Category: News

Monday, 26 May 2008 11:13 AM

Mens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 1 – Heidelberg United 2
Under 21 – South Melbourne FC 1 – Heidelberg United 0

Womens
Seniors – South Melbourne FC 1 – Bendigo 3
Reserves – South Melbourne FC 2 – Bendigo 6
State League 3 – South Melbourne FC 2 – Knox City 0

Juniors
Under 18 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 4 – Green Gully 3
Under 16 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 8 – Eastern Lions 0
Under 15A East – South Melbourne FC 2 – Manningham 0
Under 14 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 1 – GSL 0
Under 13 Superleague – South Melbourne FC 3 – Bulleen Lions 0
Under 12A East – South Melbourne FC 2 – Riversdale 0
Under 11 East – South Melbourne FC – Bye

Monday, 26 May 2008 8:55 AM

By George Kouroumalis

For the second time this season, Heidelberg has come from behind and overcome arch rival South Melbourne by two goals to one.

The crowd braved the cold Bob Jane Stadium conditions to watch yet another installment of the traditional derby between the two clubs.

The Bergers arrived looking to win to leap over the top of the Oakleigh Cannons, whilst South were keen to get closer to the top six and were given the chance to after Altona dropped points the day before.

The game started off in quite a timid manner with the first real chance of the game falling in the 12th minute, when some lovely interplay on the halfway line by Fernando De Moraes and Sam Poutakidis culminated in the Brazilian hitting a speculative long range drive well wide of the target. South once again pushed forward in the 20th minute, with the same duo combining once again. On this occasion Fernando gathered possession just outside the area and with a huge hole appearing in front of him, hit a well-weighted through-ball into the path of the advancing Poutakidis. The veteran took a touch before sliding the ball past the helpless Peter Gavalas to give the home side the early advantage.

Heidelberg responded to the early setback almost immediately. A well constructed foray forward was ended after a hopeful long range shot by Josip Kozic saw the ball fly inches wide of the bar. The Warriors continued to push forward at every opportunity and in the 32nd minute Graham Hockless found himself open just outside the area. After taking the initial touch, Hockless progressed into the area before hitting a ball onto the target. A superb fingertip save by stand-in keeper Nik Jelic denied the speedy Berger attacker and quietened the small pocket of away supporters who thought the ball was destined for the back of the net.

Hockless was causing problems to the South defence with his pace and runs into the area. These problems were highlighted once again in the 46th minute, when he found himself in metres of space inside the area. This time Hockless scored as he picked his spot calmly and pushed the ball past the unlucky Jelic at the near post to ensure that the away side was on equal terms at the break.

The second half started in a similar manner to that of the first, with both sides not really creating many clear-cut opportunities.

In the 57th minute, a superb save by Gavalas denied South and Nathan Caldwell the go-ahead goal. In this passage of a play, a high speculative cross by Fernando was met by Caldwell in the air. With the ball seemingly goal-bound, a superb full stretch save by the young Bergers custodian denied the Blues. Heidelberg also continued to try and find the net and yet another first-time shot by Josip Kozic gave the Berger fans some excitement. However he missed the target, with the shot finding the side netting on this occasion.

However for the travelling fans and Kozic himself, the anguish for the earlier miss turned into jubilation in the 82nd minute. Poor marking by the South side allowed for an innocuous ball in from the left hand side to find a loose Kozic on the back post. With just Jelic to beat, Kozic fired a shot in at the near post to give his side the lead and ultimately the three points.

Despite the frantic efforts of the South side in the final minutes, the home team could not manage another serious goal-scoring chance, ensuring that the Warriors claimed derby victory for the second time this season and for the first time ever at Bob Jane Stadium.

Friday, 23 May 2008 4:44 PM

By George Kouroumalis
Photo courtesy of Neos Kosmos

In a season defining round 14 contest, South Melbourne will take on Heidelberg United in another instalment of this famous derby. But there is more to this game than three points, it is a game that will write yet another chapter in one of the most famous rivalries in Australian sport.

