Casey Comets striker Lisa Cloke, right, battles for possession with her Heidelberg United opponent in their clash at Comets Stadium on Sunday.By Marc McGowan
THE Casey Comets finally found the back of the net, but still succumbed 4-2 to Heidelberg United in Women’s Premier League action at Comets Stadium on Sunday.
In a sometimes spiteful contest, Heidelberg United dominated the early going, with Melanie Camilleri and Gabbie Angelucci both hitting the crossbar.
Their strong play was eventually rewarded when Lucy Balta chipped the ball over Comets goalkeeper Alice Ryan for the game opener.
Balta’s presence continued to grow and only minutes later – under little pressure – she sent a deep cross into the box that team-mate Chrissy Bayendale headed home.
Similar to the week before, Casey looked in danger of being thrashed before managing a quality run through the midfield.
Leigh Terek stormed through the middle of the ground then passed to the Comets’ teenage striker Lisa Cloke.
Some fancy footwork from Cloke beat her opponent and she then fired a pass to Linda Restrepo, who scored Casey’s first goal of the match and the season.
But just as the Comets looked like they were working their way into the encounter, Heidelberg United charged forward.
Ryan blocked out a Jamara Maza header, but Balta swooped to restore her side’s two-goal break just on half-time.
Trailing 3-1 at the main break, Casey did not give up hope and a second Restrepo goal in the second half gave her team a chance of gaining something from the game.
Once again a lacklustre effort in defence let the Comets down, as Bayendale became the third player on the day to score a brace to put Heidelberg United 4-2 ahead.
Tempers began to flare, particularly between Cloke – who was given a yellow card for a wayward tackle in the first half – and Heidelberg United defender Angie Rassias.
Ultimately, Casey coach Deborah Nichols ended up pulling Cloke from the fixture to prevent her from picking up a red card, which was looking increasingly likely.
“Good players get wound up and Lisa needs to learn to deal with that,” Nichols said. “I had to substitute her to stop her from being sent off and we weren’t able to use her for the last 15 minutes, which let the side down, and it’s something she needs to work on to become a successful player.”
The Comets lifted their tempo as the minutes continued to tick over, but Heidelberg United proved too good.
“It’s disappointing because at 3-2 we had a roll on and I thought we’d get something out of the game – it’s disappointing the way we allowed the goals,” Nichols said.
“We didn’t defend the four goals well.
“Again, there were two from set pieces, but also in one of the others we didn’t pressure the player on the ball and defensively all over the ground we were poor.”
Casey’s reserves squad also remains winless after a 5-1 thumping against Heidelberg United in the curtain raiser on Sunday.
The senior Comets play Eltham North at Anderson Park in Doncaster East on Saturday at 3pm, with the reserves on beforehand at 1pm.
