Author: John Kyrou

Wednesday, 7 May 2008 2:47 PM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to the 1989 Dockerty Cup final, a final in which high-flying National Soccer League club South Melbourne faced off against Victorian State League side Altona Gate (now Altona Magic), a fixture that is now more frequent as both sides compete against each other in the Foxtel Cup.

South had experienced mixed results in the different competitions they had competed in in 1989. The Blues finished a disappointing 8th in the league (out of 14 teams) but had done very well in the Cup competitions. In the National League Cup, South reached the semi final before going down 0-2 to Adelaide City. It went further in the Buffalo Gold Cup competition, making then winning the final 3-0 against Melbourne City JUST.

That year, the Australian Soccer Federation decided to make changes to its national competition in order to make the league more marketable. As a result, it changed the national competition to a summer competition as opposed to a winter one. As a result, the National League clubs entered the Dockerty Cup just prior to their 1989/90 season commencing, whilst the State League clubs were in Cup competition towards the end of their 1989 winter season. This also meant that while South were strong favourites to win the final, they were still effectively in pre-season mode, whilst Altona had just completed their winter season.

South were aware that whilst their opponents were a division below them, they were not to be underestimated. Altona had gone through a magnificent Dockerty Cup campaign, knocking out NSL sides Sunshine George Cross 2-1 and Melbourne Croatia 2-1 as well as thumping Morwell 5-0. South entered the competition with the rest of the NSL sides in round three and strolled to the semi finals, with two 5-0 victories over Ringwood City and Knox City respectively. Brunswick Juventus proved a tougher opponent in the semi final, but South got through on penalties 5-4 after the match finished 2-2 after normal time and extra time.

The match began like a typical Cup final, with the players fighting to overcome pre-match nerves. This was reflected in the standard of play. Due to the extremely warm conditions, both teams played a possessive type of game, opting to reserve their energy until after the interval.

Danny Wright nearly broke the deadlock for the South side when his shot hit the post. This did not intimidate Altona at all, who responded immediately with a fierce Goran Georgievski effort that brought the best out of South goalkeeper Bruce MacLaren.

The winning goal came in the 67th minute courtesy of Paul Trimboli. Paul Wade headed down a Peter Tsolakis corner to Trimboli, who, with his back to the goal, turned and hit the ball into the roof of the net from only a metre out. The South fans who made up many of the 5,300 in the crowd had cause to celebrate as the Blues were on the verge of their second Cup win of the 1989 campaign. However the result was not a certainty, with over twenty minutes still to play.

Trimboli may well have earned himself a hat-trick if his finishing had been more precise. However he was not alone, as Tsolakis, Wright and Harry Micheil also squandered glorious chances to seal the win. Altona also squandered chances to get itself back into the contest. Its greatest chance came from a shot by Georgievski that smashed against the woodwork, denying him and his side a certain goal.

Whilst the game had opened up considerably after Trimboli’s goal, the warm temperature had taken its effect on all of the players and despite Altona’s best efforts to get back into the match, the result finished 1-0 in favour of South. Altona’s entertaining brand of football had nearly been good enough to match their National League opponents, however South proved too strong in the end and in the process won its fourth Dockerty Cup.

Dockerty Cup Final, 1989
Sunday, October 29, 1989
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne
Referee: Jim Fearn

SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-0 ALTONA GATE
(Trimboli 67′)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Bruce MacLaren, Ange Postecoglou, Paul Fernandes, Steve Blair, Harry Micheil, Paul Wade, Kimon Taliadoros, Damian Mori, Peter Tsolakis, Paul Trimboli, Danny Wright
Coach: Ferenc Puskas

ALTONA GATE:
Stuart Lee, George Gagic, Tom Markovski, Darren Byrne, Robert Stojcevski, Pere Nicoski (Klime Aslimoski 77′), Vlade Tortevski, Arthur Davis (Simon Micevski 70′), Mendo Ristovski, Gary McMullen, Goran Georgievski
Coach: Bill Murray

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 11:10 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to the 1966 season, a season that many South Melbourne supporters rate as one of the most successful seasons that the club has ever had. South was only seven years old yet the club had already taken Victorian football by storm. After gaining promotion into the Victorian State League in 1960, the boys from Middle Park became State League champions in 1962, 1964 and 1965.

South entered the 1966 season with the intention of winning its third league championship in a row to further consolidate themselves as the biggest and best club in Victoria. South began the 1966 campaign in good form and made the final of the AMPOL Cup before going down to Footscray JUST 3-2. South began the league season slowly with two losses, before the legendary Greek footballer Con Nestoridis arrived at Middle Park to take over as a captain-coach.

Put simply, Nestoridis was a legend, who is still to this day widely regarded as one of the best forwards Greece has ever produced. He debuted for the Greek national team in 1951 and won 17 caps for his country, scoring 3 goals in the process. Nestoridis was best known for representing AEK Athens, scoring 140 league goals and helping AEK win the Greek championship in 1962/63 and the Greek Cup in 1963/64. At the age of 36, he decided to take a break from the Greek league and ventured to Victoria to help South win top honours.

Nestoridis’ profile, combined with South’s success in 1964 and 1965, helped draw massive crowds to the games. In Nestoridis’ first game for his new club, South attracted nearly 20,000 spectators to Middle Park for the game against Juventus. Nestoridis scored the only goal of the game as South ran out winners.

