Category: News

Last weekend, the South Melbourne youth teams welcomed Avondale FC to Albert Park for a football-filled Saturday. The synthetic pitch proved slippery and fast in the miserable wet weather conditions but it did mean that all matches could be played. Six matches would kick-off the pre-season for our youth teams.

South Melbourne Technical Director Sean Gale spoke to smfc.com.au about the day, saying “This is a great opportunity today with Avondale for some pre-season practice games. We have organised a number of Gala days like this in the coming weeks to prepare the teams for the March start to the season.”

Under 12s
The Under 12s were up first and recorded a 4-0 win with goals scored by Alex Hird, Curtis Wong, Alexander Terzakis and Yianni Panakos. After the game, smfc.com.au spoke with Dimitri Kapolitsas to gain his thoughts on the match. “I thought we played really well. We could have kept the ball a little bit more but we defended well and we attacked well” he said. Asked about the positives and what the team wanted to achieve this year, Kapolitsas said “We all know each other so we can play better. Our goal is to win the League. Our coach is fantastic, best coach in the world”.

Under 13s
The Under 13s met a strong Avondale line-up and were able to grind out a 1-0 win thanks to a first half goal by Daniel Triantopoulos.

Under 14s
The Under 14s match was a goal fest, with open free play and many opportunities for both teams. The final result was a 6-3 win to South with goals to Luke Barforosch, Chris Gregory, Noah Chinnama, Alan Fogel (x2) plus an own goal.

Double goal scorer Alan Fogel spoke to smfc.com.au after the match, saying “I thought we played well, we dominated and kept the ball. It was a bit scrappy conditions with the rain starting again every few minutes. We had a lot of breaks through their defence and finished a lot of opportunities.” We asked Fogel about his side’s strength of play and how they broke down their opposition. “Avondale were good but their defence they didn’t play it out fast so they let myself and our other wingers pounce on them. They didn’t release the ball fast enough and we had opportunities to take it off them in their defence” he said.

Under 15s
The Under 15s put on a good display of quality passing and finishing as they recorded a 5-1 win. Tristan Meaker scored one and Charly Layton, who only recently pulled on the South Melbourne shirt, chipped in with four goals.

With Charly putting four in the net, smfc.com.au spoke with him after the match. “I really enjoyed the game. I thought as a team we played well. In training we’ve been working on defensive structure and how to attack. Personally I thought I played alright but couldn’t have done it (scored four goals) without the other ten though, a good team victory” he said. Charly also shared some thoughts on the Avondale FC opposition, saying “they were a very well structured side, particularly good in the midfield, they played to their strengths. We saw the way they were playing out from the back, we capitalised on that and it’s how we scored our goals.”

Under 16s
The Under 16s had a tough fight on their hands with a solid Avondale defensive line-up. The team went down 0-1.

South Melbourne FC is proud to announce the signing of Olyroo Jake Barker-Daish for the 2015 National Premier Leagues season.

Jake grew up in Melbourne and played his junior football at Monash and Box Hill before being awarded a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport. Under the scholarship he played for Altona Magic in the 2008 Victorian Premier League . He would make just one appearance for Altona before transferring to the Australian Institute of Sport, or the FFA Centre of Excellence as it has now been re-branded.

At the age of fifteen, Jake spent two years at the Institute, where he made multiple appearances for the Australian Under 17 and Under 20s team. Most significantly, this included a visit to Colombia in 2011 to represent Australia at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup. Jake moved north following the World Cup and he joined Gold Coast United in the A-League, making seven appearances. Despite the demise of that club, his time in the A-League wasn’t at an end as he then joined Adelaide United. Across two seasons, Jake made nineteen appearances for Adelaide, scored two goals and came off the bench in Adelaide’s 2013 Elimination Final loss to Brisbane Roar.

