Author: John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has the chance to bury the disappointment of last Sunday’s NPL Victoria Grand Final defeat when it meets Tasmanian Champions Olympia FC in the Australian PS4 NPL Elimination Final on Saturday afternoon at Lakeside Stadium.

The Australian NPL Finals Series gives all of the 2015 NPL Premiers (the teams across the country that finish on top of the ladder after the regular home & away season) the opportunity to become Australian NPL Champions. The NPL Champions also receive automatic entry into the 2016 Westfield FFA Cup, providing another big incentive for all eight clubs.

2015 Premiers South Melbourne (VIC), Blacktown City (NSW) and Canberra FC (ACT) all lost their respective Grand Finals last weekend. Moreton Bay (QLD), West Adelaide Hellas (SA) and Edgeworth FC (Northern NSW) all won their Grand Finals after finishing as Premiers. Bayswater City (WA) and Olympia FC (TAS) did not have a Finals Series and won both the Premiership and Championship via first past the post.

Olympia FC will compete in the Australian NPL Finals Series for the first time, after South Hobart represented Tasmania in the 2013 and 2014 editions. Olympia won 4-0 on the final day of the League season on 22 August to finish two points ahead of South Hobart on the League table and confirm their meeting with South Melbourne on Saturday. In 21 League matches in 2015, Olympia scored a phenomenal 83 goals and conceded only 14.

The players to watch for Olympia are Emmanuel Tsakiris (23 goals in 21 matches), Luke Eyles (14 goals in 20 matches) and Nicholas Mearns (10 goals in 20 matches) and Gavin Hoy. South fans will want to keep an eye on left sided midfielder Eyles in particular, with the 2015 Tasmanian Young Player of the Year having signed for South Melbourne ahead of the 2016 PS4 NPL Victoria season.

The winner of Saturday’s Elimination Final plays their Semi Final next weekend against the winner between West Adelaide Hellas and Bayswater City. The host team will be decided based on accrued points in Elimination Finals this weekend. Winning teams are awarded more points for winning inside 90 minutes, not conceding and having a good disciplinary record.

Saturday’s match between South Melbourne and Olympia FC kicks off at 4pm at Lakeside Stadium. For those unable to attend, there will be live updates on the Club’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter with the handles #PS4NPLFINALS and #SMFC.

South Melbourne FC Vice Captain Brad Norton will make his 100th League appearance for the Club in the NPL Victoria Grand Final this Sunday.

Norton was signed by former South coach Peter Tsolakis in November 2011 and arrived at Lakeside Stadium having previously represented the Melbourne Knights, Northcote City and Adelaide United.

He made his SMFC debut in the 4-0 win against the Moreland Zebras at Lakeside Stadium in the opening round of the 2012 Victorian Premier League season. Norton’s first year at SMFC was difficult, with the team failing to make the finals in 2012 and also being bundled out of the Dockerty Cup by lower division opposition. He scored his first League goal in May of that season against the Melbourne Knights, however it was to be a consolation goal only as the Knights won the derby 1-2.

Norton scored the opening goal of South’s 2013 season with a header against Green Gully and backed that up with another goal a fortnight later as South began that season with three straight League wins. In the Fifth Round Dockerty Cup tie against Northcote City on the Queen’s Birthday Monday in June, Norton steamed up the field and scored the winning goal in extra time as South defeated Northcote City 3-2 in what was a thrilling Cup tie at Lakeside Stadium.

Following the departure of Tsolakis and several players halfway through the 2013 season, Norton assumed the captaincy for most of the remainder of that season. New coach Chris Taylor dropped him from the starting line-up following an error he made in the second-last match of the home & away season against Northcote City, however he still contributed from the bench during the rest of that season. In the final match of the home & away season against Port Melbourne, Norton came on as an 86th minute substitute before scoring a headed goal four minutes later as South won the match 4-0 and qualified for the Finals Series.

