Category: News

Thursday, 17 July 2008 11:45 AM

In a new series on www.smfc.com.au, we will be catching up with players in the SMFC squad and asking them a series of questions in regards to both their personal life and football careers.

In the first interview we caught up with Sam Poutakidis, who played his 50th game for the Blues against Green Gully last Saturday.

1. Favourite Position?
Attacking Full Back.

2. Number
22

3. Nickname?
Pouta, Sammy

4. How has the return to BJS been?
I’ve enjoyed every minute. Everyone involved in the club has been absolutely fantastic to me. Playing for a club in the Foxtel Cup with such
passionate supporters makes all the hard work during the week worth it on game day.

5. What is your career highlight?
Mauling that poor Frenchman in my debut Kickboxing fight in Thailand.

6. What is your career low point?
Receiving a Red Card for South Melbourne in the 2004 NSL Minor Semi Final at Hindmarsh Stadium v Adelaide United.

7. Favourite overseas player – any sport?
Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

8. Favourite Foxtel Cup player?
Jim Drossos (Heidelberg United)

9. Favourite overseas club – any?
“Train Wreck” in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Some fantastic times experienced and an impressive strike rate. (How times have changed)

10. Personal heroes?
Lance Armstrong & Peter Kotsiris.

11. Best piece of advice received?
Ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

12. Megan Gale or Jennifer Hawkins – and why?
Neither are my type. I am more attracted to a far more voluptuous figure and women like Scarlett Johansson.

13. Favourite Food?
Mum’s Mousaka.

14. Funniest SMFC player?
Definitely Fernando De Moraes

15. Any final words?
Thank you to all the hard working staff, volunteers and supporters of SMFC who make it a great club to play for.

Monday, 14 July 2008 2:15 PM

The biggest junior football competition in the southern hemisphere has just passed, and South Melbourne’s colours were proudly flown with distinction and success you would expect from representatives of our famous Club. Two of our teams represented the club at the Kanga Cup, in the Under 11s and Under 12s competition.

Our Under 11’s coached by Ange Dallas won the competition, going through the tournament undefeated in every game. The SMFC family wishes to congratulate the boys on their fantastic effort, and hopes that they can successfully defend their title next year.

The Under 12s reached the semi-finals and were knocked out by the Asian/Korean powerhouse, Singok Primary School.

An interview in the Canberra Times (12/7/08) was quoted as saying “Singok’s Coach praised his final and semi-final opponents after his team’s win last night, but said South Melbourne’s under-12s were particularly good”.

South Melbourne – which had not been beaten in two seasons before yesterday’s game against Singok – wasted a number of opportunities but still pushed the Korean side all the way until the final whistle.

“This year’s semi final against South Melbourne was close to the toughest game we have ever played in Australia,” Singok’s coach, Kim said through an interpreter after the match.

Monday, 14 July 2008 2:00 PM

By George Kouroumalis | Photo by Pavlos Touliatos

Green Gully has continued its recent home dominance over South Melbourne, defeating the Blues 1-0 thanks to a Joel Nikolic goal on Saturday.

The game promised to be a tough and dour affair from the outset, with the cold and extremely windy conditions on show at Green Gully Reserve.

In the opening half, Gully kicked with the aid of the gale force wind and nearly had the opener in the 7th minute, when a long ball by skipper Dean Fak floated over the South defence and into the path of Nikolic. With only goalkeeper Tommi Tomich to beat, Nikolic misjudged the pace of the ball, allowing for the ball to go out for a goal kick.

Nikolic was proving to be a headache for South and in the 17th minute he latched onto a sublime Matthew Sanders ball from the right hand flank and tried to back-heel the ball past Tomich. Thankfully for the South defence, Tomich was able to get down low enough to make a superb close range save.

South responded with an attack of their own. Nathan Caldwell was the recipient of a long ball from Shane Nunes. Caldwell controlled the ball with his chest and then opted to hit an ambitious volley from well outside the area and against the gusty wind. The shot was on target however was brilliantly saved by Steven Tilovski, who acrobatically moved to his left hand side and turned the ball away for a corner.

