Author: SMFC Media

Saturday, 11 August 2007 3:08 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

Image taken by Alex Louziotis

South Melbourne has failed to consolidate a position in the top six after missing a host of good chances leaving their encounter against the Vlado Vanis-coached Fawkner Blues at a nil-all stalemate.

Coach John Anastasiadis had Tansel Baser back at his disposal for the fixture after Baser missed last week due to suspension whilst Yusef Yusef missed the match due to the calf injury sustained against the Knights.

Anastasiadis lined his men up as follows. Young custodian Mitch Langerak continued in goals with a central defensive pairing of Sammy DeVito and Arthur Tsonis in front of him. Rama Tavsancioglu and Adam Van Dommele took up their usual right and left-back roles.

In the centre of the park Tansel Baser was deployed in a defensive midfield/organizing role with Gianni De Nittis in a more attacking central midfield role. Trent Waterson and Vasilios Natsioulas played on the right and left flanks respectively. Up front, Nathan Caldwell continued his partnership with South top-scorer Ricky Diaco.

New Fawkner coach Vlado Vanis sent his troops out to play ultra defensively, a method employed by many visiting clubs at Bob Jane Stadium this season. South have struggled to break down teams with such a philosophy with Vanis no doubt hoping to absorb the pressure and then try and pinch a goal on the counter.

South started the better team and dominated possession, Gianni De Nittis had an early strike from just outside the box sail over the crossbar whilst Natsioulas was denied by Fawkner custodian Steven Tilovski after his angled drive from the left was saved well by the Blues keeper.

Adam Van Dommele came off after 30 minutes and was replaced by Frank Drakopoulos after sustaining an elbow to the mouth. The ex-Adelaide United defender lost a tooth in the incident with the pressure of the collision also causing a laceration under the eye. He is expected to miss a least a couple of weeks.

South had a glorious chance to go ahead after 38 minutes when a Tavsancioglu free kick from the right was played into a dangerous area with Caldwell rising and meeting the ball with a firm header that crashed against Fawkner’s crossbar. The rebound fell to Natsioulas who from a tight-angle unleashed a quality angled effort that Tilovski managed to parry away at full stretch, a mini-scramble ensued in the six-yard box with legs flying everywhere but with Fawkner managing to clear.

A minute later, Tavsancioglu hit the right-flank hard and produced a quality cross that was met with a looping header by Diaco who saw his effort sail just over the crossbar.

During stoppages Fawkner had a half-chance after South hesitated in defence with Fawkner striker Mark Tsiorlas hitting his effort well over.

South replaced Baser at half time with Jose Vasquez after Baser appeared to aggravate a groin muscle injury and was struggling to walk right at the death of the first half.

The 2nd half began with South once again being denied by the framework. This time Diaco worked some superb space in the 47th minute and produced a stunning strike on the turn that crashed into the right-top corner of the framework.

Fifty-four minutes in and Diaco was denied by Tilovski after receiving the ball in the box, Diaco did well to hold off his opponent and work some space for an angled drive. Just as it appeared that the goal was at his mercy, Tilovski stepped in to save well with his feet.

South then lost Natsioulas to injury after the skillful flanker was involved in a sickening head clash with Andrew Branov. Natsioulas was replaced by Andrew Bourakis and is doubtful for next week’s clash against Altona.

Sixty-eight minutes in and Diaco had a 25-yard free kick sharply saved by Tilovski with the Blues immediately threatening on the counter when Tsiorlas produced a decent ball from the right that Langerak did superbly well to fist away to safety.

South should’ve went ahead on 71 minutes after a patient move by Albert Park-based club fell to Caldwell who struck a shot on the turn from 10 or so yards out that was gloved by Tilovski. It was a chance that the South marksman should’ve done better with but Tilovkski was once again incredibly sharp with his handling.

Complacency began to trickle into South’s play with a 75th minute corner from Ricky Chillico seeing the South defence fail to convincingly clear. Players were scrambling in the box with the ball eventually falling to Jason Principato who struck from 6 or so yards out only to see his effort cleared off the line by Waterson with the Fawkner players and coach Vanis remonstrating with the Assistant Referee for not flagging to indicate the ball had crossed the goal-line.

For the record, it appeared that Waterson had indeed safely cleared off the line.

South then had two chances to try and score that all important goal and steal the match. The first came in the 81st minute after Diaco had been played in well with a searching ball slightly down the left. The burly forward however failed to use his left foot to shoot on goal, instead preferring to check back and square to the back post on his preferred right foot with the arriving Waterson seeing his effort deflected out for a corner.

