Newcastle United coach Ian Crook said he would "smack my own kid" if he behaved like controversial Football Kingz Chilean import Patricio Almendra.
Almendra scored last night in the Kingz' 2-0 victory -- their third on the trot in the National Soccer League (NSL) -- but, as he has all season, attracted an unhealthy share of attention from opposing players.
As he was in the Kingz' last win in Brisbane a fortnight ago, Almendra was angrily accosted by a couple of opposing players after the final whistle before being pulled away by the home team's management.
While being an undeniable shining light for the Kingz this season, Almendra is also guilty of unnecessary play-acting and Crook -- a former English professional with Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur -- said Almendra's antics should not be tolerated.
"Certain players can try and take the refereeing into their own hands," Crook said.
"You don't go diving and rolling around on the floor and then pull yourself up 10 seconds later. I'd smack my own kid for that," Crook said after the clash at Auckland's Ericsson Stadium.
"He's a gifted player. But he doesn't need to do certain things."
Crook was calm and careful in picking his words at the aftermatch press conference.
He wasn't so composed minutes earlier when berating his side for their defeat.
His dressing down of the visitors included a ball kicked powerfully around the changing room, a slammed door and a tirade that was so heated it could have peeled paint from the walls.
"That wasn't us out there tonight -- it was our worst performance in 18 months," Crook said later.
As expected, there was the opposite reaction from Kingz skipper Chris Jackson -- despite a booking ensuring he will miss next week's trip to South Melbourne through suspension.
"The boys have a lot of belief in each other," Jackson said. "We work hard and we're still gelling as a side. I think there's still a lot of good to come."
Coach Ken Dugdale agreed. "We don't want to stop at three (in a row) -- we want to make it four, five then six."
The Kingz grabbed a 10th minute lead through a delightful Paul Urlovic goal.
Both teams missed a series of gilt-edged scoring opportunities throughout before Almendra sealed all three points by converting Urlovic's cross in the 66th minute.