Ode to Joy - South Melbourne 5 Port Melbourne 2

Look, one utterly brilliant performance, one magical night of attacking football, should not make up for some of the utter dross we've had to put up with (and yes, I know we're in second place). I've been duped by grand romantic gestures like this before. How about that Gully game from earlier in the season? Or the 3-2 win away at Bentleigh last year? My brain tells me to be wary, that we'll be back to the usual way too defensive stance very soon; but my heart wants to do its own thing, to believe that I can love this team, that it has changed its ways.

(In some respects it also reminds me of our win over Oakleigh at home in 2007, and not just because of the score line - but also because of the same kind of vibe that night, including the cherry on top final goal - that we could do some good things if we wanted to. Then the season started falling apart again a couple of weeks later.)

After the AGM the other night, a board member said to me that he hadn't seen me leave a game smiling like that for a long time. Think about that - we finished top of the table last year, and have lost only one game in the league so far this season - but still, it didn't make me as happy as it should have. Sure, I can be a hard taskmaster and an all round curmudgeon. But I think what I felt is what a lot of you have felt - that while it was good to win, that at some point the whole enterprise should also aim to be joyful. 

(something, something, the game is about glory; something, something, it is about playing with style)

People work all week; the players train. I imagine a good chunk of our players also work, maybe at jobs that are psychologically fulfilling or perhaps not, but probably unlikely to provide the opportunity of being able to express themselves individually and collectively (on an admittedly small scale in this case), in a situation where they can bring joy to themselves as individuals and as a collective, and to those of us watching them. Yes, we take it seriously. But it's also a game. If the players don't have the freedom to express themselves within that context, if we as fans aren't provided the opportunity to be entertained, then doesn't it become just another version of work? And that's me saying that as person who kinda likes their job.

In a previous life I was a hack academic, and it's probably unwise to retrace your steps and go back to what you wrote years ago; but I can perhaps at least look back at some of my old work and see who I quoted. Ken Inglis said "by studying a people’s ceremonies of leisure one may get closer to understanding them", which makes immediate sense to me. If you turn leisure into work, is it still leisure? Inevitable as any form of organised sport may be to being cast as part of Brohm's "prison of measured time", are we not as least partly obligated to try and not make it as bad as he said it was? What about Pieper's rejection of the view that leisure should be a reward for work; that a Sunday or lunch break should not merely be reduced to a device by which someone can be called upon to work once more.

But I'll stop here before I start quoting Proudhon. The performance from both sides on Monday was a credit to the game of soccer. Both teams sought goals, it's just that one was better at seeking them than the other. When Port's Dor Jok scored a cracker to bring it back to 4-2, South fans applauded the goal. Sure it's easy to do that when you have a two goal buffer, but it's no crime to admire excellence, even if it comes from your opponent. When Andy Brennan stormed up the field and smashed home the final goal of the game, in retro 2015 Brennan style, it near on brought the house down. That's as it should be. 

I understand that not every game is going to be like that. And I understand why not every game can be like that; I don't expect the team to score five goals every week. But I do have the expectation that we should look like we want to score that many every week. Not just because we are South Melbourne (though why not have that as a reason), but also because scoring goals is fun. The intent to move the ball with purpose was evident all night; players were also willing to run with the ball and create space for teammates. How good to see Riak working his arse off, but with actual help from his teammates. How good to see the fullbacks repeatedly get up the field. How good to see every midfielder looking to receive the ball, or to win it back from the opposition. How good in general not to see the team (especially Lirim) camped on its own 18 yard box when it's not needed.

How good is it when people see something so good, that they can't wait to come back? That was my favourite part of the night. People seemed genuinely excited by what they saw. There was no feeling of "oh, we were lucky to win that game". No, the feedback was we deserved to win that game, and that we could've scored more goals, and not just from our usual set piece routines. The long throw and corner goals aren't the problem. They were never the problem. They're not the problem for other teams when they score from those situations. The problem was that we were seemingly intent on creating nothing else. So, yes, two long throw goals on Monday night, but also three goals from open play, from counters, from winning the ball in midfield, from pressing Port up the field, from the full backs getting up the ground and putting good crosses in. And scarcely a player on the field for us that I could criticise.

(and how close did Morgan Evans look to putting Brad Norton out of a job?)

Some were quick to attribute this performance to Esteban Quintas being forced into watching the game from the stands, thanks to receiving a third yellow card during the course of this season thus far. I think that's unfair. He still trains the team, he still picks the team, and his mere absence from the touchline shouldn't negate all the work he puts in. It does help when you get most of your players available again from various absences. It helps when you play against a team that plays open, passing football, which makes them vulnerable in certain ways that other teams are not. Indeed, it's probably no accident that our best two performances in 2023 have been against Gully and Port, two teams with not the best of defenses, and who also like to attack and knock the ball around.

But something was different. There were passes and moves that had not been seen much this season. There was a hunger in the side all across the field, and not just desperation on our own 18 yard box. Who knows what switch was flicked, why it all clicked into place the way that it did, and whether we'll get to see more of it. But please, more of it, because it gives me joy, which is the whole point of this endeavour.

Next game
Altona Magic at home on Sunday afternoon. I am looking forward to it.

Is there a curtain raiser this week?
Yes. The senior women take on Alamein, kickoff at 1:30PM

Room for improvement
Would have been even better if we could have bought a drink outside the social club.

Our other senior team
I had not seen much of the women's team this year, and what I had seen hadn't filled me with much optimism. It all looked a bit clunky. But I had a free afternoon last Saturday, and for whatever reason their game against Box Hill United had been moved to McIvor Reserve, not a long drive for your correspondent. I was wondering whether there would be any food, and as I was driving to the ground I went past Edwards Reserve, where the Melbourne City (Argentinian variant) reserves were in action, and thought about stopping there for a moment, to see what their canteen had to offer.

But I drove on, and saw a decent enough turnout at McIvor Reserve, and a functioning canteen. Not a great souv, mind you, but passable under the circumstances of being hungry. I'd checked earlier to see if the women's under 19s were playing the curtain raiser, and they weren't, so I didn't get to the ground too early, only to find out upon arrival that the men's 21s team had just finished their game. 

The ground was in excellent condition, though the grassy areas around the perimeter could do with a good mow. Also, it's possible that because it was just the women playing, but the lack of scaffolding and /or an appropriate elevated position to film and commentate the match from was not a good look. Credit to Joey Lynch doing a professional job at ground level while staring into the sun for a couple of hours.

I probably should have brought a hat instead of a beanie, and possibly applied some sunscreen because it was a lot warmer than I expected. Or maybe I should have just stayed in the shade. Anyway, it was a cracking performance from the senior women, who dominated proceedings up until they scored midway through the second half, and then let Box Hill fight their way to the end; the visitors probably should have equalised, but that's what goal line clearances are for. Before all that, we were being scuppered by a huge amount of offside calls.

But late fade-out aside, I was pleased and pleasantly surprised with how the women played - it was smooth, attacking, attractive football, and the only thing that annoyed me about is that I only wished that the men's team could do something similar. Wish granted!

More room for improvement
There was an ice cream truck at Yarraville. If we can't get beers outside at Lakeside, can we at least get a Mr Whippy van to turn up? Or bring back the loukoumades!

Final thought
Still buzzing.

Friendly result - South Melbourne 4 Box Hill United 3

Here are some typically careless observations and prognostications based on the first pre-season game I've seen during this campaign.

It was not the most awe-inspiring performance, but it doesn't have to be, yet. As usual, quite a healthy attendance from South and non-South people out for this friendly out at Darebin International Sports Centre's synthetic pitches, including my old mate George Katsakis. If I'd known there'd have been an under 20s game beforehand, I would've arrived earlier than I did.

It was a warm day, our players looking a bit out of sorts effort wise - the calls by coach Tangalakis to press not always being heeded - and players were slipping over on the synthetic surface. Box Hill put in considerable effort in the early stages, and in addition to that they exposed a disturbing lack of speed in our defenders.

We fell 2-0 behind early, took a 3-2 lead early in the second half, and eked out a 4-3 win in the end. Results don't matter now of course, but for some reason you'd still rather be on the right side of the ledger even this early in the season. It was certainly not a full strength line-up on our end - no Schroen, Roganovic, Minopoulos, nor rumoured visa signing Canadian midfielder Ethan Gage. There was a bit of rotation as you'd expect. Will Orford got a bit of a run, as did Manny Aguek.

