Comets coach still confident

By Gavin Staindl
THERE is no denying the Casey Comets are under-performing, but the coach insists his team can still do enough to make the finals – as long as the games are not played on a wet pitch.
The Comets were “sussed out” on Friday night as their passing and dribbling game was rendered ineffective on the choppy Wembley Park during the 2-1 loss to Box Hill.
Coach Ian Williamson admitted his girls were down on confidence, but he has faith they will return to the top flight soccer of two months ago which saw them lead the Victorian Women’s Premier League.
“Everyone wrote us off at the start of the season and we surprised everyone then,” Williamson said. “Now, everyone is writing us off again.
“We’ve been proving people wrong all year and this is definitely our biggest challenge … but don’t lose faith in us just yet.”
Buoyed by a large travelling crowd for Friday’s blockbuster, the Comets were promising early and looked destined to retain second place on the WPL ladder when Nicola Prins struck after 30 minutes.
Set-up by a forced turnover, Aimee Benton laid a rare grounded through ball to Prins who, with a touch of arrogance, played the ball through the legs of the keeper for the opening goal.
Box Hill goalkeeper, Melissa Barbieri, is the starting goalie and captain of the (Australian) Matildas and after falling to the colloquial “nutmeg”, it’s little wonder Barbieri refused to concede another goal.
Not only were the Comets shut out for the final hour, but they didn’t look like scoring.
After scoring their only goal, Casey managed just three more shots on goal, while their opponents put up 14, two of which found the back of the net.
A frustrated Williamson said his side needed to be better when going forward.
“We have no linkage going forward,” Williamson said.
“When we come across a pitch that is chopped up like this one (Wembley Park), our passes don’t go where we want them to go and we can’t dribble the ball … we need a dry pitch.
“But the pleasing thing is a lot of our players can play a lot better than they have in the last month and you’ll now start to see that.”
Casey hosts Altona on Sunday, who despite beating the Comets earlier in the year, are fighting a battle to avoid relegation.