Ashburton have launched six rockets to dismantle Casey Comets at Markham Reserve on Saturday.
In-form striker Laura Spiranovic led the line with a brace, while the Comets were severely hampered by three players having to leave the pitch with injury.
On a windy day that reminded all of winter’s impending arrival, Ashburton United and Casey Comets strolled out onto Markham Reserve for the round 10 clash.
Aiming to step up early, Casey opened the game quickly by pushing up close to the Ashburton goal, but the home side countered quickly, sending Fede Frew and Melina Ayres in on Alyse Brusamarello’s goal.
Casey weren’t prepared to give up easily as Amy Radford moved from point to point along the defensive line to keep the home side at bay where possible.
It wasn’t enough to deny Ashburton striking early in the piece, with captain Christine Pfieffer heading home a corner by Ayres to lift the home side off the mark.
Following on from the first goal, Alyssia Blewonski brought in the second within a minute of the restart, her low shot fumbled over the line by Brusamarello to push the hosts further behind.
Two team goals clearly weren’t enough for ex-Victory striker Laura Spiranovic, who ran onto a deft pass through the defence by Georgia Cloepfil and sent the ball past Brusamarello to make it three on the scoresheet for Ashburton.
Casey’s day got worse following a heavy collision between teammates Melissa Kirby and Radford as they ran for the ball, with both receiving medical attention and substituted after only half an hour.
It was a huge loss as both players had been working hard up until that point, with their departures certainly not aiding the visitors’ cause.
The remaining 15 minutes saw the fresh legs for the Comets help them push back against the home side, making space with support from the backline.
Rachel Binning and Harriet Cordner were finding a good pace, but the half finished with the 3-0 scoreline still intact.
After the break, Comets coach Ian Williamson finished emptying the bench, and with the vistors kicking downwind the opening movement put some pressure on Ashburton Keeper Mellissa Maizels.
Substitute Antonia Miteros was running hard up front, with defender Binning also moving forward to try catch the home side out.
Any sniff of fairytale comeback was scuppered by Spiranovic, who secured her brace and Ashbuton’s fourth goal by sending a bullet into the back of the net after Melina Ayres’ pinpoint pass.
Casey settled back into damage control as Ashburton brought on substitutions, with coach Sinisa Cohadzic using the last 20 minutes to give game time to his remaining players.
Victory stalwart Emma Checker added to her impressive game by running forward with the ball and passing off to goalscorer Spiranovic, who cut back to substitute Azize Erenli, repaying the faith by slotting home a deft shot out of Brusamarello’s reach into the top corner.
With just over ten minutes to go, the game was halted when Holly Richardson was tended to on one side of the pitch, while halfway up the other end, Miteros was also receiving treatment for a suspected ankle injury.
Whilst Richardson indicated that she was fine, Miteros had to be carried off, and with no substitutions left, Casey were forced to drop to 10 players on the park.
In the remaining moments of the match, Spiranovic returned an earlier favour to Cloepfil by cutting back an assist to the winger, who got on the scoresheet and sealed the contest with the team’s sixth goal.
When the referee whistled for full time, Ashburton walked off the pitch satisfied with a very strong performance, closing off almost all of Casey’s opportunities, leaving Maizels with little to worry about and allowing their defenders to easily feed into the midfield.
Casey, on the other hand, were left ruing the loss of the advantage of the bench. Losing three players to injury in a single game had a devastating effect on the visitors, but all three seemed to indicate not to have any lasting damage afterwards.
Photos: Adrian Shaw
***
Ashburton United 6 (Pfeiffer 14′, Blewonski 14′, Spiranovic 21′ 54′, Erenli 71′, Cloepfil 89′ ) defeated Casey Comets 0 at Markham Reserve [HT: 3-0]
Ashburton United: 20. Alyssia Blewonski (16. Rachel Jarvis 68′), 14. Christine Pfeiffer (C), 15. Emma Checker, 11. Fede Frew (13. Azize Erenli 64′), 18. Georgia Cloepfil, 3. Holly Richardson, 21. Laura Spiranovic, 2. Maria Patrikis (10. Julia Skowronska 60′), 9. Melina Ayres (12. Amy Malander 72′), 1. Melissa Maizels, 19. Olivia Edwards (6. Rebecca Saber 72′)
Unused Substitutes: Nil
Yellows: Nil
Reds: Nil
Casey Comets: 10. Amy Radford (15. Arman Fazlic 29′), 14. Anouk Meerebour, 1. Alyse Brusamarello, 12. Harriet Cordner, 16. Katrina Avila, 3. Laura Croft, 5. Melissa Kirby (2. Antonia Miteros 29′), 6. Rachel Binning, 11. Sharnoah Hurley, 8. Shaunna Murray, 7. Sheridan Dudley (31. Marina Markis 45′)
Unused Substitutes: Nil
Yellows: Nil
Reds: Nil