It looks like they're trying Gerrie Sylaidos as an attacking mid as opposed to his more customary wing position. Counter-attacking will probably be the name of the game in 2019, in part to protect what looks like an iffy defence. Seeing as how we've recruited a swathe of defensive mids, expect them to be utilised extensively in any formation we deploy. I'm thinking the midfield will generally be a good group, not world-beaters, but hard-working nevertheless; but apart from Sylaidos, perhaps lacking in craftsmanship. George Howard has apparently injured himself again, but you wonder where he'd fit in to this team in any case. 

In attack, there are a plethora of options, but there'll always be doubts about the pedigree of said options until such time as they prove otherwise. I'm a fan of both Pep and Giordano Marafioti, but Pep is perhaps too one sided and too cute with his finishing. His brother is more clinical and much more genuinely an out and out striker, and I foresee good things there. If nothing else, we should at least be less predictable going forward.

Not that predictability was a huge issue when Milos Lujic was banging in 20 goals a year, but that's over now, and it's time to turn over a new leaf. It'd be great to have someone score 20 goals this year, but I'd be happy if two of our forwards could score ten each, and the mids chip in with their fair share. Still, we could end up regretting not being more decisive in the early part of the off-season and recruiting Peter Skapetis.

From here on in, we're probably looking at friendlies every Wednesday and Saturday, but whether that's true or not, and just how accessible they'll "officially" be to the general South supporter base, I wouldn't have the foggiest.

2019 SMFC senior squad roster as of 13/01/2019
Defensive midfielder Kostas Stratomitros has joined from Oakleigh. I think the rumoured English striker is gone, but who knows. The signing of Canadian midfielder Ethan Gage is likely to be announced soon. Tim Mala has "retired", but may end up turning out for North Sunshine.

Signed

• Dean Bereveskos (Bonnyrigg White Eagles) 
• Kristian Konstantinidis (signed until end of 2019) 
• Nick Krousoratis (Green Gully) 
• Perry Lambropoulos (Port Melbourne) 
• Brad Norton (signed until end of 2019) 
• Kostas Stratomitros (Oakleigh Cannons)
• Gerrie Sylaidos (Northcote) 

Seen hanging around pre-season training

• Luke Adams 
• Manny Aguek 
• Alistair Bray 
• Ben Djiba 
• George Howard 
• Amir Jashari
• Giordano Marafioti 
• Giuseppe Marafioti 
• Jake Marshall
• Andrew Mesorouni
• Leigh Minopoulos 
• Will Orford
• Nikola Roganovic
• Marcus Schroen 

Rumoured

• Visa player no. 1 (English striker) 
• Visa player no. 2 (Canadian midfielder Ethan Gage) 

Injured

• Alastair Bray 

Out

• Rory Brian (Preston) 
• Matthew Foschini (Oakleigh) 
• Josh Hodes (Oakleigh?) 
• Christos Intzidis (who knows) 
• Milos Lujic (Oakleigh) 
• Oliver Minatel (who knows) 
• Ndumba Makeche (Penang FA?) 
• Tim Mala (retired)

Unknown / MIA / Assumed dead from 2018

• Iqi Jawadi 
• Giorgi Zarbos

Friendly tomorrow against Box Hill at DISC

First friendly for 2019, tomorrow at Darebin International Sports Centre (next to Northcote's ground, if you're not familiar), against Box Hill United at 2:00PM.

Smash. And. Grab. - Bentleigh Greens 0 South Melbourne 1

Let's be honest: at best, all you people were hoping for a draw. I admit that's all I thought we'd get.

Apart from anything else - our struggles, Bentleigh's good form, some sort of masonic conspiracy - it'd not been since Renco van Eeken's header early in 2013 that we'd beaten Bentleigh at Kingston Heath. That's seven games in league, FFA Cup and Community Shield. Think about it - it was that long ago that we had two less state titles under our belts, and Gus Tsolakis was coaching us. So no matter how much motivation there was at hand to beat Bentleigh, and even taking into account that the five year, seven game winless stretch also included quite a few draws, it hardly seemed like us winning was the most likely outcome. And I said that before the game, during the game when it was still level, during the game when we hit the lead, and even now that a priceless three points have been secured.

Speaking of motivation, much was made of a Facebook post by Bentleigh Greens about the then upcoming fixture, which noted that it was the "BATTLE OF THE CONTENDERS: NPL CHAMPIONSHIP VS NPL2". Now let me tell you, that got some people's backs up at South Melbourne, including people with influence - that is, the players - who were going to use it as "motivation" to win this game. Whatever works, right? I would've thought that, you know, Brad Norton's 200th game, our ongoing battle against relegation, even it just being a league game in its own right would've been enough motivation, but I'm just a Monday Morning Quarterback. Of course the post was taken down reasonably quickly, and replaced with something more benign but the damage, such as it was, was done.

As I've noted elsewhere, my main gripe was that it was taken down. Being simultaneously wary of and disinterested in "bants", especially when they come from official sources, my take is that if you're going to play these sorts of games, at least have the nerve to stick to your guns. I will grant that in this case, it seems to have been done without the express blessing of the Greens' hierarchy, and I guess that's enough of a reason to take it down, but still...

Of course South fans having a rather, er, "passionate" social media presence, a lot was going to be made of it, and people may be able to use it as proof of contribution towards something going right on the night, though I'm not quite sure what. I'd put more stock in Bentleigh's team missing some a couple of absolute sitters as being relevant.

Anyway, before all that there was a very long and tedious solo public transport trip to the ground, whose sole highlight was the 20 odd minutes of yacht rock that was on PBS while I was waiting at the bus stop in Cheltenham. Then at the ground, searching for the 20s game, and finding it was being played not the on the synthetic second pitch - which was getting relaid - but rather on another field farther back. Not that I was paying that much attention, almost copping a stray ball to head because of it.

Finally, time for the main game, in front of an ordinary crowd. With four other matches scheduled for the same night, including almost all the other Greek teams, it was pretty much the usual South travelling crowd and whatever Bentleigh normally rustles up on its own, which isn't much. If you were in any doubt, you could tell just from the pro-South noise coming from different parts of the ground who the majority of the crowd were here to support.

The first half was a pretty free flowing affair, though light on for clear cut chances for our part. And that's where the worry was always going to be. We all assumed that if we were going to have any chance of taking the three points it was going to be from a smash and grab effort. Bentleigh had the better of things, but there were also signs that maybe we could do something. Still in amid discussions about Ryan Scott's purple outfit, which led to speculation about whether was indeed a purple Power Ranger (turns out there were three!), we were happy with the 0-0 scoreline, figuring that if we were at least able to keep it to a draw, well that was a point we didn't have before, right?

The second half was much the same, dragging on with Bentleigh again having the better of things, as I watched on nervously with Clarendon Corner from the opposite end of the ground, from where it was impossible of course to tell exactly how close Bentleigh were to scoring.

Then came the twist that few of us dared dream of.

What turned out to be the winning goal was pure 2018 Oliver Minatel Novelty Goal Madness. A South Melbourne free kick too far out for a direct shot. Minatel is called by the South bench to be subbed off, only for him to tell them to hold off a for a bit. The ball is put into the box, Ryan Scott comes out for it, but Minatel throws himself into the danger zone, and the ball hits enough of him in the right place in the right way as he collides with Scott so that the ball ends up in the back of the net. Cue wild celebrations from South fans and players alike, except for Minatel who's still on the ground, and from me because I'm waiting for the ref to call some foul against Minatel in the vein of those "goalkeepers are protected species" fouls.

I watched the replay on my phone several times, searching perhaps to see if there was a hand involved. Any other player I wouldn't have even thought about it, but there's history here... but after more than enough squinting, I'm giving the Oli the benefit of the doubt, seeing as how he got bulldozed by the oncoming keeper for his troubles. It's more than I've done for the club in a long time.

But just on Minatel's goals this season: as was noted by a few at the ground, they've almost all been important goals, which is at least partly due to him spreading them out over a number of games, rather than scoring them all in one-off downhill skiing extravaganzas. Earlier this season I said that Minatel was more than underwhelming, and I stand by that, but there's few who could argue that he has become the team's best player and its most important contributor - sans perhaps the returning Nikola Roganovic - in the side's gradual revival.

