South Melbourne narrowly edged past a determined Green Gully outfit 1-0 in a fiery, physical contest in Keilor on Saturday afternoon.
Arthur Papas’ men were looking to consolidate on last week’s 5-2 rout of Melbourne Victory, although obstructing them was a South Melbourne side who were hungry to leap back into first place, having earlier been usurped by the Bentleigh Greens after they won on Friday night.
South looked the stronger team going forward from kick-off, Matthew Miller keeping fullback Yohei Iwasaki on his toes as he attempted numerous crosses to the head of Milos Lujic.
It was already proving a physical encounter, with multiple free-kick’s being paid as both teams contested to break the deadlock.
Iwasaki was on the receiving end of the first booking in the 29th minute as he brought down Miller on a promising run forward.
It took until the 41st minute for South Melbourne to be rewarded for their efforts – controversially – when Amadu Koroma had his legs taken out in mid-air after attempting to head the ball across the box.
Nick Epifano narrowly tucked the penalty away to his left, despite Gully custodian Rani Dowisha arguing that he wasn’t aware the penalty was about to be taken.
The 24-year-old keeper received a yellow card for his plea to referee Shaun Evans.
Nick Krousoratis rolled a shot on the wrong side of the post in the 45th minute, missing a golden chance to equalise heading into the break and extend his personal goal tally to nine.
The late miss calmed the nerves of the travelling fans and ensured Strati Xynas’ half-time team talk was a less explosive one.
Gully came bursting out in the second half, although it took a while before their efforts manifested in efforts on goal.
Krousoratis was Gully’s go-to man for each of their attacks; although South skipper Michael Eager was on hand to keep the dangerous forward quiet, letting both sets of fans know he wouldn’t be extending his goal tally that afternoon.
Nikola Roganovic produced another quality display as the former Melbourne Heart custodian prevented both an unmarked Liam Boland and Evan Christodoulou from equalising in the 76th and 85th minute respectively.
Down the other end, the home fans had Rani Dowisha to thank four minutes from time when Marcus Schroen weaved in and out of multiple players – including Rodrigo Vargas – before unleashing a shot which was well saved by the former Melbourne Victory reserve keeper.
A Green Gully corner was knocked back and forth inside the box before it dropped to the feet of Krousoratis in the 88th minute. The 22-year-old blasted a shot which beat Roganovic – but was headed off the line by Schroen.
The final attempt in the game was a George Lambadaridis long-rage effort, which was impressively palmed out of the top right corner by Roganovic.
Green Gully will look to get back on the winner’s list in Round 14 against a Melbourne Knights outfit fresh of a first win in three starts, while South Melbourne will seek to further extend their lead at the top of the table against Heidelberg United next round, who will aim to seek revenge from Round One’s 6-0 demolition.
Photo: Cindy Nitsos
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South Melbourne 1 (Epifano 42′) defeated Green Gully 0 at Green Gully Reserve [HT 0:1]
Green Gully: 23. Rani DOWISHA (GK) 2. Matthew REID (4. Daniel JONES) 3. Yohei IWASAKI 5. Rodrigo VARGAS (C) 6. Callum RICHARDSON (7. Tomas MURPHY) 8. George LAMBADARIDIS 11. Evan CHRISTODOULOU 12. Nick KROUSORATIS 16. Kliment TASESKI (9. Anthony RAGUSA) 19. Luke WALKER 38. Liam BOLAND
Unused Sub(s): 1. Sebastian MATTEI 17. Alon BLUMGART
South Melbourne: 1. Nikola ROGANOVIC (GK) 12. Amadu KOROMA 4. Michael EAGER (C) 23.Matthew FOSCHINI 11. Bradley NORTON 77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS 8. Matthew THEODORE (17. Marcus SCHROEN) 18. Matthew MILLAR 99. Iqi JAWADI (14. Chris IRWIN) 7. Nick EPIFANO (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS) 9. Milos Lujic
Unused Sub(s): 6. Phitzgerald MBAKA 21. Zaim ZENELI