Author: SMFC Media

South Melbourne FC invites 50 lucky fans to join the inner sanctum for the trip to the Round 7 clash against the Red Devils in Ballarat on Saturday 3rd May by offering you the opportunity to join either our Senior or Under 20 squad on the bus trip.

The bus trip will also form a key part of the SMFC TV episode on the following week, as well as an upcoming television commercial to be screened at future home match days and throughout mainstream media, allowing the lucky fans a chance to appear on television.

Each seat costs $50 and is inclusive of entry into the stadium for the match. Buses will depart from and return to Lakeside Stadium on match day.

Seats are limited, so contact us today to book your seat and to organise payment.

For more information and to reserve your seat contact the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au by COB on Tuesday April 29th to secure your spot by filling in the the attached bus booking form (Download Here).

By John Kyrou

The Melbourne Knights host South Melbourne FC in Melbourne’s first National Premier League derby on Sunday afternoon at Knights Stadium. The Knights will be looking to get their season back on track following an inconsistent start to 2014, whereas South will be looking for six consecutive League victories to open the season.

The Melbourne Knights were tipped as one of the teams to beat in 2014 and not surprisingly they began the League season with a 3-2 victory against Northcote City at Knights Stadium on 14 March before following up with a solid 0-2 victory against Pascoe Vale at Hosken Reserve on 28 March. With three home matches in a row following the Pascoe Vale win, things were looking very good for Andrew Marth’s side. Unfortunately for the Knights, they lost all three matches by a goal (1-2 against Werribee City on 6 April, 1-2 against Dandenong on 13 April and 0-1 against Hume City on 16 April). This leaves the Knights in seventh spot on the NPL ladder with six points next to its name.

South on the other hand has completed its opening five League matches with a 100 per cent winning record, with its most recent victim being the Ballarat Red Devils side that Chris Taylor’s men defeated 2-0 at Lakeside Stadium on 17 April. Jamie Reed scored a goal in each half as South ended the round in top spot on the NPL ladder with 15 points, four ahead of second-placed Oakleigh Cannons. Reed and Milos Lujic have been firing up front for South this season, however what has pleased Taylor the most has been the two clean sheets kept in the last two matches, something that he will demand his players achieve again on Sunday.

The Knights had the better of South during the 2013 Victorian Premier League regular season, drawing 2-2 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 16 June before defeating South 2-1 at Knights Stadium on Sunday 1 September. However South gained revenge in the Minor Semi Final when it defeated the Knights 0-1 at Somers Street on Friday 4 October in front of nearly 5,000 spectators, advancing to the Preliminary Final whilst the Knights bowed out of the finals in straight sets. That defeat is still fresh for Marth’s side and South will need to be at the top of their game in order to achieve victory again at Somers Street this weekend.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 3PM at Knights Stadium. Those who are unable to attend the match can follow live updates on the official South Melbourne FC Facebook page or alternatively through Twitter (@smfc, #MKvSM, #NPLVIC)

Check out the derby overview courtesy of SMFC TV

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC continued its 100 per cent winning start to the season with a 2-0 victory against Ballarat Red Devils at Lakeside Stadium on Thursday night. Jamie Reed scored a goal in each half as South won its first ever home game in the National Premier League and made it five wins from five League games in 2014.

South began the match brightly as it looked to kill the game off early as a contest. Milos Lujic almost opened the scoring when he was put through one-on-one and shot past Ballarat goalkeeper Aaron Romein, however the ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced back into play before being cleared. Ballarat looked dangerous on the break and almost beat the off-side trap on a few occasions, however South goalkeeper Jason Saldaris and his defence were quite comfortable in keeping a clean sheet. South opened the scoring right on the half-time break when Nick Epifano – who was switched from left midfield to right midfield during the half – played Reed through to hit a powerful shot across Romein and into the back of the net.

Ballarat began the second half stronger as James Robinson’s side also looked to continue their 100 per cent winning start in the League this season. They had two chances to level the score, firstly when Nelson Salvatore’s header went over the bar and secondly when Shaun Romein’s free kick went wide. With twenty minutes remaining, Lujic thought he had secured the three points when he tapped home a low cross but the referee’s assistant judged him to have been marginally offside and the goal did not stand. The same referee’s assistant then kept his flag down seven minutes later when English striker Reed took full advantage to score past Romein and secure another win for his side.

