Category: News

Tuesday, 15 August 2006 12:16 AM

By George Kouroumalis

The Bulleen Zebras have provided the great escape for everyone to see at the Veneto Club, scoring with one of the rare strikes on target in the 93rd minute, to grab a share of the points against South Melbourne, who had gained the advantage after a 33rd minute Fernando De Moraes penalty.

South made one change to the starting lineup that fell victim to a physical Oakleigh Cannons side last week, with injury ruling out explosive midfielder Vasilios Natsioulas.
Natsioulas was replaced by youngster Nick Curtis, who in his many appearances this season has shown that he is more than capable at this level and is without a doubt one of the future stars of the Vodafone Cup.

The lineup once again included veteran Dean Anastasiadis in goals, who was protected by a strong central defensive pairing of Con Blatsis and Dino Djulbic in the space in front of him.
As expected Sam DeVito and Ramazan Tavsancioglu were played in the left and right fullback roles, while coach John Anastasiadis continued with a Scot MacNicol, Antonio Naglieri and Tansel Baser in the centre of the park after their fantastic display against the Cannons last week.
Andreas Oliviera was once again the lone striker up front, while youngster Nick Curtis and Brazilian maestro Fernando De Moraes patrolled the right and left hand sides of midfield respectively.

With a strong lineup in place, South pushed forward from the outset when a bursting run by Tavsancioglu exposed the Bulleen defence, allowed the hard working defender to launch a dangerous cross into the path of Oliviera, who hit a low volley onto the target.
To the dismay and disbelief of the large traveling contingent the shot was magnificently saved and turned away for a corner.

South continued to pile on the pressure and could have had the first goal of the match on numerous occasions in the first half an hour, but through poor finishing by Oliviera and Moraes they could not stike the killer blow.

In the 33rd minute, South were rewarded for their dominance when an innocuous ball was fumbled horribly by the Zebra keeper in Tomas Kovar, allowing Baser to pounce and head into an open net.
In desperation Kovar tripped Baser with an oustretched arm, giving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot, giving the blues an opportunity to take the advantage.
Fernando De Moraes then stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty to the left hand side of the keeper into the back of the net, sending a jubilant Blue and White army into celebration mode.

South were not content with only being a goal ahead and in the 34th minute, explosive fullback Tavsancioglu launched a hopeful volleyed effort from 40 yards out, only for the ball to dip late and just miss the wide open net.

In the dying minutes of the half both Oliviera and Baser were gifted with opportunities just outside the area, but unfortunately struck their well hit attempts well wide of the upright, ensuring South would go into the halftime break with a solitary goal advantage.

The second half provided very little genuine scoring opportunities for both sides, with the first real chance coming in the 65th minute after a darting MacNicol run and ball cut open the Zebra defence finding Oliviera in acres of space, only for the diminutive striker to miss the target once again.

As the Zebra’s became increasingly frustrated with the solid South defence and the stellar performance of defensive duo, Blatsis and Djulbic, they found themselves in the first bit of space for the evening, when Adam Fadljevic launched his drive from just outside the area to the left of the upright.

The 80th minute should have seen the South Melbourne side score the second and match winning goal after a sublime Tansel Baser header from a corner was saved off the line and launched to safety for the Bulleen Zebras.

As South looked to shut down the game and secure all three points, one final foray forward in the 92nd minute by the away side nearly was rewarded, when a world class Gianni De Nittis volley was saved and parried clear amazingly by an acrobatic keeper Kovar.

From the resulting counter attack, Bulleen did the unthinkable and managed to equalize after a misunderstanding from ever reliable keeper Dean Anastasiadis allowed the ball to evade the veterans grasp and fall into the path of the opportunistic Michael Mazzini, who buried the Zebra’s first genuine goal scoring chance into the net to the disbelief of everyone at the ground.

With the drawn match, South drop into fourth place of the Vodafone Cup standings, two points behind the Heidelberg Warriors and one point behind Altona, with two home and away games left to complete the season.
This includes next week’s match against the bottom placed Frankston Pines at Bob Jane Stadium.

