Category: News

Thursday, 12 March 2009 12:22 PM

By John Kyrou

In an important fixture, South Melbourne FC faces the Preston Lions on Sunday in the club’s first away trip for season 2009.

In fact, Sunday’s match at BT Connor Reserve shapes up as a vital fixture for Preston, as they are also celebrating their 50th anniversary year this season. More importantly, the three points on offer are crucial, as both sides have experienced a winless start to the season and for one of the teams to beat one of their biggest Victorian rivals will go a long way to kick-starting its 2009 campaign.

South goes into the match on the back of two disappointing results at home in the opening two rounds, losing 0-1 against newly-promoted Dandenong Thunder and then by the same score against traditional rivals Heidelberg last Sunday. Defensive lapses were what ultimately cost the club at least a point in both matches, with an own goal against Dandenong and a lobbed cross against the Bergers sinking South’s hearts. If South is to earn all three points against Preston, it needs an extremely disciplined and resolute backline that is able to shut out the relentless pressure that Preston is expected to put them under when going forward. This task will be made even more difficult with the exclusion of captain Rama Tavsancioglu, who was sent off against Heidelberg and will miss the match through suspension.

Up forward for South, the bags of goals that were seen in the pre-season Hellenic Cup competition have not transpired in the VPL thus far. Frustratingly, the side has struggled to create many genuine goal scoring chances in its opening two matches. As a result, the club is yet to open its goal scoring and points account and sadly sits with a -2 goal difference and two home losses – disappointing when one considers how much of a fortress Bob Jane Stadium was back in the National Soccer League days and in the early seasons of the club’s return to the VPL.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the away side. Preston themselves are also struggling in their 50th anniversary year, conceding two late goals to lose 1-2 against the Melbourne Knights at home in the opening round, and then having their last match against Altona postponed after a lighting failure. The Lions have lost a number of their players from 2008, many of whom were an influence in the club’s solid results and appearance in the finals that season. Despite this, Lions supporters will be heartened by the fact that their side led the Knights for the majority of the match, and that several excellent chances to score were created against Altona before the abandonment of the fixture last week.

An interesting fact for South Melbourne FC is that since returning to the VPL in 2005, the side has not been beaten at BT Connor Reserve. In the three matches at the venue in that time, South has recorded two wins and one draw. The most recent result was in round 6 last season, when two goals in less than two minutes gave South a priceless 1-2 victory after the Lions had taken the lead. In fact it has been a long time since Preston beat South at Connor Reserve full stop. It has been 22 years, when Steve Smith and Zoran Ilioski’s goals were enough to overcome South 2-1 one Melbourne winter’s day in 1987. Charlie Egan scored South’s goal.

While a negative result will not dent either side’s hopes of a finals appearance in 2009, it will make life in Victoria’s top league even harder. The match kicks off on Sunday at 5pm.

Tuesday, 10 March 2009 12:50 PM

Photo by Cindy Nitsos

Heidelberg United has bounced back after their first round defeat by Oakleigh to claim an important derby win against their old foe South Melbourne at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

With both teams coming into the contest on the back of uninspiring performances in round one, they were intent on getting their season back on track in front of a healthy derby day crowd.

The game started in typical derby fashion, with hard tackles flying in from all angles and some scrappy foootball being played, with no real team gaining any ascendency whatsoever.

Once the game settled, Heidelberg had the first opportunity on goal with Marinos Gasparis connecting with an innocuous ball forward to loop a header on target.

In what would have been a regulation catch for goalkeeper Tommi Tomich, it appeared that the sun glare caught the custodian off guard, with the ball somehow striking the upright before it was cleared by the South defence.
The away side continued to press forward after this and had half chances from Tony Ouliaris and Graham Hockless fly wide of the target without testing Tomich at all.

South replied late in the half through veteran Vaughan Coveny, who skimmed past the stagnant Heidelberg defence, before hitting a low and hard shot on his left foot towards the target.

