Category: News

Monday, 4 August 2008 1:14 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne have kept their faint hopes of a top six position alive with a hard fought win against Altona on Sunday.

The Blues came into the contest on the back of a disappointing loss against Fawkner last weekend, whilst Altona were resonably fresh having only played a half last weekend, with the light towers failing at half time against Coburg.

South also came into the game with an added incentive, with Captain and club legend Dean Anastasiadis announcing his retirement during the week. With this retirement coming into affect at season’s end, Anastasiadis would start in goals for the club replacing Tommi Tomich.

With this spurring the side on, South started the game in explosive fashion, attacking the Altona defence from the outset. This attacking style almost paid off in the 10th minute, when Goran Zoric latched onto a poorly cleared ball by goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic. With the keeper out of position, Zoric opted to try an audacious shot at goal from just outside the area. However for the speedy midfielder, the ball flew just outside the upright and out for a goalkick.

South continued to pile on the pressure and Roganovic once again was on hand to thwart Zoric minutes later, when he was able to tip a long range effort just over the bar.

Altona had their first chance in the 25th minute, when some confusion in the South defence allowed for Pece Cergovski to latch onto a loose ball just outside the area. With the Altona midfielder seemingly headed for goal, veteran Dean Anastasiadis made a tremendous one on one save to repel the attack.

South had one final chance before the break when some lovely interplay between Gianni De Nittis and Fernando De Moraes culminated in the ball being played into the path of Hamlet Armenian just outside the area. Armenian then took a touch and hit a stinging drive into the prying arms of Roganovic, who ensured his side would be on level terms at half time.

As with the opening half, South approached the second period in a similar manner by continuing to attack Altona from the outset.

The home fans thought they had the lead in the 57th minute when a sublime through ball by Fernando found De Nittis inside the six yard box. With the crowd expecting the ball to ruffle the back of the net, Roganovic once again provided the crowd and his coach with an excellent display of goalkeeping, making a world class save from point blank range to deny De Nittis the opener.

In response, Altona continued to counter attack whenever possible and via the dangerous Esala Masi and former South Melbourne striker Michael Curcija, they had two long range efforts fly past the right hand upright of the relieved Anastasiadis.

With the clock counting down, South managed to find the winner in the 86th minute of play. On this occasion, a lovely swinging corner by Fernando was placed just outside the six yard box. With the keeper uncommitted, youngster Sebastian Petrovich stormed through to force the ball into the back of the net to give his side a very important win.

South will now head into next week’s away game against Richmond knowing that a win could see them 3 points outside the top six, whilst Altona will host Oakleigh in a must win game on Saturday evening.

Friday, 1 August 2008 3:51 PM

By George Kouroumalis | Photo by Pavlos Touliatos

After a disappointing result against Fawkner last week, South will need to regroup as it takes on the high flying and well disciplined Altona Magic outfit.

A win for the Blues could see the club get within a game of 6th position, whilst a home loss will see the Blues miss out on finals football in 2008.

A key factor of this contest will be the selection of retiring captain Dean Anastasiadis. The veteran has been a great player for the South Melbourne Football Club over the space of 10 seasons and all players will be keen to get a much needed home win for the man known as “Deano”. Anastasiadis will be replacing in-form goalkeeper Tommi Tomich, who will sit out South’s remaining two home games.

In defence, Shane Nunes will miss once again after failing to overturn a three game suspension following his red card against Melbourne Knights. This would most likely see Rama Tavsancioglu or his brother Adem Tavsancioglu fill in at centre back. With the dangerous trio of Michael Curcija, Esala Masi and Henry Fa’arodo in the Altona lineup, the South defence will need be on song should the Blues take the points.

The other key area of the park will be South’s attacking third. With hard working players such as Nathan Caldwell and Gianni De Nittis leading the attack, South have to capitalise on their opportunities against a seasoned Altona defence. Should South get the upper hand in this regard, then they will cause Altona quite a few headaches.

South urges all fans to get along to BJS and celebrate the career of captain Dean Anastasdiadis, as the skipper looks to lead the South Melbourne for one of the final times. Kick off is at 3pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Altona Magic

When: Sunday, August 3rd
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 12.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Sebastian Petrovich, Goran Zoric, Scott MacNicol, Gianni De Nittis, Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell

Altona Magic
Bojo Jevdjevic (GK), Con Anthopoulos, Steve Laurie, Doug Mladenovic, Henry Fa’Arodo, Carl Recchia, Phillip Riccobene, Pece Siveski, Michael Curcija, Esala Masi, Pece Cergovski

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 9 (includes finals)
South Melbourne : 3
Altona Magic : 6
Draw : 0

Last Meeting

When: Monday, April 28th
Where: Paisley Park, Altona
Score: Altona Magic 1 defeated South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Draw, Loss
Altona Magic: Draw, Win, Loss

Friday, 1 August 2008 3:20 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne FC regrets to announce the retirement of club captain, championship winner and inspirational leader Dean Anastasiaidis.