Caldwell once again was on hand to create another scoring chance for the Blues by playing an exemplary through-ball past the stagnant Green Gully defence and into the path of the speedy Goran Zoric. The hard-working midfielder then launched a low shot onto the target before being once again denied by Tilovski, who parried the ball back into the path of Zoric. From the rebound, Zoric then played a square ball to his left, which found the open De Nittis. With only Tilovski to beat, De Nittis disappointingly hit a weak left-footed shot wide of the target and out for goal kick.

Green Gully found themselves in front just before the break. A dangerous cross from down the right hand flank by Sanders was poorly dealt with by Tomich and the South defence, allowing for Nikolic to muscle his way into the area and tap the ball into the back of an unguarded net.

With South’s season hanging by a thread at half time, the away side came out with all guns blazing in the second half, missing early chances through both Caldwell and Futsalroo Fernando De Moraes. In the 52nd minute, some committed Gully defending once again thwarted a South attacking foray, when a superb run by Zoric culminated in a ball being played to Rama Tavsancioglu in space. The Blues captain hit a beautiful shot past Tilovski, only for the ball to be cleared off the goal line at the last minute to keep the score at 1-0.

South continued to pile on the pressure and controversially had a goal disallowed minutes later, when substitute Hamlet Armenian was adjudged to have headed the ball into the back of the net from an offside position. This further infuriated the away side and their supporters. With time running out, South had the final chance of the game in the 82nd minute. A sublime lobbed pass over Fak’s shoulder by Tavsancioglu released Caldwell inside the area. After a great first touch, Caldwell then hit a well-struck volley onto the target, however Tilovski once again stayed low and kept the ball out with a fine save.

The win consolidates Green Gully’s position in the top two, whilst South now sit 5 points outside of the top six. Gully’s next match is a trip to Jack Edwards Reserve next Sunday to face the Oakleigh Cannons. On the same day South faces another difficult assignment, this time at home to the Melbourne Knights in a derby match that the Blues simply must win in order to have any chance of reaching the finals this season. To put the team under further pressure, another loss at Bob Jane Stadium this season will confirm South’s worst home record in a season at the stadium since moving there in the 1995/96 NSL season. Currently South has lost at Bob Jane Stadium on five occasions this season, equaling the current record (the 1996/97 NSL season and the 2007 Foxtel Cup season). Kick-off for the match against the Knights is at 3pm next Sunday.

Monday, 14 July 2008 10:30 AM

Mens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 0 – Green Gully 1
Under 21 – South Melbourne FC 0 – Green Gully 2

Womens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 0 – Box Hill Inter 5
Reserves – South Melbourne FC 0 – Box Hill Inter 5
State League 3 – South Melbourne FC 0 – Mornington 2
Under 14B Metro – South Melbourne FC 0 – Glen Waverley 3

Juniors
Under 18 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 6 – Brimbank City 0
Under 16 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 1 – FC Bulleen Lions 1
Under 15A East – South Melbourne FC 3 – Glen Waverley 0
Under 14 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 0 – Monash City 0
Under 13 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 7 – Box Hill Inter 0
Under 13A East – South Melbourne FC 1 – Doncaster Rovers 0
Under 12A East – South Melbourne FC 3 – FC Bulleen Lions 1
Under 11 East – South Melbourne FC 3 – Riversdale Raiders 0

Friday, 11 July 2008 12:34 PM

By George Kouroumalis

After a two week lay-off, South Melbourne will head into tomorrow’s game against Green Gully knowing that an away win will potentially see the Blues move into sixth place on the Foxtel Cup table. With results falling its way in the past fortnight, South will be keen to avenge a disappointing 0-3 loss to the Cavaliers earlier in the season and upset their highly-rated opponents.

In order to win the game, South must overcome a long-standing record against the Cavaliers, with the Blues being unable to score a competition goal at the venue for over 22 years. The last time a goal was scored by South at Green Gully Reserve was in Round 20, 1986.

