Category: News

Friday, 24 July 2009 9:24 AM

By George Kouroumalis (Photo by Craig Varty)

In what is shaping up to be the match of the round, South Melbourne FC will play host to 4th placed Hume City in a crunch game at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

South go into the game 3 points ahead of their opponents, knowing that a win could see the Blues go close to securing that elusive 2nd position and a guaranteed double chance and home final in the end of season finals series.

The home side, lead by veteran striker Vaughan Coveny, will be keen to make up for a disappointing home draw last week to Green Gully.

In a match that was dominated by the home side, South managed to claw itself back from a one goal deficit to draw with Green Gully. Despite the draw, South continues to find itself playing some reasonable football and will attempt to continue to build on a 5 game unbeaten run.

Alongside Coveny up front will be young striker Gianni De Nittis, who will be expected to return to the squad following a frustrating battle with a leg injury.The hard working striker will be joined by the likes of Goran Zoric, Francesco Stella and Fernando De Moraes in a very potent SMFC attacking half of the pitch.

Hume City will come to Bob Jane Stadium in some good form and with extreme confidence following a tremendous 8-0 victory against the bottom placed Preston Lions last week. More important than the win itself would be the form of some key individuals coming into the game, including striker Zoran Petrevski, who is consistently finding the back of the net and ensuring that his side is one of the highest scoring clubs in the competition.

Former SMFC captain Tansel Baser will be at the heart of Hume’s impressive defensive line-up. Baser was a fan favourite in his time at lakeside accumulating 106 games and 7 goals in a wonderful career for the Blue and Whites. He will be remembered by South fans for a career that saw him taste NSL championship success as a young defender, as well as being a key component to South’s 2006 VPL Championship win. Along with Lou Acevski in goals, Baser will be one of the key men that Hume will use in an attempt to negate the prolific SMFC attack.

Kick-off for the huge game will be at 4pm this Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium, with all SMFC members and fans urged to get behind the team as we strive towards playing finals football.

Last time they met – smfcTV Highlights

Tuesday, 21 July 2009 11:39 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC’s home clash against Hume City on Sunday will mark the side’s 200th match at Bob Jane Stadium across all competitions, including National and Victorian Soccer League, finals and Cup matches since the venue opened in 1995.

The first ever match at Bob Jane Stadium was on the 26th of November 1995, when nearly 12,000 fans saw West Adelaide Hellas come from 2-1 down to win 2-3 thanks to a late goal from Nathan Day. West Adelaide (and current Green Gully) forward Pablo Cardozo had the honour of scoring the first ever goal at the stadium, with Danny Allsopp becoming the first South Melbourne FC player to score at Lakeside.

South’s first trophy at the stadium was won in the 1995/96 season, as Frank Arok’s young side overcame the Melbourne Knights (4-3 over two legs), Marconi Fairfield (3-2), Canberra Cosmos (3-2) and Newcastle Breakers (3-1) to win the NSL Cup for the second time in the club’s history. Vaughan Coveny netted a double and Steve Panopoulos converted a penalty in the final that was played in front of 5,000 fans.

In coming seasons, South made the stadium an absolute fortress for opposition sides to visit. Not surprisingly, the back-to-back NSL championship seasons of 97/98 and 98/99 were on the back of an extremely strong home record. South only lost once at home in those two seasons, with that loss being in the final round of the 97/98 season against Carlton, when the Minor Premiership was already wrapped up and with many of the regular starting eleven rested for the match.

The derbies against Carlton at Bob Jane Stadium were always great matches that attracted crowds regularly in excess of 10,000. One of the finest matches ever at the stadium was in 98/99, when South came from behind to lead Carlton 4-3 at halftime. Andy Vlahos equalised for Carlton with three minutes remaining and the final score line of 4-4 remains the highest scoring drawn match at the venue to this day. South’s come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Perth Glory that season (midweek match in front of over 11,000 fans) also ranks as one of the best ever home matches.

