Category: News

Saturday, 11 March 2006 1:35 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has come away with a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Essendon after a free-flowing and pulsating encounter at the Veneto Club saw the visitors miss a host of chances whilst appearing extremely vulnerable on the counter.

On loan from Perth Glory, Solomon Islands international Henry Fa’Arodo scored a brilliant individual goal in the 21st minute totally against the run of play after South had played its best football of the season in the first 20 minutes.

South winger George Tzirtis managed to level just after the break, but extended periods of pressure from South could not yield a decisive goal with the Royals unlucky not to score themselves on a couple of occasions.

Club captain Vaughn Coveny returned after his A-League stint, bolstering the South frontline and commencing his eagerly anticipated partnership with Kevin Nelson.

The South starting eleven read as follows, Con Dimitropoulos started in goal after veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis succumbed to an arm injury. The central defensive pairing saw Arthur Tsonis link-up with Ivory Coast native Jonas Salley with Rama Tavsancioglu and Vasilios Natsioulas playing in the left and right wingback positions respectively. In the centre of the park Scot MacNicol and Tansel Baser played in the attacking and defensive midfield positions whilst George Tzirtis and Fernando Moraes were deployed on the left and right flanks. Up-front Trinidad and Tobago import Kevin Nelson partnered South Captain and Kiwi international Vaughn Coveny.

South began the game playing superb free-flowing football and it wasn’t long before the chances started to arrive. In the 4th minute Coveny’s shot from just outside the box was easily saved by the Essendon keeper.

Four minutes later and a superb through ball by Baser was latched onto by Nelson who took a touch and unleashed a powerful drive that sailed narrowly wide.

Then in the 10th minute some excellent work down the left flank saw MacNicol produce a quality back-post cross that for a few inches would’ve found Nelson all alone and unmarked. At full stretch Nelson failed to get his boot onto it.

South’s opening 20 minute avalanche continued, this time Brazilian Moraes unleashed a thunderous 14th minute drive that the Royals’ keeper did well to parry. Fernando was at it again in the 20th minute after a powerful and swerving strike couldn’t be held by the keeper. The ball fell to Nelson who from a tight angle on the right whipped the ball across the face of goal, the ball was quickly played back into the heart of the Royal’s defence seeing an unmarked Moraes, from 5 yeards out, failing to direct his header either side of the keeper with the Essendon keeper gloving thankfully when he should’ve been retrieving the ball from the back of the net.

South paid dearly for their lack of productivity in front of goal when Fa’Arodo turned Salley inside out, threw a shot-fake which drew Dimitropoulos out of his goal area and left the Soloman Islands international with an empty net to power the ball into. Fa’Arodo made no mistake with his 21st minute strike immediately deflating South’s confidence.

South nearly leveled in the 33rd minute after a Moraes free kick from the left-hand side fell to Salley on the back-post who rushed his strike and blazed over.

Fa’Arodo however continued to be Essendon’s main attacking threat, this time the diminutive striker used his immense speed to create some space for himself down the left, producing a quality ball into the heart of the South area that found an unmarked team-mate who fortunately for the visitors, failed to make decent contact with his glancing header with the ball trickling just wide.

South best chance of the half came in injury time after a free kick from the right by Moraes expertly picked out an unmarked Coveny 8 yards out. The Kiwi international rose and sent an angled header crashing against the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

The visitors needed to respond early in the 2nd half and managed to do so via George Tzirtis. The super fit midfield/winger timed his run superbly, latching onto a 49th minute ball from the right that evaded the Essendon defence and fell to the ex-Frankston player who one-on-one with the Royals’ keeper, calmly slotted through the keeper’s legs to level proceedings.

Two minutes later and South nearly went ahead after a quality ball from the left by Moraes found Coveny’s deep run down the right side of the Essendon box with the South skipper sending his volleyed effort narrowly wide.

