By Nick Creely
NPL REVIEW
ROUND 17
When Shaun Filipovic netted a goal in the third minute of Friday night’s clash with Richmond SC, Dandenong City were always going to win.
When Filipovic is up and about, the City look irresistible, impassable and unflinching.
The in-form forward, who is having a brilliant season down at Frank Holohan Sports Complex, looked ominous early, with Richmond barely keeping up with the ladder-leading City.
In the 38th minute it happened again – Filipovic once again found the goals with his trademark class and suddenly it was 2-0 – City were playing simply clinical football.
With the sting out of the game, City didn’t score again until the 54th minute when Nick Kalmar converted a penalty from the box to give them a 3-0 victory and further entrench themselves as the team to be beat in 2017.
Round 18 sees City travel to Bundoora on Saturday to face off with Melbourne City, a club breathing down their necks in third position – kick-off is at 3pm.
On Saturday night, close rivals Dandenong Thunder and Springvale White Eagles clashed at George Andrews Reserve, with a healthy local crowd in attendance.
Both sides entered the game in pretty solid positions – the Thunder sat second and were desperate to keep up with their crosstown rivals – City – and Springvale White Eagles were seventh, and trying to stay in touch with the top four.
It was all Thunder in the first few minutes, immediately placing the Eagles’ defenders under immense pressure, and in the tenth minute Kristian Sarkies found the back of the net, giving the Thunder an early 1-0 advantage.
The Eagles fought back hard and created plenty of chances, but brilliant striker Brandon Barnes found the back of the net from the back of the box with the last kick of the half to undo their good work.
And despite fighting hard for the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Eagles were outdone by a spectacular long range goal in the 62nd minute by Alon Blumgart to extend the advantage, before Sam Catherine put away a ripping pass by Barnes moments later to give the Thunder its fourth goal.
The win has seen the Thunder close the gap on first placed Dandy City to just two points, in what has been a stunning first half of the season from the two clubs.
The Thunder have the perfect opportunity to place even further pressure on City’s top spot with a clash at Mahoney’s Reserve against Nunawading to come, a team that is second last and leaking a lot of goals.