On that occasion South left with all three points after Bobby Russell and Manny Anezakis found the back of the net in a resounding 0-2 victory. South will go into the game with defender Steven O’Dor rejoining the line-up after serving a two match suspension following his red card against Oakleigh two rounds previously. Combining with O’Dor in defence will be veteran Sam Poutakidis, who will be playing his 50th match for the club. Poutakidis started at South in the 2002/03 NSL season and stayed until the demise of the NSL after the 2003/04 season. After a few seasons with Oakleigh Cannons, he rejoined the club in the summer, forming a key component of the South Melbourne defensive unit. His form so far this year has been exceptional and South will once again be counting on him to patrol the right hand side of defence as well as push forward whenever possible. Green Gully will provide South with a disciplined and well-drilled opponent, with the Ian Dobson coached side looking to consolidate its top two position on the table. The Cavaliers boast the best defence in the competition, having only having conceded 13 goals in their 19 games to date. South’s forwards face an extremely tough task of breaking past Gully’s defensive unit, lead by goalkeeper Steven Tilovski. As well as being a team that are consistent defensively, Green Gully are also capable of scoring goals to kill off opponents and as a result are sitting in the upper echelon of overall goals scored as well. One of the key factors in this has been the form of youngster Joel Nikolic, who has found the net on eight occasions so far. Nikolic will also be remembered for scoring an impressive brace against South earlier in the season. He will need to be watched and shut down effectively if South are to win the game. Kick-off for this much anticipated contest is at 4pm on Saturday and all South fans are encouraged to get behind the club as it continues to push for that elusive top six birth. When: Saturday, July 12th Where: Green Gully Reserve Kick-off: 4pm (Under 21s at 2pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne Tommi Tomich (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Scott MacNicol, Goran Zoric, Adam Van Dommele, Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell, Gianni De Nittis

Green Gully Steven Tilovski, Manny Muscat, Koce Delev, Dean Fak, Steven Burton, Ryan Ollerton, Jeffrey Fleming, Campbell Banks, Kole Delev, Andy Vargas, Joel Nikolic

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 9 South Melbourne : 2 Green Gully : 5 Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 6 April 2008 Where: Bob Jane Stadium Score: Green Gully 3 defeated South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Win, Draw, Loss Green Gully: Loss, Draw, Win

Wednesday, 9 July 2008 1:56 PM

By John Kyrou

Sam Poutakidis is set to play his 50th match for the club when he takes to the field against Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve on Saturday afternoon.

Poutakidis began his senior career back in 1999 with the Springvale White Eagles before progressing to the then-powerful Port Melbourne side in the VPL. His form with the Sharks saw South initially recruit Sam to represent the club in the now defunct National Soccer League during season 2002/03. After struggling for regular first team football, Poutakidis turned things around in the 2003/04 season to prove himself as a valuable member of the starting 11.

After a three-season spell with the Oakleigh Cannons, Poutakidis decided to return to Bob Jane Stadium to represent South in 2008. Although the blue and whites have struggled with consistency and results throughout the season so far, Sam has been one of the shining lights by constantly producing excellent individual performances with his exceptional work-rate in defence and moving forward to help with attacking moves.

Saturday’s match at Green Gully is already looming as a massive test, as a positive result could potentially see South sneak into the top six for the first time this season. Poutakidis’ 50th match will no doubt give the away side even more reason to fire up and get a much-needed win in order to erase the enormous disappointment of the 1-2 home loss against Preston in the previous round.

The board, players, staff and supporters would all like to congratulate Sam Poutakidis for his 50 matches for South and wish him, the other players and the coaching staff all the best for Saturday’s match and for the rest of the season.

