Comets cruise to victory

By Ben Hope
IF THE Casey Comets lost any momentum after its second round bye in the women’s premier league, the scores from Sunday’s clash with Altona City didn’t show it.
But despite the 2-0 win Comets coach Debbie Nichols said her team seemed a little flat on the field and were lucky Altona City didn’t come back in the final 20 minutes.
“It wasn’t our greatest performance but at the end of the day we got the win and the three points to keep us in the top four on the ladder,” Nichols said.
“I think we were a little flat after last week’s bye and the storm on Tuesday night that prevented us from training.”
With midfielder Natalie Aramian and Nicola Prins both out of the game the Comets knew they had to work hard to stay ahead.
Irish championship league player Caroline McEvoy scored the first goal of the match for the Comets in the 14th minute thanks to a cross from Lisa Cloke. Despite a tough attack Altona was unable to reply before half time leaving the score at 1-0.
“McEvoy played with our club five years ago for a few years before moving back to Ireland. She is over here for eight weeks with the view to come back next season,” Nichols said.
“It has been great to utilise her experience in the championships league as an older head to help our younger players.”
After the break Altona renewed the pressure on the Comets but the home team held the score until a penalty from Melissa Atherton sealed Altona’s fate in the 54th minute.
“The penalty killed the game off although Altona came back in the last 15 minutes,” Nichols said.
“We knew they would come at us and we were lucky they didn’t get a goal.”
With their second win of the season the Comets proved they are serious finals contenders and will now face ladder-leader Sandringham on Monday. Playing with a full team the Comets will have a chance at taking the lead in the competition.
“It will be a difficult game but we have the incentive of playing for the top spot,” Nichols said.
“If we lose we will be four points behind the lead and we don’t want Sandringham to get away from us.”
In the reserves Casey picked up another three points with a 3-1 win over Altona City. The win kept the Comets in the top four, only one point behind ladder-leaders Heidelberg.