Author: SMFC Media

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:30 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne will look to win its second consecutive home game in a row, when it takes on Richmond at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

Buoyed by a solid performance against Altona last week (in which the club had a very unlucky loss) and the resounding 6-2 win against Fawkner a fortnight ago, South go into the game confident that they can take the three points off the high flying Richmond side.

South coach Michael Michalakopoulos will be somewhat reluctant to change the squad from last week, with the back four standing steady against the dangerous Altona outfit.

Centrally, Shane Nunes will look to build on the solid defensive form that he has been showing and will once again partner up with Steven O’dor to form a quite formidable central defensive duo.

On the left hand side of defence, Adam Van Dommele has settled back into the position quite well since returning from injury. The former A-League player will be looked at by the coach to provide an experienced and calm defensive option, as well as to use his strength by pushing forward as an attacking threat whenever possible. This also applies to the experienced Sam Poutakidis, who will once again take the right hand defensive position on the park.

In the middle of the park, Rama Tavsancioglu will once again be assigned to the defensive midfield slot. He was superb last week against Altona and really showed his commitment and leadership in such a role. Supporting him in the centre of the park will be Bill Natsioulas, with Fernando and Goran Zoric also playing vital roles in the midfield area.

Up front South will try a combination of two strikers, with Gianni De Nittis, Nathan Caldwell, Ricky Diaco and Hamlet Armenian all vying for a starting position.
Each player is proven at VPL level and more than capable in influencing any game when in form.

Richmond however, as with Altona last week, will be a tough obstacle to overcome, with the Eagles starting the season in great form.

Unlike many clubs that boast one or two star studded players, Richmond possesses a team full of talented but hard working players, all of whom work together in a manner that assists their team.

In saying that, Richmond have a few individuals that will be looking to shine on the famous Bob Jane Stadium pitch, none more so than former South Melbourne championship winning player George Goutzoulis. Gouzoulis switched over from Heidelberg in the summer and has really added a strong body and experienced campaigner to the centre of Richmond’s midfield. His role will be to win as much ball as possible in that area, as well as provide a threat going forward.

Up front Richmond have been the most potent side in the competition to date, already scoring on 28 occasions this season.

A main reason for this has been the amazing form of the Cardozo brothers, with Richard the leading goal scorer in the competition to date with 9 goals and Pablo just behind, having found the net on 7 occasions. With other attacking threats including Michael Catalano and former South Melbourne player Jessie Krncevic, South must make it a priority to stifle as many Richmond attacking forays as possible.

Taking all this into consideration, Sunday’s game promises to be an thrilling contest by the lake. South Melbourne FC encourages all members, fans and the general public to get along to Bob Jane Stadium to watch a cracking match of Victorian Football. Kick off is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Richmond

When: Sunday, May 4th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4.00pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Goran Zoric, Bill Natsioulas, Gianni De Nittis, Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell

Richmond
Stuart Webster(GK/C), Aaran Lines, Aaran Tsiaras, Jesse Krncevic, Semir Sivic, George Goutzioulis, Richard Cardozo, Michael Catalano, Zoran Cvetkovski, Noel Bahnsen, Nicholas Kalambokis

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 4
South Melbourne : 3
Richmond : 1
Draw : 0

Last Meeting

When: Friday, 29 June 2007
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Score: Richmond 1 defeated South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Win, Loss
Richmond: Win, Loss, Win

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 11:00 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne left Paisley Park without any points for the fourth consecutive season, after a horrendous defensive error by Shane Nunes gave Altona Magic a 1-0 home victory on Monday night.

Both teams had come off solid and impressive wins in the previous round and were looking to add to their good form at the blustery, cold and wet Paisley Park, which provided the setting for the round 10 contest. However the game itself never reached any great heights, much to the disappointment of the fans who braved the conditions to watch the match.

The first chance of the game came in the 17th minute, when a nice run through the middle by Carl Recchia culminated in the midfielder hitting a long range drive into the arms of Dean Anastasiadis in the South Melbourne goal.