Things only got better for the club. Whilst crowds were doubling in size to watch Nestoridis lead the champions, huge wins were being recorded. This included a 5-1 hammering of Port Melbourne Slavia and a 1-6 thumping of Melbourne Hungaria in consecutive weeks. Slavia were South’s rivals for the title and the 5-1 result at Middle Park was an extremely crucial win for South because heading into the round 18 return fixture, South led Slavia by a single point on the ladder. In a 22 round season, South could not afford to be defeated and overtaken by Slavia. South had been undefeated since round 5 and wanted to remain that way.

South went into the fixture full of confidence after easily dispatching Fitzroy Alexander 2-0 at Middle Park the week before. However Slavia were in good form themselves, having recorded a 0-2 away win against Hungaria at Elsternwick Park. A crowd of 9,413 turned up to Olympic Park to witness an entertaining and high-scoring match which ended in a 3-3 draw. Nestoridis failed to disappoint the South fans, scoring a double which included a penalty kick. Team mate Ernie Ackerley scored the other goal for South.

The draw left South on 25 points and Slavia on 24 points.* Both clubs lost in round 19 but won their following two matches. Heading into the final round, South lead the ladder with 29 points compared to Slavia’s 28. Due to South’s far superior goal difference, Slavia needed to win at home against Footscray JUST and hope that Ringwood Wilhelmina defeated South at Middle Park in order to claim the title. This did not happen however, as South made sure of a third successive Victorian State League championship with a comfortable 3-1 win, with John Anderson scoring twice and Nestoridis once. JUST held Slavia to a 1-1 draw, which meant that South won the league by 2 points.

Nestoridis left his mark at South with a remarkable 21 goals in the league, as well as 3 goals in the Australian Cup and 2 goals in the Docherty Cup. There is no doubt that he was an absolute hit in his brief time with the club, with supporters recalling stories about him scoring goals from corner kicks just for fun. Whilst Nestoridis was the star, the unsung hero in the 1966 campaign was Ackerley, who scored 11 goals in the league, 4 goals in the AMPOL Cup, 2 goals in the Docherty Cup and 1 goal in the Australian Cup. This included a four goal haul in the 1-6 win against Hungaria. Both players were instrumental in ensuring that South won the title as they were the scorers in the 3-3 draw with Slavia that kept South on top of the table, where the club was not overtaken for the rest of the season.

Round 18, 1966
Sunday, August 7, 1966
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne
Referee: Geoff Harrison

PORT MELBOURNE SLAVIA 3-3 SOUTH MELBOURNE
(Reid, Goodwin, Laraman) (Nestorides x 2, Ackerley)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Sam Service, Con Solopotias, Takis Mantarakis, John Anderson, Laki Litopoulos, John Bedford, Jim Pyrgolios, Boulis Kambouropoulos, Con Nestoridis, Ernie Ackerley, Leo Damianakos
Coach: Con Nestoridis

PORT MELBOURNE SLAVIA:
Line-up included: Ray Barotajs, Nigel Shepherd, John Goodwin, Tommy Randles, Billy Cook, Peter Laraman, Ian Reid and Mike Jurecki

* Note: In 1966, a win was worth 2 points and a draw was worth 1 point

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 10:26 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to 1999. South Melbourne had won its third National Soccer League championship in 1997/98 and were aiming for back-to-back championships, something the club had not achieved in the NSL.

In 1998/99, South began its title defence reasonably well and the club continued to maintain a strong home record as well as grind out results away from home. As a result, South consistently remained in the upper regions of the NSL ladder, along with its main challengers for the season in Sydney United and Perth Glory.

South was due to play Perth Glory on Sunday March 8 at Bob Jane Stadium in a round 23 clash. However thanks to an error in the Soccer Australia fixturing, the match had to be postponed to a later date due to the Formula One Grand Prix taking place in Albert Park over that weekend. The new date set for the match was Wednesday March 31.

The timing of this mid-week fixture against Perth could not have been any worse for the two clubs. Both were pushing for a top two finish on the ladder to enable a double-chance in the finals series. Perth had just come off an extremely difficult 2-2 draw against Sydney Olympic in very hot conditions at Perth Oval and had to travel across the country to face South only days later in cool, wet Melbourne conditions. South were not much better off, having come off a demoralising 1-0 loss to newcomers Northern Spirit at North Sydney Oval in front of 16,543 fans. The blues had to face a very strong Perth side mid-week before backing it up with another game the following Sunday against the Brisbane Strikers. Perth were fortunate to have a bye following their fixture with South.

Such a big match for two of the most outstanding teams for that season deserved a huge crowd. The experts weren’t sure how many would show to lend their support due to the cold and wet period that Melbourne had experienced leading up to the mid-week fixture. However the fact that the Easter break and school holidays were approaching meant that it was also possible that the turnout would be healthy. South’s supporters have always been well known for making their entrance at the last minute and thus even until minutes before the scheduled start of the Perth game the eventual attendance could still have been anything.

However the South supporters rose to the occasion and they poured through the Bob Jane Stadium turnstiles in huge numbers to show their support for their team. The attendance was recorded as 11,861 which was an excellent turn-out and showed the passion of the blue and white army on the terraces. What was in prospect for the fans was a clash between two teams that had built their reputations on their respective prolific attacks that wore down their opposition by outscoring them rather than out-defending them.

