Author: SMFC Media

Monday, 27 February 2006 5:01 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne yesterday avenged the demons of one week ago at Kingston to capture an unthinkable last minute win against old foe Preston Lions in front of in excess of 2000 people at Bob Jane Stadium.

Despite the members only restriction placed upon fans of both sides, the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, with South fans showing colour and excitement of the upcoming derby.

South went into the game with a changed lineup, where Con Blatsis was ruled out through injury and pocket rocket Peter Koutsoupias being dropped by coach John Anastasiadis.

Replacing them was George Tzirtis and young striker Gianni De Nittis, who was looking to assert himself at this level, as well as provide adequate support to Trinidad and Tobago international Kevin Nelson.
Fan favourite Billy Natsioulas also made his comeback to the senior side after a long struggle with illness, starting on the bench.

The first half saw a fairly scrappy game of football take place, with perhaps the nerves associated with a derby match affecting the players of both teams.

It wasn’t until midway through the half where the Moraes and the South midfield began to control the game.

The 35th minute provided the game with the first genuine chance, where the above mentioned Moraes having his attempt saved by Preston keeper Gruevski.

As it looked almost certain that the sides would go into the half time break tied, Preston managed to score only minutes before the interval.
Preston midfielder Pece Silveski cross seemed to have caused confusion in the South defense with international sensation Jonas Salley putting the ball into his own net.

This sent the small pocket of Preston fans into the ground into raptures as another unlikely victory at Bob Jane Stadium was on the cards.

The second half however started in a similar manner to the first half with South dominating possession and Preston being content to sit back and repel any attack that came their way.

In the 59th minute, Billy Natsioulas was given a chance to inject some pace and life into the South lineup replacing Evan Karavitis on the right.

With Natsioulas, Baser and Moraes controlling the game, South were bombarding the Preston area in search for a much needed equaliser.
It wasn’t until the 64th minute that South was given a lifeline by referee Damir Basic, who pointed to the penalty spot after George Tzirtis was brought down in the area by Preston defender Harris Vrbovac.

Moraes then had the poise and class to send the Preston keeper the wrong way and get his side back to level terms.
As a draw looked almost certain ex-South player Anthony Magnacca took it on himself to grab all three points from his old club, with his 91st minute shot only going centimeters wide of the target.

From the restart South went up the field and an inviting ball fell for youngster Gianni De Nittis just outside the area.

De Nittis calmly hit a long drive wide of keeper Gruevski and into the back of the net sending the blue and white army and the boys in the Clarendon Corner into frenzy as the goal secured victory against its old foe.

Two minutes later though Preston had the last chance to grab something from the game, with midfielder and another ex-South player in Yianni Galanos hitting a shot close once again just wide of the target.
From the resulting restart the game was over with South managing to hold onto an amazing victory.

In winning the contest South Melbourne FC also managed to claim the inaugural “Harmony Cup” played between the sides.
Both teams now have a two week break as the Victorian State Team travels China.

South Melbourne FC 2 (Moraes, De Nittis)
Preston Lions FC 1 (Salley OG)

Crowd: Approx 2000

Friday, 24 February 2006 12:20 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday South Melbourne return to Bob Jane Stadium looking to get their season back on track after last week’s disappointing 3-0 loss away to Kingston City.

South come up against eternal rivals the Preston Lions with both teams having much to play for with the Vlado Vanis coached Lions in an uncharacteristic 2nd last position, having picked up only 1 point from their opening three fixtures.

Conversely, South will be looking to make amends for a below par performance against Kingston whereby loose marking and individual errors were punished severely by the Kingston frontline.

The Lions possess a group of quality players that would trouble any Vodafone Cup side. In particular, Vodafone Cup 2005 player-of-the-year Anthony Magnacca, an ex-South Melbourne player at one point, must be given close attention. Magnacca has the ability to glide past players with ease as well as being able to score goals and will have to play well if Preston is to snatch a positive result.

Furthermore, youngsters Serkan Oksuz and Steven Pace both have NSL experience and have matured into quality Premier League players, whilst veteran defender Les Anastasiou continues to marshal the defence.

