As in-form Dandenong Thunder forward Amir Osmancevic swings in a perfectly weighted cross into the box from the left flank, seasoned striker Veton Korcari latches onto the ball, unleashing a stunning volley into the back of the net to open the scoring in their Round 2 derby clash against Dandenong City.
The 2012 treble winners eventually go on to win the contest 4-0 over their opponents ,who had been reduced to 10 men minutes after Korcari’s early strike, following the dismissal of Andy Jerez.
The result was the Thunder’s second consecutive 4-0 victory after opening their season with a home triumph over Nunawading City, with Korcari being one of the scorers.
“It’s been good, and obviously you can’t ask for more from the two performances against Nunawading and Dandenong City,” Korcari said.
“Against Dandenong City the game got off to a good start, but unfortunately for them the red card provided us the opportunity to run over them, which was good[for us].
“Keeping a clean sheet was also important given that we’re a team that will always score goals, so if we can keep them out at one end, we’ve given ourselves a good platform to win games.”
Speaking on the goal itself, the number nine was modest, saying he couldn’t remember if he had scored a goal of similar quality in his 15-year career, with the strike being a potential NPL goal of the year contender.
“It’s been a while and actually I don’t think I’ve ever scored a goal like that, as it came off so cleanly off the boot, but you take them as you go and move on to the next game,” he said.
This year marks the club’s first season outside the top flight since 2008, and Korcari spoke of the added professionalism which has been brought into George Andrews Reserve following the appointment of new Manager Huss Skenderovic and his assistant Aaron Symons, while also praising the backroom staff at the Dandenong South-based outfit.
“Huss and Aaron have their own style of doing things, with there not being much off-the-ball work, with most of our training from day one centering on ball possession, a lot of hard work, and they’ve done a good job; credit due to them as everything is seemingly moving forward from here,” he said.
“The President, Ferman Zekirija, along with Huss, Aaron and also a few other committee members have been professional from the outset, and credit to them as everything off-field in terms of how the club is run transcends onto the first team and so far you can see that with the two opening games we have won.”
Given his longevity, it’s hard to believe that Korcari only recently turned 30, having burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old in the 2001 VPL season, where he experienced a memorable senior debut.
The teenager was listed on the teamsheet for the Thunder’s away visit to fierce rivals Preston Lions, a fixture at the time stemmed in deep political animosity given the turmoil between the respective Albanian and Macedonian communities back in Macedonia, who were embroiled in armed conflict.
With a sizeable four-figure crowd in attendance, in addition to a considerable police presence at BT Connor Reserve, not many expected much from a baby-faced 15-year-old when he entered the pitch in the 90th minute with scores tied at 1-1.
Korcari scored the winner with one of his first touches of the ball, prompting jubilant celebrations on the pitch, the visiting bench and the large away end.
“It was a pretty memorable debut as it came against the Preston Lions where I came off the bench late on in the game and immediately scored an injury time winner – it’s definitely something which will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Korcari said.
A Thunder junior, Korcari stayed on board at the club despite their narrow relegation from the top flight that season, playing State League One football until his move to Heidelberg United in 2005, where he was teammates with current Thunder attacked Yusuf Yusuf.
A spell at Richmond followed in 2006 before making the return to Thunder in 2007, helping them achieve promotion back to the VPL in 2008 under Zoran Trajceski.
Success followed both Korcari and the club in the top flight as they won the Premiership in their first season back in the VPL in 2009 under the guidance of Stuart Munro, before enjoying a successful 2012 campaign under Chris Taylor, where they won the Premiership, Championship and Dockerty Cup.
A mid-season move to the Oakleigh Cannons in 2013 saw the striker spend 18 months at Jack Edwards Reserve, before returning last season to the club where he made his name at.
Although relegation followed, Korcari is confident that the current group of players has what it takes to take the proud club back into the top tier under the coaching tenure of Skenderovic.
“From the start, both the coaching staff and the club have said they want to go straight back up, so you can see that with the professionalism which has been instilled here,” Korcari said.
“Whether we do or don’t is a different story, but we will continue to keep pushing ourselves as best as possible and hopefully that creates a snowball affect where we keep on moving forward.”
Regardless of their fortunes over course of the season, one can count on Korcari to add to his haul of 52 senior league goals for the Thunder, a club has called home for the better part of two decades.
Image: Graeme Furlong