By JARROD POTTER
NPL2 EAST – ROUND 1
DANDENONG Thunder came to play in its NPL2 East season-opener, rocketing to the top of the ladder with a 4-0 thumping of Nunawading City.
Showcasing its star last-minute signing, former Socceroo and A-League defender Simon Colosimo, in the first salvo, the Thunder completely shut the door on the visitors with the emphatic all-round performance.
Wasting no time starting its onslaught, the Thunder sizzled early as midfielders Kristian Sarkies and Daniel Bennett brought the forwards plenty of opportunities.
Dandenong had no trouble getting clear at the front but really struggled to hammer home its first-half shots as nearly a dozen would’ve been squandered through the first 45.
Dandenong had it on a string, only to hang them wide or chip simple attempts back at Nunawading City, but at least Dandenong had shots to miss – the visitors failed to muster anything potent up forward as Colosimo and Faisal Sakhizada clamped down brilliantly.
While it was deadlocked at the break without a score, the two halves were chalk and cheese on the scoreboard as Dandenong roared to life mere minutes into the second stanza.
It started through Amir Osmancevic (49’ and 55’) dancing around the defence as the Thunder striker thumped home the first goal of the New Year.
Osmancevic would cap off his brace soon after, while Daniel Bennett (61’) put the third away to dial up the visitors’ pain, but the best work was saved for Osmancevic on the fourth goal only seconds later.
Number 11 brought forward counterpart Veton Korcari (62’) another great opportunity as his next beguiling run down the left side badly opened up Nunawading City’s defences.
A sharp assist went through the traffic, finding Korcari unmanned at the back and able to slot a textbook goal to ice the game.
With the exception of early missed opportunities, the only other thing the new-look Thunder line-up will have to figure out are the words to the club song.
The fresh faces cheered on as the veterans belted out the Thunder anthem in the rooms after the final whistle to the delight of everyone at George Andrews Reserve, especially the coach.
“We’ve got a lot of spirit there and a great combination of both experience and youth, but we’re one unit and it’s worked well,” Thunder coach Huss Skenderovic said. “In the second half we came out … worked on what was required and did the business.”
Having put pen to paper just before the transfer deadline, Colosimo was impressed by what he saw on field as the side flourished up forward.
“I thought it was excellent – you talked about the first half, second half … all that went missing in the first half was putting them in the back of the net,” Colosimo said. “I think we made more chances in the first than we did in the second, but I think the boys created anywhere between 15 and 20 good, solid chances and in a 90 minute game of football that’s what you want.”
The Thunder also presented a cheque for $3000 to the Cancer Council, raised at the pre-season Qamil Rexhepi Cup named in tribute of the beloved Thunder administrator and supporter.
In other results, Dandenong City drew with Murray United 1-1 and Springvale White Eagles went down to Goulburn Valley Suns 2-3.
In the highly anticipated inaugural Dandenong derby, Thunder will battle City away on Saturday afternoon for a chance to win the Jim Memeti Cup.
