Author: SMFC Media

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 10:55 PM

The South Melbourne FC family invites all members, supporters, sponsors, general football lovers and anyone looking for a pleasant end to the week to Bob Jane Stadium this Friday evening.

A DJ as well as food and beverages will be on hand for anyone interested in attending.

The South Melbourne FC family is interested in further developing and strengthening its relationship with current and past supporters of the club as well as always looking to find new supporters.

Date: Friday 13th April, 2007
Time: 6pm onwards
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium, Champions Sports Bar

Saturday, 31 March 2007 12:20 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne and Oakleigh have played out a hard fought one-all draw in Friday night’s much anticipated encounter.

The visitors capped off a superb start to the game when Ricky Diaco calmly slotted the opener after 21 minutes, latching onto a delicate chip through ball by Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes that left him one-on-one with Oakleigh custodian Stuart Webster with South’s prolific front man smashing a right foot strike past the helpless Cannons keeper.

South dominated most of the first half but against the run of play conceded a needless penalty. Oakleigh had attacked down the right flank and right on the corner of the South penalty area, Djulbic mistimed his challenge, cutting across his opponent without getting the ball with referee Perry Mur pointing to the spot instantly.

Up stepped Ante Pelikan who sent his shot off the left-hand post and past Tosic to level in the 40th minute.

Coach John Anastasiadis made a couple of changes to his starting lineup, in came youngsters Nick Curtis and Yusef Yusef whilst young goalkeeper Mladen Tosic made his starting debut for the club as replacement for club legend Dean Anatasiadis after the veteran goalkeeper tore an anterior cruciate ligament in last week’s encounter against Green Gully.

South lined up as follows. Mladen Tosic began in goals with South opting for a flat back three system seeing Ramazan Tavsacioglu, Steven O’Dor and Dino Djulbic as the dedicated defensive trio. In the centre of the park Sammy DeVito continued in his new found defensive midfield role with youngster Nick Curtis beside him. Yusef Yusef and Trent Waterson were deployed as left and right wingbacks respectively with Brazilian Fernando Moraes in his usual attacking midfield role. Up front Nathan Caldwell once again partnered the in form Ricky Diaco.

With most of the 3000-4000 in attendance South Melbourne supporters, South seemed to be playing in a “home-away-from-home” type of atmosphere. As a result the visitors quickly seized control of the game, knocking the ball around well and putting Oakleigh under continuous pressure.

South had two decent strikes in the 6th and 7th minute. Firstly Moraes sent his shot from outside the box narrowly past the upright and then Tavsancioglu did the same a minute later from a similar position.

Juan Nilo dug out a half chance for the Cannons in the 9th minute after a cross from the left flank found the diminutive forward reaching to make contact, with his eventual header sailing just wide of the left upright.
South continued their onslaught when the ball fell into Diaco’s path, only for the South striker to send his venomous 10th minute effort over the crossbar.

The Champions were rewarded for their spectacular and bullish start to the game when on 21 minutes, a superb piece of interplay between Moraes and Diaco sliced open the Oakleigh defence. Moraes sent a delicate flick over the top that released Diaco with only Oakleigh custodian Stuart Webster to beat. Diaco made no mistake, smashing his strike into the top right-hand corner of the goal and sending the majority pro South Melbourne crowd into a frenzy.

South continued to dominate in hope of scoring a second, Moraes made some space for himself on 33 minutes but blasted over from the top of the box when he really should’ve done better.

The visitors were unlucky not to double their advantage after 34 minutes when Yusef was released down the right and sent in a great cross that Webster couldn’t glove. The ball eventually fell to Moraes on the left hand side of the box with his angled strike, which seemed destined for the bottom right-hand corner, superbly saved by Webster at full stretch.

Oakleigh were severely struggling, leading goal-scorer Esala Masi had been totally outplayed and nullified by South’s defensive trio with the Cannons having to rely on Pelikan for all their attacking raids.

After 40 minutes Oakleigh undeservedly got back into the game after a Pelikan run down the right wing saw the winger cut inside and work his way to the edge of the South area. Inexplicably Djulbic put in a rushed challenged, cutting across Pelikan and forcing referee Perry Mur to point to the spot.

