Category: News

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 11:19 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC faces a tricky assignment on Sunday when it travels to Churchill Reserve for the first time since 2005 to play a St Albans Saints side in desperate need for three points.

The away team will be going into the match confident of continuing a four match unbeaten run in the Victorian Premier League that began against Bentleigh on 6 March and has included notable victories against Oakleigh and the Melbourne Knights along the way. However in South’s way will be a St Albans side playing on its home ground and treating Sunday’s contest as ‘do-or-die’ in terms of changing its form around to ensure survival in the VPL. The Saints were promoted back into the Premier League as State League One Champions at the end of 2010 and despite managing a positive opening-round draw against Hume City on 20 February, St Albans has only managed one point since.

South goes into Sunday’s game full of confidence after coming from a goal down with 11 minutes to play to seal a stunning 3-1 victory against a strong Melbourne Knights side in last weekend’s derby. All three of South’s substitutes had immediate impact, with Daniel Vasilevski and Kyle Joryeff both scoring and Kamal Ibrahim setting up Jesse Krncevic for South’s go-ahead goal. Joryeff also drew the foul that led to Vasilevski’s fantastic free kick to level the match. Despite some minor scares, the defence continues to improve. At the other end of the field, South continues to score goals freely and is slowly consolidating itself in the top five on the ladder.

In contrast, St Albans go into Sunday’s game on the back of a 2-0 defeat against Bentleigh last Friday night. Despite only managing two points from its first six matches of 2011, the Saints have shown at times to be a team more than capable of scoring goals and causing other sides major problems. The home side’s players will also be on notice this weekend following the departure of coach Kruni Razov after the defeat at Bentleigh. Although a replacement is not yet known, South’s players need to be switched on for Sunday’s game as teams always seem to lift in the next match following a change in management. There is also the unknown factor as many of South’s players have not played at Churchill Reserve since St Albans has not been in Victoria’s top football division for five seasons.

Many people may look at ladder positions and see a huge difference between the two sides, however form does not mean anything, especially as the last meeting between these two sides showed. St Albans’ last season in the Premier League was in 2005 and in that year on Sunday 29 May the high-flying South Melbourne travelled to Churchill Reserve to play the lowly Saints, whom South had beaten 1-0 at Lakeside Stadium on 6 February. George Tzirtis’ opening goal for the away team had many thinking the result would be a foregone conclusion, however two goals in the space of a couple of minutes midway through the first half by Ivan Filipovic and Ivan Razov had the Saints dreaming of a shock win. St Albans held the lead for an hour before Vaughan Coveny’s header in injury time at the end of the second half rescued a point for South.

Sunday’s match kicks off at 15:00 at Churchill Reserve (Melways reference 14 D10).

Tuesday, 29 March 2011 1:57 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Kinisi Live as its latest Corporate Partner for the remainder of the 2011 Alanic Victorian Premier League. Kinisi Live will become one of the two Back of Short sponsors. The sponsorship arrangements renews an existing relationship with Kinisi Live who had supported the Club in previous years.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Head of Corporate Sales, Events and Marketing George Triantos said “we are delighted to welcome back Kinisi Live as one of our two Back of Shorts Sponsors for the remainder of the 2011 Alanic Victorian Premier League. We ask all members and fans to support our corporate partners who support our great club”.

Kinisi Live
Area 3
560 Church Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Ph: 9429 1224

Sunday, 27 March 2011 11:48 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC has defeated the Melbourne Knights 3-1 after coming from a goal down to claim honours in the first derby between the two sides in 2011. Late goals by Jesse Krncevic and substitutes Daniel Vasilevski and Kyle Joryeff settled the match, which was played approximately six weeks shy of the 20 year anniversary of the famous 1990/91 National Soccer League Grand Final between the two teams.

After an end-to-end first half in which both sides failed to take advantage of their chances, the match exploded into life after halftime. The Knights were awarded a penalty shortly after the break following a handball in the penalty area by captain Steven O’Dor. Zaim Zeneli went the right way but was unable to prevent the penalty being converted by Josip Kozic. The goal continued South’s lack of clean sheets in the 2011 Victorian Premier League season.

