Category: News

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”.

Thursday, 9 February 2006 1:53 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne makes its 2006 Vodafone Cup home debut this coming Sunday when John Anastasiadis’ chargers will be looking to back up last week’s 0-2 away triumph to eternal rivals Heidelberg with a victory against the John Markovski coached Fawkner-Whittlesea.

Fawkner got its 2006 campaign off to a shaky start last week failing to capitalize on an early lead to eventually go down 1-2 to the Altona Magic.

Markovski’s major acquisition to his playing roster is that of prolific Premier League marksman John Sapazovski from the Preston Lions. Fawkner will no doubt be relying on the gangly front man to form a formidable striking partnership with 2005 club top-scorer Mark Tsiorlas.

The core of Fawkner’s 2005 squad seems to have been maintained with experienced players such as midfielder Tony Sterjovski, defender Sasha Ognenovski and goalkeeper Steve Tilovski all lining up for the Blues this season.

In the South camp, coach Anastasiadis managed a superb tactical win last week, left at the last minute without the services of key import striker Kevin Nelson, Anastasiadis’ makeshift formation managed to deliver a positive result. The South coach will now have the Trinidad and Tobago native available for selection and it is expected that Nelson will take his position in the starting eleven at the expense of Peter Koutsoupias.

In his second season at the helm coach Anastasiadis has already managed to develop a healthy competition for places with rising youngsters Sammy DeVito and Vasilios Natsioulas failing to make the bench last week and with the addition of Nelson to the squad it will be interesting to see who Anastasiadis selects in his final 16.

Furthermore, returning favourite Tansel Baser made a superb transition back into South colours last week, marshalling the midfield and stepping up when required to boss the centre of the park and cap off his tremendous display with an early contender for goal of the season.

Finally, Sunday also presents the chance for the South faithful to welcome last week’s hero, Ivory Coast native and defensive rock Jonas Salley. Salley made an extremely impressive debut against Heidelberg, displaying a tenacity and hunger that is rare in all levels of the game, with Salley receiving just reward for his efforts with a towering injury time header to give South the initiative.

Sunday, 5 February 2006 10:14 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has performed a “great escape” scoring two goals in injury time to claim a triumphant 0-2 victory against bitter rivals Heidelberg United to get their 2006 Vodafone Cup season off to a superb start.

A 92nd minute headed goal by Ivory Coast defender Saly Jonas as well as superb 94th minute chip by Tansel Baser saw John Anastasiadis’s men capitalize on their second half domination and bring the elusive 3 points against the Bergers back to Lakeside.

After exciting pre-season signing Kevin Nelson was told literally minutes before the kick-off that his clearance had yet to be rubber stamped, South coach John Anastasiadis was forced to tinker with his lineup.

Anastasiadis brought in Peter Koutsoupias to replace Nelson with the ex-Whittlesea striker asked to do a selfless job in attack by running all day and trying to put pressure on the Heidelberg defence.

The rest of the South lineup consisted of Dean Anastasiadis in goal, a defensive quarter consisting of Con Blatsis and Arthur Tsonis as the central pairing with Saly Jonas and Ramazan playing in the right and left back positions respectively. South chose to flood the midfield region with Tansel Baser, Scot MacNicol and Arthur Tsirtsakis all having central roles with youngster Evan Karavitis and outstanding Brazilian Fernando playing on the right and left flanks with Peter Koutsoupias playing a lone role up front.

A dour first half in which Heidelberg edged proceedings saw the Bergers keep the ball better than South and create the half’s best opening. In the 9th minute, diminutive striker Nick Marinos managed to latch onto a long searching through ball, beating the offside trap and with South keeper Dean Anastasiadis in his sights, the scurrying South defence managed to recover enough ground to force Marinos to sky his attempt over the crossbar.

South also had a fluttering moment in the 28th minute after a defensive mix-up between Tsonis and Blatsis saw both defenders misjudge their attempted headed clearances allowing for the Bergers to get in behind the South defence. Thankfully for South the superb covering play of Ramazan prevented Anastasiadis having to make a save, with Ramazan closing down for a corner.

