Author: Tim McGlone

South Melbourne has suffered its first defeat in 2015 after going down 2-0 to Oakleigh Cannons at Jack Edwards Reserve on Friday night.

The result was further soured by the losses of Dane Milovanovic, to a serious knee injury, and Captain Michael Eagar, who received a red card in the dying minutes.

The result ends South’s extraordinary unbeaten run in the league, which was at 19 games before the night.

In front of a crowd which was predominantly made up of South supporters, Lambros Honos, who finished superbly in the 25^th minute to gave Oakleigh an early lead.

A short time later, Nick Epifano squandered a great chance after a tremendous solo run.

Just on the half hour mark, South was rocked when star midfielder Dane Milovanovic went down with a knee injury. Recent signing Chris Irwin came on as Milovanovic’s replacement, and almost put South ahead with one of his first touches for the club, however blazed over the top of the bar from 12 yards out.

Nikola Roganovic was the hero the last time these two sides met, and the former Melbourne Heart stopper made a great save on the stroke of half time to keep his side in the game.

Oakleigh dropped deeper in the second half, and made life difficult for the reigning champions.

Just after the hour mark, former South man Dusan Bosnjak shrugged off two defenders and put the ball on a platter or Mirjan Pavlovic to double the home side’s advantage.

South continued to fight until the end of the game, but were unable to find the back of the net. It was the first time South had failed to find the back of the net in 27 League games, since the 3-0 loss to Oakleigh in the same fixture last season.

Eagar’s dismissal at the death rounded out a disappointing night for the reigning champions.

South assistant coach Dimi Tsiaras summed up the night:

“A loss is a loss, if we lose to Oakleigh or we lose to someone else, it doesn’t really matter. The boys are pretty flat at the moment, as you would expect. We’ve got North Geelong next week, so we have to rebound, and hopefully get a result there”.

FINAL SCORE: Oakleigh Cannons 2-0 South Melbourne (HT: 1-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Lambros Honos (20’)
2-0: Own Goal (72’)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C) (sent off 90+2′), 5. Luke ADAMS, 7. Nick EPIFANO, 9. Milos LUJIC, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 17. Andy BRENNAN (10. David STIRTON 70’) 21. Jake BARKER-DAISH, 13. Dane MILOVANOVIC (6. Chris IRWIN 39’).

Unused Substitutes: 8. Mathew THEODORE, 23. Andy KECOJEVIC, 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS.

Oakleigh Cannons:
1. John HONOS (GK), 3. John BLACK, 6. Steve PANTELIDIS, 8. Dusan BOSNJAK, 10. Dean PIEMONTE, 12. Tremayne SADLER, 14. Mirjan PAVLOVIC, 15. Jake MCLEAN (19. Goran ZORIC 60’), 18. Adam LE CORNU, 21. Jakob WILLIAMS, 26. Lambros HONOS (16. Rowan MCNAMEE 90+2’).

Unused Substitutes: 23. Dominic D’ANGELO, 25. Delarno PHAROE, 35. Lajos HUN (GK).

SMFC Fix Hellas Beer Man of the Match: Iqi Jawadi
Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve
Date: Friday 22 May 2015

 

 

South Melbourne will have a score to settle tonight when it travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to take on rivals Oakleigh Cannons.

In this fixture last season, Oakleigh won 3-0 to end South’s undefeated streak. The circumstances are similar this time around, with South currently enjoying a 19 game unbeaten run in the league that extends back to round 20 of the 2014 season.

The top two sides of last campaign could not have had more contrasting starts to the 2015 season. South are now on the same amount of points as this time last year, and come into this match full of confidence after two important victories last week against Dandenong Thunder and Northcote City.

Milos Lujic was once again at the forefront of both victories, netting the opener against Thunder before heading home a memorable late winner in the clash with Northcote. The big striker is showing no signs of slowing down, having scored 13 goals in all competitions this season.

Oakleigh, on the other hand, have struggled to find their best football this year and are currently languishing in 12^th place, a point above the relegation zone.

The Cannons parted ways with former coach Miron Blieberg recently, with Arthur Papas taking over as head coach. Papas recorded wins against North Geelong and Dandenong in his first two games in charge, however the side has since struggled with consecutive 2-1 losses to Bentleigh Greens and Werribee.

The Cannons’ squad remains full of talent, however, with former South players Goran Zoric and Dusnan Bosnjak both capable of scoring goals in attack. Oakleigh will be without star Ben Clarke, after the winger’s dismissal against Bentleigh last weekend.