South sprung to life in the 22nd minute, when a darting run by Goran Zoric saw the speedy winger push the ball past a host of defenders before opting to hit a strong drive from just inside the area onto the target. His timid shot was calmly collected by Magic goal keeper Bojo Jedjevic.

Jevdjevic was again called into action only two minutes later. Once again the Altona defence failed to track Zoric’s run into the area, with the diminutive midfielder once again squandering a great opportunity by hitting yet another timid shot into the arms of the experienced Altona custodian.

South continued to push forward looking for the opening goal and a speculative long range effort in the 42nd minute by Ricky Diaco almost found the net for the away side. With Jedjevic beaten, the 20-yard drive struck the upright to the dismay of both Diaco and the frustrated South Melbourne contingent on the outer wing.

South came out in the second half continuing to attack. A lovely ball by Fernando saw the ball find Diaco, who only had the keeper to beat. Diaco paused momentarily, which gave the Altona defence enough time to pounce and get in the way of the shot and force the ball out for a corner.

Against the run of play, Altona hit the lead only moments later after a sweeping counter attack culminated in the ball finding Fa’arodo on the right hand flank. The elusive attacker cleanly passed the stagnant Adam Van Dommele before hitting a low goal-bound drive that was cleared by Anastasiadis. Fa’arodo reclaimed possession and then hit a dangerous ball across goal, where the ball was turned into the back of the net by Nunes.

With South a goal down, Altona went in for the kill and a long range effort by Michael Curcija swerved just past the outside of the post and out for a goal kick.

With time ticking away, South pushed more numbers forward, including throwing centre back Steven O’Dor up front as a big target man. The move nearly paid off in the 81st minute, when O’Dor climbed above all around him and cushioned a header into the path of Rama Tavsancioglu. With the ball sitting nicely, Rama’s 20 yard shot flew inches wide of the upright.

South had one final chance in the 88th minute, when substitute Hamlet Armenian weaved his way past three Altona defenders outside the area before finding himself open with the entire goal face to aim at. However like Diaco earlier, Armenian stalled his shot, which allowed the Altona defence to get in the way of the shot and once again thwart the South attack.

The win sees Altona consolidate a top six position on eighteen points, whilst South continues to languish in the lower areas of the table, having acquired only three wins from the first ten rounds.

Monday, 28 April 2008 6:53 PM

The Victorian Government has recently announced its plans for Olympic Park and Bob Jane Stadium. These plans involve moving Athletics Victoria and the Victorian Institute of Sport to the Bob Jane Stadium as part of a major re-development of the stadium.

Whilst South Melbourne Football Club remains the sole tenant of the stadium under its Lease, it is presently participating in discussions with the Government about the re-development of the stadium to accommodate Athletics Victoria and the VIS as co-tenants.

South Melbourne Football Club is proud to have been associated with the Albert Park area for almost 50 years and is pleased that the Victorian Government has recognised the area as a major sporting precinct and a great place for sport.

The Club is keen to work with the Government to ensure that it secures its long term future both at Albert Park and within the top level of Victorian and Australian Football.

The Club is one of the biggest and most successful football clubs in Australia and has produced numerous state, national and Olympic team representatives at all levels during its long and proud history and looks forward to playing a leading role within the new Olympic Sports precinct.

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 10:05 AM

By George Kouroumalis

 

Many people in the Victorian football world would be quite familiar with the surname Alatsas, but on this occasion it isn’t the commentator and host of the Victorian Football Show that people are talking about. Instead they are talking about his daughter Heleena, who has impressed everyone involved in the WPL with her performances in the last few years.

Heleena was an integral member of the highly rated Heidelberg United Women’s setup that captured the WPL crown in 2007, but with South Melbourne being promoted to the Premier League in 2008, Heleena took the opportunity to come on board and sign on with the club she has been supporting all her life.

Heleena is a highly rated player in her own right and has already provided South with an experienced and hard working player to lead a relatively young and inexperienced side through a tough year back in the WPL.

We caught up with Heleena to see how she is finding life at SMWFC and to discuss the challenges that she has faced when switching clubs over the summer.

How are you finding life at South Melbourne?

