Nothing will ever be OK - Bentleigh Greens 4 South Melbourne 0

Earlier in the season after we had somehow beaten Bentleigh 2-1, and Johnny A had said post-match that his team was 'so far ahead of South Melbourne as a football team, it's not funny', we were able to laugh mostly because we had won that day. Certainly, we were not laughing because we thought the statement was not true - we had been outplayed for much of that game, even when Bentleigh went down to ten men.

And it wasn't even like we were outplayed that day by a team motivated solely by the adrenaline of being down to ten men; we were outplayed by a team that felt that it was better than us as a matter of principle. So even as on that day we enjoyed the win, as you would especially given Nikola Roganovic's double penalty saving heroics, one knew in the back of our minds that when we were to meet again during the season, that things could and probably would turn out very differently.

And so it has come to pass, as we were denied the chance to once again reach the national stage. Some of you will feel that as well as the devastating manner of the loss on the park, that the failure to grasp the opportunity to be on the national stage adds to that humiliation. Speaking for myself, as someone who has never warmed to the FFA Cup gimmick and its alleged benefits to South and Australian soccer more broadly, that's not what bothers me about last night - but that's not what a lot of South people, both pleb and patrician, feel about the situation and I understand that. That the loss happened to be in a winner takes all game in the human-powered roulette wheel of the FFA Cup only compounds the sense of loss.

My main concern however, and it's really not an attempt at a holier than thou manifesto on how South should be run, is that we are in a rut on field this season, and there appears at this stage to be no definitive plan about how to get ourselves out of it. Cup football is by its nature erratic. More importantly as far as I'm concerned, is that we are on top of the ladder halfway through the season, pulling out the occasional sterling performance, which have offered bouts of pleasure and joy, but not enough to allay fears that it's all somehow a ruse - that we don't deserve to be there based on the football we have played this season and the obscene good fortune we've received with penalties, red cards and the like.

This is highlighted most of all by the fact that, even were we to finish on top of the table at the end of the home and away season - and that is of course very much a possibility, especially now that we won't have to rest players midweek for cup matches - that our best and fairest award would probably go to our goalkeeper. And were it not for some amazing work from Roganovic between the sticks last night - as well as some terrible finishing from Bentleigh, albeit after the game was already won - the final scoreline could have been much, much worse.

As has been noted already by many of our supporters, both online and at the ground last night, we are at the stage where something has to change. We have seen this too many times already, when we are involved in big, winner take all games, we are by and large unable to rise to the occasion. How likely that is to change in the near future is anyone's guess, but it seems unlikely. In some, perhaps even many respects, Chris Taylor is the Mick Malthouse of Victorian soccer - a capable coach who is able to drill a good team into grinding out results with a dour and outwardly reliable game plan, but whose teams fail so often on the winner takes all stage because they are unable to go up another gear, or to move to Plan B.

Our team over the past three seasons seems to have been built on the principle that the first option is to do what is tried and true. The second option, when things aren't going our way, is to try that even harder. Only once the team is in a real mess do we start shaking things up, by which stage you are not relying only or even mostly on tactical adjustment on its own terms, but instead as an act of desperation. Last night we went into the game with three defensive midfielders, ostensibly handing the initiative to Bentleigh from the beginning. After a scrappy first five or minutes, we were already on the back foot.

That we were 1-0 down at halftime was clearly not a good outcome, but it could also have been much worse. But did we make any adjustment to try and swing things around in the second half? Not really. Yes, there was an initial burst of energy and even good and purposeful crossing into the box in the opening minutes of the second half, but that all seemed to stem from the 'try Plan A again, but harder' ideology. Then we went down 2-0, and then eventually down 3-0 and down to ten men, and there were to be no heroics akin to last year's comeback at Kingston Heath.

On the one hand, this approach is evidence of the trust that Taylor places in his players and his game plan. One can go on about the perception of playing favourites and there being untouchable players, but in general having the belief that the players you've put out there can do the job is a good thing. But that trust must be tempered by a sense of objective clarity, too, and the understanding that if that trust is not being repaid by the selected starting eleven during the course of a match, then that trust should also be paid to those players you have in reserve.