Kick off for this important encounter is at 6pm and all South fans are encouraged to come along and support the side in their endeavors to reach that elusive top two position.

Bulleen Zebras : 1
South Melbourne FC : 1
Crowd : Approx 800 @ Veneto Club

Wednesday, 9 August 2006 5:26 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South travel to the Veneto Club on Monday to take on the Michael Michalakopoulos coached Bulleen Zebras in what looms as a must win match for both sides.

South have the incentive of looking to secure a top two finish whilst if Bulleen are to continue to hold hopes for a top-six finish, a win on Monday is absolutely essential.

The visitors have been dealt a blow with rising young winger Vasilios Natsioulas ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a severe flesh wound to his thigh in last week’s encounter against Oakleigh.

Fellow youngster Nick Curtis replaced Natsioulas against Oakleigh, doing quite well in the process and most probably securing himself a start against the Zebras.

Midfield workhorse George Tzirtis will no doubt also come back into contention for a starting role after missing last week with a bout of flu whilst Con Blatsis may be rested after limping throughout the second half against the Cannons.

In Ricky Diaco, Ben Harbinson and Hamlet Armenian the Zebras posses proven goal scorers at Premier League level with Harbinson in particular having a decent season managing 8 goals so far this term.

Diaco of course played in the inaugural season of the A-League and brings physical prowess coupled with intelligent footwork to a Zebras team that will no doubt look to involve him in the majority of their attacking play.

Players like Ari Drakos, Ross Antoniadis and Steve Martin are all highly experienced at Premier League level and provide the Zebras with a core of players who know what’s required to get the job done.

South will have to address a recent lack of goal scoring which has coincided with a recent run of patchy form with John Anastasiadis’s men having only managed 2 goals in their past 4 encounters.

Contrary to their return of goals, South have in general been playing very solid and sometimes superb free-flowing football which was clearly evident in last week’s encounter against the ladder-topping Cannons whereby South put Stuart Munro’s men to the sword but ultimately paid for their lack of finishing.

Wednesday, 9 August 2006 12:27 PM

South Melbourne are relieved to announce that young winger Vasilios Natsioulas has escaped serious and permanent injury after being subjected to a disgraceful tackle against Oakleigh this past Sunday.

Natsioulas is now at home recovering and is expected to be able to begin his rehabilitation in 4-6 weeks time.

Unfortunately the young flyer will be unable to play again this season but the South Melbourne family wishes him a quick and speedy recovery.

Natsioulas described the moment as one of “shock”, “Rama (Tavsancioglu) saw the incident and froze, I tried calling the physio but nothing would come out”. He went on to add, “Thankfully the muscle wasn’t hemorrhaged which could’ve seen me miss 6-7 months”.

Injury aside, Natsioulas was shattered when under the influence of Morphine, his brother told him Sunday’s result bedside at the hospital. “The pain had settled by then and the result going against us was very disappointing” added Natsioulas.

When asked of his recent unlucky run with injuries Natsioulas offered some entertaining insight, “My mum has told me to go see a priest, the feeling is since moving to South I’ve been cursed. When I score a goal it seems to be the catalyst for me getting injured. It happened last season after I scored against Sunshine and earlier this season when I pulled a hamstring soon after scoring against the Knights”.

In parting Natsioulas left a clear and strong message for the South faithful, “I love football too much to give it away, the injury may have hurt me psychologically but those sorts of issues can be overcome. I look forward to next year, coming back stronger than ever and being able to produce the sort of football that South Melbourne supporters demand and expect. The support the South faithful have given me during this period has been staggering, I sincerely thank them”.

Sunday, 6 August 2006 11:44 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have suffered the wrath the world game’s beauty, absolutely tearing to shreds a very disappointing Oakleigh Cannons outfit who through the brilliant keeping of Stuart Webster and an expertly taken free-kick from ex-South player Con Boutsianis, still managed to leave Bob Jane Stadium with maximum points.

