Author: SMFC Media

Saturday, 8 July 2006 9:58 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travels to Knights Stadium this weekend in what promises to be a fiery encounter.

After trouncing the Knights 7-0 month or so ago, a triumph which lead to the immediate resignation of Knights Coach and favourite son Josip Biskic, the Sunshine-based club will be fired up and out for revenge.

South Melbourne have recently experienced a slight dip in form with their past two encounters – against Preston and Essendon – seeing John Anastasiadis’s men blow a goal advantage to eventually settle for a draw.

Conversely the Knights continue to linger around the fringes of the top six and come into Sunday’s encounter in patchy form, being unable to string a run of 2-3 wins together to really push for a finals position.

The Knights possess one of the best keepers in the Vodafone Cup in Adrian Cagalj and with the silky play of midfield/winger Goran Talevski and the finishing ability of Nathan Caldwell who has bagged 6 goals so far this term; South will have to be in good form, alert and playing with confidence to nullify the Knights’ attacking strengths.

Early in the week South were dealt a significant blow with the news that club captain Vaughn Coveny has accepted an A-League offer from Newcastle and will hence be unable to see out the rest of the season.

Coveny is expected to play on Sunday in what may loom as his final match wearing the famous blue and white.

Classy young winger Vasilios Natsioulas remains in doubt with a muscle injury which may pave the way for exciting youngster Jose Vasquez to make his debut for South. Vasquez is a skillful and attacking winger with his South American heritage reflecting in his play.

Midfielder Antonio Naglieri also returned from length injury during last week’s match with Essendon and will be better off for his run and getting a full week’s worth of training under his belt.

South has picked up only 6 points on their travels this season with the players more than aware of their failure to perform away from the comforts of Bob Jane Stadium.

Coach John Anastasiadis will no doubt be looking for 3 points to consolidate second position as well as build the player’s confidence coming into the business end of the season.

Monday, 3 July 2006 2:29 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has once again been denied by a resilient Essendon Royals outfit that fought from a goal down to eventually leave Bob Jane Stadium with a 1-all draw and valuable point.

South went ahead in the 4th minute through Andreas Oliveira only for Essendon to equalize just before half time with an expertly taken free kick.

Vasilios Natsioulas was again absent through injury but midfielder Antonio Naglieri made his return to the substitutes bench after a long layoff.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent South out as follows. Dean Anastasiadis lined up in between the uprights with a defensive quartet consisting of central pairing Dino Djulbic and James Stefanou as well as Rama Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito in right and left-back roles. Midfield dynamo George Tzirtis took up the defensive midfield duties with Scot MacNicol continuing in a more advance attacking role. Out wide Tansel Baser played on the left with Andreas Oliveira on the right with Trinidad and Tobago native Kevin Nelson resuming his striking partnership with Captain Vaughn Coveny.

South started the match in a dominant matter, controlling the flow of the game and knocking the ball around well. It didn’t take long for the home side to open the scoring when superb work down the left edge of the Essendon box by Nelson, saw the South striker wriggle past a couple of defenders and square the ball for Oliveira who from 8 or so yards out sent low angled 4th minute drive comfortably past the Royals keeper and into the bottom right-hand corner.

South should’ve doubled their advantage in the 24th minute after Nelson was released with the Essendon keeper way off his line. Nelson slightly hesitated but still managed to chip the keeper with his effort cleared by a desperately scurrying Royals defender with barely a centimeter to spare.

South continued to dominate with Oliveira thrilling the small crowd with a quality 25 yard drive – after 30 minutes – that the Royal’s keeper did well to tip over.

Just before the break South gave away a free kick in an extremely dangerous position, 20 or so yards out and with very minimal angle. South set up their wall accordingly but the 43rd minute free kick was superbly struck, dipping over the wall and leaving Anastasiadis stranded with no chance.

In the second half South brought on Antonio Naglieri for James Stefanou, hoping to push for a winner.

To the disappointment of the home faithful South lost all momentum in the second half, appearing sluggish at times and allowing Essendon far too much of the ball.

Both teams rarely threatened with South seemingly happy to play out the rest of the game without any real emphasis.

The home side almost paid for their lackluster approach when an 82nd minute cross from the right by the Royals found an unmarked player at the top of the box. The Royals player hit a first time volley that was darting into the bottom right corner but for a magnificent outstretched save by Anastasiadis who somehow managed to get his fingertips to it and hence palm it around the post.

