Day: June 27, 2008

Friday, 27 June 2008 11:17 AM

In what promises to be a tantalising contest on Sunday, South Melbourne plays host to the Preston Lions at Bob Jane Stadium.

South will go into this game full of confidence, having only lost once in its past eight outings and having just come off an unlucky 0-0 draw against the AIS in Canberra. A win on Sunday can see South sneak its way into the top six, a goal that Michael Michalakopoulos’ men are intent on achieving.

In selection news, Steven O’Dor will once again miss the contest, serving his second week of a two-game suspension. Replacing O’Dor in the heart of defence will be captain Rama Tavsancioglu.

In the middle of the park, Stuart Kelly and Scott MacNicol are both expected to do most of the hard work, whilst supporting Fernando De Moraes by pushing forward whenever possible.

Up front, South will go into the game with Nathan Caldwell leading the charge. The tall striker has had a great month of football since returning to full fitness and will be keen to score on Sunday. Joining him up front will be either Hamlet Armenian or Gianni De Nittis, who missed the AIS match due to an injury.

South will go into the game facing a hungry and determined Preston outfit that will be keen to distance themselves from the bottom four in the league. The reigning Foxtel Cup champions have had a difficult year so far on the field, losing key playing personnel as well as championship winning coach Goran Lozanovski, who was replaced by former NSL player and Preston legend John Markovski.

Despite the major player losses, Preston still posseses a team of players that are more than capable in causing South problems throughout the game. One of these players is veteran Johnny Sapazovski. The hard-working striker is a player that Preston will be reliant on in the attacking third, with his experience and ability to score goals on big occasions being something that the Blues will need to be aware of and combat.

The other key player that will need to be negated is the captain Tony Sterjovski, who will provide the Lions with the driving force from the midfield. With the recent loss of Marinos Gasparis, Preston will need Sterjovski to dominate in the middle if they are to win the game.

The final player that South fans will know quite well will be Lou Acevski in the Preston goal. Acevski is one of the best keepers in the state and his performances over the last few seasons whilst at the Lions and before that at Heidelberg have been exceptionally solid. This includes a Man of the Match display last season against South at Bob Jane Stadium, something that the Preston faithful would be wanting him to emulate on Sunday.

Fans are also reminded that no tickets will be sold on Sunday, with everyone needing to pre-purchase tickets in order to gain access to Bob Jane Stadium. South Melbourne members and sponsors are exempt from the pre-purchase and can show their membership cards along with appropriate photo ID on matchday to enter the ground. Kick-off is at 3pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Preston Lions

When: Sunday, June 29th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 12.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Tommi Tomich (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu (C), Adam Van Dommele, Shane Nunes, Stuart Kelly, Scott MacNicol, Goran Zoric, Fernando De Moraes, Hamlet Armenian, Nathan Caldwell

Preston Lions
Lou Acevski (GK), Tony Sterjovski (C), Michael Bosevski, Johnny Sapazovski, Nicholas Schwal, Igor Arsovski, Les Anastasiou, Michael Miskas, Robert Dolevski, Chris
Toleski, Blaze Georgioski

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 6
South Melbourne : 3
Preston Lions : 1
Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, March 30th
Where: BT Connor Reserve
Score: South Melbourne 2 defeated Preston 1

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Draw, Win, Draw
Preston Lions: Won, Loss, Loss

Friday, 27 June 2008 9:59 AM

Last weekend about 60 supporters made the trip up to Canberra to cheer on South against the AIS. While about 30 either drove themselves or flew up, about 30 fans clambered onto a hired coach for the eight hour overnight journey to the capital for South’s first interstate game in four years.

Despite the climate control packing up early on, with frost filling up the windows, the mood was overwhelmingly one of excitement. Highlights of South’s 1990s years were being played on the bus’s DVD player, chants were belted out with gusto, as well as multiple renditions of Frozen Tears’ classic “South Melbourne”. Some people even managed to get some sleep.

The bus arrived in Canberra at about 7am, with a rude awakening for the travelers; it was absolutely freezing. A barbecue on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin saw the fans huddle under one of the park’s gazebos, trying to find some sort of shelter from the cold. A small kick around in one of the sunny spots also helped.

The bus then proceeded towards Canberra International Airport, in the hopes of greeting the team who were due to arrive that morning. Arriving just as the squad was about to leave the departure area, fans mingled briefly with the players, sung a few chants, then preceded for a quick tour of the city.

Arriving at Parliament House, and after having taken the requisite group photos under the watch of the Australian Federal Police, some supporters had a six on six soccer match on Parliament’s front lawn, while more highbrow fans decided to take a tour of the building. This was followed by a long lunch held at the Hellenic Club.

Leaving the Hellenic Club much later than the group perhaps should have, and not knowing exactly where the AIS’ Field 14 was, there was some light-hearted trepidation about missing the start of the game. As it turned out, they needn’t have worried. The game was delayed for some 20 minutes, as there were not enough pegs holding down the Field 14 goals. A shortened game of 40 minute halves saw South have the better of the match in general, but were unable to break the deadlock. The supporters were happy to get a point, but were quietly ruing what might have been.

At the game’s conclusion the players came over and high-fived and shook hands with the supporters, appreciative of their effort to make the long trek up. The supporters then got back on the bus, where much of the trip’s events were already passing into supporter folklore, and eventually the majority got at least some sleep on the way back.

Many thanks to those for organising the trip, as well taking on the driving responsibilities, and to the fans that made the trip unforgettable.