James Murphy
BLUE LAKE 5 d INTERNATIONAL 4
LAST Thursday’s Anzac Day clash between International and Blue Lakes’ A Grade men did not disappoint.
The special occasion was treated to a thrilling encounter under lights between the two clubs, with the visiting Rangers coming out on top by a single goal in a high-scoring affair.
It was a game of two halves, with Inter appearing to be well placed for most of the first half.
A Matt Bueti goal opened the ledger 19 minutes in, which got the ball rolling.
Intensity levels rose significantly as Blue Lake searched for the rebound goal and Inter looked to seize that handy two-goal buffer.
Eventually it came and a penalty taken by Bueti put the margin out to two, before he followed up with his hat-trick shortly after.
Suddenly the Rangers appeared on the back foot, but another penalty late in the half awarded Shar Nay Than a chance to narrow the margin.
He converted and that fired up the Rangers heading into the break.
The second half opened as an arm wrestle, but it was not long until Blue Lake returned fire in a big way.
Shar Nay Than scored his second goal in the 55th minute, which sparked an impressive four-minute run from the Rangers.
Sae Nay Mya levelled the scores at three-all, before Shar Nay Than slotted his third to put Blue Lake in front for the first time in the match.
Tensions were high and an incident involving Inter goal keeper James Kipping had him red carded off the ground.
That produced an opening as Inter settled into its replacement keeper and Shar Nay Than scored to put Blue Lake two goals clear.
Bueti responded instantly to make it a one-goal game, but that would be how the final score remained.
The win has put Blue Lake on top of the premiership ladder and highlighted the Rangers as a real threat this season.
They will face another test against Gambier Centrals next round which will shed further light on where they will slot into the top four this year.
GAMBIER CENTRALS 7 d NARACOORTE 0
It was a rewarding road trip for Gambier Centrals on Sunday, with the Lions travelling to play Naracoorte for Round 2 of Limestone Coast men’s soccer.
They returned home with a seven-goal win, which was a strong start to their season after a bye in the opening round.
Despite the eventual margin, Naracoorte’s defence managed to prevent a score until the midpoint of the first half.
However, when a penalty was awarded at the 20th minute, sharpshooter Sam Shoemark made the most of it and put Centrals on the board.
He struck again five minutes later with a second goal, putting Centrals out to a handy lead.
A late goal to Alexander Obedi sent Centrals into half time with a three-goal lead.
The second term was a similar story and goals continued to flow for the Lions.
Bradley White converted in the 51st minute, followed by Jake Blackwell.
Naracoorte continued to provide resistance throughout the contest, but ultimately the supply into the forward line was too much to handle long term.
Jake Stephenson and White capped things off with goals in the 70th and 82nd minutes and at the final whistle it was a 7-0 game.
This weekend Centrals hosts Blue Lake in what should be a good contest, while Apollo heads to Naracoorte in search of its first win of the Premiership Cup season.
International will have the bye for the round in the A Grade men’s competition, with the minor grades to play Millicent.
