Category: News

Tuesday, 19 June 2007 4:26 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Wednesday night South Melbourne entertains 2007 A-League winners the Melbourne Victory.

A big crowd is expected at Bob Jane Stadium for the first meeting of Victoria’s Premier clubs.

The Victory has been playing Premier League competition over the past two weeks to help prepare them for the third season of the A-League.

Two weeks ago they narrowly defeated Richmond 0-1, whilst last Wednesday night they were pushed all the way in eventually defeating the Oakleigh Cannons by two goals to three.

The Victory has been using these matches to integrate new signings such as Englishman Joe Keenan and Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic, whilst also giving playing time to potential young signings such as Daniel Visevic and Cameron Watson.

That said, Ernie Merrick has been sending out all his available players in search of match fitness and sharpness, so South can well expect to face a near-full strength Melbourne Victory side come Wednesday evening.

Conversely, Victorian Champions South Melbourne have recently hit a solid run of results, recording three straight wins to move into third place in the Foxtel Cup whilst failing to hit top gear.

John Anastasiadis’s men will no doubt be eager to show their abilities against the A-League Champions, but with a crucial game on the weekend against bitter rivals Hedeilberg United, as well as having to manage quite a few injury concerns, South are unlikely to field anywhere near their strongest side for the contest.

Important players such as Vasilios Natsioulas, Tansel Baser and emerging youngster Jose Vasquez have all been playing with muscle injuries and with Sunday’s derby looming, may be rested whilst new defensive recruit Adam Van Dommele is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Wednesday’s encounter will serve as somewhat of a reunion for both sets of players with Melbourne Victory players Kevin Muscat, Daniel Allsopp, Michael Theoklitos and Eugene Galekovic all having played for South Melbourne during their careers.

Furthermore, South players such as Ricky Diaco and Ramazan Tavsancioglu played for the Victory during the inaugural A-League season whilst young goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak is currently on loan at South from the Victory. Wellington Phoenix recruit and South defender Steven O’Dor has trained with Ernie Merrick’s men in the past as has silky winger/striker Yusef Yusef.

With the Victory the leading scorers in the last year’s A-League season and South Melbourne currently the premier attacking team in the Foxtel Cup, attending supporters will no doubt be in for an entertaining encounter.

Monday, 18 June 2007 4:37 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne have continued their undefeated run by extending their winning streak to three games and overcoming a determined Sunshine side at a wet, windy and freezing Chaplin Reserve on Sunday.

Sunshine who were without inspirational midfielder Jonas Salley through his departure to Adelaide United in the A-League, fielded a reasonably strong side where they started with veteran Martin John in goals.
John pre-game was seen as being the man to try and stifle any attacking foray that South would have on goal due to his exceptional run of late and experience in recent times.

Anthony Magnacca and Alfonzo Opazo were also two players in the lineup that needed to step up and control play in a manner that ensured that their side had every opportunity to take the points.

South commenced the game with highly rated youngster Jose Vasquez replacing Fernando in the center of the park, while Ramazan and Adam Van Dommele were missing due to succumbing to injuries during the week.

As the game commenced, South came out of the blocks in blistering touch, attacking from the opening possession of the game when a inventive run by Ricky Diaco culminated in the silky striker hitting a long range effort wide.

South were once again close to finding the target in only the 3rd minute, when Yusef Yusef was played into space on the left hand side of the park with the Sunshine defence seemingly allowing for the unmarked winger to take a touch and hit a brilliant cross into Tansel Baser inside the six yard box.
Baser, who was also unmarked, hit his header into the alert John, who made a great save to his left hand side.

John once again came to rescue once again in 7th minute, where Nathan Caldwell exposed a tentative defense by initially running past a number of players as if they weren’t there.
With a shot finally coming, Caldwell’s drive was hit directly into the arms of John, who looked the only man capable of stopping the South attack at this early stage of the game.

The acrobatic John once again denied Caldwell in the 9th minute, when another ball was played by into the striker who once again was in acres of space.
Although his well-struck attempt was hit well onto the target, John picked the shot off and turned the ball away for a corner.

