Comets burn out

THE Casey Comets had their second men’s state league division one loss under coach Dale White and seventh overall as they went down to Coburg United 2-0 at Comets Stadium on Saturday.
The president’s lunch proved to be the only highpoint of the day for the Comets as guest Paul Trimboli delighted the guests with his insight into his time with the Socceroos national squad.
The first half proved to be a dull affair, with only the Comets’ backline of Anthony Ciccarelli, Troy Williams and Ben Cullen keeping the hungry Coburg forwards at bay.
The second half started off with a bang when, after a fine move, Serlean Oksul capitalised on a defensive mix-up and swept the ball past Robbie Acs in Casey’s goal.
The Comets battled to get back into the game, but the Coburg midfield was too slick and hard running for Mark Cleeland and new signing Hugo Sena, who had not played for a few weeks and was substituted.
David Terek came on and played as an attacking midfielder, a position he is more suited to.
With Casey getting back into the game, it was dealt a killer blow when Coburg’s Paul Wilson combined with Nick Harrhy and knocked it into the path of Turhan Sumbul, who buried it into the Comets’ net.
The introduction of Ali Osman and Chris McKenna did little to change the run of play, as Coburg seemed to go up a gear and was not content to sit on its comfortable lead.
The game slipped away from Casey and Coburg ran out worthy winners.
The Comets play fourth-placed St Albans at Churchill Reserve on Sunday.
The under-21s lost 2-0 to top-of-the-table Coburg and were unlucky on the day.
Coach Herbie Washington was pleased with his squad’s effort as the same team thrashed it 6-1 in the opening round.
The team has come a long way and will be a stronger force next season as most of the squad can still play in the 16s and 18s.