The ball which was destined for the bottom corner was somehow deflected into the upright by goalkeeper Peter Gavalas before going out for a corner.

Heidelberg started the second half strongly and more determined in the early stages to score a goal.

On the right hand side, new signing Osagie Ederaro was causing the South defence havoc at every opportunity, by continually running at the defenders at speed and also having the confidence to shoot from any angle and distance.

With South on the backfoot, captain and hard working defender Rama Tavsancioglu was booked for a robust challenge. This was to be his second yellow of the evening, meaning that South would play the remaining 20 minutes of the game with 10 men.

For this time, Heidelberg dominated possession and squandered numerous half chances through veterans Eric Vassiliadis and substitute Bobby Petta.

However it was the Bergers who would get the only goal of the tight contest in the 84th minute, when the South defence did not close the oncoming Ederaro before he managed to sensationally lob Tomich from just outside the area to send the small contingent of travelling fans into raptures.

South will need to regroup before its tough away trip to Preston next Sunday at BT Connor Reserve, knowing that nothing short of a win is needed.

To view extended game highlights, please visit www.smfc.tv

 

Thursday, 5 March 2009 12:05 PM

By John Kyrou

In a match being billed as the ‘Heritage Clash’, South Melbourne FC will be looking to win its first points in the 2009 Victorian Premier League season when it meets Heidelberg United at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday evening. The match holds enormous significance for South, being a huge derby fixture that the lakeside club desperately needs three points from in order to kick-start its 50th year into gear.

Despite a dominant pre-season campaign which saw the club win every match on route to a third Hellenic Cup triumph (including beating Heidelberg United 3-0 in the final), South could not continue the good form in the opening round of the new season, losing 0-1 at home against the Dandenong Thunder. As a result, the importance of a good result in the Heidelberg United fixture has increased.

Beating Heidelberg United so convincingly in the Hellenic Cup final two weeks ago will help the South players heading into Sunday’s match, although psychologically the Bergers will be up for the occasion, having had the upper hand against South since both teams re-commenced their rivalry in the Victorian Premier League in 2005. In the nine VPL encounters since, there have been three draws, with South winning twice and the Bergers prevailing four times, including the last three occasions (3-0 at the Olympic Village in 2007 and 2-1 both home & away in 2008).

Over the years, this derby has seen some fantastic battles in front of massive crowds appropriate for such a fixture. Fittingly, Heidelberg (or Fitzroy Alexander as they were known in the early period of their history), were the first ever opponents of the newly-formed South Melbourne Hellas team in 1960. South lost the friendly match 3-2 but would then go on to dominate the Bergers in the 1960s. One of the most memorable wins for South against the Bergers in that decade was a 7-3 win at Middle Park in the league in 1967, with Boulis Kambouropoulos, Ulysses Kokkinos and Leo Damianakos all netting doubles, with Jim Pyrgolios scoring the other goal. Another memorable win was the 7-1 triumph over Heidelberg United in the Quarter Final of the Docherty Cup in 1970, with Geoff Gould netting a hat trick, Ernie Ackerley a double and Jimmy Armstrong and Ian Marshall chipping in with one goal each.

While South dominated League and Cup meetings between the two sides throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, it was a much different story in the late 1970s and early 1980s once the National Soccer League commenced. Heidelberg could not stop beating South in the NSL and NSL Cup until South stopped the rot in the 1984 season. The blue & whites opened the season with a 2-0 win over Heidelberg at Middle Park (Oscar Crino and John Yzendoorn the scorers), recorded another win by the same score in round 14 at the Olympic Village (Kenny Murphy and Crino the scorers) and won by the same scoreline again in round 27 at Middle Park (Carl Halford and Doug Brown the scorers). South completed a clean sweep of the Bergers that season with a famous come-from-behind 4-2 victory in the Southern Division Grand Final (Crino with a double, Alan Davidson and Yzendoorn with the other goals) before beating Sydney Olympic to win its first NSL championship.

