Author: SMFC Media

Sunday, 4 July 2010 10:55 PM

 

By George Kouroumalis (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC has propelled itself back into finals contention following a hard fought win against Altona Magic on Sunday at John Cain Memorial Park.

South started the brighter of the two sides with the home side peppering the Altona goal from the outset. Despite the early dominance South could not muster up anything more than a half chance, with Kyle Joryeff, Joseph Youssef and Gianni De Nittis spooning speculative headed efforts into the prying arms of former South goalkeeper Andrew Sfetkopoulos.

It was not until the 35th minute when South had the best chance of the game so far, with Joryeff playing a deep ball to the back post to the open Daniel Vasilevski. With the keeper to beat, Vasilevski hit the volley on target, where Sfetkopoulos was once again able to simply capture the ball with ease.

However, it was Altona who would go ahead only moments later. On this occasion, a darting run from the left-hand side by Matthew Theodore culminated in the youngster slamming the ball at goal. Luckily for the Altona player, the ball deflected off the leg of South Melbourne defender James Stefanou and into the back of the net.

South responded just before the break, when a corner was cleared into the path of Joe Keenan, who was waiting just outside the area. Immediately Keenan hit the shot onto the target, where Steven O’Dor was smartly able to turn the shot away from the keeper and into the back of the net to level the scores at half time.

The goal seemingly spurred South on in the early stages of the second half, with the home side bombarding the Altona goal directly from kick-off.

In the 50th minute a brilliant ball by Daniel Vasilevski found the head of Steven O’Dor inside the area, with the defender able to put the ball past the hapless Sfetkopoulos in goal to give South the advantage.

South should have been two goals up moments later when former Heidelberg player Hamid Basma was released into acres of space. With the keeper only to beat, Basma hesitated and hit the ball directly into Sfetkopoulos.

Sfetkopoulos made yet another wonderful save once again in the 61st minue following a wonderful run by debutant Jason Ricciuti ended in the youngster having two of his efforts thwarted by the custodian.

The game however was sealed in the 83rd minute after a free kick was taking quickly to release Joryeff into acres of space inside the area. The Englishman then calmly slammed the ball into the back of the net to send the South faithful into delirium.

South now sit only two points outside the top 5 and will play Heidelberg United next Sunday in what promises to be one of the biggest derbies in recent times. 

South Melbourne FC

Peter Zois, Rhodri Payne, Steven O’Dor, Daniel Vasilevski (Marinos Gasparis 85′), Joe Keenan, Carl Recchia, Gianni De Nittis (Sebastian Petrovic 75′), Joseph Youssef, Hamid Basma (Jason Ricciuti 70′), Kyle Joryeff, James Stefanou
(Scorers: Steven O’Dor 45′, 49′, Kyle Joryeff 83′)

Altona Magic

Andrew Sfetkopoulos, Doug Mladenovic (Dejan Radojicic 71′), Kole Delev (Aleksander Koltovski 85′), Koce Delev, Pece Siveski, Matthew Theodore, Pece Cergovski, James Duvcevski, John Thornley, Slave Bozinovski, Goran Talevski (George Papadopoulos 60′)
(Scorer: James Stefanou Own Goal 34′)

Man of the Match: Steven O’Dor
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 4 July 2010
Crowd: 1,500

Friday, 2 July 2010 10:53 AM

By George Kouroumalis

In what is looming as the most crucial game of the 2010 VPL season, South Melbourne FC will play host to Altona Magic this Sunday at the John Cain Memorial Park in Northcote.

After two consecutive losses to Green Gully and Dandenong Thunder, South sits in ninth position on 16 points, 5 points behind the fifth placed Dandenong Thunder. A win for the South will see them jump into seventh and only 2 points outside the top five, while a loss will make finals football seem a very difficult prospect.

The encouranging part of last week’s loss however was the second half revival by the side, with South dominating the second half against Dandenong. If it was not for some luck and some brilliant goalkeeping by Stuart Webster, South could of almost snatched all three points.

Altona currently sit in last position in the VPL standings, however due to the close nature of the competition, they are only 3 points behind South. A win for them would see them overtake Sunshine George Cross and Melbourne Knights into third last. Despite being last on the table they are currently the VPL’s top scoring team, netting 28 goals in their 15 games so far.

Kick-off is at 3pm.