If there has been a consistent criticism of Taylor's selection and tactical manifesto, it is that it is predictable to the point of ossification. Taylor is on record as saying that he worries little about how other teams set up, focusing mostly on what his team does. That may or may not be a ruse, but surely there is at least some place for taking into account what the opposition does and how they like to play? It's not the be all and end all, but letting Bentleigh play the way they want to play is just asking for trouble. Now one could hammer the point about opposition scouting and such, as this blog and others have sought to do in the past, but the fact of the matter is that we have played and been outplayed by Bentleigh enough times in recent seasons, that there is little mystery to be had on that front, and yet we keep putting out largely the same team in the same setup, all while expecting a different outcome.

Nevertheless, despite all the criticisms many of us will make of the coach and his tactics, at least some of the onus for results like this must go to the players as well. One learned spectator noted last night, and very early on as well, that we aren't exactly the smartest football team in this competition. Apart from undisciplined tackles, like Iqi Jawadi's unnecessary yellow card during the first half, so much of what what passed for situational nous was lacking. At least some of that can be put down to the tempo that Bentleigh play at, and at which we struggle. When there's a dour contest, one can more or less trust our side to grind out a result or at the very least produce a competitive performance. When the opposition pursues a fast and mobile tactical approach, both the speed of the game and the implied speed of the game sees us coughing up possession in dangerous areas at an alarming rate.

What's of concern here is not only that issue of not being able to match it with those kinds of teams or assert our game plan in those situations - though of course that is the main issue - it is also the fact that we have players on our books that have arrived from a league above us where the tempo is by its professional nature already much faster, but also because we have players that still hold the desire to play at higher levels, but who clearly struggle to cope with both high tempo football and the ability to find a way, either individually or collectively, to change the tempo of a match to suit our game plan or at the very least disrupt the efforts of the opposition.

These things are not said for the sake of completely denying the possibility of positive change, or even possible success in the latter half of this season. As despondent as we all feel after this match, especially when this loss is taken as being an exemplar of a failure long in the making (or perhaps even as evidence of a trend of losing in big matches), we haven't reached the heights that we have these past three seasons or even this season by luck alone. That is to say, we do have some good players and even some very talented players at our disposal, which we have seen evidence of enough times to know that those talents are not fleeting aberrations. Even the most outrageous fortune can only get you so far.

But we are perhaps at the point where the squad, or certain parts of the squad, are on final notice as regards to being South players. Every squad, no matter how successful, eventually reaches its point of no return. Much of the rest of the season then will not only be about trying to salvage a championship - which is an odd way of looking at things, but we are an odd people in our expectations - but also providing an opportunity to definitively assess who is worth keeping, and who it is time to move on. And that applies not only to those whose skills or temperament may not be up to scratch, but also to those whose commitment to the cause is lacking. Part time footballers they may all be, but a part-time attitude shouldn't and won't cut it at this level.

Against my alleged cynical and negative nature, as well as perhaps my better judgment, I am choosing in the harsh light of day to see this 'disaster' (such as it is) not as the end of something, but as the possible start of something hopefully new, and more successful than that which has preceded it. The only other option is to accept mediocrity, and we have all experienced enough of that during our post-NSL stint to never want to go back to that ever again. The challenge is there to be confronted; we now wait to see how the coach and players answer the call, not just against middling and low ranking opposition, nor even those whom the stats and pundits say are our peers, but against what we ourselves think we can achieve. If there has been a sense that our aspirations as to what we can achieve and the manner in which we may achieve those aims have been too narrow, this is the time to rid ourselves of those self-imposed limitations.

Or we could see everyone go into self-preservation mode. That could be fun, too.

Other ordeals which pale into comparison with the experience of our collective grief
While I enjoy the sometimes overly sadomasochistic nature of taking public transport to games around town, sometimes even I find myself wondering why one would put oneself through this torture.

(yes, yes, I know I do it in part because I can't drive very far especially at night, and because I love my team, and because I like public transport, but there is a level of madness involved at times, as a certain dear friend who has recently come to rely more on public transport than they have for a long time has come to acknowledge - though I'm not sure that in his drunken state he was being complimentary or derisory of my apparently well learned patience with late night services)

With works ramping up on level crossing removals in the south eastern suburbs, Gains and I avoided the Frankston line completely and ended up taking the Sandringham line instead out to Hampton. That line is reliable, fairly short, and you end up taking the same bus to the ground as you would if you'd caught the bus to Cheltenham station on the Frankston line.

