Author: John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts Port Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night as Chris Taylor’s side looks to maintain top position on the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder heading into a very busy schedule.

South returned to winning form in the league with a comprehensive 3-1 win against Northcote City at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday. Milos Lujic scored a hat-trick in that game, adding to the goal he scored in the 2-0 win over North Geelong in FFA Cup qualifying four nights earlier and taking his 2016 personal tally to 18 goals in all competitions.

In South’s way on Friday night will be a Port Melbourne side that is sitting exactly in mid-table on the NPL Victoria ladder – in seventh spot out of 14 teams – with 6 wins, 6 losses and 3 draws from their fifteen league matches this season. Port should not be underestimated though as Eric Vassiliadis’ side is still in contention to qualify for the Dockerty Cup semi finals and Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 proper. They come into Friday night’s match with only one win in their last four league games, with that win coming last Sunday against Melbourne Victory’s NPL side.

Tim Mala made a welcome return to South’s defence for the games against North Geelong and Northcote City, taking some of the pressure off his fellow defenders that have had to cover the absence of Luke Adams and Kristian Konstantinidis. Marcus Schroen provided two assists for Lujic against Northcote and Brad Norton had two solid performances in both cup and league games last week, all very positive signs as South enjoys this period of five straight league matches at Lakeside Stadium.

Friday night’s match at Lakeside Stadium kicks off at 8:30pm.

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

Matches Played: 7
Wins (SMFC): 5
Wins (PMFC): 1
Draws: 1

First match: South Melbourne 0-1 Port Melbourne (30 June 2013, Lakeside Stadium)
Last match: Port Melbourne 0-2 South Melbourne (4 March 2016, SS Anderson Reserve)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 4-0 (22 September 2013, Anderson Reserve)
Biggest Winning Margin (PMFC): 1-0 (30 June 2013, Lakeside Stadium)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 4 (2 times – 2013 and 2015)
Most Goals in a Match (PMFC): 2 (3 times – 2014, 2015 x2)

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

South Melbourne FC returned to the top of the Ps4 NPL Victoria ladder with a comfortable 3-1 victory against Northcote City at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Milos Lujic scored a hat-trick as South ended a tough week in style with a second victory within five days.

Chris Taylor’s side wanted to continue their winning ways following the 2-0 win over North Geelong in the FFA Cup Sixth Round on the Wednesday night and made a great start against Northcote. The lurking Lujic took full advantage of goalkeeper Phillip Petrovski not being able to hold Nick Epifano’s shot by tapping the loose ball into the back of the net. It was 2-0 by halftime when Brad Norton’s low ball into the area found Marcus Schroen, who turned provider by cutting the ball back for Lujic to tap in from just inside the six-yard box.

Michael Karvouniaris then gave Goran Lozanovski’s side a glimmer of hope just before the hour mark when Lujic’s attempted defensive clearance of the ball fell straight to him to head past Nikola Roganovic and into the back of the net. Any chances of a Northcote comeback were killed off only minutes later however, when some nice lead-up play down the left wing saw Schroen pick out Lujic at the back post for a nicely taken header past Petrovski for his – and South’s – third goal of the afternoon.

The scoreline could have been greater had it not been for some excellent goalkeeping from Petrovski, however the job was done and South returned to the top of the table after the Bentleigh Greens temporarily displaced them on Friday night.

South has a huge week coming up, hosting Port Melbourne in the league on Friday night before travelling to Kingston Heath to play Bentleigh next Tuesday night for a spot in the FFA Cup Round of 32 proper and the Dockerty Cup semi finals.

South’s Under 20s were scheduled to play Northcote City at Albert Park Field 19 but the match was cancelled due to the weather and will be played at a later date.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-1 NORTHCOTE CITY (HT: 2-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Milos Lujic (17′)
2-0: Milos Lujic (45′)
2-1: Michael Karvouniaris (58′)
3-1: Milos Lujic (60′)

South Melbourne FC
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) / 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 11. Brad NORTON / 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS (12. Amadu KOROMA 86′), 99. Iqi JAWADI (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 65′) / 18. Matthew MILLAR, 17. Marcus SCHROEN, 7. Nick EPIFANO (14. Chris IRWIN 90′) / 9. Milos LUJIC.
Unused Subs: 8. Mathew THEODORE, 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK).

