Author: SMFC Media

Friday, 8 September 2006 12:18 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travel to Knights Stadium on Sunday taking on the in-from Altona Magic with a spot in the 2006 Vodafone Cup grand final up for grabs.

Both teams are coming off sterling triumphs in the first round of the finals with South Melbourne leaving it late to sweep past Green Gully by 3 goals to nil, whilst Altona caused quite the upset in defeating minor premiers Oakleigh 0-2.

Altona have had the wood of the South this season managing to win both their regular season encounters against John Anastasiadis’s men.

The Magic are a very disciplined and organized outfit whereby every player knows his role and performs it on a consistent basis.

They also have the added advantage of possessing the best goal scorer in the league in Saso Becvinovski. The Altona striker has been a revelation, scoring 18 goals this season overhauling long-time Premier League top marksman Michael Curcija in the process and building a reputation for superb finishing.

Altona have quality and experience all over the park with goalkeeper Bojo Jevdjevic, defender Levent Osman and winger Daniel Vasilevski all having decent careers in the national league.

Throw into the mix the versatility of brothers Tomi and Ivan Razov as well as experienced premier league players like Alfonso Opazo and there is no doubting Altona’s credentials as a potential finalist this year.

In the South camp, the resounding 3-0 triumph against Green Gully has no doubt revitalized John Anastasiadis’s men who now find themselves in the exact same position they were in last season with two cracks at making the final.

Naturally, South will want to tie up a grand final position as soon as possible and will go into Sunday’s encounter with the added incentive of wanting to show that they are capable of knocking off Vlado Tortevski’s charges who have defeated South 3-1 and 0-1 in their two earlier meetings this campaign.

On the injury front colossal defender Con Blatsis is looking doubtful after succumbing to a leg injury during the game against Gully and having to be substituted.

Blatsis aside every other player who was part of the Gully game will be available with South no doubt likely to switch Tansel Baser to central defence and promote midfield dynamo George Tzirtis to the starting eleven.

On a positive note, young winger Vasilios Natsioulas looks to have resumed light running with giant defender Arthur Tsonis also re-entering the training track for the first time since his knee injury. No doubt with both lads being quite popular around the club they will be an added inspiration to the South Melbourne squad as they go into battle for a place in the final.

Saturday, 2 September 2006 1:21 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have produced a barnstorming finish with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes the catalyst, dispatching Green Gully 3-0 and securing a place in a semi final next week against either Oakleigh or Altona.

South scored all there goals in the space of ten minutes with Moraes breaking the deadlock with a superlative 82nd minute free kick, substitute George Tzirtis grabbing the decider on the counter attack in the 89th and Andreas Oliveira icing the game with a 91st minute penalty.

After John Anastasiadis’s men had produced a flat performance last Sunday against Ian Dobson’s rejuvenated Gully side, Anastasiadis re-introduced Scot MacNicol, Tansel Baser and Dino Djulbic back into the starting eleven with all players, especially MacNicol producing quality displays.

South lined up as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis began in goals with the central defensive pairing seeing Dino Djulbic partner the colossal Con Blatsis. Youngsters Rama Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito played in the right and left-back roles respectively.

In the centre of the park Antonio Naglieri played the holding role with Scot MacNicol given the attacking midfield reigns. Out wide, Fernando Moraes and Tansel Baser played on the right and left flanks with impressive South youngster Gianni DeNittis partnering the diminutive Andreas Oliveira in attack.

South created a good opening early on when after 6 minutes MacNicol squared the ball nicely from the right flank for Naglieri, who from the edge of the box blazed over when he really had enough time to at least hit the target.

A minute later and South nearly paid the ultimate price for defensive naivety, being caught far too up the pitch with Gully youngster Joel Nikolic springing the offside trap and finding himself one-on-one with Anastasiadis. Thankfully for South, Nikolic went for power and narrowly hit his shot over the crossbar.