When these two sides met in the NPL’s season opener, South took the spoils 1-0 in a tight game at the Lakeside. As always against Oakleigh, form and ladder positions can be thrown out the window, with a tight game expected between two of Victorian football’s modern day heavyweights.

The clash between South Melbourne and Oakleigh Cannons kicks off at 8.30pm at Jack Edwards Reserve in Oakleigh. Those unable to make the match can follow proceedings on the club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, using the handles #SMFC and #PS4NPLVIC.

 

South Melbourne have secured the services of former Youth player and highly touted youngster Chris Irwin, who put pen to paper on a two year contract with the club during the week.

The 20 year old joins from newly promoted Avondale FC, where he spent the first half of the 2015 season. Prior to his time with Avondale, Irwin impressed at NPL1 club Box Hill United, where he made 13 appearances and scored three goals in 2014. As also previously mentioned Irwin also played 3 seasons as part of our very own Youth setup before leaving the club to play senior football elsewhere.

Irwin is a versatile attacking player with an eye catching turn of speed, and tremendous technique. Although the right footer is most suited to playing on the right hand side of midfield, he is also adept at playing on the left.

Irwin has made 12 appearances in the league so far this season, scoring two goals, including an outstanding goal from 30 yards out against Melbourne Knights.

South Melbourne FC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis welcomed the signing of Irwin. “He is a wonderful individual who many of us know and remember through his time in our Junior and Youth Program at a younger age. Since then he has developed into a handy senior footballer and we hope that his versatility, attitude and speed is something we can add to the squad for the second half of the season.”

We welcome Chris back home to the club and wish him all the best for his time in Blue and White.

South Melbourne FC will be looking to get back on the winners list tonight when they host PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria newcomers Avondale FC at Lakeside Stadium.

South left it late to draw 2-2 with Port Melbourne in their previous outing, scoring deep into injury time to salvage a point that had seemed unlikely. Brad Norton was the scorer of that goal, while centre-half Luke Adams also got on the score sheet to complete an unlikely goal scoring duo.

Chris Taylor’s side are two points off the top of the NPL Victoria table. South is equal on points with the Bentleigh Greens and are just behind League leaders Heidelberg, who missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the ladder when they drew 0-0 with bottom placed North Geelong last Saturday. South still hold a game in hand over the Bergers, with their catch-up game against Dandenong Thunder scheduled to take place next Tuesday.

Dynamic forward David Stirton trained strongly during the week and may be available for the clash, having missed the last two matches with a groin injury. Mathew Theodore missed the Port Melbourne game with soreness but will be in contention to return to the team tonight.

South remain undefeated across all competitions in 2015, with seven wins and three draws to show in the League thus far. Whilst not on par with their incredible eleven game winning run to start the 2014 season, Chris Taylor’s men have shown the ability to win ugly so far this campaign, a trait shared by many Championship winning teams. Five of South’s seven victories in the League have been by a margin of one goal, with three 1-0 wins.

This is the type of score Avondale became famous for last season. The 2014 NPL1 Champions were promoted to Victoria’s top flight on the back of an outstanding defensive season in which they kept eleven clean sheets.
Avondale are currently in eighth position on the table but come into this clash on the back of a 2-0 defeat by Bentleigh last weekend.

Oleksiy Khrapko has scored almost half of Avondale’s goals in the League this year, including a stunning hat-trick against Dandenong Thunder a few weeks back. The Ukrainian born striker looms as the danger man for the visitors, which will include multiple VPL title winner Jeff Fleming in its line-up.

Tonight’s match will be the first ever meeting between South Melbourne and Avondale FC.

The match kicks off at 8:15pm at Lakeside Stadium, with the Under 20s match postponed until a later date to allow for the pitch to recover. Those unable to make the match can follow proceedings on the club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, using the handles #SMFC and #PS4NPLVIC.

South Melbourne FC face local rivals Port Melbourne tonight, knowing that a victory at SS Anderson Reserve will give them temporary ownership of top spot on the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria table.

The clash against a revamped Port Melbourne side presents a stern test for the reigning Champions, who are undefeated across all competitions in 2015.

