Thunder rolls on

By Stuart Teather
DANDENONG Thunder is through to the Victorian Premier League grand final after a convincing 3-1 win against Hume City in their preliminary final clash on Sunday.
The Thunder were back to their devastating best, rebounding from their loss a week earlier to the reigning premier Altona to bring an end to Hume City’s 2009 campaign.
Thunder captain Veton Korcari got his side off to the best possible start, converting in the 13th minute.
The goal came with Dandenong attacking on the rebound with Joe Di Iorio sending a lovely cross in to his captain, who finished the job with a header.
Dandenong held strong for the rest of the first half in what was an even battle, and went into half-time with the one-goal lead intact.
Thunder coach Stuart Munro implored his charges to keep pushing in the second half.
“We spoke about keeping things very tight, not stepping back and holding on to the lead,” he said.
“Then, in the first five minutes of the second half we absolutely killed them.”
Hamlet Armenian struck soon after play resumed on a solo run and Di Iorio iced the game within five minutes, capping a brilliant patch of play for the Thunder.
It was not all good news, however, as Armenian took a knock to the thigh and is in doubt for the final this Saturday.
Korcari was also taken off after pulling up sore, but Munro was quick to emphasise it was only a precautionary move to ensure he will be fit for the weekend.
After Di Iorio’s third goal, Hume City made two substitutions and threw four strikers on to the park in a last-ditch attempt to fight back.
The side hounded Dandenong’s backline but could only break through once, with Isiyan Erdogan finding the back of the net in the 64th minute.
Attention now turns to the grand final on Saturday when Dandenong will look to take revenge on Altona, after the Magic claimed their semi-final match 1-0.
Asked what would be different this time around, Munro said his side needed more luck on attack.
“Hopefully we’ll score goals, that was the difference last time.
“We didn’t do a lot wrong, we just didn’t score the goals.
“I think we know that we’re better than them, we’re going in very confident but it will be a tough game.”
Altona coach Vlado Tortevski was in the crowd on Sunday to see Dandenong win, and he said he was wary of the side’s experienced players.
“They’re an experienced team who really have five or six outstanding players,” he said.
“They proved themselves again, to come back and win 3-1 against, for me, one of the better teams in the league, they showed a lot of character.
“They’re a very hard team to beat but I believe in my boys and I’m sure we’re going to do our best to make it back-to-back premierships.”
The two sides will clash at Bob Jane Stadium on Saturday.