Blue Lake claim hard-fought victory

SOLID FORM: Blue Lake’s Jacob Ellis played another strong game for the side this week, earning himself a mention from the coach for his efforts against Naracoorte. Picture: JAMES MURPHY

AFTER its narrow loss to Gambier Centrals last week, Blue Lake played hard for the win as it travelled to Naracoorte for Round 5 of the Limestone Coast Football Association’s premiership season.

Blue Lake coach Rajko Kuzmanovic said his team put its all into the match, but it was not the best he has seen them play this year.

“Not the best game, but we managed to win 3-1,” he said.

“They played hard and put their heart in the game.

“It was a very physical game – and not very pretty.”

With scoring slow in the first term, it was after the break where the Rangers’ fight paid off, as they converted their efforts on the scoreboard, while only conceding a goal in the dying minutes of the game.

“We managed to score in the first half, then the second half we scored another two goals,” Kuzmanovic said.

“Then they scored one probably 10 minutes before the end of the game.

“I was surprised by how well Naracoorte played against us.

“They have a couple of good players there and they played very well – especially in the midfield.”

With some injuries prior and during the game and a couple of players unavailable, the Rangers were without their full strength going into the match, but pushed through to claim the win.

“A couple of A Graders could not play, like Sam Richards and Hayden Cutting,” Kuzmanovic said.

“Tristan Guess pulled his hamstring and Kyle Reiner is still carrying injuries – so he played injured.

“So we were a little bit out of players.

“But in the end we managed to win and it was a good win.”

With goals going the way of Jarred Johnston, Guess and Bryce Strachan, Kuzmanovic said there were a few players who performed well on the day, but it was Jacob Ellis who he was most impressed by.

“Jacob Ellis was our best player by far,” he said.

“I would also say Jarred Johnston played well and Luke Johnston – they played hard.”

Happy with the win after the result against Centrals in Round 4, Kuzmanovic said there is still work to be done if Blue Lake is to keep its finals dream alive.

“After the loss against Centrals, we thought we would do better and yes, it was a good win,” he said.

“It has put us again as a contender for finals.

“I was happy with the win, but we have to play much smarter.

“We will look to improve with a better first touch and running of the ball.”

In a similar fashion, Apollo claimed a 3-1 victory as it hosted Portland on its home ground at Webb Street.

Coming off the back of its heated clash with International the week before, Apollo asserted its dominance early to hold a 3-0 lead going into the break.

A goal off the boot of Mema Mahungu and two converted penalties from Eric Irakoze saw the home team in a comfortable position going into the second half.

The side held strong to only concede a single goal for the match and uphold its reputation in the top order of the ladder.

Also out to bag a win, International made the trip to Millicent to bring home the victory in what was a one-sided match.

The half-time score saw Inter hold a 2-0 lead over its hosts, but after the break was when the real damage was done.

Millicent was unable to make any impact on the game, while Inter relentlessly hit the scoreboard time and time again, with the final score seeing the black and blue record an 11-0 win.

The Bueti’s were in fine form once again to score seven goals between them, as Matthew defended the top-scorer position with four to his name, while Sam followed closely with three.

Dan Bronca also made his claim on the match to bag two goals of his own, while Caleb Casey and captain Christian Cella recorded one each.

Gambier Centrals backed up its tight victory over Blue Lake last round in style, as it defeated Tatiara by a an extensive margin.

The half-time score alone saw Centrals hold an 11-0 lead, which was only extended during the second term of the game.

With the final score 20-0, it was Lewis March and Calen Sheedy who led the way on the scoreboard with five goals each.

Cameron Saint also found his way onto the scorers list again this week to claim three goals, while Jake Blackwell and Brad Pilven managed two.

Single goals from Rhyleigh Hollands, Tess Clark and Joel Thorne rounded up the scorers for Centrals convincing win.