Saturday, 2 June 2007 2:55 AM
By Michael Tsoukalis
The Foxtel Cup is heating up with South traveling to the Kingston Heath Complex to take on Kingston City in what looms as a must win fixture for both sides.
John Anastasiadis’s men have had an inconsistent season and must collect all three points to start applying pressure on the top six.
Conversely, Kingston haven’t won in 5 games and sit in the relegation zone after a massive turnover of players in the off-season which saw the likes of Michael Curcija, Joe Spiteri, Steve Iosifidis an Alex Kiratzoglou depart the club.
The Dean Hennessey-coached City have had to rely on blooding youth and have unearthed a decent striking talent in top-scorer Antun Vulic who has managed to chip in with four goals this season, a particularly valuable contribution as Kingston are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, managing only eleven goals to-date.
The Reds have some experience in players like ex-South Melbourne defender Nick Tolios and ex-Oakleigh utility Jimmy Latinopoulos but overall seem to lack a cutting edge which may see them struggle to retain their Premier League status.
In the South camp, defensive colossus Dino Djulbic has departed for A-League club the Perth Glory but has been replaced by ex-Adelaide United player Adam Van Dommele who will hopefully be able to make his debut on Sunday, slotting straight into the back four.
South have also signed exciting young Socceroo goalkeeper Mitch Langerak on loan with the sought-after keeper expected to immediately take on the keeping duties.
The Albert Park-based club continue to be let down by defensive errors with the 20 goals conceded so far this term the second most in the league. South’s defensive lapses hold the key to the rest of the season as up-front they are currently the highest scoring team in the league, having netted 23 times with a somewhat even spread of goal-scorers.
Young winger Vasilios Natsioulas is surely on the verge of a first eleven birth after scoring twice last week off the bench against Preston. Natsioulas has consistently been impressive when called upon this season with his quick feet and silky footwork always proving a handful for opposition defences.
The same can be said for winger/striker Yusef Yusef who has also provided an attacking spark in recent times off the bench, the ex-Heidelberg player has been influential down the left-hand side when called upon and could also be pushing for a start.
With so many attacking options at its disposal, South shouldn’t struggle to score against Kingston, defensively however they will have to put a significantly sharper performance as too many times this season South has scored more than once in a contest, yet failed to get the deserving result.