The match was turned on its head after 18 minutes after Antun Kovacic committed one of the most disgraceful and potentially career-threatening tackles seen in the Vodafone Cup this season. Lunging two footed into South youngster Vasilios Natsioulas, the South winger dropped to the ground and clutched his leg in pain. Referee Lewis Giuseffi had no choice but to red-card Kovacic who will no doubt receive a severe suspension for his actions.

Natsioulas was escorted to the hospital immediately and early reports indicate that he has a severe and deep gash on his thigh, yet no bones have been broken.

George Tzirtis missed the game succumbing to a bout of flu, whilst colossal defender Con Blatsis was deemed fit and took his position in the starting eleven.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent out the team as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis began in goal with a central defensive pairing of Dino Djulbic and Con Blatsis in front of him. Youngsters Sammy DeVito and Rama Tavsancioglu played in the left and right-back roles respectively. In the centre of the park, South went for a three man central midfield with Scot MacNicol, Tansel Baser and Antonio Naglieri whilst up front, the three pronged attack consisted of Vasilios Natsioulas on the right, Brazilian Fernando Moraes on the left and Andreas Oliveira as the central striker.

The Cannons had the first chance of the encounter after only 4 minutes when a 20 yard effort was hit decently, forcing Anastasiadis to collect the ball at the second attempt after he initially parried the effort.

Oakleigh then created a genuine opening after some good work down the left flank saw a grounded square ball find the diminutive Juan Nilo with his back to goal 6 or so yards out. Nilo tried to cheekily back-heel the ball home but the alert Anastasiadis read the situation well, went down quickly and gloved safely.

From Nilo’s effort onwards South stamped their authority on the game. After 13 minutes, Baser nearly scored a contender for goal of the season after unleashing a 25 yard pile-driver that had Oakleigh custodian Stuart Webster well beaten, only to see his shot “cannon” off Webster’s right upright.

Then in the 18th minute Antun Kovacic lunged two-footed in Natsioulas. A horrendous challenge that will no doubt haunt the defender for the rest of his footballing career. Natsioulas immediately went to the deck in significant pain with a mini-melee ensuing after the South players, lead by Con Blatsis, showed their disgust towards their Oakleigh counterparts and in particular Kovacic. Youngster Nick Curtis was brought on to replace Natsioulas.

In the 23rd minute South had a corner from the right that found Baser who tried to fashion a volley but didn’t cleanly connect. Nevertheless his effort was on target and forced Webster into an uncomfortable save down to his left.

After 31 minutes South nearly took the lead after good interplay between Oliveira and Naglieri on the edge of the Oakleigh area saw the latter unleash a quality half-volleyed effort that saw Webster misjudge the ball and nearly see it roll under him and into the net. Unfortunately for South the ball trickled just past the post.

The second half began in the same spirit as the first. South continued to dominate with referee Giuseffi missing a clear and intentional elbow from another ex-South player George Goutzioulis on Moraes. One had to question the intention of the Cannons. A team with a 12 point gap atop the Vodafone Cup standings yet playing in an aggressive and almost thuggish manner with quality football nowhere near in sight.

South had a half chance after 52 minutes when a corner from the left to the near post was met by a South player who saw his headed effort, which looked to be an attempted flick-on, bobble onto the roof of the net.

Another chance was created in the 63rd minute after a quality ball from the right flank saw Baser’s glancing header trickle narrowly wide.

Baser was at it again two minutes later after he was played through in-behind the Oakleigh defence down the left flank. The ex-Trabzonspor player kept his composure and played a quality low square ball to Oliveira who controlled and produced a decent strike that appeared to strike the hand of an Oakleigh player right on the goal-line with referee Giuseffi choosing to wave play on.

South were then denied by the heroics of Webster after a 25 yard pile-driving effort from Moraes, who had the ball laid off to him from a free kick, was curling away from the Oakleigh custodian who somehow managed to get a fingertip on the effort at full stretch and divert it for a corner.

