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Recchia Header Keeps South Firing

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South Melbourne FC has maintained its position at the top of the Victorian Premier League ladder following a 1-0 victory over the Richmond Eagles at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon. A Carl Recchia header after 72 minutes was enough for South to win the three points and end the round in first position for the second consecutive week.

South was strengthened for the match as it welcomed back captain and centre-half Steven O'Dor, right-back Steven Topalovic and forward Jesse Krncevic for the visit of the Eagles, with all three players missing the previous week's 0-2 win at St Albans. Richmond's starting eleven from last Sunday's 3-1 victory over Bentleigh remained unchanged except for Jason Hoffman being replaced by Chris O'Hare.



South dominated the first half but could not put away its chances. Kyle Joryeff had two magnificent opportunities to open the scoring, firstly when he headed a Daniel Vasilevski corner over the bar and secondly when he put the ball wide of Stjepan Gal's goal after being put through one-on-one by Krncevic. Daniel Vasilevski also had an opportunity to score when he hit a stinging shot just over Gal's crossbar. Despite the opportunities created, South was still level at the halftime break. On a sour note, O'Dor was substituted during the halftime break and replaced by Bobby Russell after the captain picked up an injury just before the end of the first half.

In the second half, Richmond was very lucky not to go down to 10 men when Erhan Karahan went flying into Steven Topalovic from behind with his studs raised. Despite the mass protests from the home supporters for a red card, Karahan was extremely fortunate to continue playing as he was only cautioned for the tackle. South's frustrations grew even further when Krncevic was put through one-on-one but was penalised for being offside when he appeared to be onside. Minutes later, Joryeff committed a rather crude late tackle and was perhaps lucky to have only been given a caution. The coaching staff reacted to diffuse the situation by replacing him with Kamal Ibrahim.



Despite the growing frustration, South continued to put pressure on Richmond and eventually got the goal they had been after, when Recchia rose at the near post to head Ibrahim's cross into the back of the net. It was not the prettiest of goals and it was not the best of matches to watch, however Recchia's goal meant that South achieved what it had set out to do and that was win a fourth successive match, keep a second consecutive clean sheet and remain on top of the Victorian Premier League.

In the Under 21's match played prior to the seniors, South Melbourne FC defeated Richmond 5-1.

South's next match is away to Hume City, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 at Broadmeadows Valley Park next Sunday afternoon.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-0 RICHMOND EAGLES (HT: 0-0)

Goal Scorer:
1-0: Carl Recchia (72')

South Melbourne FC
3. Rhodri PAYNE, 4. Steven O'DOR (33. Bobby RUSSELL 46'), 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 13. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (16. Trent WATERSON 88'), 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 21. Zaim ZENELI, 25. Kyle JORYEFF (14. Kamal IBRAHIM 65')

Richmond Eagles
1. Stjepan GAL, 3. Erhan KARAHAN, 4. Ross ANTONIADIS, 5. Mitchell BISSINGER, 6. Dimitri TSIARAS, 7. Timmy PURCELL (11. Mate ETEROVIC 75'), 9. Michael CATALANO, 10. Chris O'HARE (19. Evan BATSIS 75'), 13. Antun KOVACIC, 16. Stuart WILSON (2. Andrew VIOLA 85'), 18. Michael FERRANTE

SMFC Man of the Match: Carl Recchia
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 10 April 2011


Edited by chris: 11/4/2011 09:29:45 AM

Edited by chris: 11/4/2011 09:30:22 AM

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http://vimeo.com/3374939

Edited by chris: 12/4/2011 04:20:02 PM

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Full episode below

http://www.c31.org.au/schedule/view/episode/18332

Edited by chris: 14/4/2011 05:09:00 PM

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BY­ SINEAD STUBBINS
04 Apr, 2011 03:00 AM
WHEN Steven O’Dor was younger he always dreamed of playing for South Melbourne Football Club. The 24-year-old defender has realised his dream and more – he is now the team’s captain.
“It was always my goal as a junior to represent the club and now it turns out I’ve been there for seven years,” O’Dor says. “South Melbourne was in the national competition, the NSL, which was the highest level in Australia when I was growing up. And now I’ve been given the opportunity to captain.”

Having come from a European background with parents who “introduced me to a football as soon as I started to walk”, O’Dor says that his love of soccer was inevitable. He started playing for local clubs at the age of eight and eventually managed to make the team for the national under-20 team, the Young Socceroos. By the time he was 16, there was no doubt that he would play for South Melbourne.

