Author: John Kyrou

Football is an industry driven by results but one of the great things about the game is the ability for people to make friends both on and off the pitch.

Earlier this year on 7 February, our Under 13s played a friendly match against the Bentleigh Greens at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex. In the opening ten minutes, an incident occurred that saw our junior player Yianni Panakos knocked to the ground by a Bentleigh defender (named Dominic) behind play. Yianni lay motionless on the ground initially and suffered an immense pain in his right arm that went from his elbow down to his wrist. It left Yianni sidelined for several weeks and in a great deal of pain.

Fast-forward to 12 March and our Under-13s opened their NPL Victoria East season at Dandenong City with a huge 10-1 win. A man by the name of Robert approached the SMFC parents, introduced himself as Dominic’s father and said that he had come to the match with his son for the sole purpose that his son apologise to Yianni for what had occurred in the friendly match a month prior. Yianni accepted the apology and the boys went off playing as if nothing had happened.

Just a few weeks ago on 17 July, SMFC and Bentleigh played each other in the league. Both sides were in winning form and sitting high on the ladder, giving the game added spice. There was to be no animosity between Yianni and Dominic however, with both boys displaying excellent quality and sportsmanship in a match that saw Yianni score two goals and South triumph 5-4. For the record, Yianni has scored 19 goals in 15 appearances for the Under 13s in 2016!

Since the regrettable incident in February, a strong friendship had developed between Yianni and Dominic. Both players have actually been ill this week – Yianni with the winter blues and Dominic with a football injury – however both have been regularly keeping contact and are good friends now, proving that something negative can be turned into a positive.

We congratulate both boys on their maturity and sportsmanship and hope that our Under 13s can win the title this year!

(Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC remained in second place on the 2016 NPL Victoria ladder thanks to a 4-1 win over Pascoe Vale at CB Smith Reserve on Friday night.

Matthew Lazarides opened the scoring for the home side after getting behind the South defence and scoring one-on-one past Nikola Roganovic. South’s goalkeeper was called upon to keep his side from going 2-0 down when he saved another one-on-one opportunity shortly afterwards.

The match turned on its head after 38 minutes when Adam Nakic brought Leigh Minopoulos down in the penalty area to concede a penalty and get himself sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity. Goalkeeper Alexander Pavlidis saved Milos Lujic’s initial penalty but could not stop South’s centre-forward from scoring on the rebound. Three minutes later, Minopoulos split the Pascoe Vale defence open with a superb through-ball for Lujic to run onto and flick past the advancing Pavlidis to put South 1-2 ahead.

The match was well and truly over just before the hour mark when Pavlidis brought Lujic down in the area after South’s No9 dribbled past him, getting himself sent off and giving away a second penalty in the process. To add to the chaos, Pascoe Vale coach Vitale Ferrante was also given his marching orders by the referee, leaving the home side down to nine men on the park and without their senior coach on the bench for the remainder of the game.

Reserve goalkeeper Dennys Martin was brought on to replace Lazarides but was sent the wrong way from the penalty spot as Lujic completed his hattrick and scored his 23rd league goal of 2016. Incredibly, Pascoe Vale conceded a third penalty just minutes later but in a rare victory for the home side, Martin guessed the right way and tipped Nick Epifano’s effort onto the post.

With such a comfortable lead and a two-man advantage, South created but wasted numerous chances to extend their lead. After missing an absolute sitter just minutes earlier, Marcus Schroen scored arguably the best individual goal of the night in injury time, hitting a low drive from the left side of the area that flew across Martin and into the far corner of the net.

There was further good news in the Under 20s as South Melbourne came from 2-1 down to defeat Pascoe Vale 4-3. Giordano Marafioti scored a double, with South’s other goals coming from Nashir Hussainy and a Pascoe Vale own goal.

South can wrap up second spot on the NPL Victoria ladder with a draw against Green Gully in its final home & away match of 2016 at Lakeside Stadium next Sunday.