The home side stepped up the pressure in the final 20 minutes and the coaching staff rang the necessary changes, bringing on Vasilevski, Kamal Ibrahim and Joryeff in order to try and force a result. The moves paid off when Joryeff drew a foul outside the area and Vasilevski beat Martin John with a brilliant free kick into the top corner of the goal to level the scores at 1-1. Vasilevski had been very unfortunate not to be in the starting eleven for the match and his goal will give him every possible chance for a starting berth next weekend.

South had tied up the scores but were not finished yet and when Ibrahim beat the offside trap to lay off for Krncevic to score, suddenly the home side were ahead with only minutes left to play. Krncevic nearly buried the Knights in injury time with a chip that just went wide of John’s goal. However it was Joryeff that finished the match as a contest when he was put through on goal by De Moraes and cooly placed a shot into the back of the net to seal three hard-fought points against a very spirited Melbourne Knights team. 

In the Under-21s match played earlier in the day, South and the Knights drew 2-2 after South spent the second half playing with only 10 men following a red card to Gianni De Nittis before halftime. De Nittis and James Riccobene were the goal scorers for the home team.

South Melbourne FC next travels to Fox Street to play promoted St Albans for the first time since an injury-time goal by Vaughan Coveny gave South a 2-2 away draw at Churchill Reserve on Sunday 29 May 2005, the last time the Saints were in Victoria’s top football division.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 3-1 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS (HT: 0-0)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Josip Kozic (59’pk)
1-1: Daniel Vasilevski (79′)
2-1: Jesse Krncevic (81′)
3-1: Kyle Joryeff (93′)

South Melbourne FC
3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 10. Kliment TASESKI (25. Kyle JORYEFF 74′), 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 13. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 55′), 21. Zaim ZENELI, 23. Sebastian PETROVIC (5. Daniel VASILEVSKI 65′)

Melbourne Knights
1. Martin JOHN, 2. Shaun ROMEIN (20. Jacob COLOSIMO 86′), 3. Ryan FILIPOVIC, 4. Ben SUREY, 5. Leo SHIN (7. Ridvan SAGLAM 59′), 10. Josip KOZIC, 11. Anthony COLOSIMO, 14. Jean-Charles DUBOIS (13. Amadu KOROMA 78′), 18. Daniel DRAGICEVIC, 19. Adam ZILIC, 22. Craig SWEENEY

SMFC Man of the Match: Carl Recchia
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 27 March 2011

Friday, 25 March 2011 10:57 AM

South Melbourne FC hosts the Melbourne Knights on Sunday afternoon in what is the first derby between the two sides in 2011. The match has some added significance as it is almost 20 years since a match between the two sides that many regard as the one that defines the strong footballing rivalry between the two clubs.

Last Friday night, South enjoyed a win at Jack Edwards Reserve for the second consecutive season following a 2-1 win over the Oakleigh Cannons. Marinos Gasparis and captain Steven O’Dor were the goal scorers for the away side, with Gasparis scoring a wonderful volley and O’Dor heading home the winning goal early in the second half. The win consolidated South’s position in the top five and continued a solid run of three consecutive matches unbeaten.

Last Sunday evening, the Melbourne Knights crushed Bentleigh Greens 4-0 at Knights Stadium in a result that could have seen the Knights win by an even bigger margin. Three of the Knights’ four goals came in the last 12 minutes of the match, including two injury-time goals to former South player Yusuf Yusuf. That victory lifted the Knights to just a point outside the top five on the Victorian Premier League table, however three points against South on Sunday afternoon will surely lift the Knights into the top five.

