Sunday, 14 June 2009 5:51 PM
South Melbourne FC has jumped back into the top three on the league ladder following a clinical 6-2 drubbing of bottom-placed Preston at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.
South entered the contest on the back of an unlucky loss against Heidelberg last round, whilst Preston entered the match searching for their first win of the season.
As expected, South came out of the blocks in storming fashion and continuously peppered Damir Salcin’s goal for the first 10 minutes of the game. Thankfully for the Lions, Salcin managed to save numerous attempts by Goran Zoric, Gianni De Nittis and Fernando De Moraes.
In the 11th minute South were rewarded for early dominance when an inviting cross by Francesco Stella was met inside the area by Gianni De Nittis, who slammed the ball into the back of the net.
South had a second goal only minutes later when Stella once again turned provider, with Zoric on hand to tap the cross into the back of the net.
Rhodri Payne then gave the home side its third for the afternoon when he capped off a one-two play with De Nittis by beating Salcin at his near post with a calm finish.
South ended the match as a contest as early as the first minute of the second half. From a corner, Joseph Youssef rose unmarked to head home a Fernando cross to send the home side into delirium.
The Blues dominance continued moments later when captain and hard working defender Rama Tavsancioglu burst past the stagnant Preston defence before sliding a brilliantly finished shot into the bottom corner to give his side a five goal lead.
In the 55th minute, Preston got a goal back after some lovely interplay culminated in the ball falling to Igorce Kolevski on the edge of the area. With the defence unable to commit themselves fully, he then hit a brilliant right foot shot into the top corner to give his side some hope.
Preston continued to push forward and via a long ball by keeper Salcin, they managed to find a 2nd goal. In a poor piece of defending by South, the long ball managed to bounce over the watching South defence, allowing for Vladamir Kostandinovski to slide the ball past Tomich.
South continued to attack the Preston goal for the remaining part of the match, with Salcin making 5-6 unbelievable saves to deny the South Melbourne side.
It wasn’t until the 82nd minute that South managed to score their sixth and final goal of the game, after some good lead up work by Fernando saw De Nittis find himself in space just inside the area. He then hit a bullet like shot into the top corner to score his second of the game.
South will now play Melbourne Knights next Sunday in what is looming as a crunch away fixture, whilst Preston must once again re-group as it takes on Green Gully away from home.