Pelikan stepped up and just converted, sending his low strike in off the left hand post with young Tosic diving the right way but unable to keep the strike out.

Oakleigh’s goal raised their belief levels with ex-South Melbounre player Bill Damianos forcing a low and sharp save from Tosic during stoppage time and then Pelikan sending in a vicious cross/shot from the left that seemed destined to loop over Tosic but fortunately for South hit the right upright.

In the second half the home side gained the initiative but was largely unable to break down the South defence.

The Cannons started to dominate in midfield but it was South who should’ve went ahead when Webster failed to convincingly parry a shot on the turn by Caldwell with the ball falling into the path of Moraes who from 2 yards out saw his side-foot effort smothered by the desperate Webster.

Pelikan was continuing to cause South problems out wide on the right with one of his crosses taking a wicked deflection and skimming the crossbar deep into the 2nd half.

South could’ve snatched it right at the death when substitute Gianni De Nittis was played in behind the Cannons defence but his first touch was poor and the chance was lost.

Referee Mur then immediately blew his whistle to end the match in what was in all honesty a fair result for both sides but one in which South can take much heart out of, after their largely youth-based side put Oakleigh to the sword for the first 40 minutes of the game.

Friday, 30 March 2007 12:47 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne faces its toughest road trip of the season this Friday night when John Anastasiadis’s men travel to Jack Edwards Reserve to take on early pacesetters and the Stuart Munro-coached Oakleigh Cannons.

The Cannons have started the season in great form and find themselves one point ahead of Green Gully atop the Foxtel Cup standings, largely spurred on by striker Esala Masi who has started the season in scintillating form, leading the goal scoring charts with seven goals in only four matches.

Such has been Masi’s dominance that the Fijian forward has scored 70% of Oakleigh’s goals this campaign with his physical presence and powerful shooting incredibly hard to contain.

The Cannons are coming off a thumping 0-4 away win against Heidelberg and go into Friday’s encounter full of confidence.

Conversely, South produced a very disappointing display against Green Gully last Sunday, going down 0-1, and will need to greatly improve in order to contain the rampant Cannons.

South are clearly missing the suspended Tansel Baser whose experience and ability to spread the play in the centre of the park has not been convincingly covered during his absence.

Coach John Anastasiadis may have to experiment with a different player in the defensive midfield role for Friday’s encounter with Oakleigh’s midfield consisting of Bill Damianos, Ante Pelikan and Scott Webster one of the better combinations in the league.

A massive crowd is expected on Friday with South youngster Miladen Tosic thrust into the limelight after veteran goalkeeper and club legend Dean Anastasiadis tore an anterior cruciate ligament against Green Gully and as a result has likely played his last game for the club.

Tosic did well when he came on for Anastasiadis but will face massive test on Friday, playing against one of the championship favorites in only his second ever senior appearance.

Last season the Cannons managed to beat South twice during the regular campaign and finished minor Premiers by a staggering 13 points. The 2nd regular season contest in particular saw South dominate at Bob Jane Stadium, wasting chance-after-chance only to succumb to a Con Boutsianis 30 yard special that rendered South keeper Dean Anastasiadis a spectator as he saw the ball crash into the top corner.

South however ended up winning the premiership and over the past two seasons both clubs have managed to build up a steadily growing rivalry.

With South eager to get their season back on track and the Cannons keen to establish themselves as early title favourites, an enticing and entertaining encounter awaits.

Sunday, 25 March 2007 10:00 PM

By George Kouroumalis

A Matthew Sanders strike with only seconds remaining has seen South Melbourne defeated for the first time this season, in front of a healthy crowd at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

South made the early running, with Brazilian maestro Fernando almost opening the scoring in just the 10th minute after a well struck free kick was comfortably stopped by Green Gully keeper Tomas Kovar.

In the 16th minute Fernando continued to press forward playing a lovely ball into the path of in form striker Ricky Diaco, who after a poor first touch could not manage to hit his shot anywhere near the target.

South suffered a massive blow in the 18th minute, when inspirational captain Dean Anastasiadis was forced from the field after sustaining a leg injury. This could keep the veteran out for a period of time.