HA: “Well as to be expected with the promotion back into the Premier League, there have been quite a few changes in regards to the Women’s team at South. A new coach was appointed to take on the challenge of securing the promotion – Morris Mihailidis, and after a couple of months of pre-season training he’s managed to put together a team that in my opinion has plenty of talent and the potential to be very competitive this season.

The team at the moment is fairly young in comparison to some of the other WPL teams and some might say lacking in experience, but we’re all very focused and have shown great signs, especially in the last few weeks, that we are a side not to be underestimated.”

How has the team performed in this early part of the season?

HA: “So far this year the results unfortunately haven’t been too great, but I’m sure spectators would agree that we’ve been fairly unlucky, and the results in most if not all the games, haven’t truly represented the way we actually played! Last week many would have probably predicted a bigger score line against Box Hill, I think we definitely silenced a few people by going 1 nil up early in the game and taking it to them for the whole 90 minutes. The result in the end, for me, was irrelevant and was overshadowed by the heart and standard of football that we displayed, it was one of those games that makes you proud to be a part of a team!

As the ladder stands at the moment, we have lost to teams who haven’t dropped points yet and we were very competitive in all games, so that being said, if we continue to play the way we have been, I’m sure we’ll pick up some more points in the rounds to follow.”

How difficult was it moving from Heidelberg to their big arch rival in South Melbourne?

HA: “Changing clubs is always going to be challenging. I’ve been fortunate now to play for two of the most historic Victorian clubs with years of tradition behind them.

I guess wearing the South jumper just means that little bit more as I am playing for the club that I have followed for most of my life. ”

What are your aims for the rest of the season?

HA: “The next few weeks for us will be interesting. The league is definitely becoming closer and I think this is now showing on the park. I’m confident that we’ll pick up some well deserved points and who knows, we may even cause a few upsets while we’re at it.”

Any final words?

HA: “I urge all South fans to come and watch us this Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium against the Casey Comets. With the senior mens side playing on Monday night against Altona, everyone can come along on the Sunday and cheer the girls on for hopefully our second win of the season.

Also on Friday the 9th of May, we are hosting Keilor Park under lights at Bob Jane Stadium. The restaurant will be open for everyone who attends. The reserves kick off at 6.30pm, the seniors kick off at 8.30pm and it promises to be a great night.”

South Melbourne thanks Heleena for her time and wishes her and the women’s team all the best for the upcoming game against Casey on Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium

Monday, 21 April 2008 8:50 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne has issued a warning to the rest of the Foxtel Cup teams by producing an outstanding display of fluent and attacking football against the Fawkner Blues on Sunday to run out convincing victors 6-2.

The crowd, which included club legend Paul Trimboli and former Carlton AFL captain Anthony Koutoufides, ventured to Bob Jane Stadium with the expectation that South would get the three points that it so desperately needed. With both teams sitting on six points and both at the foot of the league table, it was imperative that the home side won the fixture.

South were instructed by coach Michael Michalakopoulos to attack from the outset and the players adhered to the instructions immediately.

In the second minute, a well worked move down the right hand side of the park culminated in veteran Sam Poutakidis launching a low cross into the area. With mass confusion in the Fawkner defence, an opportunistic Gianni De Nittis latched onto the ball before sliding the ball into the arms of Pasi Schwalger in the Fawkner goal.

With South in an attacking mood, two long-range efforts by Fernando in the 8th and 11th minutes tested Schwalger, with the big keeper thwarting the Brazilian maestro on both occasions. Fernando had a great opportunity to score in the 15th minute, when some classic interplay between him and Nathan Caldwell saw the Brazilian dart past a couple of stagnant defenders before hitting a swirling drive that dipped but floated wide of the goal at the last minute.

South were dominating play and in the 20th minute Fernando turned provider by peeling off the right hand flank and accepting a switched ball from De Nittis. Fernando then launched a low and solid drive into the six yard box, where Caldwell was waiting. With only Schwalger to beat, Caldwell mis-timed his shot, barely making contact and allowing the keeper to capture the ball with ease.