South should’ve went ahead after 16 minutes when excellent work down the right flank by DeNittis saw the youngster brilliantly pick out Oliveira with a low square ball. Oliveira could’ve turned and shot but chose to lay it off to Moraes who again should’ve shot first time but opted to take a touch, increasing the defensive pressure on him with his eventual shot straight at Gully custodian Pasi Schwalger.

Twenty-four minutes in and MacNicol almost capitalized on defensive miscommunication in the Gully box, nipping in behind two defenders and getting to the bi-line in the 6-yard area, only to hesitate his cross and see the ball roll just over the goal-line.

A deep corner in the 32nd minute from Moraes bypassed all the Gully backline and found the incoming Tavsancioglu on the back-post who for a split second seemed surprised to be found in that position and hence hesitated his shot with his final lunging effort going over the crossbar.

South seemed to have once again fallen into the trap of playing the dominating football but failing to score. This time a brilliant 38th minute free kick from Moraes from the right hand side of the Gully box saw Schwalger superbly save at full stretch and out for a corner with the ball destined for the far left side of the Gully keeper.

The second half began with Gully seemingly happy to soak up pressure and let the game go on as long as possible without a goal being scored. Gully however created a dangerous situation in the 60th minute after a quality ball from the right saw Anastasiadis just manage to get a fist onto the ball, punching away from a Gully player’s feet and seeing the ball deflect off a South player and trickle narrowly past the upright for a corner.

Two minutes later and Oliveira managed to get to the bi-line and send in a quality looping cross that Schwalger couldn’t reach with unfortunately for the home side, no-one on the back post to slam into an empty net.

A minute later and a sharp snap-shot by Oliveira saw Schwalger up the task with the giant Gully keeper producing a good save to his left.

South’s tireless work seemed to be bearing little end product with the home faithful fearing Gully could sneak a goal and comfortably defend it. However, with 82 minutes played the brilliance of Brazilian Moraes came to the fore.

South won a free kick 20 or so yards out. Moraes stepped up and produced a magnificent strike over the wall and into the bottom right-hand corner that left Schwalger with no chance and subsequently sent the South faithful into hysterics.

It was a strike characteristic of the superb season Moraes has had, a season in which his individual abilities have been able to bring precious results to South and in this case, proved to be the catalyst for an unlikely drubbing.

Gully immediately raised their tempo and sent players forward. They began to dominate possession but always looked vulnerable at the back and it was this vulnerability that South exposed brilliantly on 89 minutes. Youngster DeNittis outmuscled his marker in the centre of the park after a defensive clearance and suddenly found himself with only a defender in front of him and Oliveira in acres of space down the right. DeNittis immediately switched to Oliveira who steadied and squared the ball to totally unmarked substitute George Tzirtis, who from 4 yards out, smashed in off the left upright to give South an unassailable 2-0 advantage.

The triumph was completed in the 91st minute after Oliveira was brought down in the Gully box when trying to take on a man. The diminutive striker stepped up and comfortably smashed the ball past Schwalger who dived the opposite way.

Delirium broke out amongst the players and the South faithful with the whole stadium chanting.

South managed to avenge last season’s semi final defeat against Gully as well as overturn a poor performance, against the same opponents, only five days ago.

John Anastasiadis’s men now wait for the winner of Oakleigh and Altona for a chance to play off for a spot in the 2006 Vodafone Cup Grand Final.

Thursday, 31 August 2006 4:37 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

Friday night is do-or-die for John Anastasiadis’s men who lost out on the guaranteed second chance that is afforded with a top-two finish after being convincingly beaten by Ian Dobson’s men 2-0, in last week’s final round of the Vodafone Cup.

Gully’s triumph over South saw the western suburbs based club pull off a remarkable mid-season resurrection which saw their form sky-rocket after the re-appointment of Dobson as head coach, sneaking into the top six after flirting with the relegation zone for much of the season.

South rested a number of player’s from last week’s lineup with Scot MacNicol, Dino Djulbic and Tansel Baser having little or no involvement in the game.

Their absence greatly affected the balance of South who look disorientated and lacking imagination in what proved to be one of, if not their most disappointing performances of the season.