Northcote City FC:
1. Phillip PETROVSKI (GK), 3. Nicholas BAVCAR, 4. Gregory LOMBARDO (C), 5. Marcus DUNCAN (Steven PAPADOPOULOS 90+1′), 7. Borbor SAM, 10. Braedyn CROWLEY, 14. Anthony RAMZY (15. Todd DEKKER 88′), 18. Keenan GIBSON, 20. Anthony TARANTO (22. Thomas DEMELIS 65′), 21. Michael KARVOUNIARIS, 23. Jonathan BOUNAS.
Unused Sub: 25. Anthony BOUZANIS (GK).

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Milos Lujic
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 5 June 2016

Male NPL Teams (U12-Seniors)

Seniors: SMFC 3-1 Northcote City (Lujic 17′, 45′, 60′)
U20s: SMFC v Northcote City – Postponed
U18s: SMFC 4-5 Richmond (Marafioti x3, Egan)
U16s: SMFC 6-4 Richmond (Kolaj x3, Ahmeti x2, Dobbyn)
U15s: SMFC 5-1 Richmond (Goal Scorers TBC)
U14s: SMFC 2-2 Richmond (Abdou, Mitsonis)
U13s: SMFC 3-1 Richmond (Longhurst, Panakos, Pasakos)
U12s: SMFC 2-2 Richmond (Durso x2)

Female State League Teams (U12-Seniors)

SL1 (Seniors): SMFC 0-2 Melbourne University
SL1 (Reserves): SMFC 0-4 Melbourne University
SL2: SMFC 0-0 Ashburton United
SL3: SMFC 8-0 East Bentleigh (Belanger x2, Van Den Bulk x2, Weller x2, Farmer, Wilcher)
SL4: SMFC 3-2 Dandenong Thunder (Cambus, Pecherski, Vonn)
U16s: SMFC 11-1 Sunshine George Cross (Karp x3, Trease-Hemming x3, Shata x2, Chinnama, Vicol, Trajkovska)
U14s: SMFC 8-1 Westside Strikers (Nickolaus x3, Louloudis x2, Flaster, Ciancio-Knauer, Wicks)
U12s: SMFC 0-2 Brighton Stars

South Melbourne FC will be looking for a return to winning ways in the league when it welcomes Northcote City to Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Taylor’s side quickly overcame the heavy derby loss to Heidelberg last Sunday by defeating NPL 2 side North Geelong in their Sixth Round FFA Cup match on Wednesday night. South remains on top of the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder by a single point and will want a win over Northcote to maintain that position.

Goran Lozanovski recently returned as Northcote’s coach and the results have slowly improved, with Northcote picking up two wins and a draw from their last six league matches. Despite the positive results, Northcote are still in last place on the NPL Victoria ladder but did enjoy a 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory’s NPL team last Saturday. Two-time South NSL Championship winner Lozanovski will use last weekend’s win as confidence going into Sunday’s meeting against his former side, who have struggled in matches against the lower-ranker NPL Victoria sides in 2016.

Zaim Zeneli and Tim Mala played the full 90 minutes in the cup win mid-week and with the continued absence of Luke Adams (international duty) and Kristian Konstantinidis (injury), Mala may play at centre-half again on Sunday. Zeneli played in goal due on Wednesday night to Nikola Roganovic pulling up sore in the pre-game warm-up and it remains to be seen whether he will retain his place. Zeneli has done his selection chances no harm, keeping two clean sheets in his two appearances this season.

Sunday’s match is also the first time that South’s senior men’s and women’s teams have featured in a double-header at Lakeside Stadium since the ‘One Club Policy’ was ratified at the club’s Annual General Meeting in March. The Senior Women will host Melbourne University at 1pm, with the Senior Men’s match to kick off at 4pm. Following the conclusion of the Men’s game, SMFC and Football Federation Australia will host the Greek National Team’s training session at Lakeside Stadium.

