By Lachlan Onions
INTERNATIONAL 4 d BLUE LAKE 1
A SECOND half blitz from International was enough for last year’s minor premiers to overcome last year’s champions in Round 2 of the Limestone Coast Women’s Premier League.
It was a pleasing result for Inter coach Ricky McRobert who praised his side’s efforts in what was the match of the round.
“Result-wise, I am definitely happy,” he said.
“We still have a lot of work to improve on and we are not getting ahead of ourselves but it was definitely a great result and outcome for the day.”
Inter took control of the game early at Casadio Park on Sunday but the Rangers’ defence stood tall throughout the first half.
The girls in black and blue dictated possession but struggled to find the final pass early on.
On the counter, Blue Lake looked dangerous and had the best opportunities of the half with several shots testing the keeper or just going wide.
McRobert said his side was not at full strength during the first half but was still pleased with the way the girls kept the visitors scoreless.
“It was a good hard-fought first half,” he said.
“In the first half I had players on the bench who would realistically by my starting players but one was carrying an injury and one had not been to training.
“In the second half I just made a couple of decisions to bring on a couple of different players and to change the structure up a little bit.
“It definitely did help the girls to find their rhythm in regards to stringing passes together and getting shots on goal.”
These changes paid dividends as Inter made the most of its dominance and struck gold early in the second half with a goal from Leonie Robertson in the 43rd minute.
However, the lead did not last long as the Rangers equalised just one minute later through Jasmine White.
Inter was not deterred by the setback as it found the front again in the 47th minute thanks to a strike from Tess Andrews.
From there, the women in black and blue began to show their class and why they went undefeated in the regular season last year as they piled on the pressure.
Leonie Robertson bagged herself a brace with a goal in the 69th minute and Evany Rex scored her fourth goal of the season to put the icing on the cake in the 73rd minute.
McRobert was full of praise for Skye Robertson and Andrews, who were pivotal to his side’s victory.
“Leonie Robertson was definitely a standout for me,” he said.
“She put away two goals and she is a very hard worker.
“She is constantly applying pressure and I think that is what resulted in her first goal – following up and not letting off.
“Tess Andrews was another big impactful player.
“I brought her on after half time at nil-all and while she might not have been the first goal-scorer, she had a huge impact and controlled the midfield.
“Evany Rex and Bella Morello are a strong midfield unit but Tess (Andrews) just adds that experience and knowledge of the game.
“She has the composure and ability to control and dictate the tempo.”
McRobert was also pleased with the way his side linked up to create opportunities in the second half and also noted the efforts of his defenders who stood tall under pressure.
“Blue Lake has one striker who can absolutely hit a ball from a decent distance out,” he said.
“She was definitely a danger in my opinion right up until the end of the game.”
APOLLO 7 d NARACOORTE UNITED 2
Apollo made the trip to Naracoorte on Sunday and put in a commanding performance as it found the back of the net seven times.
Daylia Daylia showed she is just as dangerous in front of goals as she was last year and opened the scoring for the visitors.
Apollo’s lead was then doubled shortly after thanks to a goal from Bec Peters.
In a goal-fest of a first half, Zoe Brooksby made it 3-0 and things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Lauren Smart scored an unfortunate own goal to make it 4-0.
However, Sile Legoe gave United a glimmer of hope as she scored a quick-fire brace to halve the deficit.
With momentum in the hosts’ favour and an interesting second half brewing Daylia struck for a second time to extend the lead to 5-2 just before half time.
After seven goals were scored in the first stanza, the second half was a low-key affair with just two goals scored by the visitors through Brooksby and Deni Atkin.
MILLICENT UNITED 2 d GAMBIER CENTRALS 1
Millicent travelled to MGA Park on Saturday for a clash between two sides which will likely be vying for a spot in the top four at the end of the season.
In this early-season six-pointer, Millicent triumphed over its rivals with a disciplined 2-1 win.
United broke the deadlock almost immediately with a goal through Lana Shepherd in just the fourth minute of the game.
Shortly after, Millicent’s Christene Farana found the back of the net to make it 2-0 after just over 10 minutes of play.
However, Centrals refused to die and a goal from Jasmine Siemon in the 24th minute looked like it would bring the contest to life.
With the game in the balance, Millicent’s defence stood tall and held on to claim an important three points.
