IT was a week of away games for Limestone Coast soccer on Sunday, as Mount Gambier teams hit the road to face their Round 2 Belgiorno Cup opponents.
International travelled the shortest distance to take on Millicent and Gambier Centrals made the trip to Portland, while Apollo clashed with Naracoorte and Blue Lake had the bye.
Of the three games, which all saw the visitors come out on top, the closest contest was between Apollo and Naracoorte.
With an eventual 2-0 victory, a one-goal margin at half time saw Naracoorte well in the game going into the second term.
However, the class of Apollo came through in the end, with a second unanswered goal sealing the deal after the break.
In only his second game at the helm of the squad, coach Bruno Vadori was pleased with how his new team performed.
“I am very happy with all the lads,” he said.
“The team changed around a fair bit from the previous week.
“We have a lot of juniors in our team at the moment and a lot of them are playing plenty of senior soccer in both the Reserves and A Grade.
“They are doing a fantastic job.”
With yet another loss to the A Grade lineup, these junior options come as a promising sign for the team, after it looks to fill the hole left by outgoing player Lachlan Bytheway.
Last week marked the last game for the star defender, as he makes the move to Queensland.
“It’s a huge blow to the team,” Vadori said.
“Not only just playing, but morale as well.
“He was a great team player and really pumped up the team.”
Bytheway’s skills as a defensive player and ability in a hard contest will be a heavy loss for Apollo, but Vadori said there are some talented youngsters moving through the ranks who will help fill the gap.
“There are some kids coming through who can play very good defence,” he said.
“At the moment some of them are still a little bit green for playing full games in the A’s, but we are working on the whole system of promoting the youth down at Apollo.
“This year is going to be a rebuilding year, but the guys are doing well so far.”
In terms of best-on-ground for the match, Vadori said there were a few players who stood out on the day.
“Our defence line was pretty tight all game,” he said.
“Tom Inglis played a good game and Stewart Wallace also played a good game in the centre.
“One of our new players Gonzalo (Labruna), he played in the Reserves the week before and got the opportunity to play in A’s due to Lachlan (Bytheway) leaving.
“He played a cracker of a game.
“They were probably three of the major standouts.”
Wallace capped off a solid game with the opening goal of the match, while Giancarlo Cooper backed up his efforts from last week as he bagged the second for the victors.
Vadori was not only happy with how his own team performed on Sunday, but said he was impressed by the efforts of Naracoorte and gave them credit for providing a challenge.
“I actually thought Naracoorte played really well,” he said.
“This time of year they always have a very strong side and they pushed us a fair bit in the first half.
“It was only when they lost a little bit of composure in the second half that we kind of really got on top of them.
“They played very well and their goal keeper had some awesome saves.
“Hopefully they can stick with it, because they could be a top four contender if they keep doing what they are doing.”
This week will see Apollo host Millicent for Round 3 of the cup, in a match it will need to win to ensure it makes the semi-finals.
In other games for the round, Inter claimed a convincing 8-0 win over Millicent.
This saw the Bueti’s in fine form around the goal square, with Sam bagging four for the match, while Matt finished with two.
Chris Fallas and Tom Weedon rounded out the scorers for the black and blue with one each.
This round will see Inter host Naracoorte, in what should be its third win for the year, solidifying its place in the Belgiorno Cup finals the following week.
The final match of the round saw Centrals’ off-season recruitment prove to pay dividends, as newly instated playing coach Nathan Fleetwood was on the delivering end of every goal in the team’s 4-0 triumph over Portland.
With just a one-goal lead at half time, Centrals came out firing after the break, with Fleetwood bagging another three goals in an impressive display.
Centrals has the bye this round, while Blue Lake will host Portland for the final minor round of the cup.
