Category: News

Sunday, 7 August 2011 10:57 PM

By John Kyrou

In an incredible final round of Victorian Premier League matches, South Melbourne FC crawled back from a 1-3 deficit to secure a finals place with a 3-3 draw against Northcote City at Anderson Reserve on Sunday afternoon. All six goals were scored in what was an unbelievable end-to-end first half in what was essentially an Elimination FInal before the finals series actually began. South arrived at Anderson Reserve knowing that all it needed was a point to confirm its place in the 2011 finals series. A win against Northcote, coupled with a few other results going its way, could have seen the Club finish as high as first. On the other hand, a Northcote win would have seen them overtake South and claim South’s spot in the finals. With so much at stake, there was always going to be high drama throughout the course of the afternoon.

South could not have gotten off to a better start when Jesse Krncevic opened the scoring after only three minutes. Steven Weir played the big forward through on goal and Krncevic did well to slot the ball across Northcote goalkeeper Charles Treacey and into the goal. However the lead lasted less than a minute, after Dean Piermonte skipped around Trent Waterson on the left wing before cutting the ball back for Glen Trifiro to score past Zaim Zeneli. All of a sudden South had gone from an extremely strong position into one of vulnerability. Northcote could sense this and almost made South pay again when Piermonte was put through by Rixon, however he could only fire his final shot wide of Zeneli’s goal. Northcote kept pressing and were rewarded when Jonathan Voulgaris dispossessed Steven Topalovic before hitting a low shot that beat Zeneli at his near post.

The away side now had all the momentum as South looked shell-shocked. South coach Eddie Krncevic switched Topalovic and Waterson to opposite wings in an attempt to control Rixon, however this did not faze the Northcote forward who scored his first goal for the afternoon when he brilliantly controlled Treacey’s long goal kick before smashing a shot past Zeneli to make the score 1-3. In half an hour, South had capitulated from being in a strong position of making the top three to suddenly missing the finals altogether. The home side desperately needed something to change and to score at least one goal before the halftime break. South nearly pulled a goal back when Steven Weir found space in the six yard box but his first touch was too heavy and Treacey came out to make a brave stop.

South continued pushing forward and their risk paid off. Treacey raced out of his area to collect a long ball played forward from South’s defence but Krncevic got there first and expertly lobbed the Northcote custodian to pull the score back to 2-3. Three minutes later South won a free kick on the right side of the box, where Weir stepped up and fired an unstoppable left-footed free kick past Treacey and into the net. All of a sudden, South were back in the finals at Northcote’s expense, provided they could hang on. The halftime whistle was met with loud applause by all spectators in what had been an incredible end-to-end first half.

Northcote came out desperate in the second half but could not find a way to get past South’s defence. Glen Trifiro’s free kick went wide of Zeneli’s goal as South looked to slow the game down and grind out the draw. However with results filtering through that Hume City and Heidelberg were both losing, South also knew that a win would propel them up to at least third and with it a double chance in the finals. South nearly gifted Northcote a goal when captain Steven O’Dor’s backpass to Zeneli was hit too softly but Zeneli bravely came out and blocked the resultant shot, sustaining a minor injury at the same time. At the other end, Daniel Dragicevic had a couple of half-chances to score from long range but his shots were either wide of goal or comfortably saved by Treacey.

With time running out, Northcote needed to throw caution to the wind and commit more bodies forward. This left gaps in the back as Fernando De Moraes and Krncevic came close to adding a fourth goal for the home side. With news filtering through that both Hume and Heidelberg had lost, South now knew that a draw would propel them over the Bergers and into fourth spot, whilst a win would put them in the top three. Krncevic had been outstanding all afternoon but missed a golden chance to put South into third spot after heading wide of Treacey’s goal after being found unmarked at the back post. After four long and tense minutes of injury time, the referee’s final whistle was met with enormous cheers by the home supporters, as it confirmed a fourth place finish and an Elimination Final against Heidelberg next week.

In even better news for the Club, the Under-21s defeated Northcote 2-1 earlier in the day, which meant they won the Championship for the second year in a row. Nick Naigoran scored the winning goal on 76 minutes when he fired home an unstoppable shot from just inside the area.

