South Melbourne FC may soon score its biggest goal so far – a place in the A-League.
Victoria’s leading NPL team has been campaigning for this for quite some time, with Greek Community President Bill Papastergiadis serving at the helm of the bidding committee, and this Wednesday may be the most crucial test yet. The historically Hellenic club is treating Wednesday night’s FFA Cup home tie as if it’s their opening night in the A-League. Playing against guests Newcastle-based Edgeworth Eagles at their home, Lakeside Stadium, ‘Hellas’ is set to make an impression, for the sake of the Fox Sports viewers and the people deciding on the bid.
“A club with a rich history like South Melbourne can’t be defined by a single game but we don’t for one moment underestimate tomorrow night’s match,” said Bill Papastergiadis, pointing out the “enormous significance” of Wednesday’s game”There’ll be a lot of people looking on Wednesday”, agreed Leo Athanasakis , South Melbourne’s president, speaking to Channel Nine. The team has only reached one of the three FFA Cup tournaments – losing in the round of 32 against Palm Beach on penalties in 2015.They almost missed out again, when they found themselves 4-1 down to Dandenong City in the final preliminary round after 80 minutes before pulling out a remarkable 5-4 win.