Author: SMFC Media

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts the Melbourne Knights in a massive Dockerty Cup Quarter Final clash tonight. The reward for the winning side is a spot in the Dockerty Cup Semi Finals (to face either Bentleigh Greens, St Albans or South Springvale) as well as the 32nd and final spot in the inaugural FFA Cup to be played later this year.

South go into the match in winning form, having won their National Premier League Victoria derby against Heidelberg United 3-0 at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday evening. An own goal from Steven Pace, a strike from outside the area by Mathew Theodore and a back-post header from Milos Lujic – all in the first half hour – sealed the three points as South maintained its four point lead at the top of the League table. The Melbourne Knights go into the game having battled out a 1-1 draw against Northcote City at John Cain Reserve last Sunday afternoon.

South coach Chris Taylor almost has a full squad to choose from, with the only exception being transfer-window signing Stephen Hatzikostas who is Cup-tied having represented Bentleigh in the Cup earlier in the season. The Knights welcome two new signings in striker Stipo Andrijasevic and winger Jordan O’Doherty, with both players not Cup-tied and able to represent the Knights tonight should coach Andrew Marth select them. The key player to watch out for is Shayan Alinejad, who had an excellent match when the two sides last played against each other.

The previous meeting between the two sides was on Sunday 27 April this year, when Lujic’s late strike gave South a 0-1 derby win at Knights Stadium.

Tonight’s match kicks off at 7:30PM at Lakeside Stadium. Half an hour of extra time will be played if the match is drawn after normal time and if scores are still level then a penalty shootout will determine the winning team. Those unable to make the game can follow it with live updates on the South Melbourne FC Facebook page and on the Club’s official Twitter @smfc with the hashtags #DockertyCup and #SMvMK.

South Melbourne Dockerty Cup Results 2014:

Round 4: 1-0 v Sunshine George Cross (Chaplin Reserve, Saturday 22 March)
Round 5: 4-1 v Berwick City (Jack Thomas Reserve, Wednesday 7 May)
Round 6: 1-0 v Dandenong Thunder AET (George Andrew Reserve, Wednesday 28 May)

Melbourne Knights Dockerty Cup Results 2014:

Round 4: 4-0 v Whittlesea Rangers (Knights Stadium, Saturday 22 March)
Round 5: 2-1 v Mornington AET (Knights Stadium, Tuesday 13 May)
Round 6: 4-1 v Green Gully (Knights Stadium, Tuesday 3 June)

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that it will host the much anticipated Dockerty Cup Quarter Final contest against fellow National Premier League club Melbourne Knights.

The match will take place at Lakeside Stadium THIS WEDNESDAY June 25th, with kick-off scheduled for 7.30pm.

The matchup will also act as a qualifier for the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup tournament, with the winner qualifying for the Round of 32 draw and a chance to play on the national stage once again and potentially against A-League teams.

South Melbourne FC and Melbourne Knights members DO NOT have access rights to this match using their 2014 Membership Cards.

You may either purchase your ticket via the Ticketmaster website from 9am on Tuesday June 24th (Click here for more details) or via the ticket booths outside of Gate 2.

Tickets prices, inclusive of the Ticketmaster booking fee, are as follows:

Adults : $14.85
Concession: $10.15
Children Under 14 FREE

Gates open at 6pm.

We urge all of our supporters to get to Lakeside Stadium and support our side as we attempt to reach the national stage once again.

For any enquiries contact the club on 9645 9797 or email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC maintained its four-point lead at the top of the National Premier League Victoria ladder when it defeated Heidelberg United 3-0 in the derby at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening. An own goal from Steven Pace, a strike from outside the box by Mathew Theodore and a header by Milos Lujic – all in the first half – settled the derby and gave South a maximum six points against the Bergers in 2014.

Chris Taylor made two changes from last Sunday’s disappointing home draw against the Goulburn Valley Suns, as Leigh Minopoulos and Brad Norton replaced Jamie Reed and Andrew Mullett in the starting eleven against the Bergers. Transfer window signing Stephen Hatzikostas was given a spot on the bench as Taylor looked for an immediate response from his side against a Bergers side that they defeated 0-3 at the Olympic Village in the opening game of the season back on Thursday 13 March.

