It was a Dandenong demolition at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex as Dandenong City thrashed Melbourne Knights 7-1 in round 25 of the NPL.
But it all wasn’t according to plan, with the visitors snagging the first goal.
In the 37th minute a cross came in from a Melbourne freekick and a City defender inadvertently skied it.
Ciaran Bramwell was first to react and headed it home to go 1-0 up.
Dandenong responded almost immediately when Will Bower made a good run with the ball down the left and squared it to Kenjok Athiu in the middle of the box.
Athiu was challenged by the keeper but kept his footing and snuck his shot home to knot the score.
Four minutes later, City was awarded a penalty after a challenge on Timothy Atherinos was judged illegal and Athiu netted his second goal for the game from the spot.
A third consecutive goal came for Dandenong in the second half when Bower took it on the left wing and finished clinically into the top right corner, celebrating in style with a cartwheel into a backflip.
It started to rain City goals when Jamie Latham added another via a beautifully executed half volley at the top of the box, making it 4-1 in the 63rd minute.
Athiu completed his hattrick five minutes later and brought five on the board for the hosts when he made no mistakes from close range.
The sixth Dandenong goal was very similar to Latham’s, with Brad Plant volleying a cross into the bottom right corner.
Finally, Malik Abuusba had the exclamation point for City, finding the back of the net on a leak out in the 84th minute to capitalise on a day out for the hosts.
The result saw the club climb a spot on the table, moving into sixth place with a record of nine wins, 10 draws and six losses.
Dandenong travels to face Melbourne Victory on Saturday for round 26.
