It’s fair to say that not much was known about Dandenong Thunder striker Amir Osmancevic three rounds ago.
The 20-year-old arrived at George Andrews Reserve in early November as pre-season trials commenced on the back of featuring for the Peninsula Strikers in State League 2 over the course of the 2015 season.
Three rounds into the current campaign and he has become the talk of NPL2 East thanks to his exceptional exploits in front of goals which has seen him brag a brace in each of the Thunder’s opening three victories.
And if it’s not goals that Osmancevic has been putting away, he has been setting them up with his three assists paving the way for teammate Veton Korcari to score in each of the games so far while a further two own goals have come directly from his corner kicks on the right.
Put it simply, he has been involved in 11 of the Thunder’s 12 goals so far this campaign as they await their toughest test this weekend with a visit to the in-form Box Hill United.
With performances and statistics of that nature, it is little wonder that Osmancevic is delighted with the start he has made to life at his new employers, although maintaining that it is largely down to a collective effort.
“Obviously I’m very happy with my start to the season but look it’s a team effort and everything I’ve achieved so far is down to them.”
A striking feature to the forward’s fantastic start to life at Thunder has been his partnership in the forward frontline with veteran Veton Korcari and former Socceroo Kristian Sarkies.
The combination player with the former of the two has particularly borne fruit early on with Osmancevic assisting all three of Korcari’s goals – two of which came at moments when he’s had the opportunity to round off his hat-trick – not that it concerns the selfless youngster who is more concerned with learning from the valuable experience of the two.
“I’m very happy playing alongside two quality players and it helps me a lot, making things easier for me as they get a lot of balls through to me and vice versa.”
His phenomenal start to the campaign – which sees him topping the goalscoring charts across the entire NPL Victoria – comes of a surprise to many considering the fact that he was recruited by coach Huss Skenderovic from State League 2.
While the step-up in quality is evident to Osmancevic, he has had little difficulty in making the leap to NPL2 standard, something which he puts down to his teammates.
“I always believed I could play at a higher level and jumping from State League 2 to NPL2 wasn’t too difficult of a jump for me to make.
“However having said that, the quality is much higher and it helps me a lot having better quality players around me by making by job a lot of easier.”
However the Thunder faithful could have easily seen Osmancevic in action for the club last season with paperwork preventing a deadline-day mid-season transfer to the 2012 VPL Premiers.
Prior to that he had spent time trialling with the Oakleigh Cannons under Miron Bleiberg but the Israeli-born manager’s dismissal and a lack of room in the player points system saw his hopes of agreeing terms with the Cannons in 2015 come to an end.
“I came back from Europe after my one-year spell in Serbia and spent some time under Miron Bleiberg at Oakleigh but unfortunately no move eventuated before going to Thunder when Stuart Munro was there but that too didn’t go to plan but thankfully it has all worked out well in the end for me.”
After making his senior debut as a teenager for State League 1 side Doveton in 2013, Osmancevic spent the 2014-15 season with Serbian second tier club Sloga Kraljevo, an experience which he feels made him a better player.
“I was playing here for Doveton and had a couple of videos around on social media before receiving a call up from Sloga before heading over to Serbia.
“I played there for a year and gained a lot of experience playing overseas and the differences in quality with it ultimately helping the progression of my career.”
The continued pursuit of excellence is something which motivates Osmancevic to further his career with his immediate focus being to help Dandenong Thunder get promoted back into the top flight at the first time of asking.
“Our plan at the start of the season was to get promoted and personally I always give 110% in all games so hopefully the goals and assists keeping coming.
“I am still young player and still have a lot to learn and hope to also utilise the experience and advice of my teammates in my ambition to become a better player.”
With the forward and the Thunder sitting pretty on top of the standings of both the ladder and goalscoring charts, the proud club can only hope that Osmancevic continues his exploits in front of goal as they look to continue on with their good start to the life in the second tier.
A trip to Wembley Park awaits today to take on Box Hill United in a blockbuster clash between the two in-from sides.
Photos: Graeme Furlong