Essendon attacked again in the 86 minute, this time the cross was delivered from the left with the eventual diving-headed attempt going over the bar.

The match ended with South carving out a half chance. A deep cross from the right was nodded back into the heart of the Essendon box by Coveny with the ball falling to a slightly off-balanced Oliveira who couldn’t adjust his body positioning in time and hence blazed over.

Saturday, 1 July 2006 8:55 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne returns to Bob Jane Stadium this weekend after a desperately unlucky two-all draw last week away to Preston.

John Anastasiadis’s men will be looking to continue their superb undefeated home form and at the same time consolidate a position in the top two.

Both sides met earlier in the season in a Round 5 encounter which saw a 49th minute equalizer from George Tzirtis earn South a deserved point after the visitors had gone behind via a goal from Solomon Islands international Henry Fa’Arodo.

Interestingly, South are yet to defeat the Royals since re-entering Victoria’s Premier State competition and will be eager to end the hoodoo against Dave Winton’s men.

Essendon may be without the electric pace of Fa’Arodo who is currently trialing with A-League outfit the Queensland Roar.

Fa’Arodo’s pace can cause any defence massive problems with his potential absence significantly decreasing the Essendon attacking threat.

From a standings perspective Essendon need the 3 points to put pressure on the top 6 whilst defeat could see them draw alarmingly near the relegation zone such is the relative closeness of this season’s competition.

In the South camp, Vasilios Natsioulas may be a chance of returning after injuring himself in training the day before the Preston game with his presence needed in order to cover a squad which has been decimated through injuries.

With central midfielder Antonio Naglieri and defensive colossus Con Blatsis still quite a way from returning to competitive action, players like Gianni DeNittis, Andrew Bourakis and exciting Under-21 player Jose Vasquez will have to step up and fill the void.

DeNittis did well out wide on the right last week against Preston showing good composure and ability to cope and contribute at this level and will no doubt be required to perform a similar role against the Royals.

South have piled on 17 goals in their last 4 home encounters playing a brand of entertaining and swashbuckling football that is a rare treat in such a tight and closely contested league.

Coach John Anastasiadis and the players have managed to go some way in returning the club back to the glory years where South Melbourne home games were considered an extremely intimidating proposition for any visiting team and will be in no mood to drop this regained aura against the Royals.

Sunday, 25 June 2006 9:38 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A refereeing blunder has cost South Melbourne maximum points against eternal rivals the Preston Lions.

After turning around a 1-nil deficit to be ahead 1-2, the referee appeared to completely miss an infringement on South custodian Dean Anastasiadis who had the ball ripped from his hands when attempting a long throw. The ball fell to youngster Marinos Gasparis who tucked into an empty net to level the contest at 2-2.

With Brazilian Fernando Moraes in Greece to finalise his transfer to first division club Aegaleo and young midfielder Vasilios Natsioulas missing with a hamstring injury sustained during training yesterday, South Melbourne coach John Anastasiadis was forced into a re-structure of his starting-eleven.

Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis started in goal with South playing a back three which consisted of giant defender Dino Djulbic in the centre of defence with fellow youngsters Rama Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito lining up on the right and left side of the defensive trio respectively.

In the centre of the park the energetic George Tzirtis began in a defensive midfield role with Scot MacNicol given full freedom to attack from the centre of the park in a more advanced role. On the right flank Gianni DeNittis replaced the injured Vasilios Natsioulas whilst Tansel Baser began the game on the left side of midfield. Andreas Oliveira was given a free roaming role in behind the central strike pairing in what appeared to be a direct replacement for the absent Moraes. Up front inspirational skipper Vaughn Coveny partnered the enigmatic Kevin Nelson.

The match started with both sides easing into the contest but it was Preston who created the first genuine opening of the game which ultimately lead to their goal. The Lions broke well down the right capitalizing on an out-of-position South defence. The subsequent 6th minute cross was inch perfect and found the late run of ex-Bulleen striker Nick Lazarevski who headed into an empty net on the back-post.

Three minutes later and South were nearly two behind when Blaze Georgioski was released in behind the South defence down the left. Georgioski made his way towards goal but Anastasiadis was excellent in spreading himself and making it impossible for Georgioski to score with the eventual shot smothered out for a corner.