SMFC v Northcote City – Head to Head (League & Finals)

Matches Played: 14
Wins (SMFC): 5
Wins (NCFC): 5
Draws: 4

First match: Northcote City 3-3 South Melbourne (13 March 2010, John Cain Reserve)
Last match: Northcote City 0-4 South Melbourne (27 February 2016, John Cain Reserve)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 4-0 (27 February 2016, John Cain Reserve)
Biggest Winning Margin (NCFC): 5-0 (08 May 2011, John Cain Reserve / 13 October 2013, Anderson Reserve)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 4 (4-0 win, 27 February 2016, John Cain Reserve)
Most Goals in a Match (NCFC): 5 (2011, 2013)

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): None
Biggest Finals Win (NCFC): 5-0 (13 October 2013, SS Anderson Reserve)

South Melbourne FC defeated North Geelong 2-0 at SS Anderson Reserve on Wednesday night to progress in 2016 FFA Cup qualifying. Second half goals to Milos Lujic and Matthew Millar set up the win for South, who will now travel to play the Bentleigh Greens in an all-NPL tie.

Tim Mala made a welcome return to the starting eleven but played at centre-half and not right-back due to the absence of Kristian Konstantinidis and Luke Adams. Goalkeeper Zaim Zeneli made only his second appearance of the season, replacing Nikola Roganovic who was a late withdrawal after injuring himself in the pre-game warm-up.

The first half was an entertaining affair as South created plenty of chances but was unable to convert any into goals. Captain Michael Eagar came close with a goal-bound header but North Geelong goalkeeper Daniel Zilic made an excellent save to deny the centre-half. There was also a clearance off the line and an appeal for a handball turned down by the referee. At the other end, Matt Thorne had a shot whistle just wide of Zeneli’s goal as North Geelong sent a reminder that they were more than capable of hitting South on the break and causing damage.

On the hour mark, Nicholas Jurcic volleyed the ball into the back of the net but the linesman had already flagged him as offside in what looked to be a very close call. Things went from bad to worse for North Geelong when South took the lead just a few minutes later as Lujic met Brad Norton’s cross from the left to volley past Zilic. Lujic then turned provider on 82 minutes by heading the ball across goal for the incoming Millar to easily head home and secure a safe passage into the next round.

South’s win has set up an all-NPL tie against the Bentleigh Greens, with the tie to be played at some stage over the next 2-3 weeks at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex. The winners will qualify for the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 proper as well as the Dockerty Cup semi finals.

FINAL SCORE: NORTH GEELONG 0-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-0)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Milos Lujic (64′)
0-2: Matthew Millar (82′)

North Geelong FC:
1. Daniel ZILIC (GK), 2. Darren LEWIS, 3. Matt TOWNLEY, 4. Michael SIMMS, 6. Josh PUGH, 8. Vito CHICHELLO, 10. Rudi SAGLAM (21. Ante KOZUL 80′), 11. Kene EZE (19. Michael ANDERSON 71′), 14. Matt THORNE, 17. Nicholas JURCIC, 99. Nathan LONG.
Unused Subs: 5. Anthony BANOVAC, 31. Hamish FLAVELL.

South Melbourne FC:
21. Zaim ZENELI (GK) / 12. Amadu KOROMA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 2. Tim MALA, 11. Brad NORTON / 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 99. Iqi JAWADI / 18. Matthew MILLAR, 17. Marcus SCHROEN (22. Andy KECOJEVIC 89′), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 90+1′) / 9. Milos LUJIC (14. Chris IRWIN 90+3′).
Unused Subs: 1. Rory BRIAN (GK), 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS.

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Matthew Foschini
Venue: SS Anderson Reserve
Date: Wednesday 1 June 2016

South Melbourne FC meets North Geelong at SS Anderson Reserve on Wednesday night in Sixth Round FFA Cup Qualifying, with the winning team to move within one game of qualifying for the Round of 32 proper.

As the designated home team, North Geelong tried to have the lighting at their Elcho Park ground at a satisfactory level in order to host South in this cup tie but had to eventually concede and move the game to SS Anderson Reserve. The draw for the next round of the FFA Cup was held on Monday and both North Geelong and South know that the winner will be travelling to Kingston Heath to play the Bentleigh Greens for a spot in both the FFA Cup Round of 32 proper and the Dockerty Cup semi finals.

Both teams go into the game on the back of derby losses in their respective leagues. North Geelong suffered a 1-2 home defeat in their NPL 2 West derby against the St Albans Saints, whilst South was humiliated 5-0 by Heidelberg United at the Olympic Village on Sunday night. The only consolation for Chris Taylor’s side was the fact that Bentleigh stumbled against Bulleen Lions on Monday night, keeping South ahead of them by point on top of the NPL Victoria ladder.

