Michael Eagar, Marcus Schroen (17), Nick Epifano and Matthew Millar (18) celebrating with Milos Lujic (9) in 2016.
South Melbourne FC congratulates the following senior players on achieving various milestones in recent matches:
100 SMFC matches (all competitions) – Leigh Minopoulos and Michael Eagar
Both players reached this milestone in the last Wednesday’s win over Dandenong City.
Leigh was promoted from the Under 21s into the first team by Eddie Krncevic in 2011 and made his senior debut in the 2-3 loss to Victorian Training Centre in March 2011. He left the club at the end of that season but returned in 2014. Along with his 101 games, he has also scored 25 goals across all competitions.
Michael Eagar arrived from Northcote City at the start of 2014 and made his SMFC debut in the 3-0 win over Heidelberg in March 2014, before leading the team to several trophies as captain from 2014 – 2016. ‘Eags’ experienced an injury-troubled 2016 season but has now regained full fitness and is once again one of the most consistent performers in the first team.
100 SMFC league matches – Nick Epifano and Tim Mala
Nick reached this milestone in the 3-0 win against Bulleen Lions. He arrived from Dandenong Thunder in July 2013 and made his SMFC debut in the 2-2 draw against Southern Stars in July 2013. Since then, he has scored 25 goals in 102 league games, with 33 goals in 119 overall SMFC appearances.
Tim reached this milestone in the 2-1 win over Port Melbourne on Sunday. He also arrived from Dandenong Thunder in July 2013, making his debut in the 4-1 loss against Bentleigh. Although he has not scored a goal for SMFC, he has been very reliable in his 116 appearances for the club across all competitions at right-back.
100 SMFC goals (all competitions) – Milos Lujic
The man needs no introduction, especially after his hattrick last Wednesday night sealed a very unlikely late win over Dandenong City. Milos has been one of the most prolific goal scorers in SMFC history since scoring on debut in the 3-0 win over Heidelberg in March 2014. Since then, his figures read 103 goals in 118 overall games, with 82 goals in 98 league matches.
Along with a host of individual awards won, Milos now joins an exclusive club of Jimmy Armstrong, Paul Trimboli and Vaughan Coveny as the only four players in SMFC’s illustrious history to have scored over 100 goals in all competitions. Only Trimboli and Coveny have scored over 100 league goals, so ‘Millsy’ needs another 18 NPL goals to reach that extraordinary milestone as well.
50 SMFC games (all competitions) – Marcus Schroen and Matthew Millar
Both players reached this milestone in Wednesday night’s win over Dandenong City.
Marcus was promoted from the Under 21s into the first team by Vaughan Coveny in 2010 and made his senior debut in the 3-0 win over Melbourne Knights in July 2010. He left the club but returned at the start of 2016, notching up 11 goals in all competitions, including a brace in South’s 2016 NPL Victoria Grand Final triumph over Oakleigh.
Matthew Millar was a last-minute signing during the 2016 pre-season transfer window. He made a very promising debut in the 6-0 thumping of Heidelberg in February 2016 and has gone on to score 17 goals across all competitions.