Summary: Saturday night marked another derby victory for South Melbourne FC, who left Olympic Village with a comfortable 3-1 win over Heidelberg United FC. While tempers flared throughout the night, South kept their composure and were able to gain 3 for the second consecutive week.
The first note I wrote down during this game was that Zac Bates was starting. I was excited to see the youngster consistently placed in our starting lineup. Unbeknownst to me at the time, he would play a central role in our first half domination. A Heidelberg wedding celebration set the tone for the evening. While it wasn’t a large turnout, derbies often possess the most intensity, negating the cool weather on Saturday night. For many, this match was a write-off. We had secured points the week before in an important away game at Altona, and could afford (debatable terminology) to succumb to the most likely round 13 outcome, that being our defeat. But considering the circumstances, South Melbourne played their finest football at Olympic Village, spending a majority of the game playing precise football and capitalising on Heidelberg’s mistakes, as opposed to causing them.
After Marafioti couldn’t convert our first shot of the night in the second minute, placing a volley into the chest of Theodoridis, something just clicked. We opened the floodgates. Our strong attacking presence in midfield often saw us on the counter, and in the sixth minute, one of these attacks was led by Gerrie Sylaidos. He was able to weave the ball into the path of Bates, whose pace allowed him to take on multiple defenders before lobbing the ball over the keeper, whose deflection could not prevent it from finding the back of the net. Putting faith into our younger players has been an important element to our season, and each match this decision pays off more and more.
It was a positive start, but the risk in South scoring early is switching off. It’s also been apparent this season that our best performances only commence after being slapped with a goal. But the first half was entirely South’s. Heidelberg are known for their aggressive plays, but we kept it cool on the defence and often disarmed them before most chances could be created. We seemed much more comfortable playing precise football as opposed to opting for long balls, a huge change in our play-style which created fluidity in our midfield. Less than 15 minutes later, one of these plays finds Billy Konstantinidis on the ball, who flexes his pace as he steams up the right side of the field. Parallel to him, Marcus Schroen is also sprinting. At first, Billy’s cross seems to be heading to Marafioti, who has situated himself in the centre of the penalty box. As the two Heidelberg defenders focus their attention on him, Schroen charges into the box, weaving in-between the two, and is able to keep the ball down before smashing it into the top of the net. In just over twenty minutes we had matched our highest goal tally, and against one of the best squads in the league.
Two goals was a much more comfortable cushion than one, and I was expecting our plays to become more lethargic in order to slow play down. Which we did, but only at appropriate times. We still continued to press their defenders, and make their midfield seem non-existent. Just under five minutes later, another attacking play sees Billy pass the ball into an oncoming Sylaidos, who retains possession after the layoff is deflected off a defender. He sets himself up on his right boot, and curls a ball past the keeper and into the right corner. Inch perfect. We were three-nil up before most people had settled in for the game. And similarly to our response to our first and second goal, we continued to press with purpose, will producing level-headed defending. The real change came from Heidelberg, who had begun to blur the line between physicality and unnecessary aggression. A terrible challenge on Djiba led to the first on-field scuffle for the night, though stamped out fairly quickly. Heidelberg had nothing to lose, South did, and credit to the players, who were well aware. Many poorly committed fouls which may have flared tempers were overlooked, and we often kept our composure as we continued to outplay them.
Despite their antics, Heidelberg weren’t playing terribly. If a few counter attacks went their way, we could easily see the pressure placed back onto our shoulders. Half time would be a period of time where we would be most likely to switch off, and so I hoped we would retain focus while in the dressing rooms. And, as expected, Heidelberg came out with threatening plays, almost bringing one back in the first five minutes of play. Cahill was unable to get a clear header on a crossed ball, but as it continued to bounce out of the penalty box, Doumbalis plays in a low shot to the right corner. There’s too much power on it for Marshall to fully clear, and his touch flicks it into the crossbar, inches away from the net. However, we got it cleared, and gradually regained attacking possession.
Even in the rare situations where they possessed more aggression/desire to win than us, as soon as their tempers got the better of them, Heidelberg essentially threw the game. While we continued to uphold our high quality play-style, leading to decent attempts from Konstantinidis, Sylaidos and Norton respectively, our opposition often caught themselves fouling out of fear or spite, something we avoided on the turnaround. Their first red card (yes, first) came in the 68th minute, where a purposeful handball saw Rueben Way receive his second yellow card for the night. Being an extra man up gave South more authority over the game, where they decided to slow down the pace, keeping the ball away from the bergers.
It was in the 74th minute that South made their first discernible error of the night. Kristian Konstantinidis, who, along with the rest of our defence, had put in a great performance that night, fouls his opponent in the box. It was the type of tackle you only commit to when you’re certain you’ll get the ball, and unfortunately KK got more of the player. Goalkeeper Chris Theodoridis steps up for the penalty and buries it into the top left corner. Unfortunately, Heidelberg weren’t able to produce anymore clear chances without our aid, and their second red card came 5 minutes after their goal. While struggling to get passed the South defence during one of their attacks, a horrible challenge on Kostas Stratomitros sees Jack Petrie awarded a straight red. I’m still unsure as to how players think this sort of behaviour will bring anything positive for themselves or their team, but the lack of discipline was incredibly disheartening in what is meant to be the second-best league in Australian football. On the same side of the coin, this is the second-best football league in Australia, in what world is it important enough to purposely injure another person?
Alongside squabbles from various figures on the night, the challenge also resulted in Stratomitros being stretchered off, replaced by Ethan Gage. Aside from the penalty, we had cut out most of the silly mistakes we make in our plays, and continued to control the game. We didn’t even have time to succumb to the effects of conceding, because before we knew it they were two men down. Attacking became much easier, but defending possessed the same pressure. We had a handful of good attempts, though none resulted in a fourth. In the 88th minute, Krousoratis crosses the ball to Konstantinidis, whose quick turn wrong foots one defender, though the lineswoman indicates Billy is offside before he can set something up. Unfortunately, Billy’s sharp change of direction led to Lewis Hall injuring himself, and left the field on a stretcher. This also meant that Heidelberg would see out the match with 8 men.
After a few more long range attempts, a great team attempt that saw Sylaidos’ shot saved and a Konstantinidis shot deflected wide, the final whistle was blown and we secured the points.
Saturday’s match was massive in framing our team, and we’ve finally found stability in our lineup. Our defenders have settled down, played confidently and cleanly, and our attacking players have a good combination of pace, skill and physicality. When we play great football, we can contend against some of the top teams. Not even 6 yellow card offences and two red card offences could lessen the quality of our game. While I’m not holding my breath for the same result next week, it gives me confidence that we can outplay lower teams in the future to stock up on points.
Notable players: The Entire Squad
South Melbourne FC: 3
Heidelberg United FC: 1