Thankfully for the home fans, South went a goal ahead only three minutes later. A swinging corner found Shane Nunes waiting at the back post. With all the time in the world, the Western Australian headed an inch-perfect ball across the goal and into the path of De Nittis, who had the easy task of tapping the ball past the helpless Schwalger and into the back of the net.

South was in control and playing good football and went looking for a second goal to establish some breathing space. That goal nearly came in the 31st minute, when a storming run and cross by Poutakidis found Caldwell in the area. With the header from Caldwell seemingly goal bound, an amazing and quite acrobatic reflex save by Schwalger forced the ball past the post and prevented South from doubling its lead.

Against the run of the play, Fawkner leveled the game in the 42nd minute. A lapse in the South defence allowed for an innocuous ball forward to find the feet of the well positioned Joseph Youssef just inside the area. With no defender putting any pressure on him, Youssef turned well and hit a superb strike past Dean Anastasiadis and into the back of the net.

Stung by the equalizer, South went forward immediately and went ahead again just before half time, scoring a goal that was almost identical to the opening goal. Anastasiadis had initially mis-kicked a back pass but South managed to get itself out of trouble and move down the field and win a corner. The corner was swung into the far post and once again into the path of the free Nunes, who hit another solid header across the goal and into the path of De Nittis, who again tapped the ball past the helpless Schwalger.

South came back out after half time wanting to finish the game off as a contest. This was achieved in the 52nd minute when a lovely ball from midfield was played into the path of De Nittis, who had broken away from the Fawkner defence. With Caldwell to his left, De Nittis hit a lovely horizontal ball into the path of the hard working striker, who only had keeper Schwalger to beat. Unlike the opportunity he wasted in the opening half, Caldwell calmly slotted past Schwalger and into the back of the net.

South continued to press forward to punish Fawkner and had a fourth goal in the 59th minute. A sublime flick-on by Caldwell reached the oncoming Bill Natsioulas inside the area. With no defender tracking his run into the area, the midfielder had time to take one touch before slamming the ball past Schwalger, who had yet again been exposed by the poor marking of his back four.

By this point South felt like they could do no wrong and launched attack after attack, sensing that a fifth goal was imminent. This arrived when Fernando stepped up to take a free kick in the 70th minute, after the Blues had committed a foul just outside the area. He curled a low free kick past the outstretched Schwalger to send the crowd into raptures. Substitute Ricky Diaco played a part in the goal by getting in front of the goal and faking a touch to confuse the big Fawkner keeper.

The party atmosphere at Bob Jane Stadium continued in the 82nd minute, when a sublime through-ball by Natsioulas found Diaco in space just inside the area and with no defenders anywhere near the South attacker yet again. Diaco composed himself, took a touch and curled an excellent strike around the keeper to put the sixth goal on a crowded South Melbourne scoreboard.

With the game well and truly won, Fawkner’s Jason Principato popped up with three minutes to go to head home a cross at the back post to give his side their second goal of the contest. It was a calm finish by Principato, who had worked hard all game up forward without any reward. However this day did belong to South, giving their coach Michael Michalakopoulos a memorable first win as senior coach.

South must capitalise on this win when it takes on high-flying Altona Magic next Monday night at 8.15pm at Paisley Park. South has not picked up a single point at Paisley Park since returning to the Foxtel Cup in 2005 and will need to re-produce the form shown against Fawkner in order to get a positive result.

Tuesday, 8 April 2008 10:01 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Michael Michalakopoulos has been appointed as the new coach of the club.

Michael is regarded as one the most promising coaches in the VPL having previously coached Essendon Royals and last year’s Grand Finalists Whittlesea Zebras.

Importantly, Michael is a previous South player having played as a forward in 41 games and scoring 10 goals during 3 seasons at the club (89/90 – 91/92) as a consequence being a member of the famous 91 squad that captured a national title.

He has also represented Australia at Olyroo level on 11 occasions, scoring 3 goals along the way

Michael brings a wealth of local knowledge and ambition to the club as he aims to turnaround the fortunes of the most impressive squad lists in the VPL.

