Image courtesy: Peter Psarros
By Cameron Briscoe
Saturday night's round 19 clash between Dandenong Thunder and Northcote City was abandoned in the 58th minute after the stadium lights went out at George Andrews Reserve.
Northcote City was leading 4 -1 when the lights went out, in what was a crucial match for both teams who are vying for a finals position. The referees had no choice but to end the match prematurely, leaving fans, coaches and players confused, frustrated and literally in the dark.
The outcome of this match now rests with Football Federation Victoria.
The suspected power outage was crushing for Northcote, who had made the most of their chances throughout the match when Dandenong could not.
The Thunder began the match at full pace, dominating early and controlling the tempo of the game from the first minute.
The home side had a chance to go 1-0 up after Ben Starosta slotted the ball into the back of the net, until the refs whistle blew and the Thunder were deemed to be offside in the box.
As the game continued, Dandenong pressed further but were unable to capitalize as Northcote’s defensive structure held strong, denying the home side any real chances.
Although Dandenong dominated early with Geoffrey Kellaway playing well on the right wing, they never looked dangerous going forward, and when Northcote managed to maintain possession, they worried the home team’s defence at every opportunity.
As Dandenong’s initial pace slowed, it wasn’t long before Northcote scored their first through Jonathan Voulgaris. His powerful left foot strike came out of nowhere from just beyond the box and before the home side could react, it was already in the back of the net.
Then within minutes, Mark McGough had made it 2-0 as Dandenong’s defence was caught napping once more.
In a similar fashion, this time from the right side, McGough’s ball was allowed to bounce through Dandenong’s defence and enter the net with ease.
Unfortunately for the home side, the half time break could not come soon enough as Northcote took over and Dandenong’s defence fell apart.
On multiple occasions Dandenong imploded, gifting City’s striker’s possession with poor passes and a lack of defensive pressurem and 10 minutes before half time, their third goal was all but inevitable. Waltzing into the box, James Kalifatidis stepped round keeper Stuart Webster and slotted home the first of his double in an all too easy fashion.
With the half nearing completion, Dandenong looked down and out, however, with less than three minutes to go, the Thunder’s Scott Bulloch managed to carve through Northcote’s defence and score a desperately needed goal going into the break.
The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with Dandenong lifting the intensity from the get go. The game became more physical and the home crowd began to get more vocal.
Unfortunately for the home side, their intensity was short lived, as Kalifatidis managed to get free up forward and head in his second goal, seemingly to put the result beyond doubt for the visitors shortly after the break.
However, as the 58th minute struck, suddenly the stadium lights went out, ending the contest and forcing the players and referee’s from the pitch in darkness.
Supporters were left bewildered and aggravated that they were not able to witness the full match, and the crowd became frustrated and eager for answers.
Last updated: Tuesday July 27, 2010 4:10PM
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