Sunday’s derby falls just short of the 20 year anniversary of the famous 1990/91 National Soccer League Grand Final, played on 5 May 1991 at Olympic Park in Melbourne. A crowd of 23,318 saw Andrew Marth’s opening goal for Minor Premiers Melbourne Croatia cancelled out by Joe Palatsides’ 88th minute equalising goal. South nearly won the match in extra time with a Kimon Taliadoros header but the game was decided by penalties. Misses by Paul Trimboli, Mike Petersen and Palatsides gave Melbourne Croatia opportunities to win the match; however Alan Davidson and Mark Silic sensationally hit the post with their penalties. Both sides kept converting their penalties after that until Ivan Kelic skied his shot over the bar for Melbourne Croatia to amazingly hand South its second National League Championship. One of the great moments in South’s proud and distinguised history is the footage of world footballing legend (and South coach) Ferenc Puskas holding aloft the National Soccer League Championship with captain Ange Postecoglou.

Of concern for South in this weekend’s derby is the fact that the Club has not kept a clean sheet in the 2011 campaign. However in more promising news, the inclusions of Zaim Zeneli as goalkeeper and centre-half Ljubo Miličević gave the defence stability and composure. Steven Topalovic was moved to right-back in a tactical switch and Rhodri Payne maintained his position as left fullback as Miličević slotted into centre-half with O’Dor. The coaching staff will be hoping that as he regains full match fitness, Miličević’s experience and leadership will help ease the defensive problems which have been bugging South so far in 2011.

Sunday’s derby kicks off at 17:00 at John Cain Memorial Park.

Saturday, 19 March 2011 1:39 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Anita Milas, courtesy of Goal Weekly)

South Melbourne FC has won for the second straight season at Jack Edwards Reserve following a deserved 2-1 victory against Oakleigh on Friday night. A volley from Marinos Gasparis and a header from captain Steven O’Dor was enough to give South the victory.

South went into the match bolstered by the fact that new signing Ljubo Miličević had finally been cleared to play for the Club. Miličević went straight into the starting eleven and slotted in next to O’Dor at centre-half, with Steven Topalovic shifted to right back. Goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli, who had been substituted onto the field last Sunday against Heidelberg after 70 minutes following a head injury to Stefaan Sardelic, started his first Victorian Premier League match for South. Immediately the defence looked much steadier and stable, with Miličević and O’Dor winning practically every aerial ball and Zenelli hardly tested during the game.

The away side opened the scoring after four minutes with a wonderful volley by Gasparis, who scored his second goal in successive weeks following his injury-time equalising goal away at Heidelberg last Sunday. However, the lead only lasted ten minutes, when former South forward Ricky Diaco beat Zenelli with a low shot from a free kick that managed to sneak through the defensive wall. Shortly before the halftime break, Gasparis hit another stinging shot from outside the box just wide of Peter Zois’ goal, whilst at the other end Oakleigh nearly took the lead after a shot took a wicked deflection before hitting Zenelli’s crossbar and going out to safety.

South regained the lead shortly after the halftime break. A free kick taken on the left side of the box by Fernando De Moraes found an unmarked O’Dor, who easily beat Zois with his free header. The away side should have wrapped the game up shortly after when Jesse Krncevic rounded Zois and cut the ball back for Gasparis, however with an open goal the midfielder blasted the ball over the crossbar. Krncevic had presented real problems for the Cannons defence by being a huge presence up forward for South.

Defensively, Miličević and O’Dor easily dealt with aerial balls played into the area by Oakleigh. Zenelli was kept quiet for most of the game but when called upon, was able to comfortably deal with high balls into the box. Despite this, Oakleigh still should have equalised deep into injury time with a header that went wide of Zenelli’s near post. The referee’s final whistle moments later condemned the Cannons to their first Victorian Premier League loss for the season and stretched South’s unbeaten run to three Victorian Premier League matches in a row.

South Melbourne’s next match is a derby at home against the Melbourne Knights. The match kicks off next Sunday 27 March at 5:00pm at John Cain Memorial Park.