Football Operations Director Jim Marinis was optimistic about the future:

“Michael has impressed me with his professional demeanor and enthusiasm. He knows many of our current players and understands what is expected.

I am confident Michael will be successful and steer the club’s football fortunes in the right direction.”

When asked about his appointment Michael stated:

“There is no greater honor than wearing a South shirt and now I will have the privilege of being one of very few ex players to have also coached the club.

I understand the expectation of the members, supporters and sponsors and am fully aware of the responsibility that goes with managing the team.

I’m ready for the challenge and can’t wait to meet and assist the players in improving the club’s on field performance. I feel I have unfinished business with South and appreciate that the current board has given me the opportunity to utilise the experience I have acquired over the years, to ensure South Melbourne FC remains one of Australia’s most prominent football clubs”.

The club asks for all the South faithful to support Michael and the players as they aim to return to winning ways.

Monday, 7 April 2008 7:30 PM

The club wishes to announce that John Anastasiadis has resigned from his role as coach of South Melbourne FC.

Both John Anastasiadis and his assistant John Gabrielson spoke with SMFC football director Jim Marinis today and made the club aware of their intentions.

Commenting on the events of the last couple of days Jim stated:

“It is regrettable that that the performance of the team has led to this course of action but unfortunately the club had no choice but to accept his resignation. John has served the club with distinction and honor both as a player and as a coach and can leave with his head held high.
Results are a reality of all football clubs and recent results have not been favorable.
Needless to say, the club has already embarked on finding a suitable replacement.”

Johnny A is one of South’s longest serving coaches having taken the reins in 2005 after the club’s fall from the NSL.

The highlight of his tenure has been winning the 2006 VPL Championship in front of 7,000 fans at BJS.

The club wishes John all the best in his future endeavors and reminds both him and John Gabrielson (Assistant) that they will always be welcome back at the club which they have served admirably over the last few years.

The club is considering a number of candidates which include past South players and will be making an announcement in due course.

Monday, 7 April 2008 10:17 AM

By George Kouroumalis

A professional and dominant display by Green Gully has seen them crush South Melbourne 0-3 at a sun-drenched Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

With both sides were coming off impressive wins, an excited crowd arrived at Bob Jane Stadium expecting to see a cracking contest. However, not even the staunchest Green Gully fan could have predicted the one sided contest that evenuated.

South coach John Anastasiadis made a few structural changes to the starting line-up from last weekend.

In defence, Robbie Wynne was once again dropped to the substitutes bench, with Sam Poutakidis returning the right back position. Joining the veteran defender would be the same three that started against Preston, with Steven O’Dor and Shane Nunes asked to perform central defensive duties, whilst Rama Tavsancioglu would once again play on the left hand side of the park.

In the middle of the park, both Goran Zoric and Gianni De Nittis were given starting positions, with the latter recovering from the injury that had seen him miss out on the last few games. Making way for De Nittis would be the unlucky Bill Natsioulas.

The other two players that made up this midfield quartet would be Fernando and Antonio La Verde, both of whom have been in decent form leading into the game, with La Verde cementing his claim to the central midfield position with some great and hard working performances.

Up front, Hamlet Armenian was dropped to the bench, with last week’s hero Nathan Caldwell given the nod to start beside Ricky Diaco.

South started the game brightly, when a quality run down the right hand flank by Goran Zoric saw the speedy midfielder dart past a few defenders, before hitting his shot into the arms of Steven Tilovski in the Gully goal.

Fernando tried to replicate Zoric’s effort only three minutes later, with the Brazilian also hitting a long range drive into the secure arms of the very confident Tilovski.

Gully’s first real opportunity of the contest came in the 20th minute, when an opportunistic ball was swung into the back post.

With confusion inside the area and an indecisive attempt to capture the cross by Dean Anastasiadis, the ball found Joel Nikolic open at the back post, who headed the ball into the back of the net with consumate ease, giving Gully a 0-1 lead.

Gully doubled their advantage in the 26th minute when the referee awarded them a penalty, after Steven O’Dor was judged to have handled the ball just inside the area.