In the second half, South coach John Anastasiadis took off Evan Karavitis and replaced him with the busy George Tzirtis and almost immediately, South started to stamp their authority on the game.

South began to threaten and some nice interplay from the visitors down the right saw a 60th minute MacNicol cross nodded wide by Blatsis who found himself unmarked in the Heidelberg box but stretching to make contact with the ball.

The visitors trapped Heidelberg in their defensive half in an intense final 20 minute period, with experienced South players Con Blatsis and Tansel Baser beginning to boss proceedings with superb support from the likes of Scot MacNicol and the incredibly sharp Brazilian Fernando.

Seventy-one minutes in and a superb run down the left by Ramazan saw the wing-back cut the ball back for Blatsis who proceeded to attempt a volleyed snapshot, unfortunately for the visitors Blatsis failed to connect cleanly with Acevski easily gloving.

Baser then proceeded to miss two guilt-edged chances. The first arrived in the 75th minute after a free kick by Fernando wasn’t convincingly cleared by the Heidelberg defence with the ball falling to MacNicol who unleashed a low drive that worked its way through a sea of legs only to fall to Baser who from 4 yards out sent his side footed effort wide.

Then in the 84th minute, a superb searching long ball from defence saw Baser played in behind the Heidelberg backline, only for the midfielders first touch to severely let him down when a good touch would’ve left him with a relatively easy side-foot finish.

A 91st minute goal-mouth scramble saw Con Blatsis’ lunging attempt from point blank range hastily cleared by a desperate Heidelberg defence. From the resulting corner a superbly timed late run into the box by Saly Jonas saw the powerful Ivory Coast native tower over everybody and send a powerful header into the back of the net to the delight of the 3-4 thousand South fans who made the journey to Olympic Village.

Heidelberg almost immediately replied when Adelaide recruit Saranti Parissos latched onto a searching long through ball that caught the South defence pushed far too up the field, Parissos’s touch was decent but his final attempt, an angled drive across the face of Anastasiadis’s goalmouth, was solidly gloved by the South custodian.

From the resulting goal kick, Baser caught a tired Bergers defence napping, working his way in behind and spotting Heidelberg custodian Lou Acevski slightly off his line.

Baser then proceeded to unleash a brilliant and delicate 94th chip that caught Acevski by surprise with the Berger keeper only able to watch as the ball sailed over his head and into the bottom right corner, to the sheer delight of Baser and the tremendous traveling South support.

Thursday, 2 February 2006 6:31 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

The 2006 Vodafone Cup season kicks off with two of Victoria’s footballing heavyweights and intense rivals facing each other this coming Sunday.

Last campaign, two nil-all draws during the regular season and a 1-0 win to the Warriors during the finals saw South crash out of the championship race whilst the Phil Stubbins coached Heidelberg progressed to the grand final.

Pre-season form has seen both clubs in stark contrast. South won the Crazy John’s Cup and made the final of the Hellenic Cup whilst Heidelberg failed to compete in the Crazy John’s Cup and crashed out of the Hellenic Cup.

Recruiting wise, the Bergers have been dealt a blow with two highly prized players moving on. Talented central midfielder Bill Damianos has moved to Oakleigh whilst exciting young wing-back Isyan Erdogan has moved to the Sunshine Georgies. Furthermore, journeyman Fausto De Amicis has finally decided to call it a day whilst exciting youngster Brendan Beni has also left Olympic Park.

Departures aside, the Bergers have managed to secure the services of exciting young Adelaide striker Saranti Parissos and still maintain some high quality players in their ranks. The likes of Nick Marinos who netted 14 times last season must be kept under close scrutiny whilst the midfield silk of Nick Sabljak can potentially open up any game. Throw in the unpredictability of Yusef Yusef and the bedrock-like foundations provided by goalkeeper Lou Acevski and ex-South central defender Robert Liparoti and the core of the Heidelberg lineup is extremely sound.

In the South camp, coach John Anastasiadis has managed to keep practically all of his successful squad from 2005 that produced a 3rd place finish, whilst managing to strengthen in key areas.

