South Melbourne FC will be aiming for three wins in succession when it hosts Hume City at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night. Three points over Lou Acevski’s side will ensure South remains at least three points clear of Bentleigh in the PS4 NPL Victoria Premiership race, whilst a Hume win could see Bentleigh overtake Chris Taylor’s side.
South goes into the game on the back of four consecutive league wins at Lakeside Stadium, with the most recent being the 3-2 win over Richmond last Friday night. Milos Lujic opened the scoring with his 14th league goal of the season (and 20th across all competitions), Andy Kecojevic scored South’s second with a nice chip over the goalkeeper and Spanish substitute Manolo scored what proved to be the winning goal just eight minutes after coming onto the field.
There are just eight matches remaining in the 2016 NPL Victoria regular season (including the Hume game). With only a three-point lead over Bentleigh but with a lesser goal difference, South knows there is very little margin for error, especially ahead of the trip to Kingston Heath next Friday night. Wins over both Hume and Bentleigh will give Taylor’s men a commanding position as the regular season reaches its conclusion, whilst losses will see South’s current advantage diminish.
Incredibly, South has won all six meetings with Hume in the Chris Taylor era at the club, with the most recent being back in April with a tough 2-1 win at ABD Stadium. Matthew Millar scored both goals that night but South was made to work very hard by a ten-man Hume that battled right until the final whistle. With dangerous players such as Theo Markelis, captain Nick Hegarty and the recent transfer window signing Craig Carley, Hume will be more than confident of achieving something from their visit to Lakeside Stadium.
Friday’s game will have extra significance for Hume defender Shane Rexhepi as he joins forces with SMFC off the field to promote his SR13 Appeal, helping to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. Please visit smfc.com.au/SR13 for more details and to donate.
Friday night’s match at Lakeside Stadium kicks off at 8:30pm, with the Under 20s kicking off at 6:15pm.
SMFC v Hume City – Head to Head (League & Finals)
Matches Played: 18
Wins (SMFC): 12
Wins (HCFC): 5
Draws: 1
First match: South Melbourne 1-2 Hume City (24 February 2008, Lakeside Stadium)
Last match: Hume City 0-1 South Melbourne (2 April 2016, ABD Stadium)
Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 6 goals (6-0 win, 25 April 2010, Broadmeadows Valley Park)
Biggest Winning Margin (HCFC): 5 goals (5-0 win, 17 April 2011, Broadmeadows Valley Park)
Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 6 (25 April 2010, Broadmeadows Valley Park)
Most Goals in a Match (HCFC): 5 (17 April 2011, Broadmeadows Valley Park)
Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): None
Biggest Finals Win (HCFC): 2-0 (23 August 2009, Epping Stadium)
| NPL | Home | Away | Finals |
|
2008 |
1-2 | 3-2 | – |
|
2009 |
0-1 | 2-1 | 0-2 |
|
2010 |
2-2 | 6-0 | – |
|
2011 |
3-1 | 0-5 | – |
|
2012 |
2-1 | 1-0 | – |
|
2013 |
6-1 | 2-3 | – |
|
2014 |
2-0 | 3-0 | – |
|
2015 |
5-2 | 1-0 | – |
|
2016 |
? | 2-1 | – |