Thunder claps on four to eclipse Suns

Matthew Galea

June 10 2014

Shepparton News

Some spectators left Saturday night’s National Premier Leagues Victoria clash between Goulburn Valley Suns and Dandenong Thunder after 45 minutes.

They had seen all they needed to see.

The Suns were 3-0 down and on their way to another hiding having shown little in the way of fight or attacking intent.

Thunder’s third goal adequately summed up the Suns’ season to date.

It arrived from a set-piece when an over-hit corner from the left flew over the danger zone — seemingly harmlessly.

It found an unmarked Dandenong attacker at the far post and he was able to head the ball back into the six-yard box, high above a host of Suns defenders.

Not one of the Suns defenders attacked the ball though, and Brendon Craig was allowed to tower over Tom Langman — who had a considerable height advantage — to nod home an easy header.

It was hardly the final nail in the coffin, but it was what has become a typical goal concession for the Suns.

‘‘Somehow the ball pops up in the air inside our box and somehow they get on the end of it and we don’t,’’ Suns coach Peter Zois said.

‘‘Five minutes later we have the same scenario in their box and again it’s them that get on the end of it and not us.

‘‘They didn’t just head the ball to the side, they almost knocked us to the side, so you’re talking about two completely different types of intent.’’

The Suns were already 2-0 down, following a ridiculous volley from outside the box from Ravazan Tavsancioglu in the first 10 minutes and another from Jake Nakic who finished a beautiful team move when he got on the end of a nice one-two and finished accordingly.

The Suns responded in the second half with a much improved performance — driven by Fahad Alghazaly — and created a host of half-chances, but never really had a clean sight at goal.

At the other end, Thunder scored from the only clear chance they created, when Marcus Schroen headed home a lovely dinked pass from stand-in captain Alan Kearney.

Riley Hamilton made his debut from the bench, while Joey Hogarty and Zac Paraskevas also impressed off the bench, offering some positives, but Zois was not in the mood to cast the game in a positive light.

‘‘I can sit here and look for positives, but really, you go down 3-0 at half-time and the way we’re conceding goals . . . there’s not a lot to be positive about,’’ Zois said.

‘‘The intent at the moment is just not there. That, for me, is the most disappointing part.

‘‘You can lose games, but if you do there’s a way to lose and that’s not the way. It’s just too easy for the other teams.’’

The under-20 Suns had a better time of it, beating Thunder 5-2 courtesy of two goals and two assists from Rudi Saglam