North Geelong defeated South Shepparton in March (7-1) and FC Clifton Hill in April (5-2) to set up their cup tie against South, who started their cup campaign with a big win against Keysborough in March (10-0) before eventually getting over the line against Altona Magic in April (3-0). North Geelong – like Altona – will also prove to be difficult opposition, with Micky Colina’s side currently in second place on the NPL 2 West ladder and only a point behind leaders Melbourne City. South has struggled to play against the lower-ranked teams in the NPL this season, plus the 3-0 score against Altona Magic in the last round of the cup was not a true reflection of the game itself. Colina and his team will look at that as inspiration to cause an upset on Wednesday night.

South has won the two previous meetings between the sides, with both games played last year when North Geelong were in Victoria’s top flight before eventually being relegated. South won the first meeting at Elcho Park 3-0 (28 February) before enjoying a 7-1 home win at Lakeside Stadium (29 May).

Wednesday night’s cup tie kicks off at 7:30pm at SS Anderson Reserve, Port Melbourne.

Male NPL Teams (U12-Seniors)

Seniors: SMFC 0-5 Heidelberg United
U20s: SMFC 8-2 Heidelberg United (Maker 3′, 58′, Marafioti 18′, 61′, Jansz 23′, 53′, Iradukunda 35′, Hussainy 75′)
U18s: SMFC 2-2 Bulleen Lions (Egan, Hawthorne)
U16s: SMFC 2-0 Bulleen Lions (Pignalosa, Dobbyn)
U15s: SMFC 1-2 Bulleen Lions (Garrow)
U14s: SMFC 2-1 Bulleen Lions (Lewis-Hanafin, Abdou)
U13s: SMFC 2-2 Bulleen Lions (Panakos, Own Goal)
U12s: SMFC 1-4 Bulleen Lions (Dzadey)

Female State League Teams (U12-Seniors)

SL1 (Seniors): SMFC 1-0 South Yarra (Alberici 70′)
SL1 (Reserves): SMFC 1-2 South Yarra (Cachia 7′)
SL2: SMFC 2-3 Seaford United (Goal Scorers TBC)
SL3: SMFC 0-4 Mazenod United
SL4: SMFC 0-9 Harrisfield Hurricanes
U16s: SMFC 2-2 Ashburton United (Stoic, Trease-Hemming)
U14s: SMFC 2-2 Pascoe Vale (Nikolaus x2)
U12s: SMFC 2-1 Bentleigh Strikers (Hugh-Jones x2)

The two derby meetings between South Melbourne FC and Heidelberg United in 2016 have been extraordinary to say the least. In the first meeting at Lakeside Stadium back in February, South demolished Heidelberg 6-0 to record the club’s biggest ever winning margin against the Bergers in 82 league meetings since 1964. At the Olympic Village on Sunday evening, Heidelberg brushed South aside 5-0 to also record their biggest ever winning margin against their rivals.

The scoring was opened on the half hour mark. A free kick from the left side was only partially cleared as the ball fell for centre-back Steven Pace to smash home past Nikola Roganovic. The match was then over as a contest just before the halftime break with two quick goals from Kenny Athiu and Harry Noon that put the Bergers in a commanding 3-0 halftime lead. Athiu got on the end of a free kick to head home past Roganovic and Noon capitalised on a loose ball in the South area just two minutes later.

The scoring was completed just before the hour mark as the Bergers scored two early second half goals. Noon scored his second of the evening (and second goal within five minutes) when he reacted first to the loose ball in the area as the South defence failed to clear the ball. On 58 minutes, Jack Petrie scored the goal of the night when he got possession of the ball and fired home from the edge of the area with a low shot that had Roganovic stretching to his right but unable to keep out of the net.

South’s miserable night was completed when Nick Epifano’s late penalty kick curled over the crossbar and out for a goal kick in what was his second penalty miss in three matches. South has now lost two matches in their last three games and a Bentleigh win over FC Bulleen Lions tonight will see the Greens overtake South on top of the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder.