South were rewarded for their dominance in the 15th minute, when the Georgies defence once again left Yusef unmarked just outside the area.
On this occasion the flashy winger took a touch and burst to just outside the area, smashing a low left foot drive past the unlucky John to give his side a one-goal advantage.

Diaco, who had been quite lively in the early stages of proceedings, almost doubled his side’s advantage two minutes later, when his blistering and intuitive effort was deflected inches wide of the target.

To the Georgies credit they rallied in the second part of the opening half and through Magnacca and Opazo they had two strikes hit well onto the target from well outside the area.
Unfortunately for them, each attempt to be safely and comfortably caught by Mitchell Langerak in the South goal.

Magnacca continued to push forward at every opportunity and should of done better with a half chance he had just before half time, after he skied an effort from just inside the area.
Had taken a touch rather than hit it first time, he could of steadied and made it much easier to hit the target given the conditions.

The second half continued in the exact same manner as the first did, with South attacking from outset in an attempt to try and double their advantage..

In the 52nd minute that looked to be the case when John parried a long-range effort by Diaco into the path of Bill Natsioulas, who seemingly tucked away the chance without any real trouble.
Luckily for the Sunshine side, the referee had his flag raised for offside and hence the goal was disallowed.

Although dodging a bullet previously, the Georgies were on the end of the other side of the referee’s decision on this occasion, when a ball from the right hand side by Natsioulas was handled in the area by Matthew Cini.
Referee Perry Mur subsequently pointed to the penalty spot to the dismay of the home support.
From the resultant penalty, Diaco squeezed the ball past the outstretched and somewhat unlucky John, who despite conceding the goal he had managed to get a hand onto the ball before crossing the line.

Sunshine coach John Markovski, who was nothing but frustrated with his side from the sidelines, attempted to try and spark his side into action, by substituting himself into the game in the 68th minute of play.

The former NSL star made an immediate impact setting up an effort by Opazo, which was hit wide but signaled that Sunshine perhaps were capable of pulling a goal back.

Markovski continued to reap havoc up front for the Georgies, with the South defence nowhere to be seen as the big striker hit a great strike into the diving Langerak.
From the resultant rebound, Langerak made the save of the contest when Markovski stuck a lethal left foot volley onto the target, with the Young Socceroo able to somehow turn the ball over the crossbar and away for a goal kick.

Langerak continued a sublime five minutes when he then turned a goal bound free kick by Opazo amazingly away for a corner, when the ball looking like it was going to find the top left hand corner of the net.

South had one final chance to score late in the game when Natsioulas burst into the area only for his goal bound shot to be turned away by keeper John, who had played a great game in the Sunshine goals.

Sunshine must now regroup as they host the Essendon Royals next Sunday at Chaplin Reserve, in what shapes up as a must win contest for both clubs.

On the other hand, South Melbourne look forward to two massive games in the next 7 days, hosting the Melbourne Victory on Wednesday night at Bob Jane Stadium, whilst having to also travel next weekend to Olympic Village to face arch rivals Heidelberg United.

Thursday, 14 June 2007 3:05 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travel to Chaplin Reserve this Sunday afternoon looking to move up the table and in turn solidify their standing in the Foxtel Cup top-six.

Currently in 5th position, the Champions have picked up 7 points out of a possible 9 over the past three matches and go into Sunday’s encounter knowing that a win will propel the Albert Park-based club with a group of teams that have a comfortable buffer in the top five.

John Anastasiadis’s men have been managing to grind out results whilst playing well below their optimum level, an encouraging sign for the club as no doubt their best football is yet to come.

In the Georgies, South face a team very similar in style to last week’s opponents, Western Suburbs. The Georgies possess one of the league’s best defenses having only conceded 14 times, an effort largely due to seasoned players such as Stanko Zilic, Colin Azzopardi and goalkeeper Martin John.

