Thunder rolls on

By Gavin Staindl
VICTORIAN Premier League side Dandenong Thunder backed up their scintillating pre-season form by winning the opening match of the season against the Melbourne Knights at Knights Stadium.
Thunder import Chris Taylor netted the winner from a loose ball inside the six-yard box in the 71st minute to give Dandenong the 1-0 win.
Dandenong controlled possession for most of the match, a stark contrast to the counter-attacking style of play that typified the club’s season last year.
Although scoring options were limited for both sides, Dandenong coach Stuart Munro was pleased the performance.
“Overall, we controlled most of the game … we fully deserved the win,” Munro said.
“The work rate from the boys was very good and there was a lot more passing.
“Pre-season we’ve done very well, and the camaraderie in the dressing room is quite good. It is very, very pleasing with what I’ve seen so far,” he said.
The win also extends Thunder’s undefeated streak against the Knights to five – a streak that began when Thunder was accepted into the Premier League in 2009.
But Munro is not concerning himself with stats, rather he is focused on winning Dandenong’s first home game for the season against the recently promoted St. Albans Saints on Saturday night.
“The start to the year is critical,” he said.
“We won our first game last year against the Knights but dropped off after that, and the poor start to the season was our downfall for the year.”
One Premier League team finding itself under early pressure are the Springvale White Eagles, who lost another game by three goals on Sunday.
Backing up from its opening 4-1 loss to Victorian Training Club on Wednesday night, the recently relegated Eagles were beaten 3-0 by the Bentleigh Greens at Kingston Heath Soccer Stadium.
The combined losses mean Springvale has a goal difference of -6 from one round of soccer.