Friday, 10 May 2013 10:15 AM
By John Kyrou
South Melbourne FC hosts Richmond at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon in what is the Club’s first home game in 2013.
The home side goes into the match after a week off from playing commitments due to Oakleigh Cannon’s forfeit of their State Knockout Cup fixture. Previous to that match, South lost 3-0 away against Dandenong Thunder on Saturday 27 April, which was its first loss in the 2013 Victorian Premier League season following three consecutive away victories in the opening three rounds. Richmond goes into the fixture having lost all four matches in the Victorian Premier League, with the last being a catastrophic 2-7 home loss against Northcote City on Friday 26 April. That loss led to the resignation of coach Jean-Marc Imbert and the arrival of new coach Grant Brebner.
South coach Peter Tsolakis is expecting Richmond will put up a significantly better fight against his side on Sunday and has warned his team not to be complacent against the League’s bottom side. Tom Matthews and Trent Rixon both trained with the senior side during the week and will be available for selection. Alan Kearney will still be missing for another week as he recovers from his injury.
Both sides have enjoyed reasonable success against each other – in 14 Victorian Premier League meetings, South has won 7, Richmond have won 5 and there have been two draws. In the corresponding fixture last season on Friday 20 July 2012, Richmond defeated South 3-1 at Lakeside Stadium in controversial circumstances. Shaun Kelly was sent off on debut and Trent Rixon, a substitute on 74 minutes, scored South’s goal with ten minutes to go before also being sent off.
Sunday’s match kicks off at 5PM at Lakeside Stadium. Memberships and merchandise will also be available to be purchased and collected.