Then on 86 minutes, a South corner from the right found an unmarked Nathan Caldwell who did well to rise above the defence to position himself for the header. Caldwell connected well with his effort which seemed destined for the top-right hand corner, but somehow, his effort sailed narrowly over.

South now travels to Paisley Park next week to face the Altona Magic. South have had a poor record against the Magic on their home turf since re-entering the Premier League and will be hard pressed to get the three points which will be absolutely vital in their push for finals inclusion.

Friday, 10 August 2007 3:58 PM

Forfeited Match awarded 3 – 0 to Melbourne Knights

The club wishes to advise its sponsors, members, supporters and the football public that over the past few months it has been actively seeking to reverse the decision of Football Federation Victoria (FFV) made on 13 April 2007 to forfeit the match and award it as a 3-0 win to Melbourne Knights.

After the completion of an investigation of the matter commissioned by the FFV and conducted with the cooperation of the club and following representations made by the club to FFV, the matter was referred by FFV and South Melbourne to an arbitration conducted by Mr A Garantziotis SC and Mr A Nolan SC as the first step in the formal appeal process.

The Melbourne Knights were given the opportunity by the arbitrators, as an interested party, to make submissions to the FFV. Melbourne Knights chose not to make any submissions.

The arbitrators’ decision, dated 9 August 2007, was that the FFV has power to cancel any match it has scheduled and therefore had power to cancel the Round 6 match between South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights and that the FFV acted honestly and reasonably in doing so. The arbitrators did not consider that they had any power to vary the FFV’s decision to award the match as a 3-0 win to the Melbourne Knights once it determined that the FFV had power to cancel the match.

Both the FFV and South Melbourne, in their submissions to the arbitrators, had agreed that the FFV did not have any express power under the Rules of Competition and the Regulations to award the match as a 3-0 forfeit to the Melbourne Knights.

The arbitrators, in their reasons for decision, did not find that any Rule or Regulation made by the FFV under the Constitution, applied to the decision. Rather, the arbitrators determined that the FFV has power under the FFV Constitution to schedule and therefore cancel matches because the Constitution gives the directors of FFV powers to regulate the effective management of football competitions and to act in the best interests of football.

South Melbourne is disappointed with the decision of the arbitrators. The club’s legal advice is that the FFV did not have the power to award the match as a forfeit in favour of Melbourne Knights. The club and its legal advisors are presently carefully considering the decision of the arbitrators.

The club is entitled to appeal to the Football Federation of Australia and will consider all its options at its next board meeting.

Thursday, 9 August 2007 10:07 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

After a season-defining win against the Melbourne Knights last Sunday at Knights Stadium, South returns to more familiar territory this Friday night playing Fawkner at Bob Jane Stadium in yet another must win game for both sides.

South are now presented with the opportunity to not only consolidate a top-six birth but to also push for the double chance.

Fawkner, who sacked coach Luciano Trani during the week and replaced him with Premier League journeyman Vlado Vanis, must get the three points to ease their threat of relegation.

Fawkner has been in steady decline in recent times having won only once in their past six encounters. Whilst the Blues have well distinguished players at VPL level such as goalkeeper Steven Tilovski, ex-A-League player Carl Recchia and leading scorer Mark Tsiorlas who has chipped in with 8 goals this season, the Blues lack more players with the all important cutting-edge.

Their 18 goals scored to date, ranks as the third lowest in the league with their goal-difference of negative seven also ranking as the equal third lowest.

New Coach Vlado Vanis faces quite a challenge to keep the Northern Suburbs-based club from relegation but will no doubt be expecting a fired up performance this week with players eager to win over Vanis and prove they deserve to play at Premier League level.

In the South camp, Tansel Baser returns after missing last week due to accumulated yellow cards. Baser’s return will give Coach John Anastasiadis far more options as the experienced ex-Trabzonspor player can play as a central defender or even as a holding midfielder.

Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes is likely to miss again with his knee injury considered a further 1-2 week proposition.

South looked in serious danger of missing the finals two weeks ago but an unexpected uplift in form which has seen the Albert Park-based club defeat two of the league’s stronger teams in Oakleigh and the Melbourne Knights has all of a sudden placed South in a position whereby a result against Fawkner could see John Anastasiadis’s men start to push for a top-three birth.

Besides an overall gritty team performance, South had quite a few positives from the Knights triumph. Pleasing was the continued dominance of Trent Waterson down the right flank, whilst Nathan Caldwell presented a large target up front, held the ball up well and was involved in both of South’s goals.