In recent weeks, Chris Taylor’s men have shown their title credentials by grinding out a number of hard fought victories in the League. Two successive 1-0 victories, against Hume City and Pascoe Vale respectively, gives South 23 points after nine games. Heidelberg United currently occupy first position on the PS4 NPL Victoria table with 25 points from ten games, with the Bergers on the road to face North Geelong on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Taylor will be unperturbed by the manner of the victories as his side continues to build momentum throughout the season. South have now gone a total of 344 minutes without conceding a goal across all competitions. During this time, Captain Michael Eagar has been a tremendous force in the centre of defence, having resumed a centre-half role in the absence of injured defender Kristian Konstantinidis.

Another man who has played a crucial role in the recent run of wins has been centre-forward Milos Lujic. The reigning Golden Boot winner has gone on a remarkable goal-scoring run recently, having found the back of the net in each of his last eight matches across both League and Cup competitions. Lujic’s first-half strikes in South’s past two encounters have been the only goals in each match, underlining his importance to the team.

It is unlikely that there will be many changes to the side that defeated Pascoe Vale last Friday. Andy Brennan, who was signed by A-League outfit Newcastle Jets during the week, is still available to play for South until early June.

After avoiding relegation by the narrowest of margins in 2014, Port Melbourne appear to be one of the competition’s most improved sides this season. The Sharks sit comfortably in sixth position on the League ladder, with four victories from ten matches so far in 2015. Many eyes were on Eric Vassiliadis’ men after back-to-back 4-0 wins against Oakleigh and North Geelong, although Port has stumbled in recent weeks and come into tonight’s game with only a point from their past three games.

Players to watch out for include former South players Trent Rixon and Kamal Ibrahim, who have both scored four goals this campaign, as well as Julius Davies, who has been through the youth system at Bayern Munich no less.

In the corresponding meeting between the two sides on Friday 28 March 2014, two late Leigh Minopoulos goals sealed a 2-3 win for South.

The match kicks off at 8.15pm at SS Anderson Reserve in Port Melbourne. Those unable to make the game can follow it with live updates on the South Melbourne FC Facebook page and on the Club’s official Twitter @smfc with the hashtags #PS4NPL and #SMFC.

South Melbourne FC hosts eighth-placed Pascoe Vale at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night as they look to keep up the pressure at the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria table.

South enjoyed a fantastic series of results last week. Chris Taylor’s side followed up the derby win against the Melbourne Knights with an 8-0 drubbing of North Sunshine FC in the FFA Cup, before triumphing 1-0 in a gritty performance at Hume City last Saturday night.

South sit just two points behind Heidelberg United in second spot on the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder but hold a game in hand over their old foes. A win against Pascoe Vale would lift the men in blue to top spot ahead of Heidelberg’s meeting with the third-placed Melbourne Knights on Sunday afternoon.

The win against Hume last Saturday night was one that cannot be underestimated given the strength of the opposition and the difficulty of the conditions at Broadmeadows. In a superb defensive effort, South were able to record their third clean sheet in four outings, with Tim Mala in particular outstanding at the right side of defence. Mala and co will be looking to produce a similar performance this week in front of their home fans at Lakeside Stadium and against a Pascoe Vale side that contains a number of dangerous attacking options.

Pascoe Vale’s Jake Nakic has scored four times from six appearances in the League this season and the former Melbourne Victory youth captain is one of the most dangerous players in the League if given space to showcase his dribbling abilities. After losing their first four games, Pascoe Vale come into this clash on the back of four successive wins and have scored ten goals in their previous three games.

For the home side, Milos Lujic scored in all three fixtures last week and last season’s Golden Boot winner again shapes as the key man up front. Andy Brennan didn’t score against Hume but looked dangerous every time going forward. Nick Epifano will miss the match following a club imposed suspension, meaning one of Mathew Theodore, Andy Kecojevic or Leigh Minopoulos will return to the starting line-up. David Stirton, who was subbed at half-time following a groin injury against Hume, is expected to be fit for the match.

South Melbourne have won the past three encounters against Pascoe Vale, including both games last season (1-0 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 18 May and 3-0 at Hosken Reserve on Friday 1 August).

Friday night’s match against Pascoe Vale kicks off at 8:15pm at Lakeside Stadium. Those unable to make the match can follow proceedings on the Club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, using the handles #SMFC and #NPLVIC.

An outstanding defensive display helped South Melbourne FC defeat Hume City 0-1 at ABD Stadium on Saturday night.
On a treacherous night in Broadmeadows, Milos Lujic’s first half header was enough to secure the points in a game that was far from pretty but considerably entertaining nonetheless.

The win extended South’s unbeaten start to the season to eight games in the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria and ten games across all competitions. South won the first eleven League matches of the 2014 season before going on to win the title.

