Category: News

By Skip Fulton

South Melbourne FC U20s walked away with a point following a 1-1 draw with Port Melbourne Sharks at a wet Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A second-half goal to Stefan Zinni was the equaliser in a match where the teams pace and passing game was restricted by the conditions.

Coach Sasa Kolman made two changes to the team that drew at home 1-1 with Heidleberg United last week. Alexandru Sporea and Eric Hauser coming into the starting lineup in the place of Angel Taravillo and Sam Kagioglou.

The home team started on the front foot with opportunities coming early. Stefan Zinni made a blistering run down the left flank from the half way line all the way into the area only to push his shot across the face and just wide. Port Melbourne rallied and in the 30th minute some relaxed marking in the box resulted in a cross finding a free man for a tap into the top left corner of the net. The Sharks almost scored a second just minutes later only to be prevented by a good save from South goalkeeper Jason Giccominato.

Ryan Barbare was in good form picking holes in the Port Melbourne midfield. The wet slow conditions were however limiting South’s style of play and the usual sweeping attacks on both wings were limited.

In the second half, Port continued to press in attack but were held out by a strong defence. Zinni was impressive down the wing, finding his way in behind the defenders and looking to strike. In the 66th minute, he would again be in the action, this time on the receiving end of a superb cross from Joshua Markovski. An easy tap in for Zinni and South had the equaliser.

The remainder of the match settled into a battle of the midfield with Port Melbourne the more aggressive. A superb Port strike from outside area forced an equally impressive save from Giccominato who’s fingertip touch was enough to push the ball up and into the crossbar to keep South in the match.

With a few minutes remaining South launched on the counter. The last man was taken down by a Port defender with the ball spilling free. The referee played advantage giving South a one-on-one with the keeper. A fake left and push right wasn’t quite enough to beat the rushing glove man and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

A disappointed South Melbourne coach Sasa Kolman spoke to smfc.com.au after the match saying “that was a really bad game, we couldn’t play our football. The game could have gone either way. They had a couple of really good chances, we were lucky. But at the end we had a really good chance too.I believe we have a very good team. Well done to the boys, it was a good fight”.

South remain in eighth on the ladder and next week take on Green Gully at Lakeside Stadium. The team will be looking to reverse the 2-0 loss to the Cavaliers in Round Three.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-1 PORT MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Senisios Frangos (31’)
1-1 Stefan Zinni (67’)

South Melbourne FC:
22. Jason Giccominato (GK), 13. Ryan Babare, 23. Andy Kecojevic, 28. Peter Constantinou, 29. Alexandru Sporea (42. Massimo Pesce 59’), 31. Dion Paola, 34. Ioannis Avramidis, 35. Stefan Zinni, 37. Eric Hauser (38. Juan Igic 63’), 41. Timothy Kakoliris, 43. Joshua Markovski (36. Angel Taravillo 74’)

Port Melbourne Sharks:
23. Alexander Connell (GK), 2. Darcy Rapa, 4. Aaron Maclean, 5. Blaine Burrell, 6. Nicholas Kozdra, 7. Sensios Frangos, 8. Stace Pagounis, 9. Tolumay Cokacar, 12. Billy Arggros, 17. Peter Michael, 18. Anthony Ianchello (10. Lisandro Paz 29’)

SMFC Man of the Match: Stefan Zinni
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 29 June 2014

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signing of Shaun Timmins for the remainder of the 2014 National Premier League Victoria season.

An extremely tough and uncompromising defender, Timmins joins South Melbourne after a short stint with A-League side Wellington Phoenix and Green Gully in last year’s Victorian Premier League.

Throughout the early part of his career, the English born Timmins came through the Birmingham City academy, where he was rewarded by signing a professional contract for the then English Premier League club.

He has also represent the Republic of Ireland at both Under 17 and Under 19 level.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “we are pleased to have Shaun join our club, with his tough nature and ability to play both in defence and midfield a big asset for the squad”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Shaun Timmins to the Club and wishes him the best for the rest of the season.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC will look to get back to winning ways when it hosts Port Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening. Having gone through a very inconsistent month of form that has yielded one win, one draw and two losses – including the disappointing Dockerty Cup defeat to the Melbourne Knights on Wednesday – Chris Taylor and his side need to defeat Port Melbourne in order to maintain at least a four point lead over the Oakleigh Cannons at the top of the National Premier League Victoria ladder.

Despite its midweek Cup loss, South is in winning form in the League, having defeated Heidelberg United 3-0 at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday 22 June. Transfer window signings Stephen Hatzikostas (midfield) and Shaun Timmins (left back) will be available for selection and it is likely that both will start on Sunday following the poor performance by the team in the Cup on Wednesday night. Port Melbourne also head into Sunday’s game in winning form, with Eric Vassiliadis’ side having recorded a professional 1-3 victory against Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve last Saturday 21 June. That win brought an end to a four-match losing streak in the League for Port and took it five points clear of the relegation zone, giving them great confidence heading to Lakeside to face a wounded South on Sunday.

Port Melbourne has defeated South Melbourne in both meetings between the two sides at Lakeside Stadium. As a State League 1 side at the time, Port recorded a famous 1-2 victory against South in the Fifth Round of the Dockerty Cup in 2012 and then defeated South 0-1 in their first League meeting in 2013. The two sides met earlier this season at SS Anderson Reserve and it was South that recorded a come-from-behind 2-3 win thanks to two late goals from substitute Leigh Minopoulos. South fans will be happy if they record another victory like that on Sunday evening to maintain their winning form in the NPL.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 5PM at Lakeside Stadium. 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 #NPLVIC and #SMvPM.

Last time we met

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the departure of Slaven Vranesevic from our 2014 National Premier League squad.

Vranesevic made six appearances for the club in 2014, including scoring against Berwick City in the fifth round of the Dockerty Cup.

We would like to wish Slaven all the best for the future.

By George Kouroumalis (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC was eliminated from the 2014 Dockerty Cup after being defeated 0-2 by the Melbourne Knights in their Quarter Final derby on Wednesday evening at Lakeside Stadium. With the match also acting as a qualifier for the inaugural FFA Cup, it was the Knights that ultimately qualified for the tournament at South’s expense.

Chris Taylor’s side started the game positively as Leigh Minopoulos went close to scoring on two occasions, firstly when his long speculative drive hit the crossbar and secondly when he was just unable to finish off some fantastic interplay after linking up well with Nick Epifano. The Knights also missed a great chance when new signing Stipo Andrijasevic hit a shot just wide of the target from six yards out. The deadlock was broken in the 41st minute when Andrijasevic latched onto the loose ball before parting a lacklustre South defence to find Tomislav Uskok unmarked in the area. With only South goalkeeper Jason Saldaris to beat, Uskok buried the ball into the back of the net to send the away supporters into delirium. Andrew Marth’s side continued to dominate play after the goal as Daniel Visevic almost doubled their advantage minutes later, however he was denied thanks to a solid save by Saldaris.

South fans demanded a response from their team in the second half but instead it was the Knights who came out of the blocks full of confidence. Andrijasevic missed yet another golden chance to get on the scoresheet from close range. It didn’t matter because moments later he set Shayan Alinjad on his way as the midfielder used his pace to speed past a non-existent South defence before getting onto the score sheet and doubling the Knights’ lead. From there, the Knights were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure as South tried to get back into the match but ultimately did not force Chris May to make a meaningful save in the Knights goal. The Knights nearly had a third goal when Leo Athanasiou’s drive was saved well by Jason Saldaris after the goalkeeper had been badly exposed by his defence again.

The full-time whistle confirmed the Melbourne Knights’ return to the national stage since the demise of the old National Soccer League in 2004 and eliminated South from both the Dockerty Cup and from qualifying for the Westfield FFA Cup this season. Whilst the loss is a bad blow to South, it allows the team to now solely focus maintaining its four-point lead at the top of the National Premier League Victoria when it hosts Port Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is at 5PM.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 0-2 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Tomislav Uskok (42′)
0-2: Shayan Alinejad (58′)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO (17. Jamie REED 54′), 8. Mathew THEODORE (15. Kobbie BOAHENE 73′), 9. Milos LUJIC, 10. Tyson HOLMES (6. Dimi TSIARAS 73′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI (18. Dion KIRK 77′), 14. James MUSA, 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS.

Melbourne Knights:
1. Christopher MAY (GK), 3. Sam TORRENS (11. Nikola SRBINOVSKI 90+3’), 4. Ben SUREY, 5. Milan BATUR, 6. Tomislav USKOK, 7. Daniel VISEVIC, 8. Leo ATHANASIOU (17. Jordan O’DOHERTY 72’), 9. Stipo ANDRIJASEVIC (10. Marijan CVITKOVIC 89’), 12. Ivan GRGIC, 14. Michael DOYLE (13. Antun KOVACIC 79’), 19. Shayan ALINEJAD.

SMFC Man of the Match: Leigh Minopoulos
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Wednesday 25 June 2014

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts the Melbourne Knights in a massive Dockerty Cup Quarter Final clash tonight. The reward for the winning side is a spot in the Dockerty Cup Semi Finals (to face either Bentleigh Greens, St Albans or South Springvale) as well as the 32nd and final spot in the inaugural FFA Cup to be played later this year.

South go into the match in winning form, having won their National Premier League Victoria derby against Heidelberg United 3-0 at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday evening. An own goal from Steven Pace, a strike from outside the area by Mathew Theodore and a back-post header from Milos Lujic – all in the first half hour – sealed the three points as South maintained its four point lead at the top of the League table. The Melbourne Knights go into the game having battled out a 1-1 draw against Northcote City at John Cain Reserve last Sunday afternoon.

South coach Chris Taylor almost has a full squad to choose from, with the only exception being transfer-window signing Stephen Hatzikostas who is Cup-tied having represented Bentleigh in the Cup earlier in the season. The Knights welcome two new signings in striker Stipo Andrijasevic and winger Jordan O’Doherty, with both players not Cup-tied and able to represent the Knights tonight should coach Andrew Marth select them. The key player to watch out for is Shayan Alinejad, who had an excellent match when the two sides last played against each other.

The previous meeting between the two sides was on Sunday 27 April this year, when Lujic’s late strike gave South a 0-1 derby win at Knights Stadium.

Tonight’s match kicks off at 7:30PM at Lakeside Stadium. Half an hour of extra time will be played if the match is drawn after normal time and if scores are still level then a penalty shootout will determine the winning team. 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 #DockertyCup and #SMvMK.

South Melbourne Dockerty Cup Results 2014:

Round 4: 1-0 v Sunshine George Cross (Chaplin Reserve, Saturday 22 March)
Round 5: 4-1 v Berwick City (Jack Thomas Reserve, Wednesday 7 May)
Round 6: 1-0 v Dandenong Thunder AET (George Andrew Reserve, Wednesday 28 May)

Melbourne Knights Dockerty Cup Results 2014:

Round 4: 4-0 v Whittlesea Rangers (Knights Stadium, Saturday 22 March)
Round 5: 2-1 v Mornington AET (Knights Stadium, Tuesday 13 May)
Round 6: 4-1 v Green Gully (Knights Stadium, Tuesday 3 June)

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that it will host the much anticipated Dockerty Cup Quarter Final contest against fellow National Premier League club Melbourne Knights.

The match will take place at Lakeside Stadium THIS WEDNESDAY June 25th, with kick-off scheduled for 7.30pm.

The matchup will also act as a qualifier for the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup tournament, with the winner qualifying for the Round of 32 draw and a chance to play on the national stage once again and potentially against A-League teams.

South Melbourne FC and Melbourne Knights members DO NOT have access rights to this match using their 2014 Membership Cards.

You may either purchase your ticket via the Ticketmaster website from 9am on Tuesday June 24th (Click here for more details) or via the ticket booths outside of Gate 2.

Tickets prices, inclusive of the Ticketmaster booking fee, are as follows:

Adults : $14.85
Concession: $10.15
Children Under 14 FREE

Gates open at 6pm.

We urge all of our supporters to get to Lakeside Stadium and support our side as we attempt to reach the national stage once again.

For any enquiries contact the club on 9645 9797 or email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au.

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC maintained its four-point lead at the top of the National Premier League Victoria ladder when it defeated Heidelberg United 3-0 in the derby at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening. An own goal from Steven Pace, a strike from outside the box by Mathew Theodore and a header by Milos Lujic – all in the first half – settled the derby and gave South a maximum six points against the Bergers in 2014.

Chris Taylor made two changes from last Sunday’s disappointing home draw against the Goulburn Valley Suns, as Leigh Minopoulos and Brad Norton replaced Jamie Reed and Andrew Mullett in the starting eleven against the Bergers. Transfer window signing Stephen Hatzikostas was given a spot on the bench as Taylor looked for an immediate response from his side against a Bergers side that they defeated 0-3 at the Olympic Village in the opening game of the season back on Thursday 13 March.

The home side opened the scoring after only three minutes, when Pace bundled Nick Epifano’s low cross into his own net in an attempt to prevent Lujic from getting on the end of the cross. South doubled its lead in the tenth minute when Theodore hit a left-footed strike from outside the box that gave Ryan Norval no chance in the Bergers goal. The match was finished as a contest just shy of the half-hour mark when Norton played a 1-2 on the left side before crossing perfectly to the back post for Lujic to head the ball past a helpless Norval. Lujic should have had a second goal just before the halftime break when he was played through one-on-one with Norval but his shot across goal hit the far post and stayed out.

In the second half, Heidelberg almost caught South goalkeeper Jason Saldaris out of his goal with a lob from distance but he just managed to scramble back and keep the ball out despite howls from the away support that the ball had crossed the goal line. South tried to add to their goals tally but were denied by some excellent saves from Norval, with his best being to deny Epifano in a one-on-one situation. In the end the home side had to settle for a second consecutive 3-0 win against their old rivals in 2014 and with that its four-point lead at the top of the NPL ladder maintained for another week.

