Everything new is old again

By Gavin Staindl
IT was a new-look Casey team that made its way out of the Comets changeroom for their first home game against Heidelberg, but once on the field, a sense of familiarity reverberated around Comets Stadium.
Although many of the newly signed Comet players wouldn’t recognise the faces of their Premier League opponents, long-time Casey followers would have identified them in an instant.
Jenny Black, Emma Bracken and TaliaSilivestros are three well-known Casey figures who this year made the switch to the Bergers where they led their team to an emotional 3-1 away win at their old home.
It was pure coincidence that the young Comet side was scheduled to play their first home match against the defected stalwarts of a bygone era, but for the first hour, the Ian Williamson-led Casey team impressed in staking their claim as the next generation of Comets.
“We were very competitive for the majority of the match, and we had enough chances to take a lead,” Williams said.
“We played in front of a big crowd and they left the match comfortable knowing that our new team would be competitive this year.”
After a strong half, the Comets gave up two goals in the space of five minutes.
The home team entered the half-time break trailing by a goal after a dubious penalty was awarded to Heidelberg during injury time.
Two minutes after resuming the second half, they found themselves down 2-0.
But aside from a five-minute lapse in concentration and a sloppy end to the match, the Comets can take many positives out of the game.
“We showed that we can stand up and show we belong at this level,” Williamson said.
“If we had taken our chances in front of goal the game would have been different, but they (Heidelberg) are the benchmark of our league and I think our defence really stood up to them.”