Ballarat substitute Dane Milovanovic almost halved the deficit with a fantastic shot from distance that lobbed over Saldaris but luckily for the home side the ball hit the base of the far post and stayed out of the goal. Reed then looked to have been hauled down in the penalty area by a Ballarat defender but the referee waved play on and denied the striker the chance to score a hat-trick. South comfortably saw out the remainder of the match and post-match Coach Chris Taylor was very pleased with the win and with how his side was able to ground out the result against the resilient Ballarat. “You can’t complain with five straight wins (in the League)… sometimes you have to play ugly to win games and we did that tonight.”

South can now enjoy the Easter weekend before re-grouping for the derby against the Melbourne Knights at Knights Stadium on Sunday 27 April. Kick-off is at 3PM.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-0 BALLARAT RED DEVILS (HT: 1-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Jamie Reed (45′)
2-0: Jamie Reed (77′)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 65’), 8. Mathew THEODORE (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 79’), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON (3. Andrew MULLETT 85’), 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED.

Ballarat Red Devils:
1. Aaron ROMEIN (GK), 3. Daniel TINKER, 6. Liam HARDING, 11. Nelson SALVATORE, 15. Dom SWINTON (20. Bolish SALVATORE 57’), 16. Charlie KING, 17. Shaun ROMEIN (13. Michael TRIGGER 78’), 18. Daniel O’DONNELL, 22. Pat KARRAS (4. Dane MILOVANOVIC 71’), 25. Steve THOMSON, 31. Simon MURPHY.

SMFC Man of the Match: Jamie Reed
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Thursday 17 April 2014

By John Kyrou

Lakeside Stadium will host National Premier League football for the first time when South Melbourne FC welcomes the Ballarat Red Devils tonight. South will be going for five straight League wins (and six straight across all competitions), whilst Ballarat will be aiming to win their third League game in succession, having only played two League matches so far in 2014.

South defeated Hume City 0-3 at Broadmeadows Valley Park last Sunday afternoon with a clinical second half display as Nick Epifano scored a double and Milos Lujic scored the other goal. Centre-forward Lujic has scored five goals from four League games this season and is currently leading the 2014 NPL Golden Boot standings. South defeated Hume with a professional performance – especially in the second half – and Coach Chris Taylor will be looking for another solid display from his side tonight. There are no major injury concerns which means that Taylor will have a full squad to choose from.

Ballarat was due to play Heidelberg United at Olympic Village last Sunday evening but the match was postponed until Easter Monday. Ballarat’s Round 1 NPL match against Bentleigh Greens was also postponed, meaning that the Red Devils have played two less matches than most teams in the division but they incredibly are in fifth spot on the ladder due to two League wins against Goulburn Valley Suns (2-3 on 29 March) and Northcote City (1-3 on 5 April). These results – especially the win against 2013 Champions Northcote at John Cain Reserve – shows that James Robinson’s side will certainly be no pushovers and that South must work hard to achieve the three points.

Tonight’s match kicks off at 8:30PM and the membership tent will be open near the main gate for fans to either purchase or collect their memberships.

The inaugural Winning Edge Coach of the Month for the 2014 National Premier League Victoria season is SMFC Head Coach Chris Taylor.

The National Premier League Victoria competition recently announced that monthly awards would be given to the Player of Month in both NPL and NPL1, Player of the Month in either NPL and NPL1, Rising Star of the Month in NPL or NPL1, and Coach of the Month in either NPL or NPL1. The awards are voted by the FFV’s match reporters.

Chris Taylor was voted Coach of the Month due to the Club’s convincing start to the season with four straight away wins, and playing an attractive and effective type of football.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Chris Taylor said “Its a great honour to receive such an award. The award is a reflection on the team who have played well and trained hard over the pre-season period. Over the last nine months, we have been trying to create and establish the foundations for a new era of success at South Melbourne”.

On behalf of everyone at the Club, we wish to congratulate and celebrate Chris Taylor’s achievement, and look forward to more continued success.

Last Friday night saw South Melbourne FC hold its annual fundraising event, 2014 Player Auction Night at Principal Partner Beachcomber at the St Kilda Baths. Close to 200 guests were in attendance that brought corporate partners, members, and players and coaching staff together to celebrate the commencement of the new National Premier League Victoria season.

The MC for the evening was George Triantos, who welcomed the guests to the event, and opened his address by highlighting the changes to the football landscape with the introduction of the National Premier League and FFA Cup, as well as acknowledging the support from the Club’s Corporate Partners.

