Soccer: Knights need goals - and fast

Jonas Salley hurt his ankle this month and is out for two more weeks. Picture / Bradley Ambrose

At one point in the Knights' latest A-League defeat, the club's small but vocal hardcore fans launched into chorus.

"All you need is Bunce!" to the tune of All You Need is Love.

Che Bunce may be many things for the Knights, a tough-tackling, robust central defender chief among them. But he's no panacea for their biggest dilemma - scoring goals.

So, in the wake of the 1-0 loss to defending champions Sydney FC, manager Paul Nevin has signed Ghanaian international Hamza Mohammed on a short-term contract.

Mohammed is in as cover for rugged midfielder Jonas Salley, who was injured early in the loss to Melbourne Victory on September 10, and his ankle injury is likely to keep him out of action for at least two more weeks.

Nevin knew of Mohammad's availability through connections established after doing a stint with Ghana's national team last year.

"He has travelled to us after a few weeks at Leeds United and is in good shape and ready to play," Nevin said.

Mohammed has won 40 caps, but missed Ghana's appearance at this year's World Cup finals. He joins Ivory Coaster Salley and fellow Ghanaian-born Malik Buari at the Knights and arrived in time to see the loss to Sydney. He can't get on the park soon enough.

The loss to Sydney was a real kick for two reasons: Below-full strength Sydney were ordinary and the Knights deserved a share of the points, if no more; and it meant they've had three successive defeats.

The crowd at North Harbour Stadium was officially 2764. The real test of whether the fans' patience is wearing thin will come next Thursday night when the Knights host the Central Coast Mariners.

Certainly, these Knights are better than last year's lot, but here's one place statistics do count: played 5, goals for 1, goals against 9.

Patience will wear thin, and right now the Knights would happily eschew the attractive style they are capable of for a spot of winning ugly.

They had two clear chances on Thursday night. Noah Hickey, with his back to the goal 4m out, didn't get enough power on his deflected header to beat Socceroo goalkeeper Clint Bolton early in the match.

Then the unmarked Buari, set up by Scott Gemmill's cleverly placed header, volleyed over from a good position.

There were other moments which could have produced something, and frontmen Dani Rodrigues and Hickey threw out plenty of perspiration.

The Knights tried to get more out of Darren Bazeley and Greg Duruz pushing down the flanks, and having Buari push forward up the middle, but as the game wore on they looked less likely.

Equally frustrating was the Sydney goal, a fine left-foot volley from 16m by captain Mark Rudan early in the second half. The problem was the ball should never have reached Rudan.

Generally the defence was in good shape and that moment of collective sloppiness came at a high price for the Knights.

They are now sixth, and might drop a spot over the weekend. Nevin reckons his team are not far off putting things right. It's a matter of inches and getting the small details right, he added.

"That's what the game is about. As I said to the players, if they continue to put in that effort, it will turn."

* A newly created New Zealand A team will compete in a lucrative four-nation tournament in Vietnam next month as part of the campaign to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The New Zealanders will come up against Vietnam, Thailand and Bahrain in the Agribank Cup, which has a prize pool of $US70,000 ($107,000), with the winners' share being $US40,000.

Vietnam and Thailand will field their senior men's sides in the event in Hanoi. Bahrain will have their Olympic, or under-23, selection.

New Zealand A will be drawn largely from the New Zealand Football Championship, although some overseas players could be included. It will be coached by national under-20 coach Stu Jacobs and assistant Sean Douglas.

The cup will have a round-robin format, with New Zealand A meeting Vietnam on October 26 (NZ time), Thailand on October 28 and Bahrain under-23 on October 30. Jacobs will announce a 20-man squad on October 16, after the opening round of the NZFC.