Exhausting and ridiculous - White Eagles 4 Hellas 6

To the few who claim that the Serbian Sports Centre is not in the middle of nowhere, please be quiet and/or go away. When they switch the lights on at the MCG, you can see them from Northcote's grandstand; out at Keysborough, all you can see are horses and people on the other side of the fence who were too tight to pay to get in. Now to the game.

Our first half was beyond atrocious. White Eagles dominated every facet of the game. Former South forward Goran Zoric did most of the damage, playing wide on the left. Time and again he destroyed Sebastian Petrovich who was stationed at right back.

Petrovich looked slow and out of place. Even when attempting to establish attacks, he was being harried relentlessly by Zoric, who exploited the pace advantage with merciless zeal. Petrovich first received a yellow card for a clumsy and frustrated tackle on Zoric, and then a penalty after bringing down Zoric. Luckily for South, Zoric smashed the ensuing penalty against the bar, but South wasn't able to rally from that piece of fortune.

Zoric went on to score two goals in the first half, almost identical in their execution. Running around Petrovich and across the face of the 18 yard box past Topalovic, he blasted both his goals into the bottom corner, which made one wonder where this form had come from. At South - though admittedly he wasn't the only one - he would struggle to bury chances from the six yard box, and his defensive efforts were mostly negligible.

White Eagles were helped further in the first half by South's tactical shortcomings. Springvale played very high up the field, and yet South refused to move the ball quickly, preferring to mess around with aimless short passes, which would almost inevitably gift the ball back to the home team. The home side's high tempo also saw South unable to win much in the middle of the field - the only saving grace was that Springvale weren't able to create any more clear cut chances, and that South wasn't down by further.

Not seeing any immediate way out of the predicament we were in, one was left hoping for damage limitation. In the second half drastic changes were brought about. De Nittis and Petrovich off, the new Heart loan signing Kamal Ibrahim on as well as Kyle Joryeff and much to my surprise, the game swung almost immediately. Ibrahim's fellow Heart teammate Kliment Taseski wss moved to right back, and shut Zoric out of the game.

Within 13 minutes South was in front. Fernando scored first with a long range effort, before a dreadful error by Springvale's goalkeeper gifted Ibrahim a goal on debut. Coming out for a ball over the top, the keeper collected the ball, which was then accidentally dislodged by a collision with one of his defenders - the ball fell to Ibrahim, who stroked the ball home to level the scores. A minute later Taseski hit another long range effort to put the visitors ahead.

Celebrations were shortlived after O'Dor gave away a penalty, and this time Springvale didn't waste their chance. 3-3 and still half an hour to play. Carl Recchia put South back in front after Fernando's shot hit the bar, and Jesse Krncevic made it 5-3 and seemingly out of the reach of Springvale, but the home side managed to pull it back to 5-4 after a parried shot was tucked away. Krncevic made it 6-4 moments later, and that was how it stayed, somehow, for the rest of the game.

While many were happy with the win and in particular the fightback, there were many obvious concerns to come out of the game. Fernando De Moraes undoubtedly gave South the spark we needed in the 2nd half, but as with last week against Green Gully was obviously not 100% right, and a bad tackle on him late on the game when he should have been subbed off, may have made things worse.

While the half time tactical reshuffle worked, it should have come far earlier. The manner of our first half capitulation required far earlier intervention - against a better side, we might well have been down further than what turned out to be a measly two goals. In addition, while we could even have scored 10 goals in the second half - Krncevic's overhead kick and some close offside calls will be interesting to see on the replay - it was done against a defence which had already leaked seven goals in its first two games, and will almost certainly concede many more by year's end.

Indeed all the positives - the stellar efforts of the new signings, the fightback, the scintillating attacking play of the second half and the general buzz after such a win could well be negated by the eventual inferiority of the opponent. White Eagles were unable to shut up shop or adjust tactically, and I believe that as with their previous stints in the VPL, they will struggle to survive the fight against relegation.

For us, once again we looked magnificent going forward once we got going, but against better opponents, and especially against sides which are able to grind out results, we'll need massive improvement across the board. Next week with games against the VTC and Bentleigh Greens, we'll see if we're able to show the requisite improvement. Two grinding 1-0 wins might be the order of the day after the two opening rounds defensive efforts.

Goran Zoric released from Police United

Last week we asked, what's been happening with little Gozza overseas? According to this Thai football blog, he's been released without any indication that he's been picked up by another club. Fark, I'd take him back. Come back Goran, and save us!

Wistful longing for a little bloke who could play a bit

By Hera, we've lost the plot. Struggling to beat sides above us when they aren't playing like total bollocks. It makes you romanticise the glory days... like last year, when we at were able to scrape into the finals. One of the downhill skiing legends of that not-very-formidable-but-still-likely-higher-achieving-than-this-current-mob side was Goran Zoric. Which leads to the question, whatever did happen to Goran? Is he still OK? This photo/desktop/forum signature montage was made in April, or maybe even before that - I stole it off a Thai football forum, but the google translator only created gibberish. Police United are still hovering just outside the relegation zone, in part due to a recent surprise win over top of the table Muangthong United. But what of little Goran's part in all that? I just don't know.

