Author: SMFC Media

Monday, 22 June 2009 11:50 AM

Click here to view smfcTV highlights of the game

Photo by Craig Varty

South Melbourne has climbed back up into second position on the table following a frustrating 1-1 draw with the Melbourne Knights on Sunday.

In front of a healthy derby day crowd at Mansion Stadium, the Blues came out of the blocks early, with a long range effort by Joseph Youssef being brilliantly turned around the bar by the Knights goalkeeper.

South continued to pressure the Knights defence and were rewarded in the 23rd minute of the game when a Sebastian Petrovich long range attempt was deflected into the path of Joseph Youssef. Instinctively, Youssef hit a low drive into the back of the net to give his side the lead.

Youssef continued to dominate in the middle of the park and could have had a second only moments later when he managed to win possession in the middle before launching himself forward. However in an unselfish bit of play, Youssef opted to play a ball into the offside Goran Zoric rather than hitting a shot on the target from the edge of the area.

The second half commenced in a completely opposite manner, with the Knights coming out of the tunnel in a far more focussed manner.

In their first real chance of the game, a swirling Mate Dugandzic was headed across goal on the back post, allowing for an unmarked Greg Draper to steer a header into the top corner from point-blank range to send the vocal home crowd into raptures.

South responded by launching a series of attacks of their own, starting via a storming run down the right hand flank by youngster Francesco Stella. The midfielder then hit a beautiful cross into the path of Vaughan Coveny, who had his header deflected into the path of Sam Torrens. With only the keeper to beat from 3 yards out, Torrens was unable to steer his shot onto the target.

The Blues continued to burst forward at every opportunity, with an exceptional interception and final ball by Goran Zoric unlocking the Knights defence and allowing from Youssef to find himself clear on goal. With one Knights defender tracking back and two team-mates by his side, Youssef opted to take the chance himself, only for the ball to be sensationally blocked by the solitary Knights defender.

Youssef was released one final time moments later when yet another Zoric ball unlocked the stagnant Knights defence. With only the keeper ahead of him, Youssef shaped to have the shot from just inside the area. However to the amazement of the travelling contingent, a desperate Craig Elvin somehow launched himself at the ball and thwarted Youssef with an exceptional tackle to secure a point for his team.

With the draw South jump above Altona Magic into second spot, with an important Foundation Round game against Whittlesea to be played at Bob Jane Stadium next Sunday. Kick-off is at 4pm.

Click here to view smfcTV highlights of the game

Friday, 19 June 2009 12:02 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne FC would like to congratulate George Parthimos and the team at miRoamer for their recent accomplishment of winning the AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) 2009 iAward in the media and entertainment category.

In what is an amazing accomplishment for SMFC’s major sponsor, miRoamer was rewarded and selected for their introduction of the world’s first Internet car radio. This enables drivers worldwide to access internet radio through their car stereo from any location in the world.

In a model developed by leading car radio provider Blaupunkt, each driver will be able to tune into miRoamer’s extensive database of thousands of radio station, being able to listen to them with the simple click of a car stereo button. Users can also then store favourites and re-configure the stereo to enable them to have full control of the technology to make listening to their favourite channel much easier.
 
miRoamer’s corporate headquarters are in Doncaster, but the company also has offices in California and New York and plans to open a European office later this year, and another in Hong Kong in 2010.

Mr Parthimos has been in the information technology industry for two decades and has held management positions in the telecommunications, technology, banking, finance and government sectors.

In 2007 he was recognised by the now defunct Bulletin magazine as a member of its `smart 100’ list, which highlights the 100 brightest individuals in Australia.

miRoamer has been major sponsor of South Melbourne FC in the past 2 seasons, with the company logo proudly displayed on the front of the South Melbourne FC shirt and around the ground at Bob Jane Stadium.

We once again congratulate Mr Parthimos and those associated with miRoamer on this wonderful achievement.

Friday, 19 June 2009 11:56 AM

South Melbourne FC will travel across town on Sunday in a crunch match against the Melbourne Knights at Mansion Stadium (formerly Knights Stadium).

Dubbed as the “Melbourne Derby” between the two most successful football clubs in the state of Victoria, the game remains one of the major football derbies in the nation.

While the glory years of the early to mid 90’s have eluded both clubs in recent times, both fans and players alike look back to those days with passion and pride. Despite some classic regular season matches over the years, it is the finals series hit-outs between these two clubs that take the spotlight.

The first classic finals contest occurred in the 1984 season where Olympic Park played host to an unbelievable semi-final between the clubs. In what caused immense heartache for the Melbourne Knights fans, a John Yzendoorn goal in the 84th minute negated an early Croatia goal to send the game into extra time. In stepped the famous Doug Brown, who scored a double in the 95th and 96th minutes of the game to see South triumphant by 3 goals to 2. South later went on to win the 1984 NSL Championship, while Melbourne Knights were eliminated a week later in the preliminary final by Heidelberg United.

