Comets cruise as Knox sees red

By Gavin Staindl
SUCH was the dominance by the Casey Comets for the opening half of Saturday’s match against Knox that even the opposing goalkeeper seemingly didn’t want to take the ground after the break.
Christian Morales had to be replaced by reserves goalie Christian Frangalas at the half time break after he rolled an ankle.
But Morales could be forgiven for not wanting to play in the second half as Knox found itself on the end of a 7-0 thrashing, due largely to two red cards.
It was a horrible day for the visitors who fell a goal behind in the first minute courtesy of a timely header by Liam Ryan.
Knox suffered a second blow 15 minutes later when Ben Rowbotham was handed a red card for an ugly tackle on Ryan inside the penalty box.
But Ryan had the last laugh as he slotted the ball past Morales for his second goal.
Despite putting up a valiant fight in the first half, Knox shot itself in the foot in the second when it had to play with nine men after Andres Jerez was also ordered from the ground with a red card.
As Comets coach Doug Chisholm said, from that moment reaching double figures “was not out of the equation”.
“We just had so many chances after the second red card,” Chisholm said.
“There was a time where I realistically thought we could have got to double figures.”
Since arriving at Casey this month after struggling to get a game with Premier League side Dandenong Thunder, Bujar Thaqi has inspired the Comets to consecutive wins and was best on field “by a mile” on Saturday.
Thaqi, who scored his first goal for the club on Saturday, has been a “burst of energy and quality” for Casey and is proving to be a devastating facilitator when going forward.
Stefan Ciccarelli has also been a welcomed inclusion into the side.
After not playing a game this season because of injury and travel, Ciccarrelli has slotted seamlessly into the defence and since his inclusion three weeks ago the Comets have not lost.
“He brings a lot of confidence and quality to the back line and he has been a big reason behind our wins,” Chisholm said.
The Comets travel to Morwell this week to take on Pegasus, who had a 1-0 victory over Casey at the start of the year.
In Division Two, Doveton enjoyed a 4-2 win over Frankston Pines at Waratah Reserve, while the up and down Berwick City were overrun 2-1 by Waverley Wanderers at Carlson Avenue Reserve.
While in the Provisional Leagues, Endeavour United produced its best game of the season, downing Casey Kings 6-2 at Reema Reserve.
United were in control from the start, bagging four goals to half time before doing enough in the second half to see out the match.