It might have been a different story had Hume City captain Nick Hegarty found the back of the net in the eighth minute of the game. Hegarty’s header struck the underside of the crossbar, bouncing back out into the field of play before eventually being cleared by Brad Norton.

South was forced to withstand some heavy pressure from the home side early in the match, before Lujic’s ninth goal of the season gave the defending NPL Victoria Champions the lead after 26 minutes. Nick Epifano delivered a delightful ball to the near post, with Lujic finding the back of the net with a characteristically powerful header.

The lead gave Chris Taylor’s men more control over proceedings, with Epifano and Andy Brennan constantly threatening on each flank.

Just before half-time a surging run from Brennan resulted in a free-kick on the edge of the area. After initially slipping in his run-up, Dane Milovanovic drove a powerful shot underneath the wall which forced Hume goalkeeper Chris Oldfield into a terrific diving save.

A combination of shocking conditions and some excellent defending from both sides meant that chances were few and far between in the second half.

Tim Mala was particularly outstanding at the right side of defence, nailing a series of important slide tackles and successfully nullifying star Hume attacker Jai Ingham.

The game came to life in the final ten minutes when Hume had a big chance to level the scores, only for Calvin Mbarga’s header to sail over the crossbar.

Moments later Andy Brennan skipped down the field after a slip from a Hume defender, however the big Tasmanian’s shot went just wide of the post. It mattered little, with the final whistle sounding a few moments later to give South a sixth League win in 2015 with Taylor’s side still unbeaten in ten matches across all competitions this season.

Captain Michael Eagar commended the resilience of his squad after three wins in seven days during the past week. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy tonight but we knuckled down, did the hard yards and got the deserved three points. We had a tough derby match last Saturday, then the midweek Cup game and then another tough game tonight. It’s been a great effort by everyone in the squad. Everyone has done their job when called upon.”

Fix Hellas Beer Man of the Match Tim Mala was also quick to sing the praises of the defence and striker Milos Lujic. “Millsy is the sort of guy that if you give him half a metre he’s so dangerous that he makes you pay and that’s what he did tonight. It was a good effort by everyone really, we had to grind it out but we got the win and you can see that we’re buzzing now.”

There was further good news in the Under 20s as Nashir Hussainy’s second half goal gave South Melbourne a 0-1 win over Hume City.

South Melbourne FC’s next match is at home against Pascoe Vale at Lakeside Stadium on Friday 24 April. Kick-off is at 8:15pm.

FINAL SCORE: HUME CITY 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorer:
0-1: Milos Lujic (26′)

Hume City:
1. Chris OLDFIELD (GK), 2. Dean TOMESKI, 3. Shaun TIMMINS, 4. Issy ERDOGAN, 5. Petar FRANJIC, 7. Jai INGHAM, 9. Deng AGUEK, 10. Joey FRANJIC, 13. Shane REXHEPI, 17. Marcus SCHROEN, 39. Nick HEGARTY (C).
Substitutes: 8. Calvin Mbarga, 11. Ivan Pavlak, 14. Aaron Turner, 16. Matt Hennessy, 30. Ayrin Sayan.

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 5. Luke ADAMS, 7. Nick EPIFANO (21. Jake BARKER-DAISH 82′), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. David STIRTON (8. Mathew THEODORE 50′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 13. Dane MILOVANOVIC, 17. Andy BRENNAN.

Fix Hellas Beer Man of the Match: Tim Mala
Venue: ABD Stadium
Date: Saturday 18 April 2015

South Melbourne FC will be looking to extend its unbeaten start to the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria season when it takes on the dangerous Hume City at ABD Stadium on Saturday night.

Chris Taylor’s side has not lost an NPL Victoria match since the 2-1 loss away at the Bentleigh Greens on Wednesday 6 August 2014. South has been unbeaten in 13 League matches since then, including the first seven League matches of the 2015 campaign.

South currently sit in third position on the NPL Victoria ladder just behind Heidelberg United and the Bentleigh Greens, however Chris Taylor’s men have a game in hand over each of those sides.

South will go into the contest against Hume City with plenty of confidence, following two tremendous wins during the week. Firstly there was the gritty come-from-behind 2-1 victory against rivals the Melbourne Knights at Lakeside Stadium last Saturday. This was followed up by an imperious display of football in the 8-0 Westfield FFA Cup triumph over State League 1 side North Sunshine Eagles FC at Lakeside Stadium on Wednesday night.