As with many football derbies across the globe, these two famous clubs share a rivalry spanning almost fifty years, with the Warriors celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, whilst the Blues will celebrate the same milestone in 2009.

The first recorded game between both clubs occurred in January 1960, when Heidelberg (known at the time as Fitzroy) provided South with their first ever opponent as a club. At the time Heidelberg were not playing in any formal competition either, so the game was the starting point for both clubs.

In this fixture, Heidelberg ran out 3-2 winners in a game that was described as a hard fought and passionate contest. Many past fans who remember that game continually remind the younger generation that this was the start of a special era in not only Victorian Football, but Australian Football in general.

Since that day both clubs have played each other regularly, however South Melbourne made up for the initial loss to their arch rival by beating them on every occurrence throughout the following 12 year period. Despite the one sided nature of these results, crowds flocked to Middle Park, Olympic Park and Olympic Village to view a game that was regarded as the showpiece of football in this state.

This one-sided trend continued throughout the 1960’s and the early stages of the 1970’s, with the Bergers able to wrestle the dominance from their Albert Park based rival throughout the latter part of the 1970’s and the early stages of the 1980’s.

In 1984, both clubs were having stellar seasons and subsequently both won through to the NSL Southern Division Grand Final. In what was a highly memorable game, South ran out convincing 4-2 winners, with a double by Oscar Crino securing the trophy for the Blues.

This further intensified the derby, with the 1980’s being remembered as a period where interest in the fixture was at its highest. Crowds and fans crammed into every possible vantage point inside the grounds and the game regularly attracted over 10,000 people.

The derby momentarily ended in 1995 when Heidelberg were no longer a part of the now defunct NSL, falling back to the Victorian Premier League (now Foxtel Cup). In the meantime South Melbourne continued to win national championships as the glamour club of the state and nation.

With the changing football landscape in Australia, South were denied a place in the national competition and were forced to also joined the VPL for the start of the 2005 season. Football Federation Victoria welcomed South back to the state leagues by giving them a round 1 derby fixture against the old foe in Heidelberg United.

In what was dubbed as the “re-birth of the derby”, the match attracted over 12,000 people to Bob Jane Stadium, an astonishing crowd for a state league fixture. The game finished 0-0, but the spirit and the passion between both sets of fans was re-ignited once again. Since that day, both sides have shared the spoils in terms of games won, with the Warriors having the most significant victory in the 2005 preliminary final. On this occasion they knocked South Melbourne out of the finals on route to a grand final birth against Green Gully.

In the opening round of this season, Heidelberg recovered from an early Goran Zoric goal to run out 2-1 victors at home, with Daniel Jones stepping up and slotting home the winner late in the game to send the enthusiastic Heidelberg fans into raptures.

On Sunday South will be looking for revenge on their home soil, in a game which will be this week’s Match of the Round.

Both clubs are approaching this game in great form, with the Bergers undefeated since Round 7, whilst South have won their last three games, including a resounding home win against Frankston last week.

The key to this contest will be in that midfield area. South will go into the game with Rama Tavsancioglu potentially matching up against the experienced Eric Vassiliadis in the centre of the park. Vassiliadis was a thorn in the side of South in the opening round, producing a man of the match display to lead his side to victory. South coach Michael Michalakopoulos will be quite keen for Tavsancioglu to try and negate the influence of Vassiliadis, a role in which he has dominated in throughout the last four weeks.

Joining Tavsancioglu in the heart of midfield will be Brazilian maestro Fernando De Moraes, who returned from Fustalroos duty by scoring one of the goals of the season last weekend. South will be keen for the midfielder to push forward and attack the Warriors whenever possible.

The other key aspect of the contest will be whichever team can capitalise in front of goal. Both sides are more than capable in this area and will be looking to get on the front foot and attack from the opening minute.

Since recovering from a groin injury, Ricky Diaco has been inspirational for South, with the former A-League player showing his class in recent weeks with some outstanding performances. He will be partnered up front by Gianni De Nittis, a player who has scored on four occasions this season since returning to his favoured position in the forward line.