The now  infamous 1991 Grand Final is one that South fans remember fondly, with over 23,000 fans crammed into Olympic Park. In a similar manner to the 1984 Semi Final, Melbourne Knights gained the early lead following a goal by Andrew Marth, before South once again equalised in the dying stages after a sublime ball unlocked the Knights defence to allow Joe Palatsides to hit the back of the net. With no goal in extra time, the title was decided in one of the most famous penalty shoot-outs in the history of the game in this country, with South coming from nowhere to win the shootout by 5 goals to 4 and to become National Champions for the second time.

The Knights extracted revenge on South in both 1993/94 and 1994/95 disposing of the Blues en-route to back to back national championships. Their first title came after a two-legged playoff that resulted in a 2-1 Knights victory first up and a 2-2 draw in the return leg,  with both fixtures played out at Olympic Park.

The Preliminary Final held at Olympic Park in the 1994/95 season is one remembered for the emergence and dominance of one of Australian Football’s most successful exports. In what was a staggering individual display, former Socceroos Captain and current Newcastle United player Mark Viduka buried South Melbourne early in the game scoring twice just before the interval to keep his side in the driver’s seat. After the break, the big striker once again asserted his ascendancy to seal the game after a Marucic cross was turned in by the sliding Viduka to give his side an unassailable 2 goal cushion. Despite South Melbourne pressure and a double by Con Boutsianis, Melbourne Knights would not deny the Knights and Mark Viduka their famous 3-2 victory.

Since returning to the Victorian Premier League following the demise of the NSL, both clubs have shared the spoils, with the last five meetings resulting in 2 wins and a draw to each side.

South come into the game confidently, following the demolition of Preston last weekend at Bob Jane Stadium. Adding to this confidence will be the knowledge the club legend and former Melbourne Knights player Vaughan Coveny will be available, following his Automatic + 3 game suspension being overturned by the tribunal earlier this week.

He will join a potent attacking trio of Goran Zoric, Fernando De Moraes and Gianni De Nittis, with the latter finding some form last week when he managed to score twice against the battling Lions.

On the other side of the park, the Knights will be seeing the game as a crunch contest as they look to try and keep touch with the top five. After a rocky start to the season, the Knights have signed striker Ian Pulman from the Whitstable Town in the English Ryman Leagues. Pulman was the leading goal scorer for Whitsable last season and many at Mansion Stadium are looking at him to be the saviour in front of goal for the Knights. Also joining the team is Western Australia goalkeeper Neil Young, who picked up a man-of-the-match performance against Oakleigh last week.Many South fans would remember Young after he trialed at South prior to the 2008 VPL season, before opting to head back to Western Australia.

The critical match commences at Mansion Stadium on Sunday at 3pm.

Thursday, 18 June 2009 10:57 AM

South Melbourne FC forward Vaughan Coveny is free to play this weekend, after the tribunal last night overturned a Automatic + 3 game suspension that was handed out after the Round 13 derby against Heidelberg United.

In the contest against the Warriors, Coveny was sent off early in the game after allegedly making contact behind the play with Heidelberg player Eric Vassiliadis.

With this result at the tribunal Vaughan will return to the South line-up for Sunday’s crucial contest against the Melbourne Knights, in a game that will be critical for South’s Top 2 aspirations.

Kick-off at Mansion Stadium is on Sunday at 3pm

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 2:48 PM

Bob Jane Stadium has played a significant part to the preparation of both the Australian and Japanese National Teams ahead of the big World Cup Qualifier at the MCG.

The home of South Melbourne FC has undergone extensive ground works over the past year and can now boast to be amongst the best playing surfaces in Victoria.

SMFC has played a significant role in the development of many Socceroos over the past 50 years, with 49 current or former South Melbourne FC players having pulled on the famous Green and Gold Shirt.

The contest also has some significance on the park tonight, with South Melbourne FC Team of the Century goalkeeper Michael Petkovic being selected in the squad for the match, with the club legend fighting for a starting birth against Mark Schwartzer. Petkovic played 161 games in what was a brilliant 6 year spell at Lakeside.

The club is excited that it can further continue to play a role in assisting the national team, both on and off the field.

Japan will also join a long list of visiting nations that will have used Bob Jane Stadium, with France, Uruguay and Greece all having used the venue as a training base in the past prior to games against the Australian National Team.

To view the entire list of SMFC Socceroos, please click here

Sunday, 14 June 2009 5:51 PM

South Melbourne FC has jumped back into the top three on the league ladder following a clinical 6-2 drubbing of bottom-placed Preston at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

South entered the contest on the back of an unlucky loss against Heidelberg last round, whilst Preston entered the match searching for their first win of the season.