Whilst South struggled in the league in 99/00, the side still maintained a reasonable record at home. The stadium was regularly filled with Brazilian dancers that season as South celebrated its participation at the inaugural World Club Championships in Brazil. The final home match of the season was used as a send-off for Ange Postecoglou (127 matches in charge), who left to take up coaching the Young Socceroos. South defeated Newcastle Breakers 4-0 to end the season on a high.

Season 00/01 was an exceptional one for South despite the side falling at the final hurdle by losing the Grand Final. The side went through the regular season undefeated at home and celebrated the Minor Premiership after a huge 6-2 win against Northern Spirit in the final round. However in a cruel twist, South lost its only home game of the season against Wollongong 1-2 in the second leg of the Major Semi Final. The result meant a 4-2 aggregate win for the Wolves and the right to host the Grand Final.

The following season saw South go from whipping boys at the halfway point of the season to outside championship favourite by season’s end. In the final round, South needed to beat Marconi at Bob Jane Stadium to qualify for the finals series. Con Boutsianis netted two brilliant goals and Coveny added a third as South triumphed 3-1 to storm into the finals series. South continued its good home record by beating the Brisbane Strikers 2-0 in the first leg of the Elimination Final.

An inconsistent 02/03 home record corresponded with South’s struggle overall that season. The final NSL season of 03/04 saw a bright start before a late fade in form saw a couple of bad losses at home. Retiring legend Mehmet Durakovic played his final home match for the club in the second leg of the Elimination Final against Marconi. Michael Curcija netted a double to send the team through to the Minor Semi Final, as Durakovic was chaired off the ground by thousands of invading fans.

South resumed life back in the VPL with a 0-0 draw against Heidelberg in front of over 11,000 spectators at Lakeside in 2005. South’s biggest ever win at the stadium was recorded the following season with a 7-0 victory against the Melbourne Knights. South finished the season in third but won through to the Grand Final, held at Bob Jane Stadium. Gianni De Nittis’ headed goal was enough to give South a 1-0 win over Altona Magic and the club’s eighth state league title.

2007 and 2008 were a disaster on the whole, with the side missing the finals in both seasons. However there were some excellent home results, notably the 5-2 win over the Oakleigh Cannons and the come-from-behind 3-3 draw against Preston. In the current campaign, South has been undefeated at home since losing the opening two matches of the season. Most pleasing is that the side has been able to maintain good form at home as well as away, something that South has always struggled to achieve, even in the NSL.

South Melbourne FC is hoping to celebrate its 200th match at Bob Jane Stadium with a victory against Hume on Sunday afternoon. A win could potentially give the club a five point lead in second spot, which will be an enormous advantage with some difficult matches still to come in the regular season.

Monday, 20 July 2009 9:50 AM

By George Kouroumalis – Photo by Craig Varty

In blustery conditions at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday, South Melbourne have squandered a host of chances to draw 1-1 at home to Green Gully.

Green Gully had come into the game with the knowledge that the Blues had not beaten the Cavaliers since 2006. The confidence of the away side was evident in the early stages on the game, with an inviting ball into the area swinging into the path of Matthew Sanders at the back post. With Tommi Tomich to beat, Sanders looped a header of the bar, which fell away to safety.

Green Gully continued to threaten the South goal in the early stages and went close again moments later when an Andy Vargas long range attempt went wide of the target.

South responded immediately and launched a series of attacks onto the Green Gully goal, including two attempts by veteran striker Vaughan Coveny, who was brilliantly denied on both occasions by the Green Gully goalkeeper in Steven Tilovski.

South had a final chance before the break when a looping ball by Goran Zoric found Francesco Stella outside the area. With the ball still in the air, the youngster launched a superb volley just wide of the target.

The second half started in a similar manner to the first with Green Gully launching the opening attack of the period. On this occasion, a ball from the left found its way into the area before a series of deflections led to the ball being parried into the path of Andy Vargas. With goalkeeper Tomich on the floor, Vargas slammed home the opening goal of the match.