The home side opened the scoring after only three minutes, when Pace bundled Nick Epifano’s low cross into his own net in an attempt to prevent Lujic from getting on the end of the cross. South doubled its lead in the tenth minute when Theodore hit a left-footed strike from outside the box that gave Ryan Norval no chance in the Bergers goal. The match was finished as a contest just shy of the half-hour mark when Norton played a 1-2 on the left side before crossing perfectly to the back post for Lujic to head the ball past a helpless Norval. Lujic should have had a second goal just before the halftime break when he was played through one-on-one with Norval but his shot across goal hit the far post and stayed out.

In the second half, Heidelberg almost caught South goalkeeper Jason Saldaris out of his goal with a lob from distance but he just managed to scramble back and keep the ball out despite howls from the away support that the ball had crossed the goal line. South tried to add to their goals tally but were denied by some excellent saves from Norval, with his best being to deny Epifano in a one-on-one situation. In the end the home side had to settle for a second consecutive 3-0 win against their old rivals in 2014 and with that its four-point lead at the top of the NPL ladder maintained for another week.

Post-match, Captain Michael Eagar noted that “this [win] was big for the Club, it’s a local derby and it was important that we got the win to steady the ship after the past few weeks”. Taylor added that “we were very poor last weekend and we needed to fix that up tonight. We played very well and I’m pleased for everyone.”

In the NPL 20s match, South Melbourne and Heidelberg United played out a 1-1 draw, with Josh Markovski scoring South’s goal.

South have more derbies coming up this week, firstly against the Melbourne Knights in the Dockerty Cup Quarter Final on Wednesday night (7:30PM kick-off) before a League meeting with Port Melbourne on Sunday evening (5PM kick-off). Both matches will be played at Lakeside Stadium.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-0 HEIDELBERG UNITED (HT: 3-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Own Goal (3′)
2-0: Mathew Theodore (10′)
3-0: Milos Lujic (29′)

Key Stats (Provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: SMFC (13) – HUFC (6)
Balls into Final Third: SMFC (30) – HUFC (16)
Turnovers: SMFC (60) – HUFC (63)
Clearances: SMFC (6) – HUFC (12)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC (17. Jamie REED 79′), 10. Tyson HOLMES (77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS 79′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA (6. Dimi TSIARAS 79′), 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS.

Heidelberg United:
20. Ryan NORVAL (GK), 3. Les DOUMBALIS, 4. Jordan WILKES, 6. Paul MILLER, 7. Jakob WILLIAMS (5. Daniel VASILEVSKI 45′), 9. Kosta KANAKARIS (2. Peter KRATKY 45′), 10. Jack PETRIE, 11. Mark McGOUGH, 14. Dan HEFFERNAN, 17. Steven PACE, 23. Andrew CARTANOS.

SMFC Man of the Match: Brad Norton
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 22 June 2014

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts Heidelberg United in the traditional derby at Lakeside Stadiumon Sunday evening in a match of high importance for both sides. The derby presents South the opportunity to consolidate (or even extend) its four point advantage over Oakleigh on top of the NPL Victoria ladder, whilst for the Bergers the derby is an opportunity to narrow South’s lead over them to just five points.

South goes into the match having gained only one point from its last two League matches, with a 3-0 away loss against Oakleigh (Friday 6 June) followed by the frustrating 1-1 home draw against Goulburn Valley Suns (Sunday 15 June). Despite only managing a draw against the League’s bottom side last Sunday, South created plenty of opportuntiies to score (including missing a penalty kick) but just could not get a second goal to see off a very determined Suns outfit. It is uncertain whether Stephen Hatzikostas will be cleared to represent South for the Heidelberg match following his transfer from Bentleigh mid-week, however should he not be, Coach Chris Taylor still has many midfield options to choose from. Taylor will want all players firing for two very important derby matches, starting with the League derby against Heidelberg and then the Dockerty Cup Quarter Final match against the Melbourne Knights on Wednesday night.

George Katsakis’ Bergers side have been one of the form teams in the NPL Victoria competition over the past few months, picking up six wins and two draws from its past eight League matches after losing three of their five opening matches. This leaves the Bergers in outright third place on the NPL ladder with 26 points, three points clear of fourth-placed Bentleigh but still a fair way behind both South Melbourne (34 points) and Oakleigh Cannons (30 points). However unlike South, Heidelberg come into the derby in winning form by having enjoyed a thumping 2-5 away victory against the Dandenong Thunder last Saturday night. Two players for South to watch out for in the derby are Dan Heffernan (with 10 goals this season) and Kaine Sheppard (six goals this season, including a double against Dandenong last week).

