Round Two of the NPL Victoria gives us a tasty clash between Dandenong Thunder and Bentleigh Greens. The Greens will travel to George Andrews Reserve on Saturday night to face a Dandenong Thunder side that will be out to make it two wins from two games.
Dandenong kicked off its season with a 2-1 away victory over Werribee City with goals from youngsters Yousef Ahmed and Michael Gerace (who earned a spot in The Corner Flag’s Team of the Week) giving the Thunder the three points in tough conditions.
“First game always means you have something under the belt, so to get three points away from home first up is very, very pleasing,” said Dandenong coach Stuart Munro after the win.
“That’s the vital thing about the first game of the season – it can be a great leveller.
“Whether you play in the top of the league, or the bottom of the league, come the end of the league it doesn’t really matter … but it’s always important to try get three points,” he added.
The Thunder impressed with the squad’s youngsters putting in a solid performance in what is a new-look side. This round, they will come up against a Bentleigh Greens squad that fielded six new faces in its Round One clash against North Geelong.
New signing Matt Thurtell gave Bentleigh the opener in the 37th minute and provided an assist for Jamie De Abreu who netted in the 87th minute to give John Anastasiadis’ men a 2-0 home victory.
Although pleased with Bentleigh’s Round One victory, Anastasiadis insists his side will not take it easy with the young Thunder side and will treat the clash like a “cup final”.
“It’s going to be another tough gig, absolutely another tough gig – we know Dandenong Thunder are a good team, they gave us problems last year playing them [away from home],” he said.
“Like I said at the start of the season, there’s 26 cup finals and this is the second one now. Every game will be tough, we’ve just got to raise the bar, and that’s what we’re dong now.”
With both sides showcasing a number of new faces, Saturday night’s Round Two matchup will make for an exciting clash. Bentleigh will come into the match as favourites but the Thunder become unpredictable in front of a home crowd at George Andrews Reserve and could cause an upset to a side that is tipped to go all the way this season.