Replacing Anastasiadis was youngster Miladen Tosic, who was making his senior debut for the club.

South continued to pressure the Gully defence and should have taken the lead in the 22nd minute after a sensational run by newcomer Trent Waterson culminated in the ex-Sunshine winger playing a superb ball into Nathan Caldwell, who was pouncing inside the penalty area. Caldwell subsequently had his shot blocked by the determined Gully defence, only for the rebound to fall into the path of Gianni De Nittis, who blasted his well hit drive just over the bar.

The near miss seemed to spark Green Gully into action, with the Keilor based side squandering a massive opportunity to take the lead, after great lead up play by Campbell Banks finished with the ball being released to veteran Vargas in space just outside the area with only the keeper to beat. To the relief of the South faithful, the shot was misdirected by Vargas with the ball skidding past the left hand post and out for a goal kick.

South had the last chance of the half, when Fernando once again took it on his own shoulders to try and lift his side into the lead by playing a lovely ball into the path of his partner in crime Ricky Diaco. with the striker once again hitting a weak shot into the arms of Tomas Kovar. This ensured that both sides would go into half time with scores level.

Green Gully came out of the blocks in the second half and could have taken the lead almost immediately when an inviting ball fell into the path of Manny Muscat, who hit a blistering drive just over the cross bar in the 48th minute.

Two minutes later, Gully had another long range effort go agonisingly close to breaking the dead lock, when a swerving long range drive by Kristijan Ivesic drifted just past the right hand goalpost and out for a goal kick.

Gully continued to pepper the South Melbourne goal and once again could have scored in the 54th minute when a sublime in-swinging corner by Vargas was destined for the top corner of the goal, however an athletic save by debutant Tosic denied the veteran. From the resulting corner the visitors once again squandered another decent chance, when Kiwi Banks rose above the South defence, however he directed his header over the bar.

Banks continued to look dangerous up front and after a sensational run past the South defence, released a well weighted ball into the path of Ivesic, who was left one on one with keeper Tosic, looking almost certain to find the back of the net. To the enjoyment of the South faithful, Tosic came out confidently and thwarted the attack with a superb save, keeping his side in the game.

Substitute Bill Natsioulas had a chance against the run of play to snatch a goal for the home side, but the midfielder let himself down with a tame shot from inside the area, with the shot going straight into the arms of Kovar, who had yet to be tested by the home side.

With the game looking certain to finish in a scoreless draw, a final foray forward by Green Gully side saw midfielder John Adam blast past the left hand side of the South defence and play a superb ball into the path of Matthew Sanders, who tapped the ball into the back of the net giving his side a last-minute victory.

South Melbourne FC 0
Green Gully 1 (Sanders 90+3)

Friday, 23 March 2007 1:14 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday South Melbourne return to Bob Jane Stadium after two impressive away wins against the Richmond Eagles and Essendon Royals respectively.

Awaiting John Anastasiadis’s men will be the Ian Dobson-coached Green Gully who have made a decent start to the season winning their first two encounters and sitting 3rd on the table with six points.

While Green Gully lost Rodrigo Vargas to the A-League mid-way through last season, they have replaced him with ex-Sunshine Georgies captain Manny Muscat. Muscat is a proven Premier League player and has slotted into the Gully backline with ease.

Gully have also added ex-Chilean international and Colo Colo player Marcelo Pena to their midfield. Pena is a silky midfielder who is also a delicate passer of the ball and is back for his second stint in the Premier League after spending the 2005 season with the Bentleigh Greens.

The Keilor-based outfit continues to have one of the league’s most experienced spines. Players such as Dean Fak, Dragi Nastevski, Jeffrey Fleming, Brandon Vassallo and Andy Vargas have all played regularly at the Premier League level for many seasons and know what it takes to consistently get results.

Vargas in particular will have to watched closely by South with his passing range, shooting and set-piece ability always a threat.

In the South camp, Coach John Anastasiadis would be extremely encouraged by last week’s performance, especially in the 2nd half against Essendon where the visitors tore the Royals to shreds.

