James Murphy
APOLLO 2 d NARACOORTE 0
IN a round where close margins were hard to come by, an undermanned Apollo made the trip to Naracoorte for a two-nil win in Round 12 of Limestone Coast soccer.
Apollo was without eight of its starting 11 from the previous round’s draw against International.
That was without the absence of Tobbei Kennett, who remains sidelined with a knee injury.
As such several Reserves and Under 17’s were called upon to bolster the ranks and managed to get Apollo over the line.
Wet conditions were the order of the day and patches of heavy showers made the going tough.
However, with some strong passage play, Apollo was able to generate plenty of chances in the opening term.
Naracoorte keeper Brad Pilven was in fine touch and kept the margin to one-nil at half time, but a second goal after the break sealed the deal for the guests.
“Right from the start Reuben (Van Eyk) probably could have had three or four goals before half time,” Apollo coach Jamie Stephenson said.
“But Pilven was really strong – he always plays really well against us.
“It was quite a good tussle for majority of the game.”
Van Eyk and Espoir Shondo both found the back of the net on the day, while it was the work of Pa Lah through the midfield was a highlight.
“Pah La was really good again,” Stephenson said.
“He controlled our midfield really well and they had trouble matching him.
“Noah Gazzard, for his first A Grade game this year was also really impressive.”
Gazzard played the central defensive midfielder role on the weekend and put in a solid performance and joined defender Adam Walker as a couple of standouts on the day.
Apollo’s last line of defence also stood tall as keeper Jesse Widdison was called on in the later stages of the game.
“Once we got the second goal in the second half, we started getting a bit complacent,” Stephenson said.
“Naracoorte kept pushing and working hard, so they had a couple of really good chances.
“Jesse pulled off a couple of cracking saves.”
With only three minor rounds remaining, Apollo is locked in third place leading into finals.
Stephenson said the aim is to now prepare his team for the games that count, with finishing in front of goal a focal point.
INTERNATIONAL 16 d BLUE LAKE 0
AN understaffed Blue Lake felt the sting of an in-form International outfit on Sunday.
The Rangers ventured to Casadio Park for the Round 12 meeting which was played in tough, wet conditions.
Despite some positive passages of play from Blue Lake, it was unable to finish off in front of goal and the weight of supply at the other end of the field blew the game apart for an eventual 16-0 result.
Matt Bueti was in fine form and finished his day with a huge 10-goal haul.
There was little the Rangers could do to stem the flow and with several Reserves players backing up games, it was a tough day out.
Inter’s Matthew Ferguson scored two goals, while Sam Bueti, Tyler Michielan, Sar Hay Moo and Daniel Young were also in on the action with one each.
GAMBIER CENTRALS 13 d MILLICENT 0
A ROAD trip to Millicent rewarded Gambier Centrals with a 13-0 victory over the home team.
Millicent has struggled in the top grade this season and is yet to post a win, so their Round 12 meeting with the ladder-leading Lions was always going to be tough.
Sam Shoemark and Cameron Saint led the charge in front of goal with six and four respectively as Centrals wasted no time breaking the game open.
Jake Blackwell, Christian Fleetwood and defender James Davey also popped up on the scorer’s list with a goal each.
The Lions now face a couple of challenging fixtures, with meetings against Apollo and International.
However, with a top-two position locked in, the Lions are guaranteed a chance to try and defend their title.
They will host Apollo at MGA Park this week, while Inter hosts Millicent in what will be another big win for the home team.
An intriguing fixture will be played at Malseed Park between Blue Lake and Naracoorte, with whoever can field the fullest side sure to hold the advantage.