The home side were dealt the harshest of blows on 75 minutes after Giuseffi gave a weak foul 25 or so yards out. Ex-South coach and current Oakleigh coach Stuart Munro sent on Con Boutsianis to take the effort. With his first touch of the ball, Boutsianis continued his long run of successfully beating Dean Anastasiadis from set pieces, producing a stunning effort that dipped viciously, leaving Anastasiadis stranded to his spot after being deceived by the dip of the ball.

South were now desperate to get something out of the game and lifted a gear. They should’ve equalized on 83 minutes when a quality ball from the left by Moraes was flicked on towards the back post where Baser had made an intelligent run. Baser lunged and from 2 yards out was denied by Webster who flung himself at the ball and somehow managed to keep it out.

From the resulting corner South connected with a header destined for the top right top corner only for an Oakleigh defender at full stretch managing to head the ball out. The resulting follow-up effort was again blocked by the sea of Oakleigh bodies who appeared to have set up camp on South’s goal line.

A minute later and South again saw an effort cleared off the line. The home side was exposing the lack of height of Webster by pumping deep crosses near the 6 yard box and in the 84th minute, Webster failed to get a fist on a South cross with the ball falling to a South player who again produced a decent effort only to see it fortuitously blocked by a scrambling Oakleigh player.

Deep into stoppage time South nearly conceded a second goal after committing practically the whole side forward in search of the leveler. As a result, Fijian international Esala Masi found some space and unleashed a quality right-footed effort from just outside the box that Anastasiadis did superbly well to save, diving to his left.

Giueseffi blew the final whistle and even though the South players were gutted by the result, they can hold their heads high knowing that going into the finals, they have significantly outplayed and asked some serious questions of the runaway leaders of the competition. Oakleigh have been put on notice.

Tuesday, 1 August 2006 8:18 PM

By Michael Tsoukalalis

This Sunday the Stuart Munro coached and table-topling Oakleigh Cannnons travel to Bob Jane Stadium to take on John Anastasiadis’s men.

In what promises to be one of, if not the match of the season, South Melbourne’s youngsters who have done superbly well this season to carve out a position in the top two, face their stiffest test up against a Cannons outfit who has put together an eight match unbeaten sprint whilst establishing a 12 point buffer atop the Vodafone Cup standings.

A result on Sunday will mathematically guarantee the South-Eastern suburbs club the minor championship with the Cannons looking to secure the double over South this season building on their narrow 2-1 triumph in Round 10 earlier this year.

After a patchy run of results, South produced a solid display last Friday night to halt the five game winning streak of Richmond, defeating Phil Stubbins’ men by a solitary Billy ‘the kid’ Natsioulas strike and in the process virtually wrapping up a spot in the top six.

After an injury plagued season, Coach Anastasiadis has most of his players available for selection (excluding the season long injury to Arthur Tsonis) with only Con Blatsis likely to miss.

South however will have to be at their absolute best if they are to halt an Oakleigh outfit who under the guidance of ex-South Coach Stuart Munro appear to have the measure of the competition, playing solid, but more importantly, results-driven football.

The Cannons possess a squad jam packed with National League experience and in strikers Esala Masi and Anthony Pelikan have an attack which has yielded 22 goals so far this term. Masi and Pelikan are also joined by the diminutive Juan Nilo who can always be relied on to get his fair share of goals, Nilo hasn’t disappointed this season chipping in with 6 for the term.

Missing from the encounter earlier in the season was ex-South talisman Con Boutsianis who has come into the squad and established himself as a permanent fixture after the season ending injury to winger Cameron Pino.

Boutsianis along with the likes of fellow ex-South Melbourne players Bill Damianos and George Goutzioulis provide a high level of quality in the centre of the park that is well supplemented by their ability to score goals.