True to the expectation of a stunned home crowd, South responded almost immediately and were back on level terms in the 56th minute, after a floating ball found it’s way to the unmarked Sebastian Petrovich in the area, who tucked the ball into the back of the net.

Upon equalising, South proceeded in dominating the rest of the game, with Coveny coming close in the 64th minute when his speculative shot from range was cleanly dealt with by Tilovski.

It was only moments later that the veteran thought he had snared the South winner, when a lovely move culminated in youngster Stella producing a sublime bicycle kick to create an inventive attempt on target. In what was a great piece of play, Tilovski produced a sublime save to deny the youngster.

From the resulting rebound off the save, Coveny found himself in space to bury home the tap-in.

In a controversial decision, referee Kevin Docherty signalled back to the centre having awarded the goal. It wasn’t until he saw the assistant referee flag Coveny being in an offside position that he overturned his decision and disallowed the goal, leaving the home fans irate.

South had the final chance of the game when a sublime ball was played into the path of the open Coveny. With the keeper to beat, Coveny hit a low shot onto the target. True to his form over the course of the match, Tilovski made a fantastic low save to ensure his side left Bob Jane Stadium with a point.

Friday, 17 July 2009 10:58 AM

South Melbourne FC will be aiming at further securing second position on the VPL table as they take on Green Gully at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday at 4pm.

The Blues, who are undefeated in their last 4 games, will be keen to defeat a Green Gully side that they have not beaten since the elimination final in 2006, where three goals in the final 10 minutes saw South overcome a stubborn and committed Cavaliers.

Since then, Gully has continued their dominance over the Blues, with the Keilor based club winning the last two outings at Bob Jane Stadium, whilst also maintaining a 23 year unbeaten run at home against South.

Going into the game, South will be confident following a resounding 3-1 victory against Richmond last week. With the likelihood of Gianni De Nittis returning to the squad following a niggling leg injury, South will be keen attack the Green Gully side from the outset.

De Nittis’ return will also be coupled by the potential home introduction of Yusuf Yusuf. The former Heidelberg winger injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his knee early in 2008 whilst playing against Oakleigh that saw him miss over a year of senior football. In what was a great relief for him and the club last Friday at Kevin Bartlett Reserve, Yusuf returned to senior action as a substitute to play an integral part in the final 15 minutes to secure South the win.

In the other camp, Gully will enter the contest in somewhat contrasting form following two losses on the trot, including a 5-1 loss away to the top of the ladder Dandenong Thunder a fortnight ago.

Despite the unsavoury results of late, experienced campaigners such as Andy Vargas, Jeffery Fleming and Pablo Cardozo will continue to lead the way up front and in the middle, ensuring that the visitors are more than capable of snatching the three points from South.

Kick-off for the important clash is at 4pm on Sunday, with all South fans urged to get behind the squad as they continue to push for a finals berth in 2009.

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 10:09 AM

With the overwhelming success of the first Sub Junior Clinic program held earlier in the season, SMFC would like to announce that the program will continue in the 2nd half of the season.

The 7 week course is due to start at the famous Bob Jane Stadium on Saturday July 18th, with all juniors encouraged to register online to be a part of it.

The course focuses on improving the skill level of all participants, with each child receiving personalised specialist coaching and tips to make them a better footballer.

On top of the training, the main aim of the program is to enable participants to have fun and enjoy themselves whilst playing the wonderful game of football at the home of Victorian Football.

SMFC Football Director and Program Co-ordinator Ange Dallas urges all juniors to register for the program, claiming that “it is an ideal program not only for a child of any skill level to improve themselves, but a program that encourages children to have fun on the football field, whilst learning aspects of the world game.

We hope to see as many children at Bob Jane Stadium having fun and enjoying themselves to the fullest”

To register for the 7 week program, please visit https://www.smfc.com.au/events/sub-junior-clinics/ .