Injury wise, Coach Anastasiadis doesn’t have any new concerns to deal with. Con Blatsis as always must be carefully nursed with the colossal defender coming off at half time last week against Gully, but Blatsis aside all players barring the long term injuries suffered by Arthur Tsonis and Vasilios Natsioulas will be available with youngster Jose Vasquez, who missed last week with groin tightness, possibly available for selection.

Under Dobson Gully have re-discovered their unspectacular yet highly effective organized brand of football, and against South last week, prevented the visitors from creating any notable openings.

The inclusion of youngsters Joel Nikolic and Matthew Sanders in Dobson’s first team plans has seen Gully’s forward line rejuvenated with enthusiasm, pace and hunger to succeed with both youngsters having found the net regularly since Dobson was re-handed the reigns.

Usual suspects Dean Fak, Brandon Vassallo, Jeffrey Fleming, Lubo Lapsanky, Andy Vargas and Dragi Nastevski are littered with experience at Premier League and National League level and have formed the basis of Gully’s success over the last 3-4 years.

All players are extremely familiar with one another’s game, strengths and weaknesses and as a result have allowed Gully to play consistent and efficient football over a long period of time.

In particular under the helm of Dobson, Gully’s defence has been traditionally very hard to break down and when one couples this fact with South’s consistent battle of finding the back of the net regularly, John Anastasiadis’s men will have to be at their best to penetrate Gully’s defensive line.

For the loser the season comes to a disappointing and premature end with the winner, seeing the draw open up dramatically with a preliminary final showing for a spot in the grand final against the winner of the Oakleigh v Altona game.

Monday, 28 August 2006 12:19 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have produced a lackluster performance in going down 2-0 against a determined Green Gully outfit who on the back of this win have now scraped into the 2006 finals series and ironically will again face South Melbourne next week.

John Anastasiadis’s men looked at times disinterested and lacking in enthusiasm with youngsters Matthew Sanders and Serkan Oksuz punishing defensive errors in the 36th and 68th minutes to ensure Green Gully’s 2nd half of the season resurrection under Ian Dobson was completed.

Coach Anastasiadis rested Dino Djulbic, Tansel Baser and Scot MacNicol from the starting lineup. A combination of accumulated yellow cards and wanting to freshen up his players for a finals assault were behind his decision.

South lined up as follows. Veteran Dean Anastasiadis started in between the uprights. Rama Tavsancioglu was moved into central defence partnering Con Blatsis with Sammy DeVito playing left back and George Tzirtis playing in an unfamiliar right back role. In the centre of the park Antonio Naglieri played in the anchor defensive midfield role with youngster Andrew Bourakis playing the more advanced attacking midfield role. Out wide, youngster Nick Curtis and Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes played on the right and flanks respectively. In attack, Coach Anastasiadis showed faith in the emerging combination of Andreas Oliveira and youngster Gianni DeNittis.

South started decently with Moraes blowing a good opening after 6 minutes when DeNittis found himself in some space down the right, cut the ball back to Moraes who took a touch to get passed the Gully defence but from just outside the box, miscued his strike well over the bar.

The visitors nearly went ahead after 28 minutes when DeNittis again did well to spot Oliveira with a quality cutback from the right. The diminutive striker found himself 20 or so yards out and unleashed a quality effort, seeing his strike wickedly deflected and dipping furiously with Green Gully custodian Pasi Schwalger stranded. Unfortunately for South the ball didn’t dip sharply enough and sailed narrowly over the crossbar.

Green Gully however had been playing the more fluent and determined football with the home side rewarded on 36 minutes when a well-taken corner from the right wasn’t well dealt with by the South defence, leading to a mini scramble in the 6 yard box. South custodian Anastasiadis seemed to lunge onto the ball and looked set to glove it when the ball slipped out of his grasp and fell into the path of young Gully striker Matthew Sanders who from 2 yards out slammed home to put Dobson’s men ahead.

Two minutes later and Gully should’ve been two ahead after midfielder Andy Vargas broke into the box and unleashed a powerful volley from the edge of the South defensive area that cannoned off the cross bar with Anastasiadis beaten.