However conversely, The Georgies have only managed to net 11 times with ten of the goals coming from former Gold Medal winner and ex-South striker Anthony Magnacca(4), ex-South youth player Alfonso Opazo(3) and striker Vasko Trpcevski(3) respectively.

The Georgies are fighting to protect their Premier League status and must win in order to get out of the relegation zone.

They have the benefit of having a longer recuperation period than South after their scheduled Round 14 fixture against Heidelberg was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

Furthermore, ex-South youth Coach Joe Montemurro was recently replaced by former Georgies player and coach John Markovski who has also registered himself as available to play.

Markovski immediately brought in exciting winger Goran Talevski on loan from Altona in order to generate some attacking flair for the goal-shy Georgies.

In the South camp, last week’s late absentees Vasilios Natsioulas and Jose Vasquez who both missed due to hamstring soreness are possibly pushing for re-inclusion into the squad.

Youngster Nick Curtis is still out with a knee injury whilst new defensive recruit Adam Van Dommele is likely to miss after sustaining an ankle injury early on in the win against Western Suburbs.

South have traditionally struggled away against the Georgies since re-entering the Premier League, losing 1-0 in last season’s encounter, in a game which South winger Trent Waterson netted against his current club.

The atmosphere at Chaplin Reserve is notorious for inspiring the home side, but with South having accumulated an overall good away record so far this term, John Anastasiadis’s men are well positioned to capitalize on their push for successive titles.

Saturday, 9 June 2007 11:46 PM

By John Kyrou

South Melbourne recorded its second victory in a row, with a frustrating 2-1 win against Western Suburbs at Bob Jane Stadium on Friday night.

South coach John Anastasiadis started the match with a similar starting line-up that defeated Kingston 0-3 the previous week. The only exception was new defensive signing Adam Van Dommele, who replaced midfielder Bill Natsioulas after the two goal hero from the Kingston game succumbed to injury during the week.

Western Suburbs begun with Stjepan Gal in goals, Eddie Cetkin, James Stefanou, Tom Markovski, Terry Antoniadis, Igor Khrapko, Nikola Raoma, Vasilios Sianidis, Zoran Cvetkovski, Dimitri Hatzimouratis and Leandro Rizzo. Stefanou returned to Bob Jane Stadium for the first time since being loaned to Suburbs at the beginning of the season.

The game began slowly, with both sides struggling to get into their normal rhythms. Nine minutes into the match, South was dealt with a major blow, when Van Dommele injured himself venturing forward. The former Adelaide United player was forced to hobble off with what looked to be a leg injury and was replaced by the ever-reliable Tansel Baser.

The first goal-scoring chance did not arrive until the 16th minute, when a Fernando back-heel found De Nittis, who laid the ball off perfectly into the path of Baser, who had steamed forward. Baser’s final shot unfortunately sailed well wide of the goal. Two minutes later, South almost conceded an opener. A defensive blunder almost gifted Western Suburbs the lead, however South survived the scare.

In the 30th minute, the opening goal arrived. A quick cross by Diaco into the Western Suburbs area saw a Suburbs defender handle the ball and give away a penalty. Fernando took the spot kick and made no mistake, placing a low shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, well and truly beating Gal. The goal was the first goal that Western Suburbs had conceded in over a month of Foxtel Cup football.

Suburbs lifted their intensity after going behind and pressed forward in search of an equalising goal. A free kick won on the edge of the area presented them with an ideal opportunity to level the match; however Khrapko’s shot went well over the crossbar without troubling Langerak.

The match began to open up, as Suburbs took the game to South. This allowed South more space in order to counter-attack. South almost took advantage of this in the 40th minute, with an excellent counter-attacking move involving Baser, Fernando and Diaco. Fernando’s final ball saw Diaco with an opportunity to double his side’s advantage. However, his left foot shot was straight at Gal, who claimed the ball comfortably. A minute later, all three players were again involved in a similar move, with the final shot being deflected for a corner.