For South to get a positive result, the likes of Brazilian Fernando Moraes, talented attacking midfielder Scot MacNicol and compact forward Andreas Oliveira must play well and try and impose their natural game as early as possible on the encounter.

Furthermore, the solid defensive display produced against Richmond Tigers will have to be replicated with the experience of Tansel Baser proving invaluable in steering and organising a young defensive quartet into one of the league’s finest.

Saturday, 29 July 2006 12:49 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A lone strike by youngster Vasilios Natsioulas coupled with a gritty and commanding team display has seen South Melbourne defeat Richmond 0-1, ending the five match unbeaten streak of Phil Stubbins’ men and in the process reclaiming second position in the Vodafone Cup standings.

Coach John Anastasiadis brought central midfielder Antonio Naglieri and winger Vasilios Natsioulas back into the starting lineup with youngster Andrew Bourakis back on the substitute’s bench and Con Blatsis absent from the squad altogether with perhaps last week’s run out against Sunshine tweaking his long term injury.

South lined up as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis began in goals with a central defensive pairing of Tansel Baser and Dino Djulbic marshalling the defence. In the right-back position Rama Tavsancioglu took up his familiar role with Sammy DeVito playing on the left.

In the centre of the park George Tzirtis played as the defensive midfield anchor whilst Antonio Naglieri tucked in slightly in front of him looking to pry open the defence with his range of precise passing. Out wide, Vasilios Natsioulas started on the right with Scot MacNicol on the left. Up-front Andreas Oliveira played almost a lone hand with Brazilian Fernando Moraes given a free-roaming attacking role.

The match started as a very tight affair. Both teams were giving little away with South slightly edging the possession as well as appearing more dangerous when going forward. A half chance fell to South after 10 minutes when a dangerously hit corner from the right by Natsioulas was unconvincingly cleared by the Richmond defence. The ball appeared to fall well just outside the box for a South player to strike first time, but slight hesitation saw the Richmond defence recover and clear.

South then went ahead after 19 minutes when MacNicol miscued a shot into the Richmond box. The ball fell to the feet of Natsioulas who with his back to goal attempted a sharp turn which deflected perfectly in his path allowing the South youngster to calmly toe-poke past stranded Richmond keeper Robert Simioni.

South continued to dictate the play, suffocating Richmond and preventing them from any sort of cohesive play whilst always looking to attack dangerously on the counter.

South survived a scared in the 48th minute after a Richmond corner saw Anastasiadis come out to punch the ball. His judgment was slightly off with the South keeper failing to make decent contact. The ball fell to the feet of a Richmond player – at the top of the box – who quickly attempted a shot but Anastasiadis had recovered superbly well to lunge at the feet of the strike and smother the effort.

Vasilios Natsioulas had been looking sharp all night and it was his burst down the right wing and subsequent low cutback after 51 minutes that set up Moraes, who swept past two challenges to work some space for a decent strike that was gloved somewhat unconvincingly by Simioni.

South then fashioned two chances in the space of six minutes that should’ve wrapped up proceedings.

The first arrived after superb work down the left bi-line by DeVito saw the young left back find himself in some space on the left hand side of Richmond box. DeVito produced a quality low cross that picked out the incoming MacNicol right on the edge of the 18 yard area. MacNicol connected well with his effort but saw it blocked as there was a sea of Richmond players in the box with MacNicol’s effort cannoning off one of the Richmond bodies.

Diminutive striker Andreas Oliveira should’ve iced the game on 69 minutes after another Natsioulas cross saw the Richmond defence make a horrendous error, missing the ball and allowing it to fall to Oliveira who from 12 or so yards out sliced his effort wide and over the crossbar when at the very least he should’ve hit the target.

Oliveira was in the thick of the action once again two minutes later when he latched onto a defence splitting ball, rounded the keeper and appeared to be slightly clipped, choosing to hold his ground and seeing the ball run out of play as he ran out of pitch when if he had chosen to fall he no doubt would’ve won a penalty.

