Soccer: Training fall sidelines Kingz defender

By TERRY MADDAFORD

A fall in training has cost the Football Kingz yet another player - defender Riki Van Steeden is out for up to six weeks with a broken arm.

"It was just a freak accident," said player-coach Wynton Rufer. "He fell and when he got up he was in some pain and is now out of action."

The Kingz are already without defender Che Bunce for tonight's game against the Northern Spirit at North Harbour Stadium in Albany.

Bunce is out for two weeks after his second red card of the National Soccer League season against Wollongong last weekend.

"On a more positive note, we have Levent Osman back and Robbie Middleby might also be able to play after being out with injury," said Rufer.

"One option might be in switching Ivan Vicelich back to a defensive role.

"That is one of the advantages of having a reasonably big squad."

Rufer said he and his assistant coach, brother Shane, would have a good look at who was available before naming their starting Xl today.

"We have to look back at what happened last week and start from there. We warned our players they could not afford to switch off at halftime.

"I knew [Wollongong's] coach would be going berserk at his players and they would come out fired up. That's what happened."

Rufer said much the same thing happened when the Kingz played the Northern Spirit away earlier in the season.

"We started brilliantly and led 1-0. We had another two good chances that we did not take and they came back to win 3-2.

"It is all part of learning the professional game."

While Rufer remains reluctant to talk about top-six chances, the fans are still keen to see the Auckland side at least win a place in the playoffs.

The Kingz go into tonight's game in 10th place with 32 points - two points and two places ahead of the Northern Spirit.

Victory could lift them three places and within sight of the playoffs as they have two games in hand over almost all the other teams.

In a celebrity curtainraiser at 5.30 pm, a Centre Circle side including Keith Pritchett, Keith Nelson, Ron Armstrong, Brian Turner, New Zealand Soccer chairman Kevin Stratful and chief executive Bill MacGowan, Tony Sibley, comedian Mike King, Dennis Tindall and Chris Ruffel will play a House of Football Xl that includes Kingz chairman Chris Turner, Noel Barkley, Alex de Jong, Miles Davis and Shane Rufer.

The $5000 Lion Foundation Charity Challenge will stage a juggling competition for children at halftime, with the finals at the halftime break in the Kingz game.