At the other end of the park, Heidelberg will be reliant on the consistent and quite dangerous duo of Mark Tsiorlas and Graham Hockless. So far, Tsiorlas has managed to score on four occasions as well as provide the Heidelberg side with a strong presence inside the attacking area, whilst Hockless has had an impressive season, producing a hand full of man of the match performances to date.

The other major battle will take place in the technical area between two excellent coaches. George Katsakis will be taking charge of the Heidelberg side and the experienced coach will go into the contest confident as Heidelberg have not lost to South since the 2006 season. Trying to out-smart Katsakis will be Michael Michalakopoulos. Michalakopoulos is no stranger to the big derby, having played for both South and Heidelberg in the early 90’s and causing considerable pain to both camps along the way. His experience and passion for such a contest should not be underestimated and he will be keen to get in the way of his former club.

All football fans are encouraged to get along and experience the most famous Australian football derby first-hand on Sunday. Heidelberg sit in 5th position and are just 5 points ahead of South Melbourne. A win for either side will help strengthen their campaigns for the finals later this year.

Kick off is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Heidelberg United

When: Sunday, May 25th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Goran Zoric, Tony La Verde, Gianni De Nittis, Hamlet Armenian, Ricky Diaco

Heidelberg United
Peter Gavalas (GK), Blair Ameti, Daniel Jones, James Stefanou, Eric Vassiliadis, Josip Kozic, Graham Hockless, Anthony Ouliaris, Jim Drossos, Denis Alilovic, Mark Tsiorlas

Head to head

Played : 83
South Melbourne : 42
Heidelberg United : 23
Draw : 18

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 15 February 2008
Where: Olympic Village
Score: Heidelberg United 2 defeated South Melbourne 1

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Win, Win, Win
Heidelberg United: Win, Draw, Win

Friday, 23 May 2008 4:35 PM

South Melbourne is pleased to announce that Bob Jane Stadium will play host to a charity game for the Chinese earthquake victims on June 1st.

Travelling to Australia will be a representative women’s side from Beijing who will take on a Victorian State Representative side. Both sides are expected to be represented by the best players in each region, which will see an exciting and highly skilled game to be on show.

Apart from being a much anticipated contest, the game will be primarily used to try and raise some money to assist the victims and families of the horrific Chinese earthquake in their time of need.

Kick-off on June 1st is at 3pm and tickets are $15 for adults, with patrons under 16 years of age admitted for free.

Thursday, 22 May 2008 12:05 PM

By John Kyrou

As part of the lead-up to the derby match against Heidelberg United on Sunday afternoon at Bob Jane Stadium, this week’s segment will focus on the corresponding fixture back in 1991.

South Melbourne started the 1991/92 National Soccer League season in fine form. The Blues defeated Preston 5-1 at Middle Park in the opening round and registered only one loss in the first six rounds. South were keen to continue this excellent form heading into round 7 when they met Heidelberg at Middle Park in the traditional derby match. The Bergers had experienced an inconsistent start to the season, having won twice, drawn once and lost on the other three occasions.

In the previous season, South won the bragging rights after grinding out a 2-2 draw at the Olympic Village in round 12 before defeating the Bergers 2-1 at Middle Park in the last round of the season. However form and previous results meant nothing as both teams were always going to lift for the first derby showdown of the 1991/92 season.

A very pro-South crowd of 12,459 turned up to Middle Park to witness the latest installment in the South-Heidelberg rivalry. South had planned to give new signing Robert Csabai his debut match for the home side against the Bergers, however the Canadian international was a very late withdrawal. Nevertheless, the home side was confident of a win, as were the supporters. However it was the Bergers who got off to the better start, with Paul Lewis, Phil Stubbins and Brian MacNicol all forcing excellent saves from South goalkeeper Bruce MacLaren. It was somewhat hilarious then that South took the lead against the run of play. A far-distance Peter Tsolakis shot was deflected into the net by Paul Trimboli, leaving Jeff Olver stranded in the Heidelberg goal.