FINAL SCORE: PASCOE VALE 1-4 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-2)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Matthew Lazarides (19′)
1-1: Milos Lujic (39′)
1-2: Milos Lujic (42′)
1-3: Milos Lujic (62’p)
1-4: Marcus Schroen (90+2′)

Pascoe Vale FC:
35. Alexander PAVLIDIS (GK – sent off 58′), 2. Adrian TALARICO, 3. Gonzalo MUNOZ, 4. Adam NAKIC (sent off 38′), 8. Joseph YOUSSEF (C), 10. Davey VAN’T SCHIP (15. Mark PISTININZI 42′), 13. Matthew LAZARIDES (1. Dennys MARTIN 59′), 16. Tomislav MILARDOVIC, 21. Michael FERRANTE (17. Aaron TURNER 55′), 24. Mustapha QUANYNOR, 25. Marinos GASPARIS.
Unused Subs: 7. Luca SANTILLI, 20. Luka PRELEVIC.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) / 2. Tim MALA, 3. Kristian KONSTANTINIDIS, 5. Luke ADAMS, 11. Brad NORTON (C) / 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS (4. Michael EAGAR 80′), 18. Matthew MILLAR / 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS, 17. Marcus SCHROEN, 7. Nick EPIFANO (22. Andy KECOJEVIC 73′) / 9. Milos LUJIC (14. Chris IRWIN 85′).
Unused Subs: 12. Amadu KOROMA, 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK).

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Leigh Minopoulos
Venue: CB Smith Reserve
Date: Friday 12 August 2016

South Melbourne FC travels to CB Smith Reserve to play Pascoe Vale on Friday night in yet another must-win game for the club.

Chris Taylor’s side returned to winning ways last Sunday with a 2-1 derby win against the Melbourne Knights at Lakeside Stadium. Matthew Millar scored a late headed goal to give South the three points and take it back into second place on the NPL Victoria ladder.

With two matches remaining before finals, South is in second place with just a slender one-point advantage over Heidelberg. South has two tough matches in Pascoe Vale and Green Gully to conclude the home & away season, whilst Heidelberg has a tough match on Sunday against Oakleigh before a straightforward final game against Melbourne Victory’s NPL side. This makes South’s trip to CB Smith Reserve on Friday a must-win game because three points will take South into the final round of the season with destiny in its own hands.

Captain Michael Eagar will be available for selection again, having served a mandatory one-game suspension against the Knights after accumulating five yellow cards in the league. It will be interesting to see if Taylor keeps his defence unchanged from last Sunday, with Matthew Millar doing an excellent job at right-back, Luke Adams and Kristian Konstantinidis the two centre-halves and Brad Norton in his usual left-back role.

Matthew Foschini was excellent as usual just in front of the defence and Stephen Hatzikostas also had a solid game. Up front, Spanish striker Manolo came off injured and will most likely miss the Pascoe Vale game. Leigh Minopoulos started on the bench against the Knights after suffering gastro during the week but with Manolo’s likely absence, he should start in the Spaniard’s place on Friday night.

Pascoe Vale will be looking to do a league double over South for the first time in their history, following their memorable 0-1 win at Lakeside Stadium back in May. Vitale Ferrate’s side had played the majority of the game with only ten men but Joseph Youssef’s goal on 63 minutes won the three points on the night. Pascoe Vale mathematically cannot make the finals but they will be looking to continue their recent excellent winning form.

South hasn’t scored in three visits to CB Smith Reserve in 2007, 2008 and 2015 – will this continue?

Friday night’s match at CB Smith Reserve kicks off at 8:15pm. 