South’s first clear opening arrived in the 21st minute after a cross from the left saw Coveny challenge Preston custodian Sava Ozdemir for the ball. The ball fell loose to Nelson who managed a decent effort on target that was cleared off the line; however, the ball once again fell to Nelson who unfortunately failed with his follow-up effort, blazing it over the crossbar.

South had now settled into the contest and began dominating possession with their quality passing eventually rewarded with an exquisitely taken goal by Coveny.

Oliveira had found some space down the right and played in a superb 33rd minute cross. Such was the quality of the ball that it bounced just in front of Coveny completely drawing keeper Ozdemir who found himself out of position. Coveny did well to keep his cool and send a looping header over Ozdemir and into the back of the net with two Lions defenders desperately trying to get to the ball but failing to do so.

The 2nd half had barely begun when South went ahead. A ball from the right into the heart of the Preston box saw referee Hakan Anaz spot an infringement on Kevin Nelson with Anaz immediately pointing to the spot. Perhaps Anaz was a little too keen as the ball was scrambled into the back of the net moments after the whistle was blown.

That said, up-stepped the diminutive Oliveira who had no trouble in sending Ozdemir in the opposite direction, comfortably slotting in the bottom right hand corner and giving South a deserved 1-2 advantage in the 46th minute.

South continued to dominate possession but clear openings were few and far between for both sides. Preston however should’ve leveled in the 59th minute after ex-South midfielder Steven Pace was played in with his back to goal near the South goalmouth, Pace kept his head and squared to the back-post where an unmarked and incoming Lions player failed to capitalize on the golden chance, only managing to sky over with the goal at his mercy.

The match was then turned on its head in the 79th minute after a Preston corner was comfortably gloved by Anastasiadis. With the South box crowded Anastasiadis spotted Coveny in a good position in South’s attacking half. Anastasiadis proceeded to attempt to throw the ball long only for it to be handled out of his hands with referee Anaz looking towards the centre of the pitch, the ball fell advantageously to the ever-alert Gasparis who had no problems tucking into an empty net.

Practically all the South Melbourne players converged on Anaz pleading their case. Anaz sensed a possible mistake and consulted with his Assistance Referee who claimed to have seen no infringement.

In light of the recent refereeing gaffe of Graham Poll at the World Cup, how such a clear infringement, which was spotted by everyone in attendance, sifted through the eyes of the Centre Referee and the Assistant Referee was definitely puzzling.

To the visitors credit they searched for a winner with Oliveira intelligently playing in Coveny in the 90th minute. Coveny broke free of the Preston defence and checked back, completely wrong-footing his marker with his subsequent curling shot that seemed destined for the bottom right corner saved brilliantly by Ozdemir with the Assistant Referee missing the contact and signaling a goal kick.

Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:20 AM

South Melbourne FC would like to invite all football fans to the Champions Bar at Bob Jane Stadium, as Australia takes on the might of Italy at the World Cup.
The big screen inside the Champions Bar will be screening this historic event live at NO COST.
We hope you can spread the word and get along to Melbourne’ home of football to watch the Socceroos do us proud in Germany.

Game: Australia v Italy
Date: Tuesday 27th June
Kick Off: 12:30am
Where: Champions Bar – BJS
Entry: FREE

The doors will open from 11.30pm and the kitchen and bar will be open for the entire night.

Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:11 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

After a two week hiatus Vodafone Cup action resumes this weekend with eternal rivals the Preston Lions and South Melbourne clashing in a members-only fixture at BT Connor Reserve.

Earlier in the season South Melbourne pulled off an improbable triumph after a wonder-strike in stoppages by youngster Gianni DeNittis gave the Lakeside-based club maximum points.

Both teams will be eager for a result as a win for Preston will see them begin to apply pressure on the top 6 whilst a loss could see them back amongst the relegation fight.

In the South camp a win would go some way into consolidating their top-two position as well as improving South’s away record which has seen John Anastasiadis men only pick up 5 points so far on their travels.

Since their Round 4 clash the Lions have sacked ex-coach Vlado Vanis and brought in favourite son and ex-South Melbourne winger Goran Lozanovski in what was seen as somewhat of a leap of faith by the Preston board.

However, Lozanovski has brought stability to the club; dragging the Lions out of the relegation zone and embarking on a run which has seen them drop only one of their past 7 fixtures.

Lozanovski has also been astute in the transfer market bringing in experienced Premier League forward Nick Lazarevski from the Bulleen Lions with Lazarevski repaying Lozanovski’s faith by already managing 4 goals in only 6 starts for the Lions.

