Luke Sherbon bagged a hat-trick to guide the Thunder to a 4-1 win over the Moreland Zebras. 84557 Picture: JARROD POTTER
By JARROD POTTER
DANDENONG Thunder shook off a middling month with a 4-1 thrashing of the Moreland Zebras in their Victorian Premier League clash.
The Thunder used the top versus bottom match as a way to rebuild their form after dropping two matches recently.
Nate Foster made amends for a light month in front of the posts, setting up the first goal in the fourth minute as he danced past a pair of Zebras’ defenders and set the ball in for Luke Sherbon to drill his first of the night.
Liam Kearney shot a rocket past Moreland goalkeeper Griffin McMaster to make it 2-0 in the 14th minute and the third came just before the break when Sherbon found himself in the right place following a Foster deflection.
Moreland found one back in the second half when Thunder defender Bryan Bran brought down their captain Carl Recchia in the box, leaving Recchia with the penalty which he slotted.
The cherry on top came from Sherbon, who was brought down and he made no mistakes to finish off his hat-trick.
“We looked a little like we did earlier in the season, moving the ball around well and creating many chances. The only disappointing part was the chances we missed,” Thunder coach Chris Taylor said.
“I’m delighted with the win – the way we passed the ball around was much like we played at the start of the season and I think we are getting back to that sort of form.
“Our passing game is one of the highlights of the Premier League and I think it makes a great spectacle.”
That good form didn’t continue into Tuesday’s State Knockout Cup round-robin match against Heidelberg City, with the Thunder going down 2-3 to make their cup aspirations more difficult.
After going 0-2 down early in the first half, the Thunder retaliated with goals to Sherbon and Kearney, who started on the bench, bringing them back to level pegging going into the main break.
Heidelberg kicked the winner in the 64th minute and held on despite Dandenong peppering the goals with opportunities.
Dandenong must defeat Cobram Victory next Tuesday night at home if there is any chance to progress to the semi-finals.