Arthur Tsonis also made a superb return after missing five weeks, marshalling the defence and presenting a colossal figure in the heart of South’s backline. Adam Van Dommele and Sammy DeVito also had very solid games with Vasilios Natsioulas always a threat when in attack.

South cannot afford to take Fawkner lightly and repeat the negative results at home suffered at the hands of Richmond (0-1) and Essendon (0-0) five-or-so weeks ago. John Anastadiadis’s men must show the same hunger they have had over their past two encounters and ensure they position themselves well to take the three points.

Tuesday, 7 August 2007 12:41 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

Two second half counter-attacking goals within the space of four minutes has propelled South back into the top six after John Anastasiadis’s men produced a gritty and determined display to defeat the Melbourne Knights by two goals to nil.

Headed goals by Vasilios Natsioulas and Nathan Caldwell broke the spirit of the home side and has allowed South to sneak back into the top-six with a top-three placing now in sight.

South were bolstered by the return of the inspirational Arthur Tsonis in his natural position of centre back but were without the services of Tansel Baser who was missing due to accumulated yellow cards.

Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes also didn’t make the squad after succumbing to the same knee injury that has plagued him all season.

Coach Anastasiadis fielded the following lineup. Mitch Langerak started in goals with Sammy DeVito and Arthur Tsonis the central defensive pairing. Rama Tavsanscioglu was deployed in the right-back role with Adam Van Dommele slotting in at left-back. In the centre of the park Vasilios Natsioulas and Gianni De Nittis were given the duty of winning the midfield battle with in-form Trent Waterson and Yusef Yusef deployed on the right and left flanks respectively. Up front Nathan Caldwell and Ricky Diaco gave the South attack a dominating physical presence.

The first half was quite a lackluster affair; both sides seemed to be lacking the needed intensity that the aura of such a fixture usually creates with South more than happy to soak up as much pressure as possible as the Knights had the advantage of attacking with a strong head-wind.

South were dealt a blow when Yusef Yusef had to come off midway through the first half after straining a calf muscle. Yusef was replaced by Andrew Bourakis who slotted into a central midfield role.

Natsioulas registered the first notable attempt on goal after 29 minutes when the flashy South attacking midfielder attempted a dipping volleyed-attempt that came off the side of the boot and was headed for the top corner with Knights custodian Adrian Cagalj seemingly having the situation under control. The late dip however was closer than what Cagalj had anticipated with the Knights’ keeper beginning to scramble only to stop almost immediately as the ball rested on top of the goal.

A minute later the Knights flashed a 25 yard effort well wide with Diaco then finding some space in the 32nd minute in the Knight’s box but from the tight angle South’s top-scorer failed to test Cagalj, hitting his effort comfortably wide.

South were fortunate to escape on 40 minutes after failing to convincingly clear, the ball bobbled into the 6 yard box with ex-Oakleigh Cannons froward Ante Pelikan on hand to comfortably slot past Langerak from point blank range. Fortunately for South the Assistant Referee had, it must be said, correctly flagged for offside and the goal was disallowed.

With Gianni De Nittis succumbing to flu, Coach Anastasiadis brought on youngster Jose Vasquez for the start of the second half. Vasquez was instructed to play the holding role and immediately slotted in looking extremely comfortable and up to the task.

South began the second half brightly after a Van Dommele throw in to Diaco on the edge of the Knights’ box saw the South striker fend off his marker and work his way into the 18-yard area. His eventual angled strike was always rising but was hit with quite some venom and no doubt left Cagalj thankful that the strike wasn’t on target.

The Knights then carved out a glorious chance when Caldwell conceded possession in the centre of the park, the ball was quickly moved to the edge of the 18-yard area where Pelikan hit a low and powerful drive that saw Langerak at full stretch, but thankfully for South, the ball sailed just past the left-upright. It was a wake up call for South who were reminded of the home side’s ability on the counter.

The best chance for the Knights was squandered on 66 minutes after some great work by Joe Spiteri on the edge of the South box, saw the ex-Marconi Stallions striker turn Sammy DeVito inside out and square the ball perfectly for substitute Mate Dugandzic who from 5 yards and with seemingly no pressure, inexcusably skied his effort over the crossbar.

It was a miss that would ultimately cost the Knights as against the run of play two minutes later, a desperate lunge by Caldwell in South’s final attacking third released Waterson down the right, the crafty winger who has been in sparkling form over the past two months managed to work some space for himself and put in a looping ball to the near post. Natsioulas somehow managed to sandwich himself in between the Knights defence and beat Cagalj to ball to send the most delicate of headers over the Knights keeper to give South an unexpected lead.