Anyway, the goal stood, and we then had 20 minutes of normal time to ride out. Some subs were made, and they did well enough, playing the game on its merits - that is still looking for a goal when there was a chance for one, but also wasting as much time as was possible. Still, I didn't think we'd make it all the way to the end without conceding. Against a team that likes to play wide, we defended quite narrowly, all part of the plan to stay compact I suppose. As much as it helped us by compelling us to keep a certain shape, it did allow Bentleigh a lot of space. Fortunately, their crossing was atrocious. as bad as much of ours has been this season.

Brad Norton chaired on the shoulders of Leigh Minopoulos
 and Kristian Konstantinidis all the way to the supporters at
the car park end of the ground at the end of the game.
Photo: Unknown/South Melbourne FC.

There was six minutes of injury time, in keeping with World Cup trends, and another close call or two, but we got there. We've played better here since 2013 for no result, and we've played better in parts of 2018 too - just don't ask for specifics as to when - but you take what you can in desperate situations. There were also a couple of little bonuses as well. First, those of our players who were on four yellow cards didn't add to their tallies. Second, when things got heated with the officials, and there was the chance for pushing and shoving to take place, our boys stayed out of those situations which have been so expertly exploited by Bentleigh these past few years.

Amid the joy of the three points and what turned out to be a half-step away from the relegation zone, the occasion was joyous of course for being a proper commemoration of skipper Brad Norton's 200th game for the club. I think back to when "Braddles" started with the club in 2012, and how certain folk never took a shine to him. And then through the 2013 player purge - both immediately before and after Chris Taylor's tenure started - and how no one's position was really safe. And then the following season where despite us doing so well in the league, Taylor brought in Shaun Timmins, either to ultimately replace Norton or (less likely in my opinion) to motivate him to do better. Well, six years later, the proof is there for all to see, 200 games, as well as a couple of championships and a Dockerty Cup for one of the most popular players at the club; one who as captain, has always been ready to front up to the supporters at a game or through the club's media channels when things have gone badly, and who always takes the time to say hello when he makes eye contact with the fans.

And South of the Border hopes that there's many more games to come, hopefully in NPL rather than in NPL2, of course.

Next game
On Sunday at home against Hume City.

Relegation/survival prognostication, an ongoing concern
So what's changed over the course of a weekend? Well, despite our efforts, not much. Hume won 2-0 at Bulleen, which is bad for Bulleen (and merely "OK" for us), but very good for Hume (and not great for us). As if to prove how competitive the bottom sides are in 2018, Northcote picked up a win at an admittedly out of form Green Gully. Even Kingston managed a point away to Pascoe Vale, and were perhaps a touch unlucky not to get the win.

Last week we were two points clear of 12th place (Kingston), and now we're four points clear of 12th place (Northcote). So, happy as we all are that we got this unexpected win, it wasn't quite the relegation-near-busting result that it could've been. Next week is huge on the relegation front, not just for our game, but also Kingston at home to Northcote.

There's even those who are looking to the possibility of finals. That's just nonsense talk at this stage as far as I'm concerned, even as we are getting close to touching distance there. More importantly as relates to the teams immediately above us, is that they could be dragged into the relegation scrap, but the onus remains on us doing our bit to save ourselves first, and leave high concept ideas like finals appearances well enough alone.

After all, what good's a win against Bentleigh if we fail to pick up points against our fellow strugglers?

South women roll on
Headed out to Lakeside on Saturday arvo for our NPLW game against the struggling Box Hill United. The first half was surprisingly close. Box Hill looked up for the fight, and also looked to have a bit of quality on field as well. Melina Ayers in particular was well marked, playing out on the left hand side of attack being matched up against a very pacey fullback; I think there needed to be some adjustment in that part of the game plan, but it wasn't coming. Indeed Box Hill took the lead, and while you didn't necessarily have any fear that the game was lost - it was only the first half - it did show that perhaps we weren't at our best, though we managed to go into halftime level. The second half was a rout, with South winning 6-1, as Box Hill faded away into ineffectiveness. There's a lot of uncompetitive and half-competitive teams in the NPLW this season, which must be concerning to FFV. That's not a slight on Box Hill, who've pushed us this season in I think all our games, but more of a general observation about the progress of women's football in this state.

South Melbourne A-League bid information night
The club will be hosting an information night for members and season ticket holders regarding the club's A-League bid, at 6:30PM on Thursday July 26th, in the social club. Could be fun.

Good news, in a very minor way
Google has finally solved the issue of forwarding on comments for moderation to my email account. That should mean a return to former days of much quicker approval for publication of comments.

Final thought
I was over the Simpsons World Cup memes almost before they even started, but this is so beautiful.

HAHAHAHAHA this got me #ENGvCRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/eIrJZAhFCu

— Ryan Bowes (@RyanBowes4) July 11, 2018

Home and away - Kingston City 0 South Melbourne 2

Last Thursday evening I got a new floater in my "good" eye, and following my doc's repeated instructions, I turned up to his office first thing on Friday, and then followed that up with a Monday afternoon visit, which seeing as it would result in my eye being dilated, ruled me out of Monday night's game. So, in lieu of my actual presence, this week we've got a guest match report from Josh McKenzie. Thanks to Josh for answering the call to give it a go.

Josh McKenzie's take

As one would expect, there was only a small crowd on hand to watch this game, with a good deal of South's usual traveling support probably being put off by the Monday night start in the middle of nowhere. Not that this game was going to draw in a blockbuster crowd at any rate. Thankfully, things were better than in recent weeks on the pitch.

Hell, we even looked good and/or better than our opponent, like we actually deserved to win by even more than the two goal margin that we did win by. The coach even made some good, attacking subs, our attacks looked almost fluid, and even our crossing wasn't so bad once Matthew Millar decided that trying to launch balls onto the other pitch was probably not the best use of his latent talents; although to be fair, he did tuck away our first goal with a nice finish. Our defending meanwhile was a bit higgledy-piggledy at times, but Kingston weren't able to take advantage of that; and on the one occasion they did, Tyson made a fantastic save from the penalty. Rumours are that Luke Adams will be rejoining the side, which will go a long way to fixing that.

Tragically, we didn't help ourselves in stretching out this lead by falling back on playing corners either short or along the ground, an abnormal choice considering that opposition goalie Stephen Hatzikourtis isn't the tallest goalie in this league. Intzidis and Foschini put in some beautiful balls forward for Minatel and Brennan, which again influenced our attack to look significantly more potent. In the second half, we found it very hard to keep the ball and were camped in our own half for long periods of time; and while we managed to scramble well in defense and repel most of the aerial bombardment, Kingston’s poor finishing - and the tidy goalkeeping work of Jerrad Tyson - was as important to keeping the home side from scoring as whatever else happened on the night.

Our focus turns to the big game on Sunday against high flyers Avondale. I’ll see you all there!

As for myself
After my getting home from my doctor's appointment, I settled in to listen to the FFV's radio broadcast of the match. This used to be a common enough thing for me to do regardless of the match at hand, but South's form being what it is this season my enjoyment of the NPL as a whole has been diminished. Call it petty, call it what you will, it's the truth - my enjoyment of this league as a whole is lessened when when we're not doing well.

And while still not having reached even the halfway point of the season is a good enough excuse not to talk up relegation fancies yet - as well as Bulleen and Hume having fallen way behind the pack and into the automatic relegation slots - this was a relegation six pointer in all but name, even if it was only for the relegation playoff spot. So, I tuned in to the stream nervous as all hell, as nervous as or if not more so than for FFA Cup battles with our relevance supposedly on the line, or for grand finals.

How confident could you be with the way we'd been playing, or with the personnel we'd had out, and the threadbare bench we refuse to use in any case. And even Kingston had their own outs, and their own troubles putting away goals - just nine goals in their ten matches up until that point - they still had an actual brand name striker in their starting eleven, the kind we'd probably try and pinch in the event they got relegated. But then three minutes in, Kingston coughed the ball up in midfield, someone - possibly Nick Epifano - put Matthew Millar through on goal, and he scored. Of all the games for me to miss, it was one where Millar actually took one of his many chances.

(Albeit, when watching the replay later, having hit it straight at the Kingston keeper instead of picking one of the two corners, Millar was exceptionally lucky to have the ball go through the stranded keeper's legs. One problem at a time though.)

Then just a few minutes later, makeshift striker Oliver Minatel scored to put us two up, in a fashion that commentator Teo Pellizzeri was not quite sure of; in it's own way, it was a fitting description of all of Minatel's goal so far for South, following his unsighted ruck hitout against Oakleigh, and his fortunate massive deflected effort against Hume.