The two sides met in the opening match of the 2014 NPL Victoria season and South triumped 0-3 at the Olympic Village thanks to first half goals from Mathew Theodore and Milos Lujic and a late headed goal from Jamie Reed to seal the three points. The South faithful would love nothing more than a repeat of that scoreline again on Sunday evening.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce leading computing, communications and consumer electronics giant BenQ has joined as its newest Principal Partner for the 2014 NPL Victoria season.

BenQ is a world-leading human technology and solutions provider driven by the corporate vision of ‘Brining Enjoyment ‘N’ Quality to Life’ to elevate and enrich the aspects of life that matter most to people today – lifestyle, business, healthcare and education. BenQ’s expertise comes not only from their own research and development, but also from people-driven approach to design and technology. As part of its suite of products, BenQ predominantly focuses on digital projectors, professional monitors, interactive large-format displays, imaging solutions, mobile computing devices, and LED lighting solutions.

BenQ’s head office is located in Taipei, and the company operates five branch offices in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, China, Latin America and North America, and employs over 1,300 individuals. Furthermore, the BenQ brand is present in more than 100 countries worldwide. Consisting of over 15 companies in seven different business segments, the BenQ Group had a combined revenue of over $US20 billion in 2012.

Martin Moelle, BenQ’s Australian Managing Director of Sponsorship told smfc.com.au “a great and much loved sport, a premium club and a great brand alliance for BenQ in a World Cup Year when the game captures the hearts and imaginations of fans and enthusiasts across the globe. BenQ is proud to be partnering South Melbourne FC for the 2014 season. There is great synergy in our respective missions and the sharing of enthusiasm and passion will serve to build morale and motivate our teams toward success. BenQ is proud to announce its association with South Melbourne FC and we wish the club and its members a successful year”.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said “it is quite a coup for South Melbourne to be entering into a partnership with a leading international electronics company such as BenQ. I remember many years ago when BenQ was the major sponsor of Real Madrid in Spain, so it is great to have them on board for the 2014 NPL Victoria season. BenQ is our second multinational partner at South Melbourne FC, and highlights the breadth and growth of our corporate base over the last two years”.

For all media enquiries, please contact Peter Kokotis on (03) 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au

What matters to us — BenQ brand introduction

South Melbourne FC in conjunction with Sports Camps Australia will be hosting three day specialised football camp for kids between the ages of 8 and 12.

South Melbourne will be involved at two separate locations, with one being in Albert Park, while the other will be situated at club partner Alphington Grammar.

For more information and to register your interest, please click on the links below.

Click here for Albert Park

Click here for Alphington Grammar

Youth results for games against Richmond FC on June 15th.

U12s – Won 2:0
Scorer: 2x Dusan Pavlovic

U13s – Won 1:0
Scorer: Alan Fogel

U14s – Won 2:1
Scorers: Keegan Garrow, Andrew Mesourouni

U15s – Won 2:0
Scorers: James Polemicos, Julian Zinni

U16s – Won 7:2
4x Kirk Kirakopoulos
1x Gabriel Riven
1x Tom Baker
1x Chris Nisiotis

U18s – Lost 0:4

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC had to settle for a frustrating 1-1 draw against the determined Goulburn Valley Suns in their National Premier League meeting at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening. Despite taking an early lead through Tyson Holmes, the home side conceded an equalising goal five minutes later and then failed to break down the Suns defence for the rest of the match. South were also denied a second goal thanks to Jamie Reed having his penalty saved, as the bottom-placed side won a point against the top side in the League.

Chris Taylor’s team went into the match keen on getting back to winning ways following its 3-0 loss against Oakleigh on Friday 6 June, whilst the Suns were keen to stop a losing run of four consecutive matches. The home side took an early lead after ten minutes when Holmes chested down the ball with his back to goal before swivelling and firing an unstoppable shot over goalkeeper Phillip Petrovski and into the back of the net. Peter Zois’ Goulburn side had shown encouraging signs in the opening period of the match and they deservedly equalised five minutes later when Craig Carley’s through-ball was pounced on by Benjamin Clarke, who chipped the ball over the advancing Jason Saldaris and into the back of the unguarded net.

The home side were awarded a spot kick shortly after the halftime break when Milos Lujic was bundled over in the penalty area in what looked like a harsh decision against the Suns. It did not matter however as Reed’s penalty kick was hit at the right height for the goalkeeper and Petrovski guessed the right way – diving to his left – to parry away the spot kick and keep the scores level at 1-1. The away side then almost took a shock lead when a scrambled attempted clearance from the South defence deflected towards their goal, however Saldaris was alert and gathered the ball. South had plenty of chances to win the game but could not take any of them, with the home side coming closest when Nick Epifano’s shot from distance hit the bar and substitute Leigh Minopoulos’ injury-time header flew over the crossbar. In the end, Zois’ side could celebrate a well-earnt point and Taylor’s side were left to rue what might have been. Post-match, a clearly disappointed Taylor noted how “our finishing let us down.”