Encouraging for South has been the form of its new recruits. Ricky Diaco, Trent Waterson and Nathan Caldwell have all been superb at various moments during the opening three encounters and have added the much needed cutting-edge to South’s play that was missing over the past two seasons.

Diaco in particular has been superb with his finishing and ability to bring other players into play by holding up the ball, as well as forming an almost telepathic understanding with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes, adding much needed variety and depth to South’s play.

Anastasiadis will also have at his disposal the silky Yusef Yusef who has recovered from his niggling injury concerns and made his South debut in last week’s fixture, coming off the bench for last 15 minutes.

Vasilios Natsioulas could also return to the squad after missing last week’s match because of a groin injury but may be rested again to ensure a return to full fitness.

Saturday, 17 March 2007 1:05 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

Quality strikes from in form forward Ricky Diaco and Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes have given South Melbourne a 0-2 win against the Essendon Royals.

South’s first ever win against the Gary Groenewald coached outfit was kick-started in the 34th minute after Diaco had found himself in acres of space down the right hand side of the Essendon box, capitalizing on a long goal kick by South custodian Dean Anastasiadis. The former Bulleen Zebras striker calmly chose his spot and slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner with Royals keeper Marko Sutalo at full stretch having no chance.

After dominating the second half South sealed the game in the 85th minute when a neatly worked short corner between youngster Gianni De Nittis and Moraes, saw the Brazilian make some space for himself just outside the left-hand side of the Essendon box. Moraes then unleashed a stunning strike that left Royals keeper Sutalo with no chance as it slammed into the left top-corner of the net.

Coach John Anastasiadis had his hand forced with Vasilios Natsioulas not making the squad due to injury and being replaced in the starting eleven by off-season recruit Trent Waterson.

South lined up as follows. Dean Anastasiadis began in goals with Steven O’Dor, Dino Djulbic and Arthur Tsonis playing as a flat three in defence. In the centre of the park Sammy DeVito continued in his new defensive midfield role with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes playing as the attacking link man. Youngster Gianni De Nittis was tucked in a slight left midfield role as well. Out wide Ramazan Tavsancioglu and Trent Waterson played in the right and left wingback roles respectively with Ricky Diaco and Nathan Caldwell leading the South attack.

South began positively and after 3 minutes a well worked move down the left saw De Nittis played in near the edge of the area. De Nittis did well to make space for a shot, but his left foot effort was straight at Sutalo who saved easily.

Fifteen minutes in and a Moraes free kick deep into the heart of the Essendon box almost found a glancing header with the ball eventually falling to Sutalo who almost fumbled.

Essendon were doing a decent job of absorbing the pressure and nearly caught the visitors out after 29 minutes when a quick break down the right flank saw the subsequent cross take a wicked deflection that almost lobbed Anastasiadis.

The Royals could’ve taken the lead on 34 minutes after an early cross from the left flank found an unmarked Nazir Ismail, unfortunately for Essendon the ball was slightly behind Ismail whose eventual effort was miss-hit and lobbed over the cross-bar from 8 or so yards out.

From the subsequent goal kick South Melbourne went ahead. A long clearance from Anastasiadis was latched onto by Diaco who worked his way into the right hand channel of the Essendon box and produced a calm angled finish across Sutalo and into the bottom left-hand corner to give South the initiative after 34 minutes. Diaco’s finish once again highlighted his importance to Blue and Whites with the 2005 VPL Gold Medal winner scoring his 3rd goal in as many matches.

South finished the half with a late flurry. First a 42nd minute free kick from the right fell to a lunging O’Dor on the back post, O’Dor got his effort on target but an Essendon defender was on hand to clear off the line.

Two minutes later and Waterson worked some space for himself just outside the Royals defensive area, his subsequent strike flew just over the crossbar but infuriated Moraes who had taken up a good position and was unmarked on the left hand side of the box.

South began to assert their dominance in the 2nd half. Waterson found some space on the right and produced a venomous head-high cross that just sizzled past a South head when all that was required was the slightest of contact directed towards goals.

John Anastasiadis’s men have conceded three times from set pieces this season and nearly conceded again in the 61st minute when a Royals corner was met with an angled header that flew just over the left top-corner.

