Box Hill United have banked three much needed points after travelling to Comets Stadium, defeating the Casey Comets 0-2 in a hard fought encounter.
Cristina Cardaci – in fine form over the past few weeks – led the forward line, a break from her traditional wing role, giving Box Hill a real burst of pace on the advance.
As both sides looked to settle into the contest with spells of possession, it was the home side with the first strong opportunity of the game.
Sharnoah Hurley fired in a fierce strike from a tight angle, which gave Box Hill’s Melissa Barbieri a strong position to deny Casey the opener.
Moments later it was Hurley again from the opposite side with a much better angle on goal.
Her strike curled and dipped almost perfectly into the back corner and would have snuck in behind Barbieri, but the crossbar could not be beaten.
Box Hill also saw plenty of possession in the first half, but could not find their way through Casey’s defence.
Cardaci summed up the ‘so close yet so far’ mood of the team, losing her footing as the ball arrived while rising above the pack to almost mark the ball inside the penalty area.
The full moon and clear skies gave the pitch that extra glow and helped the shivering crowd knuckle down for the second half as the Casey Comets had looked the more likely to score with the better looking chances.
However, it was Box Hill who took the lead mere seconds after the resumption of play.
A quick free-kick was earned just inside Box Hill’s attacking half and was sent into the area by Madelaine Richardson, and as both teams scrambled to win the ball, it fell to the feet of Elaina Vatcky who managed to squeeze it inside the post.
Antonia Niteros had a great chance to level the score on the restart of play, firing in a quality ball and forcing the save from Barbieri at the bottom corner.
It took until the 70th minute for Box Hill to break through again, Cardaci with the fast legs up the right side fired in at Casey’s Alyse Brusamarello, who couldn’t take it cleanly and Alexandra Amore pounced on the chance without wasting a second to give Box Hill the two goal lead.
Shaunna Murray fired in a beautiful curling shot after the restart, but was just a few inches off target, starting what would be a late run of strong pressure from the home side.
With five minutes to play, the manager really threw everything at the game, making a triple substitution, but even with the extra legs, Casey just could not break down the strong Box Hill defence that had stood tall all evening.
It was a very close encounter, a joy to watch that almost saw more goals than degrees Celsius on the night, with Casey Comets incredibly unfortunate not to find the net at least once.
Casey Comets 0 defeated by Box Hill United 2 (Vatcky 46’, Amore 70’) at Comets Stadium [HT: 0-0]
Casey Comets: 1. Alyse BRUSAMARELLO (GK), 16. Katrina AVILA, 6. Raelynn MIKELL, 4. Rachel BINNING, 14. Anouk MEEREBOER, 3. Laura CROFT, 12. Harriet CORDNER, 9. Mykaylin ROSENQUIST, 8. Shaunna MURRAY, 2. Antonia NITEROS, 11. Sharnoah HURLEY
SUBS: 10. Amy RADFORD, 7. Sheridan DUDLEY, 5. Melissa KIRBY, 13. Amani FAZLIC, 15. Chelsie SELLECK
Yellow Cards: Murray 37’
Red Cards: Nil
Box Hill United: 11. Melissa BARBIERI (GK), 13. Alexandra AMORE, 3. Penny BAKOPOULOS, 20. Cristina CARDACI, 19. Selena KARLSON, 14. Georgia KOUTROUVELIS, 10. Elise KYRGIOS, 4. Madelaine RICHARDSON, 9. Elaina VATCKY, 5. Sarah WALSH, 2. Renee ZAIRIS
SUBS: 6. Mellanie CAMILLERI, 12. Maia HEYSEN, 18. Annie REMMAN, 7. Hayley GEURTS, 15. Rachel TOOSE
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil