Victorian Premier League round-up: Five-star Dandenong Thunder rumble on

08/05/2012 12:49:00 PM

Dejan Kalinic and David Manuca take you through all the action from Round 6 of the New South Wales Premier League

ANALYSIS
By David Manuca and Dejan Kalinic

Results

Bentleigh Greens 1-0 Melbourne Knights, South Melbourne 0-2 Southern Stars, Oakleigh Cannons 1-1 Richmond, Green Gully 2-1 Moreland Zebras, Northcote City 1-3 Dandenong Thunder, Heidelberg United 1-2 Hume City

THE WEEKEND STORY

Dandenong Thunder conceded for the first time this season but that did not stop them securing their fifth-straight win with a 3-1 victory over Northcote City. South Melbourne fell further off the pace with a shock 2-0 home loss to Southern Stars, while Oakleigh Cannons scored late to secure a 1-1 draw at home to Richmond. Green Gully heaped more misery on the winless Moreland Zebras with a 2-1 win at home, and Heidelberg United are also still yet to taste victory after a 2-1 loss to Hume City.

THE STANDINGS

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Dandenong Thunder	5	5	0	0	15	1	+14	15
2	Bentleigh Greens	5	4	0	1	10	4	+6	12
3	Oakleigh Cannons	5	3	1	1	8	6	+2	10
4	Green Gully	5	3	0	2	11	8	+3	9
5	Richmond	5	2	1	1	6	4	+2	8
6	South Melbourne	5	2	1	2	9	7	+2	7

7	Northcote City	5	2	1	2	7	8	-1	7
8	Hume City	5	2	1	2	6	8	-2	7
9	Southern Stars	5	2	1	2	6	9	-3	7
10	Melbourne Knights	5	1	0	4	4	7	-3	3

11	Heidelberg United	5	0	1	4	3	11	-8	1
12	Moreland Zebras	5	0	0	5	2	14	-12	0

GOALS

5 - Luke SHERBON (Dandenong Thunder)

4 - Ricky DIACO (Oakleigh Cannons), Nate FOSTER (Dandenong Thunder)

3 - Josh KWEIFIO-OKAI (Richmond), Scott BULLOCH (Bentleigh Greens), Jason HAYNE (Green Gully), Mathew SANDERS (Green Gully), James KALIFATIDIS (Northcote City), Liam KEARNEY (Dandenong Thunder)

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND

Southern Stars

A huge win for a newly promoted club against one of the powerhouses of Victorian football. The crucial and surprising 2-0 victory over title fancies South Melbourne put the Southern Stars well clear of the relegation zone early in the season. South had their chances, but goals from Mark Leech and Yanni Galanos decided the contest.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

"What's going wrong at South Melbourne? Their predictable and regular loss at Green Gully has been followed by a draw at Richmond and a defeat at home against the Southern Stars. Coach Peter Tsolakis already has work to do to get his side building momentum. Meanwhile, prepare for an early relegation six-pointer on Sunday when Heidelberg United visit the Melbourne Knights."
- Dejan

"Dandenong Thunder continue on their merry way by securing a fifth win from their opening five games. If they can keep this form they will be incredibly hard to stop. Moreland and Heidelberg, however, are really struggling and need to get some points on the board as soon as possible. It will be a very long season for both of those clubs."
- David

THE NUMBERS

1 - the number of points South Melbourne have picked up from their past three games.

4 - the number of draws in 30 matches this season

3 - the average number of goals Dandenong Thunder score per game.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

@a_jukic: "good performance from the knights in the second half, bearing in mind how they started. sweeney at cb wasn't a disaster surprisingly#VPL"

@Gixibyte: "You'll Never Score Again" to the tune of "You'll Never Walk Alone". From SMFC fans to their own players. #VPL"

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