(There was some comment in the aftermath of the goal on the radio broadcast, that a South Melbourne free kick in the lead up to the goal was not played from the correct spot, the result of an error from the referee. While normally I would absolutely agree with this kind of rationalisation, the replay made me reconsider because of one point, on a moral of not legal technicality. The reason that the ball was not even near the correct spot of the foul following the awarding of the free kick was because a Kingston player had thrown the ball away from that era.

Did that ease the nerves of this listener at home? Not really. Kingston came out fired up, we seemed to be stuck somewhat in our half for the remainder if the opening 45 minutes, and judging from the commentary, lucky not to have conceded one or two goals. Kingston had a penalty, no one calling the game quite sure what for (replays says it was holding by Brad Norton, which is fair enough, but then that should be called every game), but Jerrad Tyson made a double save from the ensuing penalty, and then I really regretted not being able to be there.

Then Kingston hit the crossbar at some point, and then halftime. We were two-nil up, but not playing particularly well, which given the circumstances is probably still better than being nil-nil and having created a handful of golden chances you haven't taken. After the musical interval, the second half began, and I'd like to say that we sounded sharper and more dominant - maybe we were, I dunno - but more importantly it didn't sound like Kingston were doing much, and most of the rest of the game passed by in a haze.

It was a haze punctuated by Andy Brennan's long range effort cannoning off the inside of the right post, and after a good period of listening to Teo and his offsider talk about the weekend that was - and being able to make out Shouty Mike's voice in front of the commentary position - it occurred to me there were only 15, then 10, then 5 minutes left, and only a pending collapse of spectacular dimensions to deny us all three points. The collapse never came, and relieved, I switched off the Mixlr app, and didn't think much more about the immediate consequences of the result.

The win put us three points clear of Kingston, along with our far superior goal difference, and three points closer to the finals places, for those who dare to dream of such lofty heights.

Next game
At home on Sunday against Avondale.

Just a heads up that if you notice any unusual people taking photographs on Sunday, it's probably either French freelance journalist Gregory Letort or a photographer friend of his. Gregory's working on a few different pieces for French language press for the World Cup, and our very own South Melbourne Hellas is one of the things he's been doing some research on.

Premature mid-season transfer talk
As far as I can tell, the transfer window doesn't open until May 28, but this hasn't stopped people from talking about all sorts of possibilities. And why would it? Whether we're in a race for the top or a scrap at the bottom, pointless speculation about who you could bring in and who you could turf, and especially who's about to betray the club and become dead to you is what makes the soccer world go 'round.

Alongside the persistent rumour-mongering that any number of players are due to ditch for this or that club, there's been talk former South Melbourne championship winning centre-back Luke Adams has either signed with us, or is being courted by a few different teams. Adams had been spotted at Lakeside during the Green Gully game, but the usual rules apply - until they step into the field for us in a competitive fixture - and in these increasingly paranoid times, until it's clear that they weren't ineligible for that fixture - there's no point in going off the deep end.

Even under the circumstances of such rampant uncertainty, one of the more curious things to happen on Monday night was the naming of Marcus Schroen on the bench. I know he's been back in training for a little while now, but it does seem like an awfully quick recover from *insert whenever it was Schroen did his knee*. Does he even have any match fitness? Still, good to seemingly have him back, even though I'm not a huge fan myself. At least he'll be a step up in the free kick taking department.

Mother of all something
I did manage to get to one soccer match on the weekend, that being the WNPL game between South and Box Hill on Saturday. Neither team has set the world on fire so far this season - though South has been better than Box Hill - and this game kinda showed why. The first half wasn't too bad, Box Hill trying to hit us on the counter, and us trying to pass our way to goal. We took the lead, conceded the equaliser, and then retook the lead before halftime through Julia Nicolaci, even if her name was almost impossible to read on the redesigned scoreboard graphics. The second half was mostly played between the two 18 yard boxes, and nothing much important happened, though there were some people waiting for Sofia Sakalis to get called offside at one point, which has become a sort of parlour game for a very small handful of people that watch the women's team. Some of those people are also involved in coming up with nicknames for the players... "Little Slugger" for Kathryn Vlahopoulos is the main one these people are working on. Despite the erratic season the women are having, they've managed to work their way into third, which is pretty good considering that the squad seems younger than last year.

Final thought
On the matter of the PFA's history conference, which was held on Tuesday, I hope to get something written up on that by the end of the week.

Four-Six-Zero - South Melbourne 2 Box Hill United 1

If you wanted to take a glimpse into what it would be like to watch South Melbourne 2017 (or 2016, or 2015) sans its only two forwards of any note, this was the game to be at.

There was no Milos Lujic (death in the family), no Leigh Minopoulos (injury/soreness) and thus there were no recognised strikers on the field for us. I guess you could say Marcus Schroen and the bullocking Matthew Millar were as close as we got on that front. Liam McCormick got a start; Matthew Foschini played at right back instead of Tim Mala; Jesse Daley got a start, as did Luke Pavlou. Carl Piergianni replaced Luke Adams.

Who am I to judge someone's reasons for being on Twitter?

So while we were in some ways undermanned, we were not so drastically undermanned as to be able to use it as an excuse had we lost. After all, Box Hill is bottom of their division, haven't won a league game for ages and is struggling to score goals. But as is the nature of the cup, they came out to play, and did about as well as you could have expected them to have done.

That didn't mean we didn't have a bucket load of chances to score, in a game where if nothing else the lack of usual and very traditional target man meant that our attacks were more ground based and variable in direction, and dare I say it, even a bit faster than usual.

The finishing let us down, but that wasn't necessarily down to the people taking the shots not being forwards - any forward or midfielder should have done better from many of those situations. One sequence of play saw players line up across the six yard box and repeatedly knock the ball across instead of shooting. Matthew Millar shot when he should have passed and passed when he should have shot. Jesse Daley kept lining up the keeper with timid shots.

In that sense it would be misleading to see Nick Epifano's goal as unjust, even if it was unorthodox and unexpected - an over-hit in-swinging cross from out wide over the top of the keeper. Even Marcus Schroen's winner, while well taken, depended on the goalkeeper going to ground instead of holding his position.

Box Hill's goal depended on a quarter-arsed effort in midifield from the People's Champ, some tidy work up the line from the visitors, and abysmal marking in the six yard box. A near miss from a free kick fooled quite a few people - both South and non-South. And we were lucky that Nikola Roganovic remained alert, as he pulled off a good diving save to keep the game from going to extra time.

But that shot was from range, and while we can give credit to Box Hill for fighting until the end, there was a clear difference in class between the two sides and in the overall calibre of the chances created. Many of us wondered why coach Taylor did not make any more subs than he did, especially in injury time - and where did the ref find four minutes of injury time in this game? - if not for tactical reasons than to at least waste time. Perhaps we'll never know.

Nevertheless, when all is said and done it could have ended up a lot worse, as it did for certain other NPL teams on the night. Melbourne Knights lost to Dandenong City (not so much an upset, but still funny because it wasn't us) and Oakleigh being humiliated 4-2 by a Moreland City containing that lovable cripple Trent Rixon, who managed to score a double and do that stupid fish flop celebration.

Just be glad that we got through, unimpressive as it was in times. Be glad that we can disappoint again, perhaps more certainly, in the next round, when we'll probably and belatedly get matched up against a team of merit.

Next game
At home to Pascoe Vale (currently a game ahead of us) on Sunday arvo. It's another double header, with our third placed women's team who are playing the ladder leading Geelong.

Sing us a song, you're a Hellas fan
Some new chants made the rounds, one to the tune of Billy Joel's 'Piano Man', the other pleading for Taylor to make a sub to the tune of B52s' 'Love Shack'. I didn't mind either of them. Disappointing that the rendition of the Chariots of Fire theme didn't take off as much as it should have.

Midweek social club musings
More changes to the menu. Open souvs, a reduction in the range of burgers, and more of a Greek flavour to parts of the menu. I have the feeling that we're close to a more final version of the menu.

Back on the horse (match programmes and such)
Many promises have been made by me on this front, almost all of them broken. But we are trying to make amends.

• 1978 Newcastle KB
• 1980 Brisbane City 
• 1996 VSF annual report
• The Little Professor of Soccer - Leo Baumgartner

There's much more stuff to come. Thanks to The Agitator, Todd Giles and Marl Boric.

Final thought
There was no good reason for this coming out this delayed.