Coupled with the attacking menace of last season’s Vodafone Cup player-of-year Anthony Magnacca, who has managed 8 goals so far this season, the Lions possess an attacking frontline that will no doubt cause South quite a few headaches.

Conversely, South are currently the hottest team in the Vodafone Cup after dispatching long-time rivals the Melbourne Knights 7-0 at Bob Jane Stadium 2 weeks ago, building on an impressive home record which has seen the Lakeside-based club steer home 17 goals in their last 4 home games.

John Anastasiadis’s men find themselves clearly in 2nd place and will be looking towards applying some pressure on the Oakleigh Cannons who have a 4 point advantage with a game in hand a-top the Vodafone Cup standings.

South will be without inspirational Brazilian Fernando Moraes who is in Greece to finalize his move to first division side Aigaleo. Moraes’s absence will be very hard to fill as the Brazilian brought a level of technical ability and flair which was unique to the competition.

However, the recent form of midfield dynamo George Tzirtis and gradual emergence of youngster Vasilios Natsioulas will go some way into cushioning Moraes’ absence.

Midfielder Antonio Naglieri is making progress with his knee injury but is still likely to be out for 2-3 weeks whilst stalwart defender Con Blatsis still remains a long term absentee.

Diminutive forward Andreas Oliveira is a chance for inclusion with his presence leaving coach Anastasiadis with a selection headache after the recent goal-scoring return of Trinidad and Tobago native Kevin Nelson.

Monday, 12 June 2006 1:23 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne has produced one of the most astonishing performances in Victorian Football History to belt the Melbourne Knights by a whopping 7 goals to nil at Bob Jane Stadium.

The home side lost Andreas Oliviera to an ankle injury during the week but regained inspirational
captain Vaughan Coveny who returned from national team duty in Europe.
He partnered Trinadad and Tobago striker Kevin Nelson up front, who no doubt was on a high after
Trinadad’ result at the World Cup.
The other main change to the South structure was the inclusion of George Tzirtis in the midfield after
suspension.
The Knights line up consisted of one major change from last week’s game with Richmond, with playmaker Marco Maisano being replaced by Boris Ramadan.

The blue and white army were celebrating in the 5th minute when energetic midfielder Fernando De Moraes played Nelson
into space on the left hand side.
The in form striker then played a beautiful ball across into the path of George Tzirtis who hit a low drive first time past the outrsetched arms of goalkeeper Cagalj.

A few minutes later Nelson then had a chance of his own to score where he hit a low shot at the goal, only to be saved
by Cagalj.

In the 23rd minute, Cagalj cleared a dangerous ball up the field only to pull up sore after straining a muscle in his leg.
Automatically he signalled to the bench and was replaced by subsitute keeper Davor Filipovic.

Before Filipovic could get a touch of the ball, a horrible defensive error by Knights defender Tomislav Milardovic let in South captain Vaughan Coveny, who calmly slotted the ball into the net giving his side a two goal advantage after only 30 minutes of play.

South continued to dominate and it seemed certain that they would score another before the break, but
to the disbelief of the home crowd, De Moraes and Nelson missed the target just short of half time, with Nelson slamming the ball into the left hand upright from only one metre out.

With everyone heading back to the social club to get something warm to eat or drink, a horrific fumble by Knights subsitute keeper Filipovic left the ball at Nelson’s feet, who this time slotted the ball into the net from only 2 yards out sending
the home fans into a frenzy.

As the 2nd half commenced South coach John Anastasiadis opted to make a switch in the midfield, with Scott MacNicol being replaced by youngster Andrew Bourakis.

It wasn’t until the 59th minute that any real clear cut chance occurred, with quiet Knights forward Nathan Caldwell pushing a well hit shot wide from just inside the box.
As the Knights continued to look for a path back into the game, coach Biskic took off Ramadan replacing him with the dangerous Luke Slater.

However it was South that then attacked and nearly grabbed a fourth goal almost immediately, with De Moraes missing the target from 20 yards out.
As South continued to push forward a lovely flowing move found Nelson just outside the box who was fouled by Knights defender Josip Kovic.
From the resulting free kick, De Moraes stepped up and hit a superb freekick past the outrsetched keeper to make the scoreline 4-0.