Trinidad and Tobago goal-scoring machine Kevin Nelson has arrived with his pre-season form yielding 5 goals. Joining Nelson is South old boy Tansel Baser who has returned from a long stint in Turkey and will be playing the defensive midfield position. Finally, the signing of Ivory Coast defender Jonas Salley strengthens an already formidable backline which was the best of the 2005 campaign. Salley’s signing is timely as young-gun Steven O’Dor departs for the season after being granted an AIS scholarship.

South have also been boosted by the return to fitness of exciting winger Vasilios Natsioulas. Natsioulas has been plagued by glandular fever for the best part of a year and his services will be almost like South having signed a new player.

Inspirational captain Vaughn Coveny will miss, fulfilling his loan commitments with A-League club the Newcastle Jets, Coveny is expected to miss the first month of the new season whilst star left-back Rama Tavsancioglu returns from his A-League stint and should be in Sunday’s first 11.

Wednesday, 1 February 2006 3:54 PM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne has ended a fantastic pre season campaign with an emphatic win in the final of the Crazy John’s Cup on Tuesday. South was keen to win some pre-season silverware after failing at the last hurdle in the Hellenic Cup final against Oakleigh last Sunday.

Close to 500 eager fans made the long midweek trek to the Knights Stadium in North Sunshine to see a youthful South Melbourne squad take on the experienced and well-known Fawkner-Whittlesea side.

Early in the duel Fawkner-Whittlesea dominated possession with the experienced campaigners in their side running the show.

However, as the half wore on, South slowly managed to claw its way back into the contest and provided the blues with a tougher opponent in the somewhat uneventful first half.

The second half however followed a different script, with South jumping out of the blocks and dominating play from the first whistle. In the 55th minute of play, this domination led to a dangerous ball being played into the path of exciting South forward Santilli, who was brought down by Fawkner-Whittlesea defender Awad.
This also led to Awad being dismissed for a deliberate challenge.

Ten minutes later Santilli, who was having a magnificent game, was played in once again and without any hesitation slotted a tough chance into the back of the net, giving South a well earned 1-0 lead.

For the remainder of the half, South dominated possession, creating numerous clear chances, which were being wasted time and time again.

However, to the relief of the anxious South faithful, the boys lifted an extra gear and were able to score the sealer in injury time. As soon as the ball went back to the center the final whistle was blown, sending the SMFC faithful into raptures, knowing that their side had captured the first silverware of the season.

On top of the fantastic victory, South fans were also pleased to see the form of crowd favourite Billy Natsioulas, who made an appearance off the substitutes bench after a long battle with injury.

With one trophy already in the bag for season 2006, South can now look to challenging for the title of the Vodafone Cup, which begins this Sunday with the trip to Olympic Village to face arch rivals Heidelberg United. Kick off is at 5pm.

Sunday, 22 January 2006 11:33 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has progressed to the semi final stage of the Crazy John’s cup after a patchy 3-2 win against fellow VPL side the Bulleen Zebras.

An 89th minute strike from Brazilian Fernando Moraes saved the home side’s blushes after South had cruised to a comfortable 2-0 lead by the half thanks to outstanding finishes from Gianni DeNittis and Kevin Nelson.

However, the Michael Michalakopoulos coached Zebras hit back midway through the 2nd half and in quick succession thanks to an unmarked header from Zebras captain Stelios Drakos and an own goal from South’s Tansel Baser leveled the tie.

It took a quality 89th minute back post cross from Baser that was brilliantly cut back by substitute Peter Koutsoupias into the path of Moraes to slam home from 6 yards out to give South the win.

South Coach John Anastasiadis sent out a strong lineup making two changes from his starting eleven against Springvale. VPL goalkeeper of 2005 Dean Anastasiadis replaced Con Dimitropoulos whilst rising youngster Gianni DeNittis started up front replacing midfielder George Tzirtis.