Sam Poutakidis Statistics:
DOB: 31st July 1976
Position: Defender
Seasons at Club: 3 (2002/03 to 2003/04, 2008)

Breakdown:
2002/03 (NSL): 5 games (4 starts, 1 sub), 0 goals
2003/04 (NSL): 25 games (22 starts, 3 subs), 2 goals
2008 (VPL): 19 games (19 starts, 0 subs), 3 goals
TOTAL: 49 games (45 starts, 4 subs), 5 goals

Monday, 7 July 2008 9:59 AM

Womens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 3 – Eastern Lions 0
Reserves – South Melbourne FC 3 – Eastern Lions 0
State League 3 – South Melbourne FC 0 – Sandringham 2

Juniors
Under 18 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 0 – Bulleen Lions 1
Under 16 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 4 – Berwick City 0
Under 15A East – South Melbourne FC 1 – FC Bulleen Lions 2
Under 13A East – South Melbourne FC 1 – Glen Waverley 4
Under 12A East – South Melbourne FC 4 – Oakleigh 0
Under 11 East – South Melbourne FC 5 – Knox United 1

Monday, 30 June 2008 7:56 PM

By George Kouroumalis

A Tony Sterjovski strike in the 84th minute has seen Preston overcome all odds to defeat South Melbourne by two goals to one at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

In what was a critical contest for both iconic clubs, South went into the game requiring a victory to keep in touch with the top six. Preston on the other hand were keen on grasping all three points that would send them clear of the bottom four relegation zone.

The game started off in quite a scrappy manner, with numerous hard and committed tackles flying in from both sides.

The first shot in anger was fired in the 14th minute, when a speculative long range effort by Johnny Sapazovski was calmly caught by South goalkeeper Tommi Tomich.

South responded in the 15th minute. On this occasion some excellent solo work by Gianni De Nittis culminated in the young striker being denied from close range by Preston custodian Lou Acevski. From the resultant rebound off Acevski, Goran Zoric captured possession and hit another shot onto the target. As with the first shot on goal, Acevski made yet another remarkable save, turning the ball into the post and away for a corner.

The Blues continued to pile on the pressure and the home fans thought they had the lead in the 25th minute, when a well constructed move culminated in De Nittis slamming the ball past the helpless Acevski. However to the dismay of the home contingent, the linesman had flagged De Nittis for offside.

In the 35th minute, Acevski once again come to Preston’s rescue after making a sublime diving save to deny a Rama volley from well outside the area.

With this, both sides went into the break on even terms, with South having the better of the opening half.

This all changed in the opening stages of the second half, with Preston coming out of the rooms with a new found intent to take the game to the home side.

In the 52nd minute, Sapazovski signaled his clubs intentions by once again trying another long range effort, a shot that flew wide of the left hand upright.

However a minute later, Preston was awarded a free kick after South defender Sam Poutakidis was adjudged to have impeded the run of Preston captain Tony Sterjovski. From the resultant free kick, youngster Michael Bosevski stepped up and hit a superb strike onto the target and into the back of the net to give his side an unlikely advantage.

Preston could have doubled their lead on two occasions when both Johnny Sapazovski and his replacement Bale Micovski were denied brilliantly by Tomich.

With the alarm bells ringing in the South Melbourne camp, the South side lifted an extra cog in search for the vital equalising goal.

This goal had appeared to have been scpred in the 63rd minute, after what appeared to be a great run behind the defence by Rama was flagged for offside. This further infuriated the South captain who had also managed to grasp possession and chip Acevski before realising that the flag had been raised.

South however finally found the equaliser in the 72nd minute, after a dazzling run down the left hand flank by De Nittis saw the talented striker whip in an inch perfect cross to the near post. With the Preston defenders on the back foot, Nathan Caldwell slipped into the right position and nodded the ball past the helpless Acevski into the back of the net.

South continued to push more numbers forward in an attempt to try and find that elusive winner.

In the 84th minute this hope was slammed firmly shut by Preston, after yet another run by Sterjovski culminated in the skipper launching a dangerous cross to the back post from the left hand side. With no defender able to get in the way of the slightly over-hit cross, the ball somehow floated into base of the goalpost and subsequently deflecting into the back of the net to give Preston a remarkable 2-1 away victory.

South now head into the week off 4 points outside the top six with a tricky game in two weeks time against Green Gully away.