O’Dor says taking on the role of captain this year has been surprisingly smooth. “It’s a credit to the team really, because there’s so many leaders there it makes my life easier when you’ve got that support network around you,” he says. “We didn’t lose our first game, so that was pretty positive.”

Despite O’Dor’s modesty, this star player seems to have a career that other players would kill for. He was chosen to be part of the Olympic team the Olyroos, travelled to

Sri Lanka, India and South America, and to top it all off, had a season in the A League playing for the Wellington Phoenix in 2007. However, although soccer is an important part of his life, O’Dor decided to pursue other interests instead of spending his career in New Zealand.

“I decided to come back home after a year in the A League because I missed home and I really wanted to continue my studies,” he says. “I also loved playing for South Melbourne. The professionalism at the club produces the best coaches, the best players, and the skill level is very high. It’s a great culture to be a part of.”

On top of his sporting responsibilities (he also coaches a girls’ soccer team at his former high school) O’Dor is also in his last semester of Law at Deakin University. “It’s great because you can catch up with close friends, play football and take your mind off the study. I mean, if I didn’t have football I don’t know what I’d do!” he says. “It’s a good balance with your life. It’s given me a lot of strength.”

http://www.melbourneweeklyportphillip.com.au/news/local/sport/football-soccer/steven-odor-is-living-the-dream/2122322.aspx

Coming soon to youtube. :)

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ShareThisThursday, 14 April 2011 11:08 AM

South Melbourne FC travels to Broadmeadows Valley Park to face Hume City this Sunday afternoon in a game that has been played for the ANZAC Day Cup in the last few seasons. A win for South could see it resume top spot on the Victorian Premier League table after being replaced midweek by Dandenong Thunder.

South goes into the game in excellent form, being undefeated in six Victorian Premier League fixtures and having won four matches in a row. The most recent triumph was a 1-0 home win against Richmond at John Cain Memorial Park last Sunday afternoon, with Carl Recchia scoring the winning goal with his head after 72 minutes. History is leaning towards the winning trend continuing this Sunday as South has a 100% winning record against Hume at Broadmeadows Valley Park, with a 2-1 victory in 2009 and the famous 6-0 victory last season when Gianni De Nittis scored four goals. The 6-0 win was a sign of what South was capable of doing to Premier League teams, even to a top five club like Hume City. South will be hoping that captain Steven O'Dor will be fit to play on Sunday, with the experienced centre-half limping off injured at halftime during the Richmond match last Sunday. Despite losing their captain, South managed to keep a clean sheet against the Eagles, with stand-in captain Recchia having another outstanding match and leading the team to victory.

Despite all signs pointing to a South victory on Sunday, Hume will no doubt provide stiff opposition for the South to overcome. Hume are presently in fourth position on the Victorian Premier League table and have proven that they know how to beat South, having defeated South twice at Lakeside Stadium and also in the 2009 Elimination Final at Epping Stadium. Hume will no doubt be very tough to break down despite the fact they suffered a 4-1 defeat away at Bentleigh Greens last Friday night. That loss was largely due to a controversial red card to reserve goalkeeper Kenny Gerochristodoulou on halftime (playing due to first choice keeper Lou Acevski being injured), meaning that third-choice keeper Evan Van Der Byl was called upon to play for the second half. Another red card in the second half, this time to Izzy Erdogan, meant that Hume finished the match with only nine men, and means that both should be missing for Sunday's match, which will no doubt be beneficial to South.

Sunday's match kicks off at 3:00pm at Broadmeadows Valley Park.

absolutely:lol:

http://www.austadiums.com/news/news.php?id=473

End of an era amid doubts over new venue funding

Athletics bids farewell to Melbourne's Olympic Park this weekend without guaranteed funding for its new home at Albert Park.

Athletics Australia is anxiously awaiting the May 3 State Budget to see whether the Government has allocated enough funding to complete the state-of-the-art facility.

The sport was booted off its spiritual home in 2008 when then Premier John Brumby pledged $50 million to move all Olympic sports to Albert Park.

Bulldozers will move in after Sunday's final event of the national championships at Olympic Park to begin transforming the stadium into a training ground for Collingwood Football Club.

Athletics Australia president Rob Fildes said last night he hoped the Coalition Government wouldn't back away from the project.