Essendon had been playing on the counter all night and wasted two guilt edge chances in the 58th minute. First a glorious run down the right saw an Essendon player nutmeg Tzirtis and enter the box in a dangerous crossing position, only to see his subsequent low cross pass through a sea of legs with the ball eventually being scrambled off the line by the South defence only for the assistant referee to flag offside. A moment later an Essendon attack down the left saw a great cross find an unmarked Royals’ player 6 yards out with the subsequent header straight at Dimitropoulos who no doubt breathed a sigh of relief.

In the 65th minute Fa’Arodo once again caused problems for South after cutting in from the right and producing a quality strike that Dimitropoulos did well to parry away.

South could’ve snatched all three points in the 79th minute when the once again excellent Moraes slotted Nelson in down the left only to see Nelson’s angled drive fail to test the keeper.

Essendon almost took maximum points 8 minutes from time after a low cross from the right was flicked on towards goal with Dimitropoulos showing excellent reflexes to stick an arm out and deflect away.

Wednesday, 8 March 2006 3:35 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

The Vodafone Cup resumes this Friday night when South Melbourne make the short trek to the Veneto Club to face Luciano Trani’s Essendon Royals.

The Royals find themselves amongst a group of four teams on the edge of the top six and must win against South to sustain pressure on the teams above them or risk falling two games behind.

The Royals have lost key personnel in the off-season with 2005 Vodafone Cup top-scorer Michael Curcija moving to Kingston with his ex-South team-mate Steve Iosifidis also following in his footsteps.

Essendon have had an inconsistent start to the season. A first round 2-3 loss to newly promoted Richmond was followed with a solid 1-1 draw against the rampant Melbourne Knights with a 1-0 win against the Sunshine Georgies in round 3 their first win of the season.

However, just as momentum was building a 3-2 round 4 loss to Altona Magic has left Trani’s men with some ground to make up.

Midfielder Leonardo Catalano is the club’s top-scorer with two goals from the first 4 games and is looking like Essendon’s midfield enforcer.

The Royals have two experienced defenders in Serdar Pir and Nathan Thomas whilst pre-season recruit David Pilic brings NSL experience (Brisbane Strikers) to the Royals’ midfield.

Conversely, after performing a last minute snatch-and-grab against Preston, South Melbourne will be looking towards consolidating a position in the top 6 as well as applying pressure to the top 3 with a win on Friday.

Coach John Anastasiadis will have some interesting selection headaches to overcome after youngsters Gianni De Nittis and Vasilios Natsioulas produced outstanding displays to help South overcome their eternal rivals. De Nittis of course hit a stunning injury time winner from outside the box whilst Natsioulas sparked a lackluster South with his 60th minute introduction providing width, flair and imagination down the right flank.

With Captain Vaughn Coveny agreeing a new one year deal with the Lakeside outfit, it will be interesting to see whether De Nittis can manage to hold onto his starting role.

Furthermore, with Natsioulas impressing greatly against Preston, the ex-Melbourne Knights winger is knocking on the door for first eleven inclusion.

Finally, veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis is likely to miss after succumbing to an injury that was aggravated against Preston giving a chance to reserve keeper Con Dimitropoulos.

Wednesday, 1 March 2006 4:39 PM

The South Melbourne Football Club would like to announce that the winner of the 2006 Signed Guernsey Promotion is Mr. Ian Syson of Carlton North.

The promotion which involved all members signed up before December 31st 2005 was drawn on Sunday, with Mr. Syson the lucky member to receive the shirt.

Mr. Syson purchased a “South Gold” membership in December and was elated to find out that he had won such a fantastic prize signed by his heroes.

If you wish to purchase your membership for season 2006 it is not too late as memberships are still on sale through the club.

For further information please call the club during business hours on (03) 9645 9797.

Monday, 27 February 2006 5:01 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne yesterday avenged the demons of one week ago at Kingston to capture an unthinkable last minute win against old foe Preston Lions in front of in excess of 2000 people at Bob Jane Stadium.

Despite the members only restriction placed upon fans of both sides, the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, with South fans showing colour and excitement of the upcoming derby.

