Centrals v Apollo
Round seven of the Barry Maney Group Limestone Coast Women’s Premier League saw Centrals secure its first win of the season in an upset 1-2 win against Millicent in Millicent.
The side had been looking better each week and finally culminated in an impressive win.
Centrals now find themselves only four points from the top four and suddenly its season is still very much alive.
However now the team faces the incredibly hard task of beating an Apollo side that is starting to look a class above.
Apollo sits first having won six straight games, having not dropped a point since their round one defeat to the reigning premiers Blue Lake.
Now three points clear on top with Blue Lake hot on its tail Apollo will know it has to put Centrals away and claim all three points as the pointy end of the season approaches.
Apollo will be confident they have the players to do exactly that with some exceptional performances in previous weeks.
One such performance came from Deni Atkin last round, where she netted four goals against Naracoorte.
Centrals’ defenders will have to be on the lookout for Atkin as she has proved a handful this season leading the league goal scorers with 11 goals from seven games.
She is a crucial part of Apollo’s success and shutting her down could help give Centrals an advantage.
International v Millicent
International has been in poor form of late and will be hoping to turn it around sooner rather than later.
The side found themselves top of the table after three rounds and undefeated, since then they have failed to win a game and only taken one point from a possible 12.
The team in black and blue sits third having continued to slip down the ladder after going down 3-2 to Blue Lake, after being 0-2 up at half time.
The team it faces to get its season back on track is Millicent who is coming off a disappointing loss.
Millicent currently sits fourth and hosted a winless Centrals team, Centrals were able to come from 1-0 down to claim a 1-2 win and closing the gap between them and Millicent.
Now Millicent has only got four points on Centrals meaning it must start to get some points on the board heading into the second half of the season.
The winner will claim third spot for the end of the round however the loser will have an improved Centrals team breathing down its neck.
Lana Shepherd had been in excellent form early in the season for Millicent, she sits second for goal scorers in the league and if Millicent can get the ball to her feet it could go a long way to getting Millicent the three points.
It’s sure to be an exciting match between third and fourth, when International hosts Millicent.
Naracoorte v Blue Lake
Blue Lake has been charging towards a top two spot after a slow start to its title defence season.
Since the side’s disappointing 5-1 loss to Millicent it has won three straight games including getting revenge on Millicent.
And after coming back from 2-0 down to win the last round against International, Blue Lake will be full of belief that it can claim the three points no matter the situation.
Now the reigning premiers will take on Naracoorte, the only side in the league yet to win a game.
Naracoorte had looked improved before its 4-0 loss to Apollo in round seven, the yellow and black had gone for three straight draws including one against International away from home.
But a draw is not enough and if the side wishes to avoid the wooden spoon then it must string a couple wins together.
This game may be the perfect opportunity for Naracoorte, if Blue Lake takes them for easy beats then it could leap out of the gates, surprising its opposition and claiming an early lead.
It will be an extremely tough challenge though as in the Blue Lake 5-1 loss to Millicent its defence has found improvement, only conceding three goals in three weeks.