With no hesitation, Stephen Burton stepped up and slammed the ball into the back of net, sending Anastasiadis the wrong way for 0-2.

With the South side in complete disarray, Nikolic should have scored his second after spooning a long drive well over the bar from just outside the area.

South had a big opportunity to get back into the contest in the 33rd minute, when a lovely ball passed through the stagnant defence and found the feet of Fernando.

With only Tilovski in front of him, Fernando hit a poor shot into the feet of the lunging keeper, who once again thwarted the South attack.

Tilovski again stood in the way of South just before the interval, after a brilliant cross into the area by Fernando was poorly defended by Dean Fak and his Gully defence. The ball then fell to O’Dor inside the six yard box, who hit the poor shot directly into the legs of Tilovski.

The second half was all Green Gully, with the away side controlling the tempo and being first to the ball at every opportunity.

In the 58th minute a lunging tackle by Poutakidis, who appeared to have got the ball, was awarded as a penalty to Gully, with referee Jim Zafiriou claiming Poutakidis caught the man.

Stepping up to take the penalty was Andy Vargas, with the experienced midfielder keen to score another goal against South Melbourne, as he had done on a few occasions back in the NSL whilst playing for the Melbourne Knights. With the keeper once again beaten, South dodged a bullet as the ball struck the post and stayed out.

South’s biggest opportunity in the second half came in the 63rd minute.

Some lovely work by Zoric on the left flank saw the midfielder launch an inch-perfect pass to the back post, where Hamlet Armenian was waiting by himself. Armenian looked to have steered a powerful header into the top corner, only for Tilovski to fly past the goal face and once again capture the ball somewhat athletically in mid-air.

Gully closed the game off in the 72nd minute when some poor defending allowed for Joel Nikolic to gain possession just outside the area. With no defender in sight, Nikolic slammed the ball underneath the oncoming Anastasiadis for his second of the night.

With the game well and truly over, South dodged yet another bullet when a poor effort late in the game by Shaun Romein from just inside the area saw the ball fly past the outside of the post.

South Melbourne will now somehow have to regroup and travel to the in-form Melbourne Knights next week at Knights Stadium.

With the club currently languishing in 10th position on the table, a win next week against an old rival from the National League is imperative. Kick off is at 3pm.

Friday, 4 April 2008 3:56 PM

By George Kouroumalis

After a thrilling derby win last weekend against Preston, South Melbourne must remain composed as it welcomes Green Gully to Bob Jane Stadium this Sunday.

South performed a classic second half comeback last week at Connor Reserve, with two late goals to Goran Zoric and Nathan Caldwell giving the club an invaluable 1-2 win against the Lions.

Despite not playing the most fluent football, South coach John Anastasiadis will be excited by the persistence and character his boys showed in front of the parochial home crowd.

Defensively, South will be expected to go into the game on Sunday with the same starting line-up that performed quite well against the Lions.

Captain Dean Anastasiadis will be in goals, with Robbie Wynne on the right. Wynne has been impressive in his two games to date this season and has grasped the opportunity given to him, providing the side with a versatile and energetic defensive option. Joining the youngster in the defensive back four will be Shane Nunes and Steven O’Dor, both of whom will play in the central defensive position. Vice captain and inspirational leader Ramazan Tavsancioglu will be asked to once again patrol the left hand side of defence.

In the midfield, Anastasiadis will most likely persist with playing Sam Poutakidis on the right hand flank. Last week in that position, Poutakidis was a standout player for the side, providing both a presence in the attacking third as well as assisting the defence. The central midfield position will be filled by Antonio La Verde, with Fernando De Moraes playing a more attacking role in the centre of the park, just behind the front two. The other midfield position will be awarded to either Bill Natsioulas or Goran Zoric. After a solid first half performance against Preston, Natsioulas did not re-appear after the interval and was replaced by Zoric, who had a superb second half and scored the equalising goal.

Up front there are three strikers vying for two positions, with Nathan Caldwell’s solid performance against the Lions (including scoring the winning goal) firmly putting his case forward for re-inclusion into the starting line-up. Others in the mix will be Hamlet Armenian and Ricky Diaco, with the latter playing ninety minutes against the Lions and working extremely hard to create goalscoring opportunities. If South are to win on Sunday, whoever gets the nod to start up forward must make an impact on the contest.