South went into the game with a changed lineup, where Con Blatsis was ruled out through injury and pocket rocket Peter Koutsoupias being dropped by coach John Anastasiadis.

Replacing them was George Tzirtis and young striker Gianni De Nittis, who was looking to assert himself at this level, as well as provide adequate support to Trinidad and Tobago international Kevin Nelson.
Fan favourite Billy Natsioulas also made his comeback to the senior side after a long struggle with illness, starting on the bench.

The first half saw a fairly scrappy game of football take place, with perhaps the nerves associated with a derby match affecting the players of both teams.

It wasn’t until midway through the half where the Moraes and the South midfield began to control the game.

The 35th minute provided the game with the first genuine chance, where the above mentioned Moraes having his attempt saved by Preston keeper Gruevski.

As it looked almost certain that the sides would go into the half time break tied, Preston managed to score only minutes before the interval.
Preston midfielder Pece Silveski cross seemed to have caused confusion in the South defense with international sensation Jonas Salley putting the ball into his own net.

This sent the small pocket of Preston fans into the ground into raptures as another unlikely victory at Bob Jane Stadium was on the cards.

The second half however started in a similar manner to the first half with South dominating possession and Preston being content to sit back and repel any attack that came their way.

In the 59th minute, Billy Natsioulas was given a chance to inject some pace and life into the South lineup replacing Evan Karavitis on the right.

With Natsioulas, Baser and Moraes controlling the game, South were bombarding the Preston area in search for a much needed equaliser.
It wasn’t until the 64th minute that South was given a lifeline by referee Damir Basic, who pointed to the penalty spot after George Tzirtis was brought down in the area by Preston defender Harris Vrbovac.

Moraes then had the poise and class to send the Preston keeper the wrong way and get his side back to level terms.
As a draw looked almost certain ex-South player Anthony Magnacca took it on himself to grab all three points from his old club, with his 91st minute shot only going centimeters wide of the target.

From the restart South went up the field and an inviting ball fell for youngster Gianni De Nittis just outside the area.

De Nittis calmly hit a long drive wide of keeper Gruevski and into the back of the net sending the blue and white army and the boys in the Clarendon Corner into frenzy as the goal secured victory against its old foe.

Two minutes later though Preston had the last chance to grab something from the game, with midfielder and another ex-South player in Yianni Galanos hitting a shot close once again just wide of the target.
From the resulting restart the game was over with South managing to hold onto an amazing victory.

In winning the contest South Melbourne FC also managed to claim the inaugural “Harmony Cup” played between the sides.
Both teams now have a two week break as the Victorian State Team travels China.

South Melbourne FC 2 (Moraes, De Nittis)
Preston Lions FC 1 (Salley OG)

Crowd: Approx 2000

Friday, 24 February 2006 12:20 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

This Sunday South Melbourne return to Bob Jane Stadium looking to get their season back on track after last week’s disappointing 3-0 loss away to Kingston City.

South come up against eternal rivals the Preston Lions with both teams having much to play for with the Vlado Vanis coached Lions in an uncharacteristic 2nd last position, having picked up only 1 point from their opening three fixtures.

Conversely, South will be looking to make amends for a below par performance against Kingston whereby loose marking and individual errors were punished severely by the Kingston frontline.

The Lions possess a group of quality players that would trouble any Vodafone Cup side. In particular, Vodafone Cup 2005 player-of-the-year Anthony Magnacca, an ex-South Melbourne player at one point, must be given close attention. Magnacca has the ability to glide past players with ease as well as being able to score goals and will have to play well if Preston is to snatch a positive result.

Furthermore, youngsters Serkan Oksuz and Steven Pace both have NSL experience and have matured into quality Premier League players, whilst veteran defender Les Anastasiou continues to marshal the defence.

However, question marks remain over whether the Lions can replace prolific marksman John Sapazovski who moved to Fawkner in the off-season. The Lions have always been able to rely on a return of 10 or so goals per season from their ex-frontman with their season no doubt hinging on finding an adequate replacement.