"We're just hoping the Victorian Government will look after athletics and complete it all properly," he said.

There has been a blowout in costs after the southern grandstand at the Bob Jane Stadium was declared unsafe and in need of a total overhaul.

Athletics needs the stadium up to international standard by next year as it wants to continue hosting IAAF Diamond League events.

The track is expected to be completed by September but other requirements, including new light towers, remain in limbo.

____________________

What were the issues that were encountered in the Southern Stand? Does that refer to the current stand or the old one that is being turned into the new VIS home?

SMFC will also be affected by this if the money is not forthcoming, especially the issues around ground lighting.

Money was set aside to refurbisk the old sth melbourne swans stand - But budget has been exceeded due to safety concerns

Sad really. Leave a stand to rot for years and years - should be no shock that it's ready to fall apart now.

Happens too often with old buildings. Will happen to Glenferrie Oval next.

Heritage listed - need I say more

Hmmm so many smokers at the stadium over the years - yet not even one of the cigarette buds landed on the old stand which was held
Together with timber

How did South Melbourne go today?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

a very solid 5-0 away loss away to Hume!!!!! Ljubo and Jesse Krncevic both got sent off in 1st 25 mins for stupid ill disciplined 'tackles', Recchia does his ankle a few minutes later then the floodgates opened. Everything just fell apart today. Best to just forget about it and move onto the next game.

The development will be completed - no issue there. It's just the one element - the redevelopment of the old stand that is at risk. Nice old stand but at the end of the day not essential to the venue.

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Hume City has taken ANZAC Day Cup honours for the first time after defeating South Melbourne FC 5-0 at Broadmeadows Valley Park on Sunday afternoon. For South, it was a disastrous result in a match where the away side also had two men sent off and had stand-in captain Carl Recchia go off injured.



South travelled to Hume confident of a victory as the side had won its two previous matches at Broadmeadows Valley Park, the most recent being the 6-0 victory in 2010. Things started brightly for the away side, with Kyle Joryeff lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Lupce Acevski's goal only for Jesse Krncevic to narrowly miss the tap-in at the far post. From there, South's day turned into a nightmare. Hume opened the scoring after 18 minutes when Richie Cardozo won the ball outside the area and hit a stunning left-footed shot that flew into the top corner, giving South goalkeeper Zaim Zeneli no chance. South's chances of forcing a result took an even harder hit less than 10 minutes later when Krncevic was given a straight red card by the referee for allegedly elbowing a Hume player behind play.


Shortly before halftime, the match was over as a contest when South lost two players and another goal in 2 minutes of madness. Centre-half Ljubo Milicevic was shown a straight red for a high tackle on a Hume player, with the resultant free kick leading to a scramble inside the penalty area before Fabio Delizia scored. South's players protested heavily as stand-in captain Recchia - who was captaining the side in the absense of Steven O'Dor, missing through injury - fell awkwardly during the scramble and appeared to have badly rolled his ankle. Nevertheless, the goal was awarded and South suddenly found itself two men down and two goals down with a half of football still to play.

In the second half, South boldly attempted to try and minimise the damage of conceeding goals whilst at the same time trying to score a goal to bring itself back into the contest. However with two less men and tiring players, the task was always going to be nearly impossible. Hume wrapped up the three points within the first five minutes of the second half when Steven Weir was put through on goal and finished calmly past Zeneli. Weir scored his second halfway through the half before Cardozo finished the match with a double after another nicely taken shot that crept into the far corner of the net.

The Victorian Premier League takes a week off for the Easter weekend, however South may be playing Mirabella Cup football at some stage next weekend. Football Federation Victoria did the draw for Round 4 of the Cup and South was drawn to host the winner of Yarraville Glory (State League 3) and Old Melburnians (Provisional League 1). As soon as the fixture is released, the date and venue will be advised on the website.



South Melbourne FC's next Victorian Premier League fixture is against leaders Dandenong Thunder at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday 1 May at 3:00pm.

