Thursday, 3 May 2012 11:57 PM
By John Kyrou
After over a month away from Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne FC returns to its home ground to face the newly promoted Southern Stars on Friday night.
South goes into the game in inconsistent form, having lost and then drawn League matches at Green Gully and Richmond before returning to winning form with a 2-1 win over Malvern City in the fourth round of the State Knockout Cup last weekend. With tough League fixtures coming up against Hume City, Melbourne Knights and Dandenong Thunder, South will be very keen on winning three points on Friday night in order to keep in touch with Dandenong at the top of the table.
The Southern Stars have also had an inconsistent start to 2012, winning four points from their first four League games. Like South, it progressed in the Cup last weekend thanks to a 3-0 victory over Churchill United. Southern Stars feature former South players Yanni Galanos and Sasha Vranesevic, both who would be keen on getting one over their former club on Friday night. Victory over South would move Southern Stars to seven points, the same total as South currently. Despite being a newly-promoted side, South coach Peter Tsolakis will be wary of the potential for this game to be a danger match and will be hoping to continue South’s 100% home record this season.
The match kicks off at 8:30pm on Friday night at Lakeside Stadium. South supporters are reminded that 2012 merchandise is now available and can be purchased either online (smfc.com.au/merchandise) or at the merchandise store at Lakeside Stadium on matchday.