For all other enquiries please contact the club office on 9645 9797

Click here to register for the SMFC Sub Junior Clinics

Saturday, 11 July 2009 10:26 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC has a firm hold on second spot on the league table after a come-from-behind 1-3 victory over the Richmond Eagles at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday night. The away side played well and deserved victory despite a massive scare near the conclusion of the match.

South went into the match knowing that a victory was paramount in its quest for a top three finish in 2009. A win would keep South in second spot for at least another week, just ahead of a chasing pack in Altona, Hume City, Green Gully and Sunshine George Cross. For Richmond, a win was vital in keeping alive their already slim finals hopes, with the Eagles sitting 9 points behind fifth position.

South began the match strongly, with Joseph Youssef missing a glorious chance early on to open the scoring. A cross from Fernando De Moraes was not cleared by the Eagles defence and fell to Youssef, who skied his volleyed attempt with only goalkeeper Peter Zois to beat.

It was the Eagles that went ahead after being controversially awarded a penalty for an alleged foul by South centre-back Steve O’Dor, who was attempting to shield the ball out of play for a goal kick. From the resultant spot-kick, Tom Milardovic sent Tommi Tomich the wrong way and put the home side ahead.

South looked slightly shaky having gone a goal down, but were soon back to playing their normal attacking game. Youssef teamed up with his fellow midfielder Sebastian Petrovic to carve out the equalising goal for the away side. Youssef managed to find himself space down the left side, with his cut-back ball falling to Petrovic. The hard-working midfielder managed to lob Zois and in the process score his second goal for the season.

Shane Nunes has arguably been the biggest improver for South this season and it was the centre-back that put the Blues ahead before halftime. A free kick taken by Vaughan Coveny was floated into the penalty area, where Nunes snuck in unmarked and hit a perfect left-foot volley past Zois and into the bottom corner. The goal was Nunes’ second for the season and one that gave South a well-deserved lead.

The second half continued in the same fashion as the first, with South creating chances to finish the match off. Richmond had Zois to thank several times for making some excellent saves, including one from a Fernando free kick and one from a Rama Tavsancioglu power shot. Coveny was guilty of not finishing a ball that was squared back to him by substitute Sam Torrens from the left and Fernando wasted a glorious chance by hitting a shot wide of the near post, with Zois beaten.

With the match into injury time, a ball played into the area by Richmond was not cleared by South. The ball fell to Erhan Karahan, whose header towards goal was destined for the top corner before Tomich pulled off an outstanding save to keep his side ahead. The big custodian had to back-track but he managed to do so before tipping the ball out for a corner kick.

South made sure of the three points in the 94th minute, when a pass from Petrovic found Fernando who finally beat Zois to score, despite the Richmond custodian getting his hand on the ball. The goal was Fernando’s sixth for the season and 34th in his South career, making him the ninth highest goal scorer in the club’s history.

South Melbourne FC now has a two point lead in second place. In contrast, Richmond lie in ninth spot on the table with their finals hopes all but over for 2009. South have five hard matches to end the regular home & away season, with big home games against Gully, Hume and George Cross as well as tough away matches against Oakleigh and Altona. The first of these difficult assignments will be against Gully at Bob Jane Stadium next Sunday afternoon. The match kicks off at 4pm.

FINAL SCORE
Richmond Eagles 1 (Milardovic 12’)
South Melbourne 3 (Petrovic 33’, Nunes 38’, De Moraes 94’)

South Melbourne FC line-up:
Tommi Tomich, Shane Nunes, Rhodri Payne, Steve O’Dor, Vaughan Coveny, Joseph Youssef, Francesco Stella (Sam Torrens 67’), Rama Tavsancioglu (C), Fernando De Moraes, Goran Zoric (Yusuf Yusuf 77’), Sebastian Petrovic

smfcTV
Watch the Round 17 highlights between Richmond and South Melbourne FC on smfcTV. We also have 2 player interviews, Shane Nunes and Sam Torrens.

