Author: SMFC Media

Wednesday, 3 March 2004 12:00 AM

The two oldest clubs still remaining in the National Soccer League competition – Marconi Stallions and South Melbourne – will go head to head this weekend and will kick-start what is shaping as one of the most intriguing Championship series for years.

To show how truly national the NSL competition is, five states are represented in the six-team finals series, with NSW having two representatives. That means the vast majority of soccer supporters will be able to witness the cream of the crop in Australian domestic soccer, in what will be an intriguing and very hard fought series.

While Perth Glory and Parramatta Power have lived up to its early season favouritism by finishing first and second respectively, the battle for the final four places has ebbed and flowed throughout the home and away premiership season. Only four weeks from the end of the season did we get any indication as to whom they might be and it is fair to say that every team deserves to be there.

This weekend starts off with the 1st Leg’s of the Elimination Finals, with the Stallions (4th) and South (5th) facing off in Sydney, while later on Sunday night, Adelaide United will be hoping for another packed Hindmarsh Stadium when it takes on the surprise of the finalists – Brisbane Strikers.

It is only fitting that Marconi and South should make it to the last NSL finals series as we know it, as they are the only survivors from the inaugural season of the NSL back in 1977.

In that time they have become the most successful teams in the competitions history, with each winning four NSL Championships (along with Sydney City), while South Melbourne has won five premierships to Marconi’s four.

Prior to last season’s revamped finals series, they also both had the best finals records of any teams, but in their absence and each team playing at least ten games, Sydney Olympic and Adelaide City both surpassed them. Marconi has however contested the most finals of any club with this being their 16th appearance, while South is one behind them.

So it is rather ironic that these two should meet in a do-or-die elimination final and there is no doubt, both sides will not just want to win this leg to progress further in the finals series, but to get one up on their arch rival.

It is a clash that should have both club’s old supporters drooling at the mouth with the prospect of re-living many of the clashes between the two sides – all 54 of them. Funnily enough only three of these games have been finals matches, with the honours firmly in Marconi’s favour.

No Marconi fan will ever forget the last finals match between the pair and most of South’s fans won’t want to be reminded of it. It is the Major Semi Final of the 1992-93 season and Marconi has returned from Melbourne with a surprise 1-0 lead in the first leg. Nobody however could have predicted what was going to happen in the return leg at Parramatta Stadium.

Ironically, Marconi’s current coach Jean-Paul De Marigny was a member of the Marconi side that day and scored an early that helped Marconi on its way to the record 7-0 win. To this day it remains the highest ever finals win and is the worst loss ever recorded by South Melbourne in the National League.

Three players – Paul Trimboli, Con Boutsianis and Mehmet Durakovic – from that South Melbourne team on that day will be remarkably backing up (or most likely to) for Sunday afternoon’s game.

Momentum going into Sunday’s game is firmly in Marconi’s favour and they were a tad unlucky not come away from Perth with a win.

South on the other hand let a golden opportunity to finish in second spot slip as they suddenly lost four straight games and the draw in the final round will have hardly done much for confidence.

But as we all know finals is a completely different ball game to the premiership season and this is when champion teams come to the fore. South has the team capable of going all the way, but will it be enough to overcome a Marconi team riding high, that remains to be seen.

The second elimination final in Adelaide features two teams that confounded every critic to make the finals.

Adelaide United’s performance has been nothing short of sensational both on and off the field. The demise of Adelaide City, a month from the start of the season, saw the hurried birth of Adelaide United, with former Brisbane Strikers coach John Kosmina, hastily asked to put a squad together and compete in the upcoming season.

While most of the players came from the old Adelaide City squad, some had already flown the coup and Kosmina was forced to look locally for players to make up the squad.

Starting their season in Round 5, Kosmina reverted Carl Veart (pictured left)back to playing as a striker and the move worked a treat in the first game of the season with his goal securing a memorable win over the Strikers, who just happen to be Adelaide’s opponent on Sunday night.

