By JARROD POTTER
FOOTBALL FEDERATION VICTORIA – National Premier Leagues
“THERE’S only one team in Dandy!”
The team song echoed proudly throughout Frank Holohan Reserve as Dandenong City captured a memorable 2-1 win in front of their home crowd.
Dandenong City was staring down the barrel of a 0-1 defeat heading into the last handful of minutes against St Albans Saints.
The Dandenong City faithful, sitting in the newly developed Dandenong City grandstand, had little to cheer about in the first 85 minutes as the match seemingly all went the Saints’ way after a 35th minute conversion by Brodie Patterson.
Enter Dario Matkovic.
The City boys had not lowered their guard throughout the time, but a swathe of failed opportunities and seemingly missed calls by the referees left it up to Matkovic and his forward-bound team mates in the dying minutes.
The equaliser came in the 86th minute as Keegan Ziada lobbed a corner kick to the middle of the box, leaving Matkovic to head in the first City goal.
The Dandenong City crowd didn’t have time to sit back down before the second City goal. Central defender Steven Topalovic kept a goal-line ball in, despite his team mates yelling to him to let it go out for a corner kick.
Topalovic instead powered ahead, with mere inches between himself and the line.
Gathering all his guile for one last push, Topalovic cleverly deceived three St Alban’s defenders to force himself through to the goals and flicked the ball to Matkovic.
The pass was thumped into the back of the net, leaving the crowd to erupt in thunderous celebration. Some decent attempts at the other end from St Albans in the dying minutes weren’t converted as City claimed its fourth and arguably greatest victory of the NPL1 season.
City coach Ivan Duzel said the result was indicative of City’s capabilities in spite of their 10th placing on the NPL1 ladder.
“We lost a lot of games timing like this – last minute and things like that,” Duzel said.
“What we try to do is play the game on the floor with the passes and the quick moves.
“This game gives us very, very good confidence for future games.”
“Very important, we play much better than what we’re showing and where we’re at on the ladder.”
STATE LEAGUES
Casey Comets couldn’t overcome Malvern City as the home side kicked away to a 2-1 triumph through a Ryan Burns double.
In State League 2 South East, goals to Ioasa Saemo and Liam Ryan guided Doveton SC to its fifth win of the year with a 2-0 victory over Old Scotch. A captainly double from Orlando Meijas lifted Berwick City after a 3-0 thumping of Peninsula Strikers. Slotting the other goal was Alpha Turay.
WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE AND STATE LEAGUES
Another dog-day-out left the Casey Comets beaten 2-4 by South Melbourne. The loss is Casey’s fifth for the season as a 1-3-5 record steadily gets worse each round. The Comets face Ashburton on Sunday afternoon at Ashburton Park.
Berwick City Women’s State League 1 was left with a 2-2 draw against Preston Lions. Berwick City coach Tony Rafferty said Kelsey Minton continued to shine in defence while Emily Rizkallah and Ciara Ryan scored to capture a point from the home clash. City travels to North Geelong on Sunday.