Elsewhere, Arthur Tsonis partnered Ivory Coast defender Jonas Salley in the centre of defence with youngsters Evan Karavitis and Lester Abalos taking up the right and left back positions respectively. The midfield quartet consisted of Tansel Baser in a defensive role with Scot MacNicol and Arthur Tsirtsakis patrolling the flanks whilst Brazilian Fernando Moraes was given licence to unleash his attacking brilliance. Up front, elegant youngster Gianni DeNittis partnered the exciting Trinidad and Tobago native Kevin Nelson.

South dominated the first half, rarely shifting into top gear as the hot weather meant that both teams decided to gently knock the ball around as opposed to playing at top pace.

With only a minute gone Moraes unleashed a decent strike from outside the box that skimmed narrowly wide.

Bulleen however hit back immediately when a 3rd minute angled drive saw Anastasiadis surprised by the effort with the South keeper managing to handle the ball onto his left upright and then eventually collect.

South’s first good opening arrived in the 17th minute after a good cross from the right flank by Tsirtsakis found Nelson all alone in the heart of the Bulleen penalty area. Unfortunately for South, Nelson’s first time shot was blazed well over.

Two minutes later South went ahead after the ever alert DeNittis pounced on searching through ball, racing away from his marker and calmly beating Bulleen keeper Torcaso with a low strike under his body.

In the 26th minute South doubled their advantage with a wonder strike from Nelson. Nelson was released down the left and saw Torcaso slightly off his line. The South striker took a touch and then proceeded to lob the Bulleen custodian with a class strike off his laces. Torcaso had no chance with the ball taking a bounce and settling in the far right bottom corner.

In the 2nd half South appeared to be cruising with both sides appearing to lack desire.

Moraes had a decent shot on the turn in the 48th minute that sailed just wide, whilst Bulleen threatened with a quality 66th minute cross from the left that was nodded on across the face of goal, narrowly missing the target.

Then out of nowhere, Bulleen pulled one back after South poorly defended a 73rd minute corner, leaving Bulleen captain Stelios Drakos 6 yards out on the back post and all alone to easily head past a stranded Anastasiadis.

Three minutes later and it was game on after Bulleen broke down the right hand flank and sent in a venomous cross into the heart of the South area. Unfortunately for South, Baser stuck his foot out and with the quality of the cross only requiring a touch in the right direction; the South defensive midfielder had pulled Bulleen level, sticking his foot out and leaving Anastasiadis helpless.

Bulleen nearly snatched the lead in the 80th minute after a 20-yard free kick was well held by Anastasiadis.

The match was destined for a penalty shoot-out (as dictated by the laws of the Cup) when Baser received a MacNicol throw in, sent a back post cross into the Bulleen box that was expertly laid back by substitute Peter Koutsoupias into the oncoming path of Moraes who from 6 yards out made no mistake.

Sunday, 15 January 2006 11:49 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

A double and man-of-the-match performance by Tansel Baser has ensured South Melbourne a smooth progression to the quarter final stages of the Crazy John’s Cup.

In what was an attacking encounter, South went through periods of domination as well as periods of riding their luck before they eventually escaped with a 4-2 win.

Coach John Anastasiadis sent out a strong starting eleven with reserve keeper Con Dimitropoulos in goal, a central defensive pairing of Arthu1r Tsonis and Costa Rican Jonas Salley with Evan Karavitis and Under-21 player of the season Lester Abalos taking up the right and left-back positions respectively. In the centre of the park Tansel Baser continued to build his fitness and gain valuable playing time in a defensive midfield role whilst Scot MacNicol was deployed in a more attacking midfield role. On the flanks, Arthur Tsirtsakis played on the left whilst George Tzirtis played on the right with the front pairing of Fernando Moraes and new signing Kevin Nelson forming an imposing partnership with great technical ability.

Only one minute had passed when a brilliant searching ball down the left by Karavitis released Tzirtis into the Springvale box, Tzirtis passed his man and looked to square the ball for Nelson to tap in, but perhaps should’ve had a strike instead as the Springvale defence managed to recover and clear for a corner.

