned provider for Matthew Horsley in the eighth minute.

Three minutes later a Scott Miller corner was headed across goal by Jamie Harnwell before fellow defender Shane Pryce bundled the ball past Utting.

Dugdale gave his team an "unprintable" rocket at halftime but, despite making three second-half changes, the Kingz rarely threatened to break a scoring drought that extends back to their 2-0 victory over Newcastle in Auckland on December 6.

Andy Vlahos had the best chance but his free kick sailed just over the crossbar to leave the Australian still seeking his first goal for the season.

Mori again unlocked some fragile defence soon after the interval but Utting was able to palm his left-footed drive outside the left hand post.

Substitute striker Nick Mrjda, who replaced Despotovski in the 43rd minute, squandered a raft of opportunities and had a goal disallowed for hand ball, but midfielder Andre Gumprecht had his radar tuned to add the fourth in the 54th minute when he drilled a shot into the left hand corner beyond the despairing Utting.

Gumprecht completed the punishment in the 85th minute when a swerving long range shot also eluded Utting.

Dugdale said the Kingz had endured a tough travelling schedule since playing Sydney United away on December 29.

But he made no excuses for his team, who had no answer to Perth's pace and fast breaks out of defence.

"There's been a lot of flying about but it did not play a part in the outcome."

He was impressed with Chris Jackson's graft in the centre of midfield while striker Harry Ngata also toiled hard.

The result saw the Kingz drop to ninth in the competition.

They next play Woolongong Wolves in Auckland on Friday night.

Influential Chilean midfielder Patricio Almendra is expected to be back after suffering a knee injury in training which sidelined him for the last two matches.

- NZPA