Author: SMFC Media

Saturday, 19 March 2011 1:39 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Anita Milas, courtesy of Goal Weekly)

South Melbourne FC has won for the second straight season at Jack Edwards Reserve following a deserved 2-1 victory against Oakleigh on Friday night. A volley from Marinos Gasparis and a header from captain Steven O’Dor was enough to give South the victory.

South went into the match bolstered by the fact that new signing Ljubo Miličević had finally been cleared to play for the Club. Miličević went straight into the starting eleven and slotted in next to O’Dor at centre-half, with Steven Topalovic shifted to right back. Goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli, who had been substituted onto the field last Sunday against Heidelberg after 70 minutes following a head injury to Stefaan Sardelic, started his first Victorian Premier League match for South. Immediately the defence looked much steadier and stable, with Miličević and O’Dor winning practically every aerial ball and Zenelli hardly tested during the game.

The away side opened the scoring after four minutes with a wonderful volley by Gasparis, who scored his second goal in successive weeks following his injury-time equalising goal away at Heidelberg last Sunday. However, the lead only lasted ten minutes, when former South forward Ricky Diaco beat Zenelli with a low shot from a free kick that managed to sneak through the defensive wall. Shortly before the halftime break, Gasparis hit another stinging shot from outside the box just wide of Peter Zois’ goal, whilst at the other end Oakleigh nearly took the lead after a shot took a wicked deflection before hitting Zenelli’s crossbar and going out to safety.

South regained the lead shortly after the halftime break. A free kick taken on the left side of the box by Fernando De Moraes found an unmarked O’Dor, who easily beat Zois with his free header. The away side should have wrapped the game up shortly after when Jesse Krncevic rounded Zois and cut the ball back for Gasparis, however with an open goal the midfielder blasted the ball over the crossbar. Krncevic had presented real problems for the Cannons defence by being a huge presence up forward for South.

Defensively, Miličević and O’Dor easily dealt with aerial balls played into the area by Oakleigh. Zenelli was kept quiet for most of the game but when called upon, was able to comfortably deal with high balls into the box. Despite this, Oakleigh still should have equalised deep into injury time with a header that went wide of Zenelli’s near post. The referee’s final whistle moments later condemned the Cannons to their first Victorian Premier League loss for the season and stretched South’s unbeaten run to three Victorian Premier League matches in a row.

South Melbourne’s next match is a derby at home against the Melbourne Knights. The match kicks off next Sunday 27 March at 5:00pm at John Cain Memorial Park.

FULL TIME: OAKLEIGH CANNONS 1-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Marinos Gasparis (3’)
1-1: Ricky Diaco (14’)
1-2: Steven O’Dor (57’)

Oakleigh Cannons

1. Peter ZOIS, 2. James CUMMING, 6. Rama TAVSANCIOGLU, 7. Bonel ABRADOVIC (25. Craig GOODWIN 88′), 8. James ROBINSON, 10. Ricky DIACO (14. Melvin BECKET 82′), 12. Luke WALKER (13. Bill DAMIANOS 72′), 16. Frank LAGANA, 18. Stephen HATZIKIRIAZIS, 19. Dane MILOVANOVIC, 23. Anthony BRAN



South Melbourne FC 

3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI (33. Bobby RUSSELL 77′), 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 82′), 17. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (19. Leigh MINOPOULOS 90′), 21. Zaim ZENELI, 23. Sebastian PETROVIC



SMFC Man of the Match: Steven O’Dor

Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve

Date: Friday 18 March 2011

Saturday, 19 March 2011 12:51 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce the signing of Ljubo Miličević on a short-term deal. Miličević becomes the 50th player to have played for both the Socceroos and South Melbourne FC.

There is no doubt that Miličević is a true character of Australian football, but more importantly an excellent defender with plenty of domestic and European football experience behind him. Miličević began his professional career with Melbourne Croatia in the National Soccer League before playing and scoring in Perth Glory’s losing 1999/00 Grand Final side. In the early 2000s, Miličević left for Europe and playing for FC Zurich, FC Basel, FC Thun and Young Boys in Switzerland, captaining Thun and Young Boys. In the 2005-06 European season, Miličević represented Thun in five group stage matches of the UEFA Champions League against world-class opposition such as Arsenal and Ajax.

