Category: News

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.

Friday, 9 May 2008 12:30 PM

By George Kouroumalis & John Kyrou

South Melbourne will be looking to win two matches in a row when it travels to Epping Stadium to take on the Whittlesea Zebras on Sunday.

In what promises to be an enthralling contest, South will head into the Mother’s Day clash full of confidence after a well-drilled and disciplined performance saw them account for the Richmond Eagles last Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium.

South coach Michael Michalakopoulos will be going back to familiar territory, as he coached and played an integral part in building the Zebras squad that made the Grand Final in 2007. His knowledge of the Whittlesea players will be an important factor throughout the game, with Michalakopoulos keen to get a victory against his old side.

In goals, South will head into the game with captain Dean Anastasiadis (pictured) in goals. At a venue where South has traditionally struggled in the past, the side will be relying on the veteran in goals not only as a shot stopper, but as a strong communicator to his defence and to lead by example out on the field.

South will once again opt for the same back four that performed superbly last weekend to shut out the Richmond forwards. Steven O’Dor and Shane Nunes will once again be given the central defensive positions. Adam Van Dommele will provide the side with a calm and experienced left back, with the former Adelaide United player instrumental in South’s excellent defensive performances of the last month. On the other side of defence, Sam Poutakidis will be asked to slot into the right back position. Both Poutakidis and Van Dommele will however push forward as much as possible in order to cause an extra problem to the Zebras defence as well as provide extra support for the midfielders and forwards alike.

In the middle of the park, South will be without two very important players in Bill Natsioulas and Fernando De Moraes. Natsioulas limped off midway through the opening half last weekend with a leg injury, whilst Fernando will be missing due to being selected in the Futsalroos squad for the AFC championships. Replacing the pair will be young duo Tony La Verde and Benji Vahid. Both youngsters will be keen to solidify their positions in the starting line-up, with La Verde impressing in the multiple appearances he has made in 2008.

The two teenagers will be joined by the experienced vice-captain Rama Tavsancioglu, who has had a superb month of football since being assigned the defensive midfield role. His attack on the ball, clean tackling and work rate has been a feature of his game whilst in the role and Michalakopoulos will be looking for ‘Rama’ to continue his efforts as well as assist his younger team mates. The other vital cog in the midfield area will be Goran Zoric, a player will use his guile and pace to try and exploit the Whittlesea defensive unit.

Up front, South will persist with the combination of Ricky Diaco and Gianni De Nittis. Both players provide the club with a creative and vibrant attacking duo that work well together. Their form last weekend against Richmond justifies an inclusion into this week’s starting line-up, as De Nittis scored the winning goal and Diaco threatened the opposition defence and keeper every time he had the ball.

Also vying for a starting position will be youngster Hamlet Armenian, who will relish the chance to take on his former club on the weekend. Despite not finding the net this season, Armenian has worked extremely hard every time he has made an appearance and has been very unfortunate not to open his scoring account. He will be a danger and will give the Whittlesea defence several headaches when he gets his chance.

South’s opponent will provide the Blues with a resilient opponent that should not be underestimated. The 2007 Grand Finalist boasts experienced campaigners that will make life tough for the South Melbourne side.

One of these players will be Ross Antoniadis in the centre of defence, a player who has made his mark at VPL level over a 10-year period with the Zebras and Altona East. Antoniadis is an old-fashioned centre-back, with the big man quite strong in the air but also exceptional at winning the contested ball on the ground with his aggressive tackling style. He will be a massive obstacle that the South attacking third will need to overcome in order to capture the points.

In the middle of the park, South will need to contend with former player Sebastian Petrovich, who spent time with the club in the old NSL and also part of the 2005 South squad. He is a creative midfielder who will always be looking to help out both his attacking players and defence when needed.

