By ROY WARD
DANDENONG Thunder will aim to take their second piece of silverware in a week when they play in the State Knockout Cup final at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday night.
The Thunder will face State League 1 power side Port Melbourne and hope to add the cup to the Victorian Premier League minor premiership, which the Thunder wrapped up with a 0-0 draw against Oakleigh Cannons on Saturday night.
Some observers have called Port Melbourne’s ascension to the cup final as a “fairytale run” but Thunder coach Chris Taylor is having none of that, claiming Port has more VPL experience in their playing ranks than his side. “We had three 18 year olds in our team against Oakleigh. If you look at Port Melbourne, probably nine of their starting 11 are VPL players,” he said.
“Regardless of where a team comes from, we go into each match with full respect for the opposition because anyone can be capable of beating you.”
Taylor was less certain about who would be in his starting 11 for the cup final as he attempts to keep his full squad healthy for the coming VPL finals.
Star Canadian striker Nate Foster is slowly recovering from a hamstring injury, coming off the bench against the Cannons as Sean McIlroy was handed a start. Taylor said the Thunder were taking no risks with Foster and would make no decision on how much he would play in the cup final until game day.
“We take full caution with a hamstring injury. Sean has also been scoring goals and holds the ball up well, so right now it works having him start, then bring Nate off the bench later in the match.”
The Thunder players and supporters celebrated the minor premiership with vigour and Taylor has thrown his support around the VPL moving towards a more European-style season in which the best regular season team gets the premiership.
“To me, winning the season is the ultimate prize but it’s not like that in this competition and we have the finals to prepare for now.
“The players are proud of this season but the club has won the minor premiership in the past and then lost in the grand final, so we have to keep winning and playing well from here.”
The Thunder play Port Melbourne in the FFV State Knockout Cup at Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne this Sunday at 5pm.