Suburbs had been defending quite comfortably without being afraid to venture forward themselves. They were rewarded three minutes from halftime, when Rizzo found space for himself on the right flank, directly in front of the vocal and colourful Clarendon Corner. Rizzo cut inside before unleashing a blistering low shot from just outside the area, which flew across Langerak’s goal and into the far corner of the net for 1-1. To make matters worse for South, De Nittis hobbled off the ground at halftime with a suspected groin injury. He was replaced by Nathan Caldwell.

The second half began like the first, with both sides taking a while to settle in again. In the 49th minute, South missed a half-chance to re-take the lead, when Diaco met a Tavsancioglu cross firmly, but directed his header over the bar. Two minutes later, South almost went behind when a dangerously low Suburbs cross into the South area somehow managed to evade everyone and go out for a goal kick.

Suburbs were starting to show the Bob Jane Stadium faithful why they were such a well-drilled side that had been able to grind out results in previous weeks. However they almost fell behind when a defensive error presented Yusuf with an opportunity. Yusuf took on and beat two players, before unleashing a shot which sailed narrowly wide of Gal’s near post. A minute later, a similar error in the South defence saw Suburbs almost take the lead instead. However in the resulting goal-mouth scramble, South did enough to clear the danger and keep the scoreline level.

Suburbs were beginning to take control of the game and almost took the lead in the 72nd minute, when an out-swinging corner from the grandstand side was met by Markovski. His volley from near the penalty spot sailed just wide of Langerak’s goal, with the home crowd breathing a sigh of relief. South was suddenly under serious pressure from Suburbs, who had worked their way back into the game quite nicely. However after the Markovski volley opportunity, South finished the game stronger. In the 74th minute, Diaco found himself in space on the left side. Diaco managed to get a shot at goal; however his shot was weak and once again straight at Gal.

Three minutes after Diaco’s weak attempt, Suburbs’ defence, who had been solid all game, caved in to concede a bizarre winning goal for South. A cross from the right flank saw mass confusion in the Suburbs defence. Gal came off his line to collect the ball; however lack of communication saw one of his defenders make a poor attempted clearance instead. The ball deflected over Gal’s head and back towards the Suburbs goal. Gal did well to palm the ball onto the crossbar; however he was left stranded on the ground as the ball fell invitingly for Diaco, who with an open net had no problem in heading South back into the lead.

South had one final chance to wrap the game up in injury time, when a ball forward fell invitingly for Caldwell. Instead of laying the ball ahead of him to potentially set himself up for a 1 on 1 opportunity with Gal, Caldwell opted to head for the corner flag. However South had done enough and time had run out for Suburbs, with the fulltime whistle sounding moments later to condemn Suburbs to their first loss in 5 weeks.

South Melbourne will have the opportunity to further consolidate their position in the top 6 next Sunday, with a trip to the Sunshine Georgies at Chaplin Reserve. Kick-off is at 3pm. At the same time, Western Suburbs will be looking to make amends when they face high-flying Essendon Royals at Ralph Reserve.

Thursday, 7 June 2007 2:36 PM

By George Kouroumalis

Further to the singing of Mitchell Langerak, South Melbourne would also like to announce the signing of former Adelaide United defender Adam Van Dommele for the remainder of the 2007 Foxtel Cup Season.

A product of the South Australian Institute of Sport, Van Dommele was regarded as a superb prospect as a youngster, playing a vital part in the 2001 FIFA U17 World Youth Championships in Trinidad and Tobago, where he managed to play every game for his nation in an impressive display.

In 2002, Van Dommele was given his first taste at senior football, where he joined South Australian club side Modbury Jets for the entire season. Following his performances in the state league were English Second Division Club Hartlepool United, who offered the quick defender a professional contract in 2003.

After injuries plagued him during his English stint, Van Dommele returned home to Australia, taking up a chance to return to the South Australian state leagues, playing for Enfield City and immediately impressing everyone with his tackling and all round defensive ability.

In 2005, he was offered a professional contract by A-League club Adelaide United and throughout two years under the helm of John Kosmina was able to muster up vital experience at national level against the best players on the domestic front. This included playing 19 games in his debut year at the club, which saw him receive the club’s rising star award as a reward for an exceptional debut season.