Although the Glory were only in their third season of competition in the NSL, they had shown themselves to be leaders both on and off the field. Even though South had only lost once at home in two seasons, Perth had belief that they could get a result at Bob Jane Stadium. In the corresponding fixture the season before, South had jumped to a 3-0 lead before Vas Kalogeracos scored a hat trick to earn Perth a shock 3-3 draw. These fighting qualities were what Glory coach Bernd Stange was after again.

The first half saw an unusual South performance, with the players resorting to playing the long ball instead of retaining possession and playing the short pass. Perth was playing a very smart game and was dangerous when hitting South on the counter attack. The Glory had also spotted a defensive mis-match down their attacking right hand side and they set about exploiting it. In the 36th minute this was achieved when Robert Trajkovski moved onto a long ball sent forward by Scott Miller and from the right crossed to Alastair Edwards, whose flick shot flew past Michael Petkovic’s near post and into the goal to give the Glory a 0-1 lead.

Perth began to get on top of South and the home support was not liking the fact that their team were possibly on their way to a first home defeat in the 1998/99 campaign. What was more frustrating for the supporters was the fact that South continued to persevere with the long ball option right until half time. However the positives going into the halftime break were that the Perth team would surely tire in the second half after such a long and demanding trip and that if the tactics could be switched around then South were a big chance to get back into the match in the second half.

Coach Ange Postecoglou made changes, encouraging his players to cease with the long ball and start playing their normal game of keeping possession of the ball and waiting for the right opportunities to arrive. Postecoglou knew the possession game would take its toll on his players but he also knew it would mentally and physically drain the Perth side even more. In the 70th minute, Postecoglou made two vital substitutions in George Goutzioulis and John Anastasiadis, who replaced Steve Panopoulos and Michael Curcija respectively. Even though Anastasiadis had not been regularly playing for South leading up to the fixture, Postecoglou felt that the veteran and club legend was experienced and deadly enough in front of goals to have an immediate influence on the contest.

The move was ingenious and was a decision that resulted in making this game one of the classic South matches. Just over five minutes had passed after the substitutions were made when a pass from midfield found Goutzioulis in space. He played the ball to Anastasiadis, who shrugged off the attention of Paul Strudwick and fired in the equaliser past Tony Franken to spark wild scenes on the terraces. The change of tactics and the introduction of fresh players had worked and with 15 minutes left there was still plenty of time for the home side to get a winner.

South needed just over a minute. From the re-start, the ball was turned over and ended up with Paul Trimboli. The captain decided to take a shot himself from just outside the area. The ball crashed off the crossbar and back into play to David Clarkson, whose header across the face of goal found Vaughan Coveny steaming in at the near post. With Franken in no-mans land, Coveny headed the ball into the back of the net to complete a remarkable comeback for the home side, with two goals in just over a minute. The fans who had packed into the ground were beside themselves with joy. The loud and passionate chanting and scenes of madness during the goals showed just why the Bob Jane Stadium was such an intimidating venue to visit and why nobody was able to beat South there.

The full time whistle sounded and South had completed a memorable and important win. The 2-1 result put South firmly in the top two with three matches to go in the season. South also remained undefeated at Bob Jane Stadium throughout the entire season, which had not been achieved before and has not been equaled since. A league loss to Sydney United at Edensor Park a fortnight later was a major blow to South, who finished second in the league behind them. However history shows that South beat their Sydney rivals over two legs in the Major Semi Final to set up a Grand Final re-match in Melbourne, where a 3-2 victory gave the club back-to-back titles. Perth finished a very credible third and went one step further the following season, making the 1999/00 Grand Final.

Many South supporters agree that the match known as the ‘2-1 Wednesday night game against Perth’ was the beginning of a fantastic sporting rivalry between two of the biggest and best Australian football clubs and one of the most memorable South matches in the last 10 years.

Round 23, 1998/99
Wednesday, March 31, 1999
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Referee: Brett Hugo

SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-1 PERTH GLORY
(Anastasiadis 76′, Coveny 77′) (Edwards 36′)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Michael Petkovic, Steve Iosifidis, Fausto De Amicis, Nick Orlic, David Clarkson, Steve Panopoulos (George Goutzioulis 70′), Vaughan Coveny, Paul Trimboli (Jim Tsekinis 84′), Michael Curcija (John Anastasiadis 70′), Goran Lozanovski, Robert Liparoti.
Coach: Ange Postecoglou

PERTH GLORY:
Tony Franken, Robert Trajkovski, Scott Miller, Gianfranco Circati, Paul Strudwick, Craig Deans (Jamie Harnwell 46′), Gareth Naven, Michael Garcia (Slobodan Despotovski 80′), Alistair Edwards, Vas Kalogeracos, Con Boutsianis (Troy Halpin 63′).
Coach: Bernd Stange

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 9:28 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back 45 years ago to 1963. South Melbourne was only in its fourth year of existence but had already achieved championship success twice. Firstly, the club went through the 1960 Metropolitan League 1 North season undefeated, destroying opposition teams along the way (including a 9-0 win against Corio and a 10-1 win against Moonee Ponds) and ensured promotion into the Victorian State League (now known as the Foxtel Cup). The second success was enjoyed in 1962, when South Melbourne became State League champions for the first time, winning the league by 2 points over Juventus.