However, question marks remain over whether the Lions can replace prolific marksman John Sapazovski who moved to Fawkner in the off-season. The Lions have always been able to rely on a return of 10 or so goals per season from their ex-frontman with their season no doubt hinging on finding an adequate replacement.

Results wise the Lions have started the season very shakily with comprehensive defeats against the Melbourne Knights (1-3) and the Sunshine Georgies (4-1) rightfully raising question marks over their defence.

Conversely, South coach John Anastasiadis may make some changes after seeing his team dominate possession against Kingston but fail, time-and-time again to make effective use of the ball.

Furthermore, with both Con Blatsis and Kevin Nelson picking up injuries against Kingston, coach Anastasiadis may have his hand forced with the likes of Vasilios Natsioulas and Gianni De Nittis pushing for greater influence.

Anastasiadis will also be looking for better organization from his defence; a strong point of last season and in the opening two games of the current campaign, against Kingston the South defence was exposed making uncharacteristic mistakes and as a result was rightfully punished.

Finally, South Captain Vaughn Coveny has finished his A-League stint with Newcastle but is likely to miss due to commitments with the New Zealand national team. However, Coveny should be at South’s disposal in the coming weeks.

Thursday, 23 February 2006 11:56 PM

The Under 17 Australian squad for the World Cup Qualifiers selected by Ange Postecoglou contains two South Melbourne Juniors that have been drafted into the Victorian Institute Of Sport.

Paul Giannou was developed by the club from the Under 11s and was selected by the VIS upon the completion of his U14 2004 Super League season for SMFC. Paul currently stands at 194cm tall at 15 years of age and has already been trialling with Melbourne Victory. He is an exiting midfielder of the Zinedene mould.

The second player from the South Melbourne Junior structure to make the Australian Under 17 team is Milos Lujic, the son of Footscray JUST legend Zdravko Lujic and part of the SMFC U15 2005 Super League team. He is a tall and skilful striker that is very powerful in the air.

The boys will travel to Laos as Australia is drawn to play Indonesia and Laos and must win the group to progress to the later stages of the Asian qualifiers in Singapore in September. Four Asian nations will qualify for the Under 17 World Cup in South Korea in 2007.

South Melbourne FC wishes the team all the best success and is proud to again be a contributor to the future of football in Australia.

Thursday, 23 February 2006 3:45 PM

South Melbourne FC and Preston Lions FC have worked together to organise the inaugural game for ‘The Harmony Cup’. The first leg will be played on this Sunday, 26th February at Bob Jane Stadium and the return leg will be played at O’Connor Reserve in round two of the Vodafone Cup.

South Melbourne FC President, Greg Kaias proudly supported the initiative.

“I would like to thank my Board for initiating this event and I congratulate Preston Lions FC for welcoming our suggestion. South Melbourne is one of the biggest Club’s in Australian Football history and it is very important that the South Melbourne moves foward and starts to build bridges with other parties.

“In modern day Australia, there is no room for politics in sport. This is not a new concept. It is as old as the Olympics. We want the fans that come to Bob Jane, to support their Club with passion but also to be respectful of everyone else involved.”

With the assistance of Football Federation Victoria and the close cooperation of The Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC), the two Clubs have organised to play the game wearing orange armbands, which are a symbol of harmony. The VMC will present the Harmony Cup to the victorious team. In the case of a draw, both captains will be presented the Harmony Cup.

Children of more recently arrived immigrants fom the Horn Of Africa will be play a curtain raiser. Just as South Melbourne has been a cultural melting pot for so many migrant communities over the years, it is fitting that these children are involved and given the opportunity to pursue the spirit and ideals of sportmanship on the grand stage of Bob Jane Stadium.

South Melbourne boasts a playing list that is representative of multicultural Australia and wishes to extend a welcoming spirit to Melbourne’s football fraternity.

Mr Kaias expressed his optimism for the event. “I would like to think that the public will see that our Club’s are run by good hardworking volunteers that care for the sport. If South wants to be part of the A-League in the future we must show leadership to resolve bad behaviour of the past.”

Saturday, 18 February 2006 12:47 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A clinical Kingston City has ended South Melbourne’s perfect start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup season with a resounding 3-0 win at Grange Reserve.

