Author: John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC is delighted to advise that defender Bradley Norton has committed for the 2015 NPL Victoria season.

Norton joined South Melbourne at the commencement of the 2012 Victorian Premier League, and along with fellow defender Dimitri Tsiaras, is one of the longest serving players. In total, Brad Norton has represented South Melbourne on 81 occasions across all competitions (73 League, 8 Cup) and scored eight goals (7 League, 1 Cup). He has held leadership positions at the Club having been vice captain and also captain on various occasions throughout 2013 and 2014. Norton played his 50th League match in the 0-3 win against Hume City at Broadmeadows Valley Park on Sunday 13 April 2014. Other memorable highlights of Norton’s career at South include scoring the winning goal against Northcote City in extra time of the 3-2 win in the FFV Dockerty Cup on Monday 10 June 2013, as well as coming off the bench (86’) to score a wonderful headed goal (90’) against Port Melbourne in the final round of the season on 22 September 2013.

In 2014, he made 31 appearances across all competitions and battled with Shaun Timmins for the left-back spot when Timmins joined in the mid-season transfer window. Norton has worked hard throughout the season to earn and keep his spot in the starting eleven.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Director Nicholas Maikousis said “it was important to retain our core playing squad as we are looking to go go back-to-back in 2015. Brad has the strength of character required to defend our title next season”.

By George Triantos and John Kyrou

Centre-back and New Zealand international James Musa has extended his existing contract and committed to South Melbourne FC for a further two seasons.

He was Captain Michael Eagar’s partner at the centre of defence in 2014 and helped keep 16 clean sheets during the course of the season. Musa made 29 appearances across all competitions in 2014 and scored one goal. His height and athleticism makes him a difficult opponent to beat and Coach Chris Taylor will be expecting more of the same from him in 2015.

During the NPL Victoria off-season, James will be travelling back to New Zealand to complete a short-term loan spell at his former side Team Wellington until January 2015. James will then return to Lakeside Stadium to resume pre-season training with his fellow South team mates.

SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis told smfc.com.au “we are pleased to have James at South for a further two years after his great defensive work throughout the season. It was not surprising when James received an international cap with New Zealand against South Africa in May”.

By George Triantos and John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise right-back Tim Mala has committed to the Club until the end of the 2016 NPL Victoria season.

Mala arrived at South Melbourne from Dandenong Thunder during the 2013 mid-season transfer window and has represented the Club on 43 occasions since then. Mala played 31 matches across all competitions in 2014 and was an integral part of a compact defence that conceded only 27 goals in 32 matches. He also got involved in the Club’s media in 2014 with his own segment ‘Minute with Mala’ that regularly featured on SMFC TV during the season.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “Tim was a required player by Chris Taylor and we are very pleased that he has also re-committed for 2015.”

By John Kyrou and George Triantos

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that centre-back and Captain Michael Eagar has extended his existing contract and committed for a further two seasons.

Eagar crossed over from Northcote City to South Melbourne at the beginning of the 2014 season. The 24 year old dual New Zealand and Australian citizen has represented New Zealand at both Under 20 and Under 23 levels and has captained those sides as well. Throughout the 2014 season, Eagar led by example in the centre of a resolute South defence that kept 16 clean sheets from 32 matches. His Man of the Match performance in the PS4 NPL Elimination Final against South Hobart helped South Melbourne to maintain its 0-1 lead and eventually defeat the Tasmanian Champions to book a Semi Final spot against the NE MetroStars.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Head Coach Chris Taylor “He has been a stabilising and steadying influence on our defense as well as showing great leadership in guiding us to a championship this season. Re-signing Michael for the next two seasons shows the club is aspiring to repeating this years success in the coming season”.

By George Triantos and John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC advises attacking midfielder Iqi Jawadi has re-signed for a further two seasons until the end of the 2016 NPL Victoria season.

Jawadi arrived at Lakeside Stadium from the Dandenong Thunder during the 2013 mid-season transfer window and was one of Chris Taylor’s first signings for the Club. He has represented the Club on 43 occasions across all competitions and made 31 appearances in 2014. Iqi was recognised for his hard work when he finished in equal fifth place in the count for the 2014 FFV Gold Medal winner last Friday night.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “Iqi is certainly one of the real characters in the dressing room. His key strengths on the field are his hard running in the middle of the park and his ability to win the ball and drive the team forward. It is important to retain the quality of players such as Iqi if we are to go back to back in 2015”.

