Summary: Avondale have run out 3-0 winners over South Melbourne on Sunday afternoon. A fiery contest soon fizzled out, as Avondale were able to completely outplay the home side in order to secure the victory.
Considering we’ve lost to Avondale 7 games straight (picking up our last victory against them at the start of 2016), there were no convincing signs that Sunday was going to be any different. They have established themselves as a top team in NPL Victoria over the last few years, and an improvement in form on South’s part didn’t seem like an answer to that.
The tone of the match was set a few minutes in, where a violent foul on Nick Krousoratis is overlooked by the referee. This instigated one of many on-field scuffles, as a struggle between on and off the ball incidents began occurring. No player or staff member was absent from the discourse, and little composure was used in response to the injustice (as opposed to the maturity displayed against an ill-disciplined Heidelberg squad). While we were one man down for around ten minutes, as Krousoratis required treatment for the poor challenge, it didn’t matter too much, as play was stopped frequently due to multiple instances of fouling. Avondale also required a substitution very early on, creating the atmosphere of a high stakes game (which, arguably, it wasn’t). It was hard to figure out whether one team was coming out ahead in the beginning sequence, as the game was stopped so often. However, when the ball did reach our back lineup, new signing Tom Aulton did well on the ball. There seemed to be a lot of composure in his plays, and though he isn’t the largest player, was surprisingly competent in the air.
When the game began to cool down, South were able to match Avondale for (almost) the entirety of the first half, and for the most part maintained a strong attacking presence, which could only be suppressed through fouls from Avondale. However, as our set pieces have been wildly inconsistent this season, limiting the opportunities we could make during play was an effective tactic. There weren’t many shots taken by either side, but, as you’d expect, it’s those that aren’t capitalised on that make all the difference. In the 8th minute, Schroen swung in a free kick that is headed over the bar by Marafioti, though he’s deemed offside anyways. More importantly, a few minutes later, nice buildup play from Skapetis and Sylaidos leads to a ball perfectly weaved to marafioti in the box, who sends his shot wide. It was one of the few shots we were able to get during play, and it was a type of shot that you’d expect an attacking threat to put away in most instances.
At the end of the day, we couldn’t take advantage of our set pieces, nor could we capitalise on our opportunities created in play. In the 38th minute, a long ball (received after another South turnover in the middle) sent down the line makes its way to Stefan Zinni, whose pace beats Norton, requiring Roganovic to come off his line to clear the ball. He doesn’t get any of the ball and completely cleans up Zinni, awarding Avondale with a penalty. Liam Boland steps up to take it, and sends Roganovic the other way. Considering how we had utilised our attack, it felt like one of those matches where conceding one meant it was all over. And after winning a corner, Mathew Reid's header on the cusp of half time doubles Avondale’s lead. While the defending was suspect, the pace on the ball, and its looping quality made it very saveable, considering there was no one blocking Roganovic’s view of the ball.
In the second half, our early aggression dissipated after a Sylaidos volley goes over the bar, and Avondale score their second goal in the 49th minute. Another sub-par header, from Youssef Ahmed this time, that is able to beat the reflexes of Roganovic. At this point, Avondale receded with attacking plays, though never allowed us to build any momentum. They also made points of reminding us they were in control, an example being in the 77th minute, where Stefan Valentini dribbles past our midfielders and defence before having his long-range shot bounce off the post. We never had points were we looked good on the ball, though we had 30-second bursts, most notably a Konstantindis shot that bounces in front of Olfield, or Gibson’s shot across goal that is somehow cleared off the line (an opportunity created from a Gerrie Sylaidos corner, one which should be used more often, if making inferences from one kick).
If anything, at least Melvin Becket’s performance against Port Melbourne continued this evening. I’ve never seen a bicycle clearance like the one Mevin produced at an NPL level, and that, for a short period of time, left me content. I never expected to beat Avondale, but maybe our performance in the first half, which (aside from the last 5 minutes) exceeded my expectations, made the second half, which matched my expectations, even more frustrating. We’ve now reached the point where the teams we play will directly impact not only our ability to make finals, but also avoid relegation. So let’s hope we win them.
Notable players: Tom Aulton, Melvin Becket
South Melbourne FC: 0
Avondale FC: 2
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