However, the 2006/07 season was slightly disappointing for Van Dommele, who only managed to play 6 games in total. This caused him to fall out of favour with new coach Aurellio Vidmar, who took over the reigns late in the season.

Most recently, Van Dommele was given a chance to represent Adelaide in the prestigious Asian Champions League. He played three games alongside former South player Michael Valkanis and impressed with his defensive efforts.

After parting company with Adelaide in May 2007, Van Dommele will now be given his chance to shine and prove his worth as a senior footballer with reigning champions South Melbourne in the Foxtel Cup, under the guidance of John Anastasiadis.

Thursday, 7 June 2007 2:31 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne FC would like to announce the signing of current Qantas Young Socceroo Mitchell Langerak for the remainder of the 2007 Foxtel Cup Season.

Langerak, who has been signed by South Melbourne on a loan deal from Melbourne Victory, has had a very impressive start to his career, receiving his first international cap for the Qantas Young Socceroos in August 2006.

Following his stellar form on debut, the young Goalkeeper was included in the squad for the 2006 AFC Youth Championships in India, playing an integral part in the Australian defensive unit.

His performances on the world stage were noticed by A-League club, Melbourne Victory, who in February 2007 signed the Queensland native on a two year contract to enable the youngster to continue his training in a professional football environment.

To further enhance his development, Victory allowed Langerak to gain some valuable first team experience and allowed for him to be loaned to South Melbourne, who saw the talented teenager as someone who could fill the gap left by injured Goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis.

Making his SMFC debut last Sunday, Langerak slotted into the South lineup well, ensuring that his side kept a clean sheet in an impressive 3-0 win away to the Kingston City Reds, making some critical one on one saves.

South Melbourne FC is thrilled to have a player of such calibre and promise available to the side and are proud of their continuing role in the development Australian Football.

Wednesday, 6 June 2007 5:30 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne returns to Bob Jan Stadium this Friday night looking to consolidate its position in the top six after a comfortable three-nil away win to Kingston City last week.

Inspired by the in-form Vasilios Natsioulas who has scored four goals in two games, the Champions controlled the contest, whilst not hitting a high-level of performance, to finally reclaim a top-six birth.

Traveling to Lakeside will be the newly promoted Western Suburbs, coached by ex-Heidelberg player and Oakleigh coach Michael Chatzitrifonas. Suburbs have the equal second best defence in the league, having only conceded eleven times, and whilst sitting in the relegation zone, have only suffered defeat four times.

In fact, Chatzitrifonas’s men have gone five matches undefeated, playing the most compact and defensive game in the league, yet as a result, putting themselves in a position to try and retain their Premier League status.

As a consequence of their highly defensive structure, Suburbs have the poorest return of goals scored, having only scored seven times to be by far and away the most ineffective attacking team in the competition.

Strikers Igor Khrapko and Lorenz Kindtner have scored two goals a-piece to be Suburbs’ greatest attacking threats and even though South will no doubt have the majority of possession, they will have to be alert to Suburbs’ counter-attacking game, however in-frequently it may occur.

Mitch Langerak played solidly in his debut game in goals for South last week and will no doubt retain the keeping duties. Also impressing was the 15-minute cameo of Jose Vasquez, the young central midfielder who sustained a knee injury towards the end of last season has slowly worked his way to fitness.

Vasquez looked extremely sharp and calm on the ball and will hopefully play a major role in South’s push for back-to-back championships.

Super encouraging for South has been the recent goal-scoring emergence of Vasilios Natsioulas. The young flyer has scored five times this season and has been relishing his more centralized role. Natsioulas however is nursing a hamstring strain and may miss Friday’s encounter.

South will also be without the services of young midfielder Nick Curtis for at least four weeks. Curtis injured his knee in training last week and whilst avoiding major damage, will need at least a month off to recover.
Finally, John Anastasiadis may also have the inspirational Tansel Baser available for selection. Baser who has also been nursing groin-related problems since his return from suspension, trained during the week and is a chance to play on Friday night.

