Summary: South Melbourne FC have beaten Altona Magic SC 2-1 at Paisley Park on Saturday evening. An early second-half blunder saw South trailing, but their determination allowed them to gain and maintain the lead 15 minutes later.
Outside the top 3 teams in this league, it’s hard to truly gauge which squads we have no chance of beating, as some of our most compelling performances have been against finals contenders. We had one of our better performances this season against Bentleigh (3rd), we drew with Green Gully (4th) and beat Melbourne Knights (5th). If they had won this match, Altona could have found themselves fourth on the ladder, but that indication of skill meant little on the pitch today. My mindset going into this match was if South could overcome the battles they were having with themselves, a decent performance was bound to follow. Our performance could only be improved by starting Ben Djiba and Gerrie Sylaidos, who have consistently put in great performances this season. While the inclusion of Zac Bates in the starting lineup was surprising, his impact on the game provided sufficient justification.
From the starting whistle I immediately noticed a change in our play-style. We remained in control of possession, but instead of harnessing aggression, we felt more clinical. A calm demeanour took control of our plays. It took slightly longer to reach the goals, and overall we had fewer shots, but it wasn’t because Altona were applying pressure; we were just planning our next move. Unfortunately, even when utilising this strategy, Altona had the best shot of the half, very early on. In the sixth minute, a corner was brought down into the centre of the goal square, and at the height of confusion, Djiba got a boot onto it, but towards goal. It was cleared off the line by Roganovic, but some of the Altona players believed it had gone over. Much like our attempt against Oakleigh last week, unless the referee is certain, those attempts are rarely rewarded.
Again, we remained generally calmer (at least for the first half) as opposed to using our signature sporadic aggression, though the chances we created weren’t exceptional. A few central shots from Sylaidos and Schroen were palmed away from the keeper with general comfort. Zac Bates had a great game, pairing well with Sylaidos as a quick midfielder, confident in dribbling past a few players when necessary. This plays a big importance in the second half, because the first 45 minutes saw South having difficulties bridging the gap between defence and forward line. Further, we were still making minor mistakes which could have led to major consequences. For example, Jake Marshall heading the ball behind him and onto the feet of an Altona attacker. We cleaned up most of our mistakes, but if they hadn’t been created the half may have been less tense. Giuseppe Marafioti was able to score, placing the ball to the bottom left corner, but was very narrowly offside. Half-time possessed the same hopefulness seen in most games; we weren’t playing half bad, and with a bit more concision, could steal the 3 points.
But as is custom with South, our true potential can only be unlocked after being put on the rocks. Five minutes into the second half, a freshly subbed Kristian Konstantinidis comes into possession of the ball while in his defending half, with plenty of time to discard the ball. Much like Bradley Norton last week, a wealth of options for clearance is met with the unwise decision of trying to take on an oncoming attacker. He holds onto the ball for too long, and his clearance is deflected and put back into the box. Altona are then given the freedom to set up, and have a shot on goal before Troy Ruthven volleys the ball passed Roganovic, an excellent goal created from nothing. The travelling fans weren’t left disheartened for long, because two minutes later, an expertly angled Marcus Schroen free kick bends passed the keeper to keep the scores locked. After having time to appreciate that exceptional piece of skill (irrelevant of intentionality), I was reminded that a few minutes prior we had conceded another very poor goal.
That reminder did leave me a little uneasy, but the football South produced in the second half provided some reassurance. Schroen, Sylaidos, Bates and Marafioti really shone, bridging the gap in our plays and producing a flurry of excellent chances. In the 61st minute, Zac Bates was able to take on a few Altona defenders while storming up the pitch, sending the ball straight to the keeper. Altona weren’t given any room to breath however, as the resultant goal-kick is quickly turned over, which Marcus Schroen volleys far up the field. Giuseppe Marafioti, who had shaken his defender on the wing, controls and takes the ball all the way to a one on one with the keeper. His large touch seemed too heavy, but he was able to jab the ball under the keeper, and put us into the lead.
From there, we continued to dominate in the midfield, with our attacking players linking up seamlessly to provide countless attacking options. Billy Konstantinidis had been excellent up front the entire night, with great aerial duels almost always being won. And more importantly, they have purpose, with the ball being flicked to oncoming midfielders or being controlled on the chest to hold up play. Another notable effort came in the 78th minute, when Billy Konstantinidis was able to pass the ball through to Bates, positioned in the penalty box, to finish off. His tap in was unfortunately saved by the toes of the keeper. But as the ball flies outside the box, skipper Bradley Norton sends back a looming volley, which requires an excellent save to prevent a stunning goal. With only one goal separating us, the last few minutes were nerve-racking, but our determination never faltered, and we were able to clench the victory.
At first, I thought that this year’s squad had great resilience; now I’m starting to believe that we only switch on after conceding. A damning flaw, because even when we’ve been able to regain a majority of possession, we still have difficulties converting. When we play as well as we did towards the second half of this match, it’s easy to question how we can be so dismal in others. But we need to remember that it was only a few minutes prior to Schroen’s goal that we had conceded in comical fashion, and it seems that our strengths and weaknesses are entwined. But I like to end these reports somewhat positively, and in spite of our errors, we played convincing football, and probably one of our best matches of the season. IF we continue to play with the same vigour and creativity, we should find ourselves clear of any relegation threat.
Notable players: Giuseppe Marafioti, Zac Bates, Marcus Schroen, Billy Konstantinidis, Ben Djiba
South Melbourne FC: 2
Altona Magic SC: 1