South Melbourne FC plays Heidelberg United next Sunday 14 August at Port Melbourne’s SS Anderson Reserve in the 2011 Elimination Final. Kick-off is at 15:00.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-3 NORTHCOTE CITY (HT: 3-3)

Goal Scorers
1-0: Jesse Krncevic (3′)
1-1: Glen Trifiro (4′)
1-2: Jonathan Voulgaris (24′)
1-3: Trent Rixon (33′)
2-3: Jesse Krncevic (38′)
3-3: Steven Weir (41′)

South Melbourne FC:
4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI (33. Yanni GALANOS 89′), 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (25. Kyle JORYEFF 80′), 16. Trent WATERSON, 17. Steven WEIR, 20. Daniel DRAGICEVIC (2. Tom MATTHEWS 69′), 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK), 23. Sebastian PETROVIC

Northcote City:
1. Charles TREACEY (GK), 2. Adrian CHIAPPETTA, 3. Kristian KONSTANTINIDIS, 7. Jonathan VOULGARIS (8. Nick CURTIS 69′), 9. Trent RIXON, 10. Glen TRIFIRO, 11. Harry KINIGOPOULOS (16. Paul SAVIO 69′), 12. Hayden D’AGOSTINO (17. Gianni DE NITTIS 81′), 18. James KALAFATIDIS, 19. Dean PIERMONTE, 23. Jason TRIFIRO

SMFC Man of the Match: Jesse Krncevic
Venue: SS Anderson Reserve
Date: Sunday 7 August 2011

Thursday, 4 August 2011 8:49 PM

The Elimination Final has come a week early as South Melbourne FC and Northcote City face off on Sunday afternoon with a finals berth at stake. Northcote will replace South in the top five should it win, whilst South needs to avoid defeat in order to confirm a finals spot. With the game being a South home match, the Club has switched the venue from John Cain Memorial Park to SS Anderson Reserve in Port Melbourne.

South come into the game in winning form, having recorded two wins in a row against tough opposition in Hume City and Dandenong Thunder. Last weekend’s 0-1 triumph at George Andrews Reserve was particularly impressive, with the side scoring in the first half before grinding out the rest of the match and forcing the result to give it a great chance of qualifying for the finals. Anything less than a victory would have seen South come into this weekend’s game against Northcote needing to win, instead it has given the Club a greater chance of qualifying for the finals as a draw will also suffice. 

Northcote also comes into Sunday’s game in winning form, having recorded three wins in a row with the most recent being a strong 3-0 victory against Bentleigh last Saturday afternoon. More disturbingly for South, Northcote has an excellent result against the Blues, with two wins and a draw from three matches. The chief architect of Northcote’s success over South has been Trent Rixon, who has enjoyed six goals against the Club in those three games, with the most recent being a hat-trick in the 5-0 drubbing of South early on this season on Sunday 8 May. Whilst Northcote thoroughly deserved to win on that occasion, South had many of its starting eleven missing and Sunday’s match will no doubt be much closer than that. One key player missing for South in that 5-0 loss was Jesse Krncevic, who has scored eight goals from 16 Premier League matches this season, including two goals in the last two matches. Both Rixon and Krncevic will be central to the result on Sunday; whichever team can manage to contain them will go a long way to getting the result they need to qualify for finals.

To add more spice to Sunday’s game, Fernando De Moraes will make his 150th Premier League appearance for South, whilst vice-captain Carl Recchia will play his 50th match for the Club, which includes NSL, VPL, Mirabella Cup and Singapore Cup competitions. 

Incredibly, South can still finish as Minor Premiers should it defeat Northcote and other results go its way. There is no doubt all spectators will be nervously watching Sunday’s game at Anderson Reserve and with all games kicking off at 15:00 that day, there will be a lot of interest in other results occurring should South win. 

Ladder heading into the final round:

Rank

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Points

1

Hume City

23

12

6

5

46

28

18

42

2

Oakleigh 

23

13

3

7

40

28

12

42

3

Heidelberg 

23

12

7

4

52

23

29

40

4

G Gully

23

12

4

7

46

23

23

40

5

SMFC

23

12

4

7

36

30

6

40

6

Northcote

23

11

5

7

58

34

24

38

South will qualify for the finals should it avoid defeat against Northcote

South will miss the finals should Northcote defeat them on Sunday

South will finish Minor Premiers if:
* It defeats Northcote
* Hume City loses to Melbourne Knights
* Oakleigh loses to Dandenong Thunder
* Heidelberg doesn’t win against Springvale
* Green Gully doesn’t win against Bentleigh

Thursday, 4 August 2011 10:38 AM

South Melbourne FC is saddened to learn of the passing of Clyde Holding recently.