In 2007, Miličević returned to Australia for four seasons before heading back to Europe to attempt to sign for a European club. After trials with FC Basel in the Swiss Super League and Bundesliga 2 club Arminia Bielefeld, Miličević decided it was best to return to Australia and play short-term in the Victorian Premier League with South Melbourne FC to maintain peak match fitness before heading back to Europe halfway through the year for the beginning of the 2011/12 season. He made his debut last night in our win against the Oakleigh Cannons after being cleared at 5.30pm to play after weeks of trying.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Ljubo Miličević to the Club and is very much looking forward to seeing him representing the Club in 2011.

Friday, 18 March 2011 11:00 AM

On the 5th episode of southRadio in 2011, we review the Round 5 clash against Heidelberg United, and preview the upcoming derby game between South Melbourne FC and Oakleigh.

Should you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback for southRadio please email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au

Click here to download episode 5 of southRadio (MP3) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Thursday, 17 March 2011 11:01 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC faces arguably its toughest test this season on Friday night when the team travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to face the leaders Oakleigh.

The Cannons are on top of the ladder, and have enjoyed an advantage over other Victorian Premier League sides by playing four of their first five games at home, and have played an additional match than second-placed Dandenong Thunder. Nevertheless, Oakleigh have achieved near maximum points so far in 2011 and will be difficult opponents for South to overcome away from home.

South will head into the match keen on extending an unbeaten run of two matches, with a well-deserved 2-1 win over Bentleigh followed by a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against rivals Heidelberg United in the derby at Olympic Village last Sunday. That draw broke what had been four straight defeats at the Olympic Village since 2006. Jesse Krncevic scored his fourth goal from five Victorian Premier League matches against Heidelberg, and former Berger Marinos Gasparis saved South’s blushes with an injury-time header to earn South Melbourne a well-deserved point.

South will still have Kliment Taseski missing this Friday, with the midfielder in his second week of a three match suspension. However, coach Eddie Krncevic’s biggest problem will be to stop his defence from leaking goals. The team has yet to keep a clean sheet after five Victorian Premier League matches in 2011 and the manner in which the second goal was conceded against Heidelberg last Sunday would have raised more concerns for the coaching staff. However, in more positive news, substitute goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli (who replaced Stefaan Sardelic in goals after 70 minutes following a head injury) looked calm and composed when on the field, as did new signing Bobby Russell (on loan from the Gold Coast United youth side) at right back. Many older South fans may recall another Bobby Russell representing South Melbourne FC in the 1980s and being an integral part of South’s 1984 National Soccer League Championship team, as well as being NSL Player of the Year in 1986.

South has played Oakleigh six times at Jack Edwards Reserve since entering the Victorian Premier League in 2005, with both teams winning twice each and with two draws making the head-to-head at the venue level in every way. South traditionally plays very well at Oakleigh, so nothing less than a good performance is expected on Friday night. However, the Oakleigh match is the perfect opportunity for South to show that it is serious about winning the Victorian Premier League this year, with an opportunity to beat the current leaders in their own backyard. In the corresponding fixture last season, Fernando De Moraes scored at the near post following a wonderful through-ball by Eddie Cetkin in the 30th minute to give South a 1-0 victory, its first win at Jack Edwards Reserve since 2005.

Friday night’s game kicks off at 8:30pm.

Last time we met

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 4:00 PM

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 3:09 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has won its first point at the Olympic Village since 2006 following a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Heidelberg United on Sunday evening. Marinos Gasparis’ late headed goal salvaged a point for South in a match that could have been three gifted points for the Bergers.

The Olympic Village presented an adequate playing surface that suited South’s passing game. However the away side started the match off slowly and were subsequenty punished by the Bergers through Osagie Ederaro, who cut in from the left side before laying the ball off for Saso Alexovski to score. This sparked South into life, with the away side creating several half chances before equalising just before the half hour mark through Jesse Krncevic. The big forward received the ball from Fernando De Moraes before he got around his marker and toe-poked the ball past the oncoming Griffin McMaster and into the back of the net.

