By Nick Creely
Dandenong Thunder’s topsy turvy start to the NPL season continued on Saturday night, going down to Altona Magic 1-3 at home after a slow start.
The Thunder lost their opening round clash before bouncing back with two wins on the road in consecutive weeks, so fronted up in front of their home crowd with plenty of confidence.
But it took just minutes for the Magic to find their mojo, capitalizing on a deflected shot from a corner that perhaps luckily made its way into the bottom left post, setting the tone for the match and immediately placing the home side under the pump.
A strong strike in the 15th minute that crashed into the back of the net gave the Magic an early 2-0 lead, with the shell-shocked home side unable to pick up the pieces and settle into the contest.
Despite improving on a horror first 20 minutes, the Thunder came into half-time with a 2-0 deficit, urgently needing to lift their pressure game and control possession.
But both sides managed to score in the second half, with Thunder going down in disappointing fashion, leaving them with a 2-2 record and sitting sixth on the table.
In Round 5, the Thunder take on Heidelberg United on Saturday night away from home, and will be looking for a swift bounce back.
Dandenong City, meanwhile, picked up their first win in the top flight of the NPL against Green Gully, staving off the home side for a 2-3 victory.
Courtesy of three goals to Anthony Poljak, City enjoyed a strong afternoon at the office, and as a result, relieving some pressure off the club after a tough start to the season.
The visitors went in 2-2 against the Gully, but Poljak’s third strike – one of the more important of his career – in the 58th minute, was the match winner, with the home side unable to rally and level the scores again.
In NPL2 East, Springvale White Eagles levelled 1-1 with Melbourne City at La Trobe University in Bundoora, with both sides unable to find the match-winning strike in the second half.