That set the seen for the rest of the season and a strong run home saw them push and ultimately achieve third position. This coupled with the average crowd for Adelaide games of over 12,000, makes it a remarkable season and has given everybody a great deal of confidence in the resurgence of the game at the top level in this country.

Brisbane was one of the teams that most experts believed would be fighting for the wooden spoon this season, rather than a place in the top-six.

The fact that its coach Stuart McLaren was also a player in the team, meant not many held too much hope for them, but a close knit squad soon made everybody sit up and take notice. So much so that they were never out of the top-six all season and had enough points in the bag, to even lose its last four games and still make it.

However the poor end of season form is not a good sign for McLaren and his team, with injuries starting to play its role and the squad’s depth being tested.

Their last appearance in the finals ended with successive losses to South Melbourne two years ago and for those players still at the club, they will be looking to turn that around. For that to happen however they will need a good performance in Adelaide and that will not be an easy task.

So we are set for a fascinating finals series and this weekend’s two matches should provide the perfect start. Get out there and enjoy it.

NSL Championships Series – Week 1

Sunday March 7, 2004
Elimination Finals – 1st Leg

Marconi Stallions v South Melbourne – Marconi Stadium – 3.45pm*

Adelaide United v Brisbane Strikers – Hindmarsh Stadium – 7.00pm (7.30pm AEST & 8.30pm QLD time)

* SBS will show the Marconi and South Melbourne game LIVE, with the broadcast coverage starting at 3.30pm.

Source: www.australiansoccer.com.au

Sunday, 29 February 2004 12:00 AM

Sydney Olympic 0 South Melbourne 0

SOUTH MELBOURNE failed in their effort to finish in the NSL top four when they struggled to a scoreless draw against Sydney Olympic at Jubilee Stadium today.

The match probably ended an era in the current NSL for the two Greek-based teams with the reshaped competition to start with the new league late this year.

South Melbourne still have their semi-final fixtures to play but today’s result finished the season for Olympic.

“It could be the end of a very long era in the history of two great NSL clubs,” said Olympic coach Peter Papanikitas.

Both teams had plenty of scoring chances but a strong crosswind and the bravery of goalkeepers Brett Hughes (Olympic) and Eugene Galekovic (Souths) ensured a goal-free match.

South Melbourne finished in fifth place, one point behind Marconi and the teams will meet next week in the first of the league semi-finals.

“Today was more a matter of breaking the monotony of losing the last four matches,’ South Melbourne coach Stuart Munro said.

“We will have three defenders back next week and probably key striker Vaughan Coveny, who was kept for the finals because he was sitting on three yellow cards.”

South Melbourne, without key strikers Coveny and Con Boutsianis, relied on the speedy Scott Tunbridge who shot wide with his team’s best chance in the opening session, while Michael Curcija was also off target with only the keeper to beat.

“We had slightly more chances than South Melbourne and I’m very proud of the way the team played over the last 10 weeks when we stretched every side in the second round,” said Papanikitas.

“I’m disappointed we did not make the top six but we could not score that one lucky goal.”

If South Melbourne had finished fourth, it would have had the home advantage for the first match of the home-and-away series but Munro said he was just as happy to play away at Marconi.

SYDNEY OLYMPIC 0 SOUTH MELBOURNE 0 at OKI Jubilee Stadium. Referee: S Micallef. Crowd: 3682.

AAP

Friday, 27 February 2004 12:00 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday, South Melbourne travel to OKI Jubilee Stadium NSW to face perennial interstate rivals Sydney Olympic in the final round of the NSL regular season. With Olympic well out of finals contention and South on their worst losing streak in 10 years, – – the Lakesiders have lost 4 consecutive games – there will be much to play for in this usually passionate affair.

South will be looking to regain some momentum in the lead-up to the finals whilst the Peter Papanikitas coached Olympic will be keen to end their season on a positive note. With both clubs unsure of their futures at the elite level of Soccer next season, Sunday’s clash may potentially be the last encounter at National level between the two traditional clubs.