South entered the 1963 season keen on building on the success achieved in 1962, where even though it had won the league, it had not fared as well in the Cup competitions. The club failed to get out of the sectional rounds of the Docherty Cup but put up a much stronger effort in the AMPOL Cup, eventually being knocked out in the semi finals 0-1 by Croatia. How the big South Melbourne supporter base would have loved for their team to do the triple and claim all the competitions on offer the following season.

Although South failed to get out of the sectional rounds of the Docherty Cup once again in 1963, the club managed to make the final of the AMPOL Cup, improving on the previous season’s effort. Unfortunately, Maribyrnong Polonia were too strong in the final and won the Cup by a solitary goal in front of approximately 17,000 spectators. Nevertheless, the opportunity to go back-to-back in the league was still on offer.

Disappointingly however, South started the season slowly and continued to produce mixed results throughout the year. Heading into the round 16 match against Polonia, South needed to record a win to try and kick-start a winning run that would take it further up the table. The match was also an opportunity to gain revenge on the Polonia side that had denied the club Cup glory (in fact South would have to wait until 1969 to win the AMPOL Cup for the first time).

Approximately 20,000 spectators were present at Olympic Park to witness the grudge match. John Margaritis opened South’s account but the boys from Middle Park were powerless to stop Mikolaj Mroczkowski and Eddie Jankowski from scoring to give Polonia a 1-2 win. The match however was marred by a confrontation between South goal keeper Panayiotis Tsitsos (pictured right), left half Jordan Ieremiadis and Polonia players Marian Gasior, Vic Janczyk and Ziggy Gross. Tsitsos ran the length of the field to become involved in the clash and as a result received a six match suspension by the Federation.
Disgusted by the result and by the lengthy suspension imposed on Tsitsos by the Federation, the South supporters decided to take a stance on the issue by staging a protest. As a result, the next match (against Richmond Alemannia at Olympic Park) saw around 2000 South supporters stand outside the ground to protest the Federation’s decision, with many more protesting by not coming at all. The match finished 2-2 and the crowd inside the ground was recorded as 3000, a significant drop from the 20,000 against Polonia. Considering the next match South played at Olympic Park (a 1-1 draw with Footscray JUST) attracted close to 20,000 people again, the South army had shown just how powerful it was when united about an issue concerning their club.

South continued with mixed results and ended the season in a disappointing 6th place. However the disappointment was not to last long as the South family celebrated three championship seasons in 1964, 1965 and 1966.

Round 16, 1963
Sunday, July 21, 1963
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne

SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-2 MARIBYRNONG POLONIA
(Margaritis) (Mroczkowski, Jankowski)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Line-up included: Panayiotis Tsitsos, Takis Xanthopoulos, Takis Mantarakis, Tommy Anderson, Jordan Ieremiadis, Minelis Tsolakis, Antonis Hatzieleftheriou, John Margaritis and Ted Smith. Coach: Manny Poulakakis.

MARIBYRNONG POLONIA:
Line-up included: Bruno Putkowski, Marian Gasior, Vic Janczyk, Ziggy Gross, Lolly Vella, Eddie Jankowski, Mikolaj Mroczkowski, Eddie Zientara (Roch Dronia) and Mike Jurecki.

Monday, 14 April 2008 9:33 AM

By John Kyrou | Photo by Paul Touliatos

The Melbourne Knights have the bragging rights over old rivals South Melbourne after enjoying a comfortable 2-0 win at Somers Street on Sunday.

The Knights went into the fixture in red-hot form, having been undefeated in their opening seven games in 2008 and coming off a good win against Coburg the previous week. In contrast, South limped into the fixture with a horrible 2008 record, with only two wins from seven games and having received a footballing lesson from Green Gully the week before. Following John Anastasiadis’ resignation after the Green Gully match, new coach Michael Michalakopoulos had limited time with the squad before the derby against the Knights and was hoping that his players would lift for the occasion and in order to impress him.

The game was just over a minute old when the Knights took the lead. From the kick-off, the Knights worked the ball forward and won a corner kick. From the set piece, danger man Zoran Petrevski rose unmarked to put his header past Dean Anastasiadis and into the net. This has been the story of the struggling South defence so far in 2008, with many simple goals being gifted to the opposition in both general play and from set pieces. This further continued when the Knights extended their lead in the 13th minute, when another cross into the penalty area saw mass confusion between Anastasiadis and his defence, with former South player and Knights captain Alex Kiratzoglou on hand to double the home team’s advantage.

Despite being two goals down, South finished the first half strongly. Firstly, Fernando de Moraes was denied superbly by Knights goalkeeper Savas Ozdemir, who tipped a goal-bound free kick over the crossbar and out for a corner kick. Minutes later, Fernando found space in front of the traveling South supporters on the left hand side. His cross into the area found an unmarked Zoric, who seemed to have an eternity to line up and place his shot past Ozdemir. To the frustration of the away fans, Zoric’s fierce shot was hit too close to Ozdemir, who nonetheless did well to keep the ball out. Zoric again missed another opportunity to score when another ball into the area found him free in space but his final shot was extremely poor.

Vice captain Rama Tavsancioglu, clearly frustrated with his forwards not putting away their opportunities, then decided to try and score himself. His run into the penalty area saw him with an opportunity to shoot on his left foot. With a Knights defender hot on his tail, Tavsancioglu fell down in the box but referee Mur decided that he had dived and awarded a goal kick to the Knights. Whilst the Knights had been kept reasonably quiet since scoring their two early goals, they still gave the South defence a few headaches when going forward. Right on halftime, they could have had a third, when another cross into the area saw another free header go just wide of the far post and out to safety for South.

