Soccer: Kingz overcome travel bug

By TERRY MADDAFORD

When they finally got on to the pitch in Melbourne, the Football Kingz needed just three minutes to shake off the all the dramas of their desperately late arrival on Sunday night.

After their morning flight had to return to Auckland because of technical problems, the Kingz found themselves waiting for another eight hours for a flight that arrived in Melbourne at 7pm, Australian time.

The players were left with less than half-an-hour to prepare for the kickoff, which had been delayed by two hours.

In heading home a Lee Jones corner, Riki van Steeden gave the Kingz the start they needed and laid the foundation for a 3-1 win over defending NSL champions South Melbourne.

The victory gave the Kingz their second win over the Melbourne side following their 1-0 win in round three in October - the Kingz first win in their debut season. South Melbourne represented Oceania in last month's world club championship in Brazil.

When Aaron Silva headed home for 2-0 inside 20 minutes, they at least had a comfort zone.

Andy Vlahos got one back for the home side on the half-hour when he won a one-on-one with Levent Osman and beat goalkeeper Michael Utting with a low shot which Marcus Stergiopoulos could only help into the goal.

Just before halftime Robbie Middleby limped out of the game with a strained quad muscle and was replaced by Batram Suri in only his second appearance for the Kingz.

Despite constant pressure from South Melbourne, the Kingz held firm and sealed a hard-earned victory in the 68th minute when Fred de Jong played a great ball over the top to Ivan Vicelich who had a shot which the goalkeeper blocked. The ball rebounded to captain Harry Ngata, who chested down before blasting home from 15m.

Wynton Rufer replaced Silva midway through the second half, while David Moya played in the centre of the defence.

Once again, however, the victory came at a cost.

As well as having Middleby in doubt, the Kingz will be without Jones, who faces a one-match ban after a fourth yellow card.

On the plus side, Che Bunce and Chris Jackson will be available for selection for Saturday's game at the WestpacTrust Stadium in Wellington against Newcastle, who continued their good run with a 4-1 win over the Northern Spirit.

The Kingz then face further tough games against Wollongong (away) and Sydney Olympic at North Harbour Stadium.

"It's been a very, very eventful day," said co-coach Shane Rufer, whose team endured a trying week of off-field issues.

"My compliments to them. Together we've got a great team resolve and that showed with the result today.

"We've been having a difficult time of things. It shows there's a lot of attitude in the team. We have the self-belief to win at home and away."

The result lifts the Kingz back to eighth place and three points clear of South Melbourne, one of their chief mid-table rivals.