Friday, 10 July 2009 11:50 AM

The club is pleased to launch the 50th Anniversary Fundraising Raffle.

Each 2009 member and sponsor has been issued with a raffle book of 10 tickets which it is hoped they sell to family, friends and acquaintances.

The club urges all members, sponsors and supporters to partake in this fundraising initiative to assist the club financially during times of global economic hardship.

For those who have not received a book or current members and sponsors requiring additional raffle books to sell, please contact Nicki on 9645 9797 during weekdays 10am – 4pm.

First Prize: $2,500 Holiday Travel Voucher
Second Prize: 40 inch Samsung LCD TV (Retail Value $1,799)
Third Prize: Samsung PLC 60 Camera 10.2 mp (Retail Value $299)
Fourth Prize: Signed 2009 Heritage SMFC Home Shirt (Retail Value $250)

Tickets are $5 each

Raffle to be drawn on Sunday 16th August 2009

Wednesday, 8 July 2009 2:50 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC travels to Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday night to face Richmond knowing that a win or draw will keep the team in second spot on the league table. However the task at hand will not be made easy against a Richmond side out to make amends after being the first side to lose against Preston this season.

South heads into the match on the back of a comfortable 4-0 home victory against the Whittlesea Zebras in the previous round, giving the club a three game unbeaten run. In fact South has only been defeated once in 14 matches, an excellent achievement considering the struggles in recent seasons to achieve consistently good form. Also of a pleasing note is the fact that South is the highest scoring team in the league, with 35 goals from 16 matches.

Goran Zoric’s double against the Zebras took his individual tally for 2009 to double figures, with an excellent return of 10 goals from 16 games. Two more goals for Zoric will see him equal teammate Fernando De Moraes’ 12 goals in 2006. This is the highest individual tally for a South player since the club resumed life back in the Victorian Premier League. Sadly for Zoric, he still needs another 13 goals if he is to break Jim Armstrong’s club record of 22 goals in a State League season that was set in the championship-winning season of 1974.

Richmond started the 2009 season in excellent form, with four wins and a draw in their opening five matches seeing the Eagles soar to the top of the league. However it was South that inflicted the Eagles’ first defeat in the sixth round at Bob Jane Stadium and since then Richmond has struggled, with only one win in its last 11 matches. The worst of the lot was the 2-1 loss at Preston in the previous round, with the Eagles becoming the first side to lose to the Lions in 2009.

Though Richmond is third-last on the ladder, finals are still a mathematical possibility (being 9 points behind 5th position with six rounds remaining). With teams always taking points off each other, the Eagles could very well get themselves back into finals reckoning with a win on Friday night. Richmond will also be encouraged by the fact that they won the corresponding fixture 2-0 last season, thanks to a double from Pablo Cardozo (76’, 90’) that all but confirmed a spot in the finals for the Eagles and confirmed an early end to the season for South.

A point on Friday night will be enough for South to remain in second place, however with extremely tough assignments against Green Gully and Hume coming up, a win against Richmond is crucial. If other results go the right way and South wins, the Blues could end the weekend four points clear of third. This would provide the Blues with a handy gap ahead of around six other clubs also pushing for a finals spot.

Richmond first played against South Melbourne FC in 1961, with the first league meeting between the two sides ending in a 6-1 win for South at Middle Park. Antonis Hatzieleftheriou and Terry Budgen scored doubles, with John Hatzigeorgiou and Peter Tzaponis also scoring. South also had success in the return fixture, winning 3-4 thanks to a double from George Papadopoulos and singles to Stratos Kalogeros and Savvas Salapasidis.

