Author: SMFC Media

Sunday, 7 April 2013 9:16 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC opened the 2013 Victorian Premier League season in style with a professional 0-3 victory against Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday afternoon. A first-half header from Brad Norton and second-half goals from Marinos Gasparis and Renco Van Eeken sealed the three points for South, who won at Green Gully for the first time in almost 27 years.

It was well documented that South had not won at Green Gully since 8 September 1986. In fairness, the sides did not meet each other for many years between 1986 and 2005 as South remained in the National Soccer League whilst Green Gully returned to the Victorian Premier League. Regardless, South had not been victorious at Green Gully Reserve for nearly 27 years and since returning to the Premier League in 2005 the Blues had failed to win in nine attempts (including a penalty shoot-out loss in the 2005 finals series).

South were dealt with a major blow going into the match, with the news that right-back Tom Matthews had broken his arm during the week and would be missing for 4-5 weeks. This was on top of Carl Recchia’s season-ending knee injury and Dimi Tsiaras already missing for the Gully match through suspension. Coach Peter Tsolakis made a bold move in putting a forward player in Dimi Hatzimouratis into Matthews’ right-back role. Van Eeken, Alan Kearney, Tyson Holmes and Rhys Meredith all made their debuts for South, whilst Luke Byles captained the side for the first time following Steven O’Dor’s retirement at the end of the 2012 season.

The away side began the match strongly, applying plenty of pressure on Gully’s defence. After half an hour South were awarded a penalty when Gully keeper Kieran Gonzalez was judged to have brought down Van Eeken as he challenged for a header. The penalty seemed unfortunate against Gonzalez, however the goalkeeper stood tall and saved Van Eeken’s spot kick to keep the scores at 0-0. The opening goal arrived only five minutes later, when Kearney’s cross from the left side was headed home by Norton. Gully almost equalised before the break but a header from a corner kick was put wide of Peter Gavalas’ goal.

The home side were more lively in the second half but the South defence comfortably dealt with any dangerous crosses into the box by Andy Vargas and continued to assert their authority on the match. The three points were sealed just before the hour mark, when Van Eeken provided a defence-splitting through-ball for Gasparis to run onto before chipping the advancing Gonzalez for South’s second goal of the afternoon. Van Eeken turned from provider to scorer when he latched onto a through-ball from Meredith and put the ball past Gonzalez and into the back of the net for a goal on his debut. South could have had even more goals but in the end were more than happy to settle for three goals, a clean sheet, three points and a near 27 year long hoodoo finally broken.

In the Under-21s match played prior to the Seniors, a Baggio Yousif goal was not enough as Green Gully scored two late goals to defeat South 2-1.

South’s next match is away against the Southern Stars at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex next Saturday 13 April at 6:00PM.

FINAL SCORE: GREEN GULLY 0-3 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Brad Norton (35′)
0-2: Marinos Gasparis (57′)
0-3: Renco Van Eeken (80′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Total shots: Green Gully (5) – South Melbourne (20) 
Shots on target: Green Gully (1) – South Melbourne (8)
Corners: Green Gully (5) – South Melbourne (8)
Saves made: Green Gully (5) – South Melbourne (1)

Green Gully:
Kieran GONZALEZ (GK), Daniel JONES, Mitchell BISSINGER, Stephen DOWNES, Jason HAYNE (Michael ANDERSON 65′), Tom CAHILL, Matthew SANDERS (Osagie EDERARO 78′), Sean HARDING (Christopher DIB 90+1′), Andy VARGAS, Brian VANEGA, Scott MUIRHEAD

South Melbourne FC:
01. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 07. Joe KEENAN (05. Phil PETRESKI 83′), 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH (14. Andy VLAHOS 85′), 13. Luke BYLES (C), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 16. Alan KEARNEY, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (20. Andrew CARTANOS 77′), 19. Shaun KELLY, 23. Renco VAN EEKEN

SMFC Man of the Match: Alan Kearney
Venue: Green Gully Reserve
Date: Saturday 6 April 2013

Friday, 5 April 2013 11:38 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC opens the 2013 Victorian Premier League season on Saturday when Peter Tsolakis’ side travel to Green Gully Reserve to play Green Gully. South will be attempting to break a 27 year hoodoo at the ground, having not won there since 1986.

South heads into the match on the back of positive pre-season friendly results, with victories against Port Melbourne, Heidelberg United, Altona Magic and Northcote City in recent weeks. The side also finished the 2012 Premier League season strongly and are now undefeated in three League matches.