Monday, 30 June 2008 9:04 AM

Mens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 1 – Preston 2
Under 21 – South Melbourne FC 0 – Preston 2

Womens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 2 – Ashburton 3
Reserves – South Melbourne FC 0 – Ashburton 1
State League 3 – South Melbourne FC 0 – Noble Park 1

Juniors
Under 18 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 7 – South Springvale 1
Under 16 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 3 – Oakleigh 2
Under 15A East – South Melbourne FC 2 – Richmond 2
Under 14 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 1 – Sandringham City 1
Under 13 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 5 – Croydon City Arrows 0
Under 13A East – South Melbourne FC 1 – Richmond 2
Under 12A East – South Melbourne FC 4 – North Caulfield 0
Under 11 East – South Melbourne FC 0 – Hampton 1

Friday, 27 June 2008 11:17 AM

In what promises to be a tantalising contest on Sunday, South Melbourne plays host to the Preston Lions at Bob Jane Stadium.

South will go into this game full of confidence, having only lost once in its past eight outings and having just come off an unlucky 0-0 draw against the AIS in Canberra. A win on Sunday can see South sneak its way into the top six, a goal that Michael Michalakopoulos’ men are intent on achieving.

In selection news, Steven O’Dor will once again miss the contest, serving his second week of a two-game suspension. Replacing O’Dor in the heart of defence will be captain Rama Tavsancioglu.

In the middle of the park, Stuart Kelly and Scott MacNicol are both expected to do most of the hard work, whilst supporting Fernando De Moraes by pushing forward whenever possible.

Up front, South will go into the game with Nathan Caldwell leading the charge. The tall striker has had a great month of football since returning to full fitness and will be keen to score on Sunday. Joining him up front will be either Hamlet Armenian or Gianni De Nittis, who missed the AIS match due to an injury.

South will go into the game facing a hungry and determined Preston outfit that will be keen to distance themselves from the bottom four in the league. The reigning Foxtel Cup champions have had a difficult year so far on the field, losing key playing personnel as well as championship winning coach Goran Lozanovski, who was replaced by former NSL player and Preston legend John Markovski.

Despite the major player losses, Preston still posseses a team of players that are more than capable in causing South problems throughout the game. One of these players is veteran Johnny Sapazovski. The hard-working striker is a player that Preston will be reliant on in the attacking third, with his experience and ability to score goals on big occasions being something that the Blues will need to be aware of and combat.

The other key player that will need to be negated is the captain Tony Sterjovski, who will provide the Lions with the driving force from the midfield. With the recent loss of Marinos Gasparis, Preston will need Sterjovski to dominate in the middle if they are to win the game.

The final player that South fans will know quite well will be Lou Acevski in the Preston goal. Acevski is one of the best keepers in the state and his performances over the last few seasons whilst at the Lions and before that at Heidelberg have been exceptionally solid. This includes a Man of the Match display last season against South at Bob Jane Stadium, something that the Preston faithful would be wanting him to emulate on Sunday.

Fans are also reminded that no tickets will be sold on Sunday, with everyone needing to pre-purchase tickets in order to gain access to Bob Jane Stadium. South Melbourne members and sponsors are exempt from the pre-purchase and can show their membership cards along with appropriate photo ID on matchday to enter the ground. Kick-off is at 3pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Preston Lions

When: Sunday, June 29th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 12.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Tommi Tomich (GK), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu (C), Adam Van Dommele, Shane Nunes, Stuart Kelly, Scott MacNicol, Goran Zoric, Fernando De Moraes, Hamlet Armenian, Nathan Caldwell

Preston Lions
Lou Acevski (GK), Tony Sterjovski (C), Michael Bosevski, Johnny Sapazovski, Nicholas Schwal, Igor Arsovski, Les Anastasiou, Michael Miskas, Robert Dolevski, Chris
Toleski, Blaze Georgioski

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 6
South Melbourne : 3
Preston Lions : 1
Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, March 30th
Where: BT Connor Reserve
Score: South Melbourne 2 defeated Preston 1

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Draw, Win, Draw
Preston Lions: Won, Loss, Loss