James Murphy
APOLLO 4 d GAMBIER CENTRALS 3
SUNDAY’S Limestone Coast men’s soccer match of the round did not disappoint, with a 4-3 win to Apollo over Gambier Centrals.
Apollo meant business when they visited the Lions for Round 9 and after an initial arm wrestle, Billy Pearce opened the scoring 22 minutes in.
He took on two Centrals defenders and came out on top, putting through his first of two goals for the day.
A second goal came shortly after – off the head of captain Tobbei Kennett – and suddenly Centrals appeared on the back foot.
Not to be outdone, a quickfire response had Lewis March score the following minute, keeping it a one-goal game.
However, Apollo continued to drill the Lions’ defence and that persistence gave them two more goals for the half.
It took two attempts, but Pa Lah put the ball past Centrals’ keeper Alex Hill on the rebound of a good save to score Apollo’s third.
Centrals had its own chances, with another opportunity from March narrowly stopped by a diving save from Apollo keeper Jesse Widdison.
Wrapping up the half Pearce got onto a loose ball to give Apollo a 4-1 lead right before the whistle.
Determined to stay in the contest, Centrals started the second term well and captain Jake Blackwell narrowed the margin when scoring in the 52nd minute.
The game tightened up further when Matthew Porter found a way past Widdison in the 72nd minute.
Back to a one-goal game, intensity levels were heightened for the next 20 minutes of play.
However, neither side was able to make it through their rival’s defences successfully and Apollo came away with the victory.
Apollo will be favoured to win again when visiting Naracoorte this weekend, while Centrals faces another tough clash against this season’s surprise package Blue Lake.
INTERNATIONAL 7 d NARACOORTE 1
It may have been expected, but that did not take the sting out of another big loss for Naracoorte United on Sunday.
The club visited International at Casadio Park for Round 9 of Limestone Coast men’s soccer and at the final whistle it was a 7-1 result.
Inter sits comfortably on top of the premiership ladder and with two goals in the first five minutes of play, the tone was set early.
Sam Bueti opened the ledger with his first of three, before young-gun Henry Haywood backed his teammate with the second goal of the match at the five-minute mark.
An own goal from Murtaza Jafary put the margin out to three 31 minutes in, before captain Christian Cella put himself on the scoreboard to make it four.
Bueti was not finished for the half and two late goals gave him his hat-trick and Inter a 5-0 lead heading into the break.
Scoring dried up considerably in the second term, with Inter testing some young blood.
Cella scored his second in the 72nd minute, while a late consolation goal from Naracoorte’s Jafary narrowed the scoreline to 7-1.
Inter is now three wins clear on top of the table, putting it in a good position heading into a bye this weekend.
Naracoorte’s run does not get any easy with a clash against an in-form Apollo at home this Sunday.
