By Marcus Uhe
Dandenong Thunder remain an outside chance of qualifying for finals action in the NPL Victoria competition after a 1-0 win over Green Gully on Saturday night at home.
A tenacious run from midfielder Kasper Hallam saw him navigate multiple defenders and force his way into the penalty box before he was brought down by an opponent and awarded a penalty in the 65th minute.
Striker Grad Damen took the responsibility from the penalty spot, drilling the ball into the bottom right corner as his nemesis on the goalline went the other way.
It’s a third consecutive win for the Thunder as they fight for a spot in the top six, having thrashed North Geelong 6-0 and Moreland City 4-0 in their previous two contests while maintaining clean sheets.
Damen scored a hattrick against North Geelong and Hallam netted two, while it was Sam Lochhead with a brace against Moreland City inflicting the major damage.
Damen’s recent scoring run has him tied for third on the leading goalscorer’s table with 12, six behind Altona Magic’s Jonas Marcovski.
With just two rounds remaining in the NPL competition, the Thunder face an uphill battle to qualify for the finals.
Dandenong sits in eighth position on 33 points, trailing Green Gully in seventh (37 points) and Altona Magic in sixth (38).
David Chick’s side needs to win its final two matches of the season and for both Green Gully and Altona Magic to not claim any points from its remaining two fixtures.
With matches to come against Melbourne Knights away and Hume City at home in the final two weeks, the equation looks a tall task, before factoring the requirement from other sides.
The fourth-placed Knights got the better of the Thunder at George Andrews Reserve 1-0 back in round 12, while it was the Thunder prevailing 2-0 against Hume City in their earlier clash this season.
There’ll be no action next weekend, with the Thunder to next take the pitch against the Knights on Sunday 13 August at Knights Stadium in Sunshine.
However, their destiny could already be decided, depending on the outcome of Altona Magic’s clash with Bentleigh Greens on Saturday night.
