Author: SMFC Media

Thursday, 18 July 2013 10:45 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signings of Jonathan Munoz and Luke Hopper.

Jonathan Munoz arrives at Lakeside Stadium from Germany and will provide some much-needed defensive cover. The 31 year old has had plenty of experience in the Victorian Premier League having played with clubs such as Preston, Hume City and Green Gully. He won the Victorian Premier League Championship with Preston in 2007 and was also part of Green Gully’s back-to-back Championship winning sides in 2010 and 2011.

Luke Hopper arrives from Dandenong Thunder and will link up with his former coach Chris Taylor as well as Iqi Jawadi, Tim Mala, Nick Epifano and Bryan Bran. The English centre-forward joined Dandenong at the start of this season from Hungerford Town Football Club in the United Kingdom. He caused South plenty of problems in the League meeting between the two sides on 27 April and scored Dandenong’s second goal of the afternoon as it thumped South 3-0 that day.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Jonathan Munoz and Luke Hopper to the Club and wishes them the best for the rest of the season.

Thursday, 18 July 2013 4:16 PM

South Melbourne FC hosts the Bentleigh Greens on Sunday afternoon in what is a huge game for the home side. Bentleigh is considered by many as the team to beat in 2013 along with Northcote City and South desperately needs a win to try and keep up with the top five. South has not won a Victorian Premier League match since defeating Oakleigh 2-1 at Lakeside Stadium on 26 May.

South goes into the game on the back of a disappointing 2-2 draw against Southern Stars at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday. Alan Kearney opened the scoring for the home side before two quick goals shortly before halftime put the Stars ahead. Substitute Andy Vlahos saved the day for South when he tapped home at the back post from Rhys Meredith’s cross to earn the home side a share of the points. Bentleigh goes into the game having drawn 0-0 against Dandenong Thunder at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex last Friday night. John Anastasiadis’ team had the better of the first half, however Dandenong dominated in the second half and in the end a draw was probably a fair result. Bentleigh’s only loss this season has been against South on 19 April thanks to Renco Van Eeken’s winning goal from a header on 82 minutes.

South’s defensive stocks will be significantly boosted following the signings of Bryan Bran (centre-half) and Tim Mala (right-back) during the week. In further good news, Shaun Kelly is in contention to return to the line-up this weekend following a hamstring injury sustained a few weeks ago. Mala’s arrival also gives Chris Taylor the option of pushing Dimi Hatzimouratis further up the park in a more attacking role that suits him. Youngster James Karvelis has impressed filling in for Dimi Tsiaras and Kelly at centre-half during the past few matches and will also be in contention for a place in the team on Sunday.

In the corresponding fixture played at Lakeside Stadium last season on Sunday 9 September 2012, a heartbreaking 92nd minute goal from Scott Bulloch cancelled out Andy Vlahos’ 78th minute header in a game that South had to win to keep its finals chances alive.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 3PM at Lakeside Stadium.

Last time we met

Thursday, 18 July 2013 10:49 AM

South Melbourne FC, Preston Lions FC, and Football Federation Victoria wish to advise that the State Knockout Cup quarterfinal match between both clubs is to be played on Tuesday 23rd July at Lakeside Stadium. Kick off is set for 7.30pm.

This match will be held according to a pre-purchased ticketing arrangement in that tickets will ONLY be made available for purchase by members of both clubs on pre-arranged days. Please note that no tickets will be sold on match day.

South Melbourne FC members will gain FREE entry to the quarterfinal match. Their free ticket can be collected at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 21st July when South Melbourne take on the Bentleigh Greens. South Melbourne members will simply show their membership card to receive their free entry ticket at a tent located near the Gate 2 entry. Furthermore, South Melbourne FC members are advised that they will only be able to collect a ticket to the quarterfinal match on Sunday 21st July.

Preston Lions FC members will be able to purchase tickets at BT Connor Reserve on on allocated dates. It is recommended that Preston members contact Preston Lions FC to confirm dates to purchase their tickets.

On match day, both South Melbourne and Preston Lions members must show their entry tickets and membership cards to gain entry.

Tuesday, 16 July 2013 11:22 AM

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that Marinos Gasparis and Phil Petreski have departed the Club.