Although both clubs are not in the elite competition any longer, the burning desire to win the derby for bragging rights still remains strong in the minds of the players and supporters alike. After all, South has been competing against Heidelberg on and off for 50 years. The fact that both clubs lost their opening games last weekend will add even more spice to the contest, in a match that both clubs need to win.

Sunday’s match will be the 68th league derby between South and Heidelberg (both in the Victorian Premier League and the National Soccer League). Overall South has bragging rights, with 35 wins compared to Heidelberg’s 16 wins. There have also been 16 draws. However the Bergers have won the last three derbies. History has shown that there are usually goals in these games, with only six goalless draws in the 67 contests thus far.

The match kicks off at 6pm on the 8th of March at Bob Jane Stadium. All South supporters are strongly encouraged to attend to not only help gain South’s first points for 2009, but to continue on the tradition of this grand derby that has been fought out for the best part of 50 years.

 

South Melbourne vs. Heidelberg United – An Overview

First VPL match:
Round 2, 1964
South Melbourne 2-1 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: George Papadopoulos x2)
Venue: Middle Park

First NSL match:
Round 2, 1977
South Melbourne 1-1 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goal: Duncan Cummings)
Venue: Middle Park

Last NSL match:
Round 15, 1994/95
Heidelberg United 1-3 South Melbourne
(SMFC Goals: Con Boutsianis x2, Paul Trimboli)
Venue: Olympic Village

Last VPL match:
Round 14, 2008
South Melbourne 1-2 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goal: Sam Poutakidis)
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium

Total Games (League): 67
South Melbourne Wins: 35
Heidelberg United Wins: 16
Draws: 16

Highest Aggregate Score:
Round 2, 1967 VPL
South Melbourne 7-3 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: Boulis Kambouropoulos x2, Ulysses Kokkinos x2, Leo Damianakos x2, Jim Pyrgolios)
Venue: Middle Park

SMFC Biggest Win:
Round 7, 1991/92 NSL
South Melbourne 5-0 Heidelberg United
(SMFC Goals: Con Boutsianis x2, Mike Petersen, Paul Trimboli, Kimon Taliadoros)
Venue: Middle Park

Monday, 2 March 2009 11:28 AM

Dandenong Thunder have commenced Victorian Premier League life in stunning style by defeating South Melbourne FC at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday evening.

South came into the game in form following a clinical 3-0 victory over Heidelberg last Sunday in the Hellenic Cup final and had high expectations going into today’s game.

Dandenong on the other hand came into the game as an unknown quantity with plenty of VPL experience in former South Melbourne NSL players Levent Osman and Marcus Stergiopoulos, as well as former Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Stuart Webster.

The first half started off in true round 1 fashion, with both sides coming out of the blocks quite slowly in an attempt to feel out their opponents.

South’s first genuine goal scoring opportunity came when former New Zealand International hit the upright from a tight angle, following some excellent work by Goran Zoric on the left flank.

Dandenong, despite ample possession really didn’t muster an opportunity  until former South winger Hamlet Armenian broke down the right to send a dangerous cross into the path of Colin Quirk who failed to capitalise on the golden chance.

However it was Dandenong that would go into the break with a one goal advantage following a mix-up in the South Melbourne defence that saw newly appointed club captain Rama Tavsancioglu slot the ball past a helpless Tommi Tomich in goal.

The second half commenced in a similar manner to the first, with both sides quite reserved in the opening 20-25 minutes of play.

South though seemingly had the better opportunities of the period, with both Goran Zoric and Joseph Youssef having chances foiled by the desperate Thunder defence.

With Dandenong sitting back, South continued to pile on the pressure and with five minutes to go missed another chance at goal, with another Zoric shot being blocked by the defence.

As the whistle blew, hundreds of travelling Thunder fans hailed the victory, their first ever in the Victorian Premier League.