Currently lying in 7th position, the 2nd half of the season has been a vast improvement over the first half for the Sydneysiders. The late acquisition of midfield maestro Troy Halpin has coincided with Olympic’s rise up the table. The form of striker Pablo Cardozo, who after a slow start to the season, has managed to tuck away 9 goals this term to be by far Olympic’s leading goal-scorer has also aided the NSW based club in improving their general form.

Perhaps the find of the season for Olympic can be seen in young midfielder Zenon Caravella. A relative of National coach Frank Farina, Caravella has repaid the faith of Papanikitas was some astute displays in the centre of the park that have been complemented by a decent return of 4 goals.

Conversely, South’s form in the past month has been nothing short of atrocious, with 4 consecutive losses and only 1 goal scored by the Albert Park based club during that spell, Coach Stuart Munro has been left to question the commitment and desire of his players. Injured defensive regulars Simon Storey and Mehmet Durakovic are back in contention for a place in the squad after recently resuming training. Their return would be a welcome addition as in particular the vast experience of Durakovic could prove to be very useful with the finals just around the corner.

That said, a general “lift” in intensity, passion and commitment is required by all South players, with the majority of players fit and the finals approaching, the players have to knuckle down and attempt to regain the early season form that saw them soar as high as first position early on in the season.

Friday, 27 February 2004 12:00 AM

South Melbourne supporters please note the following changes to the ticketing system for this year’s final at Bob Jane Stadium.

South Melbourne is scheduled to play its first home final on Sunday 14th March at 7:00pm at Bob Jane Stadium. At this stage, the opponent will be either Marconi Stallions or Adelaide United with the first game to be played away.

Please note the changes in the following ticket prices:

Grandstand Adult $25
Grandstand Conc/Under 17 $20
Grandstand Under 10 $10

General Admission Adult $20
General Admission Conc/Under 17 $15
General Admission Under 10 $5
General Admission Under 5 Free

Tickets will now go on sale from Tuesday 2nd March 2004. The South Melbourne offices will be closed from Thursday 4th March until Tuesday 9th March. Ticket sales will resume as normal from Tuesday 9th March.

Finals tickets can be purchased throughout this period online at www.southmelbournesc.com.au through our integrated online ticketing system. This is a great opportunity to secure your seat without leaving your home or office.

We look forward to seeing you at the finals.

Thursday, 26 February 2004 12:00 AM

South Melbourne Youth have been crowned the 2003/2004 Southern Division Champions after a convincing 3-1 Grand Final victory against arch rivals Melbourne Knights Youth on Sunday afternoon.

In front of a healthy crowd at Jack Edwards Reserve, South Melbourne was in control for the majority of the match and took the game to the Knights from the outset.

After just 5 minutes of play, South Melbourne took the lead through Ibrahim Ibraimi. There were no further goals in the first half and South went into the break with a slender lead.

The Knights again lost concentration and conceded their second goal for the match inside the first 5 minutes of the restart. It was Jordan Lando, who extended South’s seemingly unassailable lead. It was Lando again who put the icing on the cake, with a third goal in the 70th minute, which dispelled any Knights comeback.

A late consolation goal by the leagues leading goalscorer Omar Ayache was not enough, and it was the Minor Premiers South Melbourne Youth who took out the match 3-1 and the title of Southern Division Champions for season 2003/2004.

South Melbourne Youth will have the opportunity to compete in this years NYL Grand Final when they take on the eventual winner of the Northern Division (NYL) at a later date to be confirmed by the Australian Soccer Association.

MATCH RESULT

Southern Division Grand Final – Sunday 22nd February 2004

South Melbourne Youth 3 (J.Lando 2, I.Ibraimi)
Melbourne Knights Youth 1 (O.Ayache)

Source: www.australiansoccer.com.au

Sunday, 22 February 2004 12:00 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

The Northern Spirit completed a rare double over South Melbourne by defeating the free-falling Albert Park based club by 2 goals to 1.