The 2014 NPL Victoria season was a mark of consistency for SMFC as Taylor’s side won their opening fourteen matches across all competitions on the way to winning the League Championship via first past the post. Norton featured in 31 of South’s 32 matches across all competitions in 2014 and established a strong defensive partnership with Michael Eagar and Tim Mala that has continued into 2015. Norton has started 34 of South’s 35 matches across all competitions in 2015 and has only missed one game through suspension.

Over the past few years, Norton has shown supreme fitness and has nailed the left fullback role as his own. In a sign of his consistency and loyalty, he is the only player remaining from the beginning of the 2012 season and along with Leigh Minopoulos are the only two current SMFC players not initially signed by Chris Taylor. He has been one of South’s best performers this season and will want to continue his great form in Sunday’s Grand Final against the Bentleigh Greens.

Brad Norton becomes only the ninth SMFC player in the post-NSL era to represent the Club in over 100 League matches. He joins the likes of Dean Anastasiadis, Tansel Baser, Con Blatsis, Vaughan Coveny, Fernando De Moraes, Gianni De Nittis, Steven O’Dor and Rama Tavsancioglu in reaching the milestone. He recently signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at Lakeside until the end of 2017 and can reach 150 League matches for the Club if he continues his consistency.

We congratulate Brad Norton on his achievement and wish him the best for Sunday’s Grand Final!

Brad Norton’s SMFC Overview

Signed: November 2011
League Debut: 4-0 v Moreland Zebras at Lakeside Stadium (Sunday 25 March 2012).
First League Goal: 1-2 v Melbourne Knights at Lakeside Stadium (Sunday 20 May 2012).
50 League Games: 5-3 v Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve (Saturday 5 April 2014).

2012 VPL season: 22 games (21 starts, 1 subs), 2 goals
2013 VPL season: 24 games (21 starts, 3 subs), 5 goals
2014 NPL season: 27 games (22 starts, 5 subs), 0 goals
2015 NPL season: 26 games (26 starts, 0 subs), 2 goals
Overall Summary: 99 games (90 starts, 9 subs), 9 goals

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that midfielder Stephen Hatzikostas has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the Club until the end of the 2017 season.

Hatzikostas arrived at Lakeside Stadium during the 2014 winter transfer window and very quickly established himself as a regular starter. He played thirteen matches last season and helped South win the League Championship. Unfortunately, he ruptured his ACL in the Australian NPL Playoff match against South Hobart in September 2014 and suffered a setback for 2015.

After working hard to recover from his injury, Hatzikostas returned to the field as a substitute against the Bentleigh Greens on 28 June. Since that game, he has started in every match and helped South to win the Dockerty Cup (2 August) and the PS4 NPL Victoria Premier’s Plate (23 August). To date he has played a total of 25 matches across all competitions for the Club.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was understandably pleased to have secured the Hatzikostas’ contract extension. “There are very few people who understand the hard work and personal sacrifices that Stephen undertook to return from injury as quickly as he has. Our record when Stevie plays is extraordinary and are very happy that he will be with us until at least the end of 2017.”

South Melbourne FC is thrilled to announce that Vice Captain Brad Norton has re-signed for a further two seasons. His new deal will keep him at the Club until the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Norton arrived at Lakeside Stadium ahead of the 2012 Victorian Premier League season. Since then, the 24 year old has played 95 League matches for the Club (111 across all competitions) and scored eight goals (nine across all competitions). He is the longest serving current SMFC player.

Norton was appointed as Vice Captain in 2013 but captained the side for most of the second half of the season following the exit of South’s captain that year. Since then, he has remained part of South’s leadership group and has continued to captain the side on occasions.

Norton played an integral part in South’s NPL Victoria Championship last season and the recent Dockerty Cup triumph in early August. He was also one of South’s best players during the Club’s inaugural FFA Cup match against Palm Beach in July.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was delighted that Norton had extended his stay at South Melbourne for a further two seasons. “Brad has been a huge part of our recent history and our cultural change around the Club. He has been with us for almost four years and this contract extension will ensure that he will be a South Melbourne player for at least six seasons. We welcome this news and hope that he can continue his excellent form.”