South continued to live dangerously in the second half, this time Sanders broke in behind the South defence after Tavsancioglu mistimed a headed clearance. With seemingly only Anastasidis to beat, Sanders took a touch too long with Tavsancioglu quickly recovering and putting enough pressure on the Gully youngster to see the chance blown.

The visitors defence continued to look shaky. This time miscommunication and lack of covering in the backline saw another Gully youngster, Joel Nikolic find some space down the left hand side of the South box. Nikolic tried a “daisy cutter” angled drive that skimmed narrowly past Anastasiadis’s left upright.

Gully got the sealer in the 68th minute after another defensive lapse by the South defence saw a Gully player left alone with only Anastasiadis to beat. The South keeper did well to save the first effort but could do nothing about Gully substitute Serkan Oksuz’s follow up with the ex-Melbourne Knights and Preston striker smashing home from 4 or so yards out.

Two minutes later and Gully winger Jeffrey Fleming came close to adding a third after he broke down the left, made his way into the South box but blazed over.

Coach Anastasiadis had sent on Baser and MacNicol during the second half but their effectiveness was minimal with the South outfit in general looking very tired and lacking freshness.

The way results panned out, South have finished the season in 3rd place and will again face Green Gully in the first round of the finals next Friday night.

John Anastasiadis’s men will have to show an immense improvement if they are to produce the required result against a Gully outfit that seems to be peaking at the right time of the season.

Friday, 25 August 2006 12:49 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A baptism of fire awaits South Melbourne this Sunday at Green Gully Reserve where the revitalized Gully will be looking to win at all costs in order to scrape into the finals whilst South Melbourne have just as much incentive, needing maximum points to secure second place and guarantee a double chance in the finals.

At one point during the season Green Gully were lingering dangerously near the relegation zone but the return of legendary Gully coach Ian Dobson has seen the Western Suburbs-based club rapidly climb the table to find themselves within two points of playing finals football.

John Anastasiadis’s men are coming off a resounding 5-1 win against the relegated Frankston Pines in what at times seemed like a training run for the Albert Park-based outfit who even in second gear, created chance after chance.

Besides the heavy score line, one immense positive to emerge from the game against Frankston was the superb performance of young striker Gianni DeNittis. DeNittis scored two goals and created another two showing great intelligence and quality finishing.

Even though South is playing away from home, DeNittis’s has no doubt created a selection dilemma for coach Anastasiadis who has favored playing with a sole striker in recent away games.

There is no doubt that diminutive striker Andreas Oliveira struggles to impose his quality when playing in such a system, however, in defense of Anastasiadis, South’s last 3 away games have yielded 2 wins and a draw, with the draw an unfortunate stoppage time equalizer two weeks ago against Bulleen.

Besides the long term injuries to Vasilios Natsioulas and Arthur Tsonis, South have a full quota of players to choose from with defensive colossus Con Blatsis slowly but gradually regaining match fitness and asserting his undoubted quality in the defensive half of the pitch.

Conversely, Green Gully are quite a changed outfit this term with last season’s champions having to blood inexperienced youngsters in Joel Nikolic and Matthew Sanders to lead the attack. Ian Dobson’s men have been repaid for the faith shown with both players netting a healthy 8 and 7 goals respectively.

An ever-present of recent Green Gully outfits has been an experienced spine of players and this season is no different with the likes of goal keeper Pasi Schwalger, Lubo Lapsansky, Dragi Nastevski, Andy Vargas and Brandon Vassallo all playing vital roles in Gully’s plight.

South will have their hands full trying to get the required result but with the support of their traveling faithful and a desperate Gully outfit, the one guarantee is that Sunday’s game is set to be a footballing occasion of the highest order.

Wednesday, 23 August 2006 2:24 PM

SMFC regretfully announces that its telecast provider Setanta, has failed to obtain broadcasting rights for the transmission of the game on Thursday 24th August @ 4:45.

The club WILL NOT be telecasting this game as a result.

The club apologizes to all AEK and Hearts fans for any inconvenience which was caused by factors out of its control.