South were clearly the better side in the contest but Ederaro was always presenting problems with the South defence. The away side’s defensive problems were exposed yet again by Ederaro early in the second half, when a Stefaan Sardelic save fell in between three South defenders. Each stopped momentarily, expecting someone else to clear the ball, and Ederaro took advantage by shooting past Sardelic to restore the Bergers’ lead. Once more, South were on the back foot and were chasing one point instead of three.

Substitute goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli made his League debut for South, replacing Sardelic after the big custodian suffered a head injury. Zenelli was kept reasonably quiet as South did most of the attacking, with Heidelberg determined to hold onto their lead and defending strongly for the rest of the game. South were constantly denied, firstly with a clearance off the line from a Steven Topalovic shot fom outside the box, then from an excellent save by McMaster with his left leg from a Krncevic shot following excellent build-up play by substitute Kamal Ibrahim.

With the match into injury time, Gasparis snuck in at the back post to head De Moraes’ cross from the right into the back of the net to salvage a draw for the away side. It was South’s first point at the Village since late goals from Jonas Salley and Tansel Baser won the derby for South in the opening round of the 2006 Victorian Premier League season.

South Melbourne FC next travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to play leaders Oakleigh on Friday night, with kick-off scheduled for 20:30.

FINAL SCORE: HEIDELBERG UNITED 2-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-1)

Goals Scorers

1-0: Saso Alexovski (8′)

1-1: Jesse Krncevic (28′)

2-1: Osagie Ederaro (47′) 

2-2: Marinos Gasparis (90′)



Heidelberg United 

1. Griffin McMASTER, 2. Yared HAILEMELKOT, 7. Hamlet ARMENIAN (8. Andrew NABBOUT 57′), 10. Adrian CACERES (4. John LAZARIDIS 63′), 11. Evan CHRISTODOULOU, 14. Craig ELVIN, 16. Steve MARTIN, 18. Osagie EDERARO, 20. Saso ALEXOVSKI (23. Takanori NISHIMOTO 76′), 21. Richard GREER, 22. Ben WARING 



South Melbourne FC 
1. Stefaan SARDELIC (21. Zaim ZENELI 72′), 3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. JESSE KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES, 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 23, Sebastian PETROVIC (33. Bobby RUSSELL 76′), 25. Kyle JORYEFF (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 57′)



SMFC Player of the Match: Marinos Gasparis

Venue: Olympic Village

Date: Sunday 13 March 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 11:36 AM

By Paul Mavroudis

After a gutsy 2-1 win over the Bentleigh Greens in Round 3 of the Victorian Premier League, this Sunday evening will see South Melbourne FC meet old rival Heidelberg United at the Olympic Village. In the first leg of a difficult two week spell away from home ‚the always intriguing fixture away against the Oakleigh Cannons follows in the next round. South Melbourne FC will be looking to break a long running drought, by overcoming Heidelberg United in a league fixture for the first time since 2006.

Since that 2006 mid season 3-1 win by South at Lakeside, Heidelberg United has not lost a Victorian Premier League match against South Melbourne FC, and the task ahead of the visiting side will be made that much more difficult by the absence of Kliment Taseski. Taseski, on loan from Melbourne Heart, has impressed in his short time with South, but he will be serving the first match of a three-match suspension after receiving a straight red card against the Greens. Doubts may also exist over the fitness of midfielder Fernando De Moraes, who came off injured for the second consecutive week after severe challenges.

In addition to its increasing injury problems, and apart from the long term injuries to midfielders Joe Keenan and Yianni Galanos, Marinos Gasparis has also been in the wars – South must also have continuing concerns about its defensive structures. Despite holding Bentleigh to mostly set piece attacks last week, Heidelberg United will almost certainly put out a far more attacking tactical approach, which South has thus far been unable to adequately nullify.

