At 5pm this Sunday, South will face Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside.

The match will see Sinisa Cohadzic coach his first league game for South, but he will need to do it without Brennan and Marshall who were injured in our extra-time cup win against Bentleigh.

Will Bonanda be back to boost the squad? That’s still unknown, either way South will limp into the match against a high flying Oakleigh with an undermanned squad and a new style that’s still on training wheels.

That doesn’t bode well for us. Except for the Cup games, South’s last win in the League was back in February. South’s last goal in the League was in March. Yes, there have been some green shoots in the Cup with a more conventional playing style but yet another coaching change leaves us with little indication of how the team will play.

One thing that has been common across the Minopoulos, Holmes, and Cohadzic games is South copping goals from midfield turnovers. In the post Estaban era it’s clear that our midfield structure is being built back from almost nothing, and its not clear if we’re too late into the season for this to be a priority, or whether we should revert to some sort of smash and grab long ball-set piece tactics simply to get points on the board.

We were smashed by an Avondale who rested players, and we face a similarly classy outfit in Oakleigh on Sunday. The approach the team will take is a little up in the air.

Oakleigh on the other hand come into the game with 12 points from their last 5 league games. They sit fourth on the ladder within touching distance of the top with their only recent falter being a 2-1 loss to Heidelberg last week.

They have slipped in other games too though this season, with a 2-1 loss to St Albans and a 1-1 draw early in the season to a then poor Green Gully being the results South will hope to replicate.

Hope however is not a game plan. Having already suffered noisy Heidelberg fans at Lakeside, I’m not sure I can take a home drubbing to Oakleigh this season. Say what you want about the Avondale game, at least losing it away from home hurt a little less.

Guest leagues the charge for the Cannons with 9 goals this season (yes, that equals our season total). Knowles and Salmon have contributed 5 goals each to the Oakleigh cause.

Good luck Sinisa, we’re all gonna need it.

In some more notes on the day, not only will the U23s play a rare curtain raiser but all female attendees will receive free entry in honour of Mother’s day (or to help the attendance which will be impacted by Mother’s day).