Perhaps Oliveira was mindful of the fact that referee Phil Taverna had booked him earlier in the first half for supposed simulation and hence the ex-Perth SC player chose not to risk Taverna’s interpretation a second time.

South then shut up shop and closed the game out. Richmond tried to push forward but Anastasiadis had little to do with the whole team and especially Baser and Djulbic producing a solid defensive effort which eventually secured the visitors the much sought after three points.

Friday, 28 July 2006 1:29 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South travel to K.B. Reserve tonight in what looms as an extremely dangerous encounter for John Anastasiadis’s men.

Since Phil Stubbins took over the reigns of the newly promoted outfit, Richmond have managed to comfortably rise above the relegation zone and on the back of 5 straight wins now find themselves in the Vodafone Cup top six.

Crucial to Richmond’s surge has been then goal-scoring form of youngster Daniel Visevic as well as key forward James Robinson. Between them they have managed 20 goals, Visevic with 8 and Robinson with 12, making them one of the most lethal striking combinations in the league.

Visevic in particular has been a revelation with the player making his debut at the start of the season at only 17 years of age yet managing to adapt to the league with ease and making a significant impact on the goal-scoring charts.

The match also sees South youngster Evan Karavitis, who is currently on loan to Richmond for the remainder of the season, potentially come up against the side he started the season with. Karavitis will no doubt be looking to impress as after his time and experienced gained at Richmond he is expected to be back at South next season.

In the South camp, the long injury list which has plagued South all season appears to be lessening with last week’s encounter against Altona seeing the return of both Con Blatsis and Vasilios Natsioulas. It is crucial for South that both Blatsis and Natsioulas string together a run of games leading into the finals as both players have the ability to have a significant and shaping influence on South’s fortunes this season.

South currently finds itself amongst a rough patch of form having won only one of its past five encounters with the familiar problem of lacking a genuine goal-scorer slowly re-emerging after the departures of club captain Vaughn Coveny and Trinidad and Tobago import Kevin Nelson.

With the recent departures South has promoted youngsters such as Gianni DeNittis, Nick Curtis and Andrew Bourakis to more prominent roles and whilst all have shown encouraging signs, these players will have to raise their game to the next level in order to cover for the lack of firepower up front.

South must also look to address a string of worrying defensive lapses which have emerged in the last few matches, in particular the games against Sunshine and Altona where the opposition got cleanly in behind the South defence on more than one occasion.

With Richmond firing on all cylinders and providing a tremendous attacking threat, the South defence marshaled by veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis will have to be very alert and on their game in order to stop the overwhelming momentum Phil Stubbin’s men have gradually developed over the past five rounds.

Monday, 24 July 2006 12:30 AM

By George Kouroumalis

A magnificent second half display by the traveling Altona Magic side has seen them victorious 1-0 this afternoon, becoming the first team of to take maximum points away from Bob Jane Stadium this season.

Over 1500 braved the horrible wet and windy conditions at Lakeside in what had promised to have be one of the toughest contests of the season .

The home fans were also treated to a pleasant surprise pre match with inspirational defender Con Blatsis returning to the lineup after a lengthy layoff after a string of nasty injuries.

The game started off in a manner dictated by the conditions, with both teams feeling each other out early.
As South began to control play, they created the first genuine chance of the contest in the fourteenth minute, when a sublime ball by veteran midfielder Tansel Baser, sent Fernando De Moraes through on goal, only for his weak shot to be saved by Bojo Jevdjevic.

Minutes later, youngster Andrew Bourakis looked to have broken the deadlock with a long range drive from 30 yards, only for the ball to veer away from the right hand upright at the last second, missing the target by a matter of inches.
By the 25th minute, South had assumed control of the game and looked likely to net the opener, however they were once again denied, when an Andreas Oliviera run ended with the dynamic striker launching his drive into the side netting.

As the South fans began to vent their frustration, Oliviera once again had a stike from range in the 33rd minute, only for his shot to be tipped from the top right hand corner acrobatically by Jevdjevic, who had made his second world class save of the evening.