Dean will leave the game and in particular the club being regarded as one of the best goalkeepers seen over the past decade, at VPL and NSL level. He was also given the honour of representing his country as a Socceroo in 2002.

Anastasiadis began his South career in the 1992/93 NSL season after impressing many football pundits with his outstanding goalkeeping performances in the Victorian Premier League competition. At the time, his glove work with Fawkner was considered to be the best in the state and he was subsequently selected to join the South Melbourne side.

With limited first team opportunities, Anastasiadis moved away from the club at the end of 1995/96 season, joining the newly formed Collingwood Warriors. As the years progressed he would also represent the Carlton Soccer Club and the Woolongong Wolves in the NSL, where he was able to play a prominent role against South to capture the 2000/01 NSL crown in a memorable Grand Final.

At the beginning of the 2002/03 season, “Deano” returned home to join the strong South Melbourne squad in the NSL. Since that day, he has played an inspirational role in the clubs fortunes both on and off the field, re-establishing himself as one of the finest goalkeepers in the state and playing a major role in the resurrgence of the club when it returned to the State Leagues.

This was showcased by being the captain of the 2006 championship team, which resulted in lifting the VPL Champions trophy along with his brother, coach and fellow club legend John Anastasiadis. On top of this honour, Dean was also the clear winner of the “Goalkeeper of the Year” honours in both 2005 and 2006.

In an opportunity to farewell the SMFC family, Anastasiadis will be selected as first choice goalkeeper for the final two home games of the Foxtel Cup season, starting this week against Altona Magic.

All fans are urged to come to Bob Jane Stadium to show their support this great club legend, who will be looking to finish his celebrated career on a high in front of a vocal and passionate home crowd.

Dean Anastasiadis Statistics

DOB: 6th June 1970
Position: Goalkeeper
Seasons at Club: 10 (1992/93 – 1995/96 & 2002/03 – 2008)

SMFC Statistics:
1992/93 (NSL): 22 games, 0 goals
1993/94 (NSL): 27 games, 0 goals
1994/95 (NSL): 11 games, 0 goals
1995/96 (NSL): 15 games, 0 goals
2002/03 (NSL): 9 games, 0 goals
2003/04 (NSL): 0 games, 0 goals
2005 (VPL): 28 games, 0 goals
2006 (VPL): 28 games, 0 goals
2007 (VPL): 4 games, 0 goals
2008 (VPL): 12 games, 0 goals

Total: 156 games (84 NSL, 72 VPL), 0 goals

Tuesday, 29 July 2008 8:21 AM

South
Melbourne will now face an uphill battle to reach the top six playoffs,
after the club from lakeside were defeated by the Fawkner Blues in a
tough contest at CB Smith Reserve on Sunday.

South went into the match after a committed and reasonably unlucky
performance against the league leading Melbourne Knights outfit, with
the knowledge that a win against Fawkner would see South get within one
game of sixth placed Richmond.

Fawkner were in a different position, with the relegation
threatened side desperate to grasp all three points in an attempt to
propel themselves out of the danger zone.

This desperation was on show from the opening minute of the
contest, with the Fawkner defence able to thwart the early South
thrusts forward.

Despite this, South continued to push forward in numbers and came
agonizingly close on two occasions via the head of Nathan Caldwell, who
had started off the contest in his typical hard working nature.

South continued to pile on the pressure in the 33rd minute, when
newcomer Sebastian Petrovich found himself in space with only the
keeper to beat. In an unlucky twist of fate for the former Whittlesea
player, he hit a timid shot just wide of Michael Fiorenza in the
Fawkner goal.

With a vocal away contingent behind them, South thought that they
had the lead just before the interval when a well taken opportunity by
Fernando was disallowed for offside.

South once again started off well in the 2nd half, where Caldwell
tried to atone for his earlier misses by pouncing on a Daniel Rocco
error in defence. However his well struck shot flew well wide of
Fiorenza and out for a goal kick.

In a stunning twist of fate, all the hard work by South was undone
in the 70th minute when Chris Greechen managed to dart past the South
defence before launching an astonishing long range curling strike from
outside the area to send the small pocket of home fans into delirium.

