Author: John Kyrou

Under 20s:
Port Melbourne 0
South Melbourne 3 (Kovacevic 45′, Layton 70′, Laurie 87′)

Under 20s:
Bulleen Lions 1 (Di Ciocco 48′)
South Melbourne 4 (Said 39′, Kovacevic 45′, Maker 73′, Layton 85′)

Our male teams have all now completed their 2016 NPL seasons, following two catch-up matches being played over the weekend. Our Under 16s played out a 0-0 draw with the Dandenong Thunder and our Under 18s beat the same opponent 2-0.

We would like to thank all of the team managers, who have worked together with the SMFC media team during the season to provide the referee’s match record for each round. By doing so, it assists us in keeping data as accurate as possible and to track the progress of all our players through the youth system and hopefully into the first team in the future.

The below table indicates the performance of each of our male NPL teams this season. Congratulations are extended to our Under 13s, Under 14s and Senior Men on their championship wins. All teams bar one finished in the top three of their respective league, showing sustained success across all male age groups in 2016.

* Please note that FFV did not re-schedule the postponed U20s match with Melbourne Victory in July, therefore leaving the team one point behind second-placed Bulleen but having played a game less.

Commiserations to our Under-15s side, who unfortunately lost their final game of the season and therefore lost the NPL Victoria (East) U15s championship on goal difference. Nevertheless, the team had an excellent season and congratulations must go to the coaching staff and team manager Nick Kara.

The NPL regular season has concluded for all our male teams except for the U16 and U18 teams, who play their final game against Dandenong Thunder next Saturday.

Male NPL Teams U16 & U18s (Current Ladder Position with one game to go)

U18s (Tenth): SMFC 5-3 Heidelberg United (Hawthorne x2, Layton x2, Egan)
U16s (Third): SMFC 2-1 Heidelberg United (Loutrakis, Gregory)

Male NPL Teams U12-U15s (Final Ladder Position out of 17 teams)

U15s (Runners-up): SMFC 0-1 Heidelberg United
U14s (Champions): SMFC 3-1 Heidelberg United (Abdou x2, Zeitoune)
U13s (Champions): SMFC 3-1 Heidelberg United (Chong x2, Zampogna)
U12s (Third): SMFC 6-0 Heidelberg United (Asani, Dzadey, Sivritas, Tampakas, Thomson, Own Goal)

Congratulations to our Under-13s coaching staff (led by Daniel Foden) and team manager Allen Wong as the boys secured the NPL Victoria (East) U13s championship on the weekend. Thanks to a 5-2 win at Murray United on Saturday, the boys wrapped up the title and also notched up over 100 goals for the season!

Our boys have scored an enormous 103 goals (conceding 27) from 25 games this year and lead second-placed Box Hill by four points heading into the final round of matches this weekend. We are yet to be beaten in 2016, with 22 wins and three draws from our 25 matches. Yianni Panakos and Hugo Chong are equal top goal scorers for our U13s this season, will they tie for the Golden Boot or will someone claim the honours outright in the final game?

Below are all the scores from our NPL games played over the weekend. Our U12s can’t move from third place and our U13s and U14s have already been crowned as champions of their respective leagues. Our U15s are currently in first place with a game to go and will be crowned champions should they achieve at least a draw in their final game. Our U16s still have a couple of games remaining and can finish as high as second place. Our U18s have struggled this season but with a couple of games remaining can still finish in the top six.

Male NPL Teams U12-U18s (Current Ladder Position out of 17 teams)

U18s (10th): SMFC 3-3 Murray United (Layton, Ahmeti, Garrow)
U16s (3rd): SMFC 2-2 Murray United (Garrow, Gaal)
U15s (1st): SMFC 12-1 Murray United (Papazisis x5, Arriaza x2, Warner x2, Andreadis, Fogel, Kapaklis)
U14s (Champions): SMFC 1-1 Murray United (Cevik)
U13s (Champions): SMFC 5-2 Murray United (Chong x2, Khan, Panakos, Vlogianitis)
U12s (3rd): SMFC 11-1 Murray United (Asani x3, Markovski x3, Durso x2, Swinney, Tampakas, Thomson)

Congratulations to our Under-14s coaching staff and team manager Erik Zimmerman as the boys secured the NPL Victoria (East) U14s championship on the weekend.

Thanks to a 6-0 hammering of Nunawading on Saturday, the boys wrapped up the title with two games to spare and can now enjoy the final few rounds of the season. The team has scored a staggering 126 goals (conceding only nine) from 24 games this year and has an uncatchable nine-point lead over the second-placed Bentleigh Greens. The standout goal scorer has been KJ Abdou with an outstanding 37 goals, the most by an individual player from NPL U12s all the way through to the first team!

Below are all the scores from our NPL games played over the weekend. With just a few games to go, our U13s and U15s are leading the way in their respective leagues and can hopefully secure more silverware for our club in 2016.

Male NPL Teams U12-U18s (Current Ladder Position out of 17 teams)

U18s (10th): SMFC 4-1 Nunawading (Layton x2, Garrow, Egan)
U16s (3rd): SMFC 5-1 Nunawading (Ahmeti, Garrow, Kolaj, Loutrakis, Week)
U15s (1st): SMFC 5-0 Nunawading (Garrow x2, Andreadis, Papazisis, Warner)
U14s (Champions): SMFC 6-0 Nunawading (Zeitoune x2, Abdou, Giannakarios, Reid, Russo)
U13s (1st): SMFC 6-0 Nunawading (Chong x3, Panakos x2, Kapolitsas)
U12s (3rd): SMFC 4-1 Nunawading (Asani x2, Fakos, Sivritas)