Category: News

Friday, 7 June 2013 9:16 AM

Cup football returns to Lakeside Stadium as South Melbourne FC host Northcote City in the fifth round of the State Knockout Cup on Queen’s Birthday Monday.

As the Victorian Premier League sides entered the competition in the previous round, both sides have only registered one victory in the Cup this season. South received a free ride through to the fifth round with a 3-0 victory after the Oakleigh Cannons forfeited the match scheduled at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday 4 May. On the same day, Northcote defeated State League 1 side Moreland Zebras 2-1 at Reddish Reserve to set up Monday’s clash.

Goran Lozanovski’s Northcote is undoubtedly the best side in the Victorian Premier League so far in 2013, having registered seven wins and a draw from their first eight matches to sit outright first on the VPL ladder. South is currently in third place with five wins, a draw and two losses from its first eight matches. Something has to give at Lakeside Stadium on Monday, as South has won all three of their home matches in the League and Cup this season whilst Northcote have won all away matches they have played. In the last two seasons of the FFV State Knockout Cup, South has been bundled out in the fifth round of the competition both times by Port Melbourne (then in State League 1) by the same score line of 2-1. South will want overcome this negative statistic and progress past Northcote to the sixth round, with that round scheduled by Football Federation Victoria to be played either on Wednesday 26 June or Thursday 4 July.

South coach Peter Tsolakis hinted at making some changes to the side that could only draw 0-0 with Pascoe Vale in the Victorian Premier League last Saturday night. Alan Kearney came off the bench to make his first senior appearance since sustaining an injury against Southern Stars on 13 April and may be given a starting berth on Monday to help regain match fitness. Other players that may make an appearance on Monday could include Andy Vlahos (on as a sub against Pascoe Vale), Dimi Tsiaras (unused sub against Pascoe Vale), Rhodri Payne, Fernando De Moraes and Renco Van Eeken. There is also the potential for the reserve goalkeeper Sebastian Mattei to make his debut or for youngsters Phil Petreski, Andrew Cartanos, James Karvelis, Matko Budimir, Baggio Yousif and Anthony Giannopoulos to make the squad for Monday’s match.

The match kicks off at 3pm on Monday 10 June at Lakeside Stadium. South Melbourne FC members are entitled to free entry to the match.

Last time we met

Thursday, 6 June 2013 1:25 PM

Anyone picking up a copy of today’s Herald Sun would have seen a couple of young Socceroo fans in green and gold showing their support for the National Team.

Photographer Alex Coppel from the Herald Sun was out at Lakeside Stadium yesterday for a photo opportunity to promote the Socceroos training at South Melbourne’s home stadium.

SMFC Junior players Billy, Lee and Eva donned their green and gold colours to lend their support to the Socceroos. In a few days, the Socceroos will be facing a must win match against Jordan to ensure their passage to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

South Melbourne FC is right behind the Socceroos in their qualification for next year’s FIFA World Cup. With over 50 Socceroos who have worn the SMFC playing shirt, we are quite proud to be hosting the National Team at our home, Lakeside Stadium.

Wednesday, 5 June 2013 2:30 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Nissan Motor Company Ltd & Essendon Nissan has joined the Club as its Principal Community Program Partner for the 2013 Victorian Premier League season. As part of the partnership, Nissan will provide South Melbourne FC with a number of vehicles to use as part of its operations and to continue its community engagement program.

Nissan, whose headquarters are in Yokohama, Japan, are one of the world’s leading automotive companies. It produces in more than 20 countries, and offers products and services to over 160 countries worldwide. Nissan was recently named both a top 100 global brand and the most improved brand by the influential Interbrand Group.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Corporate Sales Director Nicholas Maikousis said “we are quite excited to welcome Nissan & in particular Tony Sitch, Dealer Principal Essendon Nissan as the Club’s Principal Community Program Partner for this season. We are a non for profit sporting club and our organisations share similar core values of excellence and success. We look forward to working closely with one of the world’s leading automotive companies”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Nissan to its growing list of Principal Partners.