So, how's Goran Zoric doing?

Well, to be honest, apart from being assigned the no. 20 shirt, I don't know. Police United aren't going too flash though, just the one draw from their first four games, sitting second last.

Spirit of Gentleman

Another article on Goran Zoric at Police United, in Thai of course. I reckon South should sign an interstate or international player just so we can the get the airport photos. Last time we were at an airport was when the busload of Canberra trip fans sleepily greeted a mostly confused squad at 9am on Sunday morning. Gotta love their motto on the scarf but. 2010 Thai Premier League season starts March 6th.

Goran Zoric signs 2 year deal with Police United

Well there you go, it's official (in Thai). Thanks to Tony for keeping us up to speed with what's been going on over there, we'll try our best to keep up with Goran's Thai adventure. South of the Border wishes him all the best at his new club.

Four doors in an appointment

When posting the news about Goran 'Gozza' Zoric allegedly set to sign with Police United, I was unable to read nor provide any sort of usable translation of fellow member of the blogosphere Tony's piece on the matter. Fear not good reader, for we have been provided with a translation by our Polish correspondent via google's translation function. It still makes more sense the Ultimate Warrior's comic book from the mid 1990s though.

After news came to know some. But not that much interested in anything. Soccer is Aassie from Melbourne to test the foot with a friend, police team. I have been appropriate in the interests of this player today and treasured Eastern. It informed the press in Thailand that. Soccer this close to becoming one of the very police troops Soccer friends.

According to the data for the Global Hotel run by Eric web site and blog sites are different enough to make that this player. Same pace uncommon. And should make enough friends, fans, police teams have peace of mind initially. If he has to join the team. Try not believe he shot clips help Boasting a team of South Melbourne to 4 doors in a single appointment. Appointment of a war game in Victorian Premier League Seasons past. 

Goran Zoric trialling in Thailand

Here's how I figure it: if some random dude from Sydney knows about it, then chances are others do too. Goran Zoric had been rumoured amongst other places to be going to Green Gully and Bonnyrigg White Eagles. Both of those are not true. What Goran has been doing is trialling in Thailand, apparently at Chonburi. But this Thai student studying in Australia called Tony, who seems to be a real football nut, especially for all things Thai football - he writes a column for a local Thai newspaper - who knew we had one? - and also has his own blog on aussie soccer (it's in Thai, but there's an smfctv clip showcasing Zoric's four goal haul against Preston - that was a good day) - anyway, this bloke reckons, as posted in the comments section of a recent article, that he's now trialling at Police United, who have seemingly bounced between the top two tiers of Thai football.

So, to answer your question from that page Tony - here it basically is. I think Goran's a player of some potential. Despite having trials with Melbourne Victory's youth team, he's been overlooked for a full place in that squad. He's quick, he can dribble a little bit - more than a great deal of Aussie players anyway - has half decent control, and at South has been played as either a right winger or as a small forward playing off a bigger striker, such as Vaughan Coveny. His finishing is ultimately what lets him down, as sometimes he can be a little tentative or even cute with it. When his confidence is up though, that is not an issue. And as attested in the fact that he trialled with the Victory youth squad, he's still young - I'd tell you exactly how old he is, but the player details have been taken off the South website in preparation for next year.

Thanks for writing in Tony! And good luck to Goran if a club over there decides to pick him up! 

South of the Border awards 2009

Collect and prepare ingredients from February-August. Simmer over low heat for a couple of days. Post and leave to cool on blog windowsill and be ignored by everyone.

Player of the year: Sebastian Petrovic. Even George Katsakis was impressed with his performances this year.

Under 21 player of the year: The Cliff Hussey Memorial Trophy goes to James Spanos. Rare for a player to go through an entire season and not make a single mistake, but he did it.

Goal of the year: Goran Zoric's fourth goal against Preston at BT Connor. Flick, volley, from outside the box, top corner, 7-1, good night nurse.

Best performance over a whole match: Bergers away. Too bad we couldn't score a goal to go with it.

Best period of play during the season: Probably the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half against the Knights at Lakeside. We kinda looked like we could do anything then.

Best away game: Richmond. Good company (except for Psile, who was in hiding from Victorious), good food, good win, and the Pies got up by a point as well.

Best call on the terraces: The old bloke who'd fainted/collapsed at the home game against Hume. When the ambulance arrived and he'd seemingly partially recovered he apparently asked them if he could stay to watch the second half. I was saddened to hear that this person, apparently a member for over 40 years, passed away a few weeks ago. My condolence to his family and friends. I hope I still have the same love for this club in 40 years time.