Coach Peter Tsolakis has kept the majority of his squad from last season, with the departures being Kyle Joryeff (released during last season), Gianni De Nittis (released during last season), Jason Trifiro (Western Sydney), Glen Trifiro (Sydney United), Jason Saldaris (returned to Perth) and Steve Burton (returned to Perth). Former Captain Steven O’Dor retired from football due to professional work commitments and has been replaced by Luke Byles as Captain. New additions to the squad for 2013 are Queenslanders Rhys Meredith and Tyson Holmes, Alan Kearney (Southern Stars), Carl Recchia (Moreland Zebras), Renco Van Eeken ( Netherlands ) and Sebastian Mattei (Melbourne Heart Youth). Furthermore, a number of players have been promoted from the Under 21 side to the Senior Team, those being Andrew Cartanos, Phil Petreski, James Karvelis, Baggio Yousif, Matko Budimir and Anthony Giannopoulos.

It is well documented that one of South’s bogey grounds is Green Gully Reserve, a venue that South have not experienced a victory in since 8 September 1986. On that day, goals from Bobby Russell and Manny Anezakis gave South a 0-2 victory. South has not defeated Green Gully at that venue since returning to the Victorian Premier League in 2005. In fact South has only managed two points from a possible 24 and this does not even include the penalty shoot-out loss against Gully in the Major Semi Final in 2005. In further bad news, South has only scored five times at Green Gully Reserve since that win in 1986. In the corresponding fixture last season on Saturday 14 April 2012, South took an early lead via an own goal before Gully overpowered South for a 3-1 victory.

South Melbourne will be without the services of Carl Recchia who will be missing for the entire year after a bad knee injury sustained during pre-season. Dimi Tsiaras is also suspended following his red card against Bentleigh Greens in the second-last round last season. Kearney will most likely be deployed as a makeshift defensive midfielder in Tsiaras’ absence. Apart from those two, Tsolakis has a full squad to choose from going into the match. A positive that South can take into the game is the fact that Gully traditionally start the Victorian Premier League season slowly before asserting their authority later in the year; Saturday could be the ideal opportunity to take advantage of this and at the same time break the hoodoo. Another positive is that Roddy Vargas – a player that always plays so well against South for Gully – is suspended for this weekend’s match.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 3:00PM at Green Gully Reserve.

SMFC TV – LAST TIME WE MET

Friday, 5 April 2013 10:50 AM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Luke Byles has been appointed as Captain for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season. Byles replaces the recently retired Steven O’Dor, who held the captaincy from 2011. Head Coach Peter Tsolakis has elected to have three vice-captains, with Dimi Tsiaras, Fernando De Moraes and Tom Matthews all deputies under Byles.

Luke Byles arrived at Lakeside Stadium in late 2011 following a strong season at Heidelberg United that year. Prior to that he had played at Southampton ’s reserve side in the 2003/04 English Premier League season. The centre-half made 20 appearances for South Melbourne in all competitions in 2012 and impressed all with his strong aerial presence and hard tackling game. In addition, he has proven to be a real character in the locker room and was one of the people behind the recent SMFC Harlem Shake video that went viral online and recorded close to 220,000 views on YouTube.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Tsolakis added that “Luke Byles was a natural choice for the captaincy role for his natural leadership qualities. I would like to congratulate Luke on his appointment as captain, and joins the list of famous players who have captained our great club such as Paul Trimboli and Ange Postecolglou”.

South Melbourne FC congratulates Luke Byles on his appointment as Captain and wishes him and his three deputies the best for the upcoming season. South’s first 2013 Victorian Premier League match is against Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday 6th April.

Thursday, 4 April 2013 10:33 AM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Star21 is our Major Partner again for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season.

This will mark the third year running that Star21 has been the Club’s major sponsor. Star21 is well known for supporting many elite and community based sporting clubs in Victoria. Star21 is one of Telstra’s largest national business and corporate partners having won ‘Telstra Business Dealer of the Year’ award for the last three years in a row. Not only did Star21 win this award for the third year in a row in 2012, but it was also acknowledged by Telstra for being in the top 3 of both the ‘Telstra Enterprise Partner of the Year’ and ‘National Business Dealer of the Year’ awards.

Star21 specialise in all facets of telecommunications and help businesses integrate their voice, data, internet and mobile requirements. We encourage all of our Corporate partners to get on board with Star21 with their telecommunications services and receive a customised offering and superior customer service. Earlier this month, Star21 launched its new Business Solutions Centre in Abbotsford. To mark the launch, SEN Radio broadcasted live from the new centre with a number of sporting identities in attendance.