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that Shaun Kelly has been released to continue his career at fellow National Premier League club Port Melbourne Sharks in 2015.

Shaun arrived at Lakeside Stadium from State League side Shepparton United during the 2012 mid-season transfer window. The centre-back made 31 appearances for South Melbourne FC across all competitions and scored five goals during his time at the Club. He scored four goals from only seven appearances during the second half of the 2012 season and – in a sign of South’s struggles that season – won the Club’s Golden Boot award as a result.

Season 2013 was a difficult one for South Melbourne as the Club underwent a massive overhaul of the squad before and during the course of the year, which also included a change of Head Coach. Shaun Kelly was one of the few players that played throughout the entirety of that season, making 24 appearances across all competitions and scoring one goal. Disaster struck at the end of 2013 when he sustained a nasty foot injury that sidelined him for the entire 2014 campaign.

A model professional, Shaun took this setback in his stride and worked tirelessly with the staff at Principal Partner Keiser Training to get over his injury whilst still supporting South Melbourne FC on the terraces. He was very much a part of the squad that won the NPL Victoria Championship this season despite not playing on the park in 2014.

Shaun had this to say upon his decision to leave the Club: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody at South Melbourne FC for a brilliant few years. I have made the decision to move clubs for the upcoming season. I believe at this stage of my career – and especially after missing this year through injury – that I need to move to guarantee regular game time. I would like to thank the committee for all of their help and support, especially during my injury. I would also like to thank all of the coaching staff, both past and present, and all of the behind-the-scenes staff who work extremely hard to ensure that the Club succeeds. To all my team mates, also past and present, it has been a pleasure to play with all of you and share in the Club’s success. Finally, I would like to thank the fans. Your support and passion is unrivalled by any other club in the League and without you the Club wouldn’t be what it is today. Thank you all for your support and for all the memories that I will have. It’s been a privilege to represent such a big club and I look forward to playing at Lakeside Stadium next season.”

South Melbourne FC would like to thank Shaun on his contribution both on and off the park at the Club, and wishes him nothing but the very best for the future.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC’s 2014 season came to an abrupt end when it was defeated 1-2 by North Eastern MetroStars at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win for the South Australians sent them through to the 2014 PlayStation 4 National Premier League Grand Final against Bonnyrigg White Eagles (of Football NSW) next weekend at South’s expense.

South went into the game against MetroStars confident due to the fact that Chris Taylor’s side had only lost one of their fourteen home matches at Lakeside Stadium across all competitions in 2014. The home side were also confident having won through to the PlayStation 4 Semi Finals after defeating Tasmanian Champions South Hobart in Hobart last weekend. Standing in their way however was a MetroStars team that had won the South Australian Minor Premiership by eight points over West Adelaide Hellas and that had travelled to Western Australia to defeat Bayswater City the previous weekend.

MetroStars began the game much stronger than South Melbourne and deservedly took the lead after only eleven minutes. A cross to the back post was headed by James Musa over Chris Maynard and into the back of the net for an unfortunate but avoidable own goal. The South Australians were running amok and in truth the home side was very lucky not to have conceded more goals in an opening twenty minutes that was dominated by MetroStars. Striker Perry Mitris – who had scored 24 goals from 29 NPL South Australia matches in 2014 – was causing all sorts of problems for the South defence and nearly doubled MetroStars’ lead with a fierce shot that thundered into the crossbar.

The home side had been shell-shocked but worked their way back into the match midway through the first half. South levelled the scores on 36 minutes when Jamie Reed’s perfect cross found Milos Lujic to head home his 24th goal from 32 matches across all competitions in 2014. The home crowd suddenly roared to life and South began to look like the side that had dominated the Victorian NPL all season. Barely a couple of minutes had passed since Lujic’s header when the centre-forward went down in the area and a penalty was awarded for what in truth looked like a soft foul. Justice was perhaps served when Reed blasted his spot kick over the crossbar as the sides went into the break level at 1-1.

