Category: News

Sunday, 3 November 2002 12:00 AM

South Melbourne defeated league leaders and reigning champions Olympic Sharks, in one of the the greatest matches in National Soccer League history.

The 6 – 4 final score of this very entertaining and attacking match, had fans on the edge of their seats right up to the final whistle. South Melbourne began like a house on fire and stunned the away side, scoring four goals in the opening 20 minutes. To their credit Olympic clawed their way back into the game and with minutes remaining the scoreline stood at 5 – 4.

Vaughan Coveny put Olympic to rest and relieved the home fans scoring a penalty in the 89th minute.

South Melbourne played some awesome football and jumped six places to fifth on the NSL table. Strikers Vaughan Coveny, Peter Buljan and Man of the Match Michael Baird, all scored for the home side. Captain for the day, Panopoulos played a great role in midfield and also got himself on the scoresheet.

Final score, South Melbourne 6 defeated Olympic Sharks 4.

SOUTH MELBOURNE 6 (Baird ‘2, ’40, Buljan ‘9, Coveny ’13, ’89, Panopoulos ’20)
Sydney United 4 (Packer ’22, Milicic’44, Halpin ’60, Pondeljak ’85)

Crowd: 6,027
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium, Melbourne

Thursday, 31 October 2002 12:00 AM

South Melbourne and Olympic Sharks have a great history of passionate interstate derbies, which have created a healthy rivalry between the two Clubs. Another contest will form this Sunday, when two former team-mates and Brisbane born coaches go head to head.

Danny Wright will be up against his former colleague and coach of Olympic Sharks Gary Phillips. They both played in Brisbane Strikers’ 1996/97 Championship, in which they served under current Socceroo coach Frank Farina. As players, they have both loyally represented the clubs that they now coach.

Danny Wright had a successful playing career winning two championships, represented Australia at the 1983 World Youth Cup Finals, played 92 games, scored 30 goals for Brisbane and another 167 games, scoring 19 goals for South Melbourne. Wright also won consecutive Championships in his first two years as a coach in the Queensland First Division.

Wright’s opposite number this week Gary Phillips, also thrived in his playing career. He played in three Championships, 277 NSL games and scored 18 career goals. In a remarkable debut season as coach, he took the Sharks to their second NSL Championship, winning 16 games, drew 5 and losing 8 along the way.

“Coaching against Danny Wright is not an issue. I have to concentrate on my players and South Melbourne players for that matter”.

“It’s pleasing to see Danny Wright, an old favourite at the South, take up the coaching job and put something back into Australian Soccer, just as he did as a player”, says Phillips.

Phillips will be cautious heading into this weeks match, saying travelling to South Melbourne has always been a difficult task, especially as a player.

“Danny and I both played for our respective Clubs. As a player I can only remember coming to Melbourne and beating South Melbourne on one occasion in 12 years. I came here as a coach last season and lost 3-0.

“It will be an interesting day. South Melbourne defeated Perth at home, which will be in the back of our minds and we will be cautious”.

South Melbourne coach Danny Wright has a lot of respect for his former colleague and is preparing or a tough encounter this Sunday.

“Gary and I shared some great experiences as team-mates playing for Brisbane. Since taking on Olympic Sharks coaching job, he’s achieved the ultimate in his first year as a National League coach and from all reports is well respected by his players”.

“It should be a very entertaining game, as Olympic Sharks are one of the more flamboyant teams in the NSL. They tend to play a lot of their football off the cuff, which makes it difficult to play a strategy against”.

South Melbourne will take on Olympic without classy defender Patrick Kisnorbo who’s injured heel will rule him out for another week. On a positive note, Vice Captain Steve Panopoulos who rested last Saturday suffering from a groin injury, has trained well and will be fighting for selection.

Thursday, 31 October 2002 12:00 AM

A special International guest will join South Melbourne Soccer Club at Bob Jane Stadium this weekend. Thanks to Major Sponsor, Laiki Bank and VM Power Promotions, Greek International singer Giorgos Alkaios, will attend Sunday’s blockbuster between South Melbourne and Olympic Sharks.

The popular singer returns to Melbourne and will perform two concerts this long weekend at Metro Nightclub. Alkaios, who still plays soccer, will be attending the traditional interstate derby to get a taste of Australian Soccer and assist with Laiki Bank Radiomarathon promotions.

Giorgos Alkaios’ music, serves many different audiences, as he usually alternates between pop, dance and traditional bouzouki, sometimes also incorporating real oriental sounds. Alkaios has five gold and platinum albums.

Besides being a real popstar, he loves playing sports and was distinguished in Karate and in Shotogan where he is a brown belt. He also loves playing tennis, swimming, bowling and has his own basketball team, Toufa Halandriou.

Giorgos Alkaios, who will be tossing the coin this Sunday, has extended his fame and popularity giving concerts in Cyprus, USA, Canada, here in Australia, and in many European countries. Turkish soccer team Galatasaray, that won the UEFA cup and Super cup, chose Alkaios’ Syrmatoplegma as their anthem and covered it in Turkish and in Spanish in 5 different versions.