Furthermore, Star21’s sponsorship extends to the Youth Development Program. The Star21 logo will proudly feature on the back of the playing shirt for all junior sides. This additional investment will directly support the development of our talented junior players.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said, “we are both delighted and excited to renew our existing major partnership with Star21 for the third year running, and ask all South fans and members to contact Star21 for all their business telecommunications requirements. We hope that this long-standing relationship between both organisations will continue for many years to come”. For more information on Star21 please visit www.star21.com.au or 1300 782 721

Message from Bill Asimakidis of Star 21

Wednesday, 3 April 2013 10:57 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce their squad for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season.

The team is brimming with a combination of youthful exuberance, talent and experience.

A number of core players have been retained in addition to being reinforced with a number of talented and experienced players. South Melbourne entered the transfer market signing a number of talented individuals to strengthen the side across the park. New signings for South included exciting Queenslanders Tyson Holmes and Rhys Meredith, Alan Kearney from Southern Stars, the return of Carl Recchia from Moreland Zebras, Dutchamn Renco Van Eeken, and Melbourne Heart Youth goalkeeper Sebastian Mattei.

Furthermore, a number of players were promoted from the Under21 side to the Senior Team. These players included Andrew Cartanos, Phil Petreski, James Karvelis, Baggio Yousif, Matko Budimir, and Anthony Giannopoulos.

Departing from the squad from last year included Jason Triffiro (Western Sydney Wanderers), Glen Trifiro (Sydney United 58), Jason Saldaris (returned to Perth), Steve Burton (returned to Perth), Kyle Joryeff (released), and Steven O’Dor (retired).

SMFC President Leo Athanasakis speaking to smfc.com.au said ‘there has been a great of hard work gone into recruiting and preparing a team that the South faithful can be proud of this season. There are some young exciting prospects which are set to make their mark throughout the year. I would like to thank the Football Department for their hard work over the summer in recruiting and managing the requirements of the Senior squad. I urge the fan to get behind the playing squad and support the players throughout the season”.

2013 SMFC Playing Squad

1. Peter Gavalas
Goalkeeper

2. Tom Matthews
Defender

3. Rhodri Payne
Defender

5. Phil Petreski
Midfielder

6. Dimitri Tsiaras
Midfielder

7. Joe Keenan
Midfielder

8. Fernando De Moraes
Midfielder

9. Trent Rixon
Forward

10. Tyson Holmes
Midfielder

11. Brad Norton
Defender

12. Rhys Meredith
Forward

13. Luke Byles
Defender

14. Andy Vlahos
Forward

15. Dimitri Hatzimouratis
Forward

16. Alan Kearney
Midfielder

17. Carl Recchia
Midfielder

18. Marinos Gasparis
Midfielder

19. Shaun Kelly
Defender

20. Andrew Cartanos
Midfielder

21. Sebastian Mattei
Goalkeeper

22. James Karvelis
Defender

23. Renco Van Eeeken
Forward

24. Nick Jacobs
Midfielder

25. Matko Budimir
Defender

26. Baggio Yousif
Forward

32. Anthony Giannopoulos
Midfielder

Coaching Staff

Peter Tsolakis
Senior Coach

Robert Graskoski
Assistant Coach

Frank Piccione
Team Manager

Wednesday, 3 April 2013 10:41 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Holmesglen TAFE will be a new Principal Partner for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season, with its logo proudly adorning the left sleeve of the playing shirt.

Holmesglen remains a leader in vocational and higher education, and one of the largest providers of TAFE in Victoria. Since 1982, Holmesglen has grown from a delivery of 90 programs to 7,000 students, to a unique multi sectoral provider offering over 600 programs to more than 50,000 students. Holmesglen delivers internationally and nationally across four major campuses: Chadstone, City, Moorabbin and Waverley.

Holmesglen’s programs are highly regarded within industry and include:

– degree and graduate certificate courses
– apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships in engineering, hospitality, horticulture, furnishing and building and construction trades
– over 200 nationally endorsed certificates, diplomas and advanced diplomas
– pathways to Holmesglen degrees or other higher education streams
– adult short courses
– bridging and preparatory courses and adult VCE
– language programs
– trade accreditation and testing
– corporate and industry programs.

Holmesglen works closely with many organisations, whose involvement assists with the provision of industry relevant training and education programs. A few of these organisations include: Fuji Xerox (Aust) Pty Ltd, Cisco Systems, Austral Bricks, and the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said “we are quite excited to welcome Holmesglen TAFE as the club’s latest Principal Partner. We look forward to working closely with Holmesglen TAFE where both organisations can unlock maximum value from the partnership”.

Tuesday, 2 April 2013 10:51 AM

Click here to view more photos from the day

South Melbourne FC swept all before it in dominating fashion at the 2013 Hellenic Junior Cup over the weekend as each junior team won its respective finals. After 4 weekends of competition, 7 SMFC teams made the finals.