Two goals from close range in the first half by Joe Spiteri and Joey Di Iorio broke the visitors’ spirit with Spiteri putting the icing on the cake with a late third.

South coach John Anastasiadis chose to change his lineup from last week, dropping Arthur Tsirtsakis from midfield and handing a start to Peter Koutsoupias.

Tsirtsakis’s demotion meant that South played the game with a clear 4-4-2. Dean Anastasiadis was once again in goals with the back four unchanged. Arthur Tsonis partnered Con Blatsis in the heart of the defence with Rama Tavsancioglu and Ivory Coast native Jonas Salley playing left and right back respectively.

In the centre of the park Tansel Baser and Scot MacNicol played in the defensive and attacking midfield roles whilst Brazilian Fernando Moraes and youngster Evan Karavitis where planted on the left and right flanks.

Up-front Peter Koutsoupias and Trinidad and Tobago excitement machine Kevin Nelson formed South’s attacking frontline.

The game had barely begun when Kingston got off to a dream start. South conceded a dangerous free-kick just outside their box with Kingston’s Jim Latinopoulos producing a quality strike headed for the bottom left corner. Anastasiadis managed to get a glove to it but failed to parry it away with the ball falling to ex-Melbourne Knights front-man Joe Spiteri who from 6 yards out made no mistake, smashing the ball into an empty net to hand Kingston the lead in the 2nd minute.

South where stung into action and began dominating general play. Five minutes in Kingston custodian Michael Turnbull failed to glove a 25 yard effort from Fernando with Koutsoupias failing to anticipate the rebound, allowing the Kingston defence to clear for a corner.

Then in the 9th minute a South throw in was pounced on by Nelson who turned and unleashed a stinging drive from outside the box that Turnbull did well to save for a corner.

South should’ve equalized in the 26th minute after a quality cross from the right by Karavitis saw Turnbull misjudge the flight of the ball and fail to glove or punch it away. The ball fell to Baser who nodded towards goal finding Nelson who from 2 yards out seemed to head the ball away as if he was defending as opposed to nodding home, when the latter appeared the easier task.

South were then dealt a major blow when inspirational defender Con Blatsis went off with an injury. After receiving treatment the South colossus couldn’t return with George Tzirtis taking his place.

Thirty-four minutes in and Kingston scored the goal that broke South’s back. Against the run of play a corner from the right-hand side wasn’t convincingly cleared by South with the ball eventually falling to unmarked ex-Werder Bremen youth player Joey Di Iorio who from 8 or so yards out smashed it past Anastasiadis.

Tzirtis almost replied immediately after he unleashed a spectacular 30 yard effort that was destined for the top right-hand corner, only for the long reach of Turnbull to scurry back and glove at the second attempt.

South began the 2nd half with young-gun Gianni De Nittis replacing Kevin Nelson. Nelson had certainly been livelier than his strike partner Koutsoupias, so perhaps the substitution was injury related.

The visitors where out of the blocks immediately when a good chance in the 47th minute fell to MacNicol who had a decent ball played into his feet, but unfortunately, his less favoured left foot saw his shot from just outside the box sail way wide.

Spiteri then nearly wrapped up proceedings when he worked a decent angle for himself in the 51st minute only for his strike to trickle narrowly past the left-hand upright.

Fifty-nine minutes in and Tzirtis again nearly scored with a rocket-like effort, this time the busy South midfielder saw his drive from just outside the Kingston box smash into an unknowing defender in the 6-yard area with goalkeeper Turnbull well beaten.

Kingston had caught the eye all night with their counter-attacking football and it was on the counter in the 63rd minute that Kingston nearly got a third. The “Reds” as they like to be called broke down the right with a quality ball supplied into the heart of the South box. Ex-South striker Michael Curcija found himself un-marked and with a relatively simply header, however, Curcija couldn’t direct his effort either side of Anastasiadis with the South keeper comfortably gloving.

The game continued with South dominating possession but failing to produce a telling final ball to create a decent opening with Kingston’s experienced defence comfortably absorbing any threat.

Kingston then wrapped up proceedings when a seemingly harmless searching ball into the edge of the South box in the 81st minute saw Spiteri easily outmuscle Salley and then proceed to intelligently beat Anastasiadis on his near post with a side-footed effort.