One of these attacking players is Jerry Karpeh who joined the Zebras in the summer from A-League club Perth Glory. In 2007 before joining the Glory, Karpeh was one of main reasons that Floreat Athena won the Western Australia Premier League crown. In a breakout year, not only did Karpeh win the elusive crown with Floreat but he also blitzed the competition to win the WAPL golden boot award, finding the net on 25 occasions in an amazing return. His pace and finishing ability will be something that South will need to monitor and negate.

As a result, Sunday’s game promises to be a cracking contest, with both sides sitting on 12 points and needing the three points on offer. A win for either side will see them push closer to a top six position. Kick-off at Epping is at 5pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Whittlesea Zebras

When: Sunday, May 11th
Where: Epping Stadium
Kick-off: 5.00pm (Under 21s at 3pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

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

Whittlesea Zebras
Robert Simeoni (GK), Ross Antoniadis, Steve Martin (C), Mark Vazzocchi, Adilson De Melo (Junior), Conner Molan, Gregory Lombardo, James Sherman, Jerry Karpeh, Ryan O’Hare, Sebastian Petrovic

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 1 (The Whittlesea Zebras were formed in 2007)
South Melbourne : 0
Whittlesea Zebras : 1
Draw : 0

Last Meeting

When: Monday, 27 May 2007
Where: Epping Stadium
Score: Whittlesea Zebras 3 defeated South Melbourne 2

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Win, Loss, Win
Whittlesea Zebras: Win, Loss, Loss

Friday, 9 May 2008 9:44 AM

By Paul Mavroudis

South Melbourne is pleased to report that star midfielder and fan favourite Fernando De Moraes has been named in the Futsalroos squad that will travel to Thailand to compete in next week’s AFC Fustal Championships. The achievement is further magnified when it is taken into consideration that Fernando is the only Victorian in the 14-man squad.

A seasoned futsal campaigner, this year saw Fernando break into the Australian side, performing well and scoring frequently in the KL 5s tournament in Malaysia earlier this year.

Australia’s group contains Asia’s second ranked team in Japan, as well as Chinese Taipei and Turkmenistan. The four semi-finalists from the 16 nation tournament qualify for next year’s Futsal World Cup in Brazil.

While his clever play in the middle of the park will be missed in South’s next two matches against the Whittlesea Zebras and Frankston Pines, the South Melbourne family is proud to have another player attain the heights and glory of representing the national side. Good luck to ‘Nando’ and the team!

Australia’s matches are:
May 11 v Turkmenistan – 6.45pm (local time)
May 12 v Chinese Taipei – 12 noon (local time)
May 13 v Japan – 6.45pm (local time)

Thursday, 8 May 2008 9:46 AM

The South Melbourne Football Club would like to invite all supporters of the world game to Bob Jane Stadium on Saturday May 17th to watch the English FA Cup final on the large screen.

The match promises to be an entertaining affair, with Coca-Cola Championship outfit Cardiff City keen to upstage their English Premier League and more fancied opponents in Portsmouth, who themselves are chasing their first FA Cup crown since 1939.

The doors to the Champions Bar will be open from 10pm, with the Cup final to kick off at midnight. Food and drink will be available on the night.

Wednesday, 7 May 2008 2:47 PM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to the 1989 Dockerty Cup final, a final in which high-flying National Soccer League club South Melbourne faced off against Victorian State League side Altona Gate (now Altona Magic), a fixture that is now more frequent as both sides compete against each other in the Foxtel Cup.

South had experienced mixed results in the different competitions they had competed in in 1989. The Blues finished a disappointing 8th in the league (out of 14 teams) but had done very well in the Cup competitions. In the National League Cup, South reached the semi final before going down 0-2 to Adelaide City. It went further in the Buffalo Gold Cup competition, making then winning the final 3-0 against Melbourne City JUST.

That year, the Australian Soccer Federation decided to make changes to its national competition in order to make the league more marketable. As a result, it changed the national competition to a summer competition as opposed to a winter one. As a result, the National League clubs entered the Dockerty Cup just prior to their 1989/90 season commencing, whilst the State League clubs were in Cup competition towards the end of their 1989 winter season. This also meant that while South were strong favourites to win the final, they were still effectively in pre-season mode, whilst Altona had just completed their winter season.