Marinos Gasparis joined South Melbourne in 2010 and was at the Club for three and a half seasons. He played 68 Victorian Premier League matches and scored eight goals. He also featured in four FFV State Knockout Cup games as well as four Singapore Cup matches, giving him an overall record of 76 games and eight goals for the Club. After being advised by Head Coach Chris Taylor that he could not be guaranteed first team football for the rest of the season, Gasparis decided to join league leaders Northcote City.

Phil Petreski was one of South’s Under-21s players elevated to senior football by former Head Coach Peter Tsolakis in 2012. He played 10 matches for the Club as well as one State Knockout Cup game. Phil is currently training with Melbourne Heart in the A League.

South Melbourne FC thanks both Marinos Gasparis and Phil Petreski for their services to the Club, and wishes them the very best in their future endeavours.

Monday, 15 July 2013 6:52 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signings of Bryan Bran and Tim Mala. Both players arrive at Lakeside Stadium from Dandenong Thunder and join Iqi Jawadi and Nick Epifano as players to join the Club from George Andrews Reserve during the transfer window.

Bryan Bran is a centre-back and arrives at an important time with South’s defensive stocks currently limited due to injuries. It is expected that he will line up alongside either Shaun Kelly (if he overcomes his hamstring injury) or James Karvelis at centre-back for the Bentleigh Greens game this Sunday. Bran was probably the man of the match earlier this season on 27 April when Dandenong defeated South 3-0 at George Andrews Reserve, winning everything in the air and causing the South defence plenty of problems from set pieces with his booming right-footed strikes.

Tim Mala will add some much-needed cover in the right-back position. Tom Matthews previously held the position before departing the Club and whilst Dimi Hatzimouratis has done a decent job at right-back this season, he adds more value to the side further up the park in an attacking role. Mala’s arrival at Lakeside Stadium allows Chris Taylor to use Hatzimouratis as another attacking option.

Both players were part of Taylor ’s Championship winning Dandenong side in 2012, playing in the 2-1 Grand Final win against the Oakleigh Cannons as well as the State Knockout Cup penalty shoot-out victory against Port Melbourne.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Bryan Bran and Tim Mala to the Club and wishes them the best for the remainder of the season.

Monday, 15 July 2013 1:25 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC battled for a disappointing 2-2 draw against bottom side Southern Stars at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a game that, in truth, the home side should consider itself lucky to take a point from. An early goal from Alan Kearney and a late goal from substitute Andy Vlahos gave South a share of the spoils against a very spirited Stars side.

South coach Chris Taylor gave debuts to mid-season signings Iqi Jawadi and Nick Epifano and gave Under-21s player Erdem Ozcagli a starting berth next to fellow youngster James Karvelis at centre-back. It was not an ideal centre-back pairing given the inexperience of the two players but injuries to Shaun Kelly and Dimi Tsiaras (both hamstrings) gave Taylor no choice. Trent Rixon was given a starting berth up front as Taylor gave him a chance to shine in front of the home crowd.

The home side took the lead after half an hour when Stars goalkeeper Abdul Koc decided to punch the ball away from danger instead of catching it following a Tyson Holmes cross into the area. With the goalkeeper off his line, Kearney delicately chipped the ball over him and into the back of the empty net to put South 1-0 up. Rixon then had two chances to bury the Stars but put one chance wide before Koc saved the other chance. This led to Rixon being substituted and replaced by Rhys Meredith. It was expected that South would go on and win the game comfortably but the Stars put that to bed in two minutes of madness for the home side shortly before halftime. Firstly Vincent Bontemps took on and beat Jawadi and Ozcagli on the left side before firing an unstoppable left-footed shot past Peter Gavalas in the South goal. Incredibly, the bottom-placed Stars then took the lead when Romanian debutant Cristian Cristea found himself unmarked in the box and fired home past Gavalas to stun the home players and crowd.