SMFC Management

Sunday, 20 August 2006 10:59 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes and exciting youngster Gianni DeNittis have put on a master-class, both scoring doubles in South’s 5-1 demolition of the Frankston Pines and ensuring their relegation – back to State 1 – in the process.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent out a more attacking formation, bringing in DeNittis to lead the attack alongside Oliveira who had spent the last month or so playing a lone hand up front.

Anastasiadis lined his chargers up as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis took up his customary position in between the uprights. Defensively South began with a central pairing of Dino Djulbic and Con Blatsis with Rama Tavsancioglu and Tansel Baser playing in the right and left-back roles respectively.

In the centre of the park Antonio Naglieri played in a more defensive role whilst Scot MacNicol was given license to go forward. Out wide youngster Nick Curtis started on the right flank with Fernando Moraes on the left. Up front rising youngster Gianni DeNittis partnered the diminutive Andreas Oliveira.

South got off to a flying start as early as the 6th minute after a deep corner from the right by Moraes found an unmarked Tavsancioglu who rose superbly well and with perfect technique crashed his angled header in off the right upright and past hapless Frankston custodian Kieran McIvor.

It wasn’t long before the Pines drew level punishing a static South who allowed far too much space and time for Craig Metcalfe to unleash a pile-driving angled strike from 25 yards out that caught Dean Anastasiadis unawares and crashed into the bottom right corner of the net.

The effort stunned the South faithful who over the past three encounters at Bob Jane Stadium have witnessed some superb opposition strikes.

However, the goal sprung South into action with Naglieri testing McIvor in the 16th minute after the South midfielder produced a swirling strike from outside the box that saw McIvor save at full stretch for a corner.

South blew a glorious opportunity to take the lead in the 31st minute when Moraes turned and had a strike from 12 or so yards out with his effort going straight at McIvor who did well to hold onto the ball.

Four minutes later and South blew another golden chance. This time Tavsancioglu had done brilliantly to escape the Franskton defence and create a two-on-one situation. Tavsancioglu played the ball into the path of DeNittis – albeit helped by a deflection off a Frankston defender – who with only McIvor to beat saw the Frankston custodian read his side-foot effort well and subsequently block.

McIvor denied South again on 39 minutes after Moraes found himself with a free header after good work down the right by the home side. Unfortunately for South Moraes headed far to close to McIvor who did well to save. A fraction either side of the Frankston custodian and South would’ve been ahead.

A minute later and Moraes saw a vicious strike smash into an unsuspecting Frankston defender’s back when the ball look headed for the back of the net. It appeared that South were going to have another frustrating night in front of goal.

Just before half time DeNittis put the South faithful at rest with a superbly taken goal. A quality cross was whipped in from the right with the ball bouncing in front of DeNittis. The South striker intelligently attempted a looping header which saw McIvor stranded as he watched the ball cross the line to give South a 42nd minute lead.

South started the 2nd half with a small fright after Anastasiadis misjudged a Frankston through ball and subsequently found himself in “no-mans” land. The South custodian was rounded but thankfully for the home side the covering defence was sufficient in dealing with the threat.

In the 60th minute a poor clearance by the visitors saw MacNicol with heaps of time to unleash an effort from 20 or so yards out. The ex-Brechin player struck a decent effort that forced a superb save from McIvor.

South iced the game in the 70th minute after a breathtaking turn and pass from DeNittis saw the youngster release Moraes one-on-one with McIvor. The Brazilian picked his spot and smashed his effort past the Frankston keeper.

Two minutes later and Moraes repaid DeNittis. The Brazilian floated past a couple of defenders down the left flank and played a low square ball to DeNittis who at full stretch managed to latch onto the effort and smash it past McIvor who had no chance of saving.

Moraes rounded off the scoring in the 88th minute after DeNittis again played the Brazilian through one-on-one with a quality ball. Moraes though still had a bit to do with the Brazilian sensation using his quick feet to wrong foot McIvor, finishing off the move with low and hard effort to the Frankston keeper’s right.

