Author: SMFC Media

Thursday, 4 July 2013 2:47 PM

In June 2012, South Melbourne FC endorsed the general principles and direction that football was taking under the FFA and FFV’s transition to the National Premier League structure. From the outset, however, the Club informed the FFV it would be proposing appropriate changes so that the model would appeal to most clubs.

Over the last twelve months, the Club has become increasingly concerned with the process and consultation undertaken by the FFV Board in order to galvanise and build momentum to successfully launch the new NPL structure in Victoria.

South Melbourne FC is disappointed that the FFV Board has not accepted many of FFV’s stakeholders’ recommendations for changes to the NPL-V model required to ensure the financial viability of the new league and to maximise the quality of the competition. None of the key recommendations proposed by the clubs have been accepted by the FFV Board.

One of the key concerns of the clubs which have either not submitted an EOI or have since indicated an intention to withdraw their EOI is the financial and operational structure of the clubs taking part in the proposed NPL-V and the proposed competition itself. The clubs have been vindicated in their concerns by the FFV Board announcement on Tuesday 2nd July to the participants which lodged an EOI that the Small Sided Football competition cannot be included in this state. This is in direct contrast to the NPL structures in New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. We are concerned that this decision by the FFV Board will now bring a further exodus of clubs which are not prepared to risk their club’s financial integrity and security.

As a result, we believe that Victoria will lose clubs with sound infrastructure and facilities, which will further weaken the proposed competition by further compromising its marketability, popularity, and resulting in restricted broadcasting and commercial opportunities, and more importantly diminishing the potential for a strong and competitive football league.

South Melbourne FC has worked long and hard to enthuse and encourage participants in Victoria to apply and enter the NPL-V as we felt that the major intended reforms would benefit football in our state. However, our Club is very disappointed and concerned with the apparent lack of understanding of the key concerns held by our club and other key FFV stakeholders.

Consequently, South Melbourne FC is now reviewing its position on its application to enter the NPL-V.

Wednesday, 3 July 2013 11:47 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Chris Taylor has been appointed as Head Coach for the next two seasons.

Chris Taylor joins the Club from the reigning Victorian Premier League Champions Dandenong Thunder. Taylor was in charge in 2012 as the Thunder completed a dominant season that saw it win the State Knockout Cup before securing the Minor Premiership and then defeating the Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 in the VPL Grand Final. Dandenong Thunder swept the end of season awards, with Taylor receiving the 2012 VPL Coach of the Year award.

Earlier in his coaching career, he led the Melbourne Knights to a VPL Grand Final appearance in 2008; however the Knights lost against the Altona Magic in a penalty shoot-out. To cap off what was a great year for the Knights, Taylor was recognised as the 2008 VPL Coach of the Year.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Director Nicholas Maikousis said “we are very excited to welcome Chris Taylor to South Melbourne FC. Through his recruiting and coaching, Dandenong Thunder swept all before them in 2012 and had a great season. We are confident that Chris will be just as successful here as he was at the Melbourne Knights and Dandenong Thunder.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Chris Taylor to the Club and wishes him all the very best for the season ahead.

Tuesday, 2 July 2013 2:26 PM

South Melbourne FC advises that Head Coach Peter Tsolakis has tendered his resignation.

Peter Tsolakis joined South Melbourne FC from Northcote City in 2012. In 33 Victorian Premier League matches he recorded 14 wins, 7 draws, and 12 defeats as Head Coach.

South Melbourne FC thanks Peter for his service and wishes him the very best in future endeavours.

Monday, 1 July 2013 11:10 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC suffered its first home loss in 2013 after being defeated 0-1 by Port Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Lambros Honos’ header after only two minutes proved to be the difference between the two sides, even though South enjoyed a wealth of possession and created several chances to level.

The match was only a couple of minutes old when Honos headed home from close range after what seemed to be a mix-up in the South defence. The goal sparked the home side into action and South should have leveled shortly after but Tyson Holmes somehow skied what should have been a back-post tap-in over Adam Hrehoresin’s crossbar. New signing Nick Soolsma looked impressive on debut but like the rest of his teammates struggled to get past the Port defence. Holmes again went close before the halftime break but fired a header over the crossbar.

The second half was all South in terms of possession and chances as Port happily sat back and soaked up the pressure. Despite enjoying an enormous amount of possession and despite goalkeeper Peter Gavalas effectively having nothing to do, South could not break through and level on the scoreboard. Captain Fernando De Moraes twice got close to leveling for South from two separate free kicks; the first one beat Hrehoresin but hit the inside of the post and stayed out, while Hrehoresin got down well on his left side to save the second free kick. In the end, Port held out for the away win. Port Melbourne has now won all three of its encounters against South (one in the League and two in the Cup in 2011 and 2012).