In the early 1990s, Mr Holding, along with the assistance of Minister Rose (Minister for Sport at the time) provided South Melbourne FC with $250,000 in funding for building the new Pavilion across from the old Pavilion at the Club’s former ground in Middle Park. This was of course prior to the Club moving from Middle Park to Lakeside Stadium in late 1995.

South Melbourne FC President Leo Athanasakis expressed his sympathies, noting that “we are saddened to hear of Mr Holding’s passing. South Melbourne FC is grateful to Clyde Holding for his efforts in providing funding for the Club to secure a new Pavilion at our former ground. We have lost a great leader and above all a good friend of our famous Club.”

The Club sends its condolences to the Holding family at this sad time.

Tuesday, 2 August 2011 6:33 PM

South Melbourne FC in association with Poker Night is holding the very last function to be held in the Champions Bar at Lakeside Stadium prior to the commencement of refurbishment works.

The SMFC Poker Night is to be held on Saturday 20th August at 7.30pm. It promises to be a great night of poker and many other related activities as we bid farewell to the Champions Bar. The night begins with a $100 buy in.

Please contact Nicki on 9645 9797 to reserve a table or spot.

Click here to download the flyer

Monday, 1 August 2011 9:02 PM

On the twenty third episode of southRadio in 2011, we review the Round 21 clash against Dandenong Thunder, and preview the upcoming game between South Melbourne FC and Northcote City.

Should you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback for southRadio please email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au

Click here to download episode 23 of southRadio (MP3) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Monday, 1 August 2011 10:28 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has edged closer to sealing a finals berth in 2011 after a hard-fought 1-0 away victory against the Dandenong Thunder on Saturday afternoon at George Andrews Reserve. Jesse Krncevic was the match-winner for the away side after scoring a wonderful header just after the half-hour mark to settle what was otherwise a very even match.

The Blues travelled to Dandenong knowing that it had to get all three points in order to keep its finals destiny solely in its own hands, without relying on other teams to do them favours in the final few rounds. Anything less than a victory against Thunder meant South would go into the final game against Northcote City needing to win and relying on other results. It was an even harder equation for the Thunder, who needed to not only defeat South and then Oakleigh in their final two games, but also rely on other results to go their way in order to qualify for finals football.

South started the match strongly and held possession for long periods as it tried to break down the Thunder defence. Krncevic and Steven Weir had some wonderful link-up play whilst Carl Recchia was once again immense at centre-half. The away side finally broke the deadlock just after the half hour when Daniel Vasilevski won the ball outside the area and skipped around his opponent before delivering a perfect cross from the left that resulted in a bullet header by Krncevic into the bottom left corner of Stuart Webster’s goal.

Dandenong immediately lifted following Krncevic’s goal and should have been level almost straight away but for Liam Kearney putting his free back-post header wide of Zaim Zeneli’s goal. Just before the halftime break the home side wasted another great chance when Luke Sherbon hit the crossbar following a scramble in the six-yard area that left him with a clear shot at goal with Zeneli stranded on the ground. However it was not one-way traffic, as at the other end Krncevic nearly doubled South’s lead with an attempted chip over Webster that the Thunder custodian did brilliantly to save.

The second half was dominated by the Thunder, with South happy to soak up the pressure and play a counter-attacking game. Sebastian Petrovic was outstanding in midfield as South held on to its precious slim lead with Dandenong pressuring for an equalising goal. Second half substitution Veton Korcarevski was instrumental in creating many of the home side’s forward moves, as was Kearney who had an excellent match. However despite the possession and pressure by Dandenong, South held firm and gave Zeneli only a few headaches to deal with. Weir should have won the match at the other end when he was through on goal but again Webster saved Thunder with a great block at his near post.

