Author: SMFC Media

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC will look to continue its winning start to 2014 when it travels to Green Gully on Saturday afternoon. A win at Green Gully Reserve will give Chris Taylor’s side three consecutive League wins at the beginning of the season, matching Peter Tsolakis’ achievement at the beginning of 2013 and matching South’s best start to a League season since 1985.

Standing in the way will be a Green Gully side that has only been defeated at home by South only once in 28 years. That defeat came in the opening round of the League season last season (Saturday 6 April 2013) when goals from Brad Norton, Marinos Gasparis and Renco Van Eeken gave the away side a professional 0-3 victory. Gully won the return fixture at Lakeside Stadium 1-3 on Sunday 7 July before the two sides met again in the Elimination Final at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 29 September. Following a tense 90 minutes without a goal – including a penalty save by Kieran Gonzalez from Norton – the match was won thanks to a 91st minute strike by Tyson Holmes that sent South through to the Semi Finals.

South won its second National Premier League game in succession this season when it defeated Port Melbourne 2-3 at SS Anderson Reserve last Friday night. Substitute Leigh Minopoulos won the game with strikes in the 80th and 83rd minutes. Green Gully won its opening round match 4-0 against Werribee City at Green Gully Reserve on Sunday 16 March before losing 1-0 against ten-man Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve last Saturday 29 March.

It will be interesting to see if Taylor changes his side on the weekend and gives starts to Minopoulos, James Musa, Kobbie Boahene or Andrew Mullett, all who started on the bench against Port Melbourne. Players to watch out for from Green Gully include the usual suspects in Jason Hayne, Osagie Ederaro, Matthew Sanders and the Vargas brothers (Andy and Roddy), with those players having given outstanding service to Gully over many seasons. Player-coach Jeffrey Fleming has also given fantastic service to Gully over many years and will no doubt have his side ready to give South another difficult matchon Saturday.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 3PM at Green Gully Reserve, with the NPL 20s kicking off at 1PM.

Last time we met – 2013 Elimination Final

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC staged a remarkable fight-back to defeat Port Melbourne 2-3 at SS Anderson Reserve on Friday night. Substitute Leigh Minopoulos won the match for the away side, coming off the bench and scoring a double to secure the three points for the Blues.

The opening quarter of an hour of the match was all South, with the away side dominating possession and putting plenty of pressure on Port Melbourne’s defence. The opening goal arrived on 13 minutes, when Nick Epifano’s flick put Brad Norton through on the left side and his low cross was bundled into the net by Chris Grossman for an own goal. Shortly after, the post saved Port Melbourne from going 0-2 down as goalkeeper Alex Connell was beaten from a shot in the area. Port had been on the back foot during the opening 15-20 minutes but slowly began to work their way back into the contest and would have equalised had Jason Saldaris not made a fine one-on-one save. Eric Vassiliadis’ side eventually found the leveling goal seven minutes from halftime when Kevin Braniff found himself unmarked at the back post and headed the ball across Saldaris’ goal and into the far corner of the net.

The home side started the second half much better than South and deservedly went 2-1 ahead on 55 minutes. South Captain Michael Eagar couldn’t clear the danger properly and the ball was eventually played across to Kamal Ibrahim for the former South player to shoot low across Saldaris and into the back of the net. Port was now clearly on top of a rattled South, with Braniff especially having a very solid game and looking dangerous every time he had the ball. South Coach Chris Taylor reacted just after the hour mark by withdrawing Mathew Theodore and Epifano and replacing them with youngsters Kobbie Boahene and Minopoulos. The move paid off as both players drove South forward quickly, with Minopoulos not afraid to shoot at any opportunity.

With ten minutes remaining, Port’s players clearly began to tire and that was when South took their opportunities to score, though not without a massive slice of luck. Minopoulos leveled the scores at 2-2 on 80 minutes when he gained possession on the left side and cut in before firing a shot that took a big deflection and looped over a helpless Alex Connell and into the back of the net. The winner came three minutes later, when Minopoulos again cut in from the left side and side-stepped a defender before coolly slotting the ball past Connell to send the South fans behind that goal into a frenzy.