South began the second half well and should have taken the lead when Musa hit the crossbar with a shot from inside the six-yard box following a Brad Norton cross into the area. That miss proved to be very costly as Scott Tunbridge – a former player for South Melbourne in the 2003/04 National Soccer League season – sprung the offside trap before beating Maynard at his near post with a fierce shot for the winning goal on 56 minutes. Mathew Theodore had a chance to level again for South with around ten minutes remaining following some good build-up play from Reed but he could only blast hit shot over the bar. The full-time whistle ended South Melbourne’s season that had many positives but had unfortunately ended in disappointment.

Post-match, a reflective Taylor conceded that “we went into the game probably expecting a result today…we were very complacent. At this level you have to be switched on the whole game, otherwise you will get found out. They (MetroStars) deserved to win it in the end.” Analysing the season as a whole, Taylor added that “at the beginning of the season we set the target of winning the Victorian Championship and we achieved that which was fantastic. It was disappointing (failing to qualify for the FFA Cup and failing to win the PlayStation 4 NPL Finals Series) but I feel that we have a good squad here and with hopefully 2-3 additions in the off-season, we can be trying to improve in those competitions in 2015.”

Despite Sunday’s disappointing loss, South Melbourne FC can look back on 2014 as a record-breaking season, with the following Club records broken or equalled:

Most consecutive away wins to start a League season – 7 (13 March 2014 to 25 May 2014)

Longest winning start to a League season – 11 (13 March 2014 to 1 June 2014)

Most individual goals in a League season (minus finals) – 22 (Milos Lujic, tied with J. Armstrong and D. Brown)

Highest points tally in the VPL/NPL* – 66 points from 26 matches (2014)
* The highest ever Club tally was 69 points from 28 League matches in the 2000/01 NSL season. 

South also enjoyed its best ever League season in the top flight of Victorian and Australian football, winning 22 of its 28 NPL matches for a winning percentage of 79%. South had a 94% winning rate in the 1960 season, however the Club was in Victoria’s first division back then as it won seventeen of its 18 matches to gain promotion to the Victorian State League.

 

Year	P	W	D	L	W%
1960	18	17	1	0	94%
2014	28	22	3	3	79%
1976	22	17	3	2	77%
1972	22	16	3	3	73%
1984	32	22	4	6	69%

 

Overall South Melbourne FC enjoyed a fantastic 2014 season and the Club is already looking forward to the 2015 season.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-2 NORTH EASTERN METROSTARS (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:

0-1: James Musa OG (11′)
1-1: Milos Lujic (36′)
1-2: Scott Tunbridge (56′)

South Melbourne FC:
21. Chris MAYNARD (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 61′), 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES (25. Shaun TIMMINS 61′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED.

North Eastern MetroStars:
1. Daniel GODLEY (GK), 2. David MENECHELLA, 5. Lee ROBERTSON, 6. Anthony SOLAGNA, 7. Michael D’ALOISIO (15. Lawrence D’ARRIGO 75’), 9. Steven GELLI, 11. Scott TUNBRIDGE (10. Andrew CIARLA 89’), 18. Fabian BARBIERO, 19. Joseph POLISENA, 21. Adam VAN DOMMELE, 23. Perry MITRIS.

SMFC Man of the Match: Michael Eagar
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 28 September 2014

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts the North Eastern MetroStars Soccer Club in one of the 2014 PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Semi Finals at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. At stake for the winning club is a spot in the Grand Final against either Bonnyrigg White Eagles (of Football NSW) or Palm Beach Sharks (of Football Queensland) on the weekend of 4 and 5 October.

North Eastern MetroStars (commonly known as MetroStars) qualified for the PS4 NPL Finals Series as Football Federation South Australia Minor Premiers. They won nineteen of their 26 League matches to finish eight points ahead of West Adelaide Hellas on top of the NPL South Australia ladder. Unlike in Victoria, South Australia’s NPL had a finals series after their regular season and unfortunately for the MetroStars they fell just short of being crowned overall Champions after losing the Grand Final 1-2 against the Croydon Kings at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday 13 September. They made amends last Saturday 20 September when they travelled to Perth and defeated Football West’s Bayswater City FC 3-4 on penalties (following a 0-0 draw in regular and extra time) to qualify for the NPL Semi Finals.

South Melbourne fans will be familiar with a couple of the MetroStars players, with forward Scott Tunbridge (2003-2004) and left back Adam Van Dommele (2007-2008) having played for the Victorians previously. The danger man to watch out for on Sunday is Tunbridge’s partner up front and MetroStars vice-captain Perry Mitris, who scored 24 goals from 29 League matches (including the finals series) in 2014. He scored 22 goals from 26 regular home & away matches, equalling what South’s centre-forward Milos Lujic achieved during South’s 26 League matches in the NPL Victoria this season.