Andy Brennan was the star of the show in the Knights derby match by scoring the winning goal and causing all sorts of headaches for the Knights defenders. He also got on the scoresheet fifteen minutes into the match against North Sunshine before being substituted early as a precautionary measure ahead of the Hume City match. David Stirton scored a hat-trick in the FFA Cup victory, including a sensational curling free-kick, whilst the talismanic Milos Lujic scored in both fixtures to take his season tally to a very impressive eight goals across all competitions.

The fast pitch at the newly refurbished ABD Stadium is expected to suit South’s slick passing game, however the defending NPL Victoria Champions will need to be at the top of their game against a side that looked like a title contender after posting four successive wins in March.

Hume City have dropped points in recent weeks, drawing away to Werribee City and suffering a 1-0 defeat against the Bentleigh Greens last weekend. They bounced back to winning ways in mid-week with a resounding 4-0 victory over Geelong Soccer Club in the FFA Cup.

Hume City has one of the stars of the competition at their disposal in striker Jai Ingham. The former Brisbane Roar man has scored five goals in the League so far in 2015 and shapes as the most dangerous threat to South’s defence in this contest.

South Melbourne and Hume City have been playing each other in League competition since Hume (then known as Coburg United) was promoted into the old Victorian Premier League in 2008. Since then, the two sides have met fifteen times, with South recording nine wins, Hume City five wins and with one draw.

South won both meetings between the two sides in 2014, winning 0-3 at ABD Stadium on Sunday 13 April before triumphing again 2-0 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 13 July.

The match against Hume City kicks off at 7pm on Saturday evening at ABD Stadium, Westmeadows. Those who are unable to make the match can follow proceedings on the Club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, using the handles #SMFC and #NPLVIC.

South Melbourne FC is within two games of qualifying for the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32, following a clinical 8-0 victory against ten-man North Sunshine FC at Lakeside Stadium last night.

David Stirton was the star of the show for the home side after hitting a superb hat-trick, as Milos Lujic, Andy Brennan, Nick Epifano, Leigh Minopoulos and Jake Barker-Daish scored a goal each.

A strong contingent of North Sunshine fans made the journey to Lakeside Stadium in the hope that their side could cause another upset, after the State League 1 side sensationally drew 6-6 before winning on penalties against Sunshine George Cross in the previous round of the Cup in March.

Unfortunately for the travelling supporters, South Melbourne effectively won the game in the opening 21 minutes with three goals. After only five minutes, Lujic met Brennan’s cross and he tapped in the opening goal of the evening.

Brennan had been outstanding in the derby victory against the Melbourne Knights four days earlier and he continued his good form by doubling the home side’s lead ten minutes later by finishing off a tremendously slick team move.

The big Tasmanian was at the centre of a contentious decision a few minutes later, when the referee elected not to pay the advantage rule despite Brennan putting the ball in the back of the net. It mattered little, with Stirton scoring the first of his three goals from the resulting free kick.

Coach Chris Taylor made two first half substitutions, taking off Lujic and Brennan with Saturday’s League match at Hume City in mind. Minopoulos and Andy Kecojevic replaced the pair respectively.

Stirton continued the rout with his second goal of the evening six minutes before the halftime break. On 41 minutes, North Sunshine defender Besnik Kutleshi received a second yellow for hauling down Epifano in the box and was subsequently sent off. Epifano sent goalkeeper Daniel Kirkbride the wrong way as South went into the halftime break 5-0 ahead and with the extra man on the park.

South goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic made a couple of good saves early in the second half as the Eagles threatened the South goal on a few occasions, however the result never looked in doubt.

Leigh Minopoulos struck on the hour to reaffirm South’s dominance, before Stirton completed his hat-trick a short time later with a nice shot from long range. Barker-Daish scored his first goal for the club with a brilliant strike in injury time to cap off an impressive team effort.

Post-match, Stirton was stoked to have scored his first goals in front of the home fans at Lakeside Stadium, whilst also noting the ruthlessness of the team’s performance. “I’m pretty proud. It’s great (for me) to get a few goals away, especially for the first time at a home game. They (North Sunshine) have done well to get to this point but I think we played good football tonight, took our chances and put in a really good performance.”

The draw for the next round of the Westfield FFA Cup is this Friday at 12pm.