The morning started with a convincing win by the U9 Joey’s side over Northcote City and the success continued throughout the day with each of the 7 teams winning every final they were in..

SMFC President Leo Athanasakis speaking to smfc.com.au said “I was there from 8.30am in the morning supporting our young stars and am extremely proud of every players’ effort. It is no coincidence that each team was successful on the day, and it is testament to the hard work that the Coaching Staff and players have put in. We are very pleased with the progress of our Youth Development Program. The season starts in 2 weeks and we have decided to push most of our Junior teams up one age group. All in readiness for the National Premier League in 2014”.

Below are all the results of the weekend’s finals:
Under 9 SMFC Joeys vs. Northcote City 3-1
Under 9 SMFC Kangas vs. Port Melbourne 9-1
Under 10s SMFC Kangas vs.Under 10s SMFC Wallabies 3-1
under 11s SMFC vs. Northcote City 12-1
under 13s SMFC vs. Box Hill 3-0
under 17s SMFC vs. Maningham 2-0
under 18s SMFC vs. Northcote City 3-1

Tuesday, 2 April 2013 10:43 AM

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the return of the 2013 SMFC Victorian Premier League Tipping Competition. There are some great prizes up for grabs, with first prize being a signed SMFC replica shirt signed by the 2013 SMFC squad.

Prizes for the top three lucky winners include:

First Prize:
Replica playing shirt signed by the 2013 SMFC Senior Squad

Second Prize:
SMFC soccer ball signed by the 2013 SMFC Senior Squad

Third Prize:
$50 Gift Voucher for the SMFC Merchandise Store

Its easy to enter, and lots of fun. In each round you will tip for a home win, draw, or away win. You will get 1 point for a correct win or 1 point for a correct draw. The current round will close 1 hour before the first game of each round is to be played. If you forget to submit your tips in for a round, you will get the lowest score of the round minus 1 point. If you start late, you will be allocated the average points of the competition.

To enter the tipping competition, please go to http://tipping.smfc.com.au/

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the signing of Matko Budimir for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season.

The 19 year old defender is someone who should be quite familiar to South fans, with Budimir playing four matches for the club after being promoted on occasions to the senior squad from the Under 21 side.

The youngster arrived at South as a 15 year old from Hoppers Crossing and through his time with the club he has played a leading role through the Under 16, 18 and most recently Under 21 sides, where he captured the Best and Fairest Award for his efforts on the park on multiple occasions throughout that period. He also formed a key part in the back to back Under 21 Championship teams of 2010 and 2011.

Matko will provide the club with a hard working and very committed defender and is seen to be a replacement for retiring captain Steven O’Dor in the senior squad.

We wish Matko all the best for the 2013 season and beyond.

Tuesday, 26 March 2013 10:38 AM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce the renewal of its partnership with AIS Insurance, with its logo proudly featuring on the front of the playing shorts for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season.

The company was founded in October 1990 by Brendon Davis as a one-person business specialising in insuring all forms of business and commercial risks. AIS initially operated from leased premises in Burwood, and in June 1991, AIS moved to South Melbourne where it has been based ever since. The organisation has steadily grown to become the leading autonomous Victorian based Insurance Broker. Clients work closely with AIS Insurance Brokers, knowing they receive superior advice and that they will recommend the insurance program and insurer that provide the best protection for their business rather than an insurer or option which offers an incentive to AIS.

AIS negotiate specific corporate and commercial insurance placement for clients in a variety of industry classifications and also niche products developed for special client groups. AIS have several specialist teams including: Property & Construction Team, Professional Indemnity & Directors Liability, Workers Compensation and Workcover, and Claims Management.

AIS have over 30 staff with in house specialists in most general insurance disciplines. The organisation is one of the few Victorian Brokers admitted as coverholders at Lloyds of London since 1994.

Brendon Davis, founder of AIS Insurance, has been a generous financial contributor to South Melbourne FC through event and signage sponsorship, purchasing players at player auctions, and general assistance over the years. Brendon commenced sponsoring South Melbourne FC in 1997/98, and was also awarded the Sam Papasavas Award for his contribution to the Club in 2006.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis said, “we are excited to renew our existing partnership with Brendon and AIS Insurance Brokers for another season. They have been long-term supporters of the Club and we are very thankful for their continued generous support. Please contact Brendon for all your insurance requirements”.

AIS Insurance Brokers
137 Moray Street, South Melbourne 3205
Phone: (03) 8699 8888
Fax: (03): 8689 8899
Website: www.aisinsurance.com.au