Soccer: Rivals sides do Kingz favour

It is as though all the teams in the Australian National Soccer league are doing their best to keep the Football Kingz in the championship race.

In another topsy-turvey weekend, only three teams won in round nine. Two of the previous front-runners, Sydney Olympic and defending champions Wollongong Wolves, were among those to go down.

Four matches ended in draws, while the eighth game of the round, between Adelaide and Carlton, was postponed because of the financial uncertainty surrounding the Melbourne-based Carlton club.

In the biggest upset, former champions South Melbourne beat Wollongong 4-2 at home, three of the goals coming in injury time.

The victory took South Melbourne to the top of the table with 18 points, one more than Perth, Sydney Olympic and Wollongong.

Olympic went down for the second week in a row, 0-2 at home to Parramatta.

Perth leapt into contention with a 4-0 home romp over Newcastle, all the goals coming in the first half.

Eastern Pride came from behind to snatch another 2-2 draw - this time with Brisbane, who play the Kingz in Brisbane on Saturday night - while Northern Spirit and Marconi played out a scoreless draw.