As expected, South came out of the blocks in storming fashion and continuously peppered Damir Salcin’s goal for the first 10 minutes of the game. Thankfully for the Lions, Salcin managed to save numerous attempts by Goran Zoric, Gianni De Nittis and Fernando De Moraes.

In the 11th minute South were rewarded for early dominance when an inviting cross by Francesco Stella was met inside the area by Gianni De Nittis, who slammed the ball into the back of the net.

South had a second goal only minutes later when Stella once again turned provider, with Zoric on hand to tap the cross into the back of the net.

Rhodri Payne then gave the home side its third for the afternoon when he capped off a one-two play with De Nittis by beating Salcin at his near post with a calm finish.

South ended the match as a contest as early as the first minute of the second half. From a corner, Joseph Youssef rose unmarked to head home a Fernando cross to send the home side into delirium.

The Blues dominance continued moments later when captain and hard working defender Rama Tavsancioglu burst past the stagnant Preston defence before sliding a brilliantly finished shot into the bottom corner to give his side a five goal lead.

In the 55th minute, Preston got a goal back after some lovely interplay culminated in the ball falling to Igorce Kolevski on the edge of the area. With the defence unable to commit themselves fully, he then hit a brilliant right foot shot into the top corner to give his side some hope.

Preston continued to push forward and via a long ball by keeper Salcin, they managed to find a 2nd goal. In a poor piece of defending by South, the long ball managed to bounce over the watching South defence, allowing for Vladamir Kostandinovski to slide the ball past Tomich.

South continued to attack the Preston goal for the remaining part of the match, with Salcin making 5-6 unbelievable saves to deny the South Melbourne side.

It wasn’t until the 82nd minute that South managed to score their sixth and final goal of the game, after some good lead up work by Fernando saw De Nittis find himself in space just inside the area. He then hit a bullet like shot into the top corner to score his second of the game.

South will now play Melbourne Knights next Sunday in what is looming as a crunch away fixture, whilst Preston must once again re-group as it takes on Green Gully away from home.

Thursday, 11 June 2009 12:18 PM

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Tuesday, 2 June 2009 9:24 AM

Click here for smfcTV highlights of the game

In what was a remarkable derby game between two iconic football club’s, Heidelberg United has somehow withstood 90 minutes of South Melbourne dominance to snatch a historic 1-0 victory at Olympic Village on Sunday.

Coming into the game both clubs knew that a win would ensure that they would climb into second place, the position that was already occupied by South Melbourne who had entered the contest on the back of 10 undefeated games.

The away side, with veteran and club legend Vaughan Coveny back in the line-upstarted the game on fire, with Gianni De Nittis missing two classic chances to open the scoring in the opening ten minutes, only to be thwarted by Peter Gavalas in the Heidelberg goal.

South continued to bombard the Warriors goal and Gavalas stood tall to deny another chance, after a bullet free kick by Fernando was steered well onto the target.

The game changed in the 15th minute however when some pushing behind play between Coveny and Eric Vasiliadis culminated with the Heidelberg veteran clutching his face. With the referee and all fans unaware of what had occurred, Heidelberg players including Vasiliadis pleaded with both the central referee Perry Mur and his assistant Hakan Anaz to send the big kiwi off. To the dismay of the strong travelling contingent, Mur reached in his pocket and remarkably pulled out the red card to send Coveny off.

South almost responded immediately after the send-off with Gavalas standing in the way on three occasions, thwarting Joseph Youssef, Gianni De Nittis and Goran Zoric with some well positioned goalkeeping.

The Blues faithful were growing increasingly frustrated by the inability to score the opening goal and were left scratching their heads once again moments later after Fernando unbelievably hit a one-on-one chance from inside the area wide of the target.

Just before the break the away side had yet another chance to open the scoring with Shane Nunes hitting a well-weighted long ball over the stagnant Heidelberg defence and into the path of the wide open Gianni De Nittis. With only Gavalas in front of him, De Nittis his a header onto the target into the prying arms of the Heidelberg custodian.

Despite remaining with 10 men, South started the second half in an attacking mode in an attempt to exploit the timid Heidelberg defence.

Heidelberg had the first meaningful chance of the half however, when a speculative drive from the left hand side of the area by Marinos Gasparis sailed inches wide of the post and Tommi Tomich.

South responded immediately when two inviting crosses into the area were met by De Nittis and the well-advanced Shane Nunes who both were able to nod the chances onto the target. As per the bulk of chances in the opening half, Gavalas cleanly caught both balls to once again thwart South.

With South slowing down after playing the majority of the game with 10 men, Heidelberg started to gather possession as the game wore on and missed two half chances with Gasparis and Mark Tsiorlas hitting shots wide of the target.

Heidelberg continued to push forward and a speculative long range volley by Osagie Ederaro dipped onto the target from 30 yards, only to be denied by Tommi Tomich who fisted the ball away from danger.