South were not finished with yet and only 2 minutes later scored their 5th goal through De Moraes once again who found himself in open space behind the Knights defence, passing the keeper Filipovic before belting the ball into the back of the net.

In the 70th minute, South grabbed a sixth goal when Kevin Nelson was provided with a gift from the Knights defence that allowed him to be one on one with keeper Filipovic inside the area.
The hungry striker made no mistake and sent South fans into raptures at a scoreline that had not been seen at Bob Jane Stadium ever before against one of their greatest rivals.

The 80th minute provided the seventh goal of this remarkable contest, with youngster Billy Natsioulas ripping the Knights defence to shreds, finishing it with a powerful strike past the helpless keeper to make the scoreline 7-0.

An amazing few minutes followed with keeper Filipovic making the save of the game from a Coveny chance only metres from goal.
Filipovic then made a regulation save from a Coveny chip that also was destined for the back of the net.

In the 89th minute, the Knights had their best chance of the game, with Caldwell producing a looping header that forced a save from South keeper Dean Anastasiadis.
From the resulting corner the ball fell into the path of Craig Elvin, who hit a low shot at goal only to be turned away by Anastasiadis.

The 93rd minute should have seen South score their 8th goal, where Nelson burst past the Knights defenders and around the clueless keeper Filipovic, only for the ball to be touched by De Moraes, who was deemed to be in an offside position.
Had the touch not come, Nelson was through on an open goal and a certain hattrick.

Perry Mur then put an end to the contest with South running out winners by an astonishing 7-0 scoreline.

Both sides now have a two week break for the Fifa World Cup with South heading into the interval in outright 2nd position after jumping over the top of Kingston and Altona, while the Knights sit only 2 points out of the top 6 in 7th position.

—————————————————————-

South Melbourne FC 7 (Tzirtis, Coveny, Nelson x 2, Moraes x 2, Natsioulas)
Melbourne Knights 0

Crowd : Approx 1500 at Bob Jane Stadium

Sunday, 4 June 2006 10:23 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has trounced Kingston City 4-1 producing a superb performance to humiliate the big spending “Reds”.

An own goal, a towering header by Dino Djulbic and a Kevin Nelson double sent the South faithful home extremely satisfied having fully avenged their round three, 3-0 trouncing at the hands of George Katsakis’s men. Joey Di Iorio grabbed Kingston’s solitary strike.

With captain Vaughn Coveny continuing his international commitments with New Zealand and midfielder George Tzirtis serving a suspension for an automatic red card against Fawkner, South coach John Anastasiadis brought in exciting youngster Vasilios Natsioulas as well as keeping faith with Trinidad and Tobago native Kevin Nelson.

Anastasiadis lined up his men as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis started in goal with a back four consisting of a central defensive pairing of Steven O’Dor and Dino Djulbic with the returning Rama Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito playing in the right and left back roles respectively.

In the centre of the park Tansel Baser played the defensive midfield anchor with Scot MacNicol the more attacking of the duo. On the right wing Vasilios Natsioulas took his place with Brazilian Fernando Moraes on the left. Up front Andreas Oliveira partnered Kevin Nelson.

South started with a bang scoring after only two minutes when a superb individual piece of skill down the right by Natsioulas saw the youngster weave his way past two markers with a sublime turn. Natsioulas then produced a quality low centre that found an unmarked Nelson. Nelson scuffed his shot but was fortunate that it deflected off a Kingston defender and past City goalkeeper Daniel Zilic.

Only 10 minutes had been played when South suffered a setback after young defender Steven O’Dor was forced to leave the ground after appearing to pick up a leg muscle injury. Fellow youngster James Stefanou stepped into his role.

Ex-South Melbourne midfield/striker Peter Koustoupias fluffed a glorious chance after 12 minutes after good work down the right flank by Kingston saw a brilliant cross played into the path of Koutsoupias. Fortunately for South Koutsoupias completely miss-hit his volleyed attempt, failing to test Anastasiadis.

After 16 minutes Moraes found some space and released Oliveira. The diminutive striker looked to have beaten Kingston defender Steve Iosifidis but the ex-South defender recovered in time and smothered for a corner.

Kingston threatened in the 21st minute after their initial corner from the right wasn’t convincingly cleared by the South defence with the visitors sending in a quality low cross at the second attempt that caused a scramble near the South goal line. Fortunately for South the ball was eventually cleared.