Post-match, Taylor was delighted with the result but noted that his side had been sloppy during the match. “We started very well…I wasn’t happy with the two soft goals we conceded but we did well to come back and win the game.” When asked about what he expected to get out of the next two matches (tough away trips to Green Gully and Hume City), Taylor matter-of-factly replied “six points.”

The NPL 20s match was also a high scoring affair, with Port Melbourne coming from 1-2 down in the final ten minutes to defeat South Melbourne 4-3. Stefan Zinni scored a double for South and Josh Markovski scored the other goal for the away side.

Next Saturday afternoon, South travel to Green Gully Reserve to take on Green Gully. Kick-off is at 3PM.

FINAL SCORE: PORT MELBOURNE 2-3 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Chris Grossman Own Goal (13′)
1-1: Kevin Braniff (38′)
2-1: Kamal Ibrahim (55′)
2-2: Leigh Minopoulos (80′)
2-3: Leigh Minopoulos (83′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: PMSC (8) – SMFC (13)
Saves: PMSC (4) – SMFC (4)
Corners: PMSC (2) – SMFC (12)
Balls into final third: PMSC (21) – SMFC (47)
Clearances: PMSC (21) – SMFC (12)

Port Melbourne:
21. Alex CONNELL (GK), 3. James RICCOBENE, 4. John LAZARIDIS (2. Andrew VIOLA 81’), 5. Nick TZOULIS, 6. Chris GROSSMAN, 7. Amadu KOROMA, 9. Kevin BRANIFF, 10. Luka PRELEVIC (12. Konstantinos STOUMPOS 70’), 14. Kamal IBRAHIM, 18. Joshua KWEIFIO-OKAI (11. Nicholas KROUSOURATIS 64’), 27. Andrew MILICEVIC.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR, 6. Dimi TSIARAS (14. James MUSA 74’), 7. Nick EPIFANO (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 64’), 8. Mathew THEODORE (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 64’), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 17. Jamie REED.

SMFC Man of the Match: Leigh Minopoulos
Venue: SS Anderson Reserve
Date: Friday 28 March 2014

South Melbourne FC is excited to advise that McClure’s Office Supplies will join its portfolio of Principal Partners for the 2014 National Premier League Victoria season.

McClure’s Office Supplies is an Australian-owned company of stationery and office supply products based in Fairfield. As one of Australia’s largest business-to-business office suppliers, McClure’s Office Supplies stores cater for a broad range of customers including small to medium enterprises, educational institutions and personal customers. McClure’s Office Supplies stocks an extensive range of stationery, technology and furniture, in addition to complete office solutions such as canteen, janitorial and printing services.

McClure’s Office Supplies will be South Melbourne’s exclusive stationery and printing partner for the new season.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Corporate Sales Director Nicholas Maikousis said “McClure’s Office Supplies joins a growing list of principal partners who have joined South this season. This is a result of the hard work the Sales Team has put in to expand the Club’s corporate base. We look forward to forging a long-term partnership with McClure’s Office Supplies”.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC returns to National Premier League action on Friday night when it travels to SS Anderson Reserve to play Port Melbourne in a local derby.

South will go into the game in winning form, having opened its NPL season with a 3-0 victory over Heidelberg United on 13 March before backing that up with a 1-0 victory against Sunshine George Cross in the Fourth Round of the Dockerty Cup on 22 March. With two wins and two clean sheets to start 2014, Coach Chris Taylor will be expecting that the good form continues on Friday night. Port Melbourne goes into the game having drawn 2-2 with Dandenong Thunder in the League on 14 March before losing 0-3 against Northcote City on 22 March to bow out of Cup contention in 2014.

The away side will go into the game as the favourites, however what should not be taken lightly is the fact that Port Melbourne has enjoyed an excellent head-to-head record against South across all competitions. In the four games played between the two sides, Port Melbourne has won three, with South winning only once. As a State League One side, Port Melbourne knocked South out of the Dockerty Cup in both 2011 and 2012, both times in the Fifth Round and both times by the same score (2-1). In its first season back in the Victorian Premier League in 2013, Port defeated South 0-1 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 30 June. South finally defeated Port Melbourne when it won 0-4 at SS Anderson Reserve on the final day of the season on Sunday 22 September, with the win guaranteeing South a spot in the 2013 finals series at Port’s expense.

