Pictures: JAMES MURPHY
INTERNATIONAL bounced back from its round-one Limestone Coast soccer defeat to Gambier Centrals with a dominant 5-1 victory over Blue Lake at Casadio Park on Sunday.
The hosts established a 3-0 lead by half time, before they held back a renewed effort from the Rangers in the second half.
That was without four regular A-graders, with captain Christian Cella, Dan Bronca and Tyler Michielan out for the game, while Phillip Muzaliwa also nursed an injury and had limited minutes.
However, the circumstances gave the Inter youngsters a chance to shine, with coach Tony D’Agostino impressed with the future stars of the club.
Caleb Casey was one player who stood out, as he started in A Grade for the first time and played the full 90 minutes.
He played his role well and teamed up with Matt Bueti in front of goals to score two of his own and assist others.
Bueti also banged through two goals and was captain for the day, while youngster Connor Prior headed through his first A Grade goal.
To add to the occasion, it was Fintan Cuthbertson’s last game for the black and blue, before he returns home to Scotland.
He played a solid game and was cheered off by his clubmates after the match.
“We are going to miss him, he is a big part of what we have been achieving in the last couple of years,” D’Agostino said.
“There are rumours he might be back, but his Visa ran out so he is heading home to Scotland.”
The loss of Cuthbertson creates a hole on the field, but D’Agostino is confident one of the juniors will be up to the task of filling it.
“Young Kaleb Gentile stepped into that role on Sunday and played really well until he got an unfortunate injury at the end,” he said.
That injury was a result of friendly fire, as he collided with goal keeper Brayden May during an attempt to stop a Blue Lake attack out of the goal square.
D’Agostino was impressed with his team’s performance and was “amazed” with how the juniors slotted seamlessly into the senior side.
“We had to come out with a few young kids, but I was so impressed and absolutely amazed by how well they played,” he said.
“Every one of them was fantastic, I could not have asked for more.”
It was a positive sign for Inter and shows it can rely on the upcoming players for added depth.
“We can miss four clear A-graders and these guys who are stepping up do not look out of place,” D’Agostino said.
“It is really good for us.”
D’Agostino said he thought Inter dominated the first half and the score at the break could have been greater.
“I think we could have had a big score by the break,” he said.
“But to Blue Lake’s credit, they came back in the second half and put a bit of pressure on.”
He was pleased with the whole team on the day, but picked out Casey as the best player for the match.
“Fintan Cuthbertson was outstanding, but probably the player who was best overall on the day was young Caleb Casey,” D’Agostino said.
“You cannot go away from Matt Bueti, who stepped up to be captain and still put away a couple of goals, but Caleb Casey’s running out wide and coming through to score a couple of goals for us was great.”
D’Agostino also mentioned Nick Morony, while Ricky McRobert was the general of the backline once again, giving instructions and encouragement to his teammates throughout the game.
Austin Rossi and Prior were two youngsters who also received praise.
For Blue Lake Andy Armandi was strong in goals, with some diving saves to keep the score from blowing out, before he was subbed off late in the game.
Fraser Howard scored the Rangers’ only goal, but it was not enough for the side to claim its first win of the premiership season.
In other games Apollo played host to Portland for a solid 6-1 win, which saw Erike Irakoze lead the way with two goals, while Tobbei Kennett, Broc Linden and Stewart Wallace scored one each.
Apollo will need to perform again this week when it faces Centrals, who are fresh off the bye.
The final game of the round saw Millicent with a 1-0 win over Naracoorte.
The tight match saw scores locked at nil-all heading into the second half, before Samuel Papini scored the match-winning goal after the break.
This week will see Centrals travel to Webb Street to face Apollo, while Inter hits the road to Naracoorte and Millicent hosts Portland.