It would be Heidelberg that would go ahead after a beautiful swinging ball into the area by Jim Drossos found Mark Tsiorlas with some space ahead of Steven O’Dor. Tsiorlas then had the composure to hold his ground and steer a volley into the bottom corner to seemingly give Heidelberg the win.

South had one final chance to get something from this game when Fernando was released into space inside the area. With Gavalas committing, the South faithful thought that Fernando would score, however the Futsalroo opted to chip the keeper rather than to steer the ball into one of the corners. This allowed for Gavalas to cap a sensational performance with a match winning save.

The loss gives sends South into 4th position, with Altona and Heidelberg leaping over the club.

South now will re-group and host the bottom-placed Preston at Bob Jane Stadium in two weeks.

Click here for smfcTV highlights of the game

Friday, 29 May 2009 10:23 AM

In what is shaping up to be a mouth watering derby contest, South Melbourne will take on old foe Heidelberg United at Olympic Village on Sunday.

Both teams come into the game in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively, with the Warriors sitting 2 points behind South after 12 rounds of the season.

The Blues will come into the game with a ten game unbeaten streak after a remarkable comeback last Saturday to draw with Dandenong. The last team to beat South were in fact Heidelberg, who managed to pinch a winner in Round 2 after an innocuous cross by striker Osagie Ederaro somehow found the back of the net.

Heidelberg come into the contest in quite opposite form, having thrown away the chance to move into second position by losing their last two games to Dandenong and Oakleigh in convincing fashion. However what will instil confidence for the Warriors will be that they have won the last 3 league contests against South.

In the non-league game played against both teams this year, South ran rampant in pre-season to convincingly defeat Heidelberg by 3 goals to 0 in the final of the Hellenic Cup.In team news, South will welcome the return of inspirationalleader and club legend Vaughan Coveny who will return after a three week absence. His inclusion will add another option back into the South front third to accompany the in-form Gianni De Nittis and Goran Zoric.

Sitting behind these two will be Fernando De Moraes who will look to dominate the contest against the Begers just like he did in the Hellenic Cup Final.

For Heidelberg, the main danger man will be striker Osagie Ederaro who has been in breathtaking form so far in season 2009. Since coming from NSW, Ederaro has scored 10 goals so far, contributing half of Heidelberg’s 20 goals this season.

If South are to take home all three points, it is imperative to shut Ederaro down from the outset.

Kick-off for the big derby is at 4pm.

South Melbourne vs. Heidelberg United – An Overview

First VPL match:
Round 2, 1964
South Melbourne 2-1 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: George Papadopoulos x2)
Venue: Middle Park

First NSL match:
Round 2, 1977
South Melbourne 1-1 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goal: Duncan Cummings)
Venue: Middle Park

Last NSL match:
Round 15, 1994/95
Heidelberg United 1-3 South Melbourne
(SMFC Goals: Con Boutsianis x2, Paul Trimboli)
Venue: Olympic Village

Last VPL match:
Round 2, 2009
South Melbourne 0-1 Heidelberg United
(Goal: Osagie Ederaro)
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium

Total Games (League): 68
South Melbourne Wins: 35
Heidelberg United Wins: 17
Draws: 16

Highest Aggregate Score:
Round 2, 1967 VPL
South Melbourne 7-3 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: Boulis Kambouropoulos x2, Ulysses Kokkinos x2, Leo Damianakos x2, Jim Pyrgolios)
Venue: Middle Park

SMFC Biggest Win:
Round 7, 1991/92 NSL
South Melbourne 5-0 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: Con Boutsianis x2, Mike Petersen, Paul Trimboli, Kimon Taliadoros)
Venue: Middle Park

Wednesday, 27 May 2009 11:56 AM

In what is another exciting development for South Melbourne FC and its stakeholders, the club will host Foxtel’s Fox 8 Production of Football Superstar at Bob Jane Stadium.

The reality based series will focus on a series of young footballers in their conquest to snare themselves an A-League contract. Coming in the way of each individual are a panel of 3 experts and a committed group of young men all aiming to take home the prize.

Each week, a player will be eliminated from the show in a special eviction at Bob Jane Stadium. Each eviction will be beamed across the country on Fox 8 as part of a normal episode and will showcase South Melbourne FC’s famous home ground of Bob Jane Stadium, including all SMFC Corporate Partners and the club itself.

On top of this, Episode 5 of the series will be focussed on South Melbourne FC, including a friendly between the Football Superstar contestants and the SMFC U/21 squad to also be held at Bob Jane Stadium. Incorporated also in this episode will be a brief historical overview of the club’s 50 years for all Foxtel, Austar and Optus subscribers to view and appreciate.

The first episode of Football Superstar will screen tonight at 7.30pm on Fox 8.