South stumbled to their fourth consecutive loss on the back of an uninspired performance in front of its home faithful.

Spirit youngsters Adam Kwasnik and Jonathon Richter were the destroyers, nipping in for two very well taken goals in 52nd and 68th minutes.

South coach Stuart Munro put out a vastly unfamiliar line-up partly due to injury as well as lack of form. Regular striker Michael Curcija was omitted altogether with the patient Scott Tunbridge finally getting an opportunity to lead the line. Other notable changes included the benching of gun signing Michael Panopoulos as well as a return to the starting 11 for South Legend Paul Trimboli. Trimboli has spent a vast amount of the season on the bench; he returned to the starting 11 mid-week against Marconi and obviously did enough to retain his spot.

Defensively, injuries have hurt South, coach Munro’s hand has been somewhat forced and today’s back four consisted of defensive regulars Ante Kovacevic and Sammy Poutakidis, as well as the relatively inexperienced Nick Tolios and Carl Recchia.

Inexperience aside, South started the game brightly, as early as the 7th minute a Boustianis free kick eluded the defensive wall and found its way to an unmarked Vaughn Coveny, controlling un-cleanly Conveny did enough to get off a shot that bobbled just wide of Spirit custodian Paul Henderson’s right upright.

A 15th minute Vuko Tomasevic 30 yard rocket that whistled narrowly wide, reminded South that the Spirit had arrived to play positively and try their best to get something out of the game.

South quickly regained the balance of play when an intuitive Kristian Sarkies 17th minute lob from outside the Spirit box nearly caught keeper Henderson napping. Sarkies was desperately unlucky as his shot bounced just wide with Henderson struggling to make ground. Sarkies was at it again in the 19th minute when he assumed free kick responsibilities and sent a dipping 20 yard drive over the Spirit wall, luckily for the Lawrie McKinna coached side, Henderson read the shot well and positioned himself smartly to grasp the ball firmly on his chest.

South nearly conceded in the 20th minute when a defensive mix-up saw Kiwi youngster Brent Fisher nearly capitalise. Fisher found himself one-on-one with the re-instated Galekovic, however, the South custodian was quickly off his line and saved well.

Gaining in confidence, the Spirit had another decent attempt foiled by Galekovic. In the 32nd minute, ex-Parramatta Power midfield workhorse Wayne O’Sullivan unleashed a rocket-strike from just outside the South defensive area that Galekovic did well to save. The ball appeared to be destined for the top right-hand corner, only for a diving Galekovic to parry away for a corner.

After showing some attacking menace in the first half, South came out in the second appearing flat. Struggling to create any meaningful attacking play, the Spirit capitalised on South’s lack of attacking initiative by hitting the home side on the counter. Spirit defender Tomasevic sent an angled ball from deep in defence to young forward Kwasnik, who controlled well and calmly slotted past Galekovic in the 51st minute to send the Spirit ahead.

With South seemingly disinterested in mounting a fight-back, Kiwi youth international Fisher found himself in acres of space just inside the South area, his angled 67th minute shot was well placed but Galekovic was once again on hand to save around the post.

Then in the 68th minute the Spirit struck the killer blow, Jonathon Richter was played right through the centre of the South defence, he did well to keep his composure and as he narrowed in on goal, Richter kept his cool to slot past Galekovic. The Spirit bench leapt in joy with coach McKinna and Australian soccer legend Alex Tobin embracing in delight.

