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