South continued to push forward at every chance, but the
combination of the solid Fawkner defence and poor conditions thwarted
South at every opportunity. With the home side content for this to keep
happening, Fawkner managed to survive until the final whistle and keep
their slim hopes of survival alive.

South will be keen to atone for this result next weekend when it
hosts Altona on Sunday afternoon, knowing that a loss will rule the
club out of finals action in 2008.

Monday, 28 July 2008 9:43 AM

Mens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 0 – Fawkner 1
Under 21 – South Melbourne FC – Fawkner (Game postponed)

Womens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 1 – Eltham 3
Reserves – South Melbourne FC 6 – Eltham 1
State League 3 – South Melbourne FC 7 – Knox 1
Under 14B Metro – South Melbourne FC 2 – Brunswick Zebras 0

Juniors
Under 18 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 1 – Fawkner 3
Under 16 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 2 – Eastern Lions 1
Under 15A East – South Melbourne FC 2 – Manningham 0
Under 14 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 1 – GSL 1
Under 13 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 4 – FC Bulleen Lions 1
Under 13A East – South Melbourne FC – Did not play
Under 12A East – South Melbourne FC 7 – Riversdale Raiders 0
Under 11 East – South Melbourne FC – Did not play

 

Friday, 25 July 2008 3:45 PM

With the chance of playing
finals football in 2008 hanging by a thread, South Melbourne must make
the most of their opportunities as they take on Fawkner in an important
game of Victorian Football on Sunday.

South come into the game after a heart breaking 2-2 draw last
weekend at home to the Melbourne Knights. In one of the games of the
season, a ten man South side went two goals ahead, before conceding two
late goals to the top of the table team from Sunshine.

With the result fresh in the minds of the playing group and gaffer
Michael Michalakopoulos, South will be keen to grasp a much needed win
with only 5 games remaining in season 2008.

In the previous meeting between both clubs earlier this season,
South put together an astonishing display of fluent and attacking
football to overcome Fawkner by a 6-2 scoreline.

Despite the one sided nature of that contest, South will need to
brace itself for a far more resilient Fawkner side, who are desperate
for any points that they can get. In what has been a bleak year for the
men from Jukes Road, Fawkner have struggled all the way through the
season and are facing the possiblity of being relegated from the top
flight of Victorian Football for the first time in their proud history.

South will go into the game without the suspended Shane Nunes, who
was sent off in dramatic fashion against the Knights. Nunes will be
missed in that central defensive role, with either Adem Tavsancioglu or
Robbie Wynne capable of replacing the Western Australian.

In the midfield, South will enjoy the extended use of Rama
Tavsancioglu, after the captain was forced to play a more defensive
role after the Nunes send off last weekend. Rama will need to provide a
strong and committed body to compliment the more attacking players such
as Fernando, Sebastian Petrovich and Scott MacNicol.

Up front, South will once again head into the contest with the
inform strike duo of Gianni De Nittis and Nathan Caldwell. Both players
have been quite consistent with their form this season and will be keen
to find the back of the net in this crucial contest.

South Melbourne once again urges all fans to head to CB Smith
Reserve in Fawkner to support the club in this important fixture. Kick
off is at 3pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Fawkner Blues

When: Sunday, July 27th

Where: CB Smith Reserve

Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 1pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne

Tommi Tomich (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu, Steven O’Dor,
Sebastian Petrovich, Scott MacNicol, Robbie Wynne, Adam Van Dommele,
Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell, Gianni De Nittis

Fawkner Blues

Michael Fiorenza (GK), Lukmon Anifaloyin, Daniel Rocco, Clifford
Tuck, Jason Principato, Metin Alibeyi, Joseph Youssef, Ricky Chillico,
Chris Greechan, Adem Zilic, Jose Vasquez

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 7 (includes Fawkner-Whittlesea)

South Melbourne : 4

Fawkner Blues : 1

Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, April 20th 2008

Where: Bob Jane Stadium

Score: South Melbourne 6 defeated Fawkner Blues 2

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Loss, Draw

Fawkner Blues Won, Loss, Loss

Friday, 25 July 2008 9:31 AM

South Melbourne FC would like to
send condolences to the family and friends of Alex Webb, who tragically
passed away last week after a terrible accident.

Alex was a familiar face to the SMFC family, with his brother
Lauchlan playing an integral part in the Under 14 SMFC Super League
side.

In a show of support, South Melbourne FC actively took donations at
last Friday’s function at Kinisi Live and home game against the
Melbourne Knights in order to assist the family. This support will
continue over the next few weeks, and SMFC encourages all fans to help
out the Webb family in any way they can during this difficult time.