The players to watch out for in Eric Vassiliadis’ side are former South player Kamal Ibrahim and Lambros Honos, with Honos being the player that scored Port’s winning goal against South at Lakeside Stadium last season. Other key players include Nick Tzoulis (formerly of Northcote City), James and Phillip Riccobene (with James being a former South player) and vice captain Chris Grossman. For South, there are no major injury concerns and it is expected that Taylor has a full squad to choose from. It will be interesting to see who lines up in defence for South on Friday, as Brad Norton (left back) and Dimi Tsiaras (centre-back) started against Heidelberg in the League before being replaced by Andrew Mullett (left back) and James Musa (centre-back) in the starting line-up for the George Cross Cup match. Up front, it is expected that Jamie Reed will start alongside centre-forward Milos Lujic, who came on as a substitute in the Cup last weekend.

Friday night’s match kicks off at 8:30PM at SS Anderson Reserve.

Last time we met

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce A Cleaner World has joined its portfolio of new Principal Partners for the 2014 National Premier League Victoria season, with its logo proudly featuring on the left sleeve of the playing shirt.

A Cleaner World was established approximately twenty years ago, and operates nationwide. The organisation provides a complete cleaning service for all serviced industries on a scheduled basis. Furthermore, it also provides a complete property maintenance service, from domestic though to commercial properties, and also has clearly defined quality system to ISO 9001 and an experienced management team to ensure all customer expectations are met.

A Cleaner World provides services to a variety of customers. It originally commenced cleaning hotels and clubs and has branched out at a national level to many different segments including:

• Health and Aged Care
• Housekeeping – Four and Five Star hotels
• Hotels, Pubs, Restaurants and Clubs
• Property Industry
• Child Care Centres
• Event Management
• Shopping Centres

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said “we are excited to welcome A Cleaner World to the South Melbourne family. They are a large organisation that offers quite a broad suite of products and services to meet all requirements. I ask all South fans and members to get behind our sponsors”.

SMFC Corporate Sales Director Nicholas Maikousis told smfc.com.au “we are thrilled to be welcoming another new Principal Partner. Online Permit Solutions is a leading organisation in its field, and look forward to our partnership being a long one”.

• One invoice one point of contact
• Prompt response to all matters regarding POD’s, tracking goods, driver run sheets, pallet control, and invoice enquiries.
• Meeting delivery deadlines
• KPI reporting on request
• Well balanced solutions incorporating service and price.
• Regular meetings with carrier ensuring high level of service all the time.
• Various fixed pricing methods e.g. pallet rates, space rates, cents per kilo, half and full loads to all interstate capitals and regional areas.
• On-going invoice management to maintain and reduce weekly expenditure.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC defeated Sunshine George Cross 1-0 in their Fourth Round Dockerty Cup tie at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday to progress in the competition. The away side won through to the Fifth Round thanks to a Jamie Reed penalty, following a moment of madness by the Sunshine goalkeeper Robert Santilli that resulted in the spot kick being awarded.

South travelled to Chaplin Reserve to play a competitive match against George Cross for the first time since the two sides drew there 1-1 in the Victorian Premier League on Sunday 17 May 2009. George Cross were relegated in 2010 (they played South at Knights Stadium that year), were in State League 1 from 2011-2013 and are now in NPL 1. Despite currently being a division below South in League status, they had the home advantage in this Dockerty Cup tie and looked to frustrate South by scoring a quick goal on the break to progress at South’s expense.

Due to the poor condition of the Chaplin Reserve pitch, the match was largely uneventful. Defenders Andrew Mullett and James Musa both made their debuts for South by starting the match, whilst youngster Kobbie Boahene made his debut by coming off the bench late in the match. South put the ball in the back of the net in the first half however the goal was disallowed due to a foul committed in the build-up. Nick Epifano had the next best chance after making a dangerous run down the left side before cutting in and shooting but the shot was comfortably saved by Santilli in the George Cross goal.