Although the Bergers had gone a goal down, they kept pressing forward in numbers and only luck and excellent defending prevented them from leveling the match. Derek Hunter was put through one-on-one with MacLaren but his chip shot hit the crossbar and back into play, where another shot was fired past MacLaren but not legendary South defender Mehmet Durakovic, who cleared the ball off the line and out to safety. MacLaren was then called into action again and pulled off two fantastic saves to deny two more Goutzioulis long-range efforts on goal. The Bergers were then left to wonder what they had to do to get past both MacLaren and Durakovic, when a powerful header from a corner was not cleared properly by the South custodian and therefore needed yet another clearance off the line by Durakovic to save the day.

Although South had been under enormous pressure, the Blues survived the challenge and slowly began getting on top of the away side. The home side nearly doubled their lead when Danny Wright evaded a challenge on the left side and sent in a cross that Con Boutsianis got on the end of. Boutsianis’ lob of Olver saw the big Bergers custodian stick a hand out and superbly deny the Blues a second goal. With the exception of the goal that he could not prevent, Olver had experienced a relatively quiet first half but that was to change after halftime.

South started the second half with the full intention of killing the game off as a contest and did so via the penalty spot. Boutsianis was expertly set free on the left side from Paul Trimboli’s flick-on. Boutsianis’ low cross into the area saw a handball on the goal line by Doug Hodgson, who was subsequently sent off by referee John Fraser. Mike Petersen put away the spot-kick with a calm chip straight down the middle of the goal, with Olver diving to his left and being nowhere near the ball. This was the deciding point in the derby and the Bergers were set to experience a miserable end to the match.

Kimon Taliadoros made absolutely certain that the home side would get the two points when he gleefully accepted a brilliant lobbed through-ball by Petersen and beat his marker before slotting the ball past Olver for the third goal of the afternoon. Trimboli then looked to have earned the Blues their second penalty of the afternoon when he was blatantly brought down in the area by Chris Iliopoulos, but referee Fraser waved away the appeals and the Bergers breathed a sigh of relief. The away side got out of jail twice more, firstly when Taliadoros’ shot on goal beat Olver but not the far post and secondly when Trimboli’s overhead kick was well saved by Olver.

However with an extra man and a commanding lead, a fourth goal was always on the cards and Boutsianis finally scored after being set through one-on-one with Olver. Boutsianis completed his double and a miserable afternoon for the Bergers when he was the first to a cross from the left and headed home at the near post for South’s fifth and final goal for the afternoon. Although Heidelberg had started the game well, they were no match for their bigger rivals and left Middle Park with eggs on their faces and a massive blow to their goal difference.

South continued on their good form the following week, defeating Melbourne Croatia 0-1 at Somers Street in the Grand Final rematch. This proved that the Blues were destined for a high finish on the table, which they achieved in finishing 3rd. In contrast, Heidelberg’s miserable form continued with a 0-1 loss against Preston at the Olympic Village. Things did not get much better for the Bergers as they finished the season in 9th place, missing the top five by two games.

Round 7, 1991/92
Sunday, November 17, 1991
Venue: Middle Park
Referee: John Fraser

SOUTH MELBOURNE 5-0 HEIDELBERG UNITED
(Boutsianis x2, Trimboli, Petersen, Taliadoros)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Bruce MacLaren, David Healy, Mehmet Durakovic, Paul Fernandes, Paul Wade, Peter Tsolakis, Mike Petersen, Angie Postecoglou, Paul Trimboli, Kimon Taliadoros, Danny Wright
Subs: Con Boutsianis, Michael Michalakopoulos
Coach: Ferenc Puskas

HEIDELBERG UNITED:
Jeff Olver, Gary Brattan, Paul Lewis, Doug Hodgson, Chris Iliopoulos, Nick Van Egmond, Brian MacNicol, Troy Cranney, Angie Goutzioulis, Derek Hunter, Phil Stubbins
Subs: George Michalidis, Terry Rizopoulos
Coach: Gary Cole

Monday, 19 May 2008 8:55 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne has continued its excellent form under new coach Michael Michalakopoulos with an impressive 3-1 home victory against bottom-placed Frankston on Sunday afternoon.

