Monday, 20 May 2013 4:51 PM
By John Kyrou (Photo courtesy of Breathing Football)
Hume City defeated South Melbourne FC 3-2 at Broadmeadows Valley Park on Sunday in what was ultimately disappointing afternoon outing for the Club. First half goals by Turhan Sumbul and Atilla Ofli were cancelled out by a Dimi Hatzimouratis penalty and a Shaun Kelly header. However, the home side eventually secured the three points thanks to a winning goal from Sean Canham nine minutes from time. The result means that South has lost its last two away matches in the Victorian Premier League.
South travelled to Broadmeadows Valley Park in winning form, having come from 0-2 down to defeat the Richmond Eagles 3-2 at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday evening. In contrast, Hume entered the contest having lost their previous two Victorian Premier League matches by a combined total of eight goals; losing 1-4 at home against Bentleigh on 28 April and then losing 4-0 away against Dandenong Thunder on 11 May. Their record read two wins from five Victorian Premier League matches in contrast to South’s four wins from five, including three away wins.
Lou Acevski’s side took control of the match on the scoreboard with two quick goals in the first half. In the 25th minute, a long throw-in from the left side by Jarryd Barnes caught the South defence napping and Sumbul took advantage by heading the ball past Peter Gavalas’ near post. The home side then doubled its advantage only three minutes later, when Ofli smashed the ball into the back of the net following a scramble in the penalty area after Gavalas initially saved a shot. For the second week in a row, South was trailing by two goals and needed a quick response to get back into the match. That moment arrived in first half injury time when Trent Rixon – making his first Senior appearance in 2013 – was bundled over in the area by Naum Sekulovski and Hatzimouratis coolly dispatched the resulting spot kick.
The away side took control of proceedings in the second half as it searched for an equalising goal. South eventually equalised just before the hour mark, when Kelly rose highest to head home Marinos Gasparis’ corner from the right side. With half an hour to go and with all the momentum, South looked like they were going to pull off yet another come-from-behind victory. Andy Vlahos and Renco Van Eeken – who had pulled up sore from the Richmond match – were introduced to the match as South added more experienced firepower up front in search of a winning goal. However, Hume had other ideas and was proving to be dangerous on the counter-attack. The home side also came in with some bruising challenges on the South players, including one that forced Dimi Tsiaras to hobble off and be replaced by Tom Matthews.
With nine minutes of normal time remaining, a fast break forward by Hume caught the South players off-guard. Gavalas pulled down Sumbul in a challenge and may have conceded a penalty but the substitute Canham was on hand to score anyway to give the three points to the home side. With the match deep into injury time, Alan Mulcahy pulled down Tyson Holmes and received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card. Hume managed to hold on though and the full-time whistle moments later confirmed that it had broken its two match losing streak in the Victorian Premier League.
There was more disappointment in the Under-21s this weekend, as Hume came from 0-1 down to defeat South 2-1. Andrew Cartanos scored South’s goal with a free kick.
South needs to pick itself up next week as it faces an out-of-sorts Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside Stadium. Kick-off is at 5PM next Sunday 26 May.
FINAL SCORE: HUME CITY 3-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 2-1)
Goal Scorers:
1-0: Turhan Sumbul (25′)
2-0: Atilla Ofli (28′)
2-1: Dimi Hatzimouratis (45+1′ pk)
2-2: Shaun Kelly (58′)
3-2: Sean Canham (81′)
Hume City :
1. Chris OLDFIELD, 4. Isyan ERDOGAN (2. Shaun ROMEIN 69’), 6. Alan MULCAHY, 7. Atilla OFLI (13. Onder SIMSEK 50’), 8. Steven PACE, 10. Nick HEGARTY, 12. Jarryd BARNES (9. Sean CANHAM 80’), 16. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 18. Ersin KAYA, 21. Turhan SUMBUL, 28. Craig SIVES
South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 6. Dimi TSIARAS (2. Tom MATTHEWS 82′), 7. Joe KEENAN (14. Andy VLAHOS 73′), 9. Trent RIXON, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH (23. Renco VAN EEKEN 75′), 13. Luke BYLES (C), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 19. Shaun KELLY
SMFC Man of the Match: Rhys Meredith
Venue: Broadmeadows Valley Park
Date: Sunday 19 May 2013