Last time we met

Friday, 2 July 2010 10:08 AM

On this week’s episode of southRadio, we review the clash between South Melbourne FC and Dandenong Thunder at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, as well as preview the upcoming catch up VPL match between South Melbourne FC and Altona Magic. In addition, we look back on the last meeting of the two clubs as well, and discuss all matters South.

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

Click here to download episode 18 of southRadio (MP3 -7.3Mb) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Friday, 2 July 2010 9:45 AM

On Saturday’s episode on SMFC TV, we review and show extended match highlights of the clash at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex between South Melbourne FC and Dandenong Thunder SC. Furthermore, we hear from Daniel Vasilevski, Joe Keenan, and Head Coach Vaughan Coveny as well in the post-match interviews. In addition, the show will review all the scores from around the Victorian Premier League, and showcase our Junior Development Program. 

SMFC TV

Channel 31
Every Saturday 10.00am -10.30am

Monday, 28 June 2010 10:59 AM

By John Kyrou

Dandenong Thunder has emerged victorious over South Melbourne FC on Sunday afternoon at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex. After South had clawed its way back from a 0-2 deficit to level the scores at 2-2, a penalty awarded to the Thunder for an alleged handball on defender Steven O’Dor won the away side the three points.

Both clubs went into the match desperate for three points in order to steer further away from the relegation zone as well as push for finals contention. Dandenong flew out of the blocks early and stunned South with two goals in the opening ten minutes. The opening goal came after seven minutes when South defender Rhodri Payne’s mistimed chest pass fell straight to Jamie Reed, who from a short distance out from goal fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net. Three minutes later the Thunder were two goals ahead when South’s defenders fell asleep at the back post and Scott Bulloch was lurking to tap home past Peter Zois.

Payne nearly made up for his earlier error by making an excellent run into the area before firing a low shot that beat Dandenong goalkeeper Stuart Webster but hit his near post and stayed out. Kyle Joryeff then missed a glorious opportunity to open South’s account when he was put through one-on-one with Webster but he shot wide. Just before halftime, Dandenong’s Luke Sherborn was given a straight red card for a poor challenge on Daniel Vasilevski.

South were more desperate after the break and scored in the 60th minute, after Joryeff pounced on the loose ball following a mistake in the Dandenong defence and put the ball past Webster to halve the deficit. South continued to press forward in numbers and equalised four minutes later when Joryeff’s corner flew past over sea of bodies to the back post where O’Dor was on hand to tap home. With the scores level, 25 minutes left to play and an extra man on the field, South had suddenly put themselves into a possible winning position. This was to change dramatically by the time the full time whistle was blown.

Dandenong had still been looking dangerous on the counter-attack and won a corner shortly after kicking off following O’Dor’s goal. The in-swinging corner looked to be comfortably dealt with by the South defence before the referee awarded a penalty to Dandenong due to O’Dor allegedly handling the ball. Reed put away the spot kick for his second goal of the afternoon and the Thunder’s third.

South played out the game with the majority of possession but could not find a way to score again. Webster made some outstanding saves and his defenders did a great job in front of him. During injury time, South captain Rama Tavsancioglu was sent off for allegedly bringing down a Thunder player as last man.

South now looks towards its catch-up match against Altona Magic at John Cain Memorial Park next Sunday at 3pm.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-3 DANDENONG THUNDER (HT: 0-2)

South Melbourne:
Peter Zois, Rhodri Payne, Steven O’Dor, Daniel Vasilevski (Marinos Gasparis 78′), Joe Keenan, Carl Recchia, Rama Tavsancioglu, Fernando De Moraes (Joseph Youssef 15′), Kyle Joryeff, James Stefanou (Hamid Basma 74′), Sebastian Petrovic
(Goal scorers: Kyle Joryeff 60′, Steven O’Dor 64′)

Dandenong Thunder:
Stuart Webster, Levent Osman, Shane Rexhepi, Aron Wilford, Luke Sherborn, Ben Starosta, Jeffrey Bright, Ryan Davidson, Geoffrey Kellaway, Scott Bulloch, Jamie Reed (Veton Korcarevski 85′)
(Goal scorers: Jamie Reed 7′, 66′ pk, Scott Bulloch 10′)

SMFC Man of the Match: Joseph Youssef
Venue: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Date: Sunday 27 June 2010
Crowd: 1,000

Friday, 25 June 2010 2:15 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts Dandenong Thunder at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon in what is a must-win game for the home side. South’s loss away at Green Gully last weekend sees the club sitting just above the relegation zone and needing three points to not only avoid dropping into the bottom two but to also challenge for a finals position.

