Dandenong Thunder seems to be back in blistering form after the club picked up a 4-0 smashing of Melbourne Knights in round 23 of the NPL.
At home, Thunder took advantage of the home turf when they dispossessed Melbourne in midfield and drove forward in the eighth minute.
The ball found its way to Wade Dekker deep on the left wing, who fired in a cross that was headed home by Yuki Ushida at the back post.
The goal brought Ushida’s tally to 10 for the season.
Dandenong made it 2-0 when some intense forward pressure forced the Knights backline into an error with Dekker intercepting a poor pass.
He played a ball into Daniel Clark who squared it to a streaking Kyle Taylor.
Taylor shot off the first touch and found the bottom right corner from close range.
Just six minutes later, Thunder added another one through Clark.
Ushida dribbled down the right wing and went inside searching for Hassan Jalloh, but Jalloh couldn’t quite get a foot to it.
Dekker retrieved the loose ball, laying it off to Clark who fired home a shot that deflected into the back of the net to make it 3-0 after 34 minutes.
When the halftime whistle was blown, Dandenong had converted three out of its four shots on target, while Melbourne was yet to record one.
Out of halftime, Thunder looked to put the game to bed and find another score.
Ben Djiba had the ball deep on the right wing and timed his centering cross to perfection, placing it on the forehead of Ushida who got his second header goal of the evening.
From there, Dandenong cruised to the big result that has the club comfortably in the top three on the table.
After 23 games, Thunder has 14 wins, five draws and four losses whilst having a goal difference of plus-23, the league’s third best mark.
Dandenong is back at home in round 24 when 12th-placed Melbourne Victory comes to town.
