Casey Comets midfielder Melissa Atherton starred for her side in its 2-0 loss to Preston at B.T. Connor Reserve on Sunday.By Marc McGowan
ONLY hours after returning from overseas on Sunday, Casey Comets coach Deborah Nichols was thrust back into action against bitter rival Preston at B.T. Connor Reserve.
But Nichols’ goalkeeping appearance was not enough to stop the Comets from going down 2-0 to the Lions.
Number-one goalkeeper Emma Bracken entered the Women’s Premier League contest under an injury cloud and succumbed to her right calf injury in the 22nd minute.
By that time, Preston had already gone ahead through Petra Van Egmond, who was left unmarked at the top of the box before thundering the ball past the clearly struggling Bracken.
Little separated the sides up to half-time with neither team looking likely to add to their tally in the few chances they produced.
The Comets received a boost on resumption when star striker Lisa Cloke arrived from playing a match for Haileybury College, where she is a scholarship holder.
Cloke replaced Danielle Lawrence, who had joined 14-year-old debutante Marisa Sipcic in a new-look starting line-up.
Sipcic played 30 minutes in the reserves before being a late call-up after first-team regular Marcie Algeria pulled out due to illness.
Rachel Lamb was also unavailable again.
The injection of the hard-working Cloke boosted Casey, but it was the Lions who struck early in the second half.
The Comets lost possession in their attacking third of the ground and Preston’s counter attack caught Casey’s defenders napping.
Peta Lipec received the lobbed pass and forced a one on one with Nichols before smashing the ball into the left-hand corner of the net in the 59th minute.
That score proved enough as the Comets failed to penetrate the Lions’ defence.
Melissa Atherton dominated in the midfield, receiving strong support from Jeni Black and Leigh Terek, who became more prominent the longer the game went on.
Despite losing for the first time in six weeks, Nichols was impressed with her players’ improvement since she left.
“Obviously our confidence is back up and the work they’ve been doing on their passing and movement has been terrific,” she said.
“The fact we were pushing for a top-five position on Sunday was quite amazing considering where we were at six weeks ago.
“We’ve certainly eased our first fear of relegation.”
Nichols praised Sipcic for her first-up performance in difficult conditions.
“It’s not the best place to make your debut with the history we have with Preston,” she said.
“We don’t like each other very much and there are a lot of verbals, so for her to only be 14 and do as well as she did was terrific.
“History continued and there were a few chests to chests and a couple of yellow cards (to the Lions) – nothing changes.”
Casey’s reserves side won 2-0 over Preston in the earlier outing.
The Women’s Premier League has the weekend off, with the visiting Beijing Soccer Club scheduled for two clashes against Victorian teams this week.
The Comets return to the pitch at 1pm on 8 June against heavyweight Ashburton at Comets Stadium.
