Day: May 15, 2015

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the transfer window signing of Nick Morton, who arrives at Lakeside Stadium from Melbourne City.

Morton is the son of South Hobart’s legendary coach Ken Morton and he joined Melbourne City at the beginning of the NPL 1 (West) season this year. Prior to Melbourne City, Nick grew up playing his football at South Hobart and spent several Championship winning seasons playing alongside current SMFC player Andy Brennan in Tasmania.

Alongside Brennan, Nick featured heavily in South Hobart’s Tasmanian League and Cup winning double in 2014. He played against South Melbourne last year when the two sides met in the PlayStation 4 NPL Playoffs at the South Hobart Ground on Saturday 20 September 2014, with Jamie Reed’s early goal being enough for SMFC to record a 0-1 win.

The 19 year old attacking midfielder likes playing as a number 10 and has made eight appearances for Melbourne City this season, scoring one goal against Box Hill on Saturday 2 May.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, Nick said that “I am very pleased to be joining such an iconic club in South Melbourne FC. Playing for the defending NPL Victoria champions is a step up from playing at NPL 1 level but it is an opportunity for me to show what I can do.”

SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was also very pleased with Morton signing for the Club. “Nick impressed us last season when we played South Hobart down in Tasmania. We have been monitoring him for a while now and it’s good to finally have him sign with us. Being good friends with Andy Brennan will help Nick settle in quickly with the squad and I look forward to him showing his potential on the field.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Nick Morton to Lakeside Stadium and looks forward to seeing him on the park shortly.

South Melbourne FC can further cement its position at the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria table should it defeat Northcote City at John Cain Reserve on Saturday afternoon.

South will go into the game on the back of two home wins at Lakeside Stadium in the last week, starting with a 1-0 win over Avondale FC 1-0 last Friday 8 May and ending with a 5-0 belting of Dandenong Thunder on Tuesday 12 May. Chris Taylor’s side now enjoy a three point lead over the Bentleigh Greens and Heidelberg United at the top of the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder, however Bentleigh has a game in hand.

Northcote are currently in ninth spot on the ladder with four wins from their opening 12 League matches. Goran Lozanovski’s side have enjoyed relatively good form at John Cain Reserve in recent times, with their most recent home result being a 2-0 win against Werribee City on Saturday 2 May. Last weekend they travelled to Bentleigh Greens and suffered a 4-0 defeat.

Although South will go into this game as favourites to win, Northcote has been somewhat of a bogey team for them ever since Northcote returned to the old Victorian Premier League in 2010. In the 11 League meetings between the teams, Northcote have won five games, South have won only two games and there have been four draws.

Northcote has twice defeated South 5-0 (in 2011 and 2013), though South won the most recent meeting between the teams (2-1) at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 24 August 2014. In the corresponding match last season at John Cain Reserve played on Saturday 26 July 2014, the teams played out a 1-1 draw.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 3pm at John Cain Reserve.