In early 2014, Jake returned to representative football and played for the Australian Under 23s at the Asian Cup in Oman. He was released by Adelaide United at the end of the 2013-2014 A-League season and proceeded to the Western Sydney Wanderers for a trial, however a contract did not eventuate.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC football director Nicholas Maikousis was elated with the signing “Jake is a very talented young footballer who we are pleased to have join our football club. He will provide the club will another midfielder with senior A-League experience, we look forward to having him in the centre of the park for the upcoming season.”

Miron Bleiberg signed Jake on his first professional contract at Gold Coast United in the A-League. Ironically, it will be Bleiberg coaching against Jake’s new club when South Melbourne FC host the Oakleigh Cannons in the opening match of the 2015 NPL Victoria season on Thursday 19 February. Kick-off is at 8:15PM.

Jake’s Video Highlights

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that midfielder Mathew Theodore will remain with the Club in 2015 after extending his contract recently.

Theodore arrived at Lakeside Stadium ahead of the 2014 National Premier League Victoria season. He is credited for scoring the NPL Victoria’s first ever goal on Thursday 13 March 2014, when his left-footed shot from outside the box gave South Melbourne the lead after only thirteen minutes as they defeated Heidelberg United 0-3 at the Olympic Village.

Theodore has represented the Club on 29 occasions across all competitions and has scored six goals. He scored crucial winning goals at Lakeside Stadium last season against Pascoe Vale (Sunday 18 May) and Green Gully (Sunday 6 July), as well as spectacular goals against Heidelberg United (Sunday 22 June) and Goulburn Valley Suns (Sunday 14 September).

Aside from his goals, Theodore’s ability to provide assists for his team mates resulted in several crucial goals for South Melbourne in 2014. His most notable assist was the 72nd minute through-ball for Milos Lujic to score the winning goal against Northcote City at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 24 August, effectively securing the League Championship for South in what was a huge three points.

Theodore is currently recovering from surgery but is hopeful of being available for selection about a month into the 2015 season.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said that “the re-signing of Mathew Theodore shows that the Club is committed to keeping its Championship winning players at Lakeside Stadium. We are very pleased that Mathew has decided to remain with us in 2015 and no doubt he will soon be back providing and scoring important goals like he did in 2014.”

South Melbourne FC wishes Mathew Theodore the very best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce it has extended its partnership with Principal Partner Bob Jane T-Marts for a further 12 months.

Over the years, the Bob Jane T-Marts brand has been closely associated with the Club, with Lakeside Stadium being known as Bob Jane Stadium between the years 1995-2011. Furthermore, Bob Jane T-Marts logo proudly featured on the back of the South Melbourne playing shirt during the mid 1990s as well. The partnership was renewed in 2013, when Bob Jane T-Marts joined the Club as a Principal Partner, and Major Sponsor of SMFC TV screened on Channel 31, and the online version hosted on YouTube.

During the 2014 NPL Victoria season, South Melbourne and Bob Jane T-Marts teamed up to promote the Fatality Free Friday campaign, Australia’s only national community based road safety program. The South Melbourne playing squad pledged their support for Fatality Free Friday by signing both a large pledge board as well as a large inflatable car, which was used by Bob Jane T-Marts to promote the road safety campaign.

Bob Jane T-Marts has a total commitment to effectively serve the motorists of Australia with a level of service beyond their expectations, using the highest quality products and at the most competitive price. As an independent Australian business, Bob Jane T-Marts has a national network of franchised and company owned tyre retail stores, making them Australia’s largest independent tyre retailer.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President Leo Athanasakis said “we are delighted to extend our partnership with Bob Jane T Marts for another season. The support provided to SMFC TV ensures a quality programme that is the envy of sporting clubs around Australia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank National Marketing Manager Zsuzsa Zalatnai and her team for her commitment and passion to our partnership. We look forward to working closely in 2015 to achieve our partnership objectives”.

For all media enquiries, please contact the club on (03) 9645 9797.