November 2016 digest

Friendly vs Box Hill United
On the Monday that just went past the club had an informal hit-out against now regular pre-season sparring partner Box Hill United. Three by thirty minute periods. Box Hill United scored the only goal of the affair, from a goal mouth scramble. They had only one other clear cut chance, a free header straight to the keeper. For South, the squad was made up of many of 2016's regulars (except those that have left, and Luke Adams who is playing for Eastern Suburbs in New Zealand), some fringe/youth players, that Zinni kid and some other blokes I couldn't recognise - not that that matters anyway, because my recognition skills are not good. The outing was high intensity, and the South bys controlled most of it albeit the end product was rubbish. So it goes. At one point Milos Lujic poleaxed an opponent and himself in a bizarre challenge, but he got up eventually and resumed playing.

I don't know when the next friendly hit-out will be. If I get more forward and definitive notice than I did for this one, I'll try and post something somewhere.

Social clubs news
Earlier this month they were putting the floor in,

Floor and walls are taking shape here at @smfc :) pic.twitter.com/FxJivyiK8M

— Tony Margaritis (@sthmel) November 9, 2016

And progress has been steady since then.

During mid-November I was fortunate enough to be invited to the club to take a first hand look at the progress being made (sorry, no photos allowed) and to ask some general questions. Any chance of that visit being conducted relatively incognito was scuppered because several board members - some of whom are working on the project in a hands on manner, lending their expertise to the project - also arrived during my visit.

Upon entering the space (with mandatory hi-viz safety vest), one still had to imagine what it would look like when it's finished and how everything would fit together. Suffice to say that one already feels that it will be a drastic improvement on the increasingly decrepit former social club space.

One of the key differences will be a lower ceiling, creating what one hopes is a more intimate atmosphere. There are plans to try and get more natural light in there as well, though I'm unsure how that will come about. When there weren't big numbers in the old social club, its dankness and degradation became increasingly noticeable - one expects that this time a bit more thought and care will be put into the design. Another difference will be the bar, kitchen and dining areas all being on the same level, as opposed to the raised bar/lowered dining areas arrangement of the old social club.

There will be several television screens of various sizes around the space, as well as museum space dedicated around the room as opposed to being concentrated in one area. The museum space will also have, it is hoped, a multimedia component. For the futsal court, apart from the court itself there are plans for a raised viewing area behind one of the ends (I'm thinking of perhaps something like the upstairs behind the goal area of the Icehouse, or a squash court), as well as of course new changerooms.

The office space will be an open plan set up, and integrated with the former boardroom space into one large room. I am led to believe that the old, massive board table has been dispensed with - which on the one hand is sad, because it was a beautiful table and a part of our history, including alleged mythical sordidness - but now that we don't have the constitutional scope for 21 board members it probably doesn't need to be that big.

Those who have been to recent AGMs will be relatively familiar with how all of this will actually function. Chief of those concerns is whether management of the space will be outsourced or kept in house, with the club preferring to keep it in house at this time. The club of course hopes that all will be ready in time for the first home games of the season, which will be some time in February.

AGM news 
The date for the 2016 AGMs (SMH and SMFC) have been announced. They will be held on Tuesday 20th December in the Presidents Room at Lakeside, SMH at 7:00PM, SMFC at 8:30. Those members who have not received any notification via mail or email by I suppose the end of next week should probably contact the club.

While I am pleased that the AGM is being held in a more timely fashion this time around, holding it in the week before Christmas is a bit lame, as we noted of the last occasion that such a thing was done back in 2011.

With so many things apparently going very well for the club - lease sorted, trophies being won, women in WNPL - one wonders what kind of trajectory the meeting will take. At the very least one hopes that apart from the usual deal of finances and football updates, that members will get an update on the progress of the social club, as well as some explanation on the mechanics of our A-League bid.

Apart from the many other issues which will be discussed, this year also happens to be an election year. I don't suppose any new tickets will emerge to challenge the board which has in one form or another been running the club for most of our post NSL years, but you never know.

Season schedule
The 2017 season will starting in mid February, on the week ending Sunday 12, which is a bit earlier than the 2016 start. The Community Shield, which South Melbourne will be participating in for a third consecutive year, will be held two weeks earlier than that.

Arrivals and departures
As per last time, the following players are known to be contracted for next season.

• Stephen Hatzikostas (signed until end of 2017)
• Brad Norton (signed until end of 2017)
• Matthew Millar (signed until end of 2017)
• Milos Lujic (signed until end of 2018)

Players who have left the club.

• Chris Irwin to Kingston City.
• Iqi Jawadi, to Oakleigh Cannons.
• Amadu Koroma, to Altona Magic

A number of names have been posted to a certain forum, but unless it comes from the club itself (and even then, after the Jason Hicks situation...), take nothing as gospel.

A-League expansion murmurings

So after the explosion of expansion news across the past two weeks, things have settled down a bit - though we're still getting press for not doing very much other than repeat ourselves. But South Melbourne Hellas is at this point in time for parts of the press a valuable commodity, and since both our objectives are apparently being met by this pseudo-cooperation, one can't really complain. We even got some positive, albeit generic, coverage in Neos Kosmos.

A more concrete bit of news was that FFA would visit Lakeside as part of this process some time this week, although of course the expansion criteria have not been released yet. Still, it's nice that our interest in being an expansion side seems to have at least garnered some reciprocal interest from FFA, as opposed to the Southern Cross bid where we had to cry to the press for attention, and the Heart/Mariners takeover bids in which afterwards one felt South had been used for the sake of drawing out other interests.

It's so hard to tell which other bids out of the myriad that have appeared in the past fortnight are actually anything more than thought bubbles, apart from the Tasmania bid and Third Sydney. Something unusual about all of this has been the lack of anything to do with this on the official website, but I suppose one can put that down to the main website person not being in the country during this part of the news cycle.

South gets a mention in a book
Les Street found this mention of South and assorted other Australian soccer clubs in a book about 1000 clubs from around the world.

This is the most surreal thing I've seen. Brand new book from USA has Mooroolbark listed amongst most prominent Australian football clubs. pic.twitter.com/16dviMTQMd

— Les Street (@official_lesdog) November 5, 2016

It's nice to be acknowledged I suppose.

Summary of friendly against Box Hill United

Searing heat.
Signal problems at Tottenham.
Route 12 tram chopped in two.
Sudden dust storm outside the ground.
A plague of flies.
Six goals to none.
One mediocre pizza.
Next game: Bulleen, Saturday morning.

December 2015 and early January 2016 digest

Social club and Lakeside lease saga
Unresolved.

@PaulMavroudis @LAthanasakis @MartinFoleyMP @tom_kalas @johnerenmp @rwynnemp @smfc should have some good news in the week to come

— Tony Margaritis (@sthmel) December 3, 2015

When is the AGM on?
Every year this thing gets later and later. Now I know that there is obviously the issue of the reunification of the women and stalling for time to announce the building of the social club, but we have got to get back to the point where an AGM is held in November, a point in time where the financial details are still half relevant. The delay is also exacerbating the breach between those who have the ear and proximity of those on the board, and those who do not. Here's hoping that in future we get back on schedule with these things - here's hoping also that the AGM is not held on a school night, in attempt to rush the proceedings.

Friendly news
There are a number of friendly games coming up, as the season proper approaches. At the present time none of these will include South Hobart, as they have pulled out of their planned to trip to Melbourne this week (though I believe that they will be here next week to take on other opponents). Instead this Friday evening we will be hosting Eastern Lions at Lakeside. I won't be there, as I have other things to do.

This Sunday at the early kickoff of 11:00AM (reserves at 1:00PM), we'll be taking on Knox City out Egan Lee Reserve in Knox. I won't be there because it's in the fucking public transport black hole that is Knox. Then on Wednesday, we'll be playing against Box Hill United once more at Lakeside. I might go to that.

On Friday February 5th, we will be travelling to Sydney to take on Sydney Olympic for the 'Bank of Sydney Cup', at Kogarah Oval. On Sunday February 7th at 3:00PM, we will be playing Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park. As per last year's pre-season trip to Adelaide, I won't be able to make this trip, this time due to ongoing concerns with the condition of the posterior hyaloid of my right eye. 

Season 2016 start date
The fixtures for NPL Victoria's 2016 season are out, and have been updated on the blog. The season will begin on the weekend of February 19th/20th/21st/22nd. Our opening match against Heidelberg is the only match on that day.

There's a lot of blocks of multiple home and then multiple away games. On the plus side, we've at least partly moved away from the Friday night experiment. A lot more of our Friday games in 2016 also seem to come up against Melbourne based AFL games, which probably won't help attendances, but we'll see.