The Frankston outfit arrived at Bob Jane Stadium ready to give everything for new manager Doug Hodgson, with the recently appointed coach having stamped his authority on the club with a fortnight of hard and committed football.

With that mindset instilled in all of the players, Frankston began the match strongly and were rewarded only five minutes into the contest. A corner played to the near post was turned into the back of the net by Daniel Miller. The goal was somewhat sweet for Miller, who had trialled with South in the pre-season before joining the Pines.

South responded almost immediately, with a stinging counter-attack of their own. On this occasion a superb tackle by Tony La Verde saw the ball find its way into the path of Goran Zoric, who proceeded to dash down the left hand flank and past a host of stagnant Frankston defenders. With two men in the middle, Zoric put a dangerous cross into the six yard box, only for the ball to be collected by Frankston goalkeeper Peter Zois.

With the away side content to sit back and defend their slender advantage, the home team could not muster another opportunity until the 26th minute, when a sublime run by Rama Tavsancioglu ended with the ball finding the feet of Ricky Diaco. From just outside the area, Diaco hit a stinging drive over the bar. South continued to push forward at every opportunity and some terrific goalkeeping by Zois thwarted two long-range efforts by Diaco and La Verde.

In the 42nd minute, yet another well-constructed South move forward saw the ball played into the adventurous Tavsancioglu just outside the area. After taking a touch and streaming past a defender, the hard-working midfielder was fouled just inside the area, with the referee pointing to the penalty spot and issuing a yellow card to the offending Pines defender. Diaco stepped up and calmly slotted the ball to the left of Zois, who had dived to his right, to ensure that the home side would go into halftime level with the visitors.

South continued to pile on the pressure early in the second half and half-chances fell to both Diaco and Hamlet Armenian, but neither player was able to capitalize on them. The pressure looked to have paid off in the 54th minute when South were awarded yet another penalty after Tavsancioglu was once again brought down in the area. However the celebrations by the players and home supporters were premature, as Diaco’s penalty was saved by Zois, who once again dived to his right and this time kept the ball out of the goal.

South continued to waste good opportunities in front of goal as the Pines defence began to get on top of the contest. As a result, Michalakopoulos opted to make a surprise change and introduced Fernando De Moraes into the contest. The classy Fernando had only just returned to the country after representing the Futsalroos in the AFC Tournament in Thailand two days earlier. The substitution paid off immediately, when in the 72nd minute Fernando launched a stinging left-footed drive from well outside the area past a hapless Zois to give his side the lead.

With the strong South faithful in celebration mode, a well-constructed move by the Blues saw Zoric once again rip a hole in the hearts of the Frankston defence, before playing an inch-perfect ball into the path of Diaco. With the disappointment of the penalty miss still fresh in his mind, Diaco slammed the ball into the back of the net to give South a well-deserved 3-1 victory and ensure the club’s third victory in a row.

The hard-working Frankston side must re-group before taking on the Oakleigh Cannons next Friday night. In contrast, South will now head into next Sunday’s derby game at Bob Jane Stadium against bitter rival Heidelberg United full of confidence and hopeful of seeking revenge on the 2-1 loss at the Olympic Village in the first round this season. Kick-off is at 4pm.

Saturday, 17 May 2008 11:59 PM

By Paul Mavroudis

South Melbourne’s Fernando De Moraes scored twice, but the Futsalroos still went down 5-2 in their AFC Futsal Championships quarter final against host nation Thailand. Without two of its regular starters, Australia was always going to be the underdog, and so it proved in this match.

The hosts went ahead early, but Fernando twice pulled goals back for his adopted country – his first goal a long range strike to make it 2-1, and his second goal to make it 3-2 from a tight angle – but it wasn’t enough to send Australia through to the semi-finals, and the qualification to the World Cup in Brazil later this year which would have ensued.

Fernando played in almost all of Australia’s matches on the tour, including warm up matches held prior to the tournament, and will thus likely miss this Sunday’s clash against bottom of the table Frankston Pines. He should be fit and ready however for next week’s derby game against Heidelberg on Sunday week.