South Melbourne FC advises that the Club’s annual Family Day and Membership event will be held on Saturday 14 February at Ange Postecoglou Field 18 (Youth Pavilion) between 11AM and 2PM.

The Family Day provides SMFC supporters with the opportunity to purchase or pick up their 2015 membership ahead of the first home match against the Oakleigh Cannons on Thursday 19 February.

The 2015 South Melbourne Senior Squad will be unveiled and Head Coach Chris Taylor will be in attendance as well as SMFC TV filming the event.

The SMFC and Yarraville Glory Sub Juniors will be showcased with some small-sided gala games.

There will be other football-related activities on the day:

– A Jumping Castle will also be available for younger fans
– A blow up “Mini Soccer Pitch” will give young fans an opportunity to take on some of our seniors.
– A SMFC Cross Bar Challenge will pit you against our senior team, with the winner receiving a prize.

The Family Day is a FREE event.

The pavilion canteen will have food and drinks available on the day as well. It promises to be a day filled with fun activities!

We hope to see everyone there!

Article Courtesy of Football Federation Victoria

Football Federation Victoria is delighted to announce the inaugural FFV Community Shield will be held on Friday, February 13, 2015 at Knights Stadium.

The inaugural FFV Community Shield will be contested by Dockerty Cup champions Melbourne Knights, and NPL Victoria champions South Melbourne.

It will be held in support of World Vision’s One Goal program, which aims to leverage the power of football to tackle malnutrition in Asia and Australia. Approximately 200 million children across Asia are affected by chronic malnutrition, with more than 18 million of these affected by increasing over-nutrition (obesity).

FFV is also privileged to announce World Vision’s One Goal program as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) partner, and is honoured to welcome four-time UEFA Champions League winner and UEFA Global Ambassador for Diversity and Change,Clarence Seedorf, who is in Australia in support of One Goal.

FFV CEO Peter Gome said it was imperative for FFV to help raise awareness of the two extremes of nutrition issues in the region.

“Football is such a powerful tool to drive change across the world,” Gome said.

“This is a chance for FFV to educate fans, create awareness, and hopefully encourage better health in the football family for years to come.”

As part of its support, FFV will donate a portion of every ticket sold to the Community Shield to One Goal, which will go directly towards combating malnutrition and over-nutrition both in Australia, and across Asia.

Clarence Seedorf UEFA Global Ambassador for Diversity and Change said it was encouraging to meet young people in Australia who were taking up football and living a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s great to be in Australia in support of One Goal on behalf of UEFA so I can help shed light on the vast problem of malnutrition and obesity across Asia and Australia,” Seedorf said.

“I urge all Australians to get behind One Goal and learn how you and your local football clubs can join the movement and make a difference.”

World Vision chief executive Tim Costello said World Vision was thrilled that Football Federation Victoria was joining the growing One Goal community.

“World Vision is extremely grateful for the wonderful support of the Football Federation of Victoria as the money raised would go towards our projects in Asia and Australia that help combat malnutrition,” Costello said.

“We believe One Goal has great potential to unite football fans around the world to come together to tackle the growing problem of malnutrition and to encourage young people to eat nutritious food and live a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Both Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne are powerhouses of Victorian football, having won two and four National Soccer League titles respectively, as well as scores of other trophies.

South Melbourne won the inaugural NPL Victoria title last year, and reached the semi-finals of the PS4 NPL Finals series before being defeated by the eventual winners MetroStars.

Melbourne Knights sealed their spot in the Community Shield by winning the Dockerty Cup against the odds, in a season that was marred by horrific injuries to a number of players in their first team.

Both sides will be hoping to add the inaugural FFV Community Shield, supporting One Goal, to their trophy cabinets in 2015.

South Melbourne will be without one of its stars for the first part of the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season, after Mathew Theodore underwent hip surgery during the summer break.

While the operation was considered a success, Theodore won’t begin serious running for the next few weeks, meaning he will miss at least the first month of South’s title defence, which kicks off against rivals Oakleigh Cannons on February 19 at Lakeside Stadium.