Dandenong had two late chances to draw the match but went agonisingly wide on both occasions. As the game crept towards injury time, a free kick from the left side evaded everyone in a packed penalty area and drifted wide for a goal kick, much to the relief of all the travelling South fans. As the clock ticked into the fourth minute of injury time, Acim Tomic headed another free kick from the left over the bar. The full-time whistle sounded shortly after, officially eliminating Dandenong from the finals race in 2011 but keeping South’s chances alive and in its own hands going into the Club’s final game of the regular season against Northcote City.

In more great news for the Club, the Under 21s defeated Dandenong 2-0 to remain in first place on the Under 21s ladder, one point ahead of second-placed Hume City. Should it defeat Northcote next weekend or match whatever Hume’s result is against the Melbourne Knights, the Under 21s will be crowned back-to-back Champions in what would be a phenomenal achievement for the Club’s up and coming stars. 

There are many possibilities for where South can finish on the ladder after next week’s final round of matches, however what is absolutely certain is that the Club will play in the finals as long as it avoids defeat against Northcote City. On the other hand, a loss will condemn the Club to a second straight season without finals football. 

The Northcote game will be played at Port Melbourne’s Anderson Reserve and the game kicks off at 15:00 next Sunday 7 August. All Premier League matches will be played at that time so there is no doubt that there will be high drama throughout next Sunday as results filter through during the course of the afternoon.

FINAL SCORE: DANDENONG THUNDER 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 0-1)

Goal Scorer
0-1: Jesse Krncevic (33′)

Dandenong Thunder:
1. Stuart WEBSTER (GK), 3. Ben HARRISON, 5. Steven GRAY, 7. Scott WEBSTER, 10. Ashley STOTT (9. Veton KORCEREVSKI), 11. Acim TOMIC, 13. Shane REXHEPI, 14. Feston AZIZI (16. Jarryd BARNES), 15. Deniz SABANOVSKI, 17. Liam KEARNEY, 20. Luke SHERBON

South Melbourne FC:
3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (2. Tom MATTHEWS 69’), 16. Trent WATERSON, 17. Steven WEIR (18. Marinos GASPARIS 82’), 20. Daniel DRAGICEVIC (25. Kyle JORYEFF 75’), 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK), 23. Sebastian PETROVIC


SMFC Man of the Match: Sebastian Petrovic
Venue: George Andrews Reserve
Date: Saturday 30 July 2011

Thursday, 28 July 2011 10:25 AM

It is do or die for both Dandenong Thunder and South Melbourne FC when the two sides meet at George Andrews Reserve on Saturday afternoon. A loss will almost certainly mean that the Thunder will miss finals action in 2011, whereas a loss for South will make things extremely difficult going into the final round of matches next weekend.

Two weekends ago, South breathed new life into its 2011 campaign with a fantastic 3-1 victory over League leaders Hume City to put itself into second place on 37 points and with a weekend off to prepare for the Dandenong match. Since then, Oakleigh and Green Gully won their games in hand and have subsequently pushed South down to fourth spot. A win over Dandenong will put South on 40 points which could be enough for a spot in the finals depending on the events that transpire in the Hume vs Oakleigh and Northcote vs Bentleigh matches. What is certain however is that two wins from its final two matches will see South playing finals football, so the Club’s destiny for season 2011 is still in its own hands.

Dandenong made use of its game in hand to defeat the Melbourne Knights 3-1 at George Andrews Reserve last Saturday to keep alive its chances of playing finals football in 2011. That result pushed the Thunder to only two points behind Bentleigh Greens in fifth spot. Depending on other results, a win against South on Saturday could very well put the Thunder into the top five, or level with teams currently in the top five. Unlike South, Dandenong essentially need to win their final two matches as well as rely on other results to fall positively in order to make the top five.

South will be boosted by the fact that it hasn’t lost at George Andrews Reserve in two visits there, with the first being a come-from-behind 2-2 draw in 2009 before a professional 0-2 win last season. Coach Eddie Krncevic should have almost a full squad to choose from, and with key players having returned from injury and suspension and hitting match form, the supports will be expecting to see nothing less than a performance similar to the one against Hume City two weeks ago.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 15:00 at George Andrews Reserve. The match is open to the public so South fans are strongly encouraged to attend and support their team to hopefully win the three points that could seal a finals spot.

Monday, 18 July 2011 11:55 PM

On the twenty second episode of southRadio in 2011, we review the Round 20 clash against Hume City, and preview the upcoming game between South Melbourne FC and Dandenong Thunder.