There was an incredible 10 goals scored in the Under 20s as South Melbourne defeated Heidelberg United 8-2. Maker Maker (x2), Giordano Marafioti (x2), Brandon Jansz (x2), Thierry Iradukunda and Nashir Hussainy scored South’s eight goals.

There is not much time for the Senior Team to regroup before facing NPL 1 opposition North Geelong in the Sixth Round of FFA Cup Qualifying in what is simply a must-win game on Wednesday night. The match will be played at Port Melbourne’s SS Anderson Reserve, with kick-off at 7:30pm.

FINAL SCORE: HEIDELBERG UNITED 5-0 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 3-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Steven Pace (29′)
2-0: Kenny Athiu (42′)
3-0: Harry Noon (44′)
4-0: Harry Noon (49′)
5-0: Jack Petrie (58′)

Heidelberg United FC:
1. Chris THEODORIDIS (GK), 2. Josh WILKINS, 6. Lewis HALL, 7. Reuben WAY, 10. Jack PETRIE, 11. Kosta KANAKARIS (24. Emmanuel TSAKIRIS 89′), 12. Kenny ATHIU, 13. Luke BYLES (C), 14. Harry NOON, 17. Steven PACE (21. Andreas GOVAS 66′), 19. Sean ELLIS (4. Johnny LAZARIDIS 62′).
Unused Subs: 8. Andrew CARTANOS, 23. Jack EVANS.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) / 12. Amadu KOROMA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 11. Brad NORTON / 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS, 99. Iqi JAWADI (17. Marcus SCHROEN 46′) / 18. Matthew MILLAR, 8. Mathew THEODORE (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 56′), 7. Nick EPIFANO / 9. Milos LUJIC.
Unused Subs: 14. Chris IRWIN, 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK), 23. Andy KECOJEVIC.

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Matthew Millar
Venue: Olympic Village
Date: Sunday 29 May 2016

(Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC begins the second half of its PS4 NPL Victoria season with a trip to the Olympic Village to face Heidelberg United this Sunday evening.

South got its 2016 season off to the best possible start back in February with a 6-0 demolition of Heidelberg at Lakeside Stadium, historically the club’s biggest ever winning margin against the Bergers since the sides first met competitively back in 1964.

Since that defeat, George Katsakis’ side have been very impressive in the league, only losing two other times in their opening 13 matches and their 4-2 win against Melbourne Victory’s NPL side last Sunday elevated them over Green Gully (on goal difference) into third spot on the NPL Victoria ladder. Playing finals football and winning the NPL Victoria Championship is what will drive the Bergers for the rest of the season following their elimination from the FFA Cup after a 2-0 loss to Green Gully in their Sixth Round FFA Cup tie.

Chris Taylor’s side will travel to the Olympic Village hoping to do the double over Heidelberg in 2016, plus win a second consecutive match on the road following the hard-fought 0-1 win at Green Gully last Saturday. In terms of league games only, South has five home games in a row following Sunday’s derby, giving the team a great opportunity to consolidate their position at the top of the table.

With the FFA Cup Sixth Round tie against North Geelong coming up next Wednesday night, it is crucial that South continues winning matches as the season heads into the busy June/July period.

A win on Sunday will put South five points ahead of the Bentleigh Greens, who will then be under pressure themselves to defeat the Bulleen Lions when they visit Veneto Club on Monday night. On the other hand, if both Heidelberg and Bentleigh win, Bentleigh will overtake South by a point on the ladder and Heidelberg will reduce their deficit against South to just five points.

The margins are close at the very top of the ladder but the good news is that South has its fate in its own hands at the moment.

Sunday’s match at Olympic Village kicks off at 6pm.

SMFC v Heidelberg – Head to Head (League & Finals)

Matches Played: 82
Wins (SMFC): 41
Wins (HUFC): 22
Draws: 19

First match: South Melbourne 2-1 Heidelberg (30 March 1964, Middle Park)
Last match: South Melbourne 6-0 Heidelberg (21 February 2016, Lakeside Stadium)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 6-0 (21 February 2016, Lakeside Stadium)
Biggest Winning Margin (HUFC): 5-2 (3 July 1977, Olympic Park)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): 7 (7-3 win) – (2 April 1967, Middle Park)
Most Goals in a Match (HUFC): 5 (5-2 win) – (3 July 1977, Olympic Park)

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): 4-2 (21 October 1984, Olympic Park)
Biggest Finals Win (HUFC): 4-1 (18 October 1980, Olympic Park)

Heidelberg was not in the same division as SMFC in the following seasons: 1965, 1969 (State League); 1988, 1989/90, 1995/96 to 2003/04 (National League); 2013 (Premier League)

South Melbourne FC returned to winning ways with an excellent team performance against Green Gully, triumphing 0-1 at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday afternoon. Nick Epifano’s penalty shortly before halftime was the difference between the two sides as South remained on top of the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder at the halfway mark of the season.