The 25 year old bravely carried the injury through the last few games of 2014, as South battled the Cannons at the top of the NPL table.

Despite admitting to being frustrated by the setback, Theodore remains upbeat about a return.

“It has been quite a difficult period since the surgery, as it was a pretty major operation” the midfielder told smfc.com.au.

“Seeing the boys at training and with the season starting soon it is frustrating to not be out there, but I hope to be running soon and back into some meaningful training by the early part of the season”.

Theodore was an integral member of last season’s Championship winning side, scoring six goals from 29 appearances, including a screamer in last year’s season opener against Heidelberg United at Olympic Village.

The diminutive midfielder also had more than 10 assists last season, turning a regular provider for both Golden Boot and Gold Medal winner Milos Lujic and Englishman Jamie Reed who scored a combined total of 37 goals for the season.

Despite the injury, coach Chris Taylor still has plenty of options in the centre of midfield, especially with the arrival of Dane Milovanovic from the Maldives and the likes of David Stirton and Andy Brennan also both being able to play behind the striker. Both Iqi Jawadi and Nick Epifano have also been in impressive form in several pre-season hit-outs to date and can also provide South with extra options in that creative midfield position.

Theodore is one of South’s only fitness concerns in the lead up to the 2015 campaign, with only Steve Hatzikostas who injured his knee in last year’s NPL Finals Match against South Hobart on the sidelines ahead of Round 1.

South Melbourne FC advises that Football Federation Victoria has released the fixtures for the 2015 Ps4 National Premier League Victoria season.

South Melbourne FC opens its 2015 campaign with a home match against the Oakleigh Cannons on Thursday 19 February. Chris Taylor’s side is then on the road for five League matches before hosting the Melbourne Knights in the Melbourne derby on Saturday 11 April.

Sandwiched in between the League fixtures are the Dockerty Cup rounds, which also double up as 2015 Westfield FFA Cup qualifying matches. Like in 2014, the four Semi Finalists of the Dockerty Cup will qualify for the 2015 Westfield FFA Cup.

South Melbourne will host several matches at Lakeside Stadium during the middle of the season, however the dates of these matches are yet to be confirmed. FFV has scheduled these home matches to be played on Friday nights, however the Club is currently in discussions with FFV to have these matches moved to 5PM on Sundays.

The Club has engaged all relevant stakeholders, including supporters, members, players and coaching staff to determine their preferred day and kick-off time for home matches in 2015. The overwhelming response has been for Friday nights and the now traditional Sunday evening kick-off times. In a compromise with all stakeholders, South Melbourne FC has accordingly requested a mixture of Friday and Sunday home matches with the FFV.

Please check smfc.com.au and South Melbourne FC’s official social media pages for confirmation of the dates and kick-off times of the matches currently listed as TBC.

We look forward to seeing everyone at Lakeside Stadium for the opening match against Oakleigh!

Click here to view fixtures

Blue skies, thirty-two degrees, a setting sun and the lush pastures of the Mornington Peninsula were the conditions on Wednesday evening as South Melbourne FC played its fourth friendly of the 2015 NPL Victoria pre-season. Milos Lujic scored twice in the first half but NPL 1’s Kingston City showed determination, pulling a goal back in the second half as the final whistle confirmed a 2-1 South Melbourne win.

The size of South’s squad is dwindling as Head Coach Chris Taylor gets closer to finalising his list. It was almost a full-strength line-up that made its way onto the Centenary Park pitch to take on Kingston City. Anchored through the midfield with the likes of Iqi Jawadi, Nick Epifano and Nejc Kolman, South demonstrated solid possession and attacking flair through the early stages of the match. Opportunities presented themselves in the opening fifteen minutes, however the back of Kingston City’s net was left uninterrupted.