SMFC v Pascoe Vale – Head to Head (League & Finals)

Matches Played: 8
Wins (SMFC): 5
Wins (PVFC): 1
Draws: 2

First match: Pascoe Vale 0-0 South Melbourne (1 June 2013, Hosken Reserve)
Last match: South Melbourne 0-1 Pascoe Vale (13 May 2016, Lakeside Stadium)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 3-0 (1 August 2014, Hosken Reserve)
Biggest Winning Margin (PVFC): 1-0 (13 May 2016, Lakeside Stadium)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 3 (3-0 win) – (1 August 2014, Hosken Reserve)
Most Goals in a Match (PVFC): 2 (2-3 loss) – (25 Aug 2013 / 4 Sep 2015, Lakeside Stadium)

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): 3-2 (4 September 2015, Lakeside Stadium)
Biggest Finals Win (PVFC): None

Male NPL Teams (U12-Seniors)

Seniors: SMFC 2-1 Melbourne Knights (Lujic 42′, Millar 84′)
U20s: SMFC 6-0 Melbourne Knights (Hussainy 4′, 51′, 81′, Marafioti 43′, Tsetinis 83′, Jansz 85′)
U18s: Bye
U16s: Bye
U15s: Bye
U14s: Bye
U13s: Bye
U12s: Bye

Female State League Teams (U12-Seniors)

SL1 (Seniors): SMFC 2-2 South Yarra (Alberici, Drain)
SL1 (Reserves): SMFC 0-0 South Yarra
SL2: SMFC 1-3 Seaford United (Van Berkel)
SL3: SMFC 0-1 Mazenod United
SL4: SMFC 1-1 Elwood City (Hayes)
U16s: SMFC 6-0 Ashburton United (Trajkovska x3, Taliadoros, Karp, Trease-Hemming)
U14s: SMFC 6-0 Bundoora United (Stringfellow x2, Ciancio-Knauer, Louloudis, Scolaro, Wicks)
U12s: SMFC 1-0 Langwarrin

(Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC returned to second place on the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder following a 2-1 derby win over the Melbourne Knights at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Matthew Millar scored the winning goal with six minutes of regular time remaining as Chris Taylor’s side completed a league double over the Knights in 2016.

Several milestones were achieved in this match. Nick Epifano registered his 100th appearance for South in all competitions and goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic made his 50th league appearance for the club. In what was a fairly tame first half with few chances, Brad Norton found space inside the penalty area on the left side before cutting the ball back for centre-forward Milos Lujic to tap home for his 20th league goal of 2016. Lujic has scored 20 goals or more in each of the three league seasons he has represented South since signing for the club at the start of 2014.

Damien Miskulin was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card on the hour mark. Ironically, the same player was sent off at around the same time in the earlier derby meeting between the sides at Knights Stadium back in May. Despite going a man down, the Knights levelled with a goal from a free only minutes later. The defensive wall jumped and James McGarry hit a low shot under the wall and past Roganovic.

The Knights could now sit back and frustrate South, who created but wasted several opportunities to go ahead. The home side finally broke through the stubborn Knights defence on 84 minutes when Marcus Schroen’s cross found the head of the incoming Millar to score past Fraser Chalmers and give South a very valuable three points.

There was further good news in the Under 20s as South Melbourne beat the Melbourne Knights 6-0. Nashir Hussainy scored a hattrick and there were further goals to Giordano Marafioti, Brandon Jansz and substitute Peter Tsetinis.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-1 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS (HT: 1-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Milos Lujic (42′)
1-1: James McGarry (64′)
2-1: Matthew Millar (84′)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) / 18. Matthew MILLAR, 5. Luke ADAMS, 3. Kristian KONSTANTINIDIS, 11. Brad NORTON (C) / 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS / 15. Manuel HERRERO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 75′), 17. Marcus SCHROEN, 7. Nick EPIFANO / 9. Milos LUJIC.
Unused Subs: 2. Tim MALA, 12. Amadu KOROMA, 14. Chris IRWIN, 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK).

