Soccer: Woeful Kingz hammered

By BOB PEARCE

The Football Kingz slipped back into their worst form as they were beaten 3-0 by Sydney United at Ericsson Stadium tonight.

Sydney, beaten by the Kingz at home earlier in the season, marked danger man Andy Vlahos out of the game and the spark went out of the locals. They scarcely troubled goalkeeper Vilson Knezevic, while their own defence, so secure this year, developed worrying holes.

From the start, Sydney looked as if they would be quite happy to settle for a draw as they packed their defence and largely conceded the midfield to the Kingz.

Trouble was, the home side could string together unchallenged passes across the field but when it came to the penalty area there was precious little firepower.

Paul Urlovic, back from suspension, seemed out of touch and there was little combination with Campbell Banks. It took 10 minutes to conjure up the first shot in anger and George Goutzioulis blazed the ball wide.

Sydney gradually worked out how little the Kingz had to offer and in the 22nd minute they made the local side pay for some sloppy defending. Twice the Kingz failed to clear the ball from their penalty area after a right-wing corner and finally Commins Menapi nodded the ball home from close range.

Still there was a lack of urgency from the Kingz. They tended to bunch in midfield and the task of the defenders was made easy by the lack of width.

In the 32nd minute they had their best chance. Chris Jackson, one of the most industrious of the home players, crossed from the left, Harry Ngata headed it on, but Urlovic could not provide the finish before a gaping goal.

It was more of the same after the interval, with coach Kevin Fallon opting to stay with his starting formation. And when he did make a change, replacing John Markovski with Mark Burton in the 60th minute, it was the cue for Sydney's second goal.

Brazilian Gabriel Mendez beat three defenders and when Nahuel Arrarte delivered the cross, Ante Deur was on hand to score with a first-time volley.

Even as the Kingz tried to push men forward, the Sydney counter-attacks looked more dangerous than the Kingz constipated attacks.

With 10 minutes to go, Goutzioulis prodded the ball just wide with the goalkeeper beaten, but by then even the most ardent of fans were resigned to defeat. In the 89th minute Mendez completed the scoring as he ran on to a clever pass by Christian Cevinini.

The Kingz have a bye next week.

They return to Ericsson Stadium to play the Melbourne Knights on March 1.