Friday, 21 November 2003 12:00 AM
By Michael Tsoukalis
This Sunday NSL new-boys Adelaide United venture to Bob Jane Stadium to take on a flying South Melbourne side. South return home after a sterling 0-5 whitewash of Victorian rivals the Melbourne Knights.
United have subsidised bus travel for a few hundred of their most fanatical supporters and are hence expected to have a decent presence at Bob Jane. John Kosmina’s men will be desperate for a decent showing after suffering their inaugural loss last week against the Perth Glory. United were comprehensively outplayed in front of another sell-out Hindmarsh Crowd going down by 4 goals to 1.
United’s squad is largely made up of the players that were left club-less after the Adelaide City Force demise. Michael Valkanis, Carl Veart, Goran Lozanovski and player/Assistant coach Aurelio Vidmar provide the heart of the experience in the United line-up. Adelaide also managed somewhat of a preseason coup by managing to re-attract former NSL stalwart Ross Aloisi, Aloisi returns after a few seasons of plying his trade in various European countries and has added much needed experience and flair to the United midfield.
Conversely, South Melbourne come into the encounter having played some of the best football a South side has played in years. In comprehensively beating the Melbourne Knights, South not only racked up a brilliant result, but also managed to gel in a manner that had the South faithful present in awe of the side’s cohesion.
Gun-recruit Michael Panopoulos has firmly established himself in the heart of the South engine-room, last week’s encounter against the Knights saw Panopoulos at his commanding best, dictating the play of the game and stamping his obvious influence with a magnificent 30 yard strike, with Panopoulos in ominous form and the likes of Vaughn Coveny and Paul Trimboli – who chipped in with two goals against the Knights – making big contributions, South appear to be in a great position to continue their push for the NSL peak.
Game: South Melbourne vs Adelaide United
Date: Sunday 23 November 2003
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 7.30pm (7pm CST)
HEAD TO HEAD (Overall):
Played: N/A
HEAD TO HEAD (at South Melbourne):
Played: N/A (Regular Season)
Last Encounter: N/A
LAST WEEK:
South Melbourne 5-0 away win v Melbourne Knights
Adelaide United 4-1 home loss v Perth Glory
Position on Ladder:
4th v 9th
SOUTH MELBOURNE SQUAD: E Galekovic (gk), M Panopoulos, A Kovacevic, M Stergiopoulos, M Curcija, C Boutsianis, S Tunbridge, V Coveny, S Poutakidis, C Recchia, K Sarkies, S Laurie, P Trimboli, L Osman, M Theoklitos (gk),
IN: Unchanged
OUT: M Murdocca & V Lia (both U-20 international duty)
ADELAIDE UNITED SQUAD: D Scarsella (gk), K Rees, R Alagich, M Valkanis, A Goulding, R Aloisi, D Terminello, C Veart, G Lozanovski, A Vidmar, M Kemp, E Demourtzidis, A Pellegrino, M Saric, A Westervelt, R Bajic (gk) (one to be omitted)
IN: A Westervelt
OUT: S Widera, N Budin