Friday, 5 March 2010 9:26 AM
Photo by Cindy Nitsos
By John Kyrou
South Melbourne FC welcomes the Bentleigh Greens to Bob Jane Stadium this Sunday in what is the first home game of the season for the Blues. South will be looking for three points following the hard-fought draw against Altona last week.
The visiting Greens side has built up a bit of a rivalry with South. Despite the two sides not meeting in the Victorian Premier League since 2005 (with South winning both matches), Bentleigh have had the upper hand in Hellenic Cup contests. In the 2010 final only two weeks ago, the Greens prevailed 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw during regular and extra time. Bentleigh also won a pre-season friendly played between the two sides at Bob Jane Stadium in January.
Many former South Melbourne FC players will be returning to Bob Jane Stadium in Bentleigh uniforms, including newly-appointed Greens coach Goran Lozanovski. Other players include Con Anthopoulos, George Goutzioulis, Sam De Vito and Bill Natisioulas. De Vito and Natsioulas will return to the ground where they won the VPL championship with South in 2006. Greens keeper Peter Gavalas will be one player to watch out for, as the custodian produced a series of outstanding saves against South in the Hellenic Cup to win the Cup for his side.
South Melbourne FC will be pleased with the point gained in the 1-1 draw against Altona at Paisley Park last weekend, but will be looking to push for the three points against the Greens. The home side’s chances will be greatly increased if new signings Joe Keenan and Carl Recchia play, as the midfield stocks will be boosted greatly. Fernando De Moraes will no doubt press to play the full 90 minutes on Sunday following his half an hour of brilliance last week, which culminated in his equalising goal for the away side late in the match.
The match kicks off on Sunday at 5pm at Bob Jane Stadium. South Melbourne FC wishes to advise supporters that memberships will be available for purchasing, as well as to be picked up. South fans are strongly encouraged to pledge their support for the club in 2010 by signing up as members on Sunday.