South should’ve doubled their advantage after 29 minutes when Nelson spotted Natsioulas’s well timed run down the left hand side of the Kingston box. Unfortunately for South Natsioulas’s first touch let him down with his eventual left foot strike saved by Zilic and out for a corner.

However, from the subsequent corner giant defender Dino Djulbic rose and powered an angled header past a stationary Zilic. A Kingston player on the line managed to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net but the Assistant Referee was well positioned and re-acted accordingly, lifting his flag and running to the centre of the park indicating the ball had indeed crossed the line.

Three minutes later and South tripled their lead. Superb close ball control in the centre of the park followed by a perfectly timed and weighted pass by Moraes saw MacNicol freed down the right in acres of space. MacNicol made his way into the Kingston box and squared for Nelson who from 6 yards out couldn’t miss, hammering the ball into the bottom left corner and sending the South faithful into delirium.

South ended the half with a narrow escape after a Kingston cross from the right to the back post saw a rising Kingston player make good contact with his header having beaten Anastasiadis only to see his effort cleared off the line by the well positioned Djulbic.

The second half commenced with South forced into another substitution. This time Oliveira succumbed to injury with Gianni DeNittis replacing him. Kingston also made a substitution taking off the ineffective Koustoupias and replacing him with silky striker Joey Di Iorio.

Kingston re-shaped their formation, taking considerable risk by sending more players forward in the hope of being able to peg back South’s advantage.

The visitors almost began the half with the perfect start after a 46th minute flick-on header across goal fell to a Kingston player, who with his back to goal attempted a snap-shot from 8 or so yards that had Anastasiadis at full stretch, with the South keeper relieved to see the ball bounce off his right upright and cleared by the defence.

A couple minutes later South should’ve capitalized and iced the game as Kingston’s desperate search for a goal saw South unleash a 4-on-2 counter attack. Moraes seemed to hesitate slightly but still played in Nelson. The Trinidad and Tobago native tried to lay it off with the ball eventually being played back to him, but by now the Kingston defence had recovered and the chance was lost.

Kingston managed to peg one back in the 52nd minute after a skied long ball saw Tavsancioglu completely misjudge his headed clearance, missing it altogether with little pressure and hence releasing Kingston down the left wing. Kingston squared the ball intelligently to Di Iorio who from 6 yards out tapped home unmarked.

The visitors continued to push up and pressure with the South defence, inspired by keeper Anastasiadis, repelling any threat. South’s desperation for the result was characterized late on when the ball fell to Kingston for a seemingly open strike on goal from just outside the box. Tansel Baser threw himself at the ball showing no restraint for his body and produced a superb block.

With Kingston running out of steam South scored a piercing sealer in the 86th minute. MacNicol surged forward and played a superb ball in behind the Kingston defence that found Nelson in some space. Nelson however still had much to do and to Kingston custodian Zilic’s surprise, Nelson unleashed a low left-foot rocket from just outside the box, which gave Zilic no chance and nestled into the bottom-right corner.

Friday, 2 June 2006 8:39 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

After a disappointing 0-2 loss away to Fawkner-Whittlesea, South Melbourne return to Bob Jane Stadium looking to maintain their perfect home record as well as make ground on the top 3.

Their opponents Kingston City find themselves in 2nd position but have recently encountered a mini form slump with a 0-1 loss last week against Altona at home and a 0-0 draw against the Sunshine Georgies a week earlier allowing Oakleigh to consolidate their Vodafone Cup leadership.

Both teams met earlier in the season in round 3 with George Katsakis’s men punishing the defensive errors of South and running away with a comfortable 3-0 win.

That evening ex-Lierse striker Joe Spiteri scored a double and together with his strike partner, ex-South Melbourne player Michael Curcija, has formed the most prolific partnership in the Vodafone Cup. Between them they have netted 17 of Kingston’s 25 goals with Spiteri slotting away 7 and Curcija 10.

South Melbourne will have to find a way to contain these two if they harbor hopes of a positive result. However, the South defence has received a timely boost with the potential return of left wing-back Rama Tavsancioglu who has now served his 6 week suspension for an automatic send-off against Richmond.

Kingston of course have a myriad of quality players throughout their line-up with the likes of ex-South Melbourne players Con Anthopoulos, Steve Iosifidis, Marcus Stergiopoulos and Alex Kiratzoglou all vastly experienced National League players.