Thursday, 24 July 2008 2:17 PM

In the second instalment of this series, smfc.com.au has managed to catch up with the hard working Gianni De Nittis.

De Nittis made his debut for the club back in 2005, with the
youngster playing 8 games in a year that would prepare him for the
championship season that followed.

In 2006, De Nittis made his mark on the VPL, playing 21 senior
games for South and scoring on 8 occasions, including vital finals
goals against Altona Magic in both the semi final and Grand Final.

His 2008 form to date has been exceptional, scoring on 6 occassions
so far this season and playing a major part in a number of others.

With a massive end-of-season stretch appraoching, De Nittis will be
looking to find the back of the net on a few more occasions to help his
side reach the top six playoffs.

1. Favourite Position?

Striker

2. Number

9

3. Nickname?

Versace

4. What is your career highlight?

Scoring the winner against Altona Magic in the famous 2006 Grand Final

5. What is your career low point?

Probably getting nut-megged by young guns Robbie Wynne and Tony La Verde

6. Favourite overseas player – any sport?

David Beckham

7. Favourite Foxtel Cup player?

Dean Anastasiadis

8. Favourite overseas club – any?

Juventus

9. Best piece of advice received?

Recognition is the greatest motivator

10. Megan Gale or Jennifer Hawkins – and why?

Jennifer Hawkins and simply because she is blonde

11. Favourite Food?

Gnocchi

12. Funniest SMFC player?

Fernando thinks he is, but it has to be the veteran “Deano”

13. Any final words?

Thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who follow this great club through the good and the bad

Wednesday, 23 July 2008 10:48 AM

 

The Friendship Games is an annual event that Football NSW hosts at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney. This year, the tournament commenced on Monday 7th of July and conclude on Saturday 12th of July 2008.

The Friendship Games features the best age group players from right across Australia, representing their respective states and territories. The ethos behind the Friendship Games is to foster a pressure free atmosphere for the players. This enables the participants to perform at their peak in a tournament that is comprised of the best age group players within Australia. On top of this, final results are not tabulated, nor a final conducted in the tournament. This acts as an introduction to the higher pressure events that the players will face in the upcoming years.

The Victorian Metro team performed the best with no losses and only conceding one goal for the whole tournament. The style of football played by Victoria was admired by other states and the “Vics” were complimented on being the best team at the tournament.

There were five South Melbourne Under 13 boys selected for the traveling squad, including (pictured from left to right) James Karvelis (Central Defender), Jonathan Parra (Right Wing), Peter Skapetis (Left Wing), Bradely Blumenthal (Striker) and Philip Petreski (Central Midfield). Peter and Bradley scored two goals each and Philip scored three. A great effort by all of our South juniors, who were the core of the starting line up in every competition game.

In addition to this fantastic achievement, three of our South juniors were named as emergencies for the tournament, with Carl Tai, Harrison Michaelis & Amir all very close to selection. The selection of these eight players identifies the amount of depth and quality junior footballers playing throughout the SMFC junior program.

From the games played in the national tournament, a Select XI was selected, comprising of 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, 2 strikers and 1 goalkeeper. SMFC would like to congratulate Peter Skapetis, who capped off a sensational tournament by earning the much sought after position as a midfielder in this national award.

It was also announced at the conclusion of the tournament that Australia will be sending an Under 14 national team to the Asia Cup in 2009 for the first time in the history of Australian football. This would allow for all of the 35 players (including all SMFC representatives) that participated in this tournament to be invited to trial in an attempt to receive such an honour. From these trials, a final squad of 20 will be selected to represent the Green & Gold.

We once again congratulate the boys for a fantastic achievement and wish them all the best in their quest for Green & Gold selection.

Monday, 21 July 2008 4:15 PM

By John Kyrou | Photo by Cindy Nitsos

Old Victorian rivals South Melbourne and the Melbourne Knights fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with the home side throwing three points away after squandering a two goal advantage against their old enemy. The stalemate was the first time the two teams had played out a draw at Lakeside since – ironically – the Knights came from 2-0 down to grind out a 2-2 draw against South in the second round of the 1997/98 National Soccer League season.

Both teams entered the fixture in losing form, with South losing away to Green Gully 1-0 last Saturday and the Knights losing by the same margin at Somers Street against Coburg United the next day. A win in the big derby match was important for both clubs for contrasting reasons.

South needed a win to push further away from the relegation zone as well as keep in touch with a group of clubs chasing a position in the top six, whilst the Knights needed a good away result to re-establish themselves back on top of the Foxtel Cup ladder.