Club President Leo Athanasakis welcomed the guests and thanked the Principal Partners for their continued support, and invited everyone to get behind and support the Club. Mr Athanasakis announced that the Number 1 ticket holder for South Melbourne FC this season would be again The Honourable Member for Albert Park, Mr Martin Foley. Mr Foley thanked South Melbourne FC for the honour and pledged his support to the completion of the remaining works at Lakeside Stadium as part of the original arrangement under the previous Labour Government.

The main purpose of the event was a fundraising theme. The auctioneer for the evening, George Metax from Barry Plant Preston took over and sought to secure the highest bid for each player. The bidding was frenzied at time as the Club’s corporate partners pledged their financial support.

South Melbourne FC would particularly like to thank Steve and Jim Paraskevas, and Neil Stacey from Beachcomber for their tremendous support and warm hospitality in assisting the Club to hold this successful event. Furthermore, South Melbourne FC would like to thank its corporate partners who contributed to the fundraising activities on the night, and all guests who were in attendance.

The following corporate partners which were successful in the auction are listed below:

Jason Saldaris – Commercial & General
Chris Maynard – Advantage Pharmacy
Tim Mala – AIS Insurance
Andrew Mullet – Dandanis and Associates
Michael Eagar – Veale Partners
Dimitri Tsiaras – MW Group
Nick Epifano – GPZ Legal
Matthew Theodore – Blue Thunder Security
Milos Lujic – JR Training
Tyson Holmes – Tom Kalas
Bradley Norton – Fortigo Transport Management
Iqi Jawadi – Plastamasta / Knauf
James Musa – Blue Thunder Security
Kobbie Boahene – McClures Office Supplies
Jamie Reed – K & A Accountant & Mirabella
Slaven Vranasevic – McClures Office Supplies
Andy Kecojevic – Moray Agnew Lawyers
Chris Taylor, Graham Hockless, and Bojo Jevdjevic
Mirabella, CBA, Plastamasta, K&A Accountants, Rodney Meaker
Joshua Meaker – Moray Agnew Lawyers
Leigh Minopoulos – Financial Index Wealth Accountants

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC created Club history when it defeated Hume City 0-3 at the refurbished Broadmeadows Valley Park on Sunday afternoon. The victory meant that it was the first time in South’s 55 year history that it had won its opening four away matches in a League season. Nick Epifano scored two goals while Milos Lujic scored the other goal to confirm the three points and the historic statistic.

The first half was a rather dull affair, with both sides struggling to find any rhythm when going forward. The home side had the best chance of the half when Richie Cardozo’s left-footed free kick beat Jason Saldaris but not the crossbar as the two sides went into the sheds on level terms. Hume City and South Melbourne had never drawn a match at Broadmeadows Valley Park in the five previous meetings at the venue so something had to give in the second half.

South opened the scoring on the hour mark when Brad Norton – making his 50th League appearance for South – was involved in setting James Musa free down the left side. The centre-back had time to assess his options before cutting the ball back to the edge of the area for the incoming Epifano to hit a left-footed shot past Hume goalkeeper Chris Oldfield. It was Epifano’s first goal for South in 2014 and his fourth goal for the Club overall, following his three League goals in 2013. Minutes later an Epifano header set up Jamie Reed for what looked a certain headed goal but Oldfield made an outstanding save to deny the forward by tipping the ball over the crossbar.

Reed had worked hard for South all match and it was his driving run that resulted in the away side’s second goal of the afternoon. The forward won possession in the middle of the park and took on several Hume defenders before laying the ball off for Epifano on the right side of the penalty area. The 19 year old had time to control the ball and pick his spot before firing across Oldfield and into the left corner of the goal for a 0-2 lead. Epifano was on fire and it was his turn and cross from the left side that led to South’s third goal only three minutes later. The Hume defence got into a tangle trying to clear his cross and the ball fell kindly for Lujic to slot into the net for his fifth goal of the season, taking the big centre-forward to the top of the NPL Golden Boot standings after four rounds.

It was a different story in the NPL 20s, with Hume City defeating South Melbourne 4-2. Matthew Kundevski scored both of South’s goals.

South will be aiming for five straight League wins when it hosts Ballarat Red Devils at Lakeside Stadium on Thursday night. Kick-off is at 8:30PM and memberships will be available to be picked up outside the main entrance.

