James Murphy
GAMBIER CENTRALS 3 d BLUE LAKE 2
AFTER a two-week hiatus, Limestone Coast soccer returned to the region over the weekend with the men’s top grade producing some tough battles.
The closest clash was held over at Malseed Park where a visiting Gambier Centrals claimed a 3-2 win over Blue Lake.
Both teams meant business and after an arm wrestle of a first half scores remained locked at nil-all.
Centrals’ coach Brodey Koop felt his team had opportunities to break the deadlock, but a combination of errors and some good saves by the Rangers’ defence left the scoreboard untouched.
“We weren’t as clinical as we should have been in front of goal,” Koop said.
“I think the build up was there it was just that final moment we missed.
“(Blue Lake’s) keeper pulled off a couple of good saves as well.”
Entering the second half the Lions felt in a good place despite the level scoreline and a goal in the opening minutes to Sam Shoemark put them in front.
However, the match was far from won and when Blue Lake’s Eh Hsa Poe converted five minutes later things started to intensify.
Shoemark found the back of the net again straight after to take the pressure off, but the Rangers refused to bow down.
The even contest continued to unfold with the hosts scoring through Jack Latham to level things up again in the 65th minute.
As the game wound down the intensity did not.
It was not until the 77th minute the winning goal was scored, when Lewis March curled one in from the corner to put the Lions up 3-2.
The midfield battle continued from there but no side was able to make an inroads on the scoreboard, with the final whistle handing Centrals the points.
“Full credit to Blue Lake,” Koop said.
“They are so young and talented – they are going to be an exciting team to watch in a few years.
“They took it right to us all day – we were just happy to go out, put together a pretty decent performance and end up taking the three points.”
March’s match-winner was a fitting turn of events, as he stepped into the captain’s role for the day in Jake Blackwell’s absence.
“He was really good for the day,” Koop said.
“I thought Jensen Childs had a great game for us as well at fullback.
“He has been consistent every week and he doesn’t take a backwards step.
“I think Christian Fleetwood set the tone for us early and was like our energizer bunny and I also thought Brayden Coppick had a good game before he came off (in the 72nd minute).
“(Coppick) was playing centreback for us and won a lot of ball and set up a lot of play out of there.”
APOLLO 4 d MILLICENT 2
Millicent put in a valiant performance against second-placed Apollo in a surprisingly close Round 10 encounter at Blue Lake Sports Park on Sunday.
It took most of the game for Apollo to shake off its opponent, but in the end a two-goal win kept it in the race for the minor premiership.
The game started with good passages from both ends, before Apollo’s Say Say Wah opened the ledger 22 minutes in.
His was the only goal for the first half as Millicent ramped up its defensive efforts.
Sam Adie was finding plenty of the ball, while goal keeper Jacobus Naude pulled off a couple of good saves.
As such the scoreline remained 1-0 at half time.
Millicent kept the pressure on after the break and Leandro Rodriguez scored the equaliser early on to keep the team right in the match.
It was short lived however, with a penalty awarding Gay Nay Say ler a goal soon after, before another Apollo goal to Billy Pearce gave the home team a 3-1 buffer.
The final two goals of the match came from penalties, with Millicent’s Robert Andersson converting in the 76th minute before Gay Nay Say Ler scored his second to wrap things up in the 85th minute.
INTERNATIONAL 13 d NARACOORTE 2
It was always going to be a goal fest when International visited Naracoorte for Round 10, but to the hosts credit the action was not entirely one-way traffic.
A 13-2 result is far from ideal, but it showed solid improvement from the previous 21-0 outcome.
Naracoorte even opened the scoring with Andrew Diment the first to find the back of the net.
However, from there Inter asserted its dominance with three consecutive goals in the first half.
The trend continued in the second term with another seven goals from the boys in black and blue before a penalty awarded Naracoorte’s Andrew Munro with a consolation goal in the 84th minute.
A penalty at the opposite end followed and Matt Bueti slotted his fourth goal for the day, followed by goals six and seven for Sam Bueti.
The dynamic duo did the bulk of the scoring, while Saw Taw Lar Htoo and Ricky McRobert were also in on the action with a goal each.