South Melbourne FC congratulates Brad Norton on his contract extension.

South Melbourne FC secured a 4-2 victory against Port Melbourne in a very entertaining match played at Lakeside Stadium last Friday night. Doubles from Milos Lujic and Nick Epifano won the three points for the home side and continued South’s pressure on League leaders Bentleigh Greens with only a few rounds remaining.

Adrian Zahra almost opened the scoring for Port Melbourne with a left-footed effort that beat Nikola Roganovic but not the crossbar, with the away side showing an early sign of intent. On the half hour mark however, Lujic opened the scoring with a textbook header from a wonderful Brad Norton cross from the left side. South looked to be cruising, however Nick Krousoratis got on the end of a through ball and tucked the ball past Roganovic to level the scores just before the halftime break.

Epifano restored South’s lead from the penalty spot just minutes after the break, after Leigh Minopoulos had been fouled in the area. Port Melbourne struck back almost immediately however, with Krousoratis getting his second goal of the night by heading the ball past Roganovic after the South custodian had initially saved his shot. Once again, South’s lead had been squandered.

Incredibly, the home side re-took the lead just minutes after the equalising goal, when another fantastic cross by Norton found an unmarked Lujic at the back post to score past goalkeeper Michael Stark. The game was then finished off with just over twenty minutes to play by Epifano, who got on the end of a fantastic through-ball from Minopoulos before slotting past the advancing Stark for his second goal of the night.

Lujic, playing his 50th League match for South Melbourne, should have had a hat-trick minutes later after finding himself one-on-one with Stark, however Port’s custodian made an excellent save to deny South a fifth goal. ‘Millsy’ has scored an incredible 38 League goals in 50 League games for South, with an overall record of 47 goals in 62 games across all competitions in just under two seasons at SMFC.

South’s 4-2 victory was made even more crucial with both Bentleigh and Heidelberg drawing their League matches this weekend. This means that South is now in outright second place on the ladder and two points clear of Heidelberg. It also means that South – with a game in hand and with a better goal difference than Bentleigh – is now just three points behind the Greens on the ladder.

It was further good news in the Under 20s as South Melbourne defeated Port Melbourne 3-0 thanks to second half goals from Gerry Kavadas, Giuseppe Marafioti (penalty kick) and Nashir Hussainy.

South’s next match is away against Avondale FC on Saturday 15 August. Kick-off is at 3pm at Doyle Street Reserve.

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

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Milos Lujic (30′)
1-1: Nick Krousoratis (44′)
2-1: Nick Epifano (48’p)
2-2: Nick Krousoratis (51′)
3-2: Milos Lujic (54′)
4-2: Nick Epifano (69′)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 5. Luke ADAMS, 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE (16. Andy BEVIN 89′), 9. Milos LUJIC (10. David STIRTON 89′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS (14. Chris IRWIN 75′), 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS.

Unused Subs: 22. Fraser MacLAREN (GK), 23. Andy KECOJEVIC.

Port Melbourne Sharks:
25. Michael STARK (GK), 3. James RICCOBENE, 4. Alan MULCAHY (17. Erhan YALAZ 78’), 5. George KROMMIDAS (16. Alan KEARNEY 63’), 7. Adrian ZAHRA, 10. Andrew MILICEVIC, 11. Nick KROUSORATIS, 14. Kamal IBRAHIM, 19. Shaun KELLY (C), 20. Julius DAVIES (22. Ryan OPPERMAN 46’) 23. Conor REDDAN.

Unused Subs: 1. Ben MORELLA (GK), 6. Chris GROSSMAN.

Fix Hells Beer Man of the Match: Brad Norton
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Friday 7 August 2015

South Melbourne FC returns to Queensland for the first time in over a decade when it faces the Palm Beach Sharks at Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast in Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 action on Wednesday night.