Four minutes later and South completed their smash-and-grab result after Waterson again received the ball down the right, this time the ex-Georgies winger checked back on his left foot and sent in a superb cross that gave Caldwell the easiest of tasks to head home from 8 or so yards past the helpless Cagalj who had not conceded a goal at Somers Street all season, but had now within the space of four minutes, plucked the ball from his net twice.

South nearly capped there burst of dominance with a third after Diaco dispossessed a Knights defence on the edge of their defensive area in the 74th minute with the ball falling to Natsioulas who made some space and nearly sent his right foot curling effort into the far corner with the ball eventually sailing narrowly wide.

South were then quite happy to soak up the pressure and protect the result. The Knights were visibly deflated and didn’t really put much pressure on the South defence in the last 20 minutes.

South’s crucial win propels the Albert Park-based club into the top six and in reaching distance of a top-three birth. A positive result in the upcoming Friday night fixture against the Fawkner Blues could go some way into consolidating finals football for the third consecutive year at Bob Jane Stadium.

Friday, 3 August 2007 12:41 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

After smashing the Oakleigh Cannons 5-2, South Melbourne travel to Knights Stadium not only rekindling Australian Football’s most famous derby, but somewhat more importantly, seeing two teams desperately needing three points to boost their finals aspirations take the field in what looms as an extremely important fixture.

Following a disappointing month of results and lackluster displays, the Champions produced the sort of football that they are fully capable of, destroying the star-studded Oakleigh Cannons outfit by what ended up being quite a flattering scoreline for the visitors who were not only fortunate to score two goals, but where extremely lucky to only concede five.

Encouraging for South was the tremendous form of its attacking players. Trent Waterson in particular once again distinguished himself, showing superb craft on the right flank and continuing a stellar run of performances which have seen his stocks rise tremendously and murmurs of an A-League contract begin to surface.

Furthermore, Yusef Yusef continued his gradual integration into the side, proving a threat on the left flank and managing to score twice against the Cannons to take his tally to four goals for the season. Goal-scoring out-and-out left flankers are extremely difficult to find with Yusef having to be commended on playing on his non-preferred side and in an unfamiliar position yet gradually as the year is progressing, developing his game to the point where he can be extremely damaging to the opposition.

Pleasing for South supporters was the return to goal-scoring form of inspirational striker Ricky Diaco. Diaco has been a phenomenon in his first season at South, managing 10 goals to date to be only a goal off leading the golden boot race. More importantly, Diaco’s physical presence and superb ball control have allowed him to bring in players around him and really give South a cutting edge up front.

Against the Cannons, Diaco scored a certain contender for goal of the season, smashing a superb 20-yard free-kick past the hapless Michael Turnbull to round off South’s domination. It is the sort of inspirational piece of play that Diaco is capable of and perhaps against the Knights, such brilliance will be necessary to unlock what is by far the best defence in the league with the Knights having conceded only 12 times this campaign.

More encouraging for South was that both central defensive giants Arthur Tsonis and Con Blatsis played with the reserves last week. Tsonis is likely to come back straight into the squad for the game against the Knights after missing 5 weeks with a knee injury suffered against Richmond. It is likely that Tsonis will slot straight into his preferred position of central defence, perhaps partnering the experienced Tansel Baser and hence solidifying South’s defensive core.

In regards to Con Blatsis, the colossal defender has hardly played any football over the past year with the coaching staff no doubt planning to try and ease him in with the view of getting him right for the finals’ campaign.

In the Knights camp, the Sunshine-based club currently sits in sixth place and with a game in hand. However, with the top six so congested, a win could see the Knights solidify their position in the finals’ race and push towards a top-two birth.

Chris Taylor has built a very talented squad that has seen experienced players such as ex-South Melbourne players Steve Iosifidis and Alex Kiratzoglou, former Adelaide City goalkeeper Adrian Cagalj and strikers Ante Pelikan and Joe Spiteri blended with up-and-coming talent such as Ivan Franjic, Stefan Piorkowski, Daniel Visevic and Mate Dugandzic.

As a result, the Knights have established one of the most exciting yet seasoned teams in the Foxtel Cup and present South Melbourne with an extremely difficult task this Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, 28 July 2007 2:13 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne have surged back into finals contention after defeating the Oakleigh Cannons in a classic derby match in front of a healthy crowd at Bob Jane Stadium on Friday night.

Coming into the encounter, Oakleigh had come off a resounding 6-0 demolition of the Heidelberg Warriors and a win would have sent them to top spot on the Foxtel Cup table. Meanwhile, South hadn’t scored in over six hours of competitive football, with their last goal coming back on June 17th in the 0-2 win over Sunshine Georgies at Chaplin Reserve.

