Thunder crashes

By Stuart Teather
DANDENONG Thunder’s season is on the line after losing its Victorian Premier League (VPL) semi-final to Altona Magic 1-0 on Sunday.
Dandenong has been the powerhouse team all season but felt the full brunt of finals soccer on Sunday, coming up against the fired-up reigning VPL premiers.
The Thunder gave it their best and had the better of most of the first half, troubling Altona’s keeper on a number of occasions.
But Altona weathered the storm and worked its way back into the game, and the two sides headed into the break even on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for the home side it lost defender James Thomas midway through the first half, and captain Veton Korcari went down early in the second, forcing coach Stuart Munro’s hand.
The game evened out after the break but Altona took its chance in the 57th minute, with 18-year-old Kliment Tasevski lobbing over Thunder keeper Stuart Webster to take the lead.
With their backs against the wall the Thunder players pushed for the equaliser, but became sloppy in their desperation, according to Munro.
“I felt the longer the game went on the more panicked we got,” he said.
“In the final third the quality of the crosses into the box and the penetration wasn’t up to scratch and that cost us in the end.
“It just wasn’t our day and with finals it’s a little bit of luck that needs to fall our way.”
However as Dandenong finished on top of the ladder it secured a second chance in the finals, and will take on Hume City this Sunday, with the winner to get another crack at Altona in the grand final, a week later.
Asked whether Korcari and Thomas would recover from their injuries in time, Munro said he would find out during the week.
However, he said his side would go in confident with whoever took to the pitch.
“We’ll do nothing differently, we play what we’ve got.
“We deserve a second chance and hopefully we can make the most of it next week.”