By now the South faithful had become restless; with their beloved side staring at a 4th consecutive loss, slight “boos” began to be heard. Then in the 71st minute Captain Coveny gave the home side a lifeline after a superb back-heel by Kristian Sarkies set up Coveny to unleash a pile-driving strike from just outside the Spirit defensive area past a helpless Henderson, who even at full stretch could do nothing about the shot

With South sensing an opening, the last ten minutes saw the home side pile on the pressure with Coveny missing a glorious chance to pull the teams level. The ball had been squared across low and when a first time strike was needed, Coveny hesitated, took a touch and by then, had the entire Spirit defence pressuring him. The goal-mouth scramble that ensued ended in a Spirit clearance.

South’s final attempt was a desperate long distance strike by Nick Tolios, Tolios’s strike was hit well, however it flew past the right-hand top corner, and with that miss, South’s chances for a result also faded.

Friday, 20 February 2004 12:00 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday South return to Bob Jane Stadium for their last regular season home game. Back at their familiar hunting ground South will be eager for a victory to help push them up as far up the ladder as possible.

Stuart Munro’s men have hit a lean patch with recent away losses to Adelaide United, the bottom placed Football Kingz and the resurgent Marconi destroying the club’s chances of a top two placing.

Languishing near the bottom of the NSL, the Mick Hickman coached Spirit will be playing for nothing other than respect. The club has been dogged by off-field problems right through the season yet has still managed some great results, with most notably, a 3-1 home victory against South earlier on in the campaign. That day Stuart Petrie scored two wonder-goals from outside the area, and once again the Scottish marksmen will be a player the South backline will have to be extremely weary of. Petrie has tucked away 7 goals this season to be by far the Spirit’s number one goal-scorer.

The Spirit have been dealt a blow with young emerging forward Dylan Macallister overseas trialling, that said, in Adam Kwasnik, Vuko Tomasevic, John Hutchinson, Brent Fisher and Alex Wilkinson, the Spirit possess a richly talented array of youngsters who have developed into regular contributors for the NSW based club.

Conversely, South are desperate for not only a positive result, but more importantly a good showing to help build momentum and form for the upcoming finals series. Ever since the 4-0 whitewash of local rivals the Melbourne Knights, Munro’s men have struggled for form and cohesion resulting in three disappointing away losses to Adelaide United, the Football Kingz and Marconi. Consequently, the Spirit clash has gained in importance as a South win may see Munro’s men leap to as high as third if other results go the home side’s way.

Squad wise, injury clouds remain over defenders Simon Storey and Mehmet Durakovic, Storey reportedly has a bout of osteitis pubis, whilst Durakovic is nursing a badly torn calf muscle. Those injuries aside, Coach Munro has a near full complement of players to choose from and with the business end of the season fast approaching, competition amongst the squad should be at an all time high with players looking to find their best form to impress the coaching staff.

Thursday, 19 February 2004 12:00 AM

South Melbourne will go into the final two rounds of the season in the knowledge that they will play in the finals series.

Perth’s 2 nil victory over Sydney United last night saw the team from Bob Jane Stadium into the finals with focus now on achieving victories against Northern Spirit at Bob Jane on Sunday at 6.30pm, and against Sydney Olympic in the final round.

There were very strong indications in Tuesday’s match against Marconi in Sydney that the form slump was over, “We showed all the signs I was looking for from the team in Sydney, we played a much improved brand of soccer and a number of players showed glimpses of the form that took us to the top of the table during the season” said coach Stuart Munro after the game.

The team is now focused on finishing in third position and two wins from the remaining games can see this happen.

“I am hoping that our form slump came at the right time and that we will peak again now to give the fans something to really cheer about over the next few weeks” said Munro.

Sunday’s game will be proceeded by two special curtain raiser games:

1.00pm -The Premiers team Vs The Police Department

3.00pm – The South Melbourne Women’s team Vs VSF Women’s

6.30pm – South Melbourne Vs Northern Spirit

“We will also admit all women to the matches free of charge as part of the promotions for the day” said Chief Executive Officer Mark Patterson.

“I urge all South fans to come out and support Stuart and the team at Bob Jane on Sunday as we enter the business end of the season.” Said Patterson.