South commenced the game in an attacking frame of mind, creating a superb chance in the first minute of play when Bill Natsioulas dribbled through the heart of the Cannons defence, only for his shot to be driven wide of the target and away for a goalkick.

The home side continued to press forward in the early stages of the game with Yusef Yusef also opting to take on the defence before hitting a blistering drive into the side netting.

Oakleigh had their first real opportunity in the 12th minute of play, after some great lead up work by MacNicol on the right hand side of the area opened up a sizeable gap for Pablo Cardozo to burst through. Unfortunately for the former national league star, he scuffed his shot from well inside the area, with the ball landing into the arms of Mitchell Langerak in the South goal.

In response, South launched a stinging counter attack, with Gianni De Nittis latching onto a well weighted ball from Ramazan. DeNittis then slotted the ball into the path of Nathan Caldwell, who from outside the area hit a low drive onto the target that produced an excellent save by Michael Turnball in the Oakleigh goal.

The final chance of the opening half once again fell to the home side, with Ramazan making a storming run down the right hand touch line before launching an ambitious long range effort well wide of the target.

Oakleigh came out in the second half looking like a side on a mission after a rather disappointing opening half. Thanks to sloppy defending by South, they were gifted with an opportunity only 40 seconds into the half. On this occasion, after an initial ball was cleared off the line by Ramazan, the ball fell back into the path of Cardozo, who from only three yards smacked his shot directly into the arms of Langerak who didn’t have to move at his near post.

South immediately responded with an attack of their own. This time Diaco was given the ball just outside the right hand side of the box and after passing Stergiopoulos with ease, attempted to slam a shot into the near post. However, Turnball was alert enough to pick Diaco’s placement and the experienced keeper parried the ball safely out for a corner.

The game reached a new level in the 52nd minute when Diaco once again used his body to perfection to turn Stergiopoulos inside out on the edge of the area. Diaco then turned around and hit a low and accurate drive past the outstretched Turnball and into the back of the net for the opening goal.

South were keen to hold onto their advantage, however Oakleigh were back on level terms only two minutes later when some poor defending by the home side allowed for Pablo Cardozo to pop up inside the area and tap the ball into the back of the net.

In what was turning out to be a classic game of football, South regained the advantage in the 57th minute of play, when a sublime turn and ball by Caldwell unlocked the Oakleigh defence, sending Yusef into acres of space with only Turnball to beat. After taking a few touches, Yusef launched his drive past the helpless Turnball to send the South supporters into frenzy.

The Cannons continued to push forward in an attempt to find another equalising goal and managed to do so in the 68th minute, when the ball fell into the feet of substitute Veresa Toma. The big striker calmly took a touch and smashed the ball past Langerak’s near post, to level the scores at 2-2.

The amazing second half of end to end football continued and in the 70th minute, a well worked move culminated in an innocuous ball not being cleared at all by the Oakleigh defence. Sensing a chance to gain possession, Yusef stormed into the area, avoiding the host of Oakleigh defenders trying to clear the ball to safety and subsequently forced the ball over the goal line from no more than a metre out to give his side a 3-2 lead.

South Melbourne continued to push forward, sensing that another goal would almost effectively kill off any chance Oakleigh had of coming back for a third time.

In the 75th minute, Waterson, who was running the show in the midfield area, launched a stinging long-range effort onto the target after rounding and beating three Oakleigh defenders. Thankfully for the Cannons, Turnball acrobatically repelled the attack and calmly turned the ball around the post for another South corner.

The superb attacking football continued in the 80th minute when a beautiful turn and ball by Caldwell once again ripped a hole through the heart of the Cannons defence. Ramazan latched onto the ball and found himself one-on-one with Turnbull. Ramazan hit a blistering drive past Turnball’s near post, to secure all 3 points for his side.

The home side were not done with yet however and added the icing on the cake in the 84th minute through Ricky Diaco, who from 20 yards hit a world class free kick into the top corner of the net off the crossbar, leaving Turnbull with absolutely no chance of stopping the shot and sending the home fans into party mode.

Man of the Match Trent Waterson was delighted with the performance post match, claiming “This was the real turning point in our season as Oakleigh are a high quality opponent and to defeat such a side will do wonders for our confidence. We need to continue working hard over the remaining parts of the season to make sure we are there for the finals.”

The Oakleigh goal scorer Veresa Toma was far more subdued in his analysis of the game saying “It was nice to score a goal personally which at that point was the equalizing goal, but the team success is far more important and the three points would have been great today, but that’s football”.