FULL TIME: OAKLEIGH CANNONS 1-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-1)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Marinos Gasparis (3’)
1-1: Ricky Diaco (14’)
1-2: Steven O’Dor (57’)

Oakleigh Cannons

1. Peter ZOIS, 2. James CUMMING, 6. Rama TAVSANCIOGLU, 7. Bonel ABRADOVIC (25. Craig GOODWIN 88′), 8. James ROBINSON, 10. Ricky DIACO (14. Melvin BECKET 82′), 12. Luke WALKER (13. Bill DAMIANOS 72′), 16. Frank LAGANA, 18. Stephen HATZIKIRIAZIS, 19. Dane MILOVANOVIC, 23. Anthony BRAN



South Melbourne FC 

3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI (33. Bobby RUSSELL 77′), 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 82′), 17. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (19. Leigh MINOPOULOS 90′), 21. Zaim ZENELI, 23. Sebastian PETROVIC



SMFC Man of the Match: Steven O’Dor

Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve

Date: Friday 18 March 2011

Saturday, 19 March 2011 12:51 PM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce the signing of Ljubo Miličević on a short-term deal. Miličević becomes the 50th player to have played for both the Socceroos and South Melbourne FC.

There is no doubt that Miličević is a true character of Australian football, but more importantly an excellent defender with plenty of domestic and European football experience behind him. Miličević began his professional career with Melbourne Croatia in the National Soccer League before playing and scoring in Perth Glory’s losing 1999/00 Grand Final side. In the early 2000s, Miličević left for Europe and playing for FC Zurich, FC Basel, FC Thun and Young Boys in Switzerland, captaining Thun and Young Boys. In the 2005-06 European season, Miličević represented Thun in five group stage matches of the UEFA Champions League against world-class opposition such as Arsenal and Ajax.

In 2007, Miličević returned to Australia for four seasons before heading back to Europe to attempt to sign for a European club. After trials with FC Basel in the Swiss Super League and Bundesliga 2 club Arminia Bielefeld, Miličević decided it was best to return to Australia and play short-term in the Victorian Premier League with South Melbourne FC to maintain peak match fitness before heading back to Europe halfway through the year for the beginning of the 2011/12 season. He made his debut last night in our win against the Oakleigh Cannons after being cleared at 5.30pm to play after weeks of trying.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Ljubo Miličević to the Club and is very much looking forward to seeing him representing the Club in 2011.

Friday, 18 March 2011 11:00 AM

On the 5th episode of southRadio in 2011, we review the Round 5 clash against Heidelberg United, and preview the upcoming derby game between South Melbourne FC and Oakleigh.

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

Click here to download episode 5 of southRadio (MP3) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes

Thursday, 17 March 2011 11:01 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC faces arguably its toughest test this season on Friday night when the team travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to face the leaders Oakleigh.

The Cannons are on top of the ladder, and have enjoyed an advantage over other Victorian Premier League sides by playing four of their first five games at home, and have played an additional match than second-placed Dandenong Thunder. Nevertheless, Oakleigh have achieved near maximum points so far in 2011 and will be difficult opponents for South to overcome away from home.

South will head into the match keen on extending an unbeaten run of two matches, with a well-deserved 2-1 win over Bentleigh followed by a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against rivals Heidelberg United in the derby at Olympic Village last Sunday. That draw broke what had been four straight defeats at the Olympic Village since 2006. Jesse Krncevic scored his fourth goal from five Victorian Premier League matches against Heidelberg, and former Berger Marinos Gasparis saved South’s blushes with an injury-time header to earn South Melbourne a well-deserved point.

South will still have Kliment Taseski missing this Friday, with the midfielder in his second week of a three match suspension. However, coach Eddie Krncevic’s biggest problem will be to stop his defence from leaking goals. The team has yet to keep a clean sheet after five Victorian Premier League matches in 2011 and the manner in which the second goal was conceded against Heidelberg last Sunday would have raised more concerns for the coaching staff. However, in more positive news, substitute goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli (who replaced Stefaan Sardelic in goals after 70 minutes following a head injury) looked calm and composed when on the field, as did new signing Bobby Russell (on loan from the Gold Coast United youth side) at right back. Many older South fans may recall another Bobby Russell representing South Melbourne FC in the 1980s and being an integral part of South’s 1984 National Soccer League Championship team, as well as being NSL Player of the Year in 1986.