It was a goal which summarized South performance, a game in which they dominated possession but lacked any real cutting edge with Kingston showing their quality by punishing three costly mistakes.

Wednesday, 15 February 2006 10:45 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne will be looking to extend their perfect start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup campaign when they travel to Grange Reserve to take on the newly promoted and first time in the State’s Premier Division, Kingston City.

The George Katsakis coached outfit were resounding State 1 Champions and have recruited quite heavily to ensure not only that they maintain their Premier League status, but to also have serious claims for Championship honours.

Notable Kingston signings include the likes of leading 2005 Vodafone Cup marksman Michael Curcija who joins fellow ex-Socceroo Joe Spiteri to form one of, if not the most formidable forward partnerships in this season’s competition.

A plethora of players with National League experience have also been recruited with ex-South Melbourne players featuring prominently. Con Anthopoulos, Steve Iosifidis, Alex Kiratzoglou, Nick Tolios and Marcus Stergiopoulos all at one point played for South and all form a vital part of Kingston’s 2006 campaign.

Marconi custodian Michael Turnbull who was on the books of Belgium’s Standard Liege last season was a late arrival and has slotted into the role of Kingston’s number 1, providing further quality to an extremely talented playing squad.

Kingston’s start to the season has been mixed. A solid 1-0 win against the Sunshine Georgies got their season off to a positive beginning; however, after Joe Spiteri had put them ahead against Altona, the Magic rallied and managed to overturn the result 2-1 in their favour.

Conversely, South have started the season with two solid, albeit late in coming, wins against Heidelberg and Fawkner-Whittlesea with both wins highlighting the tremendous work John Anastasiadis’s men put in over the pre-season, getting themselves in top physical condition and hence being able to finish over-the-top of their opponents towards the end of matches.

Encouraging for South was the debut of Kevin Nelson who did what he was brought in to do and put the ball in the back of the net, scoring with an exquisitely placed header to hand South the points against Fawkner.

South have also continued to build on their defensive strength of last season with their opening two encounters rarely producing a troubling moment for 2005 goalkeeper-of-the-year Dean Anastasiadis. Con Blatsis, Arthur Tsonis, Rama Tavsancioglu and Ivory Coast Native Jonas Salley form a cohesive and extremely intimidating defensive quartet, containing, speed, strength, height and good communication that will no doubt provide a stern test for Kingston’s highly rated strike-force.

Defensive Midfield signing Tansel Baser has integrated extremely well and has brought an extra dimension to the South centre-line, whilst Brazilian Fernando Moraes keeps on going from strength-to-strength, taking on the responsibility of being South’s creative workhorse with his ability to get past players and keep his composure to produce chances, a highlight of South’s opening two games thus far.

Monday, 13 February 2006 1:34 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has continued its positive start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup with a hard fought 1-0 win against the Fawkner/Whittlesea Blues.

In front of approximately 2000-2500 spectators, South took the points after a superb 76th minute header from debutant Kevin Nelson.

South Coach John Anastasiadis kept faith with the lineup that produced a solid display last week against Heidelberg with the only change being the inclusion of much heralded signing Nelson to lead the line in place of Peter Koutsoupias.

The rest of the starting eleven read as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis took his place in between the sticks with the central defensive pairing seeing Con Blatsis and Arthur Tsonis resume their formidable partnership. Ivory Coast native Jonas Salley continued in the right-back role with Rama Tavsancioglu playing on the left.

In the centre of the park Arthur Tsirtsakis and Tansel Baser were deployed in defensive midfield roles with Evan Karavitis used in a right midfield role. Scot MacNicol and Brazilian Fernando Moraes took up drifting roles on the left and right hand side of attack with the instruction to drop back into midfield when needed whereas Nelson was deployed as an out-and-out striker.

South dominated possession in the first half but failed to create any real genuine chances. Fawkner seemed content to soak up the pressure in the hope that a counter attack could be finished off by an accomplished attack consisting of the likes of Mark Tsiorlas, John Sapazovski and player-coach John Markovski.

South’s first chance arrived in the 4th minute after a quality ball from the right lead to an intense scramble in the Fawkner box with the Blues struggling to clear for a corner.