South were aware that whilst their opponents were a division below them, they were not to be underestimated. Altona had gone through a magnificent Dockerty Cup campaign, knocking out NSL sides Sunshine George Cross 2-1 and Melbourne Croatia 2-1 as well as thumping Morwell 5-0. South entered the competition with the rest of the NSL sides in round three and strolled to the semi finals, with two 5-0 victories over Ringwood City and Knox City respectively. Brunswick Juventus proved a tougher opponent in the semi final, but South got through on penalties 5-4 after the match finished 2-2 after normal time and extra time.

The match began like a typical Cup final, with the players fighting to overcome pre-match nerves. This was reflected in the standard of play. Due to the extremely warm conditions, both teams played a possessive type of game, opting to reserve their energy until after the interval.

Danny Wright nearly broke the deadlock for the South side when his shot hit the post. This did not intimidate Altona at all, who responded immediately with a fierce Goran Georgievski effort that brought the best out of South goalkeeper Bruce MacLaren.

The winning goal came in the 67th minute courtesy of Paul Trimboli. Paul Wade headed down a Peter Tsolakis corner to Trimboli, who, with his back to the goal, turned and hit the ball into the roof of the net from only a metre out. The South fans who made up many of the 5,300 in the crowd had cause to celebrate as the Blues were on the verge of their second Cup win of the 1989 campaign. However the result was not a certainty, with over twenty minutes still to play.

Trimboli may well have earned himself a hat-trick if his finishing had been more precise. However he was not alone, as Tsolakis, Wright and Harry Micheil also squandered glorious chances to seal the win. Altona also squandered chances to get itself back into the contest. Its greatest chance came from a shot by Georgievski that smashed against the woodwork, denying him and his side a certain goal.

Whilst the game had opened up considerably after Trimboli’s goal, the warm temperature had taken its effect on all of the players and despite Altona’s best efforts to get back into the match, the result finished 1-0 in favour of South. Altona’s entertaining brand of football had nearly been good enough to match their National League opponents, however South proved too strong in the end and in the process won its fourth Dockerty Cup.

Dockerty Cup Final, 1989
Sunday, October 29, 1989
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne
Referee: Jim Fearn

SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-0 ALTONA GATE
(Trimboli 67′)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Bruce MacLaren, Ange Postecoglou, Paul Fernandes, Steve Blair, Harry Micheil, Paul Wade, Kimon Taliadoros, Damian Mori, Peter Tsolakis, Paul Trimboli, Danny Wright
Coach: Ferenc Puskas

ALTONA GATE:
Stuart Lee, George Gagic, Tom Markovski, Darren Byrne, Robert Stojcevski, Pere Nicoski (Klime Aslimoski 77′), Vlade Tortevski, Arthur Davis (Simon Micevski 70′), Mendo Ristovski, Gary McMullen, Goran Georgievski
Coach: Bill Murray

Tuesday, 6 May 2008 1:59 PM

The South Melbourne Womens Football Club is urging all South Melbourne fans to get along to Bob Jane Stadium on Friday night, as the club plays host to Keilor Park under lights in a much anticipated match. With the men playing away on Sunday against Whittlesea at Epping Stadium, all South fans are encouraged to also support the girls in achieving a victory at lakeside.

The senior side has started the season in an inconsistent fashion, although potential was shown in the 6-1 annihilation of Gippsland in their opening game of the season. With the side sitting just outside the top six, a win against Keilor will boost confidence and move the team up the table. Kick off is at 8.30pm, with the social club open before and after the game.

Monday, 5 May 2008 12:30 PM

By George Kouroumalis & John Kyrou

A determined and disciplined home performance by South Melbourne has seen the Blues defeat the high-flying Richmond Eagles 1-0 in an entertaining game at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

With an expectant crowd on hand, both clubs were keen on gathering all three points for different reasons. A win for the Eagles was important for the away side to further cement their position in the upper regions of the table, whilst a win for South was vital in allowing for the Blues to exit the relegation area and propel themselves into 8th position on the table.

