Day: January 27, 2007

Saturday, 27 January 2007 9:56 PM

South Melbourne has progressed into the semi final of the Hellenic Cup after a hard fought victory against arch rival Heidelberg United at Northcote today.

Fielding a far more inexperienced side on paper, the boys from lakeside took the game to the experienced Heidelberg unit from the outset, with Fernando De Moraes and youngster Gianni De Nittis proving to be a thorn in the Heidelberg defence.

However, it wasn’t until the early stages of the second half that South were rewarded for their dominance, when South veteran Tansel Baser took an opportunistic strike from outside the box which caught the Heidelberg keeper by surprise.

South could have scored a second goal only moments later, when a sublime run and superb volley by Ramazan Tavscianoglu was sensationally parried by the Heidelberg keeper onto the crossbar, ensuring that his side would only remain a solitary goal behind.

With the 1-0 victory, South must re-group overnight and make the trek out to Northcote once again on Sunday in order to face Western Suburbs in the Semi Final.

Western Suburbs comfortably accounted for a determined Northcote City by 2 goals to nil prior to the South match.

The winner of the Semi Final will earn the right to play off in the final against the winner of Oakleigh Cannons and Waverley Wanderers next Sunday at Northcote.

South Melbourne FC vs Western Suburbs
John Cain Memorial Park, Northcote
Date: Sunday, 28th January
Kick-off: 5.00pm

Saturday, 27 January 2007 1:26 AM

South Melbourne is currently participating in the Hellenic Cup for the second year in a row, and are set to take on arch rivals Heidelberg United on Saturday 27th of January in a much anticipated North-West section Quarter Final.

The game, which commences at 5pm at Northcote’s John Cain Reserve, will pit two of the powerhouse clubs in Victorian Football together, giving fans a tantilising taste of what is to come once the Premier League season commences in March.

South has had a relatively simple start to the pre-season tournament, cruising through the preliminary round after dispatching West Preston in a one sided 3-0 scoreline, as well as defeating Northcote City 1-0 in a game which saw young senior team hopeful Reardo Luka break his leg in a freak collision with the Northcote City goalkeeper.

The final game of the group stage saw South win via a forfeit, after Mill Park pulled out of the competition. In place, South played a friendly with Brunswick City, and with a rather youthful side held Brunswick to a 1-1 draw.

Once qualifying for the second round, South then managed to book its place in the quarter finals with a hard fought victory against a determined Keon Park side, where a solitary Bill Natsioulas strike sent the Blues through.

All fans are encouraged to come along to Northcote to see the action for themselves and once again get behind the side as the club strives to go back-to-back in 2007.

South Melbourne FC vs Heidelberg United
John Cain Memorial Park, Northcote
Date: Saturday, 27th January
Kick-off: 5.00pm

Saturday, 27 January 2007 1:22 AM

Football Federation Victoria has delayed the 2007 Victorian Premier League season by one month. The season will begin on March 3.

Once confirmed, the club will post the fixture here, as well as informing all of the members and supporters.

2007 membership booklets are also due to be released early next week.

Saturday, 27 January 2007 1:18 AM

South Melbourne has played a series of pre-season friendlies in order to trial promising prospects and to begin the senior squad’s quest to win back-to-back titles in the Victorian Premier League. South’s first friendly was against Richmond Eagles at the Kevin Bartlett Reserve, where a team practically consisting of trialists and under 21 players were overpowered 6-1 by the stronger Richmond side.

The following week, with more senior players in the team, South Melbourne traveled to Chaplin Reserve and convincingly disposed of Sunshine Georgies with a 0-4 scoreline. New signing Yusef Yusef scored two goals, while Gianni De Nittis and Fernando De Moraes also got on the scoresheet.

More recently, South traveled to the Serbian Sports Centre to play the newly promoted Springvale White Eagles. In front of a healthy crowd and in windy conditions, Springvale lifted in the later stages of the second half to score a commanding 3-0 victory.