FINAL SCORE: HUME CITY 0-3 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-0)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Nick Epifano (60′)
0-2: Nick Epifano (75′)
0-3: Milos Lujic (78′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: HCFC (9) – SMFC (16)
Turnovers: HCFC (81) – SMFC (66)
Balls into Final Third: HCFC (29) – SMFC (49)
Clearances: HCFC (22) – SMFC (17)

Hume City FC:
1. Chris OLDFIELD (GK), 4. Izzy ERDOGAN, 5. Petar FRANJIC, 6. Joe FRANJIC (22. Kaan KORKMAZ), 8. Jose GUERRERO, 9. Nick MARINOS (23. Devon BONNE), 10. Richie CARDOZO, 11. Kliment TASESKI (7. Ali TURGUT), 13. Shane REXHEPI, 17. Aaron TURNER, 39. Nick HEGARTY.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 78′), 8. Mathew THEODORE (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 87′), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI (3. Andrew MULLETT 89′), 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED.

SMFC Man of the Match: Nick Epifano
Venue: Broadmeadows Valley Park
Date: Sunday 13 April 2014

South Melbourne FC can create history when it travels to Broadmeadows Valley Park to play against Hume City on Sunday afternoon. Three points for Chris Taylor’s side will break a Club record for the most consecutive away wins at the beginning of a League season (four wins).

South goes into the game having won their opening three National Premier League matches in 2014, with the most recent being the incredible 3-5 victory against Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve last Saturday afternoon. Centre-forward Milos Lujic scored a hat-trick in the opening 26 minutes of the match, with Jamie Reed and substitute Leigh Minopoulos scoring the other two goals. Despite the excellent result, Taylor was rightly concerned about the manner in which his side allowed Green Gully back in the match (with South having been 0-4 up at halftime) and will demand a much better defensive performance on Sunday.

Hume City head into Sunday’s match in indifferent form, having won their opening League fixture against Pascoe Vale (3-0 on 16 March) before suffering consecutive losses against Werribee City (1-2 on 30 March) and Dandenong Thunder (0-1 on 5 April). Sandwiched in between all of these results was a strong 5-0 victory against Casey Comets FC in the fourth round of the Dockerty Cup (22 March), so it is certainly fair to say that Lou Acevski’s side has had a mixed start to 2014. However with experienced Premier League players like Izzy Erdogan, Shane Rexhepi, Nick Hegarty, Nick Marinos and Richie Cardozo – plus former South man Kliment Taseski – on their roster, Hume will be a very tough side to defeat on Sunday.

In the corresponding fixture played last season (Sunday 19 May 2013), Hume City defeated South 3-2 at Broadmeadows Valley Park. Turhan Sumbul opened the scoring (25’) and Atilla Ofli doubled the home side’s advantage (28’) before Dimi Hatzimouratis pulled a goal back for South right on the halftime break with a penalty kick (45+1’). Shaun Kelly levelled the match at 2-2 with a strong header (58’) before Hume substitute Sean Canham won the match for the home side (81’) to complete the scoring.

The two sides have met at Broadmeadows Valley Park on four occasions and the honours are tied at two wins apiece. South’s best win at the venue was 6-0 on Sunday 25 April 2010 (with Gianni De Nittis scoring four goals), with Hume’s best win being 5-0 on Sunday 17 April 2011.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 3PM at Broadmeadows Valley Park.

By John Kyrou (Photo courtesy of John Punshon of Goal! Weekly)

Green Gully was defeated by South Melbourne FC 3-5 in an extraordinary match at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday afternoon that featured eight goals, two red cards and seven minutes of second-half injury time. Milos Lujic scored his first hat-trick for South as fellow forwards Jamie Reed and Leigh Minopoulos scored the other two goals.

Chris Taylor’s South Melbourne side travelled to Green Gully keen on winning for a second consecutive time at the venue, having won there 0-3 on the opening day of last season on Saturday 6 April 2013. The first half of Saturday’s match was practically perfect, with four goals in the opening half hour and with a halftime score that read 0-4 in favour of the visitors. South opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Gully goalkeeper Kieran Gonzalez could only parry Nick Epifano’s cross into Lujic’s path and he had no problem putting the ball into the back of the net. Lujic doubled his – and South’s – tally for the afternoon ten minutes later when Gonzalez’s attempted clearance of a back-pass rebounded off the big centre-forward and into the back of the net.

Lujic had his hat-trick after 26 minutes when he met Tyson Holmes’ low cross at the back post to easily score and give South an incredible 0-3 lead. It was 0-4 only five minutes later when Epifano played a lovely ball for Reed to run onto and chip the ball over the advancing Gonzalez and into the back of the net. Epifano himself could have scored virtually straight after the re-start after gaining possession of the ball and easily charging through Gully’s defence but his shot hit the post and was cleared. Gully had been completely bamboozled but slowly worked their way back into the match and almost made the score 1-4 before the break when Roddy Vargas’ header beat South goalkeeper Jason Saldaris but the ball hit the crossbar and stayed out.