It was expected that the away side would put all eleven men behind the ball in the second half but to their credit the Southern Stars continued to attack the South defence. Only last ditch defending and some brilliant saves from Gavalas prevented South from going even further behind. Kalonzo Kabongo was presented with a tap-in but Dimi Hatzimouratis slid in at the last minute. Ali Hameed was then played through but blasted his shot over Gavalas’ crossbar. Hungarian debutant Jiri Kabele then cut the ball back for substitute Ali Turgut to be one-on-one with Gavalas but the South goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant save to deny him. Amongst all of this, Vlahos had come on as a 60th minute substitute and proved his worth when he was on hand at the back post to tap in Meredith’s low cross in the 72nd minute. South should have won the game in injury time when Koc didn’t properly deal with Vlahos’ cross but former South captain Rama Tavsancioglu saved the day for the Stars by clearing Meredith’s goal-bound shot off the line to ensure the away side shared the points with South.

Taylor was understandably disappointed post-game, noting that he was “not happy with how we played and not happy about the goals we conceded and the chances we missed…in the end it was probably a fair result but I can’t accept the two goals we conceded.”

The Under-21s got back into winning form with a solid 4-2 victory against the Stars. A hat trick from Baggio Yousif (39’, 45’ and 82’) and a goal from Anthony Giannopoulos (33’) won the game for the home side.

South has a big test next Sunday when it hosts the Bentleigh Greens at Lakeside Stadium. Kick-off is at 3PM.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-2 SOUTHERN STARS (HT: 1-2)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Alan Kearney (31′)
1-1: Vincent Bontemps (41′)
1-2: Cristian Cristea (43′)
2-2: Andy Vlahos (72′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: SMFC (19) – Stars (12)
Saves: SMFC (4) – Stars (8)
Balls into Area: SMFC (52) – Stars (23)
Turnovers: SMFC (72) – Stars (65)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 3. Erdem OZCAGLI, 5. Nick EPIFANO (14. Andy VLAHOS 60′), 9. Trent RIXON (12. Rhys MEREDITH 36′), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON (C), 13. Iqi JAWADI, 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 16 Alan KEARNEY , 17. Nick SOOLSMA, 22. James KARVELIS

Southern Stars:
Abdulkerim KOC (GK), Joshua BOWEN, Andrew VIOLA, Rama TAVSANCIOGLU, Vincent BONTEMPS, Nicholas MCKOY, Ryan HERVEL, Ali HAMEED (Jiri KABELE 68’), Tamas NAGY (Luke BURGESS 46’), Kalonzo KABONGO, Cristian CRISTEA (Ali TURGUT 46’)

SMFC Man of the Match: Peter Gavalas
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 14 July 2013

Friday, 12 July 2013 9:34 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC is seeking to end a run of three successive defeats when it hosts the Southern Stars at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It is a crucial match in South’s season, as a victory could see South end the round back in the top five, should other results go its way.

South goes into the match having lost 1-3 against Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday afternoon. Despite leveling thanks to Andy Vlahos’ wonder free kick on the half hour, South ran out of legs as Gully scored two second-half goals and cruised to victory. Shaun Kelly was already injured before the Gully match, meaning that Under-21s player James Karvellis (playing his first full game in the seniors) and Dimi Tsiaras made up a makeshift centre-half pairing. What made matters worse for new coach Chris Taylor was that Tsiaras sustained a hamstring injury after 70 minutes and had to be replaced by another Under-21s player in Erdem Ozcagli. The positive news is that both players – particularly Karvelis – impressed and may be used again by Taylor against Southern Stars.

More positive news was the mid-season transfer window signings of Nicholas Epifano and Iqi Jawadi from Dandenong Thunder during the week. It is unclear whether both players will be used in Sunday’s match but they will no doubt feature in the coming weeks. Taylor will be keen on all his players gelling together straight away against the Stars in a match that South simply must win considering it has not won a League match since defeating Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside Stadium on 26 May. With tough games against Bentleigh Greens and Dandenong Thunder to come, it is of upmost importance that South defeats the Stars on Sunday.

The Southern Stars have only picked up two points from their opening 12 matches this season and were comprehensively defeated 0-3 by South at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex earlier on in the season on 13 April. However the Stars will be boosted by the fact that they defeated South 0-2 in the corresponding match played between the two sides at Lakeside Stadium on 4 May 2012. On that occasion, goals in each half from Mark Leech and former South player Yanni Galanos undid a very disappointing South side. Former South captain Rama Tavsancioglu will feature on Sunday and will no doubt be keen to help his side win their first game of the season against one of his former clubs.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 3PM at Lakeside Stadium.