Melbourne Knights FC:
20. Fraser CHALMERS (GK), 5. Milan BATUR, 6. Damien MISKULIN (sent off 60′), 7. Shayan ALINEJAD (14. Caleb MIKULIC 85′), 8. James McGARRY (13. Anthony KATIFORIS 89′), 9. Jacob COLOSIMO (2. Luke JURCIC 75′), 12. Anthony DEZIC, 16. Jason HICKS, 19. Nick GLAVAN, 21. Stipo ANDRIJASEVIC (C), 23. Tim PURCELL.
Unused Subs: 1. Hrvoje CAKARUN (GK).

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Matthew Millar
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 7 August 2016

South Melbourne FC hosts the Melbourne Knights in the original Melbourne derby on Sunday afternoon. Three points are crucial for Chris Taylor’s side in their quest to finish the home & away season as high as possible on the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder.

South are currently in third spot, eight points behind Bentleigh and one behind Heidelberg United, with those two sides facing each other on Friday night. South can overtake the Bergers with a win over the Knights and if the Bergers don’t get maximum points in their meeting with Bentleigh.

South had a horrific July period, recording only four points from a possible 15 that month and losing any realistic hope of securing the Premier’s Plate for a third successive season. More worrying is the fact that the side has hit bad form results-wise just before the finals series, something that needs to be immediately rectified. In further bad news, captain Michael Eagar will miss Sunday’s derby after accumulating five yellow cards in the league this season.

One positive from the awful home defeat to Avondale FC last Sunday was the performance of Spanish forward Manolo, who replaced Marcus Schroen at halftime and constantly threatened the Avondale defence. He eventually scored a wonderful individual goal – via a deflection – to give South a consolation goal and do his reputation no harm as he seeks a starting berth for Sunday’s derby game.

The Melbourne Knights – like Avondale – will visit Lakeside Stadium with no pressure on them. Andrew Marth’s side cannot make the finals series but they also cannot be relegated, meaning they are a dangerous proposition if they choose to take risks and play open, attacking football.

The Knights will have one eye on their upcoming FFA Cup match just a few days after the derby and it will be interesting to see their team selection on Sunday. One thing for certain is that the Knights always give South a difficult match no matter which players represent them and they will be keen on getting revenge for their 5-2 loss against South at Knights Stadium back in early May.

Sunday’s original Melbourne derby kicks off at 4pm at Lakeside Stadium.

SMFC v Melbourne Knights – Head to Head (League & Finals)

Matches Played: 98
Wins (SMFC): 49
Wins (MKFC): 26
Draws: 23

First match: SC Croatia 1-2 South Melbourne Hellas (2 April 1960, Corio Oval)
Last match: Melbourne Knights 2-5 South Melbourne (6 May 2016, Knights Stadium)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 7-0 (11 June 2006, Lakeside Stadium)
Biggest Winning Margin (MKFC): 4-0 (3 May 1989, Olympic Park / 23 February 2001, Knights Stadium)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 7 (7-0 win) – (11 June 2006, Lakeside Stadium)
Most Goals in a Match (MKFC): 5 (5-3 win) – (16 April 1972, Olympic Park)

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): 4-1 (27 April 1997, Knights Stadium)
Biggest Finals Win (MKFC): 3-2 (30 April 1995, Olympic Park)

SC Croatia*/Melbourne Croatia/Knights weren’t in the same division as SMFC during the following seasons:
1961 to 1962, 1964, 1973 to 1983

(Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

Two goals in the first ten minutes set Avondale FC on their way to inflicting a first ever defeat on South Melbourne FC in their match played at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.

Veteran centre-half and captain Jeffrey Fleming – a man with many years of experience playing in the state leagues – got his side off to a dream start when he got on the end of Massimo Murdocca’s cross to glance a header past the stranded Nikola Roganovic.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side when Avondale forced Marcus Schroen from an attacking position back to the halfway line before winning the ball and quickly playing the ball over the top for Jonatan Germano. The striker cleverly created space between Tim Mala and Michael Eagar before firing an unstoppable shot past Roganovic for Avondale’s second goal of the afternoon.

South had two excellent chances to score before the break, with both chances falling to Matthew Millar. His first effort was a shot from near the penalty spot that was off-target, with the second a more difficult chance coming from an unmarked header that went wide of Chris May’s goal.

