Interesting either way... Dont know much about SA Asia leagues as I said, are there a lot of Aussies playing over there?

There used to be, but certain incidents have seen a lot of clubs prefer players with AFC passports from the likes of Japan, South Korea, etc. instead. Ata Inia, formerly of Melbourne Knights, is also playing in Cambodia this season. He's signed for Angkor Tiger, which typically punches above it's weight for a team with not the biggest budget.

Hey PIFA wanna rethink your questioning Manos? Lol I thought he was outstanding tonight. Top notch Knights, 3 points after playing a man down for an hour.... The winger Sumaoro was great also, is going to be a handful to many teams with slower full backs I reackon. Jurkovic red was a bit iffy but it saved the Sharks from a thrashing  despite the mised penalty and post late in the second. BTW was the commentator really that buggalugs from MAFS, a mate told me today and I gave been kaughing my ass off all day?

Wasn't questioning Manos, was just saying that I really rate Harry and was surprised we'd brought someone in :D delighted with the performance, as that's a game where we would've crumbled in years gone by, so we can take a lot of heart from it. Early days, but definitely a boost for the squad.

The red card was never a red card, I think it's a case of Nikola's reputation counting against. Just showed that if you lay on the floor long enough, the ref might actually think something bad happened. The player ran out the 90', so he can't have been too hurt...

I was impressed by Sumaoro, but I was also really impressed by Jack Marth at LB, who came on just after the red card. I thought our import boys looked a bit sloppy, but it's a big ask for them to shine in a game where you're down to 10 for around an hour or so.

No idea about the commentator, but they definitely made me chuckle at times!

Mate, it’s a joke. 

We have such a dire recent record at Oakleighs ground, our last league win there was 2013 lol. Though we did best Heidelberg in the cup semi at the same venue in 2015, it’s usually our graveyard. Would take a draw tomorrow but not expecting much.

I agree mate FV are a bit of a joke. Alot of the clubs have upped their online presence recentlh though so best to check there first?

I know but my only consolation is that against the Bergers anything goes..... Was it 2014 or 2015 were first round was 6-0 at Lakeside then the return fixture we got done 6-1? At OV. I just want another 3 goals in 30 mins like last year 😁✊
I would have said the same for a draw but we have some fire power up front now and what seems like, at least on paper, a bit of depth accross the whole spine.  Who knows which South will rock up tomorrow? I can't sleep its been almost a year to the day since they last kicked a ball in anger...... 
I heard an interesting theory that the Bergers delayed finishing works on their ground because they couldn't live with their opening match at the revamped goat track being a loss to Hellas..... hahahahahah

I was fired up for round 1 last year, we were all over them at the start, bergers looked unfit and we still lost 3-0 on the back of a 2nd half capitulation. That lot are always playing mind games with us, a lot of the players that have done damage against us in the past are still there so I’m not buying their antics about how they’re underdogs. Fingers crossed the new signings deliver the goods and we get more out of the ones we signed last year.

Looks like Ill be having eggs on toast again tomorrow morning.....
Scrappy 3 points away to the Bergers (in Oakleigh) 0-1 with a fumbled bumbled Harrison Sawyer header. Proud of the lads to hold off especially the frenzied Bergers attack of the last 10 or so minutes although we squandered a couple of  sitters also ... Gerrie I'm looking at you son.  Both Clarks where impressive today as was Jankovic. Jake Marshall is a machine and despite Okada (what a signing by the Bergers btw,  he is going to drive the NPL defenders bonkers down here, Wolves fans  must be so upset to loose him?) Pulling us out of shape a few times in the first half we kept solid. Sawyer made a nuisance of himself but I liked the attacking shape of Hore, Clark, Sylaidos and Saywer and once they get a little rhythm going I think there are plenty of goals there....
Crowd was a little disappointing only around 2,500 - 3,000 but was fantastic to see real football live in Melbourne again.
Some of you will be shocked to see a Greek flag (and a Serbian one??) in the crowd again, dont worry there were no arrests or stabbings ..... fun fact, the dude that brought it is a Cockney lad from England..... God I love this club.... and Im a little drunk 😎
https://mobile.twitter.com/dimoss/status/1365965963728801793

I thought we were pretty fortunate to not be out of the game at half time, the aerial ping pong played into our hands and it seemed like the worse the match got the more likely we were to win. Oakleigh is our graveyard so you never expect a good South display at that venue so just pleased to get the win.

