Draw leaves Casey cold- Casey goal scorer Jarryd Barnes added some flair up front for the Casey Comets in their 2-2 draw with Southern Stars. 51917

By Gavin Staindl
THE Casey Comets trudged from Comets Stadium heartbroken after a win against the undefeated Southern Stars was snatched from their grasp in the last minute.
The incredible Division Two hit-out climaxed in the 96th minute when Stars forward Mark Newsome scored to level the game at 2-2.
“I was absolutely gutted,” Casey coach Doug Chisholm said.
“I was gutted for the players, we had worked so hard on defence in training and had planned for this game for weeks,” he said.
Such was the impact of the result that Chisholm struck a lone figure in the reserve’s change rooms after the game as assistant coach George Hughes addressed the players.
“It is the most disappointed I’ve been for years and we didn’t even lose.
“Before the game the club put on a late breakfast and rather than arriving at the ground at 1.30 we were there at 10.30.
“Everyone was there and we just went over a few things to prepare,” Chisholm said.
Casey controlled the first half due to a wild wind that had even the strongest of goal kickers struggling to kick over halfway.
But the Comets could not capitalise on the conditions and after half time they began resorting to clearing kicks as the main avenue out of defence.
As the Stars pushed numbers forward, Farat Murluria got onto the end of a long kick out of defence and scurried down the left side before sending a cross into Jarryd Barnes who tapped it in for the first goal.
The Stars responded approximately five minutes before injury time when Noel Fox slipped a ball over Barnes’ head and planted his 18-metre volley past the diving keeper.
The game took another turn when Casey’s Anthony Cicciarelli rose above the defence and headed in what looked to be the winner in the 93rd minute only to have Stars’ forward Mark Newsome level the scores again from close range.
The tension was felt on the Casey bench when Stars midfielder Alan Mulcahy gave Casey coach Hughes some lip service after their first goal, only to be on the receiving end from Hughes when Casey scored shortly after.
But rather than using the Stars second goal to abuse the coach again, Mulcahy wrapped Hughes up in a hug that perfectly described the exhaustive emotion running through both camps. Berwick City had a similar game to the Comets and in doing so snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 2-2 draw against Morwell at Ronald Reserve.
Doveton remains a point clear on top of the Provisional One league ladder after downing Dandenong Sparrows 4-2 at Waratah Reserve. In Provisional Two, Endeavour has finished level at 2-2 with Old Carey at Reema Reserve while Berwick Kings were beaten 1-0 to Old Brighton Grammarians at Betula Park.