See below to watch an exclusive SMFC TV video on the new partnership

Tuesday, 4 June 2013 10:40 AM

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that SMFC TV will be moving to a new time slot as of Wednesday 5th June. Moving forward, you’ll be able to enjoy all the action of SMFC TV at 6pm each Wednesday night.

The show will continue to provide match highlights, player and coaching staff interviews, showcase our junior development program and stars of tomorrow. Furthermore, SMFC TV will focus directly on bringing the latest news from the club, as well as providing all South Melbourne FC and general football fans with a modern and fresh view of the club.

SMFC TV
Wednesday 6pm
Channel 31

Monday, 3 June 2013 2:53 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

It was a case of two points dropped as South Melbourne FC was held to a 0-0 draw by a determined 10-man Pascoe Vale at Hosken Reserve on Saturday night. Despite playing with an extra man for 80 minutes, South could not break through a resolute Pascoe Vale defence and in the end had to settle for a point.

Both sides came into the match in winning form from last weekend, with Pascoe Vale having pulled off a stunning 0-2 victory against defending champions Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve and with South having defeated the Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 at Lakeside Stadium. Peter Tsolakis’ side arrived at Hosken Reserve wary of the fact that the newly-promoted Pascoe Vale side was no pushover, having won three of their past four Victorian Premier League matches that included a 2-1 win over traditional powerhouse side Green Gully.

The away side was given an advantage after only ten minutes when Luca Santilli head-butted Brad Norton right in front of the referee and was subsequently sent off, with Norton receiving a yellow card for his involvement. This meant the Pascoe Vale defence had to stand up and be counted and they did just that, with former South goalkeeper Stefaan Sardelic in fine form. South had numerous chances to open the scoring, with opportunities missed by Tyson Holmes and Rhys Meredith. Norton then came close but his shot was well saved by Sardelic.

South’s second half was poor, with Pascoe Vale’s centre-back pairing of Will Abbott and Tom Milardovic comfortably dealing with anything South put into the area. Despite the average performance, South did have more chances to win the match but Sardelic was there to save both Marinos Gasparis and then Joe Keenan’s free kicks. With the game into injury time, the home side could have snatched all three points when Daniel Chaabani caught South on the break and squared the ball for Mark Pistininzi but his shot was well blocked by Peter Gavalas, who had had nothing to do for the whole match. In the end, Pascoe Vale was delighted with the point and South were left ruing the two points dropped.

Tsolakis noted post-match that “we had enough chances to win two games but we just couldn’t put them away tonight.” The result keeps South in third spot on the ladder with a huge derby match coming up in two weeks time against the Melbourne Knights. On a more positive note, Alan Kearney came on as a second-half substitute, having not featured for South since sustaining an injury against Southern Stars on 13 April.

The Victorian Premier League breaks next weekend for the fifth round of the FFV State Knockout Cup, as South Melbourne FC hosts Northcote City at Lakeside Stadium. The match will be played on the Queens Birthday Monday (10 June) at 3PM.

FINAL SCORE: PASCOE VALE 0-0 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-0)

Pascoe Vale:
Stefaan SARDELIC (GK), Adrian TALARICO, Tom MILARDOVIC, Luca SANTILLI (sent off 10′), Gregory LOMBARDO, Mark PISTININZI, Marco SANTILLI (Daniel CHAABANI 67’), Matthew LAZARIDES (Liam FLYNN 26’ [Rylan SADLER 79’]), Jake VANDERMEY, William ABBOTT, Michael FERRANTE

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 2. Tom MATTHEWS, 7. Joe KEENAN, 9. Trent RIXON, 10. Tyson HOLMES (16. Alan KEARNEY 73′), 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH, 13. Luke BYLES (C), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS (14. Andy VLAHOS 71′), 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 19. Shaun KELLY

SMFC Man of the Match: Luke Byles
Venue: Hosken Reserve
Date: Saturday 1 June 2013

Friday, 31 May 2013 1:26 PM

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that the Round 5 fixture of the FFV State Knockout Cup against Northcote City will be played on Monday 10th June. Kick off is scheduled at 3pm at Lakeside Stadium.

All 2013 South Melbourne FC members will be able to enter the match for FREE.

South Melbourne proceeded to the fifth round of the State Knockout Cup after the forfeit of the Oakleigh Cannons, and was awarded a 3-0 victory instead.

Friday, 31 May 2013 11:10 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC travels to Hosken Reserve to play promoted side Pascoe Vale on Saturday evening. It will be the first time that South has played Pascoe Vale in the Victorian Premier League as well as the first time South has played at Hosken Reserve.

South will go into the match on the back of a well deserved 2-1 victory against the Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday evening. A first half double from Dimi Hatzimouratis proved to be the difference as South won despite Alex Smith’s late consolation goal for the Cannons. South’s winning margin should have been much greater. However, the most important aim was winning the three points to keep the Club in outright third position on the Victorian Premier League ladder. Alan Kearney was close to playing against Oakleigh and must certainly be in contention for the Pascoe Vale match, whilst Renco Van Eeken did not feature against Oakleigh due to early signs of osteitis pubis that needs to be monitored closely.

Pascoe Vale also comes into Saturday night’s match in winning form, having scored a very impressive 0-2 victory against defending Champions Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve last Saturday. They currently have three wins (and nine points) from their opening seven Victorian Premier League matches and are in eighth spot on the ladder, ahead of Green Gully and Oakleigh. This shows that Pascoe Vale is certainly no pushover and will be tough opposition on Saturday night, especially due to the fact they have won three of their last four Victorian Premier League matches including defeating Green Gully at Hosken Reserve on 26 April as well as the victory against Dandenong last weekend. There are a host of former South players at Pascoe Vale, including Stefaan Sardelic, Jake Vandermey, Joseph Youssef and Marco Santilli.

The two clubs have not played each other in the Victorian Premier League proper but they did play each other in a pre-season friendly on 9 March that Pascoe Vale won convincingly 3-0. As a result, South coach Peter Tsolakis is wary of the opposition, noting that “they have a compact little ground, good coaching staff and a tight-knit group of players…it will be difficult but if we can get a win there on Saturday it will really set up our season nicely.” South can end the round in second place on the ladder with victory over Pascoe Vale and will remain in third place even if it loses on Saturday. A win will give South four victories from six away games in the Victorian Premier League this season.

Saturday night’s match kicks off at 7pm at Hosken Reserve.

Thursday, 30 May 2013 4:31 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that it will be participating in the 2013 Sydney Youth Cup and 2013 Sydney Junior Cup at Sydney Olympic Park.

The 2013 Sydney Junior Cup and Sydney Youth Cup will run from June 30 to July 5 2013. The tournament will consist of a round robin style tournament ending with the top teams competing in a semi-final and grand final.

The Sydney Junior Cup is aimed at ages U8 – U11, where teams can be comprised of boys, girls or mixed teams. The Sydney Youth Cup is aimed at ages U12 – U18 (boys and girls), each age group will be split up into boys and girls competitions.

Sydney Youth Cup Tournament Manager, Anthony Lazarou indicated, “having youth teams from one of Australia’s most respected historical football clubs, South Melbourne, was a wonderful addition to our different age divisions at the Sydney Youth Cup”

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President Leo Athanasakis, said “South Melbourne is excited to be participating at the Sydney Youth Cup and taking on elite teams from all over Australia. Participating in strong tournaments and exposing our players against quality interstate opposition is an invaluable experience. We look forward to the challenge of competing and the opportunity to make new friends throughout the tournament”.

Please stay tuned to the Club’s social media and smfc.com.au for all news and progress updates on how our junior teams are performing.

Tuesday, 28 May 2013 11:01 AM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to advise that Lakeside Stadium will host the Socceroos in their preparation for the upcoming crucial World Cup qualifying match against Jordan.

An open training session will be held for football fans. To meet your Socceroo heroes, simply register by clicking here.

Lakeside Stadium has hosted the Socceroos on many occasions, as well being the base for touring nations such as former European Champions Greece.

Throughout the Club’s history, over 50 South Melbourne FC players have represented Australia.

Stay tuned to the Club’s social media as we cover the Socceroos training at Lakeside Stadium.

Click here to see the full list of South Melbourne FC’s Socceroos

Monday, 27 May 2013 11:21 AM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC defeated the Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening to continue its 100% winning record at home in 2013. A first half double from Dimi Hatzimouratis was enough for a dominant South side to win the three points, despite a late scare when Oakleigh substitute Alex Smith scored a consolation goal in injury time.

South came into the match on the back of a disappointing 3-2 away loss against Hume City the previous Sunday, with some slack defending costing the Blues dearly. Oakleigh arrived at Lakeside Stadium in losing form as well, with Miron Bleiberg’s side having lost against Dandenong Thunder 0-1 at home the previous Friday. Right-back Tom Matthews started for the first time in 2013 for South as Renco Van Eeken missed the match due to soreness. With Matthews at right-back, Hatzimouratis was pushed further up the field, in a telling pre-game move by coach Peter Tsolakis.

Both sides started the match slowly, however, South eventually began to take control of proceedings as centre-forward Trent Rixon won everything in the air up front and Tyson Holmes ran amock. Oakleigh goalkeeper Lewis Italiano was kept busy trying to keep a clean sheet as South came close to scoring on numerous occassions. Hatzimouratis eventually opened the scoring after 24 minutes when he let fly with a vicious shot from 30 yards that had Italiano rooted to the spot.

The home side continued putting enormous pressure on the Oakleigh defence and eventually got a second goal when some good lead-up play from the left side saw Marinos Gasparis’ low centering ball in the six yard box flicked home by Hatzimouratis for his second of the night and third goal in two games. Oakleigh’s best chance of the half came when Hayden Doyle was put through on goal but Peter Gavalas made an excellent one-on-one save to deny the Cannons.

South had many chances to triple their lead in the second half but could not convert any of their opportunities. Hatzimouratis missed a golden opportunity to score a hat-trick when he found himself unmarked in the six yard box but headed Matthews’ cross over Italiano’s crossbar. The home side should have been at least three goals ahead but instead were left fearing the worst when Smith fired home in the second minute of injury time, however despite five minutes of injury time being played, South held on and recorded a well deserved victory. The result moves South to 15 points and back into third spot on the Victorian Premier League table. Oakleigh remain in tenth position with just five points.

South next travels to Hosken Reserve to play promoted side Pascoe Vale. Kick-off is next Saturday evening (1 June) at 7PM.

In the Under 21s match, an Anthony Giannopoulos penalty after 88 minutes gave South a 1-1 draw against Oakleigh.

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

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Dimi Hatzimouratis (24′)
2-0: Dimi Hatzimouratis (35′)
2-1: Alex Smith (90+2′)

Key Stats (provided by Steven Orchard):
Total shots: South Melbourne (19) – Oakleigh (9)
Shots on target: South Melbourne (8) – Oakleigh (5)
Corners: South Melbourne (4) – Oakleigh (5)
Saves made: South Melbourne (4) – Oakleigh (6)
Balls into the area: South Melbourne (42) – Oakleigh (21)
Shots blocked: South Melbourne (6) – Oakleigh (1)

South Melbourne FC:
1. Peter GAVALAS (GK), 2. Tom MATTHEWS, 7. Joe KEENAN, 9. Trent RIXON, 10. Tyson HOLMES, 11. Brad NORTON, 12. Rhys MEREDITH, 13. Luke BYLES (C), 15. Dimi HATZIMOURATIS, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (5. Phil PETRESKI 74′), 19. Shaun KELLY

Oakleigh Cannons:
1. Lewis ITALIANO (GK), 2. James CUMMING, 3. Michail BOXALL, 5. Casper ANDERSEN, 10. Ricky DIACO (Alex SMITH 38′), 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 17. Reece VITTIGLIA, 18. Steven GRAY, 19. Goran ZORIC (16. Frankie LAGANA 86′), 20. Ari DRAKOS (8. Dusan BOSNJAK 74′), 21. Hayden DOYLE

SMFC Man of the Match: Dimi Hatzimouratis
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Date: Sunday 26 May 2013