The Brisbane Strikers slipped out of the Premier League's top four for the second time this season when they were held to a 0-0 draw by the Brisbane Wolves at Perry Park last night.

The Strikers were missing the services of their inspirational defender Adam Webber, while key forward Greg Di Losa seemed only about sixty percent fit, and on the night they simply were unable to raise their game to the level that was needed to beat a Wolves outfit who seemed to run out of puff midway through the second half.

Strikers coach Bobby Hamilton took a couple of calculated gambles in this game, dispensing with the flat back four he has favoured over the past month or so and opting for a three-man back line, with skipper Matt Bell playing between Daniel Leach on the right and Michael McEvoy on the left. McEvoy's selection in the starting line-up was a surprise, given that he seemed to have been struggling for fitness in the reserves in recent weeks on his way back from an ankle injury. Michael Zullo was pushed forward into midfield to add some thrust to the efforts of Damien Waugh, Stewart Drinkeld, Michael Butters and Eli Gilfedder.

We'd like to be able to give you a detailed run-down on who the Wolves selected to play in the various field positions but - and this is a very big BUT - this was made almost impossible by what appeared to be pale pink numbering on the Wolves' white shirts. Those numbers, whatever they might have been, were virtually invisible from a distance of over ten metres. How the Wolves were able to get away with this is anybody's guess, but as far as your humble BSSA scribe is concerned it was simply NOT acceptable to dish this sort of thing up to the paying public, let alone any media people who might have been in attendance.

Enough of the unpleasantries. The Wolves were the more theatening side in the early minutes of the match, and it took only two minutes for them to get their first shot on goal when player-coach Anthony Roche was played in behind the Strikers defence by a long ball from the right wing. Roche got in a shot which Strikers' goalkeeper Antony Hall parried into the path of his retreating defenders, one of whom wisely took the safety-first route and lofted the ball high over the crossbar for a corner.

In the sixth minute Roche went close again when Eli Gilfedder was dispossessed deep inside his own half. Another cross resulted from the right wing and it found Roche hitting a shot on the volley which caused Hall enough concern to go diving away to his left. Fortunately for Hall and his team mates, Roche's effort finished about a metre wide of Hall's post.

A minute later the Wolves' right winger Jack Samani, who had a lively first half before being forced off the field with injury, drifted in towards the penalty area to run onto a well-measured through ball and strike the sweetly on the volley. On this occasion Hall dived to his right and made the save look far more comfortable than he had a right to, as he held onto the ball with both hands.

All the football was being played by the Wolves, with Samani in particular giving McEvoy and Gilfedder an awkward time, and Roche holding the ball up well to bring others into play.

In fact, it took the home team fourteen minutes to fashion their first shot on goal, as they struggled to string passes together for long enough to get into the Wolves' danger zones. But eventually, Damien Waugh found himself with time and space out on the right to measure a long cross-field pass to Gilfedder who was raiding down the left. Gilfedder's low cross found Di Losa. The big forward spun around to hit a shot with his left foot, but got under the ball and sent it high over the bar.

A minute later, though, Di Losa almost got a goal through entirely unconventional means when Wolves goalkeeper Adrian Ghidella received a backpass and went for a bit of a wander before launching an intended clearance straight into the back of Di Losa. Ghidella's heart must have been in his throat as he turned to watch the ball pass over the by-line only a metre or two wide of his right post.

On the half-hour mark, the Strikers endured probably their most anxious moment in the match when another Wolves raid, this time down their left wing, saw a cross (probably from their left winger Injae Won) cut out Hall and present invitingly for the tall Roche beyond the back post. Roche could certainly see enough of the goal to aim a header inside the near post but although he won the jump for the ball he got the contact slightly wrong and Hall would have been relieved to see the ball finish again a metre wide of his upright.

The home side answered immediately, with Butters skinning his defender wide on the right and going on a long run to the by-line before producing a cross that found Zullo hovering on the left side of the penalty area. The youngster steadied himself for a volley that he gave plenty, only to see it flash across the face of Ghidella's goal before going out for a goal kick.

Both sides had missed their best opportunities of the half within a minute of each other, but apart from another cross from Samani which produced another misdirected header from Roche, there was little further goalmouth action before the half time whistle was blown. The Wolves had created much the better opportunities in the half, but had failed to hit the target often enough, and with enough conviction, to seriously trouble Hall.

The home side's efforts, however, had been so lacklustre that some of its normally appreciative supporters were reduced to singing "Do You Want To Win The League"? It might have sounded a trifle harsh, but perhaps it was a fair enough question. On numerous occasions the Strikers' back three had played the ball around patiently, looking for sufficient movement up ahead of them to play a considered pass, but they simply weren't getting it. At times, only Zullo seemed to be making the kind of darting runs necessary to provide an outlet, while Di Losa seemed too restricted in his movements to present the kind of options that he normally would, and his forward partner, Matt Hornby, simply didn't seem to have the required awareness. The result was that the Strikers had played far too much of their best football inside their own half.