Need to play some actual football at home to Eastern Lions this Friday, no excuse to not make it 2 on the trot,

1st half was actually pretty loose, a lot of back and forth. End to end stuff but I thought we held our shape at the back OK. High balls into the final 3rd, especially considering the Bergers 7 foot tall back line was an odd tactic but at least we took control in the second half and held on for the win. Great to get that Jack Edwards hoodoo off our backs... Vs Oaks back there in a couple of weeks.

https://smfcbehindthelens.blogspot.com/2021/02/
Check out Lucas's photography. Is oddly very beautiful (hard to believe of an NPL crowd) and captures the feel of the ground extremely well. 

https://twitter.com/smfc/status/1367606234312970244

First game back at home in more than a year ...... here's hoping for a goalfest....

We've got Thunder tonight. Hoping that we can get a good result to erase all the memories from the game last season, which is still the cause of nightmares occasionally. Interested to see who replaces Nikola in the starting-11, and hopeful that Webb can give the Thunder defenders the runaround tonight. If Sumaoro is in the mood, it's very much a possibility, and I'm looking forward to KO in a few hours!

Would have loved to see Nikola on the park giving Marafioti a bit of a kicking :) Good luck tonight Ill be keeping an eye on the scores and watch the replay tomorrow.

BTW, not sure if you have seen this yet but quite a decent write up on the NPL season with a bio and some history for each club, great tool for the commentators AND fans.
https://www.footballvictoria.com.au/news/inaugural-npl-victoria-official-season-guide

Cheers for that mate, it was an interesting read :) I'm wondering if Zwetsloot will come into the XI, or whether Bebic will go with Petrov at CB and Marth at LB again.

No wonder we couldnt get the win the FFA scumbags were in town tonight
https://mobile.twitter.com/smfc/status/1367795381929533441
Maybe they where trying to get Hellas to buy shares in Victory.???? Hahahah

The ffv seriously need to do something about this fixturing, 6 Friday night games, 1 Saturday arvo to end the round is comical.

A whole bunch of  games people would like to watch as neutrals but can’t cos the majority of the league plays on the same day.

as for South last night, putrid predictable long ball game, very hard to watch.

Agree on all points, although second half with Bates on for Sylaidos was better... Just couldnt put the bloody thing in the back of the net. Clear robbery of a penalty shout with the last kickmof the game, same buggalugs ref who sent Jurkovic off last week in the Knights game for a soft yellow... Must be a FFV flunky. Avondale vs Magic today was mental, Held on for 30mins with 9 players to keep a draw the jammy mafia bastards.

Haven't seen your game from this week, but I thought Bates against Heidelberg was a great introduction. Looks a very talented lad, and the speed he has is difficult to play against. Judging on your comments from this week, seems like it was a similar game plan to the game against Heidelberg, and tbh... it's not what I expect to watch when I watch South Melbourne play. Sawyer is a big lad, but I don't think that 'target man' role is one that he thrives in, so it'll be interesting to see how productive he is with you guys playing that style of football.

On our game: 2 from 2 is a great way to start the season. Also, Dandy will go down without Brandon Barnes, as their side just doesn't look good enough.

Yeah mate it was route one all the way with an insistance on these weird  diagonal switches and full backs not wing backs which is very anti-Hellas.. not sure wtf Esteban has been smoking in the off season. Its not terrible just a little confusing. We dominated against Lions just couldn't convert. We need Schroen back as a 10 to enable Gerrie or Hore to be able to run off him in between the lines, Bates is good for pace but not a 90 min slog it out creative guy. Congrats to them though they sucked up the pressure well and  their goal was a screamer... Against the trend I think we will do well against Oakleigh next week as Jankovic and Marshall seem to be a good combo and Pavlou and Wallan seem to work well together too....Well done to the Knights, lets hope we are both top 2 or 3 when we meet, will make it a spicy derby.....

We may seriously need to look at bringing in the pitch at Lakeside similar to what Knights once did at Somers st. Estabans style is not built for lakeside.