South Melbourne FC will be buoyed however by their new found ability to score goals, with 11 goals scored in just four matches, with the load being spread evenly amongst several players. The visitors will also take encouragement from the recent Hellenic Cup final victory over Heidelberg United, a 2-1 win in extra time. In that game South Melbourne FC had to come from behind to take the trophy, and the side may have accordingly found a measure of mental toughness to add to its obvious talent.

Coming up against an opponent tipped as a likely finals contender, still smarting after a loss last week against Hume City, and looking forward to keeping up a long undefeated streak against its eternal foe, South Melbourne FC will need every ounce of that mental toughness to extract a result that’s been five years in the making. Too long for a club that once prided itself on the overwhelming dominance it held in this fixture.

Kick-off is at 6pm

smfcTV – Last time we met

Monday, 7 March 2011 12:26 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has won its second match of the 2011 Victorian Premier League season after defeating leaders Bentleigh Greens 2-1 at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon. The win was thoroughly deserved as South was clearly the better team on the day, even with one less man on the field for most of the second half following the dismissal of Kliment Taseski.

On what was an extremely warm afternoon at John Cain Memorial Park, South opened the scoring after just two minutes of play. Jesse Krncevic’s deflected shot went wide for a corner that Taseski took and sent a wonderful outswinging corner to the penalty spot that Sebastian Petrovic got his head to and flicked the ball into the far corner of the net.

South continued to enjoy large amounts of possession but was unable to find another avenue through to goal in order to double its slender lead. On the half-hour mark, they were made to pay by Bentleigh, after a set piece from the right flank following a free kick was headed home by Sean McIlroy.

The home side did not have to wait long to regain the lead though, following a wild goal by Kyle Joryeff shortly before halftime. A switch from the right side was well trapped by Joryeff before he fired a shot across his body that went into the goal after bouncing off the far post. It was nothing less than South deserved and ultimately proved to be the winning goal for the afternoon.

In the second half, South were dealt a severe blow when Taseski was controversially shown a straight red card following a late challenge. This meant the home side needed to battle the rest of the match with only ten men, which the team did admirably. Stefaan Sardelic was called upon to make a few interventions but apart from this Bentleigh hardly created many clear-cut chances to level. At the other end, South wasted several opportunities to score a third and end the match as a contest but was unable to do so. In the end, the home side did enough to earn a vital three points ahead of the derby against Heidelberg United next weekend.

South travels to Olympic VIllage this coming Sunday knowing it will take a huge effort to get at least a point from a venue that the Club has not won since the opening round of the 2006 Victorian Premier League season. The match kicks off at 18:00.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-1 BENTLEIGH GREENS (HT: 2-1)

Goals Scorers
1-0: Sebastian Petrovic (2′)

1-1: Sean McIlroy (30′)

2-1: Kyle Joryeff (38′)

South Melbourne FC

1. Stefaan SARDELLIC, 3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 10. Kliment TASESKI (sent off), 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (9. Gianni DE NITTIS 82′), 18. Marinos GASPARIS (5. Daniel VASILEVSKI 49′), 23. Sebastian PETROVIC, 25. Kyle JORYEFF (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 63′)


Bentleigh Greens

1. Kile KENNEDY, 3. Thomas MATHEWS, 5. Steve LAURIE, 6. Stephen DOWNES, 8. Wayne WALLACE, 9. Sean McLLROY, 10. Hayden DOYLE, 11. Scott BULLOCK (7. James McGARRY 70′), 14. Aron WILFORD, 16. Ryan DAVIDSON, 17. Jack WEBSTER (4. Craig SMART 46′)


SMFC Man of the Match: Carl Recchia

Venue: John Cain Memorial Park

Date: Sunday 6 March 2011

Friday, 4 March 2011 1:29 PM

South Melbourne FC hosts the Bentleigh Greens in the third round of the Victorian Premier League on Sunday afternoon at John Cain Memorial Park. South will be keen on avenging the mid-week defeat to the Victorian Training Centre, whilst at the same time overcome the current Victiorian Premier League leaders and narrow the gap between the two sides at the top of the ladder.