The last time South was in Queensland for a competitive match was on Saturday 3 January 2004, when the Brisbane Strikers defeated Stuart Munro’s South Melbourne side 1-0 at Perry Park during the final season of the old National Soccer League.

Eleven years on, Chris Taylor’s South Melbourne side play their first match in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 proper, having failed to qualify for the inaugural competition in 2014. South qualified this year thanks to qualifying wins against Whittlesea United (14 March), North Sunshine (15 April), Melbourne Knights (5 June) and Frankston Pines (17 June).

Palm Beach reached the Round of 32 with qualifying wins against Broadbeach United (12 May), South West Queensland Thunder (6 June) and Noosa Lions FC (27 June). In the FFA Cup last year, Palm Beach knocked out both Sydney Hakoah (Round of 32) and South Springvale (Round of 16) before losing their Quarter Final match 0-5 against the Central Coast Mariners.

Wednesday night’s match will be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports Channel 505, with kick-off at 7:30pm. South Melbourne coverage will begin from 6:30pm, with a special documentary on the Club screening from 6:30pm prior to the game starting.

Photo: Takis Mantarakis, Leigh Minopoulos, Michael Mandalis, Nick Epifano, Takis Xanthopoulos

South Melbourne FC is pleased to unveil a new away kit for the 2015 Westfield FFA Cup, coinciding with emerging Australian apparel provider BLK Sport committing to the Club for the next three years as our Official Apparel and Kit Supplier.

SMFC joins the likes of Richmond FC (AFL), Western Bulldogs (AFL), Melbourne Storm (NRL) and Melbourne Rebels (Super Rugby) in wearing the BLK brand in Victoria and will be the marquee football (soccer) club wearing BLK in Victoria.

As part of the extremely lucrative deal, SMFC will also now have custom designed playing gear and merchandise forming a part of its range, as well as a unique online store that will allow SMFC fans from across the globe to purchase gear from 2016 onwards.

As hosts of the Round of 32 FFA Cup tie, our opponents Palm Beach SC will be in their blue home strip and SMFC will wear its original white top with red V, which was the first strip worn in competition by South Melbourne Hellas from 1960 to 1964. For future FFA Cup matches, South will wear a blue BLK shirt similar to its 2015 NPL Victoria shirt. As per our NPL home shirt, Plastamasta Knauf will once again feature on the front as our major sponsor, with MW Lomax and AIS Insurance featuring on the sleeve. Beachcomber Cafe and Bank of Sydney will also once again be on the back of the shirt.

As the heritage shirt was specifically designed to recognise and respect the history and formation of SMFC in 1959, the Club invited legends of that wonderful era in Michael Mandalis (11 Seasons, 5 Championships), Takis Xanthopoulos (5 Seasons, 3 Championships) and Takis Mantarakis (9 Seasons, 4 Championships) to help launch the new shirt. The occasion was very emotional for these legends and they invited current SMFC players Leigh Minopoulos and Nick Epifano to join them in the photo shoot, whilst also providing them with advice for what is going to be an exciting upcoming week back on the national stage.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Leigh Minopoulos spoke about how much of an honour it was to respect the club in such a way. “I’ve grown up in a South family and have supported the club all of my life, so to have names like Mandalis, Mantarakis and Xanthopoulos who are legends of the club get emotional seeing the shirt worn again means quite a bit to me and I’m sure it means alot to many other South fans too. I can’t wait to wear the shirt next Wednesday night.”

SMFC Marketing Manager George Kouroumalis was excited about the new sponsorship arrangement. “BLK Sport are ready to make their mark on Australian football and as a club we are looking to do the same. We are very pleased that they have chosen our brand, alongside some other large clubs in Australian sport. Following BLK’s sponsorship of our custom designed FFA Cup gear, we cannot wait to get started on some new merchandise ideas for our fans in 2016. This sponsorship opportunity not only saves us a great amount of money per season but also ensures that we have modern and unique gear that is a point of difference from other clubs.”