Or make the goals bigger or something....🤣🤣🤣🤣

Watching the Oakleigh game tonight, a wonderful goal for SMH. Sawyer really needs to learn how to keep his feet in the box though, 2 dives in the box where he was looking for a very soft pen. At 6'5": he shouldn't be going down as softly as he is. The Daniel Clark incident looked like a pen to me, though he definitely exaggerated the contact [his legs were together like a swimmer] which is probably why the referee waved it off.

Yeah Wallans goal was pretty but I think Dekker's(?) For Oakleigh was a cracker too, even though I think there was a fair shout for handball... oh well thems the breaks. Sawyer is a big unit and could be a beast in the box but decides to go all bambi on ice sonetimes.... Hes good in that role in QLD where defences are not as  compact or physical. Dan Clarke was excellent again tonight and Hore on the other side too. Really glad to see Elmazi back but 3 cbs against a team with little Thurtell leading the line?.. Wtf was our (*** insert cliche about crazy Argentinian coach sitting on an esky here***) thinking...   Very narrow and very deep, its certainly not something we are used to watching but .... weve scored every game so far and only conceded twice... better than the last 3,4 years...
Good luck against Dinamo on Sunday... 3 from 3 for Croatia would be your best start in years and years huh?

Staying on his feet is an issue for Sawyer but his work rate was nuts, can’t ask much more of him and so unlucky not to score that header that would have put South 2 up.

Camera angle for the stream didn't help with seeing if there was a handball in the lead up to Dekker's goal, but it was a peach. I really appreciated the Wallen goal though, it was some lovely work from Henry Hore that made it possible, and it was quite delightful really. Great bit of skill from Hore, who is looking a gem already. I'm honestly not sold on Sawyer in a league where the CB's are a bit more hands on, seems he's used to that bit of space that QLD and SE-Asian defenders give him, and that's possibly the reason that he's banged goals in at the rate that he has in those league. Definitely has a great work ethic though, he didn't stop until he was brought off, and I was a bit surprised by his substitution. Daniel Clark is looking on another level this season.

This Souths team atm is playing a brand of football that I don't expect to see from South Melbourne if I'm honest. I'd never seen a South Melbourne coach tell the team to 'slow down' after taking the lead, and essentially try to shut up shop. It's a bit weird to see, and just not what I ever remember seeing from you guys before. It was always "let's get a second, let's get a third, etc." from what I can remember.

For us, Sunday's game is a good chance to set the record straight, after Dinamo battered us last year. I'm quite impressed with Bebic so far, who has us playing the complete opposite to how Munro had us playing, which in itself: that's as good as 3-points every week! We look a lot fitter, a lot more resilient, and it appears that we've gotten our recruitment spot on this year too. I think Webb could bag a few tomorrow if Sumaoro is allowed to get at his fullback, Sumaoro reminds me a lot of Kamsoba tbh.

Yes this South team is very heavily over coached with a strong emphasis on defence and work rate. Everything is very structured. Seems like we are trying to win every game 1-0. On paper it’s a solid outfit but Esteban is a very negative coach. Undefeated after 3 games as long as South continues to not lose it will be tolerated, if we start dropping games with regularity the knives will come out. If you’re going to set the team up the way he does you better be grinding out results.

We have copped 2 cracking strikes the past 2 games but when you sit as deep as what we do you’re just inviting the opposition to shoot, teams are struggling to get in behind us obviously, our defence is very good in the air so we deal with crosses very well, you need to put pressure on the ball, we did in that 1st half, dropped off big time in the 2nd, I think if we played properly we could have got a second and killed the game off but this coach always wants to hang on, he even encourages back passes to the keeper which almost landed us in strife a few times.

Oakleigh the big winners off the field, 3 npl matches have been played at there ground and already 5,000+ have gone through the gates. They’re laughing.

Hes incredibly biased but he IS right... check it out, and at least one of these is a penalty too....
https://mobile.twitter.com/smfcmike/status/1370555142144094208
Dont know what to think of how we are playing to be honest, I think this 12 month lack of live soccer has numbed me a bit and just going 3 games without a loss is enough for now. SM is correct though, there will be hell to pay if/when we get stretched out of our fancy smancy 5-2-3 and start shipping goals.. Its top 4 this year or outskis for Esteban.