South started the game the stronger of the two sides and launched their first attack on goal via a stinging drive in the 7th minute.

A storming run down the left hand flank by Goran Zoric culminated in the sharp midfielder putting a speculative shot wide of the target.

With a vocal home contingent behind them, South continued to pour on the early pressure and came within inches of scoring in the 11th minute. A well worked move saw Ricky Diaco stream down the field before playing a diagonal ball into the path of Gianni De Nittis. The youngster hit a horizontal ball to Fernando, who hit his shot wide of the target.

The home side was now completely dominating play and continued to pepper the Richmond goal. In the 14th minute, a speculative long-range drive by Sam Poutakidis found the target but failed to get past the prying arms of Richmond goalkeeper Stuart Webster.

Richmond dodged yet another bullet in the 20th minute, after a well-worked move ended with the ball at Fernando’s feet just on the edge of the area. The Brazilian hit a superb low drive past the outstretched Webster but the ball struck the inside of the far post and stayed out.

Richmond responded and launched their first real attacking foray of the match. With the South back four giving the highly-regarded Richmond front men no space at all, it was left to former South player George Goutzioulis to launch a speculative long-range drive onto the target. With the ball headed for the top corner, South captain and goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis made a strong and athletic save to thwart the effort. Richmond continued to try and unlock the disciplined South defence via further long-range efforts. Another swirling shot by Goutzioulis saw the ball fly well away from the target.

South arguably had the best chance to take the lead in the 29th minute, when a superb interception by Zoric in his own half saw the hard-working winger claim possession, dart past a host of Richmond defenders and find himself in the box. Instead of taking the shot himself, Zoric opted to lay the ball off to the open Fernando. With only Webster to beat, Fernando made the wrong decision in trying to chip the oncoming keeper, which ended up flying over the bar for a goal kick.

South had the final chance of the first half in the 43rd minute, when an inch-perfect long ball by Adam Van Dommele was superbly flicked on by De Nittis into the path of Diaco. With Diaco seemingly in space, an excellent tackle by Richmond captain Stuart McCluskey saved the day for his side once again.

South continued their attacking mood in the second half, pushing forward to try to claim the opening goal. The goal arrived in the 47th minute, when a sweeping move culminated in the ball finding the feet of the elusive De Nittis up front. Although he scuffed his initial shot, De Nittis recaptured possession and slotted the ball underneath the oncoming Webster to open the scoring for the home side.

The Blues had a chance to double their advantage only moments later, when yet another counter attacking move saw Van Dommele dash forward and push to the ball out to Zoric on the left hand flank. Zoric, who was having a superb game, played a swinging ball into the six yard box. With both Diaco and De Nittis ready to pounce, Webster commanded his six yard box well and captured possession in an impressive fashion.

The game threatened to turn ugly only minutes later, when a bad challenge on Rama Tavsancioglu resulted in a mid-pitch scuffle with most of the players on the field taking part. However calm was quickly restored and the offending Richmond player received a yellow card, much to the disappointment of the South fans, who believed that the card should have been another colour.

With the South defence completely shutting down the Richmond attacking third, the home side continued to push forward and had several chances to finish the game off. De Nittis had two chances to score his second for the night in the 64th and 68th minutes, but on both occasions fired inches over the bar. Tavsancioglu also had a fantastic chance to score, when he gained possession in midfield and went on a storming run that got him into the penalty area, however as he was about to shoot the Richmond defence caught up and managed to deflect the shot away to safety.

Richmond missed a great chance to equalise in the 82nd minute. An inch-perfect cross from the left hand flank was met in the air by Richard Cardozo, who hit his powerful header wide of the target and out for a goal kick, ensuring that the three points remained at lakeside.

South will look to build on this great result as it travels to Epping Stadium next Sunday to take on the Whittlesea Zebras in a much-anticipated Mothers Day encounter.