Sunday’s match also sees the return to Bob Jane Stadium of midfield/striker Peter Koutsoupias who started the season in the Blue and White but moved recently through mutual consent.

In the South camp, John Anastasiadis’s men have been dealt a blow with George Tzirtis’s red card last week against Fawkner meaning the busy midfielder who has been in superb form of late will miss.

Also missing from the South line-up will be skipper Vaughn Coveny who continues his commitments with the New Zealand national team meaning that Trinidad and Tobago native Kevin Nelson is favored to win a starting birth.

Youngster Vasilious Natsioulas will no doubt come into contention for a position in the first 11 with the injury crisis at the club meaning the defensive stocks continue to run quite thin and hence the reliance on the likes of young defenders Sammy DeVito and James Stefanou is likely to continue.

Tuesday, 30 May 2006 12:05 AM

By George Kouroumalis

A lackluster second half display has seen highly fancied South Melbourne upset by Fawkner-Whittlesea by 2 goals to nil at a cold Epping Stadium on Monday night.
With the blues beating Altona last week, the South faithful made the trek out to Epping sensing a real contest after an easy win last week against Heidelberg.
Two main changes were made to the starting lineup, with import Kevin Nelson replacing Vaughan Coveny up front.
Vaughan, was on international duty in Germany, representing New Zealand against Georgia and world champions Brazil.
The second change came in the heart of defence, with Steve O’dor returning back to the AIS in Canberra.
Replacing him was the impressive youngster in James Stefanou, who was looking to continue his great form over the past month.
The first half belonged to South Melbourne who dominated possession for the most part of it.
In the 17th minute, lively midfielder George Tzirtis thought he could repeat his goal of the year effort of last week with another drive from 30 yards.
Unfortunately for the traveling South faithful his shot hit the cross bar and rebounded to Kevin Nelson, who hit the shot directly at keeper Tilovski.
Nelson was then gifted with a golden chance only 15 minutes later where Baser found him alone in the box with only the keeper to beat.
Once again his shot failed to have any real direction or power behind it and subsequently was hit directly at the waiting Tilovski.
Tilovski was proving to be impossible to pass as he pulled off point blank saves from Fernando De Moares and pocket rocket Andreas Oliviera just before the half time break.
The second half however proved to be a totally different game with the Fawkner-Whittlesea side coming out and really taking the game to the visitors.
The opening two minutes of the half was the indicator that the Blues had arrived to play, with veteran Dean Anastasiadis making routine saves from the shots of Mark Tsiorlas and Tony Sterjovski.
In the 50th minute, a long ball was played from the right hand side which caught the South defence napping allowing the Blues behind the defence.
In trying to repel the attack of the Blues, South midfielder George Tzirtis attempted to run down the runaway forward, making ground on him before called for a questionable foul in the process.
As he was the last defender the referee reached for his pocket exposing a red card for the devastated player.
With South down to ten men, the Blues managed to take advantage only a few minutes later with Sterjovksi launching a cracking drive from just outside the box.
To the jubilation of the small pocket of Blues fans, the strike found its way into the back of the net.
For the next twenty minutes South once again controlled possession without really creating any clear cut chances that troubled Fawker-Whittlesea keeper Tilovski.
This changed in the 71st minute with Tilovski pulling off an exceptional save from a De Moares left footed bullet from 15 yards that was headed into the corner.
With South starting to assert itself on the game once again, a delightful counter attack by the Blues sealed a hard fought win for the home side.
A classic ball by former South Melbourne player Carl Recchia caught the South defence square, leaving Ricky Chillico one on one with keeper Anastasiadis.
Chillico kept his cool and calmly slotted the ball past an outstretched Anastasiadis icing the game for the home side.
In the final ten minutes South had numerous half chances through Nelson, Oliviera & De Moares, but a lack of poise and a man of the match display by keeper Tilovski ensured that the boys from lakeside would leave Epping Stadium without a goal.
South Melbourne return home next week in a massive derby game against Kingston City on Sunday, while the Blues will attempt to continue their giant killing run away to Oakleigh on Friday.
In exciting news for the South faithful and football fans in general, the curtain raiser provided fans with a glimpse of former Hawthorn AFL footballer Angelo Lekkas in one of his first appearances for South Melbourne.
Lekkas played 25 minutes as a forward and looked as if he has the ability to become a real asset to the senior squad in the future.
Unfortunately for the side however, the Blues proved too strong taking out the contest by 4 goals to nil.