South’s next game is against fellow top-six aspirants Melbourne Knights at Knights Stadium next Sunday at 3pm, while the Oakleigh Cannons will be trying to get back to winning ways when they host Essendon Royals next Friday night at 8.15pm.

South Melbourne FC 5 (Ricky Diaco 52’ 84’, Yusef Yusef 57’ 70’, Ramazan 80’)

Mitchell Langerak, Sam DeVito, Trent Waterson (Jose Vasquez), Adam Van Dommele, Nathan Caldwell, Bill Natsioulas (Fernando De Moraes), Ricky Diaco, Ramazan, Tansel Baser, Yusef Yusef (Andrew Bourakis), Gianni DeNittis

Cautions: Gianni DeNittis

Oakleigh Cannons 2 (Cardozo 54’, Toma 68’)

Michael Turnball, Marcus Stergiopoulos, Michael Panopoulos, Bill Damianos, Antun Kovacic (Felix Rosman) , Steve Laurie, Juan Nilo, Pablo Cardozo, Sam Poutakidis, Scott MacNicol, Scott Webster (Veresa Toma)

Cautions: None

Thursday, 26 July 2007 11:24 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Friday night South Melbourne faces a season-defining encounter against the Oakleigh Cannons. Having not scored for four successive games as well as slowly losing touch with the top six, South must take maximum points against bitter rivals Oakleigh if they are to salvage their season.

John Anastasiadis’s men have had a horror month, dropping two disappointing games against Heidelberg and Richmond, whilst gradually starting to regain form in their last two encounters against Essendon and Green Gully, yet still failing to find the back of the net.

However, over the past two weeks Coach Anastasiadis seems to have found a settled lineup which has seen the inspirational Tansel Baser return to the centre of the defence partnering the inexperienced yet lion-hearted Frank Drakopoulos.

South have only conceded once in their past three games but have struggled up front with the often isolated Ricky Diaco finding it difficult without enough support, not to mention a lack of clinical finishing which has seen South, especially in their last two encounters, miss guilt-edged chances which could’ve seen John Anastasiadis’s men take the three points.

In South’s defence, a lack of genuine central midfielders has seen last season’s goal scoring sensation Gianni De Nittis having to be used out-of-position in the centre of the park, furthermore, the lack of form of Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes who has been nursing an ankle injury for a great part of the season has largely thwarted South’s ability to open opposition defences up.

Coach Anastasiadis will have to consider giving Vasilios Natsioulas more game time. Nastsioulas has been starting on the bench since the Heidelberg game almost a month ago, yet his proven ability to beat players and deliver quality service as well as scoring the odd goal or two would no doubt add some much needed firepower to South’s lineup.

In the Oakleigh camp, Stuart Munro’s men are sitting in second position coming off a sterling 6-0 thumping of Heidelberg United last week. The Cannons have the best attack in the league with strikers Esala Masi and Juan Nilo having scored 20 goals between them.

The recent signing of ex-South striker and journeyman Con Boutsianis adds a further cutting edge to the South Eastern Suburbs-based club with high quality players of European experience in Steve Laurie, Bill Damianos, Michael Panopoulos and goalkeeper Michael Turnbull making the Cannon’s first eleven perhaps the most talented and dangerous in the league.

Add to the mix the rapid emergence of highly rated ex-South Melbourne junior Paul Giannou and the Cannons have options and quality all over the park that will be extremely hard for South to exploit.

Earlier in the season, South played well at Jack Edwards Reserve, giving up a one-nil lead to eventually draw one-all in what was a spirited performance by John Anastasiadis’s men. However, the loss of defenders Dino Djulbic and Steven O’Dor to the A-League, not to mention the injury suffered by young midfielder Nick Curtis means that South will send in a very different lineup come Friday but with their season on the line, John Anastasiadis’s have no excuse not to produce their best to be in contention for the invaluable three points on offer.

Monday, 16 July 2007 12:45 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne and Green Gully have played out an even nil-all draw in a game where both team’s had chances but ultimately good goalkeeping and poor finishing kept both sides scoreless.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent out the same lineup as the week before against Essendon with promising young keeper Mitch Langerak in goal. The new central defensive pairing consisting of Tansel Baser and Frank Drakopoulos had another hit-out with Adam Van Dommele and Ramazan Tavsancioglu playing the left and right-back roles respectively.

In the centre of the park Sammy DeVito continued in the defensive midfield role with Gianni De Nittis again deployed in an unfamiliar central midfield role. Trent Waterson and Yusef Yusef continued to patrol the right and left flanks respectively with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes in an attacking midfield role. Up front, Ricky Diaco was deployed as the lone striker.