In the second half, Taylor replaced Leigh Minopoulos with Milos Lujic, as South looked to add more of a physical presence up front. South should have scored following another wonderful run and cross down the left by Epifano but Mathew Theodore blasted the ball over Santilli’s crossbar. Substitute Brad Norton then gave the ball away cheaply to Sunshine and the home side had a great chance themselves to open the scoring but the eventual shot was dragged wide of Jason Saldaris’ goal without troubling the South goalkeeper. Santilli then made a smart save from a Lujic header following an excellent cross by Reed that found the centre-forward at the back post.

The match was decided in controversial and bizarre circumstances. Following an injury to one of their players, Sunshine kicked the ball out of play so the player could get treatment. Lujic handed possession back to George Cross by throwing the ball back to Santilli and then chased down his own throw-in, bringing back memories of Fernando De Moraes doing the same thing against the same opponent back in South’s 1-0 win at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday 15 August 2009. Santilli grabbed the ball before Lujic could get there and with the big centre-forward bearing down on him, Santilli lifted his elbow and appeared to strike Lujic in the face. The result was a yellow card to the custodian and a penalty to South that Reed tucked away by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. The home side had one more chance to take the game to extra time but Saldaris ensured that South held on for an extremely awkward win in a match that was far from a classic.

Post match, South defender Tim Mala summed it up by describing it as “one of those games where you just take the win and move on from it.” The FFV will hold the draw for the Fifth Round of the Dockerty Cup later this afternoon, with the matches to be played on Wednesday 7 May. South returns to League action this coming week with a trip to SS Anderson Reserve on Friday night to play Port Melbourne.

FINAL SCORE: SUNSHINE GEORGE CROSS 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-0)

Goal Scorer:
0-1: Jamie Reed (85’p)

Key Stats (courtesy of Steven Orchard):
Shots: George Cross (5) – SMFC (13)
Turnovers: George Cross (51) – SMFC (66)
Balls into Final Third: George Cross (23) – SMFC (43)
Clearances: George Cross (17) – SMFC (10)

South Melbourne FC Line-up:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 3. Andrew MULLETT (11. Brad NORTON 63’), 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 90’), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA, 17. Jamie REED, 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS (9. Milos LUJIC 63’)

SMFC Man of the Match: Tyson Holmes
Venue: Chaplin Reserve
Date: Saturday 22 March 2014

South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm the signing of Under 23 New Zealand International defender James Musa.

The 21 year old arrives at Lakeside Stadium having played for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League (2010-2011), Waitakere City (2011) and Team Wellington (2011-2012). Following a successful trial, Musa signed with English Premier League side Fulham in August 2012 but did not make a senior appearance with them, instead going to Conference side Hereford United on loan in 2013 before being released by Fulham midway through 2013.

Musa’s arrival at the Club is timely considering regular centre-half Shaun Kelly will most likely miss the entire season due to injury. Musa can play at left-back, centre-half or defensive midfield and will most likely be paired next to former Team Wellington team mate Michael Eagar at centre-half.

SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was delighted with the signing, adding that “it is quite a coup to secure the playing services of James given his experience playing in the A League and the United Kingdom. He will join what is looking like a formidable defence at South and look forward to him having a big season”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes James Musa to the Club and wishes him the best for the season.

Undoubtedly one of the highlights on South Melbourne’s event calendar is the fundraising Jersey Presentation Night. This year’s event is set for Friday 11th April at Beachcomber at the St Kilda Baths at 7pm. A two-course meal, with beer, wine, and soft drink will be provided.

The night is a spectacular way to kick start the year with all players, coaches and officials in attendance.

Principal Partner Beachcomber, located on Melbourne’s iconic St Kilda Beach, offers spectacular beach side views in a relaxed and informal setting.
The bidding will be frenzied, as all eyes will be on which South player records the largest bid in the annual player auction.

Sold out in 2013, this event is definitely not to be missed.

For further information about the 2014 SMFC Jersey Presentation Night, please check out the flyer below.

To reserve your spot, please contact SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis on 9645 9797.