South coach Peter Tsolakis was disappointed post-game, noting that “we again created several chances but couldn’t finish them off… I thought we played well but at the end of the day the supporters want the three points and we weren’t able to do that.”

It was further bad news in the Under-21s, as an own goal gave Port Melbourne a 0-1 victory. Anthony Giannopoulos had a penalty saved in the final ten minutes of the match.

South faces another difficult task next Sunday afternoon when it hosts Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium. Kickoff is at 3pm.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 0-1 PORT MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorer:
0-1: Lambros Honos (2′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: South Melbourne (17) – Port Melbourne (6)
Saves: South Melbourne (3) – Port Melbourne (9)
Corners: South Melbourne (11) – Port Melbourne (2)
Shots Blocked: South Melbourne (10) – Port Melbourne (2)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 6. Dimi TSIARAS, 8. Fernando DE MORAES (C), 10. Tyson HOLMES (14. Andy VLAHOS 85′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH, 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 16. Alan KEARNEY , 17. Nick SOOLSMA, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (20. Andrew CARTANOS 70′), 19. Shaun KELLY (22. James KARVELIS 73′)

Port Melbourne : 1. Adam HREHORESIN, 2. Peter ROBERTS (6. Christopher GROSSMAN), 3. Martin MASON, 5. Felix ROSMAN, 7. Amadu KOROMA, 10. Graham HOCKLESS, 12. Phillip RICCOBENE, 18. James RICCOBENE, 19. Daniel VISEVIC, 26. Lambros HONOS, 32. Jake NAKIC (9. Luke BOWEN)

SMFC Man of the Match: Dimi Tsiaras
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 30 June 2013

Friday, 28 June 2013 11:19 AM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce Dutchman Nick Soolsma has been signed by the Club for the rest of the 2013 Victorian Premier League season. The 25 year old forward arrives at Lakeside Stadium after playing at Major League Soccer (MLS) side Toronto FC and most recently Eerste Divisie (Dutch second division) side Excelsior. His last match for Exelsior was only a few weeks ago, and has been quite sharp in training.

Soolsma began his career in the lower Dutch leagues and featured for FC Volendam, FC Haarlem, FC Chabab and VV Young Boys. In January 2011, Soolsma had a trial with Toronto FC and was signed by the Canadian side in March of that year. He made his debut on 19 March 2011 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first all-Canadian game in the MLS and he scored his first MLS goal from the penalty spot on 29 June 2011 against the same opponents. After leaving Toronto FC in July 2012, Soolsma returned to the Netherlands and signed with Excelsior for the 2012/13 Eerste Divisie season. Excelsior has had many notable players represent them, including Michel Bastos, Salomon Kalou, and Robin Van Persie.

South Melbourne FC General Manager Peter Kokotis speaking to smfc.com.au added that “we are excited to secure the playing services of a very talented individual who has played in the MLS against the likes of David Beckham and Thierry Henry. He will add another dimension to our attacking options and look forward to his creativity that will unlock opposition defences”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Nick Soolsma to the Club and wishes him the very best for the season.

Check out Nick Soolsma’s video below

Friday, 28 June 2013 9:00 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts Port Melbourne Sharks on Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Stadium in a match that the home side must win in order to keep up with the top three.

Following the thoroughly disappointing 3-0 loss to Northcote City last Sunday, South announced the departures of Luke Byles (captain), Tom Matthews (one of three vice captains), Rhodri Payne, Joe Keenan and Sebastian Mattei during the week ahead of the mid-season transfer window. Fellow vice captains Dimi Tsiaras and Fernando De Moraes will be required to step up and lead the side following the departures of Byles and Matthews. Tsiaras is expected to replace Byles by joining Shaun Kelly at centre-back this weekend whilst it is likely that Dimi Hatzimouratis will return to right-back – where he did an excellent job at the start of the season – following Matthews’ departure. There is also the possibility that youngster Matko Budimir may be given a chance in defence following his good performance against Northcote City in the Cup game on 10 June. Exciting Dutchman Nick Soolsma has been signed by the Club and will be in contention for a place in the starting eleven.

