Cloke assault secures Comets win

By Marc McGowan
A LISA Cloke brace in the opening seven minutes helped the Casey Comets register a 4-1 thumping of the Bendigo Vipers at Comets Stadium on Sunday.
The emphatic victory capped the Comets’ resurgence in the past three weeks after conceding 14 goals in losing the season’s first four matches.
Two wins and a draw have moved Casey into seventh place on the Women’s Premier League table.
The Comets looked a completely different side on the weekend to the team that began 2008, moving the ball freely through the midfield and defending stoutly.
The opener came after just four minutes when Cloke received a pass before burning off her opponent to calmly slot the ball past Vipers goalkeeper Kathryn Ibbotson.
The red-headed striker was at it again three minutes later, breaking into space and smashing the ball home from the right to give Casey a 2-0 advantage.
While Leigh Terek, Rachel Lamb and Cloke had further unsuccessful shots on goal, Comets goalkeeper Emma Bracken had little to do at the other end.
But not satisfied with her brilliant start to the contest, Cloke chipped a perfect pass for Terek to run onto in the 22nd minute and the veteran expertly stuck the ball in the bottom left corner of the net.
Just two minutes later, against the run of play, Bendigo’s Emily Leversha blasted a shot at goal, only for Angela Foley to finish off her work from close range.
The game evened out from that point on, with beanpole Vipers defender Maika Ruyter-Hooley standing firm on the last line of defence.
Bendigo went on the attack after half-time, but was unable to seriously trouble Bracken.
The momentum began to turn back to Casey midway into the second half as Lamb and Cloke both had attempts on goal.
Foley tried valiantly to keep the Vipers in the contest, twice outrunning Vanessa Hellar before being denied by Bracken.
Terek, too, had another great chance, but it was Cloke’s partner-in-crime Marcie Algeria who finally sealed the result, putting the ball past Ibbotson in the 77th minute.
Algeria was impressive all afternoon, using her superior tackling and ball skills to win numerous one-on-one clashes.
The Comets’ reserves side also nabbed maximum points, beating Bendigo 2-1 for its second triumph of the season.
Casey heads back on the road on Saturday to lock horns with the Eastern Lions.
The reserves are on at 1pm before the seniors take to the field at 3pm.