Monday, 12 August 2013 5:01 PM
By John Kyrou
South Melbourne FC scored six goals for the second successive home game when it destroyed Hume City 6-1 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A hat trick to Luke Hopper, a double from Trent Rixon and a wonderful free kick from Nick Soolsma completed the rout for the home side.
South came into the game on the back of a thoroughly disappointing 1-1 away draw against Richmond last Friday night, a result that has cost the side a spot in the top five. Hume came into the match in fourth place on the Victorian Premier League ladder; however they were defeated 0-1 at home by Dandenong Thunder last Sunday and a loss against South would make Lou Acevski’s side vulnerable to being overtaken in the top five in the next few weeks.
The first 30 minutes of the game were reasonably uneventful, however the match sprung into life when Rixon won the ball on the left side and cut inside before curling an effort past the outstretched hands of Hume goalkeeper Chris Oldfield and into the back of the net. In first half injury time, Baki Efi’s back header fell short of Oldfield as Hopper beat Oldfield to the loose ball before squaring across for an unmarked Rixon to tap the ball into the empty net. Hume did have some chances in the first half, firstly when the South defence cleared a goal-bound shot off the line and secondly when Peter Gavalas made an important block after Ersin Kaya was put through one-on-one. South could have been further ahead at the halftime break but for some important saves by Oldfield.
Hopper got on the score sheet just after the hour mark when Tyson Holmes released Rixon on the right side before the centre-forward fired in a low cross for the in-form Hopper to bundle across the line for South’s third goal of the afternoon. Holmes then scored but the goal was disallowed because Rixon had apparently fouled a Hume defender in the lead-up. Holmes had another chance to score shortly after but his spectacular overhead shot smashed into the crossbar and Hume cleared the danger. From the resultant clearance, the away side zipped down to the other end and gave themselves a lifeline when Atilla Ofli headed home past Gavalas, who had been a virtual spectator in the second half but unfortunately could not finish the game with a clean sheet.
Any chance of a Hume fight back was destroyed in the final five minutes of normal time as South tore them apart with three quick goals. Hopper made it 4-1 when he took control of a through-ball and made a mockery of the Hume defence before blasting across Oldfield and into the far corner of the net. Substitute Alan Kearney then won the ball in midfield and with one Hume defender playing four South players onside, Kearney released Soolsma down the right side. The Dutchman had an eternity to decide his target before squaring the ball for Hopper to put away his third goal of the afternoon and the remarkable statistic of four goals in three appearances for the Club. With the match in its final minute of regular time, Soolsma stepped up and brilliantly buried his free kick from outside the area into the top left corner.
South coach Chris Taylor was delighted with the six goals and the three points but was unhappy to have conceded a goal, adding that “I’m not happy with that… we need to get clean sheets, we haven’t had one since I’ve been here so I’m disappointed about that.” In regards to his forwards scoring, Taylor was very pleased, noting that “we’ve got the result today and seeing the strikers score goals is very good.”
It was a different story in the Under-21s as South Melbourne FC was defeated 1-2 by Hume City . Baggio Yousif was the goal scorer again and has now scored nine goals in his last five League games for the Under-21s.
South has another game of huge importance next week when it travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to face the Oakleigh Cannons. Kick-off is next Sunday 18 August at 3:15PM.
FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 6-1 HUME CITY (HT: 2-0)
Goal Scorers:
1-0: Trent Rixon (34′)
2-0: Trent Rixon (45+1′)
3-0: Luke Hopper (62′)
3-1: Atilla Ofli (75′)
4-1: Luke Hopper (85′)
5-1: Luke Hopper (88′)
6-1: Nick Soolsma (89′)
South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Bryan BRAN, 5. Nick EPIFANO (20. Andrew CARTANOS 89′), 7. Luke HOPPER, 9. Trent RIXON (16. Alan KEARNEY 75′), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON (C), 13. Iqi JAWADI, 17. Nick SOOLSMA, 19. Shaun KELLY
Hume City :
1. Chris OLDFIELD (GK), 2. Shaun ROMEIN, 3. Scott MUIRHEAD, 4. Isyan ERDOGAN, 6. Alan MULCAHUY (14. Cem CIL 71’), 7. Atilla OFLI, 10. Nick HEGARTY, 18. Ersin KAYA, 21. Turhan SUMBUL (22. Tristan THOMPSON 45’), 23. Craig SIVES, 26. Baki EFE (9. Devon BONNE 68’)
SMFC Man of the Match: Luke Hopper
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 11 August 2013