South Melbourne Soccer Club will be selling raffle tickets, which includes tickets to Giorgos Alkaios’ concert this long weekend. All proceeds are donated to those children with special needs.

Information provided by World Music.net

Tuesday, 29 October 2002 12:00 AM

THIS WEEKS SPECIAL GUEST: ANGE POSTECOGLOU

The South Melbourne Soccer Show this week will have very special guest in Ange Postecoglou as well as feature highlights from last weekends Round 6 matches.

South Melbourne players have featured on the show over the past few weeks along with special features including players reactions after the win against Perth, Family Day and player interviews.

Ange Postecoglou is South Melbourne’s Team of the Century captain, 1984 and 1991 Championship winning player and Back to Back winning coach. He now coaches Australia’s National Youth sides and is an assistant to Socceroo coach Frank Farina.

Don’t miss out on the South Melbourne Soccer Show this Wednesday by tuning into Channel 31 at 9.00PM.

Tuesday, 29 October 2002 12:00 AM

In an attacking match that could have gone either way, 21 year old Nick Tolios was South Melbourne’s outstanding player against Wollongong in Orange last weekend.

South Melbourne drew 0 – 0 to the Wolves in front of 3,286 the rounds third highest crowd. It was end to end stuff, on a pitch which was 15 yards larger than the length of Bob Jane Stadium. Both teams played positive football and entertained the soccer fans of Orange with their attacking strategies.

Playing in his 20th match at the Club, young defender Nick Tolios withstood the Wollongong forwards and could have scored his first National Soccer League goal. Tolios who played for Ethnikos Asteras in the Greek First Division, had two headers cleared off the goal line and took a striking free kick in the first half which was too hot to handle from Wollongong goalkeeper, Andrew Crew’s.

“I headered the ball towards goal, which deflected onto the cross bar by a Wollongong defender, which then hit the ground and his chest and was then cleared”.

“Our two main aims were to win the game but keep a clean sheet in the process. It was a tiring trip and not the ideal way to prepare for a match, but in the circumstances we did very well and at the end of the day, a draw was a fair result”, says Tolios.

Paul Trimboli, Steve Iosifidis and Vaughan Coveny, did not aggravate their injuries. Iosifidis was a late replacement for Fausto De Amicis who was suffering from a migraine and had to stay back at the hotel.

“Iosifidis did a great job covering for De Amicis at left back with such late notice. All three players will be better for the run. We had more shots at goal and corners and it was a better performance on what has been reported”, says Wright

Coveny and Iosifidis played full games while Paul Trimboli was substituted in the 60th minute.

Other highlights included a narrow miss from Trimboli who got onto a parried Tolios freekick. Coveny who’s free kick went just wide of the post and Michael Baird who came off the bench to combine well with Peter Buljan. Baird sliced past two defenders and pinpointed his cross to Buljan who’s header narrowly missed the target.

In other team news Patrick Kisnorbo and Steve Panopoulos are still a 50% chance of playing this Sunday against league leaders Olympic Sharks, while Zeljko Susa is still awaiting his clearance from his former Club Hadjuk Split.

Thursday, 24 October 2002 12:00 AM

Patrick Kisnorbo has been on crutches all week, suffering from a heel injury which he sustained in the 20th minute of last weeks win over Perth. He will not travel to Orange, along with Steve Panopoulos who aggravated his groin.

Vaughan Coveny and Steve Iosifidis have filled the two positions while captain Paul Trimboli has recovered from his ankle injury, replacing Stephen Pace.

Patrick Kisnorbo courageously played during most of last weekends match with a bruised bone on the heel and has been eagerly trying to recover for most of the week. He was unable to fully recover but wishes his team-mates the very best.

“I would like to wish the boys the very best and hope they come back with all three points”, says the defender.

Panopoulos is bitterly disappointed on missing out on the squad, but realises he needs to rest his groin in order prevent further injury.

“I had an interrupted pre-season which has caused my groin to be sore over the past few weeks”.

“Last Sunday my groin seemed to get worse and during training early in the week, it didn’t fell 100%. I’m the sure the boys can come back with the points in preparation for our next home match against Olympic Sharks”, says South’s Vice Captain.

Tomorrow night’s match can be heard on 1422 AM – Radio 3XY. Kick Off 7.30 PM.

South Melbourne squad travelling to Orange:
D Anastasiadis (gk), S Iosifidis, F De Amicis, M Durakovic, R Liparoti, D Clarkson, V Coveny, P Trimboli, P Buljan, V Lia, M Baird, M Murdocca, B Damianos, N Tolios, E Galekovic (gk)

IN: S Iosifidis, V Coveny, P Trimboli
OUT: S Panopoulos (groin), P Kisnorbo (heel), Pace (omitted)

Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:00 AM

Mehmet Durakovic, one of the National Soccer League’s toughest players, is about to embark on a milestone that only five other players have achieved at the Club.

The Socceroo defender will play his 200th match for the Blue and Whites this weekend and join Paul Trimboli, Steve Blair, Steve Panopoulos, Peter Laumets and Paul Wade as the only players to have done so.