Wednesday, 16 August 2006 4:42 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South return to Bob Jane Stadium this Sunday evening looking to address a recent dip in results which has seen John Anastasiadis’s men completely dominate their past two encounters but fail to get the deserving win.

South’s opponents are the relegation threatened Frankston Pines who will come to Bob Jane Stadium looking for nothing less than maximum points as a loss for the Pines will virtually ensure that they will be playing State 1 football next season.

This past Monday night saw South concede a stoppage-time equalizer against Bulleen, in the process sacrificing its top-two position and leaving the South faithful disappointed with the team’s inability to find the back of the net and “kill-off” games after such large periods of dominating play.

Coach Anastasiadis must find the necessary ingredient to instill confidence in his attackers who have often lacked the clinical edge and hunger to finish off the many chances the side has managed to produce, in particular over the past month which has seen the Albert Park-based club net only twice in four games.

Anastasiadis may have to look into starting both Oliveira and DeNittis from the onset as whilst Oliveira has battled tirelessly over the past few weeks, clearly the silky attacker doesn’t have the physical “battering ram” qualities to lead the line on his own and would benefit immensely from having an out-and-out strike partner.

South have practically a full squad to choose from excluding the season ending injuries suffered by Arthur Tsonis and Vasilios Natsioulas.

Conversely, Frankston’s playing stocks and on-field fortunes have plummeted since the departure of Oliveira, Djulbic and Naglieri to South. As always, sizeable front-man Nick Waite will provide a dangerous option in attack with the South defence having to cope with a physical presence that few teams in the Vodafone Cup possess.

The service to Waite however will play a large factor in Frankston being able to get the required result and with the Pines having found the net only 21 times this season, the least of any team in the Vodafone Cup, Waite may well indeed find chances few and far between.

Encouraging for South has been the resurgence of its passionate supporter base who against both Oakleigh and in particular Bulleen were in fine voice. The winter season is gradually phasing out and with the weather constantly improving, all South Melbourne supporters are encouraged to unite behind the team and its efforts in obtaining a top-two finish.

Tuesday, 15 August 2006 12:16 AM

By George Kouroumalis

The Bulleen Zebras have provided the great escape for everyone to see at the Veneto Club, scoring with one of the rare strikes on target in the 93rd minute, to grab a share of the points against South Melbourne, who had gained the advantage after a 33rd minute Fernando De Moraes penalty.

South made one change to the starting lineup that fell victim to a physical Oakleigh Cannons side last week, with injury ruling out explosive midfielder Vasilios Natsioulas.
Natsioulas was replaced by youngster Nick Curtis, who in his many appearances this season has shown that he is more than capable at this level and is without a doubt one of the future stars of the Vodafone Cup.

The lineup once again included veteran Dean Anastasiadis in goals, who was protected by a strong central defensive pairing of Con Blatsis and Dino Djulbic in the space in front of him.
As expected Sam DeVito and Ramazan Tavsancioglu were played in the left and right fullback roles, while coach John Anastasiadis continued with a Scot MacNicol, Antonio Naglieri and Tansel Baser in the centre of the park after their fantastic display against the Cannons last week.
Andreas Oliviera was once again the lone striker up front, while youngster Nick Curtis and Brazilian maestro Fernando De Moraes patrolled the right and left hand sides of midfield respectively.

With a strong lineup in place, South pushed forward from the outset when a bursting run by Tavsancioglu exposed the Bulleen defence, allowed the hard working defender to launch a dangerous cross into the path of Oliviera, who hit a low volley onto the target.
To the dismay and disbelief of the large traveling contingent the shot was magnificently saved and turned away for a corner.

South continued to pile on the pressure and could have had the first goal of the match on numerous occasions in the first half an hour, but through poor finishing by Oliviera and Moraes they could not stike the killer blow.

In the 33rd minute, South were rewarded for their dominance when an innocuous ball was fumbled horribly by the Zebra keeper in Tomas Kovar, allowing Baser to pounce and head into an open net.
In desperation Kovar tripped Baser with an oustretched arm, giving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot, giving the blues an opportunity to take the advantage.
Fernando De Moraes then stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty to the left hand side of the keeper into the back of the net, sending a jubilant Blue and White army into celebration mode.