Ricky Diaco replaced Antonio La Verde at the start of the second half as Michalakopoulos threw another man forward in an attempt to get the blues back into the match. The Knights were content to sit on their two goal advantage and allowed South most of the possession. As a result, the majority of the second half was spent in the Knights’ area, but South hardly looked like it was capable of scoring twice to get back on level terms, despite having two more opportunities to do so. The first opportunity arose when Zoric and Sam Poutakidis worked the ball out to the right hand side. A high cross to the far post evaded Ozdemir and the Knights defence but the incoming Fernando was not able to get a touch to force the ball into the back of the net. The second opportunity arrived shortly before the full-time whistle, when a header at the far post by Shane Nunes beat Ozdemir but not the defender on the line, who cleared the ball to safety to ensure that the Knights would end the derby with a clean sheet. The only concern for the Knights was the fact that coach Chris Taylor looked to have been sent off after a confrontation with Adam Van Dommele in the closing stages of the match that could possibly result in Taylor being sanctioned.

The Knights are riding high at the top of the table and next travels away to Jack Edwards Reserve to play the Oakleigh Cannons. South finds itself in big trouble near the bottom of the ladder and simply must win their next game against Fawkner in order to get out of the relegation area. The game kicks off at 4pm next Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium.

Foxtel Cup Round 8

Melbourne Knights 2-0 South Melbourne
(Zoran Petrevski 2′, Alex Kiratzoglou 13′)

Date: Sunday, 13th April 2008
Venue: Knights Stadium, Sunshine
Referee: Perry Mur

Melbourne Knights: Savas Ozdemir, Steve Iosifidis, Mathew Grbesa, Ivan Franjic (Dale Thompson 77′), Cameron Watson, Dario Matkovic (Joe Spiteri 75′), Craig Elvin, Anthony Pelikan (Adrian Zahra 89′), Alex Kiratzoglou (c), Zoran Petrevski, Andrew Barisic

South Melbourne: Dean Anastasiadis (c), Shane Nunes, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Nathan Caldwell (Gianni De Nittis 58′), Bill Natsioulas (Hamlet Armenian 72′), Goran Zoric, Antonio La Verde (Ricky Diaco 46′), Rama Tavsancioglu, Fernando De Moraes, Sam Poutakidis

Thursday, 10 April 2008 9:33 AM

By John Kyrou

With 49 years of history, South Melbourne has certainly provided its fans and the footballing community with some fantastic memories. In this new segment on smfc.com.au, a classic match from the past is remembered.
With former South player Michael Michalakopoulos (pictured right) taking over the coaching reigns from club legend John Anastasiadis this week, it is appropriate to begin with a match that the new South coach was involved in as a player. Even though Michalakopoulos was at the club for only three seasons (1989/90 to 1991/92) he was involved in some classic matches that will always be remembered by the fans.

Coming off the 1990/91 NSL championship, South were optimistic of going back-to-back in 1991/92. Everything seemed to be going to plan as the club finished the regular season in third place. Consistency was needed in the finals series, something that South had struggled with throughout the season. Although South did well to win 13 of the 26 games, it also registered eight losses. A solid 0-2 victory over Sydney United at the Croatian Sports Centre in the final round of the season meant that South had to go back to Sydney for the Qualifying Final against Sydney Olympic, a game that they simply had to win to ensure both bragging rights over their rivals as well as a smoother progression in the finals series.

Aside from the huge contingent of South fans taking over the Parramatta Stadium stands and drowning out the chants from the Olympic supporters, the match will always be remembered for the opening goal that was scored by Danny Wright just before halftime. A cross into the area by Mike Petersen found Kimon Taliadoros, who flicked his header over to Wright. A fantastic volley by Wright roared into the bottom left corner of the goal and through a small hole in the net. It was a clear goal and with South players pointing to the small hole that the ball had gone through, referee John Fraser eventually awarded the goal. Commentating on SBS Television, the late Eddie Thompson remarked “that’s a classic…I’m sure Danny will tell his kids in years to come about how he burst the net in the final at Parramatta Stadium.”

The pressure by Olympic in the second half was reasonably well dealt with by the South defence, marshaled by veteran Steve Blair. With four minutes of regular time left and with Olympic throwing more men forward in search of an equaliser, South scored a second to kill the game off and ensure a famous finals win. An excellent defensive header by Paul Wade found substitute Michalakopoulos, who shrugged off his opponent and set Paul Trimboli loose on the counter attack. With Michalakopoulos on his right and Taliadoros on his left, Trimboli chose to set up Michalakopoulos, who from the edge of the area shot to the far corner and under Gary Meier’s body for the sealing goal.

South now had the chance to ensure a Grand Final berth courtesy of that fantastic win, however the lack of consistency throughout the regular season came back to haunt the club during the rest of the finals campaign. An unlucky 5-3 penalty shoot-out loss in the Major Semi Final against Melbourne Croatia and a 0-2 defeat by Adelaide City in the Preliminary Final saw South miss the chance to claim the championship for the second year in a row.