Roganovic had to be substituted shortly before the halftime interval after being concussed and was replaced by Zaim Zeneli, who had to be called into action straight away and make an outstanding fingertip save to deny an acrobatic effort from Oleksiy Khrapko.

Spaniard Manolo was introduced for the second half and immediately set about getting South back into the match with some positive attacking play. Despite huffing and puffing, South were unable to break through the Avondale defence and were then dealt with a bitter blow when Germano pounced on a failed clearance from captain Michael Eagar to score his second and his side’s third goal.

Manolo pulled a goal back for South late in the game after cutting in from the left and hitting a goal-bound shot that took a sizeable deflection off James Cumming, beating May at his near post and giving South a consolation goal. A minute later, the home side felt they had strong claims for a penalty turned down by the referee after Milos Lujic went down in the penalty area with Fleming holding his shirt.

Nevertheless, it was too little too late as South crashed to its third league loss in four outings and is now in third position on the ladder with three matches remaining.

There was good news in the Under 20s, with Giordano Marafioti’s goal giving South Melbourne a 1-0 win over Avondale FC.

South hosts the Melbourne Knights next weekend in the second original Melbourne derby of 2016. Kick-off is at 4pm next Sunday 7 August at Lakeside Stadium.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-3 AVONDALE FC (HT: 0-2)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Jeffrey Fleming (4′)
0-2: Jonatan Germano (10′)
0-3: Jonatan Germano (53′)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) (21. Zaim ZENELI 44′) / 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 3. Kristian KONSTANTINIDIS, 11. Brad NORTON / 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 18. Matthew MILLAR / 17. Marcus SCHROEN (15. Manuel HERRERO 46′), 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS (77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS 72′), 7. Nick EPIFANO / 9. Milos LUJIC.
Unused Subs: 12. Amadu KOROMA, 22. Andy KECOJEVIC.

Avondale FC:
1. Chris MAY (GK), 2. Nicholas SYMEOY, 3. James CUMMING, 5. Jeffrey FLEMING (C), 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Oleksiy KHRAPKO, 10. Jonatan GERMANO, 11. Jem BERKANT (37. Abrahim YANGO 80′), 12. Mathew SANDERS (13. Yitay TOWNS 87′), 17. Phillip RICCOBENE (6. Anthony STRANO 71′), 31. Michele CRAZIA.
Unused Subs: 4. Baki EFE, 40. Evan MARKOGIANNAKIS.

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Manuel Herrero
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 31 July 2016

Male NPL Teams (U12-Seniors)

Seniors: SMFC 1-3 Avondale FC (Herrero 87′)
U20s: SMFC 1-0 Avondale FC (Marafioti 12′)
U18s: SMFC 4-1 Oakleigh Cannons (Hawthorne x2, Egan, Mohammadi)
U16s: SMFC 0-3 Oakleigh Cannons
U15s: SMFC 5-1 Oakleigh Cannons (Papazisis x2, Barforosh, Garrow, Murdoch)
U14s: SMFC 4-1 Oakleigh Cannons (Abdou x2, Rosenzweig, Mitsonis)
U13s: SMFC 5-1 Oakleigh Cannons (Panakos x2, Chong, Hird, Polymenopoulos)
U12s: SMFC 0-2 Oakleigh Cannons

Female State League Teams (U12-Seniors)

SL1 (Seniors): SMFC 11-0 Preston Lions (Greiser 26’p, 37′, 49′, 53′, 55′, 69′, 70′, 77′, Rebholz 29′, Cheal 45′, Anastassiou 59′)
SL1 (Reserves): SMFC 3-0 Preston Lions (Reisacher 14′, 68′, Delorenzis 24′)
SL2: SMFC 0-0 Old Xaverians
SL3: SMFC 1-1 Monash University
SL4: SMFC 2-0 Bayside Argonauts (Vrljic, Hopton)
U16s: SMFC 9-2 Brighton Athletic (Trease-Hemming x6, Stoic, Taliadoros, Phillips)
U14s: SMFC 4-0 Westside Strikers (Louloudis x2, Wicks, Nickolaus)
U12s: SMFC 0-4 Brighton Stars