After surviving that shock Waterson was at it again two minutes later, finding acres of space down the right flank and sending in a superb low cross that seemed destined to find the back of the net only to see Caldwell strike air from 8 or so yards though admittedly under intense pressure from his marker.

South were continuing to pile on the pressure in search of the crucial 2nd goal with De Nittis going close on 68 minutes when his strike, at the end of good build-up play from visitor, sailed narrowly wide.

Waterson was determined to show the 1000-plus traveling South faithful and the vocal and continuous chanting of the Clarendon Corner his ability and was nearly rewarded for his efforts after a superb piercing run through the centre of the park in the 77th minute saw the ex-Sunshine Georgies player play Diaco in behind the Essendon defence. The colossal forward unleashed a venomous strike from just outside the Royals box that Sutalo did well to tip over.

After 83 minutes Waterson again found acres of space down the right, this time his early cross put the Royals under extreme pressure but Gary Groenewald’s men managed to clear. Waterson perhaps would’ve been better off continuing his run into the box and having a strike but his continued dominance down the right for South was an extremely encouraging sign for Coach Anastasiadis.

South’s second goal and eventual sealer arrived after Moraes was released down the left and unleashed a decent effort that Sutalo tipped over for a corner. From the subsequent corner, Moraes and De Nittis worked a neat one-two with Moraes released in space on the left-hand corner of the Essendon box. The silky Brazilian then unleashed a rocket-like 85th minute effort that crashed past Sutalo and into the left top-corner leaving the Royal’s keeper with absolutely no chance.

To Essendon’s credit they almost pulled one back in the 88th minute after a shot from outside the box was saved well down low by Anastasiadis with the follow-up being tucked into the back of the net. The linesman however had well and truly flagged with the goal being disallowed for offside.

South now consolidates its position in the top six having collected seven points from their opening three fixtures.

Wednesday, 14 March 2007 4:08 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travel to the Veneto club this Friday night looking to end a 2 year-long curse against the Essendon Royals which has seen South never beat the Gary Groenewald coached outfit since re-entering the Premier League 2 seasons ago.

Both teams have started the season relatively well with both collecting a draw and a win in their opening encounters to sit third (Essendon) and fourth (South Melbourne) on the standings respectively.

A win for both sides could see them build an early buffer in the top six and as such both teams will no doubt be pushing hard for maximum points.

South have started the season on fire in front of goals, scoring six times in two games and living up to the scoring potential present in their ranks.

However, defensively South have struggled in the opening two fixtures, conceding 5 goals. It must be said that the new central defensive pairing of Steven O’Dor and Dino Djulbic are new to each other’s game and may take a few weeks to gel.

Up front the picture is entirely different with Coach John Anatasiadis having many options in attack. Off-season recruit Nathan Caldwell started his South career on fire last week against Richmond, scoring a double and integrating well with fellow striker and new recruit Ricky Diaco.

South also has the ever dangerous Brazilian Fernando Moraes in its ranks with the silky attacker once again showing his worth last week by scoring a glorious individual winner against Richmond.

Con Blatsis continues to be out for a significant amount of time with 6 weeks the tentative time given for his return. With Blatsis out, South are also feeling the suspension suffered pre-season by Tansel Baser with Coach Anastasiadis having to experiment with various players in the holding midfield role.

Exciting winger and off-season recruit Trent Waterson is pushing for a starting spot after struggling pre-season to shake off a nagging groin injury. Waterson could offer the ideal solution for South’s left flank and could be in contention to start on Friday.

Yusef Yusef is another potential inclusion, with the silky midfield/attacker close to full fitness.

In the Essendon camp, experience can be found in off-season defensive recruit Con Anthopoulos. Anthopoulos is an ex-South Melbourne player and has many years experience playing at national league level.

In Frank Lagana, Albert Gjuni and Yannis Galanos, Essendon possess a trio of talented young players who have the ability to influence results and with coach Groenewald’s philosophy of blooding youngsters on show early in the season, expect Essendon to present a committed and unified approach.

Saturday, 10 March 2007 6:42 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has collected their first win of the season, defeating the Richmond Eagles by 3 goals to 2.