Friday, 27 February 2009 1:24 PM

By George Kouroumalis

After a turbulent 2008 season on the park, South Melbourne FC will be looking to celebrate its 50th year in a manner that is more synonymous with the most famous and successful football club in Australia, after missing the VPL finals in the last two seasons.

Leading the way for South will be experienced coach Michael Michalakopoulos, who was retained after taking over the club mid-way through 2008 following the resignation of John Anastasiadis. Michalakopoulos will lead a new-look football department, along with new football director Ange Dallas and assistant coach Phil Pelandrinos.

In goals, South has retained the former A-League goalkeeper Tommi Tommich for another season. Tomich is regarded as one of the best shot stoppers in the league and will provide South with an adequate replacement for the retired Dean Anastasiadis. Serving under Tommich will be youngsters Stefan Sardelic (retained from 2008) and Andrew Sfetkopoulos, who has joined from State League 2 club Altona East.

Sitting in front of the keepers will be a very well credentialed and experienced defensive unit that will be lead by 2009 captain Rama Tavsancioglu, who is just six games shy of reaching 100 senior games for South. ‘Rama’ will lead a defence that includes vice captain Steven O’Dor and the newly acquired Stiven Mrkela. 27 year old Mrkela joined from reigning VPL champions Altona Magic in the off-season and will bring a wealth of experience to the defence. A former Altona captain, Mrkela will add leadership and hardness to a previously brittle defence.

Throughout the middle of the park South will be once again looking at Futsalroo Fernando De Moraes to provide the spark. The midfielder is just 10 games away from joining an illustrious group that have represented the club in 100 matches or more, but more importantly, South fans will be hoping that he can re-produce the stunning form that he showed in the 2006 championship winning season. Joining Fernando will be former Fawkner player Joseph Youssef, who will be looking to cement a starting eleven birth with his tough tackles and pushing forward at every opportunity.

Up front South will go into the season with three very competent attacking players at VPL level. One of these will be former NSL and A-League player and South legend Vaughan Coveny. The man known as ‘Horse’ has arrived back at lakeside to provide the club with a leader both on and off the park, something that he has done proudly in his 276 games for the club to date. Three goals in 2009 will bring up a century of South Melbourne goals for the former Kiwi international, in a 12 season career with South that began in the 1995/96 NSL season.

Pairing up with the veteran will be either Gianni De Nittis, or the speedy Goran Zoric, all who have been in blistering form throughout the pre-season and Hellenic Cup competition.

Though the final make-up of the starting eleven is not straight forward, what can be established is that the squad is a very deep and experienced group of players, all of whom have the hunger to try and avenge the disappointment of the last two seasons by playing a prominent role in 2009.

South’s first game will be against newly promoted Dandenong Thunder on Sunday March 1st at Bob Jane Stadium. Kick-off is at 6pm and all fans are urged to get along.

Sunday will also be the chance for supporters to purchase and pick up their 2009 memberships from the club. A new range of heritage merchandise will also be available for order on the day, including the much sought after Adidas apparel.

Wednesday, 25 February 2009 6:41 PM

On Monday, the Federal Minister for Ports Mr. Michael Danby MHR, in a speech made in Parliament, congratulated South Melbourne FC on it’s 50 years of existence.

Mr Danby was one of the many 300 plus attendees at South’s Season Launch staged on BJS on Saturday night.

The club welcomes Mr. Michael Danby’s comments and looks forward to working with him in the near future.

For a full extract of Mr. Danby’s speech, please click on the following link:

http://www.danbymp.com/index.php?article=356

Wednesday, 25 February 2009 9:51 AM

In another exciting first in 2009, South Melbourne FC will be launching its own youtube / video channel smfcTV.

smfcTV is a unique and exciting opportunity to further inform the clubs legion of fans, as well as update the general public as to the happenings around the club on a weekly basis.

To view the first instalment of smfcTV that showcases the Hellenic Cup final on Saturday please visit www.smfc.tv. This episode contains all of the highlights from South’s exciting victory, as well as post match celebrations and interviews with the players.

