Inter v Naracoorte United
Inter came away with another big win on Sunday as Naracoorte United travelled to Casadio Park.
Despite Inter missing main goal scorer Matt Bueti it did not stop them putting the ball in the back of the net as another Bueti stepped up in his absence.
It did not take long for Sam Bueti to get the game going as he scored the opening goal in the first couple of minutes, followed shortly by Henry Haywood who added to Inter’s lead with another.
After the fast start Naracoorte did well to slow down the bleeding for a bit after a rough few minutes.
Naracoorte’s unlucky streak continued halfway through the first half as Murtaza Jafary scored an own goal to give Inter a three goal lead.
Despite the lead, Inter continued to apply the pressure as captain Christian Cella found the back of the net to give the home team a four goal lead.
Bueti added to his goal tally with another one with not a lot of time left in the half, capping off his elite first half performance with a third to secure his first half hat trick.
At half time Inter held a six goal lead.
Naracoorte put up a much better performance in the second half, doing well to slow the black and blue.
Late in the half Inter finally broke down United’s defence as Cella scored his second goal for the day.
With little time left Naracoorte was able to string together some good passages of play and came away with a positive as Lauren Smart scored United’s lone goal for the day.
Inter defeated Naracoorte United 7-1.
Gambier Centrals v Apollo
Apollo headed to MGA Park on Sunday and came away with the three points in a thriller against Centrals.
Early in the first half Apollo started strong, scoring two goals with Billy Pearce and Tobbei Kennett doing the damage to give Apollo a two goal lead.
Determined not to be outdone, Lewis March swung into action and got Centrals on the board with a goal.
Apollo worked hard in the back end of the first half as Pa Lah found the back of the net to get Apollo back to their two goal lead.
Despite their best defensive efforts, Centrals went three down as Perace scored another goal for Apollo heading into halftime.
Centrals’ intensity lifted in the second half as they dominated the play and worked hard to erase their mistakes from the first stanza.
Halfway through the period Centrals found some hope as Jake Blackwell scored to cut the lead to two goals.
Centrals continued to apply pressure to Apollo’s defence as they battled hard to come away with some points.
Their determination paid off when Matthew Porter scored a goal in the back end of the half to bring it back to a one score game.
Centrals had a few shots late in the half but just could not convert as Apollo stood strong in the dying moments of the game and took the win.
Apollo V Centrals
Apollo coach James Stephenson was pleased with his side’s result and highlighted how important it was to take points off the top four teams.
“I was really, really happy, it’s been a tough year, I think the top four teams are all very even, on their day and any team can win, we have had some games against Blue Lake and Inter where we have been two goals up and we have conceded for whatever reasons,” he said.
“Sunday’s result was really pleasing because in the first half we showed that we can beat anybody.
“We got to 4-1 at half time and obviously Centrals came back and made it 4-3 and made it a real challenge but the pleasing thing for the club is that in our last two games we have let those two goal leads slip and we fought to the end to get that result so it’s really pleasing on that side of it.”