South currently sits in fourth place on the Victorian Premier League ladder with 17 points. Northcote are 11 points ahead of South (28 points), Hume City is four points ahead (21) and Bentleigh Greens are two points ahead (19). What is also a cause for concern is the fact that fifth-placed Melbourne Knights and sixth-placed Port Melbourne are both only two points behind South on 15 points each. South could end the weekend in outright third place or could drop out of the top five altogether. With a run of five straight League matches at Lakeside Stadium, it is a crucial part of the year that will really define South’s season. A tally of 10-12 points out of the next available 15 points at home would set South up nicely for a finals appearance, whilst 15 out of 15 would go a long way to securing a top three finish.

Port Melbourne will be looking to take advantage of South’s shot confidence on Sunday afternoon. Whilst Eric Vassiliadis’ side has never played South in the Victorian Premier League, they have played – and twice defeated – South in the State Knockout Cup in the last two years. On both occasions Port was a State League One side that was trailing 1-0 before winning both matches 2-1 and knocking an embarrassed South out of the competition. Having been promoted at the end of 2012 and sitting comfortably mid-table in 2013 as the season approaches the halfway mark, Port Melbourne will be a difficult opponent to overcome on Sunday.

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

Last time we met

Thursday, 27 June 2013 3:23 PM

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that it has released Luke Byles, Tom Matthews, Joe Keenan, Sebastian Mattei and Rhodri Payne ahead of the mid-season transfer period.

Luke Byles was elected captain for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season following the early retirement of Steven O’Dor. Byles arrived at Lakeside Stadium in late 2011 following a strong season at Heidelberg United earlier that year. Prior to that, Luke represented Southampton’s reserve side in the 2003/04 English Premier League season. The centre-half made 30 appearances for the Club.

Tom Matthews arrived at the Club during the 2011 mid-season transfer window, signing for Eddie Krncevic’s side from the Bentleigh Greens. Prior to playing for Bentleigh, he enjoyed stints at Boston United and Hull City Under 19s in the United Kingdom. Matthews made 33 appearances for South Melbourne and played mostly as a right-back. He scored one goal, that being in the final round of the 2012 Victorian Premier League season against Heidelberg United. He was appointed as one of three Vice Captains for 2013, alongside Dimi Tsiaras and Fernando De Moraes.

Joe Keenan joined South Melbourne in 2010. He began his professional career in the Chelsea Youth Academy and played two senior matches for the London side before unfortunately breaking his leg. He continued to play professionally with Brentford (England), Willem II Tillburg (Netherlands), Hibernian (Scotland), and also had stints at both Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United. He represented South Melbourne on 44 occasions and scored five goals. Unfortunately for Joe, he missed many matches due to injury.

Rhodri Payne was signed by Michael Michalakopoulos ahead of the 2009 VPL season and provided stability at left fullback for the Club. The New Zealander represented the Club on 73 occasions and scored two goals in the process. Unfortunately for Rhodri, he did not make a senior appearance for South Melbourne in 2013.

Sebastian Mattei joined South Melbourne this season as Peter Gavalas’ back-up goalkeeper and did not make an appearance for the senior side.

South Melbourne FC wishes Luke Byles, Tom Matthews, Joe Keenan, Rhodri Payne and Sebastian Mattei all the best in their future endeavours and thanks them for their time at the Club.

Tuesday, 25 June 2013 10:27 AM

South Melbourne FC was proud to provide assistance to a wonderful charity recently continuing its focus on community engagement and assisting those less fortunate.

Over the weekend, South Melbourne provided 100 soccer balls to the Footys4All Foundation through the great help of SMFC legend Jimmy Armstrong.

The Footys4All Foundation is a registered not for profit children’s sporting foundation, that supplies new sporting balls from all codes (footballs, basketballs, soccer balls etc.) to disadvantaged, underprivileged and socially displaced children from around Australia and the world, free of charge. The Foundation’s mission is to unite the world through the power of sport and physical activity. Many of the children who receive a ball have never had one, something most of us take for granted.Balls are distributed via existing registered community, sporting, educational and charity organisations.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Tom Kalas who helped facilitate the donation said “We at South Melbourne are extremely proud to be working with the Footys4All Foundation, and this kind of charity work highlights how football can make a difference and bring joy to so many people from less fortunate and underprivileged backgrounds. We have been working with a number of charities such as the Koala Kids Foundation and Challenge which both assist children with cancer. We want to teach our junior players more importantly that contributing to the community is an important life lesson that will hopefully become ingrained as they move into adulthood. All this is possible with the tremendous support we receive from Nissan Motors and Essendon Nissan who are our Principal Community Program Partner.”

For more information on the valuable work the Foundation does, please visit the website at www.footys4all.com.au

Monday, 24 June 2013 1:58 PM

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that it’s YouTube Channel that hosts SMFC TV online has just hit the 1 million view mark!

