James Murphy
GAMBIER CENTRALS 3 d BLUE LAKE 2
GAMBIER Centrals put itself back on the winner’s list with a 3-2 victory over Blue Lake in Limestone Coast men’s soccer on Sunday.
The Lions accounted for bottom-placed Naracoorte last round, but aside from that it had been a while between drinks.
However, they stepped up against an in-form Blue Lake for their Round 10 clash and secured the win with a strong first half in front of goals.
All but one goal for the match was scored within a 13-minute window, with Centrals’ captain Jake Blackwell opening the ledger 13 minutes in.
The Rangers were quick to respond, with leading goal kicker Shar Nay Than levelling the scores before an own goal at the other end handed Centrals a lead it would hold for the rest of the day.
Blackwell wrapped up the period with his second goal at the 26-minute mark and from there the rest of the half went without score.
Both teams had their chances but defences stood tall and at half time it remained a 3-1 scoreline.
The second half kicked off in a similar fashion and it was an arm wrestle for most of the term.
Both sides swung some changes but finding a way through opposition lines remained a challenge.
Blue Lake chipped one back late in the match with Shar Ku Htoo scoring in the 82nd minute, but from there the Lions held out to claim a one-point win.
In a tight competition, Centrals still sits in fourth position, but is equal on wins with both Apollo and Blue Lake.
A draw between the latter two sides keeps them a point clear of Centrals, while International sits on top of the table with seven wins and one loss.
APOLLO 5 d NARACOORTE 0
A one-sided battle was expected when Apollo visited Naracoorte for Round 10 and that was the case.
Apollo returned home with a 5-0 win, but it did not come without its losses.
A red card to in-form striker Billy Pearce will hurt the side when facing up against a tough Blue Lake outfit this weekend.
On Sunday it did not take long for the floodgates to open, with Caine Ellis slotting the first goal at the 13-minute mark.
Pearce followed up soon after when he converted a penalty kick, while Ellis scored his second late in the half to give the guests a 3-0 lead.
Pearce was yellow carded early in the second term, with a second yellow coming just minutes later to hand him a red card penalty.
Scoring had dried up somewhat at that point and both teams rotated players to try and find an edge.
Eventually Apollo extended the lead with a goal to Pa Lah 65 minutes into the clash.
The final goal came late in the piece with Eh Hsa Poe pushing it out to a five-goal game and wrapping up the scoring for the day.
Naracoorte will now enjoy two weeks off, with a bye this weekend followed by the league-wide bye the following week.
For Apollo it will face a tougher challenge against the Rangers.
Their last encounter was a 3-1 win to the latter, while the previous clash was a draw, sparking plenty of intrigue for this Sunday’s bout.