Striker Nathan Caldwell made a stunning debut for John Anastasiadis’s men finishing with a double whilst South’s other goal and the eventual winner was brilliantly converted by Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes.

Richmond had equalized twice, initially through an own goal by Arthur Tsonis after Richmond winger Semir Sevic found some space down the right and whipped in a ferocious ball that deflected off Tsonis and past a helpless Dean Anastasiadis, whilst a fine back post header by James Baskerville saw the Eagles level for the second time midway through the second half.

Coach John Anastasiadis made a couple of changes from last week’s lineup. In came striker Nathan Caldwell for his first game for the club after switching from the Melbourne Knights in the off-season whilst Arthur Tsonis made his first start since his season ending injury last season, slotting in on the left hand side of a three man defence.

Youngster Nick Curtis was relegated to the substitute’s bench whilst fellow youngster Gianni De Nittis took up an unfamiliar role on the left wing.

South lined up as follows. Dean Anastasiadis started in goals with a flat back three of Steven O’Dor, Dino Djulbic and Arthur Tsonis in front of him. South stacked the midfield with youngster Sammy DeVito deployed in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role with Vasilios Natsioulas and Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes playing in the centre of the park. In the wingback roles Ramazan Tavsancioglu started on the right flank and Gianni De Nittis was deployed on the left. Up front Nathan Caldwell partnered last week’s hero Ricky Diaco.

The game started quite openly with Richmond looking to expose South down the right flank and South equally committed to playing attacking football and trying to score goals.

After 13 minutes Moraes unleashed a “daisy cutter” from 25 yards that skimmed just wide.

Three minutes later and a superb precision-based counter from South saw Moraes unleashed in acres of space down the right flank. Moraes managed to square the ball to Caldwell who from the top of the 18 yard area sent his first time strike past the outstretched right arm of Eagles goalkeeper Ivan Tomic who managed to get a glove on the strike but couldn’t prevent the goal.

After South’s bright start Richmond should’ve leveled in the 17th minute when a defensive lapse from South, who were attempting to play the offside trap, saw Henry Fa’arodo released in behind the South defence, after some recovery pressure the ball fell to a Richmond player who from 6 yards out and with a seemingly harder task to miss than score was prevented by a superb save by Anastasiadis.

South had two chances in the 28th and 32nd minutes of play to extend their lead after a Diaco shot on the turn took a wicked deflection and nearly sailed past Tomic whilst four minutes later Caldwell almost doubled his tally with a curling strike destined for the bottom right-hand corner that was well saved by Tomic.

The openness of the game saw Richmond grind out another golden opportunity in the 33rd minute when a cross from the right was met on the near post by an unmarked Fa’arodo, whose flick header sailed narrowly past the back-post.

Richmond deservedly equalized after 39 minutes when Semir Sevic exposed South down the right flank, worked his way into the box and unleashed a stinging cross that cannoned into Arthur Tsonis and flew past Anastasiadis’s near post with the keeper having no chance of stopping such a ferocious deflection.

South started the second half the aggressor with good chances in consecutive minutes. Firstly in the 56th minute some good footwork by Natsioulas created some space with his square ball to Diaco seeing the powerful striker unleash a low drive that sailed just wide.

A minute later Moraes worked a chance for himself in the Richmond box with his eventual strike forcing a great diving save by Tomic.

In the 61st minute Diaco missed a golden opportunity to hand the ascendancy back to South when a class through ball by Djulbic released the South front man down the right hand side of the Richmond penalty area. Faced with only Tomic to beat but with the Richmond keeper positioning himself well, Diaco sent his angled drive just past the right upright.

South’s positive play paid off in the 66th minute after superb work down the right by Natsioulas saw the youngster work his way into the Richmond defensive area. Natsioulas then produced a pinpoint back-post cross that was met by Caldwell who worked a quality cross range header into the bottom right-hand corner to put South back in front and cap off an impressive debut.

Richmond almost exposed South’s shaky defensive play in the 68th minute when Steven O’Dor had the ball ripped from him by Fa’arodo on the edge of the South box. The speedy Eagles striker worked his way towards goal and again from point blank range somehow managed to hit the left upright with South continuing to ride their luck.

