Oakleigh has lost again to our relegation opponents, leaving us in a difficult position coming into this game against Thunder. A loss could leave us just two points shy of relegation at the end of the round.

To make matters worse, both Bonada and Mikkola were ineligible for the Thunder game after picking up yellow card accumulation suspensions. This would make it even harder for our already low scoring team to find the back of the net.

I don’t think anyone was counting on a result against Thunder, but boy did we come close. The game was end to end, entertaining and except for the result, left me with a lot to be hopeful for.

We took the game to Thunder, holding possession, building up play well, containing them for the most part, and looking fluid and entertaining on the ball. However, our lack of a striker and inability to get to the end of countless crosses ultimately rendered us toothless.

We managed to keep the score level for most of the game, in some part to great defending, but in large part thanks to Lopez’ man of the match performance between the sticks. Lopez was once again immense for us, and based on his performance alone we probably deserved a draw.

However it was not to be, and at the 85th minute Thunder broke the deadlock and walked away with the three points. Overall it was a shame, because we did look good. Add Mikkola and Bonada and we could have won the game, heck I’d even say we might look like a finals quality side! But they weren’t there and we lost. Unfortunately we get no points for good performances and will be desperate for a win against Hume next week – surely one of our best chances for a win for the rest of the season.

In the coming weeks we have three good chances for points, Hume, Altona, Green Gully. As the teams below us start picking points of each other, our tiny breathing space above relegation will continue to erode and we could find ourselves in hot water sooner rather than later.

With the transfer window open this week though (finally), the league story may change. There have been a few whispers about South’s signings, not so many about those of the teams below us which bodes well for us. Except for a resurgent St Albans, lack of transfer activity supports a status quo which should condemn Knights and Port to relegation.

Transfer speculation aside, we need a result against Hume this week, the Thunder game was encouraging, but the result was ultimately expected and does nothing for us.