Friday, 16 May 2008 1:54 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne will look to make it three wins in a row as the Blues take on bottom placed Frankston Pines this Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium.

South comes into the game following two impressive victories against Richmond and Whittlesea, with the club able to hold on for 1-0 triumphs on both occasions.

Apart from winning both games, the most important aspect to come out of both contests was that the Blues managed to keep a clean sheet, something which was a key problem in the early stages of the season.

A major part in this feat being achieved is a solid back four comprising of Steven O’Dor, Sam Poutakidis, Adam Van Dommele and Shane Nunes. Each defender has stepped up a level and has played a great fortnight of football. With veteran goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis behind them, the defensive unit will be keen to continue the excellent form this week against the Frankston side.

In the middle third, South gaffer Michael Michalakopoulos will not make any changes, which has also been forced by the minor knee injury concerning Bill Natsioulas, as well as the unavailability of Fernando De Moraes, who continues to represent the Futsalroos overseas.

One member of the midfield who will be looking to build on his impressive form of late will be youngster Antonio La Verde. After scoring the match winning goal, as well as his first ever South Melbourne goal last weekend, La Verde will head into the contest full of confidence. La Verde will be asked to link up with fellow midfielders Rama Tavsancioglu, Goran Zoric and Hamlet Armenian to form a quite formidable middle section.

Up front South will most likely go into the contest with in-form strikers Gianni De Nittis and Ricky Diaco. Despite not scoring on the weekend, both players had exceptional games and were integral in ensuring that South Melbourne came away from the game with the victory.

South will come up against a Frankston side that have had a turbulent start to the season, with the Pines remaining winless so far in 2008.

In recent times, former Heidelberg manager Doug Hodgson has taken over the club in a bid to try and turn their fortunes around, as well as to get the right processes in place to make a tilt at avoiding relegation.

One of Hodgson’s key signings so far as coach was to bring in experienced goalkeeper Peter Zois from the Altona Magic. Zois is an exceptional goalkeeper at this level and has ten years European experience behind him, having played for some big clubs in Holland, as well as for Cardiff City in the English First Division. For Frankston to take points away from Bob Jane Stadium, Zois must be ready to repel any South attack.

Other players to watch in the Frankston lineup will be the experienced Craig Metcalfe, as well as Boris Ovcin, who found the net for the Pines against Coburg last weekend.

All South fans are encouraged to come to Bob Jane Stadium and support the club as it attempts to grasp another 3 points. Kickoff is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Frankston

When: Sunday, May 18th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Goran Zoric, Tony La Verde, Gianni De Nittis, Hamlet Armenian, Ricky Diaco

Frankston
Peter Zois (GK), Daniel Black, Jason Dimozantos, Trent Malcolm (C), Andrew Skledar, Jean-Philippe Javary, Craig Smart, Adam Fadljevic, Boris Ovcin, Craig Metcalfe, Simon Mur

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 4
South Melbourne : 3
Frankston : 0
Draw : 1

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 20 August 2006
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Score: South Melbourne 5 defeated Frankston 1

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Win, Win
Frankston: Loss, Loss, Loss

Friday, 16 May 2008 10:55 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back less than six years ago to a match played in the early stages of the 2002/03 National Soccer League season.

Reigning NSL champions Sydney Olympic traveled to Bob Jane Stadium keen to continue the excellent start that they had made in defending their title. Going into the round 7 encounter against their traditional interstate rivals, Olympic was undefeated with four wins and two draws from their opening six matches. On the other hand, South Melbourne had started extremely slowly, with only one win in their opening five encounters. However despite the contrasting form, South went into the match more confident of a result, as Olympic had never beaten the blues at Bob Jane Stadium.

What was to follow was one of the more remarkable games staged in the history of matches played between the two clubs.

The match was barely two minutes old when South opened the scoring. The ball was played down the right flank, where Peter Buljan evaded Olympic captain Ante Juric’s challenge. Buljan’s low cross into the area was flicked into the bottom corner of the goal by new recruit Michael Baird, who had scored in the previous home game against Perth Glory and was fast becoming a fan favourite. Just six minutes later South’s advantage was doubled when Vince Lia’s cross from the right was met by Robert Liparoti at the far post. Liparoti’s square ball in front of the goal found Buljan, who somehow bundled the ball past Clint Bolton with a header of his own.