Fawkner then showed their attacking threat with two quality strikes, the first in the 18th minute which sailed narrowly wide and the 2nd, a 20 yard “pot-shot” from Markovski seeing the alert Anastasiadis glove easily.

A half chance fell to Tsonis in the 22nd minute after good work down the right by Karavitis saw the Fawkner defence struggle to deal with his cross with the ball eventually falling to Tsonis who’s attempted left-foot volleyed-strike sailed wide.

South’s best chance of the first half arrived courtesy of the brilliant work of Fernando who managed to glide past a couple of Fawkner defenders down the right and kept his composure to produce a quality cutback to Nelson in the heart of the Fawkner area. Unfortunately for South, Nelson’s first touch was heavy with the Blues’ defence recovering in time to smother his eventual 29th minute attempt.

South started far more brightly in the second half. Coach Anastasiadis had no doubt requested that his players lift their tempo and output with the players immediately responding.

Fernando was starting to get more involved and tested Fawkner keeper Tilovksi in the 49th minute with a free kick from just outside the Fawkner box.

Five minutes later the Brazilian was starting to come alive, working some space for himself with his superb footwork and producing a quality strike that deflected of a Fawkner defender and viciously dipped just over Tilovski’s crossbar.

Fernando again was at the heart of South’s first golden opportunity after his deft 56th minute touch played in Blatsis down the left who with only Tilovski to beat, managed to get his side-footed effort on target with the Fawkner custodian brilliantly reacting to gather in the ball.

South coach Anastasiadis then made a game-breaking substitution. On came the nippy and hardworking George Tzirtis in the place of Arthur Tsirtsakis and immediately South started to improve its general midfield dominance.

Tzirtis was at the end of South’s next genuine attack after Fernando again was the provider, finding Tzirtis just outside the box in a shooting position with the ex-Frankston midfielder producing a decent 66th minute strike that sailed just wide with Tilovski at full stretch.

Seventy minutes in and South should’ve gone ahead after brilliant link-up play between Baser and Tzirtis in the centre of the park saw the latter play through Nelson with only Tilovski to beat. The South faithful held their breath as Nelson proceeded to round Tilovski, however, unfortunately for the home side Nelson’s touch was a slightly heavy with the Trinidad and Tobago native creating a difficult angle for himself that the scurrying Fawkner defence eventually managed to clear off the line, much to the anger of a stream of South players who had queued in the heart of the Fawkner box expecting a cut-back.

Brazilian Fernando seemed hell-bent on terrorizing the Fawkner defence and was at it again after 73 minutes when his superb work down the left flank saw him skin two defenders and enter the box. Fernando again delivered a brilliant cutback that saw Tilovski save a rocket of a strike onto the crossbar with the ball falling to South player on the back post who could only head into the side-netting.

South’s second half dominance was finally rewarded after 76 minutes when a pin-point cross from the right by MacNicol was met by Nelson who produced a diagonal header of the highest order, giving Tilovski no chance and setting the South faithful alight.

South lowered their tempo for the remainder of the encounter looking to hang onto their well deserved lead and hence build on their strong start to the season.

However, the visitors nearly made the home side pay when with practically the last attack of the game Sapazovski found some space down the right and produced a quality cutback to Siljanoski who with enough space to shoot and only a few yards out only managed to produce a mis-kick.

At the conclusion of the game the South players showed their appreciation for the non-stop chanting produced by the Clarendon Corner, running to the infamous spot and joining in with the group in exchanging a series of “Oles”.

Thursday, 9 February 2006 1:53 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne makes its 2006 Vodafone Cup home debut this coming Sunday when John Anastasiadis’ chargers will be looking to back up last week’s 0-2 away triumph to eternal rivals Heidelberg with a victory against the John Markovski coached Fawkner-Whittlesea.

Fawkner got its 2006 campaign off to a shaky start last week failing to capitalize on an early lead to eventually go down 1-2 to the Altona Magic.

Markovski’s major acquisition to his playing roster is that of prolific Premier League marksman John Sapazovski from the Preston Lions. Fawkner will no doubt be relying on the gangly front man to form a formidable striking partnership with 2005 club top-scorer Mark Tsiorlas.