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

Monday, 23 February 2009 11:21 PM

By James Belias

South Melbourne FC kicked-off its 50th Anniversary celebrations in great style on Saturday night, as the club officially launched season 2009 with a star studded invitation dinner.

The luxurious event held beneath the stars on the Albert Park club’s lakeside stadium pitch attracted local dignitaries, media personalities and past greats of South Melbourne FC including multiple Championship winning captain and coach Ange Postecoglou, the inspirational Jimmy Armstrong, the legendary Jim Pyrgolios and former President George Donikian.

Upon arrival, guests were escorted onto the hallowed turf of Bob Jane Stadium to enjoy champagne and canapés prior to the commencement of proceedings.

Guests mingled and shook hands with former South Melbourne FC players such as Takis Mandarakis, Jim Pyrgolios, Jimmy Armstrong, Dean Anastasidis, Ange Postecoglou, George Papadopolos, Peter Tsolakis, Manny Anezakis, Giovanni Batticiotto, Marko Fode, Frank Micic, Con Mandalis, Chris Kalafatidies and Ulysses Kokkinos amongst others.

Board member and the evening’s MC George Triantos gave a rousing speech, welcoming guests and naming each of the former players in attendance, who each received warm and generous applause.

Club President Leo Athanasakis also welcomed the 300 strong crowd and invited everyone to be a part of what will undoubtedly be a historic year for the Australian soccer giants.

Senior coach Michael Michalakopoulos then paid tribute to the senior squad who barely hours earlier had been crowned 2009 Hellenic Cup Champions after defeating Heidelberg United 3-0 in the final. Michalakopoulos told eager listeners that the club is aiming only for the 2009 Victorian Premier League championship to celebrate the club’s 50th year.

Ramazan Tavsancioglu was announced as the 2009 club captain with returning great Vaughan Coveny and defender Steven O’Dor honoured with vice captaincy roles. Fan favourite ‘Rama’, as he is affectionately known, also spoke of the player’s focus and desire for success in 2009.

The three captains then removed their jackets, to reveal South Melbourne FC’s three strips for the 2009 season, much to the delight of the crowd on hand.

Three stunning heritage strips were unveiled, with the first two (by apparel sponsor Errea) representing two of the clubs foundation clubs which merged to form South Melbourne FC in 1959.

A striped blue and white shirt paying tribute to Hellenic was an immediate hit with the crowd, as was the more familiar white with red ‘v’ South Melbourne United. These two strips will only be worn for the first two matches of the season, against Dandenong Thunder (this Sunday) and in round two against Heidelberg.

The long awaited main playing strip by 2009 apparel sponsor adidas, which will be South Melbourne’s 2009 shirt for the remainder of the season, was then unveiled with unanimous approval judging by the applause from the crowd.

South 2009 shirt sponsor was also announced, with MiRoamer, a company making massive in-roads in Europe with their internet radio technology, renewing their major sponsorship. Antenna Pacific, Coffex Coffee, Kinisi Live, and OBC Interiors who are sponsoring the back of the playing shirt, were also announced as sponsors.

Long-time South Melbourne fan and multimedia developer Paul Zarogiannis compiled a 13 minute tribute video which saw emotions running high after it was screened to the appreciative guests. The video which features photos and videos from South 50 year history is absolutely incredible and a “must-see” for all South Melbourne FC fans, young and old.

The night concluded with player auctions, a silent auction and a raffle – all of which raised a considerable amount for South Melbourne FC. Another highlight was the impromptu speech by former President, Channel 10 news reader and media celebrity George Donikian who amused all with the story of his recent prime-time pro-South ‘propoganda’ on Triple M!

As the present players celebrated their Hellenic Cup triumph and guests mingled with the former greats, one could not help being captured by the atmosphere and the feeling that something great is brewing for South Melbourne FC in 2009, the club’s 50th year.