Player movements and contract statuses
Mathew Theodore has been signed up for another season. Including the four new signings, that makes 19/20 of the available spots on the squads - though of course some of these players, like Luke Eyles, may be put into the under 20s squad. No firm word yet on Andy Kecojevic or Jake Barker-Daish, though the latter has reportedly been released.

Assistant coach Dimi Tsiaras has resigned from his post, in order to focus on his business and family.

• Nikola Roganovic (assume signed on for 2016)
• Mathew Theodore (signed up for 2016).
• Kristian Konstantinidis (reportedly signed up for 2016)
• Luke Adams (reportedly signed up for 2016)
• Cody Martindale (reportedly signed up for 2016)
• Nick Epifano is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Iqi Jawadi is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Michael Eagar is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Milos Lujic is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Leigh Minopoulos is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Tim Mala is contracted until the end of 2016.
• Chris Irwin has a two year contract with the club; it is unclear whether that contract finishes at the end of 2016, or 2017.
• Stephen Hatzikostas is contracted until the end of 2017.
• Brad Norton is contracted until the end of 2017.
• Luke Eyles been signed until the end of the 2017 season.
• Chris Taylor has a long term contract with the club, believed to be five years.

Players signed until the end of the 2015 season.

• Andy Kecojevic

Players with unknown contract statuses

• Jake Barker-Daish (probably released)

Gone

• Andy Bevin (Team Wellington)
• Thomas Lakic (Oakleigh Cannons)
• Fraser MacLaren (Dandenong Thunder)
• Dane Milovanovic (Hong Kong Pegasus)
• Nick Morton (returned to South Hobart)
• David Stirton (Port Melbourne)

In

• Zaim Zeneli
• Marcus Shroen
• Jason Hicks
• Matthew Foschini

South Melbourne Hellas match programmes

I may be the king of starting a thousand minor and/or major projects and never finishing any of them, but here is something that I've managed to get through over the break. Having recently received a number of match programmes from the mid 1990s (courtesy of Roy Hay), I've scanned, uploaded and created a section for them on this blog.

The stuff from the 1993-1995 era is the most interesting. The magazine at the time has the most interesting and original content of what I've uploaded so far, including a letters section. In contrast, the 1998/99 era is more laden with advertisements, but all of it is interesting insofar as the match programme portrays the way the club sought to portray itself to its own fans and the wider public who happened to stumble upon it - two demographics which didn't necessarily have a good deal in common.

As usual, feel free to download and share these items with your fellow Hellas fans and Australian soccer history buffs. If people have items that would fill in the gaps, they would be most appreciated, whether you've scanned them into a pdf file yourself, or whether you'd prefer me to do it. Just contact me, and I'll try and arrange something.

Peter Filopoulos' piece
Worth a read if you've missed it. Among other things, it talks about how the club bought its first computer.

Flare incident at Lakeside Stadium
As noted by Southpole. 

Two pre-Christmas friendlies

An early start for our pre-season hit-outs for next season. First up is an outing against Box Hill United at Lakeside this coming Wednesday at Lakeside (16/12), followed up by a visit to the Veneto Club against Bulleen on Monday (21/12).

Bureaucrats and Bohemians - South Melbourne 2 Oakleigh Cannons 2

Lots of things happened yesterday, some of them were even football related. It was great to be able to mingle with all sorts of different South fans, in a relaxed atmosphere before an end of season dead rubber, not because the team was poor, but because they were good. One of the older gentlemen had even brought along a large container full of lollies to share, and I decided to side with Homer as opposed to Marge:

Marge: And don't take candy from strangers.

Homer Simpson: Marge, they're only human!

But now to the rest of the day's events.

Formeroos! Copperoos!
Rather than have the under 20s play as the curtain raisers, the pre-game entertainment was a friendly match between a selection of former Socceroos (including among others, Dean Anastasiadis, Kimon Taliadaros and Fausto De Amicis) playing against the Victorian Police soccer club. The Formeroos won the game quite comfortably, the final score being apparently 8-3 (though whether anyone as actually keeping proper score is doubtful), but the highlight was De Amicis coming down to the fence at half time and doing a bit of meet and greet with the early bird South fans, even saying that it was good to see us still supporting the club, without it coming across as patronising. A fair effort.

After the conclusion of that game, the crowd was presented with several surviving members of the 1964 and 1974 state champion teams, as well as the 1984 national champion team, which was great to see.

Here come the fun police
Of all days for whoever the manager of Lakeside Stadium is to get his knickers in a knot about Clarendon Corner, he had to pick yesterday. Now I don't know the bloke's name, so for ease of use and to give him some semblance of anonymity, let's just call him Hermes Conrad. Old mate Hermes, reportedly in the job for about three months, decided that today he was not going to let the drum be played. Never mind that the drum has been used all season long, nor the fact that, as one supporter put it, 'it's not a fucken funeral', Hermes pointed to his little piece of paper and said that drums were not allowed. Credit to the fans who negotiated with Hermes, who tried to reason with him rather than get fired up, even as some of those a few metres away hurled abuse.

Credit also to the bloke with the annoying air horn device, who decided to sacrifice it for the sake of keeping the drum. He also brought along a giant cardboard champagne bottle, decorated with South motifs (and which made it into several photos), which I'm surprised was considered acceptable by Hermes, though I'm not sure what Hermes could have done about the newspaper confetti and the streamers. The most stinging comment anyone said to him was, 'we're here for another forty years, so get used to it'. Like the shenanigans various A-League supporter groups have had to deal with though, this probably won't be the last we hear about this. That's the problems with no longer being the venue manger I guess.

Eventually Hermes went back to his little hidey hole and I don't think I remember seeing him for the rest of the game. Newly installed FFV CEO (and former interim CEO) Peter Gome hung around Clarendon Corner a bit in the second half, and didn't seem to have much of an issue with what was going on.

Bohemians on tour

The leather blown they now pursue
And deftly through goal-posts guide
Who taught the world the way to woo
In songs that vibrant passion sighed.
The revelries in which they vied
To give the graver lands a shocker
Merely as memories abide
Now Czecho-Slovaks shine at Socker.

from 'The Modern Bohemian' (1927), by Thomas the Rhymer (pseudonym of Charles Hayward, editor of The Bulletin).

One of the most bizarre things I've ever seen at South Melbourne was the arrival of a dozen or so people in green and white, carrying banners and a Czech flag, and end up near Clarendon Corner. Turns out they were supporters of the Czech club Bohemians 1905, apparently on tour to commemorate the club's 1927 tour to Australia. Looking at the dates of their tour, it seems as if Hayward's poem is about that tour specifically, which is a nice thing to know.

Bohemians are of course famous for having a kangaroo in their logo, courtesy of apparently receiving two kangaroos as a gift on the tour, and which were taken back to Prague Zoo. The took a lot of photos and videos, and seemed to be having a great time, but the most bizarre moment was when the supporter known as 'Stevie' or 'Kev' (who has an intellectual disability), objected to the Bohemians fans being in Clarendon Corner, and tried to barrel through several supporters holding him back (and he's a strong, low centre of gravity kind of bloke) while being told that they were our friends and that it was OK. He must have thought they were Gully fans or something. The good news is that the one person he pretty much always listens to when he gets fired up about something managed to calm him down, and nothing serious actually happened. It was certainly all smiles when they filmed the celebrations following Milos Lujic's equaliser late in the contest.

Chants
The chanting varied from the very good, to the absurd. The very good was the changing of certain lyrics to fit the situation (Already won the league! Fuck off Oakleigh!), and the inclusion of Bohemians into some chants. The absurd was going back to the rank lower class chants ('Everywhere we go' "Let's go Hellas, let's go', but that was more of an indication

There was a game on?
I can't remember much about the game to be honest. We scored first, they replied instantly, they took the lead, and we equalised late, probably should have pinched it. John Honos made some good saves for them, but he also seemed to milk every slight bit of contact for all it was worth. No matter.

The mating call of the loser

As Buzz Aldrin will tell you, second comes right after first.