1991/92 NSL Qualifying Final
Sunday, April 12, 1992
Venue: Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Referee: John Fraser

SYDNEY OLYMPIC 0-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE
(Wright 42′, Michalakopoulos 86′)

SYDNEY OLYMPIC:
Gary Meier, David Barrett, Andrew Bernal, Ned Zelic, Robbie Hooker, Grant Lee, Gary Phillips, Robert Ironside, Pablo Cardozo (Steve Refenes 70′), Abbas Saad, Tim Bredbury
Coach: Mick Hickman

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Bruce MacLaren, Paul Fernandes, Steve Blair, Mehmet Durakovic, Danny Wright, Paul Wade, Mike Petersen, Harry Micheil (Gary Hasler 78′), Kimon Taliadoros, Paul Trimboli, Con Boutsianis (Mike Michalakopoulos 80′)
Coach: Ferenc Puskas

Monday, 31 March 2008 12:46 PM

By John Kyrou & George Kouroumalis

A dominant 20 minute spell in the second half was enough to see South Melbourne overcome a stubborn Preston Lions side at BT Connor Reserve on Sunday.

South entered the clash in indifferent form, having lost their last two games, including a poor home loss the previous week to the AIS. Despite the poor form, South were slightly encouraged by the fact that the club had not lost at BT Connor Reserve since returning to the VPL in 2005.

The away side went into the game with veteran goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis in goals, with Robert Wynne doing enough against the AIS to be awarded a second consecutive start in the back four. Joining the inexperienced Wynne were Ramazan Tavsancioglu and Steven O’Dor, with the latter being welcomed back into the team after serving a one week suspension. The other component of the back four was Shane Nunes, who was expected to assist O’Dor in the heart of defence to try and thwart any Preston attacking move. Sam Poutakidis was assigned a role on the right hand flank, with the experienced campaigner having the duel role of providing South with an attacking threat down the wings as well as assisting the defence.

In the midfield area, South went into the game with the same trio that commenced the AIS game. Bill Natsioulas and Fernando De Moraes were expected to not only control the midfield area but to also provide attacking options to the side when going forward. The other midfield player was Antonio La Verde, who once again was selected to play in the central midfield slot after an impressive first few weeks at the club.

Up front, Hamlet Armenian was restored to the starting line-up and was partnered with Ricky Diaco, who replaced the injured Gianni De Nittis in the side.

South commenced the game brightly and had the first chance of the game in the second minute through Fernando’s long range effort that flew wide. Minutes later, a sweeping counter attacking move saw La Verde play the ball down the left to Fernando, who launched a low cross into the area only for Preston goalkeeper Lupce Acevski to come off his line and smother the ball and prevent the oncoming Armenian from opening the scoring for the afternoon. South could sense an early goal and continued to press forward at every opportunity. A well constructed move in the 18th minute culminated in Tavsancioglu darting past a few stagnant Preston players before hitting a long range bullet over the bar.

In the 22nd minute, Preston launched their first dangerous chance of the contest when a sublime through ball by Marinos Gasparis was played into the path of veteran Johnny Sapazovski. With only Anastasiadis in front of him, Sapazovski hit a timid shot from just inside the area and into the prying arms of the big South custodian.

In response, South once again pushed forward immediately and through a Fernando effort once again almost found the opening goal from long range. On this occasion the Brazilian maestro cut past Les Anastasiou before hitting a strong and swirling 20 metre attempt into the advertising boards and out for a goal kick.

Preston returned fire and the home side were awarded a free kick only a metre outside the penalty area, after a foul was committed by Tavsancioglu in the 30th minute. With the angle and distance favouring the left footed Tony Sterjovski, the Preston captain took the free kick that beat Anastasiadis before smacking into the cross bar and out for a goalkick.

The home side only needed to wait a few minutes before finally getting the opening goal of the contest. In a bizarre goal mouth scramble, a poorly hit cross failed to be dealt with by the South defence. Anastasiadis, in his 150th league game for South Melbourne, looked to be fouled as he tried to punch the ball to safety. The ball fell to the feet of the waiting Nicholas Schwal around 8 yards out from goal and he comfortably slotted the ball into the open net to give Preston the lead.

South managed to have the last attempt on goal before the break, when a cross from the left hand side by Fernando was driven low into the near post. With a host of South players free inside the six yard area, Anastasiou put in a desperate lunging tackle that knocked the ball just inches wide of the post and out for a corner kick.

In a surprising move at half time, both Natsioulas and Armenian were sacrificed, despite both having had decent games. They were replaced by the speedy Goran Zoric and Nathan Caldwell.

South came out in the second half in a similar fashion to the first, attacking the Preston side from the outset. A dashing run by Poutakidis down the right hand side saw the ball find its way into the area. With defenders hanging off him, Diaco somehow hit a shot on target, but Acevski was on hand to easily catch the incoming shot. Diaco once again proved dangerous in the 58th minute after finding space just outside the area. After taking a touch he then hit a stinging volley onto the target. Unfortunately for the South side, the ball was captured once again by Acevski.

Preston had a chance to double their advantage in the 64th minute, when a nice run by Gasparis was cut short just outside the area, with the midfielder fouled by O’Dor. With the previous free kick striking the cross bar, Sterjovski stepped up and hit yet another cracking free kick towards goal with his left foot. To his disappointment, the ball floated inches wide of the target and over for a goal kick, despite looking goal bound.

With time appearing to be running out and after a period of continually turning over possession, the away fans were rewarded for making the trip to Preston when South equalised in the 71st minute. A sweeping counter attack saw the ball fall to the feet of Poutakidis on the right hand side of the area. Poutakidis launched a inch perfect low cross into the path of Zoric, who slammed the ball into the back of the net to make the score 1-1.

