Day: January 10, 2003

Friday, 10 January 2003 12:00 AM

South Melbourne who are undefeated at home all season, will not only be looking to maintain their perfect record but also uphold their undefeated home advantage against Northern Spirit at Bob Jane Stadium this Sunday evening.

The Sydney Club has lost all four encounters at Lakeside since their establishment in 1998. South Melbourne’s largest winning margin against the Spirit was in season 2000/2001 when the Blue and Whites recorded a 6 – 2 victory in the final rounds of the season.

“We feel very disappointed in the manner in which we lost in the first half of the season match against Spirit. The players are looking forward to avenging the loss which came from a freak accident late in the game,” says Wright.

The Spirit who drew with Newcastle last week, has a squad that contains experience, in goalkeeper Henderson, the National Soccer Leagues most capped player Alex Tobin and Troy Cranney who has played over 250 NSL matches. Lawrie McInna’s squad who is currently sitting in second last position but have two matches in hand, will make life difficult for the home team as they desperately need a win to kickstart their season.

South Melbourne will conduct their last training session tomorrow morning in preparation for Sunday’s encounter. After last Sunday’s spirited away victory, the squad has been training very well and the competition within the squad has risen as players push for first team selection.

The match this week will kick off at 7.00PM, as will South Melbourne three remaining home games of the regular season.

Friday, 10 January 2003 12:00 AM

Date: Sunday 12 January 2003
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Kickoff: 7:00PM AEST

Radio/TV: 3XX 1611AM 7.00pm live broadcast (Melbourne only)

HEAD TO HEAD (Overall):
Played: 9
South Melbourne wins 5, Spirit wins 3, Draws 1

HEAD TO HEAD (at Melbourne):
Played: 4(Regular Season)
South Melbourne wins 4, Spirit wins 0, Draws 0

LAST WEEK:
South Melb 1-0 away win Vs Sydney United
Spirit 0-0 home draw Vs Newcastle

Position on Ladder: 3rd Vs 12th

SOUTH MELBOURNE SQUAD:
E Galekovic (gk), S Iosifidis, P Kisnorbo, M Durakovic,
V Coveny, P Trimboli, P Buljan, N Tolios, S Panopoulos, Z Susa,
B Damianos, V Lia, M Murdocca, M Baird, D Anastasiadis (gk)

IN: N Tolios
OUT: R Liparoti (knee – season)

NORTHERN SPIRIT SQUAD:
P Henderson (gk), J Watts, A Tobin, A Wilkinson, J Richter,
N Spencer, J Hutchinson, A Kwasnik, I Ferguson, V Tomasevic,
M Cartwright, S Bell, S Walsh, M Osman, L Acevski (gk)

IN: S Walsh
OUT: B Fisher (omitted)

Friday, 10 January 2003 12:00 AM

Before leaving for abroad, Bill Damianos had an influential role in the centre of the park for the Blue and Whites scoring some wonderful goals and winning the 1997/98 Championship with the club.

On Sunday the attacking midfielder who’s accurate ball skills create havoc for the opposition, will play his 100th National Soccer League and South Melbourne match. He has had a terrific season thus far scoring two goals and being the producer of many more.

After the Championship triumph, the twenty-five year old left for Greece and spent time with Ist Division Club Xanthi before moving to Kallithea. Returning from Europe, Damianos spent the first few rounds on the sidelines trying to reach full fitness and after gaining some match fitness and rhythm, he suffered a hamstring injury, which saw him miss a few weeks.

“I worked hard and trained a lot to get back into fitness. It feels good to be back onto the park. I have played the last two matches and am finding some form”.

I didn’t realise it was my 100th match. It’s a great achievement and a good feeling to have played 100 matches for the same Club”, says Damianos.

Damianos, along with central midfield teammates, Susa, Panopoulos and Clarkson make a formidable line-up in the centre of the park, but with Wright playing three across the middle, the competition within the squad is sure to be cutthroat.

“The competition within the squad is healthy. Susa coming into the squad is great as he is a quality player and playing alongside Panopoulos and Clarkson who I played in a championship is great because they are the real workhorses of the team”.

“We have good depth in the squad which is vital because we need every player”.

Damianos is a crowd pleaser and entertains the Bob Jane faithful with his precision and dynamic runs forward. He will once again be an influential player as we head towards the business end of the season and will continue to shine as one the finest players in the National Soccer League.

Friday, 10 January 2003 12:00 AM

Date: Saturday 18 January 2003
Venue: Perth Oval
Kickoff: 7.000m WA time (10pm AEST)

Radio: 6PR 882AM 7pm live broadcast (Perth only) & Radio 3XY 1422AM (Melbourne only)

HEAD TO HEAD (Overall):
Played: 12 Perth wins 7, South Melbourne wins 2, Draws 3

HEAD TO HEAD (at Perth):
Played: 6 (Regular Season) Perth wins 5, South Melbourne wins 0, Draws 1

LAST WEEK:
Perth 1-0 away win over Newcastle
South Melbourne 1-0 home win over Spirit

Position on Ladder: 1st Vs 3rd

PERTH GLORY SQUAD: J Petkovic (gk), S Pryce, S Miller, B Hassell, D Tarka, M Horsley, J Harnwell, A Gumprecht, D Mori, N Mrdja, E Junior, B Despotovski, M Byrnes, A Caceres, V Matassa (gk)

IN: B Despotovski, A Caceres
OUT: C Deans (knee – season), G Faria (groin), A Danze (omitted)

SOUTH MELBOURNE SQUAD: E Galekovic (gk), S Iosifides, M Durakovic, S Panopoulos, V Coveny, P Trimboli, P Buljan, V Lia, M Murdocca, M Baird, P Kisnorbo, Z Susa, B Damianos, N Tolios, D Anastasiadis (gk)

IN: Unchanged
OUT: Unchanged