South also had to avoid defeat for another reason; it could not afford another home loss at Bob Jane Stadium in 2008 as it would have confirmed their worst seasonal record at the stadium since moving there in the 1995/96 NSL season. Heading into the match, South had lost at home on five occasions in 2008, equaling the current records set in the 1996/97 NSL season and the 2007 Foxtel Cup season. A home defeat against its old National League rivals to confirm the record would have been disastrous.

South began the stronger of the two sides and missed an early opportunity to open the scoring when a lovely ball was played through to Fernando De Moraes on the left hand side of the box. The Futsalroo hit a shot that beat the Knights keeper but not the crossbar, with the ball rebounding back into play before being cleared by the Knights defence. The Knights themselves showed why they were on top of the Foxtel Cup ladder with some excellent attacking play down the wings, however their final distribution into the box was dealt with reasonably well by the South defence, marshaled by ex-Knights keeper Tommi Tomich.

Despite the Knights’ attacking play, South was not scared to venture forward and create opportunities of their own. Sam Poutakidis had a half chance to open the scoring when he rounded two Knights players from the edge of the area, however his resultant left-foot shot was hit tamely and was easily controlled by the keeper. However South did not have to wait too much longer before taking the lead. A clumsy foul inside the area saw De Moraes step up to the penalty spot. Despite the attempts of the away fans behind the Lakeside end goal to distract him, De Moraes calmly took the spot kick and placed a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to make the score 1-0.

South looked in control of the match, which frustrated the Knights. Tempers threatened to boil over when a push and shove match erupted on the half-way line after a poor challenge on Gianni De Nittis. Shane Nunes’ shove on a Knights player was seen as unacceptable to the referee, who sent the defender from the field of play with a straight red card. The home players and supporters were furious that the same colour card was not issued to the Knights only minutes later when Nathan Caldwell was kicked in the head by a Knights defender. With South down to 10 men, some desperate defending saw the Blues head into the halftime break with their lead intact.

The Knights began the second half looking to take full advantage of having the extra man on the field. However South continued to battle hard to create chances to score another goal to set up a two-goal cushion. Just when it seemed that the Knights were getting on top of the home side, Sebastian Petrovic gained possession in the midfield and fed De Nittis with an excellent through-ball, which the South forward tucked past the near post for the Blues’ second of the afternoon, sending the home supporters into raptures.

Sensing the opportunity for a third goal to completely finish the Knights off, South continued to press forward, despite having one less man. The third goal seemed inevitable when the Knights keeper failed to handle a cross, dropping the ball in front of him where De Nittis was lurking. The defining moment of the match occurred at that moment, when De Nittis’ shot hit the right post and stayed out. From the resultant clearance, the Knights worked the ball down the field and into their attacking third, where the South defence itself failed to clear the danger. The ball fell to Andrew Barisic, who hit a well-struck shot into the left corner of the net, giving Tomich no chance. Instead of sealing the game at 3-0, South had conceded and brought the Knights back into the contest.

The legendary saying that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead to have in football was proven to be right when the Knights equalised shortly after Barisic’s goal. The away side worked the ball down the left hand side, where they were able to get past Poutakidis and send a low, hard cross to the near post. James Timmons was waiting and his touch flew across Tomich’s goal and into the net, sending the Knights fans behind the goals wild with delight. After home defeats to bitter rivals Heidelberg and Preston, South fans began fearing that the Knights were about to dish the same punishment and at the same time inflict South’s worst seasonal record at the ground.

With the home side tiring with only having 10 men, Goran Zoric and Hamlet Armenian were eventually rushed on to provide some assistance to De Nittis and Caldwell up forward as the Blues held firm in defence and tried to counter-attack to try and score a third. This almost worked, when a through-ball fell just beyond Caldwell’s reach, and then a cut-back header from an Adam Van Dommele cross found Rama Tavsancioglu directly in front of goals and in a similar position to where Barisic was when he scored the Knights’ opening goal. Instead of achieving the same outcome, Rama blasted his shot over the cross-bar, ending the home side’s faint hopes of scoring an unlikely win.

The end-to-end play in the final ten minutes would have been enjoyed by the neutral spectators in the stadium, as the Knights themselves also pushed forward in numbers, sensing the opportunity to score a memorable win. However, Tomich was in excellent form and despite a few scares towards the end of the match, the home side did enough to earn a point against the top team in the competition.

South now finds itself in the unusual position of being five points from 6th spot on the table as well as being five points from the relegation zone. With other results going their way on the weekend, South simply must win their next match away against the Fawkner Blues to put more pressure on the teams just above them. The Knights can further consolidate their position at the top of the Foxtel Cup table when they host the Oakleigh Cannons at Somers Street. Both games kick off at 3pm next Sunday.