Since 2009, the club has been at the forefront of the digital space in Australian sport and has lead the way by being able to provide fans of both the club and the game with an innovative new way of keeping in touch with the club.

Multimedia and Marketing Manager George Kouroumalis was proud of the club’s achievement, stating that “it is very exciting and rewarding to see that the club has been successfully able implement a marketing and digital strategy that has assisted in transforming South Melbourne FC into a modern and vibrant club, as well as being able to showcase our great club right across the globe. Without the work of our fantastic volunteers and the support of the board and corporate partners, we would not have been able to achieve what we have so far.”

The club would also like to thank our producer Paul Zarogiannis, hosts David Henning and John Kyrou and cameraman Tim Dovas for all their great work on SMFC TV.

SMFC TV Online can be viewed by visiting www.smfc.tv, while the SMFC TV show can be seen every Wednesday night on Channel 31 at 6pm.

For suggestions regarding the show, please email George Kouroumalis at multimedia@smfc.com.au.

Monday, 24 June 2013 12:45 PM

By John Kyrou

Northcote City showed why they were the team to beat in 2013 after defeating a very disappointing South Melbourne FC 3-0 at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon. Milos Lujic opened the scoring in the first half and Kristian Konstantinidis’ header doubled Northcote’s lead after the break before Michael Catalano’s wonder strike confirmed a horror afternoon for the away side.

South started the match brightly and came close to scoring when Rhys Meredith just failed to reach Tyson Holmes’ low cross to the back post. Northcote then had two chances to score, firstly when Peter Gavalas made an excellent save from a Konstantinidis header and secondly when James Kalifatidis got past the South defence before hitting the post. The home side didn’t have to wait much longer to open the scoring however, as Lujic got onto the end of a long ball and slotted past Gavalas. In a further blow to South, the away side had to make two substitutions as Meredith and Joe Keenan both hobbled off injured. Centre-half Shaun Kelly tried an overhead kick to beat Northcote goalkeeper Chris Petropoulos but Michael Eager cleared the ball off the line as Northcote went into the break a goal ahead.

The home side killed off any chance of a South Melbourne comeback with two quick goals in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half. Alex Rojas’ in-swinging corner was powerfully headed home by Konstantinidis before the substitute Catalano scored the goal of the match, unleashing a strike from outside the area that gave Gavalas no chance of stopping. The second half was a complete disaster as South failed to string basic passes together, whilst Northcote were always first to the loose ball and were able to break quickly to put the South defence under constant pressure. The two shining lights for South were Andrew Cartanos and Fernando De Moraes, both substitutes, who managed to get in behind the Northcote defence a few times as the game went on. Gavalas was also solid and had he not made some important stops, the score line could have been even worse.

South coach Peter Tsolakis was extremely disappointed post-match, noting that “we just did not show up today and couldn’t execute the simple stuff. We had 71 turnovers… it is a completely unacceptable performance for a South Melbourne side and we just need to put this behind us and focus on Port Melbourne this coming Sunday.”

South now has five home matches in a row in the Victorian Premier League, starting with Port Melbourne next Sunday 30 June at 3pm.

In the Under-21s, Northcote City and South Melbourne FC played out a 0-0 draw.

FINAL SCORE: NORTHCOTE CITY 3-0 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Milos Lujic (27′)
2-0: Kristian Konstantinidis (56′)
3-0: Michael Catalano (59′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard)
Shots: Northcote 14 – South Melbourne 11
Turnovers: Northcote 48 – South Melbourne 71
Clearances: Northcote 12 – South Melbourne 3
Shots Blocked: Northcote 1 – South Melbourne 5

Northcote City :
Chris PETROPOULOS (GK), Nick TZOULIS (Steven SIFINOS 68′), Rashid MAHAZI (Michael CATALANO 39′), Dean PIEMONTE (Nick TEREZAKIS 79′), Bonel OBRADOVIC, Michael EAGER, James KALIFATIDIS, Adrian CHIAPPETTA, Alex ROJAS, Kristian KONSTANTINIDIS, Milos LUJIC

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 2. Tom MATTHEWS, 7. Joe KEENAN (20. Andrew CARTANOS 35′), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH (14. Andy VLAHOS 33′), 13. Luke BYLES (C), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 16. Alan KEARNEY , 18. Marinos GASPARIS (8. Fernando DE MORAES 70′), 19. Shaun KELLY

SMFC Man of the Match: Andrew Cartanos
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 23 June 2013