South may rush short-term signing Ljubo Milicevic straight into the starting line-up for Sunday’s match, after the former Socceroo signed for the Club during the week. Milicevic may well be the missing ingredient in a South side that has disappointingly conceded eight goals from its opening three Victorian Premier League matches. The most recent effort was conceding two second half goals to lose 2-3 against the VTC on Wednesday night. Sebastian Petrovic, Daniel Vasilevski and Fernando De Moraes all missed the VTC match through injury; however it is hoped that they will all be pushing for inclusion in the team for Sunday’s match. If Milicevic does indeed start, coach Eddie Krncevic may opt to switch Steven Topalovic to right back in order to accommodate Milicevic next to captain Steven O’Dor at centre-half.

Victorian Premier League leaders Bentleigh have started 2011 well, winning two of their opening three games. The Greens would have had three wins from three but for Heidelberg’s 97th minute equaliser at the Olympic Village last Sunday, breaking Bentleigh’s 100% winning record this season. Nevertheless, Andy O’Dell’s side has 7 points from a possible nine and it will take a big effort from South to win Sunday’s match. However South has already proven in 2011 that it can beat Bentleigh, comfortably defeating the Greens 2-0 at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex in their Hellenic Cup semi final match.

Prior to the Bentleigh Greens match, the annual SMFC Family Day will be held, with many activities for all ages to kept entertained.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 5pm at John Cain Memorial Park.

Tuesday, 1 March 2011 12:34 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC’s Victorian Premier League season continues on Wednesday night when the team faces the Victorian Training Centre (VTC) at Port Melbourne’s SS Anderson Reserve at 8.30pm.

All Victorian Premier League sides played two mid-week matches against the VTC last season but the matches were effectively friendlies, with no competition points played for. However in 2011, all matches against the VTC are being played for competition points – as a result there are 24 Victorian Premier League fixtures this season, as the VTC is effectively a 13th team in the Victorian Premier League despite the fact they cannot participate in the finals series or be relegated.

South will go into Wednesday night keen on winning a second consecutive match following the thrilling 6-4 win away at Springvale White Eagles last Friday night. With difficult matches in the coming weeks, it is essential that South picks up as many points as possible early in the campaign, with the VTC match being no exception. One thing Eddie Krncevic’s side needs to fix up is its defensive problems, with five goals being conceded in two matches, including four against the White Eagles. With Jesse Krncevic on fire at the other end of the field (3 goals in two Victorian Premier League matches) and with Fernando De Moraes, Kamal Ibrahim, Kliment Taseski and Carl Recchia all scoring already this season, the coaching staff will be expecting that good form to continue.

De Moraes limped off with what looked to be a nasty ankle injury against Springvale, however the early signs are that the midfielder is recovering well and may even be able to line up against the VTC on Wednesday night. Otherwise it is expected that he will be back in the match against Bentleigh on Sunday afternoon. South fans will be hoping that De Moraes is back as soon as possible, as he currently sits on 49 Victorian Premier League goals for the Club and will be hoping to become only the eighth player in the Club’s history to score 50 League goals. Daniel Vasilevski will also be hoping to play in the coming few games, following his injury against Heidelberg in the recent Hellenic Cup final.

The VTC has experienced a mixed start to its 2011 season, with a 4-1 thumping of Springvale followed by a 1-0 loss against Bentleigh. It is expected that the VTC will be an extremely quick side due to the large amount of youth players in their team, and the 4-1 result against Springvale has proven that they are more than capable of scoring and winning against Victorian Premier League teams. South’s defence will need to be as alert as ever in order to put a stop to the amount of goals conceded in the opening two weekends of the new season. One player South will know about is former Under 21’s player Jason Riccuiti, who made five substitute appearances for Vaughan Coveny’s side last season. Another former South junior in Damir Lokvancic will also most likely feature for the VTC.

Wednesday night’s match kicks off at 8.30pm at SS Anderson Reserve in Port Melbourne. The match is a home game for South Melbourne FC and as a result all 2011 South Melbourne FC members will be entitled to free admission into the venue. The Club encourages all supporters to attend the match and lend their support to the team as it strives for back-to-back Victorian Premier League wins.