Friday, 2 May 2008 11:30 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne will look to win its second consecutive home game in a row, when it takes on Richmond at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday.

Buoyed by a solid performance against Altona last week (in which the club had a very unlucky loss) and the resounding 6-2 win against Fawkner a fortnight ago, South go into the game confident that they can take the three points off the high flying Richmond side.

South coach Michael Michalakopoulos will be somewhat reluctant to change the squad from last week, with the back four standing steady against the dangerous Altona outfit.

Centrally, Shane Nunes will look to build on the solid defensive form that he has been showing and will once again partner up with Steven O’dor to form a quite formidable central defensive duo.

On the left hand side of defence, Adam Van Dommele has settled back into the position quite well since returning from injury. The former A-League player will be looked at by the coach to provide an experienced and calm defensive option, as well as to use his strength by pushing forward as an attacking threat whenever possible. This also applies to the experienced Sam Poutakidis, who will once again take the right hand defensive position on the park.

In the middle of the park, Rama Tavsancioglu will once again be assigned to the defensive midfield slot. He was superb last week against Altona and really showed his commitment and leadership in such a role. Supporting him in the centre of the park will be Bill Natsioulas, with Fernando and Goran Zoric also playing vital roles in the midfield area.

Up front South will try a combination of two strikers, with Gianni De Nittis, Nathan Caldwell, Ricky Diaco and Hamlet Armenian all vying for a starting position.
Each player is proven at VPL level and more than capable in influencing any game when in form.

Richmond however, as with Altona last week, will be a tough obstacle to overcome, with the Eagles starting the season in great form.

Unlike many clubs that boast one or two star studded players, Richmond possesses a team full of talented but hard working players, all of whom work together in a manner that assists their team.

In saying that, Richmond have a few individuals that will be looking to shine on the famous Bob Jane Stadium pitch, none more so than former South Melbourne championship winning player George Goutzoulis. Gouzoulis switched over from Heidelberg in the summer and has really added a strong body and experienced campaigner to the centre of Richmond’s midfield. His role will be to win as much ball as possible in that area, as well as provide a threat going forward.

Up front Richmond have been the most potent side in the competition to date, already scoring on 28 occasions this season.

A main reason for this has been the amazing form of the Cardozo brothers, with Richard the leading goal scorer in the competition to date with 9 goals and Pablo just behind, having found the net on 7 occasions. With other attacking threats including Michael Catalano and former South Melbourne player Jessie Krncevic, South must make it a priority to stifle as many Richmond attacking forays as possible.

Taking all this into consideration, Sunday’s game promises to be an thrilling contest by the lake. South Melbourne FC encourages all members, fans and the general public to get along to Bob Jane Stadium to watch a cracking match of Victorian Football. Kick off is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Richmond

When: Sunday, May 4th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4.00pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Goran Zoric, Bill Natsioulas, Gianni De Nittis, Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell

Richmond
Stuart Webster(GK/C), Aaran Lines, Aaran Tsiaras, Jesse Krncevic, Semir Sivic, George Goutzioulis, Richard Cardozo, Michael Catalano, Zoran Cvetkovski, Noel Bahnsen, Nicholas Kalambokis

Head to head (Games since 2005)

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

Last Meeting

When: Friday, 29 June 2007
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Score: Richmond 1 defeated South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Win, Loss
Richmond: Win, Loss, Win

Wednesday, 30 April 2008 11:10 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to the 1966 season, a season that many South Melbourne supporters rate as one of the most successful seasons that the club has ever had. South was only seven years old yet the club had already taken Victorian football by storm. After gaining promotion into the Victorian State League in 1960, the boys from Middle Park became State League champions in 1962, 1964 and 1965.

South entered the 1966 season with the intention of winning its third league championship in a row to further consolidate themselves as the biggest and best club in Victoria. South began the 1966 campaign in good form and made the final of the AMPOL Cup before going down to Footscray JUST 3-2. South began the league season slowly with two losses, before the legendary Greek footballer Con Nestoridis arrived at Middle Park to take over as a captain-coach.

