By JARROD POTTER
NPL VICTORIA 2 EAST – ROUND 13
DIGGING deep to see off a valiant Springvale White Eagles 1-0, Dandenong Thunder had to do it much tougher than usual to continue its unbelievable start to the NPL 2 East season.
The defenders burdened the onslaught from a nimble White Eagles attack, but the likes of Faisal Sakhizada. Simon Colosimo and Nick Modaffari repelled the hosts’ best efforts.
Chances flew for Thunder – Daniel Bennett had a hat-trick of near misses, just flying over or around the bars, while Thunder striking duo Brandon Barnes and Amir Osmancevic were kept goalless.
Clamping down around Jeremy Min Fa, Damir Stoilovic and Dejan Erakovic, the White Eagles looked certain at the back and through the middle to set up a few opportunities of their own… but it wasn’t a day for either forward line as it took a defender to break the deadlock.
Getting on the scoresheet in the best way possible, Dandenong Thunder loyalist Sakhizada got on the end of a brilliant set piece from Kristian Sarkies to head in the lead in the 17th minute.
From there it went back and forth as tensions threatened to boil over throughout the day, with no love lost between the two local rivals playing for the first time in many seasons.
The intensity ramped up once again in last 15 minutes as Springvale White Eagles had the rub of the green in the dying stages.
John Pykett threatened to level the scores as the clock ticked down but Thunder’s Modaffari and substitute midfielder Patrick Avice made a couple of great stops alongside goalkeeper Fraser Maclaren, who kept his sixth cleansheet of the season.
It kept the Thunder’s monumental 13-match winning streak alive but it wasn’t a simple task to knock off Springvale.
“We knew that it was going to be tough to break that momentum that they had,” Dandenong coach Huss Skenderovic said. “Today I considered that a six-point victory because coming here with that momentum … I think that was our toughest game we’ve played all year so credit to them.”
Thunder has not been in the trenches much this season – but Skenderovic thought the textbook defensive efforts made the difference and allowed Thunder to take the one-goal victory.
“When the score’s at one-nil it changes a bit of the last 15 minutes,” Skenderovic said. “I think once the 15-20 minutes to go, we were very solid in our positioning and our structure and that’s something we really work on, so it pays dividends when you go away from home and can perform like that.”
Dandenong Thunder travels to face Nunawading City, while White Eagles are off to Goulburn Valley to battle the Suns on Saturday night.
Dandenong City fell 0-2 away at Box Hill United – starting its massive weekend with the FFA Cup clash on Tuesday night against Melbourne Knights and backing up on Saturday at home against Murray United.
In the state leagues, South Springvale’s State League 1 South East turnaround continued with its fourth win in a row, silencing Warragul United 3-1. Noble Park United was defeated 0-3 by Caulfield United, while Doveton SC was done in 2-3 by Heatherton United.
Winners in State League 4 South were Dandenong South, Keysborough SC, Hampton Park United, Noble Park SC and Harrisfield Hurricanes and in State 5 South Sandown defeated Casey 3-2 while Dandenong Warriors drew 3-3 with Chelsea.