Results wise the Lions have started the season very shakily with comprehensive defeats against the Melbourne Knights (1-3) and the Sunshine Georgies (4-1) rightfully raising question marks over their defence.

Conversely, South coach John Anastasiadis may make some changes after seeing his team dominate possession against Kingston but fail, time-and-time again to make effective use of the ball.

Furthermore, with both Con Blatsis and Kevin Nelson picking up injuries against Kingston, coach Anastasiadis may have his hand forced with the likes of Vasilios Natsioulas and Gianni De Nittis pushing for greater influence.

Anastasiadis will also be looking for better organization from his defence; a strong point of last season and in the opening two games of the current campaign, against Kingston the South defence was exposed making uncharacteristic mistakes and as a result was rightfully punished.

Finally, South Captain Vaughn Coveny has finished his A-League stint with Newcastle but is likely to miss due to commitments with the New Zealand national team. However, Coveny should be at South’s disposal in the coming weeks.

Thursday, 23 February 2006 11:56 PM

The Under 17 Australian squad for the World Cup Qualifiers selected by Ange Postecoglou contains two South Melbourne Juniors that have been drafted into the Victorian Institute Of Sport.

Paul Giannou was developed by the club from the Under 11s and was selected by the VIS upon the completion of his U14 2004 Super League season for SMFC. Paul currently stands at 194cm tall at 15 years of age and has already been trialling with Melbourne Victory. He is an exiting midfielder of the Zinedene mould.

The second player from the South Melbourne Junior structure to make the Australian Under 17 team is Milos Lujic, the son of Footscray JUST legend Zdravko Lujic and part of the SMFC U15 2005 Super League team. He is a tall and skilful striker that is very powerful in the air.

The boys will travel to Laos as Australia is drawn to play Indonesia and Laos and must win the group to progress to the later stages of the Asian qualifiers in Singapore in September. Four Asian nations will qualify for the Under 17 World Cup in South Korea in 2007.

South Melbourne FC wishes the team all the best success and is proud to again be a contributor to the future of football in Australia.

Thursday, 23 February 2006 3:45 PM

South Melbourne FC and Preston Lions FC have worked together to organise the inaugural game for ‘The Harmony Cup’. The first leg will be played on this Sunday, 26th February at Bob Jane Stadium and the return leg will be played at O’Connor Reserve in round two of the Vodafone Cup.

South Melbourne FC President, Greg Kaias proudly supported the initiative.

“I would like to thank my Board for initiating this event and I congratulate Preston Lions FC for welcoming our suggestion. South Melbourne is one of the biggest Club’s in Australian Football history and it is very important that the South Melbourne moves foward and starts to build bridges with other parties.

“In modern day Australia, there is no room for politics in sport. This is not a new concept. It is as old as the Olympics. We want the fans that come to Bob Jane, to support their Club with passion but also to be respectful of everyone else involved.”

With the assistance of Football Federation Victoria and the close cooperation of The Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC), the two Clubs have organised to play the game wearing orange armbands, which are a symbol of harmony. The VMC will present the Harmony Cup to the victorious team. In the case of a draw, both captains will be presented the Harmony Cup.

Children of more recently arrived immigrants fom the Horn Of Africa will be play a curtain raiser. Just as South Melbourne has been a cultural melting pot for so many migrant communities over the years, it is fitting that these children are involved and given the opportunity to pursue the spirit and ideals of sportmanship on the grand stage of Bob Jane Stadium.

South Melbourne boasts a playing list that is representative of multicultural Australia and wishes to extend a welcoming spirit to Melbourne’s football fraternity.

Mr Kaias expressed his optimism for the event. “I would like to think that the public will see that our Club’s are run by good hardworking volunteers that care for the sport. If South wants to be part of the A-League in the future we must show leadership to resolve bad behaviour of the past.”

Saturday, 18 February 2006 12:47 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A clinical Kingston City has ended South Melbourne’s perfect start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup season with a resounding 3-0 win at Grange Reserve.