Put simply, Nestoridis was a legend, who is still to this day widely regarded as one of the best forwards Greece has ever produced. He debuted for the Greek national team in 1951 and won 17 caps for his country, scoring 3 goals in the process. Nestoridis was best known for representing AEK Athens, scoring 140 league goals and helping AEK win the Greek championship in 1962/63 and the Greek Cup in 1963/64. At the age of 36, he decided to take a break from the Greek league and ventured to Victoria to help South win top honours.

Nestoridis’ profile, combined with South’s success in 1964 and 1965, helped draw massive crowds to the games. In Nestoridis’ first game for his new club, South attracted nearly 20,000 spectators to Middle Park for the game against Juventus. Nestoridis scored the only goal of the game as South ran out winners.

Things only got better for the club. Whilst crowds were doubling in size to watch Nestoridis lead the champions, huge wins were being recorded. This included a 5-1 hammering of Port Melbourne Slavia and a 1-6 thumping of Melbourne Hungaria in consecutive weeks. Slavia were South’s rivals for the title and the 5-1 result at Middle Park was an extremely crucial win for South because heading into the round 18 return fixture, South led Slavia by a single point on the ladder. In a 22 round season, South could not afford to be defeated and overtaken by Slavia. South had been undefeated since round 5 and wanted to remain that way.

South went into the fixture full of confidence after easily dispatching Fitzroy Alexander 2-0 at Middle Park the week before. However Slavia were in good form themselves, having recorded a 0-2 away win against Hungaria at Elsternwick Park. A crowd of 9,413 turned up to Olympic Park to witness an entertaining and high-scoring match which ended in a 3-3 draw. Nestoridis failed to disappoint the South fans, scoring a double which included a penalty kick. Team mate Ernie Ackerley scored the other goal for South.

The draw left South on 25 points and Slavia on 24 points.* Both clubs lost in round 19 but won their following two matches. Heading into the final round, South lead the ladder with 29 points compared to Slavia’s 28. Due to South’s far superior goal difference, Slavia needed to win at home against Footscray JUST and hope that Ringwood Wilhelmina defeated South at Middle Park in order to claim the title. This did not happen however, as South made sure of a third successive Victorian State League championship with a comfortable 3-1 win, with John Anderson scoring twice and Nestoridis once. JUST held Slavia to a 1-1 draw, which meant that South won the league by 2 points.

Nestoridis left his mark at South with a remarkable 21 goals in the league, as well as 3 goals in the Australian Cup and 2 goals in the Docherty Cup. There is no doubt that he was an absolute hit in his brief time with the club, with supporters recalling stories about him scoring goals from corner kicks just for fun. Whilst Nestoridis was the star, the unsung hero in the 1966 campaign was Ackerley, who scored 11 goals in the league, 4 goals in the AMPOL Cup, 2 goals in the Docherty Cup and 1 goal in the Australian Cup. This included a four goal haul in the 1-6 win against Hungaria. Both players were instrumental in ensuring that South won the title as they were the scorers in the 3-3 draw with Slavia that kept South on top of the table, where the club was not overtaken for the rest of the season.

Round 18, 1966
Sunday, August 7, 1966
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne
Referee: Geoff Harrison

PORT MELBOURNE SLAVIA 3-3 SOUTH MELBOURNE
(Reid, Goodwin, Laraman) (Nestorides x 2, Ackerley)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Sam Service, Con Solopotias, Takis Mantarakis, John Anderson, Laki Litopoulos, John Bedford, Jim Pyrgolios, Boulis Kambouropoulos, Con Nestoridis, Ernie Ackerley, Leo Damianakos
Coach: Con Nestoridis

PORT MELBOURNE SLAVIA:
Line-up included: Ray Barotajs, Nigel Shepherd, John Goodwin, Tommy Randles, Billy Cook, Peter Laraman, Ian Reid and Mike Jurecki

* Note: In 1966, a win was worth 2 points and a draw was worth 1 point