Post-match, Captain Michael Eagar noted that “this [win] was big for the Club, it’s a local derby and it was important that we got the win to steady the ship after the past few weeks”. Taylor added that “we were very poor last weekend and we needed to fix that up tonight. We played very well and I’m pleased for everyone.”

In the NPL 20s match, South Melbourne and Heidelberg United played out a 1-1 draw, with Josh Markovski scoring South’s goal.

South have more derbies coming up this week, firstly against the Melbourne Knights in the Dockerty Cup Quarter Final on Wednesday night (7:30PM kick-off) before a League meeting with Port Melbourne on Sunday evening (5PM kick-off). Both matches will be played at Lakeside Stadium.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-0 HEIDELBERG UNITED (HT: 3-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Own Goal (3′)
2-0: Mathew Theodore (10′)
3-0: Milos Lujic (29′)

Key Stats (Provided by Steven Orchard):
Shots: SMFC (13) – HUFC (6)
Balls into Final Third: SMFC (30) – HUFC (16)
Turnovers: SMFC (60) – HUFC (63)
Clearances: SMFC (6) – HUFC (12)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR (C), 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC (17. Jamie REED 79′), 10. Tyson HOLMES (77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS 79′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Iqi JAWADI, 14. James MUSA (6. Dimi TSIARAS 79′), 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS.

Heidelberg United:
20. Ryan NORVAL (GK), 3. Les DOUMBALIS, 4. Jordan WILKES, 6. Paul MILLER, 7. Jakob WILLIAMS (5. Daniel VASILEVSKI 45′), 9. Kosta KANAKARIS (2. Peter KRATKY 45′), 10. Jack PETRIE, 11. Mark McGOUGH, 14. Dan HEFFERNAN, 17. Steven PACE, 23. Andrew CARTANOS.

SMFC Man of the Match: Brad Norton
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 22 June 2014

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC hosts Heidelberg United in the traditional derby at Lakeside Stadiumon Sunday evening in a match of high importance for both sides. The derby presents South the opportunity to consolidate (or even extend) its four point advantage over Oakleigh on top of the NPL Victoria ladder, whilst for the Bergers the derby is an opportunity to narrow South’s lead over them to just five points.

South goes into the match having gained only one point from its last two League matches, with a 3-0 away loss against Oakleigh (Friday 6 June) followed by the frustrating 1-1 home draw against Goulburn Valley Suns (Sunday 15 June). Despite only managing a draw against the League’s bottom side last Sunday, South created plenty of opportuntiies to score (including missing a penalty kick) but just could not get a second goal to see off a very determined Suns outfit. It is uncertain whether Stephen Hatzikostas will be cleared to represent South for the Heidelberg match following his transfer from Bentleigh mid-week, however should he not be, Coach Chris Taylor still has many midfield options to choose from. Taylor will want all players firing for two very important derby matches, starting with the League derby against Heidelberg and then the Dockerty Cup Quarter Final match against the Melbourne Knights on Wednesday night.

George Katsakis’ Bergers side have been one of the form teams in the NPL Victoria competition over the past few months, picking up six wins and two draws from its past eight League matches after losing three of their five opening matches. This leaves the Bergers in outright third place on the NPL ladder with 26 points, three points clear of fourth-placed Bentleigh but still a fair way behind both South Melbourne (34 points) and Oakleigh Cannons (30 points). However unlike South, Heidelberg come into the derby in winning form by having enjoyed a thumping 2-5 away victory against the Dandenong Thunder last Saturday night. Two players for South to watch out for in the derby are Dan Heffernan (with 10 goals this season) and Kaine Sheppard (six goals this season, including a double against Dandenong last week).

The two sides met in the opening match of the 2014 NPL Victoria season and South triumped 0-3 at the Olympic Village thanks to first half goals from Mathew Theodore and Milos Lujic and a late headed goal from Jamie Reed to seal the three points. The South faithful would love nothing more than a repeat of that scoreline again on Sunday evening.

Photo by George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne FC is pleased to advise that Stephen Hatzikostas is the Club’s first mid-season transfer window signing.

Hatzikostas arrives at Lakeside Stadium from the Bentleigh Greens, where he has featured for a couple of seasons including playing in their 3-2 VPL Grand Final loss against Northcote City last season. He also had previous playing experience at the Melbourne Victory and the Oakleigh Cannons. Hatzikostas will provide more depth and grunt to South’s already hard-working midfield as the Club looks to consolidate its position at the top of the National Premier League Victoria ladder.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “we are delighted to welcome Stephen to our side and look forward to him showing his great skills on the park, which will further strengthen our midfield”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Stephen Hatzikostas to the Club and wishes him the best for the rest of the season.