Thursday, 20 August 2009 3:45 PM
South Melbourne FC would like to announce the 2009 VPL tipping competition winners.
The winners were;
1st Prize – Signed SMFC Shirt
Arthur Tsonis – 71 Tips
2nd Prize – Signed SMFC Playing Ball
Georgina Leibelt – 69 Tips
3rd Prize – $100 SMFC Merchandise Voucher
Mark Creaney – 67 Tips
SMFC would like to thank everyone who participated in the online tipping competition for 2009.
Thursday, 20 August 2009 3:33 PM
By John Kyrou
Epping Stadium plays hosts to the VPL Elimination Final on Sunday afternoon, when Hume City plays off against South Melbourne FC in a do-or-die clash. The winner of the contest will face the losing team in the Altona-Green Gully Qualifying Final, whilst for the losing side their season will come to an end on Sunday.
Hume will be hurting from the fact that a 0-1 home loss against Oakleigh in the final round saw them slide from second on the table to finish the regular home & away season in fourth spot. A point would have been enough for Hume to finish second and win the double chance however Bonel Obradovic’s 88th minute strike saw the Cannons take all three points and Hume’s double chance opportunity go up in smoke.
South went into the final round last weekend needing a win over Sunshine George Cross to confirm a spot in the finals. The performance wasn’t the greatest but it was the result that counted as Fernando De Moraes’ cheeky ‘interception’ of the ball off Georgies keeper Martin John and subsequent goal was enough to earn the side a 1-0 win and with it a place in the finals for the first time since 2006. The side finished in fifth position in the league but were an agonising one point off second spot, with too many draws during the season costing the team dearly in the end.
South won the first meeting between the two sides this season, when goals from Vaughan Coveny and Sebastian Petrovic were enough for the Blues to hold off ten-man Hume to win the inaugural ANZAC Day Cup. The match was also memorable as Coveny notched up his 100th league goal for the club. The return match at Bob Jane Stadium was a scrappy contest and it was Hume who took the honours thanks to a Zoran Petrevski penalty fourteen minutes from time. Gianni De Nittis nearly rescued South a point deep into injury time but his fierce shot flew inches wide.
The key man in this contest will undoubtedly be Hume’s Tansel Baser. The two-time South championship player was best afield when Hume defeated South at Bob Jane Stadium, with his passing and positioning clearly a class above everyone else. Baser’s influence needs to be stifled by South or else the side will be in big danger of being eliminated on Sunday. The other obstacle in the way of a South victory will be goalkeeper Lupce Acevski, with the big custodian always excelling against South and having only conceded 16 goals this season.
Despite finishing the regular season as the second-highest scoring side in the league, South has had a lean scoring record in its last month of football. Goran Zoric (10 goals), Gianni De Nittis (6) and Coveny (5) need to quickly re-discover their early season form when they would score freely and frequently. Despite having an inconsistent season, Fernando has scored 7 goals thus far and will again be relied upon to create something out of nothing like he did against George Cross.
Kick-off for Sunday’s crucial match is at 15.00 at Epping Stadium. If the match is drawn, extra time will be played and then penalties if the scores are still level.
Hume City v South Melbourne FC – Overview
2009 Season:
Round 8 – Saturday 25/04/09 @ Broadmeadows Valley Park
Hume City 1 (Thompson 68’) def by South Melbourne 2 (Coveny 43’, Petrovic 65’)
Round 19 – Sunday 26/07/09 @ Bob Jane Stadium
South Melbourne 0 def by Hume City 1 (Petrevski pen 76’)
Overall:
Played: 4
South wins: 2
Hume wins: 2
Draws: 0
Thursday, 20 August 2009 2:52 PM
Tough midfielder Sebastian Petrovic has completed a brilliant season for South Melbourne FC by being awarded the 2009 Theo Marmaras Medal on Saturday night at Bob Jane Stadium.
This is Petrovic’s third stint with the club, with the former Heidelberg and Whittlesea player making his debut at lakeside in the 2001/02 NSL season. He returned in 2005 but was released mid-way through the season. It hasn’t been until he rejoined the club late in 2008 from Whittlesea that Petrovic made his mark at the club.
By building his game on hard running and strong tackling, Petrovic has been South’s most important player by linking with midfield partner Joseph Youssef to dominate in the middle of the park.
Speaking candidly to smfc.com.au, Petrovic was elated with the honour, adding that “to win an award like this, at such a great club is the biggest honour that I can receive. I would like to thank all my team-mates, coaching staff and club officials who continue to make SMFC such a great club to be at. Hopefully now I can build on this and have a real impact in the 2009 finals with the boys.”
Finishing just behind Petrovic in the Marmaras medal was vice-captain Steve O’Dor, who along with Petrovic has had an exceptional season and led the club to the finals for the first time in three seasons.
In other awards handed out, Goran Zoric was awarded the 2009 Golden Boot award while Francesco Stella was given the medal for the best U/21 player in the senior team.
Click here to view video highlights of the night
Senior Awards
Marmaras Medal – SMFC MVP
Sebastian Petrovic
SMFC U/21 MVP
Francesco Stella
Top Goal Scorer
Goran Zoric (10 goals)
U/21 (Youth Team) Awards
U/21(Youth Team) Most Valuable Player
Jake Vandermey
U/21 (Youth Team) Coach’s Appreciation Award
Simon Ierardi
U/21(Youth Team) Coach’s Appreciation Award
Bradley Treloar
Supporters Awards
CC MVP
Sebastian Petrovic
CC U/21 MVP
Francesco Stella