By JARROD POTTER
NPL 2 EAST – ROUND 3
DANDY delight swept through the town as Thunder and City walked away with comprehensive NPL 2 East victories.
Dandenong Thunder continued its merry mayhem at the , booting a 4-1 win over visiting Murray United. It took a while to get going, but Thunder broke the deadlock via a familiar name on the scoresheet this season. Amir Osmancevic (38’ and 72’) opened the accounts with the only score in the first half and while it took a while to get going, the Thunder stole the show in the final 25 minutes.
Veton Korcari continued his scoring spree with the well-capped Thunder legend given too much space as he slotted Thunder’s second for the evening and his third for the season.
But Thunder wasn’t done as Osmancevic’s sixth of the season was the icing on the cake as the black-and-red army roared for another goal on home turf.
Murray put the first goal past Frazer Maclaren this year late in the clash as Zac Walker finished off nicely in the 85th minute, but Murray almost immediately gave it back through an own goal to extend the margin back out to three goals.
Ladder leading Thunder will travel to Box Hill United for the match of the round – a first versus third thriller on Saturday afternoon.
Dandenong City had a wonderful trip to the Goulburn Valley and drove off with a 3-0 whitewash.
Halil Gur (7’) opened the accounts before Gonzalo Freddi (31’) made it 2-0 at the break. Speedy forward Chris Antoniadis (54’) extended the margin to keep Goulburn Valley on the back foot. The Suns hadn’t set for the evening by then though, as Dandenong City keeper Damir Salcin had to work hard to save a penalty in the 72nd minute to emphatically keep his clean-sheet. City sits sixth on the ladder with a 1-1-1 record ahead of its Saturday afternoon clash with Brunswick City.
Springvale White Eagles will play Kingston City away on Monday night and hoists Eastern Lions on Saturday afternoon.
In the WNPL season opener, Southern United accounted itself well in its inaugural outing, but despite an early lead, the pink-and-blue brigade couldn’t hold off Box Hill United in the 1-2 result. Southern United will play its maiden home game at Lawton Park, Langwarrin on Sunday at 3pm against FC Bulleen Lions.
In FFA Cup Round 2 qualifiers, Noble Park United lost to Sunbury United 0-3, Hampton Park Sparrows were bested 0-1 by Upfield, while Endeavour Hills Fire claimed a 2-0 win over Lyndale United and Keysborough SC also defeated Old Melburnians 2-1. Dandenong Warriors were set to play on Sunday afternoon after the Journal went to print.