South started promisingly when after 10 minutes good build up play by the visitors saw the overlapping Van Dommele released on the left. The ex-Adelaide United man produced a superb cross that Gully custodian Tomas Kovar managed to slightly parry away at full stretch with Trent Waterson nearly managing to steer the ball home on the back post.

Twenty-one minutes in and Van Dommele again found himself at the end of some great build-up play. This time Diaco and Moraes had combined superbly to release the South wingback who found himself on a slightly better angle this time round and unleashed a stinging drive that fortunately for Gully crashed into legs and went out for a corner.

In the 25th minute South survived a major scare after a serious defensive misjudgment by Tavsancioglu saw Andy Vargas released down the left flank and homing in towards the South area. The scurrying South defence managed to block the eventual shot but the ball deflected behind Langerak and was seemingly ready for a tap in, only for the young South keeper to throw himself at the ball and somehow end up with it.

South won a free kick in a dangerous position 30-or-so yards out in the 33rd minute. Gully failed to deal with the ball effectively with their headed clearance falling straight to the arriving Tavsancioglu who had a clear shot from just outside the box. Unfortunately for South, Tavsancioglu scuffed his shot, seeing his eventual effort trickle wide when he should’ve really hit the target.

Gully should’ve went ahead bar for a wonder reflex save by Langerak on 39 minutes after a menacing ball from the right by Kristijan Ivesic was met well on the turn by a Gully player 8 or so yards out with Langerak being at he right place at the right time to produce a wonderful, point-blank, reflex save to keep the scores level.

Just before half time South were denied a blatant penalty after Moraes had played in Diaco who had his legs taken under him after he was challenged from behind with the defender clearly getting more leg than ball, however, referee Senko Rastocic waved play-on.

The second half continued much like the first. The balance of play was generally quite even with both sides capable of creating chances and unlocking the game.

South were grateful that Langerak was in fine form for a second time, when on 59 minutes the young custodian denied Gully again with a superb reflex save. Gully had played a searching through ball over the South defence that released Ivesic one-on-one with Langerak but on an angle. The shot was well hit but Langerak did superbly well to react to the angled effort and in the end made the save look quite easy.

The game then stagnated for a while only for South to come home extremely hard in the last 15 minutes.

First Diaco latched onto a stinging 82nd minute cross from the right that saw the scurrying Gully defence do well to block the shot from 14-or-so yards out that seemed destined for the back of the net.

Then two minutes later, Diaco had a 20 yard curling effort saved superbly well by Kovar who dived at full stretch to prevent the South striker from notching his 9th goal of the season.

South should’ve snatched the points on 86 minutes after substitute Vasilios Natsioulas sent in an inch perfect ball from the right into the heart of the Gully area that gave fellow substitute Nathan Caldwell a free header from 10 or so yards out. Unfortunately for South, Caldwell failed to hit the target when that was the absolute minimum required from the quality of the chance created.

South earn a valuable point but now must push for maximum points in a fortnight’s time in the derby game against Oakleigh. A favourable run-in to the end of the season awaits John Anastasiadis’s men with maximum points against arch-rivals the Cannons going a long way towards positioning South for a strong run-in and possible finals birth.

Saturday, 14 July 2007 5:03 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday South Melbourne faces a do-or-die fixture against Victorian football’s most consistent team; the Ian Dobson coached Green Gully.

Both sides have struggled for form over the past three weeks with Green Gully producing three consecutive draws and South losing two and drawing one, but perhaps of more concern, failing to score a goal in each of those three matches.

South must win if they intend on challenging for a finals birth and hence defending their championship whilst Green Gully continues to chase the Preston Lions for the minor premiership with a win necessary in order to stay in touch and avoid a pack of three teams all in contention for second place.

South showed significant improvement in last week’s encounter against the Essendon Royals where a comfortable win should’ve been wrapped up inside the first 30 minutes, but inaccurate finishing and some sheer bad luck, saw Essendon absorb the intense pressure and play out the remaining time with 10 men behind the ball to earn a vital draw.

South Coach John Anastasiadis sent out a far more balanced lineup with both Ricky Diaco and Fernando Moraes returning to action. Diaco was arguably South’s most dangerous player and was unlucky not to score at least twice whilst Moraes continued to lack the influence he has had over the team in the past two seasons.

The new central defensive pairing of Frank Drakopoulos and Tansel Baser worked reasonably well with goalkeeper Mitch Langerak failing to be tested.

Anastasiadis persisted with leaving the skillful Vasilios Natsioulas on the bench and will no doubt be tempted to start the attacking/midfield winger who has looked South’s most impressive player on quite a few occasions this season.