Richmond were relegated in 1961, but returned to the State League in 1963. South Melbourne FC defeated Richmond 4-2 at Middle Park in round six before being held to a 2-2 draw at Olympic Park in the second round of matches. It was a different story in the Dockerty Cup, with South destroying Richmond 6-0 in the First Round. The next time the sides met in a league match was 43 years later, when a late Scott MacNicol goal was enough to hand South Melbourne FC a 2-1 win over Richmond at Bob Jane Stadium in 2006.

In all, the sides have met each other in ten league matches since 1961, with South triumphing seven times, Richmond twice and with just a single draw between the two teams.

Friday night’s match kicks off at 8:30pm at Kevin Bartlett Reserve (Melways reference 45 A12).

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 1:27 PM

In a remarkable Friday night, SMWFC stamped itself as a threat for the 2009 championship, defeating the top placed and highly fancied Box Hill Inter at Wembley Park.

In what was a nice night for football, South burst out of the blocks and continually broke down the Box Hill defence at almost every foray forward.

South gained the early lead after a fortunate ball found itself in the path of Jade Barnden, who buried the chance into the back of the net.

However just before the break, Georgina Koutrouvelis equalised via scorching strike from outside the box for Box Hill to ensure that both teams went into the break on level terms.

South continued to dominate the early stages of the second half and went ahead moments after the break, when a sensational curling free-kick by Aimee Benton swerved past the goalkeeper to send the away fans into raptures.

South sealed the win minutes later when Jade Barnden streaked past the defence to claim her second of the match.

Box Hill came back late in the game and snatched a late goal back after Chiara Romero managed to unlock the solid South defence.

Despite this, South walked away with all three points from the toughest place to win in the premier league.

SMWFC attacking player Melinda Aloisio was remaining focussed following the huge win.

“We are taking it one game at a time, trying to improve on our performance from the first half of the season and we are well on track having beaten Box Hill”.

SMWFC’s next game is on July 12th away to Ashburton in what will be a crunch game that will go a long way in deciding 4th place on the table.

Monday, 29 June 2009 1:17 PM

By John Kyrou | Photo by Craig Varty

South Melbourne FC has climbed back up to second position on the league table following a comprehensive 4-0 win against the Whittlesea Zebras on Sunday afternoon at Bob Jane Stadium.

The home side wore a special heritage strip (white with a red V on the front) as a tribute to the first few years of South Melbourne Hellas’ existence when this shirt was worn before the change in colours to blue and white.

South entered the match on the back of a disappointing away draw against the Melbourne Knights and having dropped from second to fifth position due to other results on the weekend. Whittlesea entered in a contrasting position, with the Zebras deep in relegation danger and needing a confidence-boosting win.

South began the match well and opened the scoring after only five minutes. Left back Rhodri Payne’s long ball set Vaughan Coveny through one-on-one with the Zebras keeper and the forward kept his cool and calmly lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper and into the back of the net.

The home side remained in complete control of the match but were unable to score the killer second goal until 10 minutes before halftime. The ball bounced kindly for Fernando de Moraes around the edge of the area and the midfielder hit a lovely shot that flew into the top left corner of the goal.

The match should have been over as a contest shortly after the halftime break when Francesco Stella intercepted a ball played across goals and was through one-on-one with the keeper. However Stella chose to round the keeper and shoot instead of placing a shot into the corner of the goal and as a result was quickly dispossessed.

Goran Zoric ended any feint hopes of a Zebras fight back when he added South’s third for the afternoon. Captain Rama Tavsancioglu made an excellent run down the right side and his cut-back found an unmarked Zoric who had no problems in putting the ball in the back of the net.

Zoric doubled his tally five minutes later and made the score 4-0 when he snuck down the right side and was supplied an excellent through-ball by Fernando. Zoric hit a first time shot that flew across the ball and into the corner of the goal.

The league has a catch-up round next week so both sides have a break. South opens round 17 with an away trip to Kevin Bartlett Reserve to take on the Richmond Eagles. The match kicks off at 8:30pm on the 10th of July. Whittlesea has another away match, this time against Heidelberg at Olympic Village.