South were not content with only being a goal ahead and in the 34th minute, explosive fullback Tavsancioglu launched a hopeful volleyed effort from 40 yards out, only for the ball to dip late and just miss the wide open net.

In the dying minutes of the half both Oliviera and Baser were gifted with opportunities just outside the area, but unfortunately struck their well hit attempts well wide of the upright, ensuring South would go into the halftime break with a solitary goal advantage.

The second half provided very little genuine scoring opportunities for both sides, with the first real chance coming in the 65th minute after a darting MacNicol run and ball cut open the Zebra defence finding Oliviera in acres of space, only for the diminutive striker to miss the target once again.

As the Zebra’s became increasingly frustrated with the solid South defence and the stellar performance of defensive duo, Blatsis and Djulbic, they found themselves in the first bit of space for the evening, when Adam Fadljevic launched his drive from just outside the area to the left of the upright.

The 80th minute should have seen the South Melbourne side score the second and match winning goal after a sublime Tansel Baser header from a corner was saved off the line and launched to safety for the Bulleen Zebras.

As South looked to shut down the game and secure all three points, one final foray forward in the 92nd minute by the away side nearly was rewarded, when a world class Gianni De Nittis volley was saved and parried clear amazingly by an acrobatic keeper Kovar.

From the resulting counter attack, Bulleen did the unthinkable and managed to equalize after a misunderstanding from ever reliable keeper Dean Anastasiadis allowed the ball to evade the veterans grasp and fall into the path of the opportunistic Michael Mazzini, who buried the Zebra’s first genuine goal scoring chance into the net to the disbelief of everyone at the ground.

With the drawn match, South drop into fourth place of the Vodafone Cup standings, two points behind the Heidelberg Warriors and one point behind Altona, with two home and away games left to complete the season.
This includes next week’s match against the bottom placed Frankston Pines at Bob Jane Stadium.

Kick off for this important encounter is at 6pm and all South fans are encouraged to come along and support the side in their endeavors to reach that elusive top two position.

Bulleen Zebras : 1
South Melbourne FC : 1
Crowd : Approx 800 @ Veneto Club

Wednesday, 9 August 2006 5:26 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South travel to the Veneto Club on Monday to take on the Michael Michalakopoulos coached Bulleen Zebras in what looms as a must win match for both sides.

South have the incentive of looking to secure a top two finish whilst if Bulleen are to continue to hold hopes for a top-six finish, a win on Monday is absolutely essential.

The visitors have been dealt a blow with rising young winger Vasilios Natsioulas ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a severe flesh wound to his thigh in last week’s encounter against Oakleigh.

Fellow youngster Nick Curtis replaced Natsioulas against Oakleigh, doing quite well in the process and most probably securing himself a start against the Zebras.

Midfield workhorse George Tzirtis will no doubt also come back into contention for a starting role after missing last week with a bout of flu whilst Con Blatsis may be rested after limping throughout the second half against the Cannons.

In Ricky Diaco, Ben Harbinson and Hamlet Armenian the Zebras posses proven goal scorers at Premier League level with Harbinson in particular having a decent season managing 8 goals so far this term.

Diaco of course played in the inaugural season of the A-League and brings physical prowess coupled with intelligent footwork to a Zebras team that will no doubt look to involve him in the majority of their attacking play.

Players like Ari Drakos, Ross Antoniadis and Steve Martin are all highly experienced at Premier League level and provide the Zebras with a core of players who know what’s required to get the job done.

South will have to address a recent lack of goal scoring which has coincided with a recent run of patchy form with John Anastasiadis’s men having only managed 2 goals in their past 4 encounters.

Contrary to their return of goals, South have in general been playing very solid and sometimes superb free-flowing football which was clearly evident in last week’s encounter against the ladder-topping Cannons whereby South put Stuart Munro’s men to the sword but ultimately paid for their lack of finishing.