South had only been on level terms for 90 seconds before another foray forward saw Caldwell gain possession just inside the area. The much maligned striker somehow got past a couple of defenders before slotting a lovely shot past the helpless Acevski in the Preston goal to make the score 1-2 and complete a remarkable turnaround by South.

In the 79th minute, Preston had a chance to get back onto level terms after a speculative long range effort by Gasparis fizzed past the right hand goal post and out for a goal kick.

With South in control of the midfield area and the game in general, a final foray forward for the away side saw Diaco let loose in acres of space. Diaco had been craving a goal all afternoon but was superbly denied by Acevski, who saved his side once again to keep them in the game.

The final chance of the game fell to Preston, but once again a long range effort by Gasparis failed to land on the target and floated well wide of a relieved Anastasiadis, who celebrated his 150th game with a memorable win against the Lions.

South jump to 9th and are only two points outside of the top six, with a huge game next week against Green Gully at Bob Jane Stadium. Kick off is at 4pm and all fans are encouraged to get behind the side as it strives to get itself back up to the upper echelons of the table.

Thursday, 27 March 2008 6:41 PM

By John Kyrou & George Kouroumalis

After a disastrous start to season 2008, South Melbourne must wipe everything aside as it prepares to take on old rivals and reigning Foxtel Cup champions Preston in a must-win derby match on Sunday at Connor Reserve.

After a very disappointing opening five rounds in which South has only won once, the team will be striving to return to winning ways with a positive result over the Lions, which will hopefully once more kick-start the 2008 campaign.

Going into the game, South is expected to make changes to the line-up that were comprehensively beaten 0-2 at home against the AIS on Monday.

Steven O’Dor will be a welcome return to the back four, serving his one game suspension during the AIS match. It is expected that he will partner Shane Nunes in the centre of defence, with veterans Sam Poutakidis and Ramazan Tavsancioglu both expected to patrol the right and left hand sides respectively. Both ‘Rama’ and Poutakidis have had reasonable seasons to date, with the latter impressing his new team-mates and fans with his dedication to the blue and white cause both on and off the park.

The position in the middle of the park is still presenting a grey area for coach John Anastasiadis, but it is expected that he will once again place his faith in youngster Antonio La Verde in central midfield. La Verde has been impressive in his opening three games for his new club and his performances have proven that he is a capable and hard working player with a lot of potential.

The other midfield positions will most likely be awarded to Fernando and Goran Zoric, with doubts raised on the fitness of Bill Natsioulas, who limped off on Monday with what appeared to be a minor strain to his leg. If selected, all three will need to have big games if South is to gain all three points at Connor Reserve.

In the attacking third, Ricky Diaco and Nathan Caldwell will be staking a claim to start the game, following an injury to Gianni De Nittis. A starter in the last three matches, De Nittis received a knock on his knee against the AIS and will require a fortnight on the sidelines to recover. The other striker vying to keep his spot in the team is Hamlet Armenian, who will no doubt want to keep his spot in order to experience his first derby game against the Lions. Armenian will also be keen to put aside his poor performance on Monday and capture his form of 2007, where he was one of the most exciting players in the Foxtel Cup.

South will also have to account for a very disciplined and well-drilled Preston side, with the Goran Lozanovski lead side firmly intent on winning all three points in front of their home crowd. The star of the Lions is undoubtedly goalkeeper Lupce Acevski, who returned to Preston after leaving his Czech Republic club. Acevski is a superb keeper at VPL level and will be the equivalent of a wall in goals, with the former NSL custodian having excellent reflexes and the ability to save anything that comes his way. Against South in 2007 he was the difference between the clubs, making a series of superb saves to deny South winning a game that ended 3-3.

Helping Acevski in the defensive area will be a committed defensive unit lead by the experienced Les Anastasiou. The big central defender always lifts a level when the big games arise and he will be giving his all to get in the way of any South foray forward on Sunday.

In the middle of the park, Preston will be reliant on the services of captain Tony Sterjovski and Marinos Gasparis, both of whom are well known for their work ethic and abilities to score from long range. Gasparis will be remembered by South supporters for his Man of the Match display at Bob Jane Stadium last season, where he ripped apart the South midfield and defence alike to score a double and cause mass panic every time he gained possession of the ball.

Up front, Preston will go with long-time servant Johnny Sapazovski, a player that on his day can cause problems with his deadly finishing and ability to find the ball in the right areas on most occasions. He will be supported by Ricky Chillico, yet another player who will be desperate to play his first derby match after crossing over to Preston from Fawkner in the summer.

To add a bit more spice to the derby, big South goalkeeper and captain Dean Anastasiadis will make his 150th league appearance for the club against the Lions. Anastasiadis began his career in the 1992/93 NSL season and left after the 1995/96 season but returned again at the beginning of the 2002/03 season. He is in his tenth season at the club, having played 84 games for South in the NSL and a further 65 games for the club since it joined the VPL in 2005. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the 37 year old’s previous 149 South games would have been captaining the 2006 championship team and lifting the VPL trophy together with his brother and coach John Anastasiadis. ‘Deano’ has played against the Lions many times in the past and his experience and leadership skills will be crucial and much needed, in order for him to guide his young side through the cauldron that will be the Connor Reserve on Sunday.

