By Jonty Ralphsmith
Dandenong City recorded an important 2-1 win over bottom-placed Moreland in NPL action on Saturday.
Kenjok Athlu and and Thomas Glannakopoulos were the goalscorers for City, which took the lead after 10-minutes after finding space in the box after a corner kick.
Will Bower’s setup kick for Glannakopoulos allowed him to simply head into the back of the net, with their side front-runners for the rest of the evening.
Athlu was illegally dealt with in the box and made no mistake from the penalty spot to extend City’s lead at the 37-minute mark to give his side some breathing room.
Class in tight saw Moreland put one on the board in the 68th minute but the Dandenong defence was able to hold on for the rest of the game to secure the three points.
Moreland finished with five more shots than City but Dandenong was more efficient and accurate, putting four on target, two of which found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Dandenong Thunder secured an important point with a 1-1 draw against Green Gully.
Green Gully’s class shone through when it scored its first goal via excellent transition play and an excellent step past the ‘keeper by Green Gully goalscorer Shifa Ahmed.
A perfect setup cross by Ali Sulimani allowed Birkan Kirdar to tap in the Thunder’s first early in the second half after trailing for 25 minutes.
Forced to defend for much of the game, the Thunder’s grit was underlined by the fact Green Gully had 17 shots – including five on target – and six corners as they dominated territory.
Dandenong had just six shots, with the only one on target, being the goal, in a resilient performance which puts them 10th on the table.