The core of Fawkner’s 2005 squad seems to have been maintained with experienced players such as midfielder Tony Sterjovski, defender Sasha Ognenovski and goalkeeper Steve Tilovski all lining up for the Blues this season.

In the South camp, coach Anastasiadis managed a superb tactical win last week, left at the last minute without the services of key import striker Kevin Nelson, Anastasiadis’ makeshift formation managed to deliver a positive result. The South coach will now have the Trinidad and Tobago native available for selection and it is expected that Nelson will take his position in the starting eleven at the expense of Peter Koutsoupias.

In his second season at the helm coach Anastasiadis has already managed to develop a healthy competition for places with rising youngsters Sammy DeVito and Vasilios Natsioulas failing to make the bench last week and with the addition of Nelson to the squad it will be interesting to see who Anastasiadis selects in his final 16.

Furthermore, returning favourite Tansel Baser made a superb transition back into South colours last week, marshalling the midfield and stepping up when required to boss the centre of the park and cap off his tremendous display with an early contender for goal of the season.

Finally, Sunday also presents the chance for the South faithful to welcome last week’s hero, Ivory Coast native and defensive rock Jonas Salley. Salley made an extremely impressive debut against Heidelberg, displaying a tenacity and hunger that is rare in all levels of the game, with Salley receiving just reward for his efforts with a towering injury time header to give South the initiative.

Sunday, 5 February 2006 10:14 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has performed a “great escape” scoring two goals in injury time to claim a triumphant 0-2 victory against bitter rivals Heidelberg United to get their 2006 Vodafone Cup season off to a superb start.

A 92nd minute headed goal by Ivory Coast defender Saly Jonas as well as superb 94th minute chip by Tansel Baser saw John Anastasiadis’s men capitalize on their second half domination and bring the elusive 3 points against the Bergers back to Lakeside.

After exciting pre-season signing Kevin Nelson was told literally minutes before the kick-off that his clearance had yet to be rubber stamped, South coach John Anastasiadis was forced to tinker with his lineup.

Anastasiadis brought in Peter Koutsoupias to replace Nelson with the ex-Whittlesea striker asked to do a selfless job in attack by running all day and trying to put pressure on the Heidelberg defence.

The rest of the South lineup consisted of Dean Anastasiadis in goal, a defensive quarter consisting of Con Blatsis and Arthur Tsonis as the central pairing with Saly Jonas and Ramazan playing in the right and left back positions respectively. South chose to flood the midfield region with Tansel Baser, Scot MacNicol and Arthur Tsirtsakis all having central roles with youngster Evan Karavitis and outstanding Brazilian Fernando playing on the right and left flanks with Peter Koutsoupias playing a lone role up front.

A dour first half in which Heidelberg edged proceedings saw the Bergers keep the ball better than South and create the half’s best opening. In the 9th minute, diminutive striker Nick Marinos managed to latch onto a long searching through ball, beating the offside trap and with South keeper Dean Anastasiadis in his sights, the scurrying South defence managed to recover enough ground to force Marinos to sky his attempt over the crossbar.

South also had a fluttering moment in the 28th minute after a defensive mix-up between Tsonis and Blatsis saw both defenders misjudge their attempted headed clearances allowing for the Bergers to get in behind the South defence. Thankfully for South the superb covering play of Ramazan prevented Anastasiadis having to make a save, with Ramazan closing down for a corner.

In the second half, South coach John Anastasiadis took off Evan Karavitis and replaced him with the busy George Tzirtis and almost immediately, South started to stamp their authority on the game.

South began to threaten and some nice interplay from the visitors down the right saw a 60th minute MacNicol cross nodded wide by Blatsis who found himself unmarked in the Heidelberg box but stretching to make contact with the ball.

The visitors trapped Heidelberg in their defensive half in an intense final 20 minute period, with experienced South players Con Blatsis and Tansel Baser beginning to boss proceedings with superb support from the likes of Scot MacNicol and the incredibly sharp Brazilian Fernando.

Seventy-one minutes in and a superb run down the left by Ramazan saw the wing-back cut the ball back for Blatsis who proceeded to attempt a volleyed snapshot, unfortunately for the visitors Blatsis failed to connect cleanly with Acevski easily gloving.

