By Mark Gojszyk (@hahahamark)

Dandenong City has left Springvale White Eagles rooted at the bottom of the NPL 1 table after a comprehensive thrashing of the hapless visitors at Frank Holohan Soccer complex on Saturday.
 
After a tense and scrappy first half that saw only one goal and a missed penalty, the floodgates opened in the second half, with City piling on four goals alongside Springvale’s two.
 
Dandenong’s goalscorers were spread all over the park, with Halil Gur, Dario Matkovic, Raymond Lay, Damien Miskulin and Goran Jozeljic all sharing the spoils, while Vojislav Milojevic and Jamie De Smit scored for the White Eagles.
 
Springvale started the game brightly, winning a free kick in a dangerous area in the first minute, but the resulting shot flew high.
 
Dandenong City quickly found its feet, and began mounting pressure on the visitors.
 
In the 18th minute, the pressure came to a head when Matkovic was dragged down in the box. In what followed to be a forgettable few moments for penalty taker Keegan Ziada, his penalty kick was blocked by Mathieu Tetron, and with the ball landing back at his feet, blazed his follow-up shot over the crossbar with the goalmouth still gaping.
 
However, from there it was all Dandenong with the balance of play. Matkovic was again in the thick of the action, looking to whip the ball forward and his resulting cross-cum-shot cannoning into the crossbar and out of play.
 
In the 40th minute, Halil Gur saved Ziada’s earlier blushes, where, after initially earning a corner after his first shot was tipped wide, had another chance to bury the ball in the back of the net and made no mistake.
 
With the score remaining 1-0 at halftime, Springvale coach Zlatko Mihajlovic and his team knew they had a mountain to climb. However, their Mt. Kosciuszko became a Mt. Everest in the 62nd minute when Matkovic struck a long-distance free kick that beat Bojan Tomic and squeezed into the top corner of the net, doubling Dandenong’s lead.
 
Unintentional it may have been, but Matkovic and his teammates did not care, running away in celebration.
 
Just a minute later, Springvale’s Milojevic scored for the second time in consecutive weeks, giving the away side a glimmer of hope, but in a frenzy of goals, Lay and Miskulin added two more in five minutes for City, effectively killing off the game.
 
Jozeljic tapped home a fifth for the home side soon after, again capitalising on sloppy Springvale defending.
 
De Smit scored a consolation goal for the visitors, in what was overall an ugly day for Springvale.
In truth, the 5-2 scoreline was not a true reflection of the game, as the flood of chances in the second half for both sides could have seen the scoreline double.
 
Dandenong City’s coach Ivan Duzel was ecstatic with his side’s display.
 
“Today, the determination that [the players] showed, from the first minute, that we wanted to win the game, and that feeling of a home win - it was a fantastic performance,” Duzel said.
 
“We scored five goals, it could have been more, but I’m happy with what the boys showed today.”
 
Springvale coach Zlatko Mihajlovic declined to comment after the game.
 
Match Details
 
FT: Dandenong City 5 (Halil Gur 40’, Dario Matkovic 62’, Raymond Lay 65’, Damien Miskulin 66’, Goran Jozeljic 71’) defeated Springvale White Eagles 2 (Vojislav Milojevic 63’, Jamie De Smit 77’) at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.
 
Dandenong City: 1. Dennys MARTIN, 6. John CARROLL, 3. Halil GUR, 22. Andrej Jerez (13. Hrvose BILANDZIC 72’), 10. Sean SEAVILL 12. Shaun FILIPOVIC (11. Raymond LAY 62’), 7. Keegan ZIADA, 9. Damien MISKULIN, 8. Dario MATKOVIC, 19. Nicholas GLAVAN, 23. Goran JOZELJIC (21. Danijel BUHIC 82’)
 
Unused Subs: 11. Raymond LAY, 31 Kirby ZIADA
 
Yellow Cards: John CARROLL 76’
 
Red Cards: None.
 
Springvale White Eagles: 12. Bojan TOMIC, 3. Joey CALDERONE, 4. Simo JOVANOVIC, 6. Slavisa SARIC, 5. Scott MILLAR, 10 Stojan MILOJEVIC, 13. Hamish MILLAR, 15. Abel FESSEHA, 17 Zoran VUKAS, 19. Vojislav MILOJEVIC, 21. Dejan ERAKOVIC
 
Subs: 1. Mathieu TETRON (GK), 38. Michael MILLAR, 16. Jamie DE SMIT 11. Paul MAGHIAR, 8. Marcus HOLMES
 
Yellow Cards: Stojan MILOJEVIC 25’
 
Red Cards: None.