Like South, Dandenong has endured a frustrating and inconsistent season. The Thunder began the season in poor form but in the last month has made significant inroads up the VPL Ladder and are now also challenging for a position in the top five. The Thunder knows how to beat South away from home, having stunned South 0-1 at Lakeside Stadium in the opening round of the 2009 season. However South goes into the match with the winning form against Dandenong, with second half goals by Marinos Gasparis and Gianni De Nittis giving Vaughan Coveny’s men a precious 0-2 win at George Andrews Reserve earlier this season.

The match kicks off at 3pm on Sunday at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.

Last time they met

Friday, 25 June 2010 11:24 AM

On Saturday’s episode on SMFC TV, we review and show extended match highlights of the clash at Green Gully Reserve between South Melbourne FC and Green Gully. Furthermore, we hear from Peter Zois and Head Coach Vaughan Coveny as well in the post-match interviews.

The highlight of the show is the segment on the SMFC stars of tomorrow. The SMFC TV crew were at Princess Park last week to cover all the action of the South Melbourne FC junior teams. We take a behind the scenes look at how our teams prepare, and we chat to some future SMFC stars.

In addition, the show will review all the scores from around the Victorian Premier League.

SMFC TV

Channel 31
Every Saturday 10.00am -10.30am

Sunday, 20 June 2010 8:53 PM

By John Kyrou

Green Gully continued its 24 year unbeaten streak against South Melbourne FC at Green Gully Reserve when it defeated a disappointing South side 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. Late goals from Steve Burton and Jason Hayne denied South a spot in the top five and confirmed Gully’s position in there for another week.

Some desperate defending by South denied Gully’s Andy Vargas from opening the scoring in what was the only genuine chance of the first half. The second half also appeared to be heading for a 0-0 stalemate, before Gully won a penalty following substitute Eddie Cetkin’s misjudged header back to goalkeeper Peter Zois that put Gully substitute Hayne through on goal. Zois had no choice but to bring Hayne down and from the resultant spot kick, Burton sent Zois the wrong way to open the scoring.

Substitute Daniel Vasilevski had tried hard to get South back into the contest and was unlucky to put a header wide of the goal. Rhodri Payne also attempted to score for the away side but his soft shot was no problem for Gully goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic. Chasing a late equalising goal meant that South had left themselves exposed at the back and Gully punished the away side when Vargas found space on the right wing and centered the ball for Hayne to slot past Zois to confirm the three points.

South Melbourne FC must quickly re-group before hosting Dandenong Thunder at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex next Sunday at 3pm in what is shaping up to be another must-win game.

FINAL SCORE: GREEN GULLY 2-0 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-0)

Green Gully:
Nikola Roganovic, Steve Burton, Mile Medjedovic, Daniel Jones, Ryan Ollerton, Jeffrey Fleming, Matthew Sanders (Jason Hayne), Joshua Groenewald (Michael Anderson), Graham Hockless (Timothy Gould), Jonathan Munoz, Andy Vargas
(Scorers: Steve Burton 76′ pk, Jason Hayne 85′)

South Melbourne:
Peter Zois, Rhodri Payne, Kyle Joryeff (Daniel Vasilevski 76′), Rama Tavsancioglu, Joe Keenan, Steven O’Dor (Eddie Cetkin 46′), Gianni De Nittis (Hamid Basma 70′), Fernando De Moraes, Marinos Gasparis, James Stefanou, Carl Recchia

SMFC Man of the Match: Fernando De Moraes
Venue: Green Gully Reserve
Date: Saturday 19 June 2010
Crowd: 750

Friday, 18 June 2010 12:33 PM

On this week’s episode of southRadio, we review the clash between South Melbourne FC and Bentleigh Greens at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, as well as preview the upcoming VPL match between South Melbourne FC and Green Gully. In addition, we look back on the last meeting of the two clubs as well, and discuss all matters South.

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

Click here to download episode 16 of southRadio (MP3 -9.2Mb) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Friday, 18 June 2010 11:36 AM

On Saturday’s episode on SMFC TV, we review and show extended match highlights of the clash at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex between South Melbourne FC and Bentleigh Greens. Furthermore, we hear from Rhodri Payne, Fernando DeMoraes, and Head Coach Vaughan Coveny as well in the post-match interviews. In addition, the show will review all the scores from around the Victorian Premier League, and showcase our Junior Development Program.

SMFC TV

Channel 31
Every Saturday 10.00am -10.30am