Tuesday, 17 February 2004 12:00 AM

AN exhausted Marconi has come away with a 1-0 win over South Melbourne in the National Soccer League match at Marconi Stadium tonight.

The deferred round 20 fixture was the Stallions’ second game in four days and the exhaustion began to show near the end.

The victory secured Marconi a place in the finals with only two matches left in the season – tough away assignments against Adelaide and Perth.

The win came at a price for the home side, however, with striker Jeromy Harris being carried off with ankle ligament damage in the 26th minute.

Brad Maloney found the back of the net in the 38th minute to secure victory.

Nine minutes into the match, Maloney found the net but referee Mark Shield ruled offside.

South Melbourne had a chance midway through the second half when both Kristian Sarkies and Con Boutsianis took shots but both were impressively saved by Marconi goalkeeper Michael Turnbull.

Marconi moved to 27 points on the NSL ladder, in equal sixth place with Sydney United, still with one more deferred match and a bye up its sleeve.

-AAP

Monday, 16 February 2004 12:00 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South travel to Marconi Stadium this Tuesday for a catch-up fixture that was postponed due to the Olyroo commitments of a number of Marconi players. The game has increased in importance for Stuart Munro’s men as 2 consecutive losses has seen South plummet to fourth position with all hope for the invaluable second spot, all but gone.

Conversely, Marconi are in stunning form and are coming off a 3 game winning streak which culminated in a sterling 3-0 victory against Sydney United on the weekend. A win for the Stallions could see Jean Paul De Marigny’s men sky rocket to as high as 3rd, repaying the request of the club to postpone matches until its players returned from international duty.

In Alex Brosque and Nick Carle, Marconi possess two of the nations most talented youngsters, both players have returned from international duty with an added zest and have been outstanding in assisting the Stallions to victories in their past 3 games. Carle in particular has had a brilliant season, with his 6 goals from midfield and countless assists, showing the true potential of the former Troyes player.

Carle and Brosque aside, De Marigny has assembled one of the best squad’s in the NSL. Quality experience is to be found in the likes of ex-Parramatta midfielder Brad Maloney who has nipped in with 6 goals this campaign and has been his usual industrious self in the centre of the park. Brendan Renaud, Angelo Costanzo, Dominic Longo, Simon Bell and Luke Casserly are all super experienced at NSL level and provide quality defensive cover for the Stallions. Up front, ex-Melbourne Knights forward Joe Spiteri links up with former Sydney Olympic front-man Jeromy Harris to produce a truly burly forward setup that to-date has failed somewhat to live up to expectations – Spiteri and Harris only have 6 goals between them – however, their value at holding up the ball and providing an immense presence in the attacking zone cannot be underestimated.

Conversely, South have been ravaged by injury and poor form, against the Football Kingz, a makeshift defence consisting of Nick Tolios, Levent Osman, Carl Recchia and Sam Poutakidis was used as through injury and suspension, defensive regulars Simon Storey, Mehmet Durakovic and Ante Kovacevic were unavailable. Kovacevic is set to return from suspension against the Stallions, however, who Munro retains in defence shall be interesting to observe.

In the centre of the Park, the return to fitness of Marcus Stergiopoulos is a huge boost for the Lakesiders; Stergiopoulos played a key role in South’s impressive start to the season playing the defensive midfield role superbly well. His inclusion against the Stallions may be crucial in aiding South’s defensive problems, as his ability to track back and break up the opposition’s attacking play is invaluable to the Albert Park based club.

Attacking wise, South have not scored a goal in their past two encounters, with the array of attacking talent at Munro’s disposal, such a return is disappointing and may lead to more game time for ex-Adelaide City forward Scott Tunbridge who has been extremely patient in waiting for his chance to obtain a regular spot in the first 11. Tunbridge was used in a wide role early on in the season, but with the return of Young Socceroo Vince Lia and the established pairing of Coveny and Curcija scoring regularly, Tunbridge has had to bide his time.