Last time we met

Monday, 8 July 2013 7:28 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Iqbal (Iqi) Jawadi (pictured) and Nicholas Epifano have joined the Club during the mid-season transfer window. Both players arrive from Dandenong Thunder and will renew acquaintances with their former coach Chris Taylor at Lakeside Stadium.

Iqi Jawadi arrives at the Club having played a large part of Dandenong Thunder’s treble-winning season in 2012. The central midfielder is known for his hard running and for his ability to win the ball and will be a welcome addition in the middle of the park. Perhaps more remarkable is his personal story, with the young man having been born and then fleeing war-torn Afghanistan (at four years of age) with his family to pursue a new life firstly in India and then Australia. His single mother and her five children struggled with living in New Delhi before eventually finding themselves in Melbourne . Ironically, Jawadi never really played football until arriving in Australia but once he started he was given a chance by Taylor firstly in the Victorian state team and then finally at Dandenong Thunder. He played in all 25 League games for Dandenong Thunder last season (scoring one goal) and also was part of the team that won the State Knockout Cup after defeating Port Melbourne 5-4 on penalties. He has played 11 matches this season.

Nicholas Epifano arrives at Lakeside Stadium having played nine matches with the Thunder this season, scoring one goal. He arrives with the reputation of being an attacking player who beats players on the flanks. Prior to playing for Dandenong this season, Epifano played with the Melbourne Heart in the National Youth League. In the match that South played against Dandenong at George Andrews Reserve earlier this season (27 April), Epifano was the player that got behind the South defence on the left side before firing in a low cross that resulted in Shaun Kelly’s own goal. That goal opened the scoring for the Thunder in a game they eventually won 3-0.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Iqi Jawadi and Nicholas Epifano to the Club and wishes them the best for the rest of this season.

Monday, 8 July 2013 7:11 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC suffered a third consecutive defeat when it was beaten 1-3 by Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Osagie Ederaro, Jason Hayne and Daniel Jones won the three points for the away side even though Andy Vlahos did equalise for South in the first half with a fantastic free kick.

The clash against Green Gully marked the first match for Chris Taylor as Head Coach since taking over late last week. Ironically, Taylor ’s final game in charge of the Thunder last weekend was a home game against Green Gully that Gully won 0-2. Taylor’s first match as South manager was always going to be difficult, as he only had one training session with the squad on the Friday night ahead of the match on Sunday.

To make matters worse for the home side, centre-half Shaun Kelly was missing after picking up a hamstring injury against Port Melbourne the week before. Dimi Hatzimouratis and Brad Norton (the captain against Green Gully) maintained their positions at right and left fullbacks respectively whilst youngster James Karvelis played his first full match for the Club, alongside Dimi Tsiaras at centre-half. Andy Vlahos was in the starting eleven for the first time this season, having come off the bench in every other match.

South began on a mission and should have opened the scoring in the first minute but for Gully goalkeeper Kieran Gonzalez making two excellent blocks to deny Vlahos and Marinos Gasparis. Green Gully – as it has typically done against South in the past – was always going to make South pay for not scoring early and they did so by taking the lead against the run of play after 15 minutes. Jason Hayne broke down the right hand side and crossed to an unmarked Ederaro at the back post to head past Peter Gavalas. South nearly responded shortly after when Daniel Jones slipped in the wet, allowing Nick Soolsma through one-on-one with Gonzalez, however Jones recovered well and saved the day for the away side by forcing Soolsma wide of the goal. Vlahos leveled the game for South on the half-hour after firing a vicious left-footed shot into the top left corner of Gonzalez’s goal from a free kick just outside the area. Vlahos then missed a great opportunity to put the home side into the lead but his header at the near post from Gasparis’ corner flew over the crossbar.

Hamid Basma replaced Brent Fisher at halftime and it was the former South player that played a key role in Green Gully’s second goal after putting Hayne through on goal to fire past Gavalas. This led to Taylor bringing on the experienced Fernando De Moraes to try and salvage something from the game. South suffered a further blow only minutes later when Tsiaras went down with a bad hamstring injury and had to be replaced by youngster Erdem Ozcagli, meaning that South’s two centre-backs were two Under-21s players. Another Under-21s player in Baggio Youssif replaced Vlahos as quite a youthful South side set about trying to salvage something from the match. However, Green Gully ended the contest with a third goal only a minute after Youssif’s introduction, when Jones out jumped his markers to head past Gavalas from a free kick from the right hand side.