It didn’t look like it was going to happen for South Melbourne and fortunately for the Altona faithful their side was able to hold onto the clean sheet until the half time break.

The first 20 minutes of the second half was a scrappy and sloppy affair with both sides struggling to forumulate any decent chances to worry either of the experienced keepers.

The match sprang to life in the 62nd minute when a looping ball from Tomi Razov caused mayhem amongst the South defence, with the ball falling to the waiting Igor Arsovski, who pounced and curled a fantasic first time shot around a full stretch Dean Anastasiadis to give his side the lead.

Buoyed by the goal, Altona should have claimed a second in the 72nd minute after another Razov ball was played was directed straight into the crossbar to the despair of the small but vocal traveling fans.

The near miss was repeated only minutes later when yet another Razov ball was played into the path of goalscorer Arsovski, who lobbed his effort over keeper Dean Anastasiadis and once again against the crossbar.

With South on the backfoot, they nearly snatched an equaliser in the 85th minute, when a sublime solo run by Scott MacNicol saw him cut back into the 6 yard box, only for a desperate clearance to be made, denying South once again.

With Altona repelling any foray forward that South made, the whistle blew giving the Magic a well deserved three points which lifts them into outright second position.

South Melbourne now face a tricky fixture next week away to Richmond on Friday Night.

Friday, 21 July 2006 10:43 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A tense encounter awaits South Melbourne this Sunday when Altona makes the trek to Bob Jane Stadium with 2nd place up for the taking.

Both sides suffered disappointing results last week with South drawing 1-1 at home with Sunshine whilst Altona lost 0-1 to Richmond.

In what has been a tough week for the Magic, experienced coach and ex-South Melbourne player/coach Ken Murphy has moved on from the club after the Richmond defeat with Altona relying on the past success of new coach Vlado Tortevski to secure a top-two finish.

When both sides met in Round 8, a Saso Becvinovski double steered the Magic to a 3-1 triumph with Becvinovski continuing to maintain his reputation as one of the Vodafone Cup’s premier strikers, currently sitting in 2nd place on the scoring charts with 12 goals.

In fact Becvinovski has been so vital to Altona’s ability to score goals that his 12 goal tally represents 50% of all goals scored by the Magic.

South’s relatively inexperienced defence must keep Becvinovski in check without forgetting that Altona posseses quality all over the park. Players such as Levent Osman, Tomi Razov and Daniel Vasilevski all have vast experience at National League level and have the ability to hurt any opposition.

In the South camp, Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes will be expected to start after being eased back into Vodafone Cup action against Sunshine last week.

South may be also boosted by the return of young winger Vasilios Natsioulas who still remains a fifty-fifty proposition with a hamstring injury still causing him some concern.

When Moraes entered the game against Sunshine his combination play with the likes of Oliveira and DeNittis was eye-catching and is the sort of intelligent football that can open up any defence in the league.

South must produce this fluency from the get-go as for the first 70 minutes of last week’s encounter against Sunshine, John Anastasiadis’s men lacked imagination, struggling to break down a flooded Georgies defence whilst looking extremely vulnerable on the counter as well.

Monday, 17 July 2006 1:04 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has blown its chance of opening up a three point gap in 2nd place after a below par performance saw John Anastasiadis’s men snatch a 1-1 draw against a Sunshine Georgies outfit that came to Bob Jane Stadium fully intent on playing classic catenaccio.

South were boosted by the return of inspirational Brazilian Fernando Moraes who took his place amongst the substitutes.

Youngster Vasilios Natsioulas is still nursing a hamstring injury and watched from the stand.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent the team out as follows. Dean Anastasiadis began in goals with a back four consisting of Dino Djulbic and Tansel Baser as the central core with youngsters Rama Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito deployed in the right and left back positions respectively.