By John Kyrou 

South Melbourne FC has returned to winning form today after defeating a very disappointing Kingston City outfit 0-3 at the Kingston Heath Sports Complex.

Kingston’s Starting XI: Di El Hali Dimassi (GK), Michael Marrone, Alec Wilson, Jim Latinopoulos, Andrew Jerez, Nick Tolios, Andrew Ross, Paul Brown, Nick Stamatiou, George Papadopouloss Christopher Greechan.

SMFC Starting XI: Mitchell Langerak (GK), Arthur Tsonis, Sam De Vito, Steven O’Dor, Rama Tavsancioglu, Trent Waterson, Bill Natsioulas, Fernando De Moraes, Yusuf Yusuf, Ricky Diaco, Gianni De Nittis.

Langerak, signed on a loan deal from the Melbourne Victory,was on debut for South.

South started off brightly and was rewarded as early as the fifth minute, when a Trent Waterson cross from the right was deflected into the back of the net. Although it looked like a Kingston player had scored an own goal, referee Phil Taverna awarded the goal to Bill Natsioulas.

South dictated terms during the early stages of the game, however could not take advantage of their large periods of possession. Four minutes after going ahead, a Diaco-inspired move saw him play the ball to Yusuf on the left side. A low cross by Yusuf found Diaco by himself near the penalty spot and 1 on 1 with Dimassi. Instead of making the score 0-2, Diaco hit a weak shot towards Dimassi, enabling the big Kingston keeper to parry the ball away for a corner.

For the rest of the half, Kingston settled and began to enjoy some periods of healthy possession. However like South, their dominance in possession did not see them rewarded on the scoreboard. However Kingston did cause a few nervy moments for the South defence, still acclimatising to the addition of Langerak in goals and the loss of Dino Djulbic to Perth Glory.

In the 28th minute, a cleverly worked move saw Papadopoulos through with just Langerak to beat, however Langerak produced a strong save, leading to a scramble in the box. Eventually the South defence cleared the danger.

Three minutes later Kingston thought they had equalised with a header, however referee Taverna ruled that Langerak had been obstructed when attempting to clear the danger and therefore disallowed the goal. Kingston continued to pressure the South defence and blew an excellent opportunity to equalise on the 40th minute when a free header was directed straight to Langerak for a routine save.

Although Kingston was pressing, South was also attacking whenever possible. South could have extended their lead several times, however poor decision making saw the halftime score read 0-1 only.

The second half opened quite slowly, with South happy to hold onto their slender advantage and with Kingston not doing enough to force a change in the scoreline. However, South’s defence almost gifted Kingston an equaliser on several occasions.

A minute after Natsioulas had skied a shot at goal that would have doubled his side’s lead, a ball into the South area saw Langerak misjudge a cross, fail to properly punch the ball and fall to the ground, leaving an open goal. Luckily for South, enough defensive pressure was applied to delay the eventual shot from Kingston, which landed just wide of the goals.

Despite the small defensive lapses, South looked comfortable and began to press forward, looking to double their advantage. In the 65th minute, some good work down the left saw Waterson hit a low shot to Dimassi’s near post, producing a good save from the Kingston custodian. Seven minutes later, a break saw Diaco in some space on the left flank.

His low cross across goals found Natsioulas at the far post but a fine defensive tackle resulted in a corner being awarded instead of a goal.

From the resulting corner, South finally doubled their lead. Diaco won the ball back after losing it from the short corner played. He then took on and beat three Kingston defenders before hitting a low shot that Dimassi did well to parry, however unfortunately for him the ball fell right into the path of the incoming Tsonis. From less than a metre out and with an open goal, the big South defender made no mistake in making the score 0-2.

South suddenly began to dominate again, with Diaco running riot up front. In the 76th minute he won the ball and took on the entire Kingston defence successfully, however Dimassi did well to block his final shot.