In the 8th minute a surging run through the centre of the park by Scot MacNicol saw the ex-Brechin player play in Baser, Baser then unleashed a decent 20 yard strike that was unfortunately straight at the keeper and hence failed to trouble Springvale custodian Dusan Janic.

South continued to create openings when in the 17th minute Moraes released Nelson down the left hand side of the Springvale box, the powerful striker attempted an angled drive but Janic saved well with his feet. A minute later Moraes produced a decent effort from just outside the box, slightly hooking his low drive past the right-hand post of Janic.

Twenty-seven minutes in and Nelson again was foiled by the feet of Janic after the Springvale keeper did well to save from point blank range. The ball eventually fell to Baser who from outside the box blazed over.

South continued to create openings with MacNicol releasing Moraes down the right in the 31st minute with the Brazilian working his way into the box and producing a disappointing strike, shooting well over the crossbar when a shot on goal was the minimum requirement from such a good opening.

Having absorbed a multitude of pressure Springvale were extremely unlucky to go behind. A 36th minute tentative long ball into the heart of the Springvale box by Tansel Baser was over hit and what appeared to be a regulation glove for Janic turned into a nightmare after the ball deviated very sharply upon bouncing, wrong footing Janic and eventually bobbling into the net.

South continued searching for the vital second goal with Tzirtis forcing a save after his 38th minute shot/lob nearly caught Janic out who was slightly off his line. From the resulting corner Salley found himself all alone at the back post and should’ve scored but failed to direct his header on target.

South extended its lead in the 41st minute after an exquisite finish from Moraes. Tzirtis battled hard for the ball in the box with the ball eventually falling to MacNicol who squared the ball to Moraes who with much to do, managed to produce a sharpish right-foot drive, beating Janic at his near post.

Two more glorious chances were spurned by the home side before the break with Nelson again being denied by the feet of Janic in the 43rd minute after breaking away down the right. A minute later a Tsonis corner was headed down and appeared to be handled on the line by the White Eagle’s defence with Janic well beaten.

Just before the break South conceded a disappointing goal. Springvale broke down the right in acres of space. A cross was produced to the back post with Leo Trebbia unmarked and South custodian Dimitropoulos ill-positioned. Trebbia produced a text-book header, comfortably beating Dimitropoulos and giving the White Eagles hope.

South started the 2nd half very shakily with Springvale seemingly rejuvenated after their late goal in the first half.

First a 50th minute strike from just outside the South box narrowly dipped over the South crossbar. Then two minutes later Springvale rattled South’s woodwork after a brilliantly struck 20 yard free-kick had Dimitropoulos well beaten.

South continued to live dangerously when a deep back-post cross from Springvale in the 54th minute saw a miscommunication in the South backline which nearly resulted in an own goal from Karavitis after a Springvale header deflected off the South youngster.

Fifty-five minutes in and Springvale striker Todd Miles latched onto a decent volleyed attempt that was saved well down low by Dimitropoulos.

Then against the run of play, South managed a third goal. Nelson was delicately played through and proceeded to round the keeper taking however a hard touch and hence pushing himself wide. To Nelson’s credit, he managed to stay composed, keep the ball in play, move towards goal and when most players would’ve had a strike, the former Canadian League top-scorer managed to pick out Baser on the back post for the easiest of tap-ins in the 59th minute.
After both sides missed genuine openings, Springvale managed to claw its way back into the contest when a long ball into the South box after 76 minutes, saw a calamity of errors ensue with the ball eventually deflecting into the back of the net in what appeared to be an own goal.

South finally put the game to rest in the 83rd minute after Moraes found some space in the middle of the park, played Nelson in down the left who received the ball and went into overdrive, easily sprinting past his marker and producing a calm left-foot finish across the keeper and into the bottom right-hand corner.

Wednesday, 11 January 2006 3:24 PM

This Sunday South Melbourne kicks of its 2006 Crazy John’s Cup campaign with an encounter against State League 2 side the Springvale White Eagles.

Coach John Anastasiadis will look to send out a near full strength lineup after honing his charges over a series of friendly encounters held in the past month.