South has played Oakleigh six times at Jack Edwards Reserve since entering the Victorian Premier League in 2005, with both teams winning twice each and with two draws making the head-to-head at the venue level in every way. South traditionally plays very well at Oakleigh, so nothing less than a good performance is expected on Friday night. However, the Oakleigh match is the perfect opportunity for South to show that it is serious about winning the Victorian Premier League this year, with an opportunity to beat the current leaders in their own backyard. In the corresponding fixture last season, Fernando De Moraes scored at the near post following a wonderful through-ball by Eddie Cetkin in the 30th minute to give South a 1-0 victory, its first win at Jack Edwards Reserve since 2005.

Friday night’s game kicks off at 8:30pm.

Last time we met

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 4:00 PM

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 3:09 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has won its first point at the Olympic Village since 2006 following a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Heidelberg United on Sunday evening. Marinos Gasparis’ late headed goal salvaged a point for South in a match that could have been three gifted points for the Bergers.

The Olympic Village presented an adequate playing surface that suited South’s passing game. However the away side started the match off slowly and were subsequenty punished by the Bergers through Osagie Ederaro, who cut in from the left side before laying the ball off for Saso Alexovski to score. This sparked South into life, with the away side creating several half chances before equalising just before the half hour mark through Jesse Krncevic. The big forward received the ball from Fernando De Moraes before he got around his marker and toe-poked the ball past the oncoming Griffin McMaster and into the back of the net.

South were clearly the better side in the contest but Ederaro was always presenting problems with the South defence. The away side’s defensive problems were exposed yet again by Ederaro early in the second half, when a Stefaan Sardelic save fell in between three South defenders. Each stopped momentarily, expecting someone else to clear the ball, and Ederaro took advantage by shooting past Sardelic to restore the Bergers’ lead. Once more, South were on the back foot and were chasing one point instead of three.

Substitute goalkeeper Zaim Zenelli made his League debut for South, replacing Sardelic after the big custodian suffered a head injury. Zenelli was kept reasonably quiet as South did most of the attacking, with Heidelberg determined to hold onto their lead and defending strongly for the rest of the game. South were constantly denied, firstly with a clearance off the line from a Steven Topalovic shot fom outside the box, then from an excellent save by McMaster with his left leg from a Krncevic shot following excellent build-up play by substitute Kamal Ibrahim.

With the match into injury time, Gasparis snuck in at the back post to head De Moraes’ cross from the right into the back of the net to salvage a draw for the away side. It was South’s first point at the Village since late goals from Jonas Salley and Tansel Baser won the derby for South in the opening round of the 2006 Victorian Premier League season.

South Melbourne FC next travels to Jack Edwards Reserve to play leaders Oakleigh on Friday night, with kick-off scheduled for 20:30.

FINAL SCORE: HEIDELBERG UNITED 2-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 1-1)

Goals Scorers

1-0: Saso Alexovski (8′)

1-1: Jesse Krncevic (28′)

2-1: Osagie Ederaro (47′) 

2-2: Marinos Gasparis (90′)



Heidelberg United 

1. Griffin McMASTER, 2. Yared HAILEMELKOT, 7. Hamlet ARMENIAN (8. Andrew NABBOUT 57′), 10. Adrian CACERES (4. John LAZARIDIS 63′), 11. Evan CHRISTODOULOU, 14. Craig ELVIN, 16. Steve MARTIN, 18. Osagie EDERARO, 20. Saso ALEXOVSKI (23. Takanori NISHIMOTO 76′), 21. Richard GREER, 22. Ben WARING 



South Melbourne FC 
1. Stefaan SARDELIC (21. Zaim ZENELI 72′), 3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O’DOR, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. JESSE KRNCEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES, 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 23, Sebastian PETROVIC (33. Bobby RUSSELL 76′), 25. Kyle JORYEFF (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 57′)



SMFC Player of the Match: Marinos Gasparis

Venue: Olympic Village

Date: Sunday 13 March 2011