But what should have been a straightforward if slightly elongated trip in terms of time, ended up being messier and more frustrating, and even included a possible omen of our doom. So apart from having to deal with Gold FM playing crap songs (I maintain that Spandau Ballet and Smash Mouth are awful), we ended up being dumped at the bus stop at Westfield Southland in order that the bus we were on could be taken back to the depot. Great.

While waiting for the next 828 heading towards Berwick, I got thirsty. I could see a vending machine inside the building. Sadly, Frank Lowy had closed up shop for the night, denying South people (ie, me) access to the probably overpriced but still fruitful albeit mediocre bounty available just metres away and yet so far out of reach. There you go, there's your laboured allegory for this week.

Still, we managed to get to the ground on time to see a long line at the gate, Harry the drummer with a whole kit set up, and planted ourselves underneath the shed. Poor sight-lines and copious amounts of tobacco smoke made that position untenable, so we moved to the hill behind the Bentleigh bench, and then behind the goals in the second half, where we were taunted by the home side's keeper. It's fair to say that the whole experience was a monotonously classy affair.

The one mercy was getting a lift back to the city. Thank you to Nick Tsiaras for giving myself and Gains a lift back to Flinders Street. It saved us from suffering further grief. The best thing is, it'll be even worse next month, when the whole Frankston line gets shut down for 37 odd days, and we have to do this all over again.

Next game
Bulleen at home. Please note that this game has been moved from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

Final thought
Do I want to know why Clarendon Corner were chanting about going to the Pancake Parlour?

Plucky! Bentleigh Greens 1 South Melbourne 2

The scoreboard has an existential crisis. Photo: Gains.

First things first: this was a pretty damn good game to watch. Secondly, the home team were very stiff not to get at least a point out of this contest. A lot of the credit for that must go to the re-invented and/or re-awakened Peter Gavalas, who since emerging from his year long waking dream (specific moment - against Port during the pre-season), has started restoring the faith of not only his detractors, but also his ardent supporters and most importantly the players in the defensive line ahead of him.

It was end to end to stuff, as South sought to apply the kind of forward pressure that had worked so well against a lacklustre Green Gully and an insipid Southern Stars in the first two rounds. Bentleigh weren't surprised by this tactic, nor were they flustered by it, as they moved the ball well out of defence and set up several promising chances from counter attacks.

For South's part, they stuck to their guns, albeit not in the rampaging manner of the opening two rounds, Without the grunt work of Alan Kearney in the middle - he'll miss another 3-5 weeks with a knee injury - South's build up play was more disjointed, less precise. But credit must also go to Bentleigh for limiting the space available to South's wide players more than other teams had done so far this season.

Still, the opening goal of the match came from a cross from the right by Dimi Hatzimouratis, finding Brad Norton at the back post who it must be said for the umpteenth time, whatever his merits as a footballer, does have a knack for finding the back of net. The ball had to bounce a couple of times, but it found its way into the goal, and in this game they all count the same.

Bentleigh predictably wouldn't go down without a fight, and equalised not too long after. Byles was down hurt, and keeping everyone onside, and Bentleigh made the most of that opportunity to level the scores. South players complained to the officials for several minutes, but it didn't do any good - a salient lesson in playing to the whistle. As for the officiating in general, while it was a clean game for the most part, the home team for mine seemed to get the sway of the 50/50 decisions.

The second half was more of the same. A few spectators have given the first half to Bentleigh and the second to South, but speaking only for myself, I didn't think it was thet clear cut. Anyway, the longer the game wore on, the happier I was going to be with a draw. As it turned out, another cross from Hatzimouratis from the right ended up creating the winning goal. Renko Van Eeken, unmarked in front of goal, nodded it past the keeper, and we managed to hold on for the final 10 minutes or so for a plucky win.