Olympic were stunned, and were left further embarrassed when Kiwi international Vaughan Coveny put South three up before the quarter-hour. Stand-in captain Steve Panopoulos found space at the edge of the penalty area and he laid the ball off to Coveny, who had made a run on his left side. The big South forward turned inside and sent a powerful right-foot shot low and past Bolton’s near post.

The first half was barely half-complete when Panopoulos himself scored with a lovely shot with his left foot from outside the area. Fausto De Amicis’ cross found Baird, who headed down into the path of Panopoulos. The midfielder’s strike was too powerful for Bolton and proved a further slap in the face for Olympic’s defence, who by this stage were receiving an almighty heckling from the army of South supporters behind Bolton’s goal.

The home supporters urged their team to continue pressing forward, as they sensed a record scoreline about to happen. However this left the South defence slightly exposed, and as a result Olympic managed to pull a goal back. A well-struck Troy Halpin corner found Andrew Packer, who placed his header past Dean Anastasiadis, which left the big South custodian angry at his defence for the lack of marking in the area.

Five goals had already been scored but several more goal-scoring chances were created, as both teams seemingly decided to forget about the notion of defending and instead attacked at any opportunity. Olympic missed two good opportunities to score a second through both Tom Pondeljak and Joel Porter, before South hammered home their fifth for the afternoon. Coveny galloped past Jade North on the left and crossed the ball to Baird, who hit a sweet volley that flew into the top corner of Bolton’s goal.

At 5-1, even the most hardcore Olympic supporters must have thought that their side would give up on the match and just set out to defend in order to not leak any more goals. However to their credit, the away side continued to attack themselves without any fear and scored a second goal as a result. Experienced striker Ante Milicic’s audacious 25 metre lob of Anastasiadis at the end of the half meant that at the halftime interval the scoreboard showed a remarkable seven goals scored in just one half of football.

One would have thought that with South commanding such a strong lead that the second half would only suffer in comparison and with it bring no further changes to the scoreline. However this was not the case, as Halpin brought Olympic to within two goals of the home side with a sharp volley from the edge of the box after the ball was cleverly pulled back from the flank to him.

The home side signaled its intentions to hold on and protect the 5-3 lead when Baird was substituted for defender Steve Iosifidis with twenty minutes remaining. Olympic didn’t care and elected to go for broke and played the rest of the match with a four-man forward line. The move worked brilliantly and Pondeljak’s 30-metre rocket amazingly brought the away side to within one goal of South with five minutes left to play.

By this stage Olympic were all over South and the home supporters were beginning to feel extremely nervous about the possibility of giving up a four goal cushion against one of their most bitter rivals. However with only a minute left in normal time, Coveny was brought down in the area. Coveny got up and hit the resultant penalty straight down the middle of Bolton’s goal, beating the Olympic keeper who had dived to his left. Coveny’s penalty registered South’s sixth goal for the afternoon which finally ended the scoring and ensured that the three points would remain at Bob Jane Stadium in one of the most remarkable games witnessed at the venue.

South’s defence continued to leak goals as it conceded four more the following week at Adelaide City and 37 for the whole season (24 matches played). Unfortunately the strike force did not score as regularly as the defence conceded (36 goals scored) and as a result South missed out on a finals spot by one point. Olympic’s loss to South was only one of its five losses for the regular season, as the Sydney side finished on top of the ladder and made the Grand Final for the second season in a row, again against Perth Glory. This time however the Glory took revenge for their loss the previous season, beating Olympic 2-0.

