The first half of this game was so dire that even United coach Grant Lee said if he had paid to watch the game he would have left at half time and asked for his money back. In fact, the United fans sitting in front of me at half time said, "This is s***! This isn't soccer. You're better off watching kids at the park."
Two weeks into the new competition and Sydney United have pulled two wins out of the bag. This week's came despite a red card near the end and a lengthy, tense period of time added on at the conclusion.
It was a great day for football. The first game at home for a winning side. A sunny day. The fans turning out in reasonable numbers considering the previous season. Cheerful music from the Boka stand. And a couple of VBs on the neighbouring seat. Unfortunately Kingz and United weren't ready to deliver.
Sydney started with Mark Rudan returning from injury and the effervescent Anthony Doumanis back, but on the bench.
Kingz had rushed in Espen Schjerven and Aleksander Midtsian. Midtsian contributed well, particularly in the first half. Schjerven didn't really settle.
Kingz had the better of the best forgotten first half. One minute in and Midtsian made a good swerving run from half way and let loose a shot.
Jeff Campbell (who didn't get anything quite right the whole game) had a half chance on a ball at the left post and shot into the netting behind the United goal.
David Huxley (one of several United players with a virus and who played a hero's game despite not having eaten for three days) won good ball from Jeremy Christie.
Darren Young was just in time to cut out a ball to Matthew Langdon in front of the Kingz goal. Langdon was one of United's key players, working combinations with whoever was available for him. Darren Young was just in time to cut out a ball to Matthew Langdon in front of the Kingz goal. Langdon was one of United's key players, working combinations with whoever was available for him.
Labinot Haliti became annoying, repeating one trick, controlling the ball while falling away from it, and flicking it past his left shoulder.
In the tenth minute Rudan defied any intention that he would bring a captain's sense and experience to the game when he earned a yellow card for bouncing the ball off Midtsian's skull.
Kingz were putting passes together. United's response was to give away free kicks. Liam Reddy came off his line and missed the ball. Kingz won a corner from the right, which Reddy did manage to hold. He kicked the ball down the pitch to Ross Nicholson. And Nicholson kicked it back to him. Both sides were playing rubbish.
There was a glimmer of hope when Langdon set up Haliti who mishit a lucky cross that Nicholson cleared.
A phone call from (real) work meant I missed five minutes of Sydney United excitement, including a turned-down penalty appeal.
Zeljko (aka 'Sean') Babic, in front of goal, almost got on the end of a Langdon cross. The Sydney United fans were giving Babic an increasingly merciless bagging: "Why don't they get somebody young who wants to play!" Almost on cue, in the 29th minute, Babic copped a yellow card.
Chris Jackson got a cross in from the left and found Midtsian who was shut down by Rudan.
Anthony Zmire dissected two players with a pass to Langdon who was well tackled by Glen Collins in the right side of the Kingz penalty area. A Langdon backpass then almost let Young in with a chance.
Dean Heffernan was quieter against Kingz than he had been against Wolves the week before. But even when he was making runs down the left he wasn't getting the service he needed.
In the 36th minute Collins got a yellow for tripping Babic (finally) on a break. The Langdon free kick was headed clear, but only to Heffernan who volleyed slightly high and slightly wide.
Babic and Langdon seemed to be trying to form some kind of relationship.
In the 40th minute Chris Jackson got the ball to Heremaia Ngata (one of Kingz's best) in the right corner. Ngata crossed in to Midtsian whose shot went over the crossbar.
A United cross from the left from Langdon went beyond the right post where Zmire tried to head back into the goal box. The ball fell too close to Nicholson who frustrated Rudan who had just run the length of the pitch & for nothing.
A Campbell shot was deflected for a Kingz corner. And Nicholson saved at the feet of Babic chasing a through ball. Then referee Ben Williams put the crowd out of its misery and blew the half time whistle.
The difference in the second half was the substitutions for both sides. And of course the own goal by Michael Cunico, who deflected a cross from Midtsian into his own net. That seemed to give Sydney United some purpose. Just when I was starting to think Haliti was almost interesting he came off to make way for Doumanis.
Three minutes later Jackson fouled Rudan (and both players got a good talking to from Williams; probably something along the lines of, 'Chris, I could give you a red card for pushing Mark in the face; but then I'd probably have to give Mark his second yellow for shoving you. Then you'd both be off. Now do your really want that? Let's be good lads and get on with the game.')
Langdon took the free kick and swung the ball with his left foot into the top right corner - just where Nicholson had been standing. United were really back in the game.
A Huxley ball for Heffernan was cut out by David Rayner and a Langdon cross was cleared high by a header that gave United a corner.
In the 62nd minute Doumanis played the ball right to Babic who crossed in to Zmire who took an easy side-foot goal, low to the keeper's left.
Two minutes later Nicholson had to make a great leaping save to keep out a speculative header on a cross from the left. Rudan was then best up for the corner but headed just too high.
A cross from Heffernan on the left scraped through into the box and for a second a third goal seemed certain. But a cloud of grass went flying and the ball was miraculously cleared off the line.
In the 67th minute Babic missed a one-on-one with Nicholson, chasing the ball through on a clean break. His chip cleared the keeper but went wide of goal. If United hadn't been winning Babic's life would have been worth 'zip'.
Zmire got in a very good, difficult shot, high and on an angle from the left, but it was well blocked by a defender.
Then Kingz made three substitutions and Tolgay Ozbey replaced Babic for United. All three Kingz subs did well, but 18-year-old Jason Rowley looked particularly assured in the middle of the backline. One of his first touches was stopping a good through ball to Ozbey.
A close-range shot by Damon Collina was blocked by Nicholson. And United couldn't squeeze a header in at the right post.
Rowley was then good beating Ozbey who tried to turn him twice. Ozbey soon had more luck, beating John Tambouris and crossing to Zmire who was well covered.
Ozbey's luck dissipated quickly however. A clumsy late tackle on Tambouris saw the young United speedster red-carded.
With eight minutes time added on, Heffernan was ruled offside for the third or fourth time.
Mark Beldham was yellow carded for dropping Zmire who'd launched on a promising break with Doumanis. Langdon's free kick was too long.
Doumanis put on a show of brilliant close skills in the Kingz penalty area before hitting the left upright.
Langdon put in a lot of effort chasing back as Kingz tried harder for the equaliser. At one stage, as Kingz pushed toward the United penalty area, it seemed no-one wanted to stop them. But Rudan, naturally, came out to shut them down and clear.
Ken Dugdale, the Kingz coach, didn't turn up to for the post match media conference, but Grant Lee apologised for both teams. The first half was ordinary. He said, "To be quite honest they were probably more committed than we were in the first half. They would have shaded us in those areas."