The 15th of February marked the start South Melbourne FC’s 2019 season, a season full of fresh starts, but also lingering worries. After a string of unfortunate and unwise circumstances, we found ourselves finishing 11th in the 2018 season, a massive shock for a club that had been cup contenders for multiple seasons prior. Since the end of September, we have seen many players leave, and many new additions both on and off the pitch, with a hope that refining the right players will lead our club back to success. While the few practice matches I attended didn’t convince me of our cup-winning potential, a stable pre-season was something to be welcomed. With no major shocks to deal with, South could instead use their time to develop what commodities we had for maximum utilisation, which ultimately led up to Friday evening at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
What do round one games mean for South Melbourne FC? Historically, nothing positive. Last season we drew 1-1 with now relegated Bulleen Lions, and the season before that we drew 2-2… with now relegated Bulleen Lions. Our last victory in round one was in the 2016 season, in which we drubbed Heidelberg 6-0 (though we would draw 2-2 with Bulleen 3 games later). Considering Bentleigh has remained in the top four over consecutive seasons, and continues to be one South’s arch nemesis, it seems reasonable to deduce they are a stronger side than Bulleen, who regularly find themselves between NPL and NPL 2. Taking into consideration we’re also a team that doesn’t play well at the Kingston Heath ground led to low expectations pulling up to the car park.
The crowd was smaller than expected for a round one game, but everyone seemed refreshed and ready to put our dismal 2018 run behind us. And from the starting whistle, it seemed our players wanted the same thing too. During the first 45 minutes we held the majority of possession, with great runs from Nick Krousoratis and Giuseppe Marafioti. As someone who didn’t have a good idea about our newer player’s potential (you can’t really extract much from our practice matches) I was pleasantly surprised at how well we played, but more importantly played with one another. Our runs felt very fluid, and we didn’t need to rely on counterattacks in order to maintain possession or create goal scoring opportunities.
Gerrie Sylaidos had an impressive game, and in the first ten or so minutes was able to push the squad up, set up and even go for goal, hitting a shot just wide in the fifteenth minute. Arguably more importantly for our side, he could drop back when needed and play defence, acting as a bridge between the defenders and the forwards. Despite our great start, we were unable to score, and when you don’t take advantage of the opportunities you’re given, you don’t have the luxury of going to sleep. And while they hadn’t had much time in their attacking half, one opportunity was enough for Josh Barresi to hammer one passed Roganovic into the bottom left corner, putting the Greens in the lead ten minutes in.
In most of South’s matches last season, the most crucial part of the game was ten to fifteen minutes after we had conceded a goal. Usually we weren’t super threatening leading up to these points, but we also developed a pattern of either falling asleep or losing confidence on the ball, things that would usually result in copping more goals. We were no longer a side that could come back from a 4-1 thumping in the 83rd minute. In fact, we were a club that, if ever to concede a goal, would most likely be unable come back. Luckily, that mindset was not visible during this match, due to either a predominantly new squad, or the thrill of a fresh season.
It was satisfying watching the players show some resilience, and continue playing seemingly unfased. And eventually, five minutes after conceding, they were rewarded for their level-headedness. A nice counterattack by Ethan Gage resulted in Nick Krousoratis confidently slotting the ball in the back of the net, a cool finish that would have seemed impossible last season. Which alludes to another issue with last year’s squad; even with possession, we never looked threatening. As the ball would make its way into our attacking half, most pushes would fizzle out, as players would attempt to pass off the ball as if it were something frightening, or make unwise choices in pressured states. Throughout round one’s ninety minutes, I felt more confident in our attacks. When I looked at the players who would push up, they all seemed like potential goal scorers, with various options that could be effectively utilised.
We lost Kostas Stratomitros just before half time to injury, though a Bereveskos substitution didn’t seem to upset the flow of things. A good slide tackle from a South player, as usual (Newton’s law of equal and opposite reaction), was replied to with an awful Bentleigh slide tackle on the half time whistle, leading to a minor skirmish, though it was stamped out pretty quickly. With a 1-1 scoreline, I was satisfied going into the second half. Even if we were going to lose, which I still suspected, we were playing good football, football with traces of life in it, something absent from last season.
The second half was, as expected, disappointing, and may indicate we’re still a side that struggles to play out ninety minutes. From the beginning we never felt as threatening, and found ourselves on the back foot far too often. A number of Bentleigh shots ensued, some saved but most going wide. It felt like only a matter of time until one finally made its way through, and a dispossession combined with an outstretched Roganovic led to us copping a goal in a basically undefended net. Valentino Yuel had been giving us grief on the right wing all night, and he got the goal to prove it.
Ok, I thought, another opportunity to exercise resilience, though I wasn’t convinced by our second half performance. Unfortunately, the possession still remained with the greens, though I felt a glimmer of hope as a late substitute saw Marcus Schroen replace Marafioti in the 66th minute. A familiar face to find comfort in, he immediately found possessions, with a free kick and a close range shot coming out of his first few minutes of game time. Sylaidos continued his impressive streak, with a shot that required a great save from Ryan Scott in order to prevent a quick reply. Krousoratis also showed great form, with frequent runs up the wing, almost equalising on multiple occasions. But opportunities that aren’t taken advantage of remain opportunities, and opportunities don’t win matches.
After conceding the second goal, the bridge between our two halves felt weakened, and we looked like we were less likely to take risks pushing up aggressively. The conservatism didn’t really pay off, as Bentleigh were able to take advantage of their possession more than we could. Bentleigh’s injury time goal should have been avoidable, but South had begun to slow, while the greens continued pressing, Yuel bagging a second for his effort. Overall, the result was disappointing, but a feeling of defeat didn’t wash over most South fans. There was no self-destruction, no internal conflict. If anything, there was a bit of hope, and a bit of satisfaction.
After reading this match review, you may be thinking it’s surprisingly… positive. We lost didn’t we? We definitely did, and it’s never fun to lose. But what’s even worse than losing is losing and playing awful football. Even though round one matches don’t necessarily reflect an entire season’s results, I witnessed a team with a renewed sense of confidence and an ability to execute various strategies they decided to employ. To go up against Bentleigh and be sometimes outplayed, but sometimes not (and not a total mess), was a step in the right direction, and makes me feel quietly confident going into next week’s match against Dandenong City.
South Melbourne 1: Benteigh Greens 3
Notable Players: Gerrie Sylaidos, Nick Krousoratis, Brad Norton