Thunder’s winning form

By Gavin Staindl
DANDENONG Thunder is on a roll.
For the first time this season the Thunder has strung together two wins in a row with the latest victory being a 1-0 win over Green Gully Cavaliers at George Andrews Reserve.
Main striker Joey Di Iorio broke his goalless drought by scoring the only goal for the match and his first goal this season since the 27th minute mark of Thunder’s round one win over Melbourne Knights.
However, Thunder coach Stuart Munro is not getting carried away.
“We’re just trying to get confidence back into the players. We changed the structure of the team and we’re keeping at it for the full 90 minutes,” Munro said.
But sparking the resurgence is Shane Rex who has been invaluable in his new role in front of the four defenders.
In previous games against Richmond, Oakleigh and Hume, Dandenong has come undone by opponents who get in behind the midfielders and score from on top of the box but Munro has expertly placed Shane Rex as a higher placed defender who fills in that hole.
“Almost every game we have been punished from that area but Shane sits in that hole … and the amount of saves and shots blocked that he has made.We are playing a 4-3-3 and on paper we are more attacking but with Shane in that position we are very tight,” Munro said.
With two clean sheets and two wins in the past two weeks the self-belief among Thunder players and supporters is gradually finding voice.
“Everything in football comes from results. Whether you are dominating sides or scraping through, any win is a boost in self-belief,” Munro said.
The Thunder has jumped from second last on the table to eighth and will meet Sunshine Georgies next Monday night to determine how much they have improved.
Sunshine sits four points clear of Dandenong but is coming off the back of strong wins against Oakleigh, Northcote and Green Gully.