Seventy-one minutes had been played when the Eagles managed to draw level. A free-kick from the right was sent deep into the South box with James Baskerville rising above everyone to meet the ball with his head and power past a helpless Anastasiadis on the back post.

For the second time South had squandered the lead but in the 76th minute South would take the lead and keep it for good. South’s linchpin of the past two seasons Brazilian Fernando Moraes stamped his class on the encounter after receiving the ball down the right flank, Moraes worked his way to the edge of the Richmond area whilst skipping past a couple of players and produced a darting low angled strike into the bottom right-hand corner leaving the fully stretched Tomic with no chance.

Moraes should’ve sealed the result in the 88th minute after he was released one-on-one with Tomic down the right flank. Tomic again did well to spread himself and managed to outsmart Moraes who attempted to delicately guide the ball past the Richmond custodian with Tomic comfortably saving.

With the game seemingly won referee Phil Taverna somehow managed to find 6 minutes of extra time. Considering there were no sendoffs and not a great deal of time lost to injury treatment, 6 minutes was extremely excessive.

South nearly paid dearly for dropping their concentration after a 94th minute header sailed just wide with keeper Anastasiadis scrambling and a 96th minute strike from outside the box that rocketed just past the right upright.

Thursday, 8 March 2007 11:38 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travel to Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday eager for a win after a stuttering display in last week’s opening fixture against Heidelberg.

In a game South should’ve won after managing to score three times at home, three defensive errors saw Heidelberg snatch a point and leave the South faithful disappointed.

Conversely, Richmond started their campaign in positive fashion, coming from a goal down against the AIS to snatch a 1-2 win in the dying minutes of the game.

The Phil Stubbins’ coached outfit have a workmanlike squad that doesn’t include many superstar players but under the experience and Premier League know-how of Stubbins, Richmond will no doubt be expected to push for a top six birth.

In midfielder Brendan Beni and strikers Joe Di Iorio and Xhezair Sulemani, Richmond possess a trio of enigmatic players who on their day can have great influence on matches.

Sulemani was on the score sheet against the AIS whilst Di Iorio moved to Richmond in the off season after spending last year at Kingston. Di Iorio was instrumental in Richmond’s promotion from State 1 two seasons ago and returns to the club looking to fulfill the promise he showed as a youngster which saw him win a contract with German Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen.

In the South camp, no injuries were sustained in the match against Heidelberg with Coach John Anastasiadis unlikely to make major changes to the lineup.

Defensive off-season recruit Frank Drakopoulos did show great enthusiasm and spirit when he was brought on last week and may have perhaps worked his way into Anastasiadis’s plans with the likes of Tansel Baser suspended and the continuous injury cloud hanging over Con Blatsis.

Encouraging for South was the breathtaking debut of new striker Ricky Diaco, Diaco lit up Bob Jane Stadium with a stunning strike after only three minutes and finished the game with two goals after scoring an equalizer late on.

Diaco’s physical presence and finishing ability are exactly what South has been missing over the past two seasons and after such a promising and dynamic start to his career in the blue and white Diaco will be looking to further build on his debut performance.

Monday, 5 March 2007 11:00 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have escaped with a three all draw after an out-of-character performance from veteran and champion goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis saw South concede three error-filled goals and hence place itself under pressure after twice taking the lead.

New South recruit Ricky Diaco capped off a superb debut by equalizing in the dying minutes of the game to add to his wonder goal after three minutes. Vasilios Natsioulas grabbed the other goal for South.

Injuries and suspension meant the Champions didn’t have some key players at their disposal. Nevertheless Coach John Anastasiadis still sent out quite a strong lineup.

In goals veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis took his customary position. In the centre of defence Dino Djulbic and Steven O’Dor formed a formidable partnership with Ramazan Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito playing in the right and left-back roles respectively. In the centre of the park, new Scottish recruit Billy Jones played in the defensive midfield position with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes in an attacking midfield role. Out wide, Vasilios Natsioulas started on the left wing with youngster Nick Curtis on the right. Up front, South started with new signing Ricky Diaco and promising young striker Gianni De Nittis.

