By Justin Schwarze
Dandenong Thunder’s four game winning streak was snapped on Saturday as their visit to Oakleigh Cannons ended in a 3-1 defeat.
Thunder were on the back foot early, conceding a corner kick in the 20th minute after a good attack from Oakleigh.
In the set piece, the ball was sent high and behind most of the players, but Ajak Deu read it best, firing a leaping volley into the back of the net to give the hosts the early advantage on the scoreboard.
The Cannons doubled their lead just seven minutes later after a poor pass in midfield from Dandenong ignited a counter attack.
A brilliantly placed through ball allowed Oakleigh striker Alex Salmon to get into a dangerous position in stride.
With the well-timed pass, Salmon took just one small touch before firing the ball past the outstretched arm of Jamie Young.
Right before halftime, the Thunder midfield and defence were caught completely off guard by a moment of brilliance by the Cannons.
A perfectly waited pass slipped in Matthew Dench for Oakleigh, who then squared the ball to Joe Guest.
Guest’s sliding attempt rocketed into the bottom right corner, giving the hosts the dream first half.
At the break, Dandenong had not registered a shot on target in the first period of play, while the Cannons had converted on all three of their accurate attempts.
In the second half, Thunder were able to draw one back through the red-hot Yuki Ushida.
A deflected shot from outside the box left all of the Oakleigh defenders at sea and Ushida pounced on the loose ball.
He used great physicality to header it in, past the last line of defence, marking his third straight game finding the back of the net.
From there, Dandenong couldn’t get its name back onto the scoresheet, ending as a 3-1 loss and further ending the team’s four game win streak.
Despite shooting four times in the second half, Ushida’s header was the only on target.
The three points sees Oakleigh leapfrog Thunder in the table, but Dandenong remains in the top four after eight rounds.
Thunder will head home for round 9, hosting bottom-placed Port Melbourne Sharks in their next contest.
