Thunder storms home

By Stuart Teather
DANDENONG Thunder marked the halfway mark of the Victorian Premier League (VPL) season with an emphatic 3-0 victory against likely finals rival Heidelberg at George Andrews Reserve on Saturday.
It was possibly Dandenong’s best performance to date with outstanding performances right across the pitch, including from man-of-the-match Colin Quirk who starred through the midfield.
The game began at a punishing tempo and Heidelberg had the first clear chance, with Graham Hockless hitting the woodwork, but Dandenong almost hit back through Joseph Di Iorio immediately afterwards, who was denied in a one-on-one with the Heidelberg keeper.
Dandenong eventually got the breakthrough just before half-time, when Di Iorio slotted the ball off a Hamlet Armenian cross to put his side ahead 1-0 at the break.
Munro said from then on it was smooth sailing.
“We were very clinical. Webster, our goalkeeper, was magnificent, especially with one particular save, and in the second half I thought we were in control of the game.”
Munro paid tribute to Quirk’s efforts in the match, saying the midfielder had made a stunning return after missing the two previous games.
“Colin played on the left midfield, we’ve left him out the last couple of weeks because of our shape with two strikers, so he was the one who was missing out, but I just felt he was too good a player to leave out.
“He was involved in the first two goals, he set up the first and then set up the second, he was perfect.”
Dandenong is now nine wins and two draws from 11 games at the halfway mark of the season, nearly three games clear of second-placed South Melbourne.
The two teams will face off in the highly anticipated top-of-the-table clash at George Andrews Reserve on Saturday night, with kick-off at 7.30pm.
In other news for the club, Armenian and Ryan Davidson took to the field for a combined VPL squad in a friendly against Melbourne Victory last week.
Armenian was a stand-out for the VPL side but the Victory were too good, winning the match 2-0.
The sides clashed again at Melbourne Knights’ Mansion Stadium on Wednesday, but scores were unavailable when the Star went to press.