South began the game very strongly, playing a very slick and direct game, however, no South fan present could’ve predicted the astonishing start to his blue and white career that Ricky Diaco was about to make. After Tavasancioglu surged forward down the centre of the park and played the ball into Diaco, no-one was expecting the giant forward to turn and latch onto a tremendous 25 yard, 3rd minute strike that gave Bergers keeper Pasi Schwalger absolutely no chance as it crashed into the bottom left-hand corner. It was truly a world-class strike and one of the best seen at Bob Jane Stadium.

Diaco nearly added a second a minute later after an excellent move by South down the right flank ended up with Moraes squaring the ball to Diaco who perhaps took a touch too many and was closed down by a superb tackle by Berger defender Daniel Jones just as he was about to shoot.

South continued to turn it on and in the 16th minute more great interplay this time saw Natsioulas released down the left. The South winger played the ball square to Moraes who unleashed a stinging drive from outside the box that Schwalger failed to glove with the ball rebounding through the middle of the Heidelberg box. De Nittis latched onto a volley – from just outside the box – that seemed destined for the top-right hand corner off the boot but was unfortunately smothered by a Bergers’ defender.

Seemingly against the run of play Heidelberg equalized in the 18th minute. South conceded a dangerous free kick on the far left side on edge of their defensive area. Up stepped Heidelberg set piece specialist Nick Sabljak who managed to get his shot over the wall, but without much venom behind it, it seemed a relatively easy save for Anastasiadis. However and unfortunately for South, the ball seemed to bounce in front of Anastasiadis just as he tried to glove it and bounced off his chest, into the upright and then scrambled over the line.

South quickly re-grouped and re-took the lead on 20 minutes after Moraes found some space on the right flank and sent a decent ball into the Heidelberg box. The United defence struggled to convincingly clear with the ball eventually falling to the back post where an alert Natsioulas was on hand to comfortably head past Schwalger and return the initiative to South.

The South faithful could not believe what unfolded next as Sabljak again, this time from 25 or so yards out sent another free kick over the South wall and this time past a diving Anastasiadis who managed to get a glove onto the ball but could not prevent it from trickling into the bottom right corner.

The South players and faithful were stunned after completely dominating for the opening 20 or so minutes yet still conceding two goals without the Bergers actually getting in behind the South defensive line.

The second half began with most of the sting taken out of the encounter. Heidelberg on the back of Sabljak’s goals had slowly started to get more of the ball with the match now evenly balanced.

South missed a golden opportunity in the 55th minute after Diaco played in Moraes down the right side of the Heidelberg box. Moraes had only Schwalger to beat but was faced with a tight angle, his eventual angled drive sailed narrowly over the crossbar with Schwalger perhaps getting a fingertip onto the strike.

Two minutes later and Heidelberg’s tactic of playing with a lone striker paid off after a superb searching ball by Sabljak eluded the South defence with nippy winger/striker Andy Vlahos latching onto the ball. South keeper Anastasiadis appeared to misread the situation, coming out immediately with Vlahos rounding him with ease and tucking into an empty net to give the Bergers the ascendancy.

Sensing a valuable three points Heidelberg Coach Con Pappas stacked his defence and looked to hold onto the result. For the most part the tactic worked with South appearing to lack ideas when going forward. South did however have a genuine claim for handball in the 69th minute after a Moraes cross from the right appeared to hit the hand of a Berger defender but the referee waved play on.

Coach Anastasiadis was forced to change things around and take some risks. He sent on off season recruit Frank Drakopoulos with the soldier-built defender trying to spark some positiveness into South’s play. The move seemed to work with Drakopoulos bringing some much needed energy into South’s game.

With time running out South equalized after a looping through ball was poorly dealt with by the Heidelberg defence. The ball fell to Diaco inside the box and on a slight angle with the South marksman making no mistake in comfortably slotting the ball past a fully stretched Schwalger and into the bottom left hand corner in the 86th minute.

It was a lucky escape for South who after starting the game so well where let down by defensive lapses, nevertheless with Diaco making a superb debut and a point gained John Anastasiadis’s men can take some positives out of the game.