South Melbourne FC qualified for the Semi Finals after travelling to Hobart and defeating Tasmanian Champions South Hobart FC 0-1 thanks to Jamie Reed’s overhead kick on six minutes. Unfortunately, Chris Taylor’s side were dealt a nasty blow when key midfielder Stephen Hatzikostas landed awkwardly on his right knee to sustain a season-ending injury. He will most likely be replaced in the starting eleven by Tyson Holmes for Sunday’s match. Other than Hatzikostas, Taylor has a full squad to choose from and will be expecting an excellent performance from his side at Lakeside Stadium.

Sunday’s PlayStation4 NPL Semi Final kicks off at 3:00PM at Lakeside Stadium. Those unable to make it can follow the game via live updates on the South Melbourne FC Facebook page and on the Club’s official Twitter @smfc with the hashtags #NPLFinals and #SMvMS.

By John Kyrou (Photo by South Hobart FC)

South Melbourne FC won through to the PlayStation 4 National Premier League Semi Finals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against South Hobart FC at the South Hobart Ground on Saturday afternoon. Jamie Reed’s spectacular goal via an overhead kick proved to be the difference as the Victorian Champions defeated the Tasmanian Champions, setting up a meeting with the NPL South Australia Minor Premiers MetroStars Soccer Club this coming Sunday.

Several hundred South Melbourne fans flew across the Bass Strait from Melbourne to Hobart to support their side on Saturday and their presence was certainly noticed and heard at the South Hobart Ground. Their side began the match strongly and opened the scoring after only six minutes. Michael Eagar’s header hit the crossbar before the ball was eventually set up for Reed to connect with an overhead kick that beat South Hobart goalkeeper Kane Pierce for what was the winning goal. The Tasmanian Champions slowly worked their way back into the game and had shouts for a penalty waved away by the referee Brenton Kopra after centre-forward Brayden Mann went down in the penalty area. Some heavy challenges resulted in some aggressive moments shortly before the halftime break as tempers flared but eventually everything calmed down and the Victorian Champions went into the sheds with their lead intact.

Ken Morton’s South Hobart continued to pressure South Melbourne in the second half and looked very dangerous on the break thanks to their forwards Mann and Andy Brennan, who between them had scored 56 of South Hobart’s 89 League goals in 2014. The Tasmanians should have scored in the second half but lacked composure at the critical moments, with many of their opportunities resulting in the ball flying over Chris Maynard’s crossbar. South Melbourne had Eagar to thank also for a superb dominant performance at centre-half, with the captain leading by example and intercepting many of South Hobart’s attacks. South Melbourne suffered a horrible blow just after the hour mark when midfielder Stephen Hatzikostas landed awkwardly on his right leg after challenging for a header and had to be immediately substituted to the applause of all 800 spectators inside the ground.

The match hit a controversial point about twenty minutes from time when Reed’s ball over the top of the South Hobart defence put Milos Lujic through one-on-one with Pierce. Lujic dribbled the ball past the oncoming Pierce before being body-checked by the South Hobart goalkeeper just outside the area. Instead of issuing a straight red card to Pierce for denying Lujic a clear goal scoring opportunity, referee Kopra instead only issued the goalkeeper with a yellow card to the bewilderment and anger of the South Melbourne players, coaching staff and supporters alike. Reed’s resultant free kick went just wide of the goal as an extremely fortunate Pierce was let off the hook for a second time. Lujic’s point-blank shot deep into the six minutes of injury time took the slightest deflection off a South Hobart defender before hitting the crossbar and going out for a corner kick as South Melbourne were unable to finish the Tasmanians off with a second goal.

In the end, Reed’s goal was enough for the Victorians to progress at the expense of a South Hobart side that had played an excellent match and really taken the game to their visitors. Post-match, South Melbourne Coach Chris Taylor praised South Hobart, saying “they’re a very good team who tried to play… on the break they looked to snatch the game at times but I thought that we also had a lot of chances as well.”