Round 7, 2002/03
Sunday, November 3, 2002
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Referee: Mark Shield

SOUTH MELBOURNE 6-4 SYDNEY OLYMPIC
(Baird 2′, 40′, Buljan 8′, Coveny 13′, 89′ pen, Panopoulos 20′) (Packer 22′, Milicic 44′, Halpin 60′, Pondeljak 85′)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Dean Anastasiadis, Fausto De Amicis, Mehmet Durakovic, Robert Liparoti, Steve Panopoulos, Vaughan Coveny, Peter Buljan (Paul Trimboli 89′), Vince Lia, Nick Tolios, Michael Baird (Steve Iosifidis 71′), Bill Damianos (David Clarkson 63′)
Coach: Danny Wright

SYDNEY OLYMPIC:
Clint Bolton, Paul Kohler (Zenon Caravella 72′), Ante Juric, Tom Pondeljak, Ante Milicic, Troy Halpin, Jade North, Jeromy Harris (Hiroyuki Ishida 67′), Joel Porter, Andrew Packer, Andrew Durante (Mark Byrnes 33′)
Coach: Gary Phillips

Monday, 12 May 2008 10:06 AM

By Michal Skrodzki and John Kyrou | Image by George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne enjoyed a hard-fought 0-1 win over an honourable Whittlesea Zebras outfit on Sunday evening. The Zebras were shocked during the week when coach Peter Ollerton handed in his resignation and thus caretaker Paul Harris took charge against South. In contrast, South entered the match in good form, with a great 1-0 win against Richmond at Bob Jane Stadium the previous round and were looking to string two wins in a row for the first time in 2008.

The match at Epping Stadium was always going to be a passionate affair, with both teams locked on 12 points and needing to win to stay out of the relegation zone, whilst also pushing for a spot in the top six.

The game got off to a tight start, with both teams desperate to keep a clean sheet. South’s defenders were constantly under pressure by Zebras forward Jerry Karpeh, as the former Floreat Athena player made dazzling runs and looked dangerous with the ball at his feet. Whittlesea constantly tried to push the ball out wide to be crossed in, as South’s veteran goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis looked uncomfortable in dealing with the crosses.

However South looked the more likely to score, and right on halftime they thought they had opened the scoring. A great header hit the bar and Gianni De Nittis smashed the rebound home, but his celebrations were cut short when the linesman incorrectly signaled for offside and therefore the goal was disallowed.

South came out in the second half determined to take the lead. Goran Zoric’s runs were starting to really trouble the Whittlesea defenders but he failed to take advantage of his opportunities. His best chance fell early in the second half when he ran onto a good ball played through and found himself one on one with Zebras goalkeeper Simeoni. However instead of shooting, Zoric tried setting up a shot for Ricky Diaco, who was ambushed by a Zebras defender and the ball was subsequently cleared.

Hamlet Armenian was also having a good game against his former side, so much so that even the Zebras fans chanted his name. South kept pushing and defensively were very strong, suffocating the Zebra forwards. South finally got their deserved winning goal when young midfielder Tony La Verde shot from outside the box, brilliantly placing his shot into the bottom right hand corner, beating Simeoni and sending the traveling South fans into delirium.

South searched for a second goal but despite the opportunities, Armenian, Zoric and Diaco all failed to punish the Zebras further. The Zebras themselves pushed late in the game and almost scored a last-minute equaliser when a shot took a wicked deflection and flat-footed Anastasiadis before hitting the side netting. Whittlesea had one final chance with a free kick just outside the area in the last minute of injury time, however the ball was cleared by Shane Nunes to ensure that the 0-1 scoreline was final and that the South fans could celebrate by singing “the Great Escape.”

South coach Michael Michalakopoulos was obviously pleased with the result and thought the consecutive wins was due to the fact that “defensively we’ve worked better as a unit….and we’re working harder at training, the intensity has been phenomenal.” Michalakopoulos also believed that South were still real contenders for the finals, as well as confirming that the club is looking for another keeper to replace Nik Jelic (who returns to Sydney) and another experienced midfielder.

With the three points gained at Epping, South only sit 5 points outside of the top six and face league cellar-dwellers Frankston Pines at Bob Jane Stadium next week. In contrast, Whittlesea remains in the relegation zone and face a tough assignment out at Jack Edwards Reserve against the Oakleigh Cannons, with the signs not good for the 2007 grand finalists.