Monkey's Paw Curls - South Melbourne 3 Kingston City 4

Getting done over by a lower division team helmed by two former coaches of ours, while fielding several ex-South players was bad enough. But you know how they say "it's the hope that kills you?" I'm wondering where the hope is nowadays. We trudge on, bedraggled, now reduced to the forlorn hope of being rescued by getting into the National Second Division, and leaving the dregs of the last five and a bit seasons behind, regardless of how 2023 ends. A true restart, a new team, a new coach, and maybe a new (old) approach as distant from whatever this is supposed to be.

For the time being, no visiting team should show any fear or deference toward South Melbourne. In the past, poor or lesser teams might put in more effort to take our scalp. In recent times, some of the better teams in our own division have paid no mind to it being an away game, an overrated concept in this league anyway. Now we're at the stage when any opponent of ours - even a lower division one - is well advised to just play. Play with the ball, knock it about, take the game on, take the ball up the field. 

It will sound flippant, but in the game we played against Kingston during the pre-season in the Greek Cup, I noted of one of their goals that it had the style of how I would want a South team to score a goal. Sure, all goals count the same, but the usual ways - set pieces and scraps - will always be there. So why not add style to that, to create more avenues to goal?

Watching this game, it was difficult to tell that there was an entire division between the two sides. That can happen in a cup match - one team plays out of its skin, and gets the rub of the green when it counts. But there was almost no rub needed for Kingston. Their goal scoring chances - the ones they scored from and the ones they didn't - were almost all from quality build-up play, and a welcome fearlessness. 

And what's to fear from us? We started with our second choice keeper, even though we have the best keeper in the league. (though to be fair to Lejeune, not one of the four goals we conceded were down to him). Our vice-captain and key mid (Schroen), played just an hour, before being dragged. Our only striker (Riak) was also benched after an hour, with the game still very much in the balance. He was replaced at first by a winger (Brennan), and then by a defensive mid (Langlois). 

Despite all that, we still scored three goals. But the more important thing, at no point did this game feel safe. Worse, at no point do I think that any South fan felt with anything resembling confidence that we would take this out. It's not about doomsaying, or death-riding. It just felt like there was no point in hoping. We might have won, but it would have somehow felt hollow, unearned. The three goals we scored were all from our holy trinity - penalty, corner, long throw. It was the "monkey's paw curls" of goal hauls, emphasising only that we have little else.

Next game
Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) against Bentleigh.

Is there a curtain raiser?
Yes. The senior women kick off at 1:00 PM, playing against Bayside United.

Final thought
Someone says to me after the game, "there's more to life than South". Thank goodness for that.