The sturdy defender won a Championship with South Melbourne in 1991. Last season he along with 15 other members was inducted into South Melbourne’s Team of the Century and is also part of South Melbourne Hall of Champions.

He is an incredibly strong and courage’s defender, who has the ability to carry on even when injured. His legs never look like tiring and at the age of 37 maintains his position at the back.

In the mid 90’s, Durakovic joined Malaysian Club Selengar for four years and captained the side to a championship. In 1993 he was an integral part of Australia’s World Cup Qualifying campaign and scored the crucial goal against Canada at Sydney Football Stadium. He also played in two legs against Argentina and world famous player, Diego Maradona.

Durakovic is the oldest player to have ever played for South Melbourne in the National Soccer League at 37 years and 7 days (Vs Perth Glory 20.10.2002) and the oldest player who has scored for South Melbourne in the National Soccer League at 36 years and 146 days. (Vs Adelaide City 08.03.2002)

Early in his career Durakovic won a NSL championship with Brunswick, represented Footscray Just and after returning from Malaysia, spent a season with Olympic Sharks before returning home to South Melbourne.

Tuesday, 22 October 2002 12:00 AM

Danny Wright will have his hands full this week when his chargers fly to Sydney for the 2001 Grand Final replay against the Wolves. Five players, who were missing from South’s line up against Perth, will be fighting for a ticket on this week’s flight to New South Wales.

South Melbourne was without regulars Steve Iosifidis, Vaughan Coveny, Ray Sekulovski and captain Paul Trimboli who were all sidelined with injuries. With Zeljko Susa awaiting a clearance from Croatian Club Hudjuk Split, Danny Wright will have a nice headache come selection time.

“All successful clubs need to have depth in their senior squads. This year at South Melbourne we are fortunate to have a squad of twenty players who are all capable of stepping in and doing the job”.

“We have been working hard with all our players getting them ready and understanding the systems that we play. This was nevermore evident than the weekend when some of our reserve players stepped in and competed with the best”, says Wright.

Coveny returned from International duties with a slight grade one thigh strain, which put him out of the second match against Poland and South Melbourne encounter with Perth. Trimboli, Iosifidis and Sekulovski are on the verge of returning for this weekends Round 6 match.

This week South Melbourne face 9th place Wollongong Wolves at Wade Park located in inland New South Wales in the City of Orange. Orange is located four and a half hours out of Sydney, which will make for a lengthy and tiring trip.

South Melbourne will be out to capitalise on their victory against Perth and return home to host current Champions and traditional interstate rivals Olympic Sharks in a fortnight’s time.

Monday, 21 October 2002 12:00 AM

Last night’s Man of the Match Peter Buljan made it two goals from two starts, equalling his goalscoring tally last season in South Melbourne’s 2 – 0 victory over the Glory last night.

South’s number 10 showed the Lakeside faithful what a class player he is, tearing the Perth defenders to shreds with his quick turning and prominent ball skills. Along with striking partner Michael Baird upfront, the two seemed to communicate well on the park and created numerous opportunities for one another.

During the week coach Danny Wright held optional morning shooting sessions, which both strikers attended. Their hard work was rewarded as both strikers got onto the scoresheet.

“I was happy with my performance, but it was a team performance. The whole team played well and that’s why we won”.

“When everybody’s playing well it makes it easier for the strikers. It was great to get a goal especially against my former side Perth Glory and to win against one of the leagues stronger sides is a great sign for us”, says Buljan.

Michael Baird scored his first goal for the Club after potently latching onto Buljan’s saved penalty, doubling the score line and closing the door on last season’s finalists.

“It was a great feeling when I scored my first goal for the Club yesterday. The crowd was awesome and I really enjoyed playing at Bob Jane Stadium yesterday”.

“The biggest thing about yesterday was that every player across our midfield was putting their body on the line. They hit the Perth players hard and never gave them an inch”, says Baird.

Bill Damianos had another influential match and Fausto De Amicis as usual was solid at the back helping the team to its first clean sheet of the season.

Sunday, 20 October 2002 12:00 AM

South Melbourne defeated last seasons Grand Finalists Perth Glory in a very attacking match at Bob Jane Stadium tonight. The home side played very fluent and collective football in their 2-0 victory.

South Melbourne broke a six match winless streak against the Western Australian club and earnt their first win of the season, thanks to two second half goals from Peter Buljan and Michael Baird who scored his debut goal for the Albert Park Club.

FINAL SCORE – (National Soccer League – Round 5)
SOUTH MELBOURNE 2 (Buljan 61, Baird 66)
Perth Glory 0

SOUTH MELBOURNE LINE-UP
Dean Anastasiadis, Fausto De Amicis, Mehmet Durakovic, Steve Panopoulos, Patrick Kisnorbo, David Clarkson, Peter Buljan, Vince Lia (Massimo Murdocca 83’), Nick Tolios, Michael Baird (Stephen Pace 93’), Bill Damianos.

Crowd: 6,194
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium, Melbourne