By Marcus Uhe
A converted penalty deep in stoppage time saw Dandenong Thunder’s Valentine’s Day contest with Hume City end in late heartbreak in dramatic National Premier League action on Friday night.
Having led for nearly half of the match, it was a chaotic 10 minutes to close the fixture that ultimately cost the visitors in Broadmeadows and sent them on the long drive home with nothing to show for an excellent performance.
Thunder conceded the lead in the 81st minute when the home side levelled proceedings before the one point earned for a draw was snatched from their grasp courtesy of a late spot kick.
Muamet Selimovski’s eagerness to close down dangerous striker Lloyd Isgrove’s run on the left side of the outskirts of the penalty box brought his side undone, with the referee not hesitating in pointing to the spot for contact in the area, despite the disbelief of Thunder players.
New goalkeeper Jamie Young guessed correctly and got his hand to the shot diving to his left, but was unable to prevent the ball from trickling into the net.
Wade Dekker had a golden opportunity to level proceedings with one of the final touches of the contest but missed a simple volley from close range, leaving Thunder one goal behind when the final whistle ended proceedings.
Heavy rain throughout first half made for difficult ball handling conditions as Hume did the majority of the attacking, with Thunder’s defensive line holding strong.
Thunder broke the deadlock late in the half as Hassan Jollah made it two goals in two matches for his new side.
Thunder scored on the counter attack having worked the ball from deep in their defence half after a throw-in.
Midfielder Daniel Clark played the ball wide to the outer wing on the opposite side of the pitch to the re-introduction of play where he found a motoring Jay Romanovski.
Romanovski beat an oncoming defender and played the ball back to Clark on the edge of the penalty area, who stepped around his defender to face the goal.
His defender got his foot to the ball to end Clark’s possession, but it fell to the waiting feet of Jollah, who pounced with his right foot.
Thunder took the advantage into half time looking for an upset on the road and to move to an unbeaten start from its first two matches
The rain intensified and tensions flared early in the second half when former Thunder midfielder was lucky to survive a potential red card, having poorly executed a sliding challenge on Yuki Ushida.
He did go into the book for a yellow card, but a number of Ushida’s teammates, including Clark, made their thoughts on the challenge very clear to the Hume City number 10.
Hume’s attacking intent was relentless in the second half as Thunder desperately tried to hold square, but the home side eventually could not be denied.
Isgrove drew Hume City level with a stunning goal on his left foot after sidestepping a handful of Thunder defenders in the 81st minute.
Both sides pressed in the dying stages following Hume equaliser as Thunder kicked into gear with the game slipping away.
Four minutes of added time only heightened the tension at Nasiol Stadium, with the home side eventually clawing their way in front courtesy of the late spot kick.
Thunder will be eager to make amends for the result on Saturday night when they host Dandenong City for the Memeti Cup in round three.