Changes were made to the South team that suffered a very disappointing home defeat against Pascoe Vale the previous Friday. There was a defensive re-shuffle, with Luke Adams absent due to an international call-up to the New Zealand side and Tim Mala and Kristian Konstantinidis both still recovering from injury. Matthew Foschini replaced Adams at centre-back, with his usual defensive midfield spot taken over by Stephen Hatzikostas. Iqi Jawadi also made a return to the starting eleven.

South were the better side in the first half but despite plenty of huffing and puffing, could not get past Rani Dowisha in the Gully goal. This changed three minutes before the halftime break, when right-back Amadu Koroma was fouled in the penalty area as he charged forward for his side. Epifano stepped up to take the spot kick and shot low to Dowisha’s right to open the scoring. The half ended with Mathew Theodore hitting a fierce shot that hit the crossbar, before Nick Krousouratis put an equalising chance for Gully wide of the goal at the other end.

South continued to take the game to the hosts in the second half as it chased a second goal to kill the match off as a contest. In a replica of the first half, plenty of positive play by Chris Taylor’s side ended in no additions to the scoreboard as South fans nervously awaited the typical late Green Gully onslaught that had occurred in so many previous meetings between the two clubs.

As expected, Arthur Papas’ side roared home in the final twenty minutes in what was their most dominant period of the game. Nikola Roganovic denied Liam Boland before doing the same from an Evan Christodoulou shot. Krousouratis came closest to scoring for the home side with a long-distance shot that beat Roganovic but was cleared off the line as South’s defence dug deep to preserve the clean sheet. When Roganovic made another save from George Lambadaridis, it seemed destined to be South’s day. At the other end, Gully scrambled to clear a goal-bound shot off the line, with the linesman ignoring suggestions from the away team that the ball had crossed the line.

After six tense minutes of injury time, referee Shaun Evans signalled the end of the match that confirmed South had returned to the top of the NPL Victoria table, having been temporarily overtaken by Bentleigh Greens the night before. Oddly, South have now won four straight league matches at Green Gully Reserve from 2013 onwards, having struggled to get two draws from nine matches (including a final) at the venue between 2005 and 2012.

The news was not as good in the Under 20s, with Brian MacNicol’s side suffering only their second defeat of the season as Green Gully comprehensively won 4-0.

South begin the second half of the 2016 NPL Victoria season with a trip to the Olympic Village to face old rivals Heidelberg United. The match kicks off at 6pm next Sunday.

FINAL SCORE: GREEN GULLY 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorer:
0-1: Nick Epifano (42’p)

Green Gully FC:
23. Rani DOWISHA (GK), 2. Matthew REID (7. Tom MURPHY 74′), 3. Yohei IWASAKI, 5. Rodrigo VARGAS (C), 6. Callum RICHARDSON (4. Daniel JONES 74′), 8. George LAMBADARIDIS, 11. Evan CHRISTODOULOU, 12. Nick KROUSOURATIS, 16. Kliment TASESKI (9. Anthony RAGUSA 90′), 19. Luke WALKER, 38. Liam BOLAND.
Unused Subs: 1. Sebastian MATTEI (GK), 17. Alon BLUMGART.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) / 12. Amadu KOROMA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 23. Matthew FOSCHINI, 11. Brad NORTON / 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS, 99. Iqi JAWADI (14. Chris IRWIN 77′) / 18. Matthew MILLAR, 8. Mathew THEODORE (17. Marcus SCHROEN 72′), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 90+1′) / 9. Milos LUJIC.
Unused Subs: 6. Filzgerald MBAKA, 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK).

SMFC Melbourne City Toyota Man of the Match: Stephen Hatzikostas
Venue: Green Gully Reserve
Date: Saturday 21 May 2016