In the eighteenth minute, Lujic climbed high near the back post to head the ball back across Kingston goalkeeper George Malliaras and over the line for the opening goal. The tall centre forward, who scored 22 NPL Victoria goals last season to equal the South Melbourne League record also held by Jimmy Armstrong (1974) and Doug Brown (1984), wasn’t finished with the scorecard either.

A few minutes later, Andy Brennan made a blistering run down the left side into the area. He had options inside but instead he took on two defenders and dragged them all the way to the by-line before cutting the ball back to the penalty spot. Lujic was there waiting and he twisted around before putting his left boot through the ball and into the open net to make the score 2-0 in South’s favour.

Prior the half hour mark, the first of the substitutions were made. Taylor continues to actively use the pre-season friendlies to see how the trial players and the new players fit in with the established line-up, as well as assess different structures and combinations. On this occasion, it was Dane Milovanovic gracing the playing surface for the first time in a South Melbourne jersey.

Milovanovic’s preparation for the season sees him still working to get fully fit and it is encouraging to see him now ready for game time considering he had an operation only six weeks ago. Mentally he is match ready and this was evident when it took him just ten seconds after entering play to take charge of the midfield and start issuing instructions. His commanding presence and experience in the midfield will deliver strength to the team and give further options for Taylor throughout 2015.

After the halftime break, fresh faces came on for South to meet an energised Kingston City. Kingston pressed high, putting pressure on South’s back four and their efforts were rewarded when an error presented them with an opportunity. Thanks to a quick response and chip over the onrushing goalkeeper, Kingston found the back of the net to halve South Melbourne’s lead. Whilst Kingston would continue to pressure and hold more controlling possession in the second half, there would be no further addition to the score line as South ran out 2-1 winners.

After the match, smfc.com.au spoke with the double-goal scoring Lujic about the friendly. “It was a good first half, it was pretty hot out there. I think both teams worked hard, it was good to get minutes under the belt and it was just a nice pre-season game,” he said. A consistent theme among the players is their confidence in pre-season readiness, especially compared to last year. Lujic shared his thoughts, saying “there’s been a lot of games which has been good, the boys are loving that. Less running at training and more games. We’re happy. The core of the group from last year stayed and I think we’re gelling a bit better as a team than at this point in time last year. The new boys are quality players and have slotted right in. We’re looking pretty good for the season.”

South Melbourne FC is on the road for one more pre-season friendly before finally returning to Lakeside Stadium. This coming Saturday 24 January the team travels to White Eagles Stadium to meet Springvale White Eagles. The Under 20s kick-off is at 4PM and the Seniors begin at 6PM.

Match Photos: http://on.fb.me/1zyiXhg

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Gale as the Club’s Technical Director for the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season.

Since arriving in Australia from Swindon in the United Kingdom, Sean has worked in numerous football roles. He worked for community clubs North Caulfield and Elwood City and has also been a coach at the Coerver Academy.

Sean has also been involved with Football Federation Australia as part of the FFA Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) for girls and the FFA Community Course Presentations. This has allowed him to play an active role in continuing to educate the football community about the game.

Currently, Sean is the Head of Soccer at St Michael’s Grammar School in St Kilda and holds an AFC FFA C License.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Sean was elated to join South Melbourne FC and having the chance to work alongside Chris Taylor. “With the guidance and support of Head of Football Chris Taylor, I am looking to build on the solid foundation that our youth program has already achieved, from the sub-junior program through to the NPL. It is a
privilege and an honour to be appointed to this position at a club with such a great history and such passionate supporters. I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming season.”

Football Director and Youth Coordinator Andrew Mesourouni was also pleased with the appointment. “Sean is a young and enthusiastic person who has had a wealth of experience across the game in this country. His willingness to involve all members of our coaching staff and his ability to coordinate the program for us ensures that we can continue to move forward. We feel very confident that the football side of the Club is in safe hands with Chris Taylor, Sasa Kolman and Sean Gale.”

We would like to congratulate Sean Gale on his appointment and wish him the very best in his new role in 2015.