Not that we want to harp too much on it, because we've harped on about it enough during this season as it is, but Oakleigh must be some of the biggest sooks in Australian soccer (and that's coming from someone's who majored in sooking, with a minor in communications). Now, admittedly throwing more money down the toilet for no silverware must hurt, as would not bothering to take the Dockerty Cup seriously, because it's not like it has anything to do with the FFA Cup (oh, wait...), but Miron Bleiberg's comments following their loss against Melbourne Knights, about how Oakleigh have scored more and conceded fewer goals than South was classic straw clutching, even if he begrudgingly admitted that we were the more consistent team over the course of the season

Not one to be left behind on the coulda/woulda/shoulda bandwagon (to which South of the Border has a lifetime pass) was Oakleigh defender John Black, who said after yesterday's match:

"At the end of the day they haven’t beaten us all year and congratulations to them for winning the title but we haven’t lost to them and I think that if we brushed up our performances in lesser games we could’ve been the champions, but that’s the way it goes.”

On that front, we didn't beat Oakleigh in 2006 either, but we won that title as well. Different rules back then, what with there being a finals series, but in the end the same glorious result - South winning a title, and Oakleigh being able to crow about the fact that they didn't lose to us. Whatever helps them sleep at night, I guess.

Having said all of that, the fact that at least one person was disappointed that Oakleigh didn't form a guard of honour for us is a bit silly, because it's just not necessary, and we had the kids from our own club there to do it. What next, are we going to parade them in chains in a triumphal march down Clarendon Street (well actually...)? Neither was I annoyed that they didn't stick around for the award ceremony - I mean, would you want to be there in that situation? Frankly, I didn't want them there anyway, because the day wasn't about them, it was about us. Best to leave them go off so they can add another star to their logo for goodness knows what reason.

Here's your prize, don't break it now... 
The awards ceremony went off pretty much without a hitch, The right people were booed, and they teed up FFV president Nick Monteleone to appear alongside the one day to be beatified South legend Jimmy Armstrong in order to avoid getting Monteleone booed, in much the same way that Tony Abbott was paired up with a sick kid at Manly. Like the 1998 trophy before it (at least I think it was 1998), the base of the trophy decided that it wanted a divorce from the top half of the trophy.

The official (and Liberal Party heavy - poor local member Martin Foley has been thrown on the relevance scrapheap, at least for the time being) part of the celebrations done and dusted, the celebrations moved into the changerooms, where Kosta of Blue Thunder Security made sure that not everyone could get in, and while it's easy and and fun to take a big whack at him for doing so, realistically the place was that full that no one else could get in. Your correspondent was therefore happy to stay outside until the place emptied out a bit, and I got to mingle a little and soak up what was left of the atmosphere.

Afterwards a few people kicked on at Beachcomber (oh wherefore art thou social club?), where even I was photographed with the trophy (thanks to Chris Maynard's dad Richard for taking the photos). After dinner the players debated going out to Ljubo's one time favourite hang out Love Machine, which long time readers are well aware, I draw the line. Nightclubs aren't my thing, and besides, it was way past my bedtime.

Next game
Goulburn Valley Suns away for the final round of the season. The club will be organising a bus up to Shepparton. Cost is $35, and the bus will leave from Lakeside 'at 10:30am sharp'.

South Hobart NPL playoffs trip
The date was already known - Saturday September 20th -, but now the kickoff time has also been confirmed - 1:30pm - at South Hobart's ground at D'Arcy Street.

The scheduling is ideal for both a weekend stint or a day trip. Since I'm only making a day trip out of it, I've booked my ticket for the 9:45 flight from Tullamarine, and returning on the 21:40 out of Hobart, which a few fans are also reportedly doing, but there are also people who will be getting in on earlier flights, as well as those doing the weekend thing - so I think we'll have decent numbers.

The fly in, fly out option has become significantly more expensive as the computer algorithms of the airlines have cottoned on to the fact that people want to get in and out for this trip on that date - my $49 flight out of Hobart is now selling for an absurd $149. Hopefully there'll be at least be an internet radio option provided for those who can't make the trip down.

Play Off The Park podcast
Last Monday I was a guest along with Dr Ian Syson on SYN 90.7FM's 'Play off the Park' show, talking about soccer history, heritage and politics. Due to technical issues, the first 34 minutes of the show are separate from the rest of the show. It was a lot of fun, even if Pave Jusup reckons I sound more ethnic than he does.

Victoria University's Worlds of Football conference seeking abstracts
If you're in academia, or have an academic inclination, check out this flyer for details of the upcoming Worlds of Football conference being hosted by Victoria University. The conference will be in mid-January 2015, and abstracts need to be in by mid October 2014. Or you can just check out my reviews of the 2010 and 2012 conferences.

Around the grounds
Up the hill and down again
I had been invited by Box Hill United's Nicholas Tsiaras to come down to Wembley Park at some point in the season, and finally made there on Saturday for their game against the ladder leading Avondale Heights. A win for the visitors would almost guarantee them the championships while the home needed to nwin to keep their promotion chances alive. Wembley Park has a severe slope to one end (though good luck to those with shocking depth perception trying to figure out which way it goes). Anyway, Avondale Heights were kicking to the down sloping end in the first end, and probably should have gone into half time a couple of goals up. Box Hill played better in the second half, but really only had one good chance, which they botched. A better result for the visitors than the home side.

Final thought
I laugh at one joke about herpes and people start killing each other because of it.

South hold on grimly for cup win - Dandenong Thunder 0 South Melbourne 1 AET

This entry was very nearly going to be titled 'Cup football blows'. Dandenong Thunder dominated the entirety of normal time in this match, but went on to spurn chance after chance, before a sucker punch goal early in extra time to Kobbie Boaheme saw them turfed out of the Dockerty Cup (and FFA Cup) for 2014. 

South meanwhile are now into the quarter finals of the Dockerty Cup, and just one win away from qualification for the FFA Cup. Including both league and cup matches, it was South's 13th consecutive win in 2014, a remarkable run in anyone's language. 

South made a few changes from the line-up which took on Werribee City on Sunday in the league. Nick Epifano came back into the starting line up replacing Leigh Minopoulos, Michael Eagar slotted back into the side replacing James Musa who is on All Whites duty, and Slaven Vranesevic came in for the unavailable Matthew Theodore.

For their part, I believe Dandenong Thunder may have also had one or two out, but still managed to field a good young team with a few familiar ex-South faces - midfielder Alan Kearney, goalkeeper Zaim Zeneli and defender Ramazan Tavsancioglu - which has been providing real Jekyll and Hyde performances throughout 2014.

Unfortunately for us, we got the fired up Dandenong Thunder who, already off the league leaders' pace, had pretty much only this to play for for the rest of the season - never mind the return of several ex-Thunder personnel to George Andrews Reserves for the first time since they moved across to South last year.

Apart from an early series of five consecutive corners, and a Jamie Reed shot which was blasted high and wide from outside the box - and he had so much more time than he realised - it was pretty much all Dandenong in the first half.

They should have scored within the first minute or so when we coughed up the ball cheaply in defence, but Saldaris made the first of a series of three or four killer saves in this match - including one where he was bundled into the net, but thankfully awarded the foul, unlike Gavalas last year in the preliminary final against Northcote.

My obviously educated opinion is that we were also out-coached, or at the very least played into Dandy's hands. While George Andrews Reserve is a bigger ground than many in the NPL, quite why we sat so deep for almost the entire match baffled me.


So many of our goals this season have been scored from getting the opposition to cough up possession in midfield, and then playing the ball either to Reed or Milos Lujic up front. Yet Lujic was stranded up front by himself, as Reed was played closer to midfield, and the lack of pressure on the Thunder back four allowed them to play the ball of the back with ease. Thunder were thus able to repeatedly make their way up both wings without the threat of turning the ball over.

Meanwhile, when we did get the ball and the chance to go forward, we often resorted to bombing it long to Lujic, or steadfast refused to play the ball wide to a loose man - on at least a couple of occasions Iqi Jawadi, who otherwise toiled hard in midfield, refused to pass it to Vranesevic, preferring to take on the Thunder defence himself. 

While we improved in the second half, it still took us a whole 80 minutes to get even a timid shot on target. Leigh Minopoulos certainly added some spark - and class - when he came on for Reed (and playing up front as opposed to out wide, probably for the first time since he started against the Georgies in the cup), taking advantage of the tiring Thunder.

Nevertheless, we couldn't manage to get the win in normal time, as even as we worked ourselves into better positions and started winning the ball in 50/50s in the middle of the park, our crossing and decision making were invariably poor. 

Extra time at least brought the temporary relief that if we conceded early we would have time (compared to injury time after the regulation 90) of being able to pull a goal back, but it was us that started the brighter, with substitute Boaheme finding space inside the box. His shot at the near post was well saved by Zeneli, resulting in a corner - and from said corner, Thunder's inability to clear their lines presented Boaheme with the opportunity to make up for that chance when he managed to get the ball over the line.

