By TERRY MADDAFORD
Early favourites Perth Glory and unheralded Brisbane Strikers are the only teams with maximum points after two rounds of the Australian National League.
At the other end of the table, defending champions Wollongong Wolves have only Marconi Stallions and Sydney United below them.
There is a familiar ring to the Football Kingz' start to their third season. With a loss and a draw, they are in eighth place - the position in which they finished their first two seasons.
Perth made hard work of a 2-0 home win over Marconi. The deadlock was not broken until the 78th minute when a brilliant Damien Mori header from a Brad Maloney corner gave them the lead.
Scott Miller made it safe four minutes later with an unstoppable shot from a Michael Garcia lay-off.
Brisbane came from 0-1 at halftime to beat Sydney United 3-1.
Commins Menapi capitalised on an error by Brisbane goalkeeper Jason Kearton to score in the last minute of the first half.
The visitors wasted no time in equalising, Paul Foster scoring four minutes into the second spell.
Foster the finisher became Foster the provider as he set up Fernando Rech six minutes later. Kris Trajanovski completed the scoring in the 64th minute.
Parramatta Power bounced back from their opening-round loss to beat Wollongong 3-1.
Adelaide City, after a first-round bye, picked up a point with a 1-1 away draw against the Melbourne Knights, and Northern Spirit and Newcastle United, both first-round winners, also shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
The Kingz are away to Marconi on Saturday night.
They performed better in taking a point from South Melbourne with their 0-0 draw at Ericsson Stadium, but questions are still being asked about their strikeforce after John Markovski missed two great chances.
Soccer: Glory, Strikers go top with contrasting wins
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