The match will be shown live on Fox Sports this Wednesday night at 7.30pm, with a documentary on the club also being screened on the same channel from 6.30pm.

South Melbourne FC advises that midfielder Iqi Jawadi will leave for Germany tonight to link up with the Afghanistan National Team for a four day training camp.

Jawadi is the only South player that has played every single minute of every single match across all competitions this season. He has added goal scoring to his game in 2015, with five goals so far in the campaign.

Overall, Jawadi has played 70 matches for the Club across all competitions and scored five goals.

His performances have prompted the Afghanis to call him up for their four day training camp in Germany over this weekend and early next week.

If Iqi impresses, he may be included in Afghanistan’s squad for their 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Japan in Iran on Tuesday 8 September.

He will be back for South’s next match, which is the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria game against Pascoe Vale at CB Smith Reserve on Saturday 25 July.

We wish Iqi Jawadi the best of luck!

Both teams had positive results during their mid-week fixtures this week. On Tuesday night, a Milos Lujic goal deep into injury time gave South a 3-2 win against Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium. On Wednesday night, the Knights came from a goal down to level 1-1 with League leaders Bentleigh Greens, before goalkeeper Chris May saved a Bentleigh spot kick in second half injury time.

Chris Taylor’s side are currently in second place on the NPL Victoria ladder, two points behind the leading Bentleigh. The Knights are in outright fourth position on the ladder but will be looking to edge closer to Bentleigh, South and Heidelberg.

The two teams have already met on three occasions across three separate competitions in 2015. In all three matches, the Knights took the lead before South won with late goals. On 13 February, South won the FFV Community Shield 2-1 at Knights Stadium before winning the League meeting at Lakeside Stadium on 11 April by the same scoreline. Most recently on 5 June at Lakeside Stadium, two late goals from Nick Epifano sealed a dramatic 3-1 FFA Cup win against the Knights.

South Melbourne and the Melbourne Knights have enjoyed a long footballing rivalry that began when South Melbourne Hellas played Croatia on 21 April 1962 at Middle Park (a 6-0 win for South). The clubs have played 96 League matches against each other, with South winning 48 games, the Knights 25 and with 23 drawn matches.

Sunday’s derby match kicks off at 3pm at Knights Stadium. For those unable to make the game, it can be followed on the Club’s official Facebook and Twitter with the handles #SMFC and #PS4NPLVIC.

Second meets first in PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria action this Sunday as South Melbourne FC hosts the Bentleigh Greens at Lakeside Stadium.

John Anastasiadis’ Bentleigh side come into Sunday’s game one point ahead of South on the NPL Victoria ladder. They are the form team of the competition, having won their last eight straight League games and having destroyed the previously second-placed Heidelberg United 4-0 at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex last Friday night.

Chris Taylor’s South Melbourne side took advantage of Heidelberg’s loss to jump into second spot on the NPL Victoria ladder by defeating Werribee City 1-0 at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday evening. Nick Epifano’s goal was the difference between the two sides and South is now just one point behind Bentleigh on the ladder.

The danger men for Bentleigh are Ryan De Vries, Chris Lucas and 2014 SMFC Championship player Tyson Holmes. All three were instrumental in the 4-0 win over the Bergers last Friday night and will be key players for South’s defence to shut down.

South will be missing Epifano on Sunday as the midfielder is currently trialing in Europe. Epifano’s absence may provide Leigh Minopoulos with the opportunity to play over the next couple of weeks and try to cement his place in the starting eleven.

South Melbourne has met the Bentleigh Greens 13 times in League competition. South has won six games, Bentleigh has won four games and there have been three draws.

In the last encounter between the two sides earlier this year on Friday 20 March, South came back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2.

In the corresponding fixture played at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 11 May 2014, South triumphed 2-1 thanks to second half goals from Milos Lujic and