With a large derby crowd expected and both teams needing three points to consolidate their seasons, the game promises to be an enthralling contest and one which South simply needs to win in order to get itself back on track for season 2008.

Preston Lions vs South Melbourne FC

When: Sunday, March 30th
Where: BT Connor Reserve
Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 1pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

Preston Lions
Lupce Acevski (GK), Victor Pititto, Les Anastasiou, Marinos Gasparis, Tony Sterjovski, Ricky Chillico, Johnny Sapazovski, Igorce Kolevski, Stephen Masalkovski, Francesco Catalano, Blaze Georgioski

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Tony La Verde, Bill Natsioulas, Goran Zoric, Fernando De Moraes, Hamlet Armenian, Ricky Diaco

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 5
Preston Lions : 1
South Melbourne : 2
Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 27 May 2007
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Score: South Melbourne 3 drew with Preston 3

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South: Win, Loss, Loss
Preston Lions: Win, Draw, Win

Tuesday, 25 March 2008 9:50 AM

By John Kyrou
South Melbourne FC would like to congratulate former forward Duncan Cummings, who celebrated his 50th birthday in the past week.

Cummings was born on March 20, 1958. Brian Edgley bought the then 18 year old to Middle Park in 1976, where he stayed with South for another six seasons until the end of the 1981 season.

Cummings was a member of South’s Victorian State League championship winning side in 1976. He ran riot during that season, scoring 8 goals in the League, 2 goals in the State League Cup (where South went down 1-2 to Footscray JUST in the final) and 4 goals in the AMPOL Cup (where South beat Footscray JUST 4-1 in the final). He scored one of the goals in the final, with fellow team mate Peter Ollerton netting a hat trick.

With South’s promotion into the National Soccer League in 1977, Cummings continued to represent the blue and whites, now on the national stage. He played 90 games for the club in the NSL and scored 22 goals. He was a nominee as a forward for South’s Team of the Century but missed out as Jim Pyrgolios, Paul Trimboli and Jimmy Armstrong made the team.

The club wishes to once again congratulate Duncan Cummings on his birthday milestone and thanks him for his contribution to the club.

Duncan Cummings

• Six seasons at the club, from 1976 to 1981
• 90 South Melbourne games (NSL)
• 30 South Melbourne goals (22 NSL, 8 VPL)
• Member of South’s VPL championship team in 1976

Thursday, 21 February 2008 4:23 PM

By John Kyrou & George Kouroumalis

In what promises to be a mouth watering clash on Sunday, South Melbourne plays host to Foxtel Cup newcomers Coburg United, who will make their first appearance at Bob Jane Stadium as a Premier League outfit.

Following a narrow and somewhat unlucky 2-1 derby defeat last weekend against Heidelberg, South will be looking forward to playing on the newly constructed home pitch at Bob Jane Stadium, with the hope that it can produce an attacking and match winning brand of football.

Coach John Anastasiadis will be reluctant to make any significant structural changes to the line-up, with the defensive unit most likely remaining the same as last week.

This includes veteran Dean Anastasiadis in between the sticks once again, with his back four consisting of central defenders Shane Nunes and Steven O’Dor, whilst Rama Tavsancioglu and Adam Van Dommele will be asked to fill the right and left hand defensive positions once again.

The midfield will be an interesting area that the coach may tinker with slightly, in an attempt to try and combat the experience of Coburg in the middle of the park. In the Heidelberg game the experienced and committed Sam Poutakidis was asked to play in the defensive midfield role, a position that he occupied throughout the pre-season.

Assisting Poutakidis in the middle will be Fernando, who struggled against Heidelberg due to a limited pre-season because of Futsal commitments with the Australian national team.

The other midfield positions are seemingly open to a number of candidates, with the possibility of the coach going with the same duo who played against Heidelberg in Goran Zoric and Gianni De Nittis. Zoric impressed all with his pace and awareness in and around the attacking area, with the diminutive midfielder scoring on his South Melbourne debut. De Nittis, if selected, will make his 50th appearance for the blue and whites on Sunday.

Other players knocking on the door for midfield positions will be Bill Natsioulas, Hamlet Armenian and Yusuf Yusuf. All three came onto the field last week with mixed results, but all have proven themselves to be more than capable midfielders in the Victorian Premier League and can all determine the result of a game off their own boot.

In the attacking third, South will expect the previously mentioned midfielders to continue to be prominent when pushing forward and to actively assist the experienced front duo, Nathan Caldwell and Ricky Diaco, who will be crying out for quality service to come in their direction.

Coburg will not be an easy opponent for the boys from lakeside, with the newcomers comfortably pushing aside Western Suburbs 3-0 in a lop-sided round 1 contest last week.

South fans will be all too familiar with certain members of the Coburg side and in particular the threat that each one possesses. These included former South Melbourne NSL players Andy Vlahos and Anthony Magnacca, who both are expected to play integral parts in the midfield and attacking area, in an attempt to try and upset South at home.

Former South Melbourne captain and veteran Tansel Baser will not be making his debut for the Coburg side, with the defender still plagued with a groin injury that ruined most of his 2007 season with South.

With such a promising encounter on the horizon, South encourages everyone to attend in order to get that last dose of “Summer Football by the Lake” before the colder temperatures start to creep in.

Memberships and merchandise will also be on sale, as well as pre-purchased items being available for collection before and after kick-off.