Taylor was naturally disappointed post-match, adding that “we had plenty of chances but we didn’t put them away and you’re always going to get punished if you don’t put away your chances…the goals we conceded were quite sloppy defending.”

It was further bad news in the Under-21s as Green Gully defeated South 0-1.

South will look to turn its season around next weekend when it hosts bottom side Southern Stars next Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Stadium. Kick-off is at 3pm.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-3 GREEN GULLY (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Osagie Ederaro (15′)
1-1: Andy Vlahos (31′)
1-2: Jason Hayne (62′)
1-3: Daniel Jones (71′)

Key Stats (courtesy of Steven Orchard):
Shots: South Melbourne (14) – Green Gully (8)
Saves: South Melbourne (3) – Green Gully (6)
Balls in Area: South Melbourne (32) – Green Gully (24)
Shots Blocked: South Melbourne (4) – Green Gully (1)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 6. Dimi TSIARAS (5. Erdem OZCAGLI 67′), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON (C), 12. Rhys MEREDITH, 14. Andy VLAHOS (26. Baggio YOUSSIF 70′), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 16. Alan KEARNEY , 17. Nick SOOLSMA, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (8. Fernando DE MORAES 64′), 22. James KARVELIS

Green Gully:
1. Kieran GONZALEZ (GK), 2. Daniel JONES, 5. Roddy VARGAS, 7. Jeffrey FLEMING, 8. Jason HAYNE, 12. Matthew SANDERS, 13. Brent FISHER (15. Hamid BASMA 45′), 16. Sean HARDING, 17. Andy VARGAS, 20. Osagie EDERARO, 21. Brian VANEGA (6. Stephen DOWNES 61′)

SMFC Man of the Match: James Karvelis
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 7 July 2013

Friday, 5 July 2013 9:57 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC faces a big test this weekend when it hosts Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium. Sunday’s match will conclude what has been a remarkable week at the Club, after the 0-1 home loss against Port Melbourne last Sunday was followed by the resignation of coach Peter Tsolakis on Monday before Dandenong Thunder’s Chris Taylor was appointed as the new coach on Wednesday.

South endured a frustrating afternoon against Port Melbourne last Sunday, conceding a soft goal after only two minutes and then failing to score despite dominating the game and creating a number of decent chances. South has now played every Victorian Premier League side once and at the halfway point of the season has a record of five wins, two draws and four losses. The loss to Port has seen the Club slide from fourth to sixth place on the VPL ladder, giving Chris Taylor the difficult task of quickly building confidence and getting results in the next few rounds to start the second half of the season strongly. This will be made even harder due to the fact that centre-half Shaun Kelly will be missing for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, however this present an opportunity for youngsters Matko Budimir and James Karvelis to step up and fill the centre-half role alongside Dimi Tsiaras. The injured Renco Van Eeken is close to being made available for selection but may have to miss another week, whilst fellow Dutchman and new signing Nick Soolsma impressed against Port Melbourne and will be looking for further improvement this weekend.

Green Gully may be sitting in eighth spot on the VPL ladder but it is only five points behind South with a game in hand. Gully is known for starting the season slowly before having a strong second half of the season and storming into the finals and season 2013 has been no different. After picking up only five points from its opening seven matches, Gully has picked up seven points from its last three matches and should have won its last three games in a row had it not blown a 2-0 lead against Bentleigh to draw 2-2 on 22 June. Last Saturday evening, Gully enjoyed a 0-2 away victory against defending Champions Dandenong Thunder. Ironically, Chris Taylor will be coaching against Green Gully for the second consecutive weekend after overseeing Dandenong’s loss last Saturday. He will be hoping – as will South fans – that Gully does not get the same result at Lakeside Stadium this Sunday.

In the corresponding fixture last season played on Sunday 15 July 2012 at Lakeside Stadium, a goal in each half by Brian Vanega saw Green Gully defeat South 0-2. South opened its 2013 VPL campaign with a very solid 0-3 victory against Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve on 6 April and will be very happy if it wins by the same score line on Sunday.

Sunday’s match kicks off at Lakeside Stadium at 3PM.

Last time we met