James Murphy
SENIOR WOMEN – APOLLO 4 d MILLICENT 0
IT was third year lucky for Apollo in the Limestone Coast women’s soccer competition when they claimed the 2024 premiership honours on Saturday.
Having appeared in two consecutive deciders without obtaining the silverware, they headed into the weekend with one thing on their mind.
Apollo finished the minor round season with a near-faultless run – a draw and a single loss the only blemishes.
That was evident when they took to the pitch at Casadio Park against Millicent on Saturday and after two solid halves, Apollo secured the honours 4-0.
The weather was far from favourable, with strong winds and rain, but both teams remained focused on the task at hand.
Apollo captain Deni Atkin opened the ledger with a 26th-minute goal to hand her team a lead it would not give up.
The second success came late in the half from Daylia Daylia, which provided a handy buffer heading into the break.
Daylia backed herself with a second goal after half time and with 20 minutes remaining Apollo sat in the box seat at 3-0.
A late goal from Zoe Brooksby capped off a solid performance and Apollo finally raised the premiership cup in the women’s senior competition.
“It has been three years since me and Jamie (Stephenson) have been working with the girls,” Apollo women’s coach Paul Prentice told The Border Watch.
“We have a fantastic squad that is committed and got the rewards for their efforts on Saturday.”
Prentice credited the determination and commitment of his team to the success it has had in 2024.
“They have stepped up,” he said.
“They have gone from training one night a week, to two nights a week and I think they reaped the rewards from that on Saturday.”
Prentice was pleased with how the game unfolded and felt as if his team was in control for the majority of the clash.
Scoring against the wind in the first half set Apollo up for success later on.
“Going into half time two goals up and knowing we had the wind at our back (in the second), we still knew we were going to have to weather the storm in the first five to 10 minutes after half time,” Prentice said.
“We knew Millicent were going to come out.”
However, Apollo’s defence held firm and kept the top side on track for a solid victory.
Following the match Daylia was awarded the best-on-ground trophy, judged by the referees on the day.
Prentice said the award was well deserved and credited Daylia’s resilience in a tough season.
“She has had a hard season,” Prentice said.
“She went in goals for us in a training session one night and broke her wrist, so we missed her for four or five weeks.
“It was good to see her come back – she has scored some really great goals this year.”
In terms of other players who impressed, Prentice could not help but mention the team as a whole.
“We have talked about it all season, it has been a squad effort,” he said.
“They play on the pitch as friends and when they come off the pitch they are still very much like that as well.”
As celebrations wind down, Apollo will surely have its sights set on defending its title once the 2025 season comes around.