Should you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback for southRadio please email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au

Click here to download episode 22 of southRadio (MP3) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Sunday, 17 July 2011 8:07 PM

South Melbourne FC crept closer to securing a finals spot in the 2011 Victorian Premier League following an emphatic 3-1 victory against League leaders Hume City on Sunday afternoon at John Cain Memorial Park.

South went into the match knowing that it simply had to win against high-flying Hume in order to keep ahead of the chasing pack in Bentleigh, Heidelberg, Green Gully, Northcote City and Dandenong. With all teams within only a few points of each other, a slip-up by any team could have meant starting the round in the top five but ending it as low as seventh.

The home side started the match with a real point to prove and deservedly opened the scoring when Daniel Dragicevic snuck in at the back post unmarked to fire Rhodri Payne’s cross across Hume goalkeeper Lupce Acevski and into the goal for his first goal for South.

The game was blown open ten minutes later in a minute of madness that saw a goal and a red card. Daniel Vasilevski expertly hit his corner to the penalty spot where Sebastian Petrovic met the ball and fired a header past Acevski. The goalkeeper then booted the ball away before receiving a straight red card from the referee for apparent verbal dissent. Hume was lucky not to have another man sent off when Steven Pace elbowed Dragicevic in the face and only received a caution.

South made sure of the three points early in the second half when Steven Weir’s free kick deflected off Hume’s wall before landing for Jesse Krncevic to shoot past substitute goalkeeper Kenny Gerochristodoulou. With a three goal advantage and a one man advantage, South created so many more chances to increase their lead but could not add to their tally despite going close numerous times. In the closing stages of the match, Hume pulled back a consolation goal through substitute Richie Cardozo, who got in between Carl Recchia and Trent Waterson and headed past Zaim Zeneli to give the visiting team something to cheer about.

After the game Jesse Krncevic commented that “it was great to be back playing (following his five match suspension against Heidelberg). I linked up well with Steven Weir up front and hopefully we can continue this partnership against Dandenong and Northcote in the last two games.”

In further great news, the Under 21s defeated Hume 1-0 through a goal by Robert Naumovski to overtake Hume in top spot on the Under 21 League table with two games to go. Coach Gus Caminos commented that “we’ve done the hard work to get to top spot but now we need to hold onto it with two games to go.”

Both sides have a break in League action next week for the VPL catch-up round and resume their League seasons the following week. South travels to Dandenong on Saturday 30 July to play Dandenong Thunder and on the same afternoon Hume hosts Oakleigh Cannons at Broadmeadows Valley Park. Both matches kick off at 15:00.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-1 HUME CITY (HT: 2-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Daniel Dragicevic (13’)
2-0: Sebastian Petrovic (26’)
3-0: Jesse Krncevic (51’)
3-1: Richie Cardozo (81’)

South Melbourne FC:
3. Rhodri PAYNE, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES, 16. Trent WATERSON, 17. Steven WEIR, 20. Daniel DRAGICEVIC (25. Kyle JORYEFF 74′), 21. Zaim ZENELI (GK), 23. Sebastian PETROVIC

Hume City:
1. Lupce ACEVSKI (GK) (sent off), 5. Steven PACE, 6. Serdar PIR, 7. Isiyan ERDOGAN, 9. Pece SIVESKI, 10. Richie CARDOZO, 11. Andy VLAHOS, 15. Zoran PETREVSKI, 20. Michael BOSEVSKI (25. Atilla OFLI 64′), 21. Dusko DELIC (18. Kenny GEROCHRISTODOULOU 26′), 22. Phil RICCOBENE

SMFC Man of the Match: Jesse Krncevic
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 17 July 2011

Friday, 15 July 2011 5:21 PM

South Melbourne is pleased to announce that it has clarified with FFV today that Kliment Taseski was eligible to play against Richmond Eagles last Saturday.

As a result, the 3 Championship points which had been deducted by FFV have now been reinstated.

SMFC would like to thank FFV for its cooperation in rectifying the matter in a timely manner.

SMFC had properly extended the loan agreement with Melbourne Heart enabling Kliment Taseski to play last week.

The club understands that FFV were unaware of the extension and as a result, concluded that the club played an ineligible player triggering an automatic penalty.