South have put together a run of impressive pre-season results defeating the likes of the AIS, Northcote City, Richmond and the Sunshine Georgies before succumbing to an injury-time winner against the Oakleigh Cannons this past Sunday.

Coach Anastasiadis has used the friendlies to unearth and trial a string of new and exciting talent and Sunday should see the culmination of this work with a strong and competitive South lineup on display.

The game will be played at Bob Jane Stadium with kick-off at 6.15pm whilst the youth game will commence at 4pm.

Monday, 9 January 2006 11:35 AM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have lost their first pre-season friendly after a late counter-attack by the Oakleigh Cannons saw ex-NSL journeyman and Fijian international Esala Masi send his angled drive past the outstretched arms of South keeper Con Dimitropoulos.

South coach John Anastasiadis continues to use the pre-season as a chance to monitor the progress of the returning players from last season as well as continuing to trial a number of potential acquisitions.

Anastasiadis sent out a reasonably strong South outfit with veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis in goal, a central pairing of Steven O’Dor and Arthur Tsonis with the right and left back positions taken up by Evan Karavitis and recently promoted Under-21 South player-of-the-season Lester Abalos. In the centre of the park the returning Tansel Baser took up the defensive holding role with Arthur Tsirtsakis alongside him in a more attacking role. On the left wing Peter Koutsoupias was deployed with George Tzirtis on the right. Up front Kevin Nelson took up an out-and-out striking role with Brazilian Fernando Moraes given licence to play in the hole behind Nelson.

Both sides seemed evenly matched with Oakleigh slightly edging the proceedings after an early chance fell to beanpole strike Peter Kakos who, from just outside the South box, failed to test Anastasiadis with no real defensive pressure.

New Oakleigh signing Cameron Pino was having a field day down the left wing and it was his quality ball into the heart of the South area from a set piece that nearly put Oakleigh ahead. Pino’s centre was sharply nodded down only for the ever-alert reflexes of Anastasiadis to quickly kick into gear with the premier keeper of the 2005 VPL season saving with his feet.

South then took the lead in the most unexpected fashion. Abalos keen to impress made a good run down the left, cut inside and fed the ball to Nelson, who from the edge of the box, rifled an 20 yard “daisy-cutter” comfortably past the outstretched arm of Oakleigh custodian Stuart Webster. It was the most unexpected of finishes but highlighted Nelson’s immense potential and finishing prowess.

The Trinidad and Tobago youth international nearly added to his tally late in the 2nd half after again being fed on the edge of the area, Nelson produced a sharp turn to create a yard of space, with his eventual strike forcing Webster low to glove.

Oakleigh however managed to equalise late in the half, after the ever dangerous Pino got in behind the South defence down the left hand side and sent an angled drive towards goal that Anastasiadis looked to have superbly saved, only for the ball to continue rolling towards the goal line. Anastasiadis tried desperately to parry away, getting his hands a further 2 times to the ball only for the bumpy ground and ball watching defenders to combine to see South cop a comical equaliser with Anastasiadis failing to cleanly glove.

The 2nd half saw coach Anastasiadis send out a completely different unit. Youngsters such as Gianni DeNittis, James Stefanou, Tex Apostolikas summoned from his loan with Altona Phoenix, under-21 defender Ralph Napoli, recent signing Andrew Bourakis, reserve keeper Con Dimitropoulos and two defensive trialists took the field.

Considering the makeshift nature of the South line-up coach Anastasiadis would be heartened with just how well the defence held up.

South managed to limit Oakleigh from creating clear-cut chances with Dimitropoulos managing to hold onto any ball that was coming into the box.

Furthermore, Fernando Moraes was bossing the midfield, looking to always push forward and have a shot at goal. A feat which he managed a couple times however he failed to test Webster.

Unfortunate then was the late sucker-punch South conceded with virtually the last kick of the game. Masi was released in acres of space down the right hand side in what appeared to be clear miscommunication amongst the makeshift backline. The Fijian international took a touch to enter the box and then smashed his strike past Dimitropoulos and into the far left hand corner with what proved to be virtually the last kick of the game.