South won a corner that was played short to Bill Natsioulas, whose cross looked like a regulation save for Dimassi, however the big keeper dropped the ball and despite his best efforts to clear the danger, the linesman flagged that the ball had crossed the goal line. Referee Taverna awarded the goal to Natsioulas for his initial cross into the area.

Despite the fact that the game was already decided in their favour, South wanted more. With the introduction of the lively Jose Vasquez onto the field, South may have added a couple more, however the linesman had other ideas, continuously flagging for offside. Kingston had been very poor throughout the half, however, they almost got onto the score sheet two minutes into injury time.

A cross to the far post was met with a firm header, in which Langerak pulled off a fantastic reflex save to deny Kingston from scoring and to give himself a clean sheet on debut.

Jose Vasquez was thrilled to get back on the park after an injury-forced absence and was characteristically modest about his fantastic performance off the bench. “It was a great game and I was happy to be out there quicker than I expected.”

South will be looking to cement their place in the top six with their next game against Western Suburbs next Friday night at 8:15pm at Bob Jane Stadium.

Saturday, 2 June 2007 2:55 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

The Foxtel Cup is heating up with South traveling to the Kingston Heath Complex to take on Kingston City in what looms as a must win fixture for both sides.

John Anastasiadis’s men have had an inconsistent season and must collect all three points to start applying pressure on the top six.

Conversely, Kingston haven’t won in 5 games and sit in the relegation zone after a massive turnover of players in the off-season which saw the likes of Michael Curcija, Joe Spiteri, Steve Iosifidis an Alex Kiratzoglou depart the club.

The Dean Hennessey-coached City have had to rely on blooding youth and have unearthed a decent striking talent in top-scorer Antun Vulic who has managed to chip in with four goals this season, a particularly valuable contribution as Kingston are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, managing only eleven goals to-date.

The Reds have some experience in players like ex-South Melbourne defender Nick Tolios and ex-Oakleigh utility Jimmy Latinopoulos but overall seem to lack a cutting edge which may see them struggle to retain their Premier League status.

In the South camp, defensive colossus Dino Djulbic has departed for A-League club the Perth Glory but has been replaced by ex-Adelaide United player Adam Van Dommele who will hopefully be able to make his debut on Sunday, slotting straight into the back four.

South have also signed exciting young Socceroo goalkeeper Mitch Langerak on loan with the sought-after keeper expected to immediately take on the keeping duties.

The Albert Park-based club continue to be let down by defensive errors with the 20 goals conceded so far this term the second most in the league. South’s defensive lapses hold the key to the rest of the season as up-front they are currently the highest scoring team in the league, having netted 23 times with a somewhat even spread of goal-scorers.

Young winger Vasilios Natsioulas is surely on the verge of a first eleven birth after scoring twice last week off the bench against Preston. Natsioulas has consistently been impressive when called upon this season with his quick feet and silky footwork always proving a handful for opposition defences.

The same can be said for winger/striker Yusef Yusef who has also provided an attacking spark in recent times off the bench, the ex-Heidelberg player has been influential down the left-hand side when called upon and could also be pushing for a start.

With so many attacking options at its disposal, South shouldn’t struggle to score against Kingston, defensively however they will have to put a significantly sharper performance as too many times this season South has scored more than once in a contest, yet failed to get the deserving result.

Thursday, 31 May 2007 4:29 PM

In another round of EURO 2008 qualifying matches, Greece looks to take maximum points to continue its defence of its crown as European Champions. Two vital matches are scheduled which will see the reigning European Champions take on Hungary and Moldova at the Pankrition Stadium in Crete. Catch all the action of these two big games at the Champions Sports Bar at Bob Jane Stadium, the home of South Melbourne FC. Details of the two games are listed below:

Greece vs. Hungary
Sunday morning 3rd June 2007
Kick Off 4.30am
Doors Open 3am
Tickets $25

Greece vs. Moldova
Thursday morning 7th June 2007
Kick Off 4.30am
Doors Open 3am
Tickets $25