South then had a good patch of play, its best of the match as it probably shaded the extra time period. However Thunder wouldn't go away, throwing everything at the South defence including keeper Zeneli from a corner, which almost paid dividends. In the end, Thunder's failure to score after having so many chances came back to haunt them - and as we all know, whatever stats you may have won on the night, there's only one that counts in the end.

It was the first time we had been held scoreless (in normal time) all season, and added to a recent series of underwhelming performances. While the defence is holding up, Saldaris' kicking is becoming a real worry. Reed's form also seems to have dropped off in the last few weeks, if not his endeavour, though I wish he would stop playing for free kicks so much.

Still, once again we got the chocolates, as we head into the next phase of a triumvirate of tough matches: we host Thunder on Sunday, followed by perhaps the most anticipated match of the season thus far, a trip to Oakleigh on Friday week. It's been an amazing run so far


Our next opponent in the cup has not been decided yet, with several Dockerty Cup games to be played next week, but among the winners from last night were Hume City (6-0 over Springvale White Eagles), Northcote (2-1 over Werribee City) and South Springvale (1-0 over Fawkner Blues).

Lastly, thanks to Johnny for giving me and Gains a lift home.

Around the grounds

NPL1 Match Review with Skip Fulton @Football_Vic

Sunshine George Cross vs Box Hill United

NPL1 Seniors, Saturday 24^th May at Chaplin Reserve

The NPL1 Seniors ladder has Avondale Heights on top four points clear of Box Hill United with Sunshine George Cross a point behind. Therefore Chaplin Reserve played host to second versus third it what was expected to be a close match between two strong teams.

Box Hill were coming off a win over FC Bendigo last week whilst Sunshine had lost at Dandenong City. On paper Box Hill looked the stronger team having the better goal difference, scoring in every match this season and having four clean sheets from their eight games.

The encounter lived up to expectations of two top teams going at it. Box Hill had the upper hand with possession and scoring opportunities. Their ability to break along the right flank and get in behind exposed some weaknesses in the Sunshine defence. They weren’t able to convert their chances and the teams went in at half time with no goals.

The second half bought a resurgent Sunshine George Cross to the field. They held off a period of constant attack from Box Hill and had their own chances on the counter attack however a lack of speed resulted in them not being able to penetrate through the last line and get shots on target.

That changed in the eighty second minute however with a fast cross shooting in from the right flank coming just inside the six yard box. It sailed past an attacker, defender and keeper only to be picked up by an unmarked Sadik at the back post. A big celebration in front of the pavilion and home team supporters ensued with Sunshine hitting the front. An all-out and forceful defence from Sunshine meant Box Hill struggled to get it into the final third for the final ten minutes and they ran out the victors.

Sunshine George Cross climb into second place on the ladder and they travel to White Eagles Stadium on Saturday to take on Springvale. Box Hill United slip two places to fourth and remain on the road next week facing an invincible Avondale Heights on Saturday (Avondale Heights has not lost at home in three years).

Whittlesea Ranges vs North Geelong Warriors

NPL1 Seniors, Saturday 24^th May at Epping Stadium

Whittlesea and North Geelong are both in the second half of the NPL1 ladder with two and three wins respectively. It has been a mixed season so far for both teams with no stand-out performances. Whittlesea are coming off a loss to Richmond last week and Geelong has had a bad run losing their last four straight before making the long drive out to Epping Stadium for tonight’s match.

The match started and it was Whittlesea who came out of the blocks firing. They controlled possession and showed good promise through the mid field with attacks delivered down both flanks. In the first ten minutes there were three scoring opportunities for the Ranges which couldn’t be converted. It was therefore a surprise when on the counter great team work and passing found Reardo Luka clear to put the ball into the back of the net giving the Warriors an early lead in the fourteenth minute. The game now swung in the favour of North Geelong who continued to put pressure on the Whittlesea goal. The defence were stretched and in the fortieth minute a free kick on the right side saw a great cross delivered. A mad scramble right on the line somehow found the ball in and Mark Paleka was credited with the goal.

Whittlesea had the majority of possession however North Geelong were strong on defence and dominant in the final third in a first half that went all their way. The action returned in a big way just five minutes into the second half. A challenge on the edge of the box near the byline gave North Geelong a controversial penalty. First half goal scorer Luka took the shot from the spot and didn’t fail.

Shortly after another refereeing decision bought the home team supporters to their feet. Matthew Iuliano was on the receiving end of a careless tackle during a promising run down the left flank however with no card being shown, it was instead his response that instead saw the referee present the yellow. Having received the same card just a few minutes prior he was soon heading for the locker room.

Ten minutes later and with only ten men, Whittlesea conceded their fourth goal. Once again it was Reardo Luka on the end of cross to seal the deal for North Geelong.

Whittlesea can look back and reflect on a solid first half where they had most of the possession but couldn’t capitalise. The first fifteen minutes of the second half then saw an arguably controversial penalty and a send off all but rule out a come back. The final whistle sounded with North Geelong winning by four.

North Geelong really did put on a very good display especially in the final third. The Warriors delivered in this match: Luka with a hat-trick, the first clean sheet of the season, a high score of four goals for the season and a positive goal difference.

It’s optimistic to say this match will be a turning point for North Geelong however next Saturday they are at home to Moreland Zebras and they have a chance to consolidate their season. A win would put them five and five and potentially push them up into the top half of the ladder.

Whittlesea will lament a challenging game. Their next opportunity comes next week on the road to Dandenong City

Kingston City vs FC Bulleen Lions

NPL1 Seniors, Monday 26^th May at Grange Reserve

Grange Reserve in South Clayton played host to the last match of Round 9 for NPL1. The U20 curtain raiser was a good game and FC Bulleen extended their two nil lead from half time to run out winners three one. The main game would prove to be the tight battle the preview predicted. The Kingston City website had a good introduction highlighting FC Bulleen would come hunting for goals especially with Joseph Katebian scoring seven goals in four matches and being named player of the month by FFV.

Kick off under lights and it was only five minutes before Paul Harvey scored for FC Bulleen. A cross from the left flank came along the six yard line and whilst he was closely marked, he chested it down to himself, one step and then a quick tap in past the keeper. The possession remained with FC Bulleen throughout the next period of play with the next major opportunity coming at the thirty minute mark for the highly regarded Joseph Katebian when his header hit the cross bar and was quickly cleared by the defence.

Kingston City looked to go close in the forty first minute when a free kick found an open man in the box and the resulting header cleared the defence only to be denied by the upright. Not to give up, Kingston continued the assault and right on the stroke of half time an amazing strike by George Stavridis on the edge of the area gave them the equaliser going into the break.

I wont say Kingston came out in the second half as a different team but they certainly turned up the intensity big time. Kicking towards the pavilion and some vocal supporters, they had multiple opportunities they were unable to put away. That changed in the seventy second minute when a run from the left flank made it past two defenders into the area only to be taken down by an obvious challenge. The players in red didn’t even have time to appeal as the referee had no hesitation in blowing the whistle and pointing to the spot. In one of the quickest penalties I’ve seen, less than twenty seconds had passed when Velibor Mitrovic slid it into the bottom right corner; the keeper moving early to the other side.

A fired up crowd on the hill were quickly silenced three minutes later as FC Bulleen found the net and the scores were once again equal at two two. FC Bulleen had made a solid run down the left flank all the way to the corner. A move in along the by-line and the ball was squared up to a waiting Matt Dimech who was unmarked outside the top of the box. From twenty yards his right foot strike curled away from the keepers outstretched hand into the bottom left corner of the net.

In the eighty fifth minute the Lions had a free kick which was delivered very well to the back post where it was slotted across the line. The whistle blew but with an unexpected outcome being the keeper deemed to have been fouled in the process. Even some of the home supporters were surprised at the decision but were regardless relieved to still be in game.

That relief turned to heart break in the eighty eighth minute when a blistering counter attack took FC Bulleen down the right side. The scrambling defence didn’t have the pace to match some of the attacking passes and suddenly two yellow jerseys only had the keeper to beat. They drew him out and then a square cross through the area left sub Joshua Sabidussi with an open net to put the Lions in front.

FC Bulleen ran out winners three two and will retain their ladder position in fourth albeit it now equal on points and goal difference with third place St Albans Saints. Kingston City will look back at a match where they had the majority of possession and scoring shots but weren’t able to put it away.

Final thought

Ian Syson really needs to download the Futbol24 app.