South Melbourne’s winning run came to a sudden halt on Saturday, with a disappointing result away to Avondale FC.
Avondale, who had won the previous five fixtures against South, got off to a strong start, scoring the opener just three minutes in. After South cleared the initial corner, the ball was whipped back into the box for Yitay Towns to score with a looping header.
South’s response to falling behind early was brilliant, with the players pushing forward and carving out several good opportunities.
Nick Krousoratis once again looked threatening and fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box in the 6th minute. Shortly after, in the 16th, Marcus Schroen played a stunning pass into the stride of Pep Marafioti, but once again, he fired just wide of the post.
As the half wore on, Avondale midfielder Tasuku Sekiya stood out as the danger man. The Japanese playmaker began to exert his class into the game and looked a constant threat.
The match was put to bed with a quick one-two punch before half time.\
In the 31st minute Stefan Zinni cut in from the left wing and fired low past Nikola Roganovic, then, just minutes later in the 34th, Liam Boland headed home from a set piece.
Despite being down 3-0 at the half, South Melbourne started positively in the second stanza. George Howard had a great opportunity to pull one back just 15 seconds into the half, but his header was well saved by the keeper.
Marafioti and Howard combined several times to trouble the Avondale defence but, in the end, the breakthrough eluded South.
Avondale managed to find their fourth and final goal in the 62nd minute when Zinni cut in off the left wing to draw a penalty from South’s centre back. Despite Jake Marshall standing his ground, the winger made the most of the contact, which allowed Liam Boland to score his second from the penalty spot.
Overall a disappointing result for South, who slip to 8th. The team continues on the road next week and will be eager to bounce back in the Monday night clash against Kingston City.