South still leads the NPL Victoria ladder at the halfway point of the League season, however, its lead has been trimmed from six points to four points following Oakleigh’s win at Ballarat on Saturday afternoon. With two home derbies in the League over the next few weeks against Heidelberg United and Port Melbourne – plus the Dockerty Cup Quarter Final against the Melbourne Knights sandwiched in between – South needs to get back on the winning list very quickly, otherwise its lead at the top of the ladder may completely evaporate within the next fortnight.

There was good news in the NPL 20s, as South Melbourne defeated the Goulburn Valley Suns 3-0 thanks to goals from Josh Markovski, Andy Kecojevic and Ryan Babare.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-1 GOULBURN VALLEY (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Tyson Holmes (10′)
1-1: Benjamin Clarke (15′)

Key Stats (Provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: SMFC (15) – GVS (5)
Balls into Final Third: SMFC (46) – GVS (14)
Clearances: SMFC (5) – GVS (20)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 68′), 3. Andrew MULLETT, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 62′).

Goulburn Valley Suns:
1. Phillip PETROVSKI (GK), 2. Cody SELLWOOD , 3. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 5. Nick KALAFATIS (4. Thomas LANGMAN 75′), 7. Benjamin CLARKE, 9. Craig CARLEY (14. Rossi LAGANA 88′), 10. Kristian SARKIES, 11. Ardian VUNIQI, 13. Zachary PARASKEVAS (15. Anthony CALANDRO 88′), 16. Frank LAGANA, 19. Hernan ESPINDOLA.

SMFC Man of the Match: Iqi Jawadi
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 15 June 2014

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce Fix Hellas Beer, which is exclusively imported by Agora Merchandising Group as its newest Corporate Partner during the 2014 NPL Victoria season.

The Fix Hellas Beer is the first and most historical Greek owned beer, and is the Greek Beer Ambassador internationally, by exporting to 20 countries

George Iliopoulos, Chairman of the Agora Merchandising Group said “we are delighted to be associated with South Melbourne FC which is considered the most successful football club in Australia, which has won 4 national championships, a string of state league titles and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. We are looking forward for a long-term relationship and we are looking forward seeing the club grow on and off the field.

SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said, “we are delighted to welcome the Agora Merchandising Group and FIX HELLAS Beer to our growing portfolio of corporate partners as the Club’s official beverage supplier. It is always exciting to welcome new sponsors to South Melbourne, and look forward to working closely with both George and Paul Iliopoulos to establish a long-term partnership”.

For all media enquiries, please contact Peter Kokotis on (03) 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Goulburn Valley Suns at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Both sides suffered defeats in the National Premier League last weekend and will be looking to win the three points on Sunday albeit for contrasting reasons.

South’s 14 match winning streak across both League and Dockerty Cup was finally broken when Oakleigh defeated Chris Taylor’s side 3-0 at Jack Edwards Reserve last Friday 6 June. The result reduced South’s lead at the top of the NPL Victoria ladder to six points ahead of second-placed Oakleigh heading to the halfway point of the season. Goulburn Valley also suffered a big loss when it was defeated 0-4 at home by Dandenong Thunder last Saturday 7 June, making it three losses in a row for Peter Zois’ side and keeping them six points adrift of the second-last placed Ballarat Red Devils at the bottom of the NPL Victoria ladder.

It is expected that Captain Michael Eagar will return to the line-up on Sunday and partner James Musa at centre-half. With Brad Norton suspended following his red card in the dying stages of the Oakleigh game, Taylor will probably shift Andrew Mullett from centre-half into Norton’s left-back spot. Despite their lowly position on the ladder, the Suns have experienced former National Soccer League players on their books in Naum Sekulovski and former South man Kristian Sarkies. They also have an experienced VPL/NPL player in Frankie Lagana and the goal scoring touch of Craig Carley, who has scored eight of the Suns’ 13 League goals this season and will be one player for the South defence to watch out for.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 5PM at Lakeside Stadium and is the first ever meeting between the two sides. Those unable to make the game can follow it with live updates on the South Melbourne FC Facebook page and on the Club’s official Twitter @smfc with the hashtags #NPLVIC and #SMvGVS.