FINAL SCORE: HUME CITY 5-0 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 2-0)

Goal Scorers:
1-0: Richie Cardozo (18')
2-0: Fabio Dilizia (40')
3-0: Steven Weir (49')
4-0: Steven Weir (66')
5-0: Richie Cardozo (87')

Hume City
1. Lupce ACEVSKI, 2. Adam NAKIC, 3. Fabio DILIZIA, 6. Serdar PIR, 10. Richie CARDOZO, 11. Andrew VLAHOS, 15. Zoran PETREVSKI, 20. Michael BOSEVSKI, 21. Dusko DELIC, 22. Phillip RICCOBENE, 23. Steven WEIR
(Subs: 4. Mark PISTINIZI, 25. Atilla OFLI, 17. Mark MCGOUGH, 25. Atilla OFLI, 30. Ali CATAK, 25. Atilla OFLI)

South Melbourne
3. Rhodri PAYNE, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 8. Carl RECCHIA (16. Trent WATERSON), 10. Kliment TASESKI, 11. Jesse KRNCEVIC, 13. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 15. Fernando DE MORAES (33. Bobby RUSSELL), 18. Marinos GASPARIS, 21. Zaim ZENELLI, 25. Kyle JORYEFF (24. Nick JACOBS)

SMFC Men of the Match: Steven Topalovic / Zaim Zeneli
Venue: Broadmeadows Valley Park
Date: Sunday 17 April 2011

A forgetful day - however - 1 game = 1 round

Hopefully the team regroups and focusses after the Easter weekend off

Can someone tell me how Preston Lions are going.
Are they still around

Ladder for Mens Premier League and Mens Division 1 would be good

Whats Altona Magic the other fyrom club doing

Macedonia is and always will be greece

FYROM LAND LOL

Football Federation Victoria - Mens Premier League
Rank      Team   P   W   D   L   F   A   GD   Points
1       Dandenong Thunder   10   7   2   1   24   8   16   23
2       Oakleigh Cannons   10   7   1   2   21   11   10   22
3       South Melbourne   10   6   2   2   21   18   3   20
4       Hume City   10   5   3   2   18   11   7   18
5       Northcote City   9   4   2   3   18   14   4   14
6       Bentleigh Greens   10   4   2   4   15   15   0   14
7       Heidelberg Utd   9   4   3   2   12   11   1    12
8       Richmond   10   3   1   6   11   20   -9   10
9       Melbourne Knights   10   2   3   5   14   15   -1   9
10       VTC Football   8   3   0   5   10   19   -9   9
11       Springvale White Eagles   10   1   5   4   15   23   -8   8
12       Green Gully Cavaliers   9   2   1   6   11   13   -2   7
13       St Albans Saints   9   0   3   6   9   21   -12   3
Last updated: Apr 17, 2011 5:04PM (local time)

Sorry about the format.

Interesting to note - for the Perth Glory fans out there - that Stuart Munro is top of the league and reportedly has a number of players in his squad with a view to signing for Perth next season.


Edited by Benjamin: 18/4/2011 02:11:46 PM

:-$ It's a secret ...

Drop the political BS. Who cares.

Damn the Western teams are struggling this year. GG really are underperforming badly, St Albans just came back up so its hardly surprising, but add in the MK who are not that high either, and its abit bleak.

Someone gives this insecure Greek some reassurance quickly!! :lol: :lol:

South Melbourne lost on the weekend, his ego is crushed, all hope is lost, it's not his fault God punished him by making him Greek, AHH GAMOTO, SOMEBODY HELP HIM!!!!


Don't cry malaka, it'll be ok, Just tell your boyfriend to come over and make you some souvlaki and talk about how at least you're not as bad as Preston Lions ffs! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No, really......


Comparing yourself to Preston Lions?? :lol:

Is your self esteem really that low?? :lol: :lol:

Don't worry, if I was a Greek malakia like yourself, i'd be in the shits too. It's OK mate, I understand re.

Agreed

This thread is for football not polixql stuff

On another note the ref was atrocious

I am sick of seeing our players get hacked each week without penalizing the opposition

I accept the decision but can someone please advise bow this guy did not get a card?

Gaspa will be out for up to 4 weeks



We try to play an entertaining brand and our players keep getting slaughtered ofcourse there will be retaliation

Fed up

Edited by chris: 18/4/2011 07:34:52 PM

A very youthful South Melbourne FC grounded out a 0-0 result against high-flying Dandenong Thunder at John Cain Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon. The result was excellent for a South side that had as much as half its preferred starting 11 missing through suspension or injury. In fact, South was missing the services of Carl Recchia, Ljubo Milicevic, Steven O'Dor, Sebastian Petrovich, Kliment Taseski, and Jesse Krncevic.