South will come up against an experienced and well-drilled Green Gully side, with coach Ian Dobson renowned for producing football teams that are hard working and able to pick up results at any ground.

In goals for the Cavaliars will be Steven Tilovski, a player that stood in the way of South on both occasions last year when playing for the Fawkner Blues. In both games, he single-handedly won a point for his side after producing two superb performances in between the sticks. Tilovski’s shot stopping ability and strength in the air makes him a formidable wall to get past and South’s attacking players will need to be effective when presented with goal scoring opportunities. In front of Tilovski, veteran Dean Fak will lead a Green Gully defence that has only conceded 4 goals in six rounds, making them the second best defensive team in the league statistically.

In the midfield, Andy Vargas will be the player to watch. The hard working and experienced former NSL player will be well known to South fans as a player that can rip a game apart on his day. Whether it be with the ball at his feet, from a free-kick or a corner, Vargas will no doubt be a massive headache to the home side and someone that must be kept quiet in order for South to increase their chances of winning the contest. Other dangerous midfield options that will come either into the starting line-up or off the bench are the Delev brothers, who crossed over from Altona in the pre-season. Both players are experienced at this level and both can hold down the midfield as well as provide dangerous attacking threats going forward.

Up front, the Cavaliers have the in-form Joel Nikolic leading the charge, partnered by the elusive and skillful Campbell Banks. Nikolic really stepped up last week against Coburg, netting on two occasions to ensure that his team would take all three points. He is another player who is well accustomed to this level and will provide South’s central defensive duo with a nightmare when he has the ball at his feet or at aerial challenges.

South Melbourne urges all fans once again to come to the game on Sunday and get behind their side that is striving to get itself back into the top six. After a huge win last week, the scene is set for a cracking match at Bob Jane Stadium. Kick off is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Green Gully

When: Sunday, April 6th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Tony La Verde, Bill Natsioulas, Robbie Wynne, Fernando De Moraes, Hamlet Armenian, Ricky Diaco

Green Gully
Steven Tilovski, Mile Medjedovic, Dragi Nastevski, Dean Fak, Steven Burton, Ryan Ollerton, Jeffrey Fleming, Campbell Banks, Kole Delev, Andy Vargas, Joel Nikolic

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 8
South Melbourne : 2
Green Gully : 4
Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 15 July 2007
Where: Green Gully Reserve
Score: Green Gully 0 drew with South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Loss, Win
Green Gully: Win, Draw, Win

Tuesday, 25 March 2008 10:22 AM

The South Melbourne family will once again be out in force again tonight, with the kick-off to the 2008 Women’s Premier League campaign.

South have resurrected themselves from State League 1, finishing second in season 2007 and being awarded with promotion back to the Women’s Premier League after only one season down a division.

With a new coach on board and a host of new players, the club feels quite confident that the players have what it takes to have a successful season and play a prominent role later in the season, with finals football an aim.

Speaking to www.smfc.com.au, Jaime Floros was confident about her side’s chances for the upcoming season.

“We have trained quite hard over the break and are really excited to get the season off to a good start. We were quite disappointed being relegated to State League 1, but the girls showed great character and really played well last year to get promoted back into the Premier League. South is a big club and we really want to do both the club and ourselves proud this season with our performances.”

When asked about the aim of the team in season 2008, Jaime was intent that she wanted to play finals football, claiming that “everyone that plays football wants to have the opportunity to play finals football and we are no different. We have a new look squad, a new coach and the place is buzzing with excitement about our chances this year. I think our squad is good enough to take on the best, so with a bit of luck I want to see us play finals this year and really make our mark as a team that has improved from last year.”

South will commence the season in round one tonight at the Darebin Sports Complex in Northcote against Gippsland, the other side promoted from State League 1 last season. Kick off is at 8.30pm and all fans are encouraged to get along and support the side as it strives for an improved and successful 2008 Premier League campaign.