The home side came out firing in the second half and pulled two goals back in the opening four minutes thanks to Matthew Sanders scoring a double. His first came when he got a connection to the ball following a strong forward run by Stephen Downes and his second arrived via a turn and shot on the left foot that beat Saldaris. With the score 2-4 after 49 minutes and with South now clearly rattled, Gully pressed forward with purpose and had Osagie Ederaro causing plenty of problems on the left side. With so much time left in the match, South needed to try and regain possession of the ball and slow the game down.

The away side got the break they needed after 65 minutes when Gonzalez unnecessarily kicked out at Lujic after the centre-forward had been flagged as offside but decided to try and get the ball past the goalkeeper anyway. What may have been a yellow card for Lujic for time-wasting was now a red card for Gonzalez and the momentum had swung back South’s way. In farcical scenes, Gully substituted reserve goalkeeper Dilen Ibrahim onto the field to replace Gonzalez but failed to sacrifice an outfield player and therefore tried to continue playing with 11 players on the field. The South bench – Taylor in particular – screamed out for the referee to do a head count and this eventually lead to Andy Vargas being the outfield player to be substituted.

The match calmed down following that incident but it flared up again four minutes from time when Downes was sent off for dissent. Downes initially went to sit down on the team bench before being ordered by the referee to go back into the change rooms. The referee then performed a head count to make sure that the home side actually had only 9 men on the park. With two less men on the field, a two goal deficit and time rapidly running out, everything looked to be going against Gully; however the home side remarkably pulled another goal back in the first minute of injury time when Vargas put the ball in the back of the net from a set piece. South supporters were fearing the worst when possession was gifted back to Gully following the kick-off but the nerves soon turned to relief in the fourth minute of injury time when Reed cut the ball back for the substitute Minopoulos to tuck away South’s fifth of the afternoon.

Post-match, Taylor was happy to take the three points but was disappointed in the manner that South allowed Gully to almost snatch an unthinkable draw. “In the first half we were fantastic but again we were sloppy with some of the goals we conceded…however three points is three points and we look forward to next week.” The win keeps South on top of the NPL ladder and continues its perfect 100% winning record in 2014, with three wins in the League and one in the Dockerty Cup.

The news was not as good in the NPL 20s, as Green Gully defeated South 2-0.

South travels to the newly refurbished Broadmeadows Valley Park next Sunday 13 April to face Hume City, with kick-off at 3PM. Victory over Hume will make it the first time in South’s 55 year history that it has won four consecutive away matches to begin a season.

FINAL SCORE: GREEN GULLY 3-5 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-4)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Milos Lujic (5′)
0-2: Milos Lujic (15′)
0-3: Milos Lujic (26′)
0-4: Jamie Reed (31′)
1-4: Matthew Sanders (47′)
2-4: Matthew Sanders (49′)
3-4: Roddy Vargas (90+1′)
3-5: Leigh Minopoulos (90+4′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: GG (17) – SMFC (18)
Turnovers: GG (73) – SMFC (55)
Balls into Final Third: GG (35) – SMFC (44)
Clearances: GG (12) – SMFC (15)

Green Gully:
1. Kieran GONZALEZ (GK) (sent off 65′), 2. Daniel JONES, 4. Mitchell BISSINGER, 5. Roddy VARGAS, 6. Stephen DOWNES (sent off 86′), 7. Jeffrey FLEMING (10. Jem BERKANT 85’), 8. Jason HAYNE, 12. Mathew SANDERS, 17. Andy VARGAS (23. Dilen IBRAHIM [GK] 67’), 20. Osagie EDERARO, 21. Brian VANEGA (16. Sean HARDING 45’).

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR, 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 75’), 8. Mathew THEODORE (20. Slaven VRANESEVIC 90’), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON (3. Andrew MULLETT 90+4’), 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED.

SMFC Man of the Match: Milos Lujic
Venue: Green Gully Reserve
Date: Saturday 5 April 2014

South Melbourne FC is seeking an Under 12 Goalkeeper to join our Youth ranks for the 2o14 NPL Season.

As part of the program each goalkeeper will also receive extensive specialised goalkeeper training.

To find out more or to apply email Matt at matthew@smfc.com.au.