Wednesday, 21 August 2013 10:26 AM
By John Kyrou
South Melbourne FC and Green Gully clash in the Semi Final of the State Knockout Cup at SS Anderson Reserve on Wednesday night, with a meeting against either Dandenong Thunder or Sunshine George Cross in the final on Saturday 7 September at stake.
South goes into the match on the back of consecutive Victorian Premier League wins (6-1 against Hume City and 2-1 against Oakleigh) whilst Green Gully comes into the match in losing form, having lost 2-1 against Port Melbourne last Friday night at SS Anderson Reserve despite taking the lead.
Chris Taylor’s team selection will be interesting, considering that several of his first-choice starting eleven players are Cup-tied. Tim Mala, Bryan Bran, Iqi Jawadi, Nick Epifano and Luke Hopper all played for Dandenong Thunder in the early stages of this competition and therefore cannot play on Wednesday night. However this gives players such as Rhys Meredith, Fernando De Moraes, Andrew Cartanos, James Karvelis, Jonathan Munoz and even Baggio Yousif (with 11 goals in his past six Under-21s matches) an opportunity to showcase their talents. Dimi Tsiaras has made a good recovery from the nasty hamstring injury he sustained against Green Gully in the League match on 7 July and may also play a part in the Semi Final.
The match kicks off on Wednesday night at SS Anderson Reserve at 7:30pm. If the match is drawn then extra time will be played and if the scores are still level then a penalty shoot-out will determine who progresses through to the 2013 State Knockout Cup Final.
South Melbourne FC’s Cup Run 2013
Fourth Round: 3-0 v Oakleigh Cannons (Saturday 4 May at Lakeside Stadium)
Fifth Round: 3-2 v Northcote City (Monday 10 June at Lakeside Stadium)
Quarter Final: 4-2 v Preston Lions (Tuesday 23 July at Lakeside Stadium)
Green Gully’s Cup Run 2013
Fourth Round: 5-1 v North Geelong Warriors (Saturday 4 May at Elcho Park )
Fifth Round: 2-1 v Keilor Park (Saturday 8 June at Keilor Park Recreational Reserve)
Quarter Final: 3-2 v FC Clifton Hill (Tuesday 23 July at Green Gully Reserve)
