By Marcus Uhe
Dandenong City continues to live life on a knife’s edge in its quest to qualify for finals football in the National Premier League Victoria (NPL) but the rollercoaster season took an unwanted dip on Friday night that may prove costly in its historic desires.
A home clash against a struggling Manningham side likely to be relegated at the end of the season shaped as a golden opportunity to extend the margin between itself and its nearest contenders for sixth place, in Port Melbourne and Melbourne Knights, respectively.
Coupled with Port Melbourne facing a ladder-leading South Melbourne, a side out for blood after City’s upset of it the previous week, and the Knights facing a tough assignment with a trip to Oakleigh to face another championship contender in the Cannons, a valuable four-point lead on the vulnerable Sharks was City’s for the taking.
Instead, a calamitous final 20 minutes of Friday night’s clash saw captain Jack Webster sent off, and two vital goals conceded to the visitors, as City slumped to a 4-2 loss.
As a result, Manningham threw yet another curveball at City’s lofty ambitions to make the top six, adding another layer to the drama that is the conclusion to the NPL’s top flight.
Thankfully for City, losses for both Port Melbourne and Melbourne Knights saw them retain sixth place, adding fuel to the fire to what will be a huge contest for City at home on Friday night against Port Melbourne in the second-last round of the home-and-away season.
Concurrently, the Melbourne Knights will welcome City’s rival, Dandenong Thunder, to Sunshine, with massive consequences on each result.
Should both City and Thunder collect all three points, a ticket to the post-season will be stamped, but a pair of losses will rule City out of contention, as the Sharks will move four points clear with one match to play.
Webster was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card in the 72nd minute for a handball deep in defence.
He was walking a tightrope for the length of the second half, following a crude challenge late in the first 45 that netted him the first yellow.
An act of frustration following a Manningham defender not giving him enough space to take a free kick in his defensive half saw him slide into an opponent front-on from close range, and the victim needing medical attention as his Manningham teammates prosecuted the case for a harsher penalty.
They would get their wish in the 72nd minute, forcing City to play with 10 men for the remainder of the contest that at the time was locked at 2-2.
The deadlock was broken in the 85th minute, courtesy of a Ben Everson spot kick.
Stefan Brecevic was deemed to have used his arm to block an attempt on goal, and John Hall could not prevent the penalty from the Manningham striker, as the visitors edged ahead.
Nick Tolios made a triple-substitution including the introduction of last week’s hero Brad Plant in an attempt to find an equaliser, but there were no gaps to be found in the Manningham defence as time ticked away.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Everson put the result beyond doubt after a well worked chain of passes from defence presented him with a one-on-one chance with Hall that he duly converted.
It was the finishing touch on an enthralling battle that kept spectators glued to the edge of their seats throughout the two hours at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.
Manningham opened the scoring in the fifth minute after picking its way through the City’s defence with short passes that pulled Webster, Brecevic and co out of position.
The visitors doubled the lead 10 minutes later, courtesy of a towering header from Alexander Castiello.
Castiello rose higher than his opponents after a teammate delivered a cross from a dead ball to the heart of the penalty area, and stunned the home City fans into silence in the process.
City was on the back foot for much of the first 20 minutes under constant Manningham pressure, until Damian Iaconis pegged one back in the 25th minute.
A long clearance from Hall landed perfectly at the feet of Will Bower, who beat his opponent with a sharp turn on the left wing and dribbled into a dangerous position bearing down on the penalty area.
As defenders converged from the centre of the penalty box, Iaconis was left to his own devices, and when Bower found him with a squaring ball, Iaconis nailed the finish with a first-time shot on his right foot.
The goal kicked City into gear, and through the tenacious darting runs of Bower on the left, the home side became the aggressor, but failed to equalise before the half.
14 minutes into the second, Iaconis was the man for the moment once again, with a dragged back heel on a George Lambadaridis cross flummoxing the Manningham goalkeeper and levelling proceedings.
Webster’s departure gave the game another twist, as Manningham upped its intensity and aggression in hopes of snatching a winner with the numbers advantage.
They didn’t just find one goal, but two, as City’s ladder position became even more precarious by the end of proceedings on Friday night.
City’s clash with Port Melbourne kicks off at 7.45 on Friday night, while Thunder will begin proceedings 15 minutes earlier against Melbourne, meaning the result of Melbourne’s clash will be known to both sides before the end of the 90 minutes.
The corresponding game earlier in the season between City and Port Melbourne was a 3-1 Sharks win, however both Port Melbourne players who scored that night departed the club in the mid-season transfer window.