During the match, I was concerned about the lack of more defensive players available to us to stifle Bentleigh's game plan. This is where Carl Recchia is certainly being missed. Luke Byles came off hurt, so we're awaiting news on the severity of that injury. But three from three to start the season, and just one more away game before we return to Lakeside for the first time this season.

Steve from Broady's under 21s report
On Friday night South Melbourne's under 21s took on Bentleigh Greens in cold conditions at Kingston Heath. South had good memories at this ground from the week before when they beat Southern Stars here in a very one sided affair. Pre-game controversy arose again when South came out for their warm up and Seb Mattei was nowhere to be seen.

Instead a young kid stepped out of the tunnel in a pink goalkeeper shirt believed to be the under 18s South keeper and I can confirm the lad had gloves. South Melbourne in recent years has always had their second choice goalkeeper playing in the under 21s and then sitting on the bench for the seniors. I don't understand why this is different this year.

Why Mattei just sits on the bench for the seniors and does not keep for the 21s Is beyond me. If he is going to put work in front of playing for South he should find another club. This great football club deserves players who would dive on the chance at playing for the mighty blue and white. I hope this situation is sorted out quickly and does not appear in next week's article.The message is simple: play 21s or go Seb!

But on to the football. The game kicked off and South lost the ball immediately the Greens showed their intent, winning a few corners and not giving up possession for large spells. But as we know in football possession means nothing if you don't put the ball in the back of the net. For all the chances Bentleigh had, they just could not make it count and they paid because in the 25th minute the ref spotted a Greens player all over a South player and awarded a penalty to South. Anthony Giannopoulos stepped up to the spot and converted convincingly.

Bentleigh restarted the game with the match proceeding as it was before the goal, with Bentleigh dominating possession and creating all the chances, but they fell into the same hole again in the 38th minute, when once again a Greens player was pulling a South lad's shirt in the area and the ref spotted it again and awarded South another penalty. Once again Anthony Giannopoulos stepped up to the spot and smashed it straight down the middle to give South a 2-0 lead at half time.

In the second half the Greens were still dominating but the game started slowing down and both teams were running out of puff. In the 79th minute Bentleigh had a crack from outside the box and the swerving screamer of a shot had the South keeper beaten all ends up and gave the Greens that little bit of hope for a draw or maybe even a win. But the South lads stood strong for the last ten minutes of the game and run out 2-1 victors.

Next week the lads face Dandy away which will be another good test for South. Another big thing to come out of the game last night was Anthony Giannopoulos unusual dragging at half time, he could've had a hat-trick in the second half but was dragged. Maybe he was injured or maybe there is more to this than meets the eye - we will see how it all plays out over the week, but until next week GET AROUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve from Broady's Canteen Report

This week it was Bentleigh Greens' time to shine in the canteen. After a lot of build up about their souvs I can say that this week they did deliver - nice meat and a good serve of meat in the souv, good salad in the souv. They lost some points with making a souv in a bread roll and a very high price ($9) but overall it was nice. I was loving the help yourself to the garlic sauce set up, I got around that shit. The souv kind of reminded me of the old Bob Jane souv days with the bread roll and nice serving of meat. Overall I gave the Greens canteen a 7/10.

1. Bentleigh Greens 7/10
2. Southern Stars 2/10
3. Green Gully 1/10

Lost and Found
Cripes, a couple of wins and everyone comes out of the woodwork. Saw some faces last night that I hadn't seen for quite some time.

Meet and Greet
It's always awkward meeting people off forums in real life for the first time. People on the internet are not meant to exist outside of that medium.

Chewing Gum
Avoid Wrigley's Vortex brand green apple flavoured gum. It admittedly smells quite tempting, but within a minute becomes incredibly bitter and unpleasant.

Public Transport Tales
An uneventful night on the rails. Got there in good time, got home by midnight. No complaints, no weirdos. Some of our under 21s players decided to hoof it to Cheltenham station instead of waiting for the bus. Hope they made it home alive.

Next Week
Closed doors game away at Dandy Thunder. I had been planning to do the stupid thing and actually attempt to watch the game from outside on the freeway, but I've since changed my mind. My time will be better spent at Altona East, who are playing Ballarat Red Devils next week, and pumping a little of money into the fantastic canteen there. Best souvlakia in Victorian soccer, and it's been too long since I had one. Damn fixturing conflicts.