Two goals from close range in the first half by Joe Spiteri and Joey Di Iorio broke the visitors’ spirit with Spiteri putting the icing on the cake with a late third.

South coach John Anastasiadis chose to change his lineup from last week, dropping Arthur Tsirtsakis from midfield and handing a start to Peter Koutsoupias.

Tsirtsakis’s demotion meant that South played the game with a clear 4-4-2. Dean Anastasiadis was once again in goals with the back four unchanged. Arthur Tsonis partnered Con Blatsis in the heart of the defence with Rama Tavsancioglu and Ivory Coast native Jonas Salley playing left and right back respectively.

In the centre of the park Tansel Baser and Scot MacNicol played in the defensive and attacking midfield roles whilst Brazilian Fernando Moraes and youngster Evan Karavitis where planted on the left and right flanks.

Up-front Peter Koutsoupias and Trinidad and Tobago excitement machine Kevin Nelson formed South’s attacking frontline.

The game had barely begun when Kingston got off to a dream start. South conceded a dangerous free-kick just outside their box with Kingston’s Jim Latinopoulos producing a quality strike headed for the bottom left corner. Anastasiadis managed to get a glove to it but failed to parry it away with the ball falling to ex-Melbourne Knights front-man Joe Spiteri who from 6 yards out made no mistake, smashing the ball into an empty net to hand Kingston the lead in the 2nd minute.

South where stung into action and began dominating general play. Five minutes in Kingston custodian Michael Turnbull failed to glove a 25 yard effort from Fernando with Koutsoupias failing to anticipate the rebound, allowing the Kingston defence to clear for a corner.

Then in the 9th minute a South throw in was pounced on by Nelson who turned and unleashed a stinging drive from outside the box that Turnbull did well to save for a corner.

South should’ve equalized in the 26th minute after a quality cross from the right by Karavitis saw Turnbull misjudge the flight of the ball and fail to glove or punch it away. The ball fell to Baser who nodded towards goal finding Nelson who from 2 yards out seemed to head the ball away as if he was defending as opposed to nodding home, when the latter appeared the easier task.

South were then dealt a major blow when inspirational defender Con Blatsis went off with an injury. After receiving treatment the South colossus couldn’t return with George Tzirtis taking his place.

Thirty-four minutes in and Kingston scored the goal that broke South’s back. Against the run of play a corner from the right-hand side wasn’t convincingly cleared by South with the ball eventually falling to unmarked ex-Werder Bremen youth player Joey Di Iorio who from 8 or so yards out smashed it past Anastasiadis.

Tzirtis almost replied immediately after he unleashed a spectacular 30 yard effort that was destined for the top right-hand corner, only for the long reach of Turnbull to scurry back and glove at the second attempt.

South began the 2nd half with young-gun Gianni De Nittis replacing Kevin Nelson. Nelson had certainly been livelier than his strike partner Koutsoupias, so perhaps the substitution was injury related.

The visitors where out of the blocks immediately when a good chance in the 47th minute fell to MacNicol who had a decent ball played into his feet, but unfortunately, his less favoured left foot saw his shot from just outside the box sail way wide.

Spiteri then nearly wrapped up proceedings when he worked a decent angle for himself in the 51st minute only for his strike to trickle narrowly past the left-hand upright.

Fifty-nine minutes in and Tzirtis again nearly scored with a rocket-like effort, this time the busy South midfielder saw his drive from just outside the Kingston box smash into an unknowing defender in the 6-yard area with goalkeeper Turnbull well beaten.

Kingston had caught the eye all night with their counter-attacking football and it was on the counter in the 63rd minute that Kingston nearly got a third. The “Reds” as they like to be called broke down the right with a quality ball supplied into the heart of the South box. Ex-South striker Michael Curcija found himself un-marked and with a relatively simply header, however, Curcija couldn’t direct his effort either side of Anastasiadis with the South keeper comfortably gloving.

The game continued with South dominating possession but failing to produce a telling final ball to create a decent opening with Kingston’s experienced defence comfortably absorbing any threat.