But the Strikers began the second half in a much brighter frame of mind. A raid down the right earned a free kick and the resulting dead-ball was floated inside the Wolves' penalty area. When the ball was headed out to Leach the tall defender did well to bring the ball down and strike a fierce, low shot which finished narrowly wide of Ghidella's right post.

In the fifty-fifth minute, with the home side continuing to ask the questions, a good move down the right involving Drinkeld and Di Losa set Zullo up with an opportunity on the edge of the Wolves' penalty area. The dimutive, livewire midfielder did well to get sufficiently over the top of a bouncing nod-down from Di Losa to crack a vicious volley past Ghidella, but unfortunately for the Strikers the ball went inches over the crossbar.

Next, Zullo went characteristically buzzing through the centre of midfield to slide a pass that sent Gilfedder on his way down the left. The winger had not been having his best night in terms of crossing the ball into the box, but on this occasion he sent a pearler to the back post to where Di Losa was lurking. Again, though, the finish failed to hit the target and Ghidella was able to watch the ball pass centimetres wide of his right-hand upright.

The Strikers were having their best spell of the match and a minute later Di Losa was presented with a good through-ball from just inside the Wolves' half. But Di Losa was noticeably at least a yard or two short of pace last night. This was the type of opportunity that would normally have see him scorching across the turf at top pace to outpace his marker for a run on goal. On this occasion, though, the Wolves' tall and solidly-built central defender Sam Murdoch used his strength to good effect, muscling the frustrated Di Losa off the ball with a good shoulder charge to snuff out the danger.

At the other end, Anthony Roche for the Wolves was experiencing frustrations not totally dissimilar to those of Di Losa, as he noticeably ran out of steam. A mistake in the sixtieth minute by McEvoy, who was doing well to stay with the pace of the game as the game headed into its last third, presented Roche with a run to the penalty area with only Bell to beat. Bell, however, had his measure and forced Roche out wide before the Wolves' player-coach seemed almost to raise the white flag with a tired shot that finished headed for the fig trees high behind the Strikers' goal at the northern end of the ground.

The Strikers were well on top by now, with the dangerous Samani out of the contest and the Wolves seemingly content to get behind the ball and defend. Neither Roche nor Flaskas, who had a disappointing game, were getting much to work with as crosses from wide areas were regularly launched into the stratosphere behind the by-line, and on the rare occasions when the Wolves' forwards were brought into the game Bell, Leach and McEvoy had the two Wolves forwards on a tight leash.

But while the home side were looking unlikely to concede, their bright second half opening spell had dissipated and they were again struggling to get good forward movement and penetration. Hamilton responded to this by bringing on substitute Ross Cunneen for the ineffective Hornby, and Cunneen set about using his pace and aggression to unsettle the Wolves defence.

But as the second half wore on it was easy to get the impression that this was one of those games in which neither side would score if they played for three hours, because both were sadly lacking a cutting edge. The Wolves were spent and the Strikers were simply blunt.

Perhaps Cunneen deserved a reward when, with the minutes running out, Bell launced a good long pass in behind the Wolves defence towards the by-line and Gilfedder got there first to cut the ball back towards the edge of the six-yard box. But with Cunneen racing in for the finish, Ghidella pipped him to the ball and made a low, tumbling save before milking precious seconds when he stayed down for treatment.

Soon after, the referee's final whistle brought down the curtain down on a match that had flickered into life for short spells in each half, before fizzling out into quite a dour exhibition of football. The Strikers' without Webber and with a half-fit Di Losa were a much diminished force from that which accounted for Palm Beach and Taringa Rovers only a few weeks ago, and it was hard to believe the Wolves were the same side that had gone on a goalscoring spree in May.

If Strikers fans were looking for bright spots, then the performances of Zullo, Bell, Leach and McEvoy probably hit the spot. Bell had his best match for quite some time, and looked more and more in control of things at the back as the match wore on, while Leach as usual barely put a foot wrong for ninety minutes. McEvoy, apart from the odd mistake that was probably caused largely by 'rust', coped well with in his first Premier League game this season and Zullo played with his now customary energy, enthusiasm, heart and skill.

The Wolves, for their part, were probably pleased with a point although they might be reflecting that with better finishing in the first half they might have pinched all three.

The Strikers now get a week's rest as the Premier League takes a break next weekend in favour of the Premier Cup, from which the Strikers have already been eliminated. On last night's evidence, the break could not have come at a better time. There are some sore limbs amongst those currently fit enough to take the field for the yellow and blue, and probably one or two tired minds as well. The break will refresh them, and also offers the prospect of reinforcements as Adam Webber returns from suspension and the likes of Nathan Carloss and Jamie Lowndes continue their recoveries from knee injuries.