For the rest of you, there's rumours going around that there may be some sort of live stream provided by the club - I'll keep my ears open for any news on that front and report on it if any details come to hand. Or you could just follow the club's official news sources.

Deflated - Bentleigh Greens 1 South Melbourne 0

Controlled the first half hour, then Bentleigh went up the other end, won a free kick, scored from it, and that was mostly that. We struggle to break down teams that play defensively and with a counter attack focus, but this is not new. It has been an essential element of the side for some years now.

We had more than enough of the ball, plenty of freekicks in reasonably dangerous spots, and the odd occasion where if the ball fell to a different spot to where it did, might have scored. But that's all hypothetical.

It took me about two hours to get home last night. It was a miserable sort of journey, but upon waking up this morning, I did not feel the sense of dread that I felt last night about the team's chances. Sure, I wasn't over the moon that we had lost, but I couldn't fault the endeavour of the side.

No doubt there will be much disagreement with that view however, and why not? Injuries or not, the side is under performing, and the side will be feeling under the pump going into this week's games against the VTC and Heidelberg, and the probably Mirabella Cup fixture against Port Melbourne the week after. It's not exactly a happy time to be a South fan.

South through to another Hellenic Cup final

A 2-0 win over Bentleigh Greens in our semi-final, with goals to Vasilevski (freekick) and Fernando (penalty), means we're through to another Hellenic Cup final, this time against Heidelberg, who defeated Oakleigh 4-0. It'll be our fifth appearance in the final in the last six years. I'll try and get the finals schedule up on here soonish.

Hellenic Cup Semi Final on Tuesday

We'll be playing Bentleigh Greens, at Kingston Heath, kick off 8:30.

Friendly against Bentleigh tonight

AND YOU'RE ALL INVITED!

Nah, like seriously, the game kicks off at 7:30pm, and will be at Kingston Heath.

Hightlights from Bentleigh Greens catch up match

Fernando Strikes Again - Greens 0 South 1

A really entertaining game in difficult conditions - apart from the rain, which fell consistently throughout the game, the field itself was in a terrible state, with the ball playing dead in some areas and bouncing with venom in others. Both sides had chances to open the scoring before De Moraes' curling shot from the edge of the box in the 85th minute, but I felt we were the better team for the most part. Rhodri Payne for mine was immense at left back, probably the best game I've seen him play. Steven O'Dor  came off injured midway through the first half. De Nittis seems to be getting into the awing of things again - though how many times have we said that here? He also needs to time his runs just that bit better to beat the offside trap. Rama was fairly solid as well 0 it's pleasing to see how he's come along, in that he now understands how to perform an aggressive tackle without the recklessness that characterised some of his efforts in bygone years. An important win - albeit against an opponent seriously on the slide - especially being a catch up game and all, three points bagged in a tight season made unpredictable by the flurry of point deductions. Next week Gully away - a chance to break our longstanding drought there.

Fixturing updates

Confirmation that our remaining home matches for 2010 will be at John Cain Memorial Park starting with this week's game at home to Northcote City. There is of course, an exception to the rule, and that is with the round 16 match against Dandenong Thunder, which will be held at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex. All home matches will be Sundays at 3pm.

Cornered - South 1 Oakleigh 2

Another corner, another set piece, another blow, or in this case, two. We started off well enough, but as the game slipped further and further out of reach, found ourselves battling to create anything decent. And even when those opportunities did come - quick counter attacks, and that half pass, half shot that should have made it 2-2 - we just didn'yt know what do to do with.

One could blame the referee, who had a poor game, but that would be taking too much away from Oakleugh, who forced several good saves out of Peter Zois. And so another crucial game comes up, against the Georgies, to mark the halfway mark. A win will temporarily halt the sudden slide, a loss make one ponder what it is an otherwise capable and talented side can do to get itself out of a mire.

Time and place for this week's game against Oakleigh.

Just so you know, and so you can't say I didn't tell you, this week's 'home' game is at Bentleigh's Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, 3pm, Saturday. Will do my best to get out there.