Baser then proceeded to miss two guilt-edged chances. The first arrived in the 75th minute after a free kick by Fernando wasn’t convincingly cleared by the Heidelberg defence with the ball falling to MacNicol who unleashed a low drive that worked its way through a sea of legs only to fall to Baser who from 4 yards out sent his side footed effort wide.

Then in the 84th minute, a superb searching long ball from defence saw Baser played in behind the Heidelberg backline, only for the midfielders first touch to severely let him down when a good touch would’ve left him with a relatively easy side-foot finish.

A 91st minute goal-mouth scramble saw Con Blatsis’ lunging attempt from point blank range hastily cleared by a desperate Heidelberg defence. From the resulting corner a superbly timed late run into the box by Saly Jonas saw the powerful Ivory Coast native tower over everybody and send a powerful header into the back of the net to the delight of the 3-4 thousand South fans who made the journey to Olympic Village.

Heidelberg almost immediately replied when Adelaide recruit Saranti Parissos latched onto a searching long through ball that caught the South defence pushed far too up the field, Parissos’s touch was decent but his final attempt, an angled drive across the face of Anastasiadis’s goalmouth, was solidly gloved by the South custodian.

From the resulting goal kick, Baser caught a tired Bergers defence napping, working his way in behind and spotting Heidelberg custodian Lou Acevski slightly off his line.

Baser then proceeded to unleash a brilliant and delicate 94th chip that caught Acevski by surprise with the Berger keeper only able to watch as the ball sailed over his head and into the bottom right corner, to the sheer delight of Baser and the tremendous traveling South support.

Thursday, 2 February 2006 6:31 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

The 2006 Vodafone Cup season kicks off with two of Victoria’s footballing heavyweights and intense rivals facing each other this coming Sunday.

Last campaign, two nil-all draws during the regular season and a 1-0 win to the Warriors during the finals saw South crash out of the championship race whilst the Phil Stubbins coached Heidelberg progressed to the grand final.

Pre-season form has seen both clubs in stark contrast. South won the Crazy John’s Cup and made the final of the Hellenic Cup whilst Heidelberg failed to compete in the Crazy John’s Cup and crashed out of the Hellenic Cup.

Recruiting wise, the Bergers have been dealt a blow with two highly prized players moving on. Talented central midfielder Bill Damianos has moved to Oakleigh whilst exciting young wing-back Isyan Erdogan has moved to the Sunshine Georgies. Furthermore, journeyman Fausto De Amicis has finally decided to call it a day whilst exciting youngster Brendan Beni has also left Olympic Park.

Departures aside, the Bergers have managed to secure the services of exciting young Adelaide striker Saranti Parissos and still maintain some high quality players in their ranks. The likes of Nick Marinos who netted 14 times last season must be kept under close scrutiny whilst the midfield silk of Nick Sabljak can potentially open up any game. Throw in the unpredictability of Yusef Yusef and the bedrock-like foundations provided by goalkeeper Lou Acevski and ex-South central defender Robert Liparoti and the core of the Heidelberg lineup is extremely sound.

In the South camp, coach John Anastasiadis has managed to keep practically all of his successful squad from 2005 that produced a 3rd place finish, whilst managing to strengthen in key areas.

Trinidad and Tobago goal-scoring machine Kevin Nelson has arrived with his pre-season form yielding 5 goals. Joining Nelson is South old boy Tansel Baser who has returned from a long stint in Turkey and will be playing the defensive midfield position. Finally, the signing of Ivory Coast defender Jonas Salley strengthens an already formidable backline which was the best of the 2005 campaign. Salley’s signing is timely as young-gun Steven O’Dor departs for the season after being granted an AIS scholarship.

South have also been boosted by the return to fitness of exciting winger Vasilios Natsioulas. Natsioulas has been plagued by glandular fever for the best part of a year and his services will be almost like South having signed a new player.

Inspirational captain Vaughn Coveny will miss, fulfilling his loan commitments with A-League club the Newcastle Jets, Coveny is expected to miss the first month of the new season whilst star left-back Rama Tavsancioglu returns from his A-League stint and should be in Sunday’s first 11.