Taylor also thanked the supporters who made the trip to Hobart, adding that “we knew we would get support here, we have the best fans in the country for a reason. We are very glad that we won the game to reward those who travelled here to support us.” Captain Eagar agreed, saying that “we appreciate that many of our supporters have spent a lot of money to travel here either for the day or for the weekend, I just want to thank them all for the great support and for helping to get us over the line against a very good South Hobart side today.”

South Melbourne FC’s PlayStation 4 NPL Semi Final will be played against the MetroStars Soccer Club of Football Federation South Australia, after they defeated NPL Western Australia’s Bayswater City FC 5-4 on penalties in Perth on Saturday afternoon following a 0-0 draw after normal and extra time. The Semi Final will be played on Sunday 28 September at Lakeside Stadium, with the match kicking off at 3PM.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH HOBART 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorer:
0-1: Jamie Reed (6’)

South Hobart FC:
1. Kane PIERCE (GK), 2. Liam SCOTT, 3. Caleb LUDLOW, 5. Hugh LUDFORD (C), 6. Scott LAMONT, 7. Nicholas MORTON, 9. Brayden MANN, 10. Andy BRENNAN, 13. Hugh UNDY (15. Darcy HALL 89’), 14. Matthew LEWIS (11. Benjamin HAMLETT 65’), 16. Connor KASS.

South Melbourne FC:
21. Chris MAYNARD (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 83’), 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED, 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS (10. Tyson HOLMES 63’).

SMFC Man of the Match: Michael Eagar
Venue: South Hobart Ground
Date: Saturday 20 September 2014

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC gets its 2014 PS4 National Premier League Finals Series underway against South Hobart FC in an Elimination Final at the South Hobart Ground on Saturday afternoon. At stake for the winning club is a place in the Semi Finals against the winner of Bayswater City (Football West) and MetroStars SC (Football Federation South Australia) on the weekend of 27 and 28 September.

South Hobart FC qualified for the PS4 NPL Finals Series as Football Federation Tasmania Champions, following another dominant season in the top division of Tasmanian football. They won eighteen of their 21 League matches and won the League by finishing eight points ahead of the second-placed Tilford Zebras. South Hobart scored an astonishing 89 goals during their 21 game season, with strikers Brayden Mann (31 goals) and Andy Brennan (25 goals) contributing a remarkable 63% of their side’s total goals scored throughout the season. Ken Morton’s side then went on to win the Cup by defeating Northern Rangers 3-1 last Saturday 13 September to complete a clean sweep in Tasmania.

South Hobart FC also qualified for the inaugural FFA Cup Round of 32 this year, however they lost 4-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw during normal and extra time against Tuggeranong United on Tuesday 5 August at KGV Park in Hobart. They have been Tasmanian Champions a record eighteen times as well as winning numerous other competitions and are without doubt the best side in Tasmania. Most worryingly for South Melbourne FC and Coach Chris Taylor is the fact that South Hobart won through to the inaugural NPL Grand Final last year before losing 0-2 against Sydney United at KGV Park.

South Melbourne FC qualified for the PS4 NPL Finals Series as Football Federation Victoria Champions, finishing seven points ahead of the Oakleigh Cannons at the top of the NPL Victoria ladder with 66 points from their 26 League matches. Strikers Milos Lujic and Jamie Reed had excellent seasons, scoring 22 and 12 goals respectively in the League as South wrapped up the League Championship with two matches to spare. In their last match of the NPLV season against the Goulburn Valley Suns last Sunday 14 September, Taylor rested regular starters Tyson Holmes, James Musa and Stephen Hatzikostas and gave game time to youngsters Dion Kirk and Andy Kecojevic as South comfortably won the match 1-4.

With a full strength squad to choose from ahead of the weekend’s trip to Hobart and with many supporters flying across the Bass Strait to support the side, South will be very keen on overcoming South Hobart and progressing to the Semi Finals. The two sides have met previously, albeit in a pre-season friendly match for the Hill Street/Thrifty Cup on Sunday 16 January 2011 that South Melbourne FC won 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Kyle Joryeff (8’, 48’, 69’ p) and further goals from Marinos Gasparis (25’) and Fernando De Moraes (61’).

Saturday’s PS4 NPL Elimination Final kicks off at 1:30PM at the South Hobart Ground in Darcy Street, Hobart. Those unable to make the trip over to Hobart can follow the game with live updates on the South Melbourne FC Facebook page and on the Club’s official Twitter @smfc with the hashtags #NPLFinals and #SHvSM