Chant of the year: Come On Hellas! Forza! Hellas!. Yes it's a chant from 2008, but one which was only chanted with any enthusiasm once the bloke who created it fucked off to Poland.

La Verde and Wynne going, Zoric rejected

Regular South of the Border reader Cuddles has informed us that Robbie Wynne and Tony La Verde have both been snapped snapped up for Victory's youth squad, while Goran Zoric has missed out. Whether La Verde's injury will keep him out of action and out of the team remains to be seen. Also apparently reported in the Herald Sun but also available on the Victory official site.

Canberra Trip Part 3 - Dodgy Asian betting and the ride home

So we're on the bus trying to figure out where the ground is, getting directions from a couple of kids that came up with their dad in their own car - one of which I was doing one of those vocalised/mouth noise guitar solos to Frozen Tears - but were hitching a ride with us to the game. Good thing they were there too or else we might've still been looking for the place. We eventually find the place, and we're early enough to co-ordinate a dramatic entrance - by Canberra standards - and take up a position on the hill. Except of course that I was roped in to do the dodgy Asian betting thing. So I'm off to the halfway line.

To explain what that's all about, as best I can. Betting firms of indeterminate legality in a place which or may or may not be called China hire people to hire people to 'call' or 'commentate' VPL games. Except that it really isn't commentating in an Andy Paschalidis kind of fashion, more stuff like 'away danger', 'home corner', etc. There's different levels of detail for different companies, but the main thing is that the gamblers and those listening to your commentary don't care so much about South Melbourne or Robbie Wynne (for example) as individual entities, rather as part of an over the phone, online, and imagined tug of war .

I had agreed not only to do one game of commentary with one guy on the line saying 'ok', but also have another guy on another phone just listening - and if he was to talk tome, my instructions were not to talk to him - which all got a bit difficult when the game was delayed because not enough pegs were holding the goals, something that would usually be checked during half time in the reserves, except that the AIS's reserves play in Victoria, and they're not really their reserves, they're just the VIS. Anyway, the guy who I was talking to seemed to understand that there was a delay - which just kept on dragging on - but the listener kept asking for information who was attacking and such.

He must've hung up as I then received a call from my boss for the day, some guy called Jerry, getting stuck into me, telling me that I wasn't doing a very good job as his client wasn't getting information on who was attacking and such. A little miffed because I've been telling one guy on the hands free and one on my own phone that game has been delayed and the reason for it. Explaining it to Jerry his tone changes fairly quickly, and we're back in business. The game eventually gets under way, and apart from a few early teething problems, the sun in my eyes, and a linesman doing his best to block out my view, it's going ok.

At the end of the first half, which at that moment I didn't realise had gone only 40 odd minutes, I noticed that my battery had gone down to one bar. Would it last to the end? A mad rush to find someone to swap sim cards with ensued; incompatible carrier; seemingly impossible to release sim card; I decided that I would just try my luck with what I had. Of course the confusion caused by the 40 minute halves started kick in during the second half. My 'listener' called in a few minutes into it, and my talking 'ok' guy dropped out entirely, and didn't call back. Persevering to the end, seeing the game in only a limited palette, I wondered whether it had all been worth it, and would I get paid? The players go over to the supporters and high five, shake hands and say thanks for coming, and despite coming in a little late, I get a gloved hand to Goran Zoric, and then get my head shaking in annoyance on camera at the farcical situation of it all, having driven eight hours up and with another eight to go, for 80 minutes of football.

Time to get back on the bus, with the previous night's missed sleep starting to catch up with me. There's still the travelling humour, but people are more tired, and sleep takes over. Even I start drifting in and out of consciousness from Albury onwards. Easy listening music drifts across, most of it dross, but there's the brief flicker of outstanding respite when Springsteen's 'The River' comes on. More Acropolis Now episodes get played, with at one stage the DVD stuck at the menu screen and playing the theme song about 12 times in a row. Most of the complaints are coming from the back, the hellish torture of the the song itself magnified by the fact that there's almost no way of getting past that many arms and legs stretched into the aisle in order to turn it off.

We stop at a few places, service stations, roadhouses. I buy myself a bag of marshmallows and the most crappy banana flavoured milk I've ever had. Not wanting to get a carton which I know I'll spill over the seats, it's the only thing in a bottle that isn't some variation of coffee. Someone as a joke buys a forbidden dim sim. Just outside Seymour a car is flipped onto its roof, a police car behind it. Someone gets dropped off in Wandong. Someone else on High Street. Finally back to where we started from, a quick clean out of the bus, and them time to go home. I'm going to catch a taxi, but it's insisted that I get a lift with someone. That someone turns out to be a person who can't quite grasp the purposes of speedbumps and roundabouts, but there's no complaining, as I'm expected to be grateful. And when I get home in one piece, I am.



- This would have been better had I taken notes, but perhaps it would have lost some of its charm. With thanks to everyone involved on the trip, but especially Michal, Eamonn and Tony.