All football lovers are encouraged to join the club as members in 2009.

 To view all images from this event, please click here

Monday, 23 February 2009 10:44 AM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne FC completed 2009 pre-season preparations in the best possible way by defeating rivals Heidelberg United 3-0 in the final of the Hellenic Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Heidelberg had enjoyed a rare period of domination over South in recent years, taking four points off the blues in the 2007 season and then defeating South in both home & away matches in 2008. The Bergers went into the match as reigning Hellenic Cup champions and having beaten Lalor Florina in the North/West semi final. South went into the match on the back of a thrilling 3-2 win over the Oakleigh Cannons in the South/East semi final, with a Vaughan Coveny goal in the last minute of extra time winning the tie for the lakeside club.

Heidelberg began the match the stronger of the two sides, winning several corners but failing to make any use of their dominance. Their best chance came from a low shot from the right that beat South goalkeeper Tomi Tommich at his near post, but luckily the ball hit the side netting and stayed out. Despite starting slowly and nervously, South eventually got into the game and created several opportunities of their own. Gianni De Nittis went close, forcing a good save from Heidelberg’s goalkeeper after a lovely cut-back ball from Goran Zoric.

Vaughan Coveny, who will complete a personal milestone of 100 South Melbourne goals if he can score just three goals in the upcoming season, showed his class before halftime when his shot put South into the lead. The ball fell to his feet at the edge of the area and the big Kiwi hit a lovely shot with his left foot, with the ball flying across the face of the Heidelberg goal and into the bottom corner of the far post. The goal was almost identical to the effort that Coveny scored in the previous week against Oakleigh.

From there, South completely dominated the match and should have been 2-0 up before the break, however a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping kept the score at just 1-0. That changed shortly after the re-start, when a Bergers foray forward was stopped by South, who quickly surged forward in a counter-attack. An excellent ball played over the Bergers defence found Zoric on the left hand side. With an acre of space to run into, Zoric charged towards goal, dummied the keeper then passed the ball across to the incoming De Nittis, who had the simple task of tapping the ball into the empty net.

With this 2-0 lead, South did not want to make the mistake of slacking off like the previous week, when Oakleigh scored two quick goals to get back into the contest. Fernando De Moraes made sure that would not happen against the Bergers, whilst living up to the saying “saving the best for last” with a goal of high class that killed the game off. Zoric found himself one-on-one with the keeper but his effort was spoiled. The ball fell to De Moraes outside of the penalty area. The Futsalroo had the composure and the time to stop, assess where to place his shot, then hit a beautiful curling effort which sailed into the top far right corner of the net, leaving the Bergers keeper completely rooted to the spot.

Despite the match being over as a contest, South were keen on keeping a clean sheet. Coach Michael Michalakopoulos substituted Tommich for youngster Andrew Sfetkopoulos, giving the ex-Altona Phoenix player time in between the sticks. Heidelberg’s only serious chance was a shot that hit the post but apart from that the Bergers were reduced to long-range shooting that was comfortably handled by the South defence.

Zoric was named as player of the match, and captain Rama Tavsancioglu spoke of the trophy “hopefully not being the only trophy that we will win this season.” The Hellenic Cup triumph was South’s third, after beating Yarraville Glory 2-0 in 1984 and Oakleigh 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time in 2007.

South’s first match is against newly promoted Dandenong Thunder at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday 1st March, kick-off at 6pm. Supporters are strongly encouraged to come out in force to make sure that the team gets its 50th year underway in style.

Click here to view the Hellenic Cup Photo Gallery

Tuesday, 17 February 2009 7:24 PM

Last Sunday saw hundreds turn out to partake in the South Family Day at BJS.

The picturesque setting provided an ideal backdrop for what was a fantastic day had by all with the local fire brigade, face painting and small sided games all part of the many attractions.

A large amount of Junior SMFC members signed up and received their complimentary football.

Click for pictures