South Melbourne FC returns to PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria action on the weekend, with a trip to ABD Stadium in Broadmeadows on Saturday evening to play Hume City. Kick-off is at 7pm.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 8-0 NORTH SUNSHINE EAGLES (HT: 5-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Milos Lujic (5’)
2-0: Andy Brennan (15’)
3-0: David Stirton (21’)
4-0: David Stirton (39’)
5-0: Nick Epifano (41’p)
6-0: Leigh Minopoulos (60’)
7-0: David Stirton (66’)
8-0: Jake Barker-Daish (90’)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK), 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 5. Luke ADAMS, 6. Bonel Obradovic, 7. Nick EPIFANO, 9. Milos LUJIC (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 21’), 10. David STIRTON, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 17. Andy BRENNAN (23. Andy KECOJEVIC 41’), 21. Jake BARKER-DAISH.

Unused subs: 28. Rory BRIAN, 8. Mathew THEODORE, 13. Dane MILOVANOVIC.

North Sunshine Eagles:
30. Daniel KIRKBRIDE (GK) (1. Amet MUSOSKI 46’), 2. Raul ISAC (6. Saul MEMISHI 46’), 3. Besnik KUTLESHI, 4. Miles SHANNON, 5. Feta MEMISHI (C), 7. Adriyan BEKTASH (9. Paul DICKIE 46’), 8. Daniel DRAGOVIC, 11. Diellon MEMISHI, 12. Lewis SHANNON, 14. Arben ISAI, 16. Fitim FERZULLA.

Unused Subs: 10. David DUDAJ, 15. Frankie BARILLA.

Fix Hellas Beer Man of the Match: David Stirton
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Wednesday 15 April 2015

Photo by Cindy Nitsos

South Melbourne FC hosts the North Sunshine Eagles in their Westfield FFA Cup Fifth Round meeting at Lakeside Stadium this Wednesday night.

In the Fourth Round, South travelled to Whittlesea United on Saturday 14 March and triumphed 0-5. On the same afternoon, North Sunshine booked its passage into the next round – and set up a date with the NPL Victoria Champions – following an astonishing 6-6 (4-2 on penalties) victory against NPL 1 side Sunshine George Cross.

As this Cup fixture is sandwiched between tough League matches against the Melbourne Knights (last Saturday) and Hume City (this upcoming Saturday), Head Coach Chris Taylor is likely to shuffle his South Melbourne side for the match against North Sunshine, who are currently on top of the State League 1 North-West division.

Full-back Tim Mala, who received a red card in the League match against Green Gully on Saturday 4 April, will serve the second of his two match suspension against North Sunshine on Wednesday night and will be available for the Hume City match this upcoming Saturday evening.

It will be interesting to see what attacking line-up Taylor decides to play on Wednesday night. Centre-forward Milos Lujic has started every game in 2015 and has scored seven goals across all competitions this season, with the latest being from the penalty spot against the Melbourne Knights last Saturday.

South Hobart signing Andy Brennan was tremendous in the derby victory, displaying scintillating pace, power and skill in a performance that was capped off with him scoring the match-winning goal just after half-time.

Wednesday night’s meeting with North Sunshine may be an opportunity for Jake Barker-Daish to make his first start for the Club. The former Adelaide United midfielder made his first appearance for South when he came off the bench against the Knights last weekend, following a knee injury that had kept him out of action in the early stages of 2015.

Taylor and his charges must be wary of the threat posed by North Sunshine, given the Eagles’ form in recent times. They were promoted to State League 1 on the back of a Championship winning season in 2014 in which they lost only three matches. North Sunshine has continued their good form by starting 2015 with two wins from their first three League fixtures, with Raul Isac netting four times thus far.

The incredible match with Sunshine George Cross in the previous Cup round saw the Eagles initially take a 4-1 lead, before the Georgies fought back to level the scores at 4-4 to take the match into extra time. Paul Connelly’s men looked certain to be knocked out when they conceded two more goals, whilst two red cards left them with nine men and trailing 4-6. Amazingly, they scored twice with two late goals to level the match before eventually winning an epic clash on penalties.

Each club that has made it to this current phase of the Westfield FFA Cup requires three more wins to progress to the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32. Whilst South would appear strong favourites for this fixture, the magic of Cup competitions means that the result is never certain until the final whistle.

The match against the North Sunshine Eagles kicks off at 7:30pm at Lakeside Stadium on Wednesday night. All South Melbourne members (except online members) have free entry into the ground provided that they show their membership at the gate. Those who are unable to make the match can follow proceedings on the Club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, using the handles #SMFC and #FFACUP.