Midfield workhorse George Tzirtis took up his usual defensive midfield role with Scot MacNicol given license to push more forward. On the flanks youngsters Andrew Bourakis and Nick Curtis played on the left and right wings with Andreas Oliveira partnering youngster Gianni DeNittis in attack.

South began the game reasonably well, carving out a good opening after four minutes when MacNicol found some space down the right, played a quality low cutback to Oliveira who from 14 or so yards out blazed his first-time shot well over the crossbar.

Sunshine responded by hitting South on the counter in devastating fashion. A ball down the left wing saw the South defence pushed far too up the park. British import Mark Draycott latched onto the ball, just beating the offside trap according to the Assistant Referee, Draycott then proceeded to the edge of the South box and unleashed a 7th minute pile-driving angled strike that left Anastasiadis – at full stretch – with no chance.

Sunshine continued to suffocate the home side who were unable to play the fluent football that has become synonymous with South’s matches at Bob Jane Stadium this season.

The visitors nearly doubled their advantage after 27 minutes when another UK import Fidell Richards played a superb through ball that released a Sunshine player down the right wing. The Georgies player spotted Anastasiadis slightly off his line and attempted a delicate chip that had the South keeper stranded but fortunately for the home side trickled narrowly wide.

South managed to carve out a chance after 34 minutes when a Bourakis free kick from the right wasn’t effectively cleared by the Georgies defence with the ball falling to Oliveira who was just outside the box albeit on the left hand side. Oliveira unleashed a quality 20-yard effort that had the Georgies keeper beaten but unfortunately for the home side his shot sailed wide.

Coach Anastasiadis had no doubt seen enough and sent on Moraes for Curtis at the beginning of the 2nd half.

Moraes hadn’t had a chance to make an impact when South almost went two behind after Djulbic hesitated in defence and saw the ball stripped from his control. The Sunshine attacker, from the edge of the South box, produced a venomous 46th minute strike that narrowly flew past the near post of Anastasiadis.

A minute later and a clearly shaken Djulbic produced another nerve-wracking error. Again hesitation saw the ball stripped from his possession, only this time the Sunshine attacker was one-on-one with Anastasiadis. Djulbic in a desperate attempt to recover appeared to give away an obvious penalty, virtually pulling the shorts off the attacker who proceeded to keep his feet and fire at goal resulting in a superb save by Anastasiadis who narrowed the angle quickly to block with his feet.

Even if the referee had decided to play advantage, the fact Anastasiadis saved the resultant shot in no way equated to an “advantage” for the Georgies who were rightly fuming after play was waved on.

South seemed at a loss to find a way to get back into the encounter until Moraes lifted his influence. The Brazilian started to warm into the game, linking up well with Oliveira and working quick one-twos to try and pry open a watertight Georgies defence.

Moraes almost scored after 71 minutes after superb link-up play between the Brazilian and Tzirtis saw the latter dink a delicate ball in behind the Georgies defence. The ball was slightly ahead of Moraes who still managed to get a toe-poke effort on goal but saw his shot smothered by alert Georgies’ keeper Martin John.

Moraes was at it again in the 75th minute, again working a brilliant one-two to get in behind the Sunshine defence. Moraes found himself on a slight angle 6 or so yards out with the Brazilian trying to open his body so he could shoot across goal. Unfortunately for South, Moraes somehow scuffed his effort, failing to test the keeper when he should’ve scored.

South’s increasing dominance was rewarded in the 77th minute after a Bourakis corner was unconvincingly cleared by the Sunshine defence, the ball fell to the oncoming MacNicol who from the edge of the area and directly in front of goal rocketed a “daisy cutter” past John, bringing relief to the South faithful who had become progressively frustrated with the resilience of the Georgies.

Spurred on by their increasing momentum South almost snatched the three points after 82 minutes when MacNicol shook his marker and broke free with only a defender in front of him and with Oliveira peeling off to his right. MacNicol played in Oliveira who tried to outsmart John with a rising top-corner attempt that saw the Georgies’ custodian react brilliantly to parry away.