Right: Laura Croft helped the Comets to a short-lived lead in the second half.
THE Casey Comets women are facing serious consistency issues after losing 2-3 to the lowly placed Premier League side South Melbourne.
Casey bounded into Sunday’s match at Comets Stadium in season-best form after beating league-leaders Bendigo and Box Hill on the road.
Enjoying the comfort of their first home game in a month, Casey created plenty of opportunities to score in the first half but was locked at 0-0.
The Comets struck first in the 55th minute from a free kick but lost the lead when South Melbourne responded five minutes later.
Midfielder Bec Sherry worked well with Nicola Prins who created plenty of chances but could not find the back of the net.
Casey went up again in the 65th minute when Sherry scored from another set piece only to have her team’s defence allow the visitors to level the score one minute later.
“We lacked concentration. We would score then let our opponents sneak in behind us and that is where we were most vulnerable,” step-in coach Glen Bristow said.
Bristow, who stepped in for Debbie Nichols as coach while she enjoys a stint overseas, said that the girls switched off after scoring goals and made it easy for their opponents to counter-attack.
The visitors scored the winner with 10 minutes remaining and the loss has not only kept the Comets outside the top five but has raised doubts over their week-to-week consistency.
After winning the first two games of the season, the Comets lost three in a row before stringing together two wins against two top sides.
But the latest defeat reaffirms there is still plenty of work that needs doing at Comets Stadium.
“At training we’ll work on our defensive pressure and getting back behind the ball,” Bristow said.
“If we’re serious about reaching the top four then we can’t go about beating top four sides then losing to the bottom sides.”
While the Comets fought out their postponed round three catch-up match against South Melbourne, the rest of the local teams enjoyed the long weekend break without any games.
The Comets men Division Two side sits evenly placed in sixth position with a game this week that could determine which direction the season will turn.
Casey plays Doncaster Rovers who sit only two places behind the Comets. A win or a loss could significantly shift the Comets up or down the ladder.
Berwick City meanwhile, is fighting just to stay alive.
After a string of losses it sits second last and is tipped to lose its seventh straight match this week against Diamond Valley.
The team that was promoted from Division Three last year has won only one game this season and sits two points behind Frankston in the drop zone.
The Berwick Kings are also delicately poised on the Provisional Two ladder.
The Kings are only one point clear of the drop zone and, with a game against top-of-the-table Ashburton, it appears unlikely the Kings will be able to improve on their position.
The Kings will also rely on Endeavour United to beat last-placed Caulfield Cobras.
A win to the Cobras will move them above Berwick, but if Endeavour can claim three points it will potentially advance into the top two.
In Provisional League One Doveton will play Monbulk. A loss will put it in 10th position while a win could advance the Doves five positions into fourth.