Kingston then wrapped up proceedings when a seemingly harmless searching ball into the edge of the South box in the 81st minute saw Spiteri easily outmuscle Salley and then proceed to intelligently beat Anastasiadis on his near post with a side-footed effort.

It was a goal which summarized South performance, a game in which they dominated possession but lacked any real cutting edge with Kingston showing their quality by punishing three costly mistakes.

Wednesday, 15 February 2006 10:45 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne will be looking to extend their perfect start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup campaign when they travel to Grange Reserve to take on the newly promoted and first time in the State’s Premier Division, Kingston City.

The George Katsakis coached outfit were resounding State 1 Champions and have recruited quite heavily to ensure not only that they maintain their Premier League status, but to also have serious claims for Championship honours.

Notable Kingston signings include the likes of leading 2005 Vodafone Cup marksman Michael Curcija who joins fellow ex-Socceroo Joe Spiteri to form one of, if not the most formidable forward partnerships in this season’s competition.

A plethora of players with National League experience have also been recruited with ex-South Melbourne players featuring prominently. Con Anthopoulos, Steve Iosifidis, Alex Kiratzoglou, Nick Tolios and Marcus Stergiopoulos all at one point played for South and all form a vital part of Kingston’s 2006 campaign.

Marconi custodian Michael Turnbull who was on the books of Belgium’s Standard Liege last season was a late arrival and has slotted into the role of Kingston’s number 1, providing further quality to an extremely talented playing squad.

Kingston’s start to the season has been mixed. A solid 1-0 win against the Sunshine Georgies got their season off to a positive beginning; however, after Joe Spiteri had put them ahead against Altona, the Magic rallied and managed to overturn the result 2-1 in their favour.

Conversely, South have started the season with two solid, albeit late in coming, wins against Heidelberg and Fawkner-Whittlesea with both wins highlighting the tremendous work John Anastasiadis’s men put in over the pre-season, getting themselves in top physical condition and hence being able to finish over-the-top of their opponents towards the end of matches.

Encouraging for South was the debut of Kevin Nelson who did what he was brought in to do and put the ball in the back of the net, scoring with an exquisitely placed header to hand South the points against Fawkner.

South have also continued to build on their defensive strength of last season with their opening two encounters rarely producing a troubling moment for 2005 goalkeeper-of-the-year Dean Anastasiadis. Con Blatsis, Arthur Tsonis, Rama Tavsancioglu and Ivory Coast Native Jonas Salley form a cohesive and extremely intimidating defensive quartet, containing, speed, strength, height and good communication that will no doubt provide a stern test for Kingston’s highly rated strike-force.

Defensive Midfield signing Tansel Baser has integrated extremely well and has brought an extra dimension to the South centre-line, whilst Brazilian Fernando Moraes keeps on going from strength-to-strength, taking on the responsibility of being South’s creative workhorse with his ability to get past players and keep his composure to produce chances, a highlight of South’s opening two games thus far.

Monday, 13 February 2006 1:34 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has continued its positive start to the 2006 Vodafone Cup with a hard fought 1-0 win against the Fawkner/Whittlesea Blues.

In front of approximately 2000-2500 spectators, South took the points after a superb 76th minute header from debutant Kevin Nelson.

South Coach John Anastasiadis kept faith with the lineup that produced a solid display last week against Heidelberg with the only change being the inclusion of much heralded signing Nelson to lead the line in place of Peter Koutsoupias.

The rest of the starting eleven read as follows. Veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis took his place in between the sticks with the central defensive pairing seeing Con Blatsis and Arthur Tsonis resume their formidable partnership. Ivory Coast native Jonas Salley continued in the right-back role with Rama Tavsancioglu playing on the left.

In the centre of the park Arthur Tsirtsakis and Tansel Baser were deployed in defensive midfield roles with Evan Karavitis used in a right midfield role. Scot MacNicol and Brazilian Fernando Moraes took up drifting roles on the left and right hand side of attack with the instruction to drop back into midfield when needed whereas Nelson was deployed as an out-and-out striker.