South Melbourne FC returns to Lakeside Stadium for the first time in three weeks when it hosts Avondale FC on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Taylor’s side returned to winning ways with a 4-1 result against Melbourne Victory’s NPL side at AAMI Park last Sunday. Milos Lujic (two goals), Leigh Minopoulos and Spaniard Manolo scored the goals, with the result keeping South in second place, two points ahead of third-placed Heidelberg and five points behind league leaders Bentleigh Greens.

South will finally have a full squad to choose from for the match, with Kristian Konstantinidis, Stephen Hatzikostas and Luke Adams all available after serving suspensions recently. With four rounds remaining until the finals series, it is a welcome relief for Taylor to have his whole squad available, especially in defence, an area that had been severely depleted in recent weeks.

Avondale are literally in “no-man’s land” heading into this match. With four matches remaining in their NPL Victoria season and out of all cup competitions, Avondale are mathematically out of the finals race and are also reasonably secure from relegation danger. This gives them an element of unpredictability as they can play freely against South in Sunday’s match.

Avondale is currently on a two-game winning run and will look to their experienced players such as Jonatan Germano, Massimo Murdocca, goalkeeper Chris May and captain Jeffrey Fleming to help guide them to a first win over South in three league meetings between the sides.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 4pm at Lakeside Stadium.

SMFC v Avondale – Head to Head

Matches Played: 3
Wins (SMFC): 3
Wins (Avondale): 0
Draws: 0

First match: SMFC 1-0 Avondale FC (8 May 2015, Lakeside Stadium)
Last match: Avondale FC 0-2 SMFC (29 April 2016, Knights Stadium)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 7 goals (7-0 win, 15 August 2015, Doyle Street Reserve)
Biggest Winning Margin (Avondale): None

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 7 (7-0 win, 15 August 2015, Doyle Street Reserve)
Most Goals in a Match (Avondale): 0

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): None
Biggest Finals Win (Avondale): None

Male NPL Teams (U12-Seniors)

Seniors: SMFC 4-1 Melbourne Victory NPL (Lujic 4′, 90’p, Minopoulos 72′, Herrero 79′)
U20s: SMFC v Melbourne Victory NPL – Postponed
U20s (Catchup): SMFC 1-5 Bulleen Lions (Herrero 5′) – Played on Wednesday 20 July
U18s: SMFC 7-0 Dandenong City (Mohammadi x2, Layton x2, Hawthorne, Tselepis, Own Goal)
U16s: SMFC 3-1 Dandenong City (Kolaj x2, Gaal)
U15s: SMFC 4-0 Dandenong City (Singh x2, Papazisis, T Hird)
U14s: SMFC 10-0 Dandenong City (Abdou x4, Mitsonis x2, Lewis-Hanafin x2, Baker, Cevik)
U13s: SMFC 4-1 Dandenong City (R Hussainy, Panakos, Vlogianitis, Longhurst)
U12s: SMFC 2-0 Dandenong City (Fakos, Markovski)

Female State League Teams (U12-Seniors)

SL1 (Seniors): SMFC 6-0 Lara United (Alberici 24′, 49′, 52′, Greiser 64′, 69′, 76′)
SL1 (Reserves): SMFC 6-0 Lara United (Reisacher 39′, Singleton 57′, Delorenzis 63′, 69′, Mazzeo 80′, 86′)
SL2: SMFC 0-1 Monash University
SL3: SMFC 3-0 Casey Panthers
SL4: SMFC 0-0 Monash University
U16s: SMFC 4-1 Monbulk Rangers
U14s: SMFC 2-2 Pascoe Vale (Louloudis, Stringfellow)
U12s: SMFC 2-2 East Bentleigh Strikers