By JARROD POTTER
WNPL – ROUND 17
IN the cross-town showdown between Southern and Bayside, to the late surging Southern went the 2-1 victory spoils.
Bringing the WNPL to Casey Comets’ home venue at O’Tooles Road, the Southern strike-force took a while to get going, but once up and running there was nothing the Baysiders could do.
With midfielder/striker Tiffany Eliadis on the sidelines – for last week’s red card – it left Stuart Munro to rearrange the roster and figure out the best attack.
He settled on Brittany Dudley-Smith and Saphri Lines at the front and those front two impressed greatly.
Southern almost struck first, with Dudley-Smith getting around the keeper, but she was unable to straighten up and finish the job past the last defender.
From that immediate opportunity, Southern went on the back-foot as they were dudded by former Casey Comets youngster Jaymee Dudley (8′) in the first few minutes, but from there Bayside squandered its chances.
Southern’s young keeper Celia Kelsall wouldn’t be bested again for the afternoon as she clamped down with the help of the centre backs Natasha Dakic and Anouk Meereboer.
The second half ebbed and flowed similarly before Southern launched its dying-stages attack.
Saphri Lines (70’) opened the accounts for Southern before the finishing blow came on the verge of the final whistle as Dudley-Smith (92’) helped the side eke out its second win of the season.
Southern starts its last month of the maiden WNPL season on Sunday when it hosts Alamein FC at Comets Stadium.
In the state leagues, Berwick City made light work of Skye United with a 6-0 drubbing via a Kelsey Minton (1’, 47’, 61’, 70’) double-hat trick as well as goals to Emily Rizkallah (65’) and Ellie Priest (89’). Casey Comets knocked over Whitehorse United 3-1, Dandenong City bested East Bentleigh 5-0 and Casey Panthers had a 0-4 loss to Mazenod.