With Gianni De Nittis being used out-of-position last week in a midfield role, Natsioulas cold be in line for a recall to the first eleven.

In the Gully camp, like pretty much every season, Gully’s experience and know-how to get points at this level has kept them in good stead.

Experienced players like Dean Fak, Dragi Nastevski, Brandon Vassallo, Jeffrey Fleming and Andy Vargas form a very solid core for the Keilor-based outfit with the addition of big Kiwi forward Campbell Banks who has chipped in with five goals this season adding a further dimension to Gully’s game.

Youngster Joel Nikolic is also experiencing somewhat of a breakout year with the young forward having scored six times this campaign.

The addition of Emanuel Muscat from the Sunshine Georgies has further stabilized Dobson’s men who have the third best defensive record in the league and are extremely hard to break down, something which South found out first hand earlier in the season, when Gully poached a late goal to beat the Albert Park-based club by one goal to nil.

Tuesday, 10 July 2007 12:44 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has failed to pick up a crucial three points, wasting a host of chances in the first half to eventually end up with a disappointing nil-all draw against the Essendon Royals.

South now drops out of the top six and faces a very tough couple of weeks coming up against title contenders Green Gully and Oakleigh. The Albert Park-based club will need at least four points from those two matches if it is to continue to harbor hopes of playing finals football.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent out a well balanced lineup. Mitch Langerak started in goals with the back four consisting of new central defensive pairing Tansel Baser and Frank Drakopoulos with Adam Van Dommele and Ramazan Tavsancioglu playing in the left and right back roles respectively.

In the centre of the park Sammy DeVito played the defensive midfield role with Gianni De Nittis deployed out-of-position in a central midfield role. Trent Waterson and Yusef Yusef patrolled the right and left flanks with Ricky Diaco returning from injury to lead the attack whilst Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes also made his return in a free attacking role tucked in behind Diaco.

South jumped the Royals in the first half and really should’ve iced the game in the first 30 minutes.

Four minutes in and South had their first good chance. A short corner was played to De Nittis who whipped in a stinging cross-shot that the diving Diaco missed by inches with a lunging header.

Two minutes later and Diaco should’ve scored after being played through one-on-one with only Royals keeper Marko Sutalo to beat. Unfortunately for South, Diaco smashed his stinging drive, from just inside the box, against the upright.

After ten minutes Essendon nearly turned in an own goal after great work down the right hand side by Waterson saw the ex-Sunshine Georgies player whip in a superb ball to the near post that was nearly bundled home by a scrambling Royals defender who just managed to clear for a corner.

On 17 minutes a deadly ball into the box by Yusef Yusef was instinctively, but almost disastrously, headed towards goal by a covering Royals defender with the ball landing just wide of Sutalo’s right upright with the keeper well beaten.

South continued their onslaught on 20 minutes when a scramble in the Essendon six-yard box saw the ball nearly forced home but eventually cleared by the desperate Royal’s defence.

Then on 24 minutes South were denied a goal after a corner from the right was met with a firm header with the Georgies managing to clear off the line, however, the ball appeared to be have gone over the goal line. The linesman kept his flag down with the rebound falling to the luckless Diaco who again smashed his effort, from four-or-so yards out and on a slight angle, into the upright.

On 30 minutes it was the turn of Moraes to miss a golden opportunity. A quality ball was whipped in from the left flank with the ball eluding the defence and Diaco and falling to Moraes on the back post 10 or so yards out. Unfortunately for South the Brazilian rushed his attempted volley and sliced his volleyed effort way wide.

After a productive first half, South appeared to tire in the second half and run out of imagination. Essendon were quite happy to sit back and soak up all the pressure with South custodian Mitchell Langerak failing to be tested throughout the match.

Essendon played such a defensively minded game that at least 70-80% of the second half was spent in their half, however, with at least 10 men behind the ball, the Royals managed to continually stifle South’s creativity.

The Royals sent on young striker Farouk Tijani on 67 minutes, deploying him as a lone attacker and hoping his silky dribbling skills and pace could carve out a chance on the counter. Tijani did break free on a counter attack soon after coming on but was quickly closed down by the South defence. A move which started and ended Essendon’s attacking ambitions for the match.

The introduction of the classy Vasilios Natsioulas did spark South for five-or-so minutes with substitute Nathan Caldwell also causing a nervous moment for the Royals after his stinging 20 yard drive saw Sutalo fail to glove the ball cleanly with the Royals fortunate that no South player was following up.

Essendon’s defence continued to battle and managed to soak up the entire half to take home a somewhat fortunate, however, well-earnt draw.