South dominated possession in the first half but failed to create any real genuine chances. Fawkner seemed content to soak up the pressure in the hope that a counter attack could be finished off by an accomplished attack consisting of the likes of Mark Tsiorlas, John Sapazovski and player-coach John Markovski.

South’s first chance arrived in the 4th minute after a quality ball from the right lead to an intense scramble in the Fawkner box with the Blues struggling to clear for a corner.

Fawkner then showed their attacking threat with two quality strikes, the first in the 18th minute which sailed narrowly wide and the 2nd, a 20 yard “pot-shot” from Markovski seeing the alert Anastasiadis glove easily.

A half chance fell to Tsonis in the 22nd minute after good work down the right by Karavitis saw the Fawkner defence struggle to deal with his cross with the ball eventually falling to Tsonis who’s attempted left-foot volleyed-strike sailed wide.

South’s best chance of the first half arrived courtesy of the brilliant work of Fernando who managed to glide past a couple of Fawkner defenders down the right and kept his composure to produce a quality cutback to Nelson in the heart of the Fawkner area. Unfortunately for South, Nelson’s first touch was heavy with the Blues’ defence recovering in time to smother his eventual 29th minute attempt.

South started far more brightly in the second half. Coach Anastasiadis had no doubt requested that his players lift their tempo and output with the players immediately responding.

Fernando was starting to get more involved and tested Fawkner keeper Tilovksi in the 49th minute with a free kick from just outside the Fawkner box.

Five minutes later the Brazilian was starting to come alive, working some space for himself with his superb footwork and producing a quality strike that deflected of a Fawkner defender and viciously dipped just over Tilovski’s crossbar.

Fernando again was at the heart of South’s first golden opportunity after his deft 56th minute touch played in Blatsis down the left who with only Tilovski to beat, managed to get his side-footed effort on target with the Fawkner custodian brilliantly reacting to gather in the ball.

South coach Anastasiadis then made a game-breaking substitution. On came the nippy and hardworking George Tzirtis in the place of Arthur Tsirtsakis and immediately South started to improve its general midfield dominance.

Tzirtis was at the end of South’s next genuine attack after Fernando again was the provider, finding Tzirtis just outside the box in a shooting position with the ex-Frankston midfielder producing a decent 66th minute strike that sailed just wide with Tilovski at full stretch.

Seventy minutes in and South should’ve gone ahead after brilliant link-up play between Baser and Tzirtis in the centre of the park saw the latter play through Nelson with only Tilovski to beat. The South faithful held their breath as Nelson proceeded to round Tilovski, however, unfortunately for the home side Nelson’s touch was a slightly heavy with the Trinidad and Tobago native creating a difficult angle for himself that the scurrying Fawkner defence eventually managed to clear off the line, much to the anger of a stream of South players who had queued in the heart of the Fawkner box expecting a cut-back.

Brazilian Fernando seemed hell-bent on terrorizing the Fawkner defence and was at it again after 73 minutes when his superb work down the left flank saw him skin two defenders and enter the box. Fernando again delivered a brilliant cutback that saw Tilovski save a rocket of a strike onto the crossbar with the ball falling to South player on the back post who could only head into the side-netting.

South’s second half dominance was finally rewarded after 76 minutes when a pin-point cross from the right by MacNicol was met by Nelson who produced a diagonal header of the highest order, giving Tilovski no chance and setting the South faithful alight.

South lowered their tempo for the remainder of the encounter looking to hang onto their well deserved lead and hence build on their strong start to the season.

However, the visitors nearly made the home side pay when with practically the last attack of the game Sapazovski found some space down the right and produced a quality cutback to Siljanoski who with enough space to shoot and only a few yards out only managed to produce a mis-kick.

At the conclusion of the game the South players showed their appreciation for the non-stop chanting produced by the Clarendon Corner, running to the infamous spot and joining in with the group in exchanging a series of “Oles”.