South went into the match on the back of a 5-0 thumping by Hume City in its last Victorian Premier League match the previous Sunday, however, the side had hit winning form by defeating State League 3 side Yarraville Glory 14-0 in the Fourth Round of the Mirabella Cup on Tuesday afternoon. Dandenong entered the match on a two-game unbeaten run in the Victorian Premier League as well as a 2-0 win over South Springvale in the Mirabella Cup Fourth Round, and the Thunder were keen to continue that form.



The away side began the match brightly and had several chances to score in the first half, however debuting South goalkeeper Abdelhadi Deroune commanded his area brilliantly and made several excellent saves. On the one occasion that Deroune was beaten, Steven Topalovic was in the way to make a goal-line clearance and keep the score at 0-0.

In the second half, South went out of its conservative shell and stepped up the tempo in an attempt to snatch an unlikely and surprising three points. Fernando De Moraes had been the stand-in captain and he had a glorious chance to snatch the goal South were after, however he unfortunately skied his shot over the bar. De Moraes almost turned provider a few minutes later when he put Marinos Gasparis into space with a wonderful ball, however, once more the move amounted to nothing on the scoreboard as Gasparis put his shot over the bar. South did not create many chances but the ones that they did create were some of the best of the whole game.

Despite a few nervous moments, the South defence held firm throughout the second half and grounded out a clean sheet largely thanks to the efforts of Deroune, Topalovic and young debutant Jake Vandermey, who had featured in South's pre-season Cup tournaments before making his League debut against Dandenong. The final 0-0 result was a credit to South's resilience and even more pleasing was that coach Eddie Krncevic had faith to give game time and valuable senior match experience to young players such as Vandermey, Nick Jacobs, Bobby Russell, Kamal Ibrahim and Leigh Minopoulos.



South Melbourne FC's next match is on Sunday 8 May against sister club Northcote City. The match kicks off at 15:00 at John Cain Memorial Park.

FINAL SCORE: SOUTH MELBOURNE 0-0 DANDENONG THUNDER (HT: 0-0)

South Melbourne
1. Abdelhadi DEROUNE, 3. Rhodri PAYNE, 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI, 6. Steven TOPALOVIC, 9. Gianni DE NITTIS (25. Kyle JORYEFF), 15. Fernando DE MORAES, 18. Marinos GASPARIS (19. Leigh MINOPOULOS), 16. Trent WATERSON, 24. Nick JACOBS, 17. Jake VANDERMEY, 33. Bobby RUSSELL (14. Kamal IBRAHIM)

Dandenong Thunder
1. Stuart WEBSTER, 2. Jack HINGERT, 3. Ben HARRISON, 5. Steven GRAY, 6. Agim TOMIC, 8. Matthew THEODORE, 9. Veton KORCARI, 13. Shane REXEPI, 17. Liam KEARNEY, 20. Luke SHERBON, 23. Chris TAYLOR (Subs: 10. Alex ROJAS, 11. Denis UKALOVSKI, 14. Stephen COOKE, 16. Jarryd BARNES, 26. Sermin SADIKOVSKI)

SMFC Man of the Match: Abdelhadi Deroune
Venue: John Cain Memorial Park
Date: Sunday 1 May 2011

Interested to hear South fans' take on young Ibrahim. Where's he been played?

He's ok, is quick and skillfull but also tries to do too much on his own. Has been mainly used off the bench as an attacking impact player so it's probably understandable that he tries to take everyone on b4 releasing the ball. Some of his attacking runs have been really good but in the VPL anything skillfull eventually gets hacked down.

Tasevski is also a decent player. Probably the better of the 2.

Was actually a very good result on sunday given all the outs we had.

Think Ibrahim is an okay player, but the best 19 year old on the pitch was Vandermay - fantastic prospect in the middle of defense. Also, Nick Jacobs - at 16 - put in another solid performance up front. Great to see good young players getting a shot - Jacabs, Vandermay, Tasevski, Ibrahim... Good Greek names there from the famously monoethnic club. ;)

Ibrahim is crap. Hes a selfish player who only runs, thats it. cant even stay onside. Also doesnt go hesitates when he is challenging for the ball with another player. He only performs against shit teams and even then did jack shit against st albans who are the bottom team. So many times he has lost the ball, hasnt tried to track back and then we have almost copt a goal because of it. If hes gonna be like this then I'd prefer us to release him from his loan deal right now. Taseski on the other hand is a talent. when played at right back he has looked really good, but in central midfield not to good.

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