South jumps to top of table with five goal win over Thunder
By JAMES WILLOUGHBY (@JWilloughby26)
Photo: SMFC
South Melbourne has returned to the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria table after a 5-0 thrashing of Dandenong Thunder at Lakeside Stadium on Tuesday.
Chris Taylor's side showed their class in the last of the midweek Round 3 matches, with Milos Lujic's early volley added to by a Ramazan Tavsancioglu own goal before the break.
Andy Brennan, David Stirton and Iqbal Jawadi netted goals of their own in the second half of what was a truly one-sided contest.
The NPL Victoria champions - who beat Avondale 1-0 on Friday - had one more day of rest than the Thunder, who were held to a 1-1 home draw with North Geelong 24 hours later.
And the quick turnaround claimed a casualty, with Dandenong's teenage star Yusuf Ahmed not included in Stuart Munro's matchday squad.
Lujic put South in front in the sixth minute, volleying in Brennan's cross from the right despite Dandenong goalkeeper Zaim Zeneli getting a hand to it.
Lujic then curled wide before nodding over and it was no surprise to see the hosts extend their advantage on the half-hour mark when, after a short corner, Bradley Norton's 18-yard drive was turned into his own net by Tavsancioglu.
The one-way traffic continued as Nicholas Epifano and Lujic missed the target, before Zeneli denied both Jake Barker-Daish and Andy Kecojevic with good saves before half-time.
Dandenong's evening was summed up when, after breaking down the right, Veton Korcari volleyed over the goal - and the athletics track behind it - in the 57th minute.
And although Viktor Mujedinovski screwed an effort just wide shortly after for Thunder, they conceded again in the 60th minute, in controversial fashion.
Brennan's strike appeared to go through the netting on the outside, ending up on the other side of the goal line. The referee signalled for a goal-kick, only for the South forward - who will join Newcastle Jets for the 2015-16 A-League season - to wheel away celebrating.
a goal was given after the referee spoke with his linesman, to the delight of the home crowd.
Substitute Stirton made it four with a clever first-time finish with 14 minutes left and Jawadi wrapped up the rout, coolly slotting past Zeneli in stoppage time after Leigh Minopoulos' superb forward run.
MATCH DETAILS
South Melbourne 5 (Lujic 6', Tavsancioglu OG 30', Brennan 60', Stirton 76', Jawadi 90+2) defeated Dandenong Thunder 0 at Lakeside Stadium
South Melbourne: 1. Nicola ROGANOVIC, 2. Tim MALA (6. Bonel OBRADOVIC 69'), 4. Michael EAGAR, 5. Luke ADAMS, 7. Nicholas EPIFANO, 23. Andy KECOJOVIC, 9. Milos LUJIC (27. Leigh MINOPOULOS 63'), 11. Bradley NORTON, 12. Iqbal JAWADI, 21. Jake BARKER-DAISH, 17. Andy BRENNAN (10. David STIRTON 66')
Unused Subs: 8. Mathew THEODORE, 13. Dane MILOVANOVIC
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Dandenong Thunder: 1. Zaim ZENELI, 5. Faisal SAILHRADA, 2. Jarryd BARNES, 16. Gideon SWEET, 12. Brendan ELMAZOVSKI, 8. Lewis FOSTER, 3. Ramazan TAVSANCIOGLU, 23. Michael GERACE, 24. Jared BLACKBURN, 9. Veton KORCARI (15. Josh CARVANA 66'), 14. Viktor MUJEDINOVSKI (19. Abdirahman AHMED 68')
Unused Subs: 17. Fitim IBRAIMI, 22. Muhamed FEZOLLARI, 20. Anthony SARIC
Yellow Cards: Sweet 31', Tavsancioglu 73'
Red Cards: Nil
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