Comets coach in the sin bin

By Gavin Staindl
AFTER two wins this week, the Casey Comets are on top of the Women’s Premier League for the first time in a year, but their rise to the top has been overshadowed by the suspension of coach Ian Williamson.
Williamson has been suspended for two weeks and will have to pay $1500 after he was ordered from the pitch during Wednesday night’s 5-1 win over the Emerging Athlete Programme at John Cain Memorial Reserve.
Williamson was given his marching orders by the referee early in the second half after disputing a call that prevented star striker Nicola Prins, from a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Headed for the 18-yard box, Prins was fouled from behind by the EAP’s last defender and despite receiving the free kick, the defender was not sent off.
Williamson was stunned by the refusal not to give a red-card for a rule that is black and white.
“If you get fouled by the last defender then it is a red card,” Williamson said.
“It has been reported that I abused her (the referee) but I didn’t. I am a very vocal person towards my players but I never abuse the referees. But now I get fined $1500 and penalised for two weeks because her call was totally wrong.”
Williamson’s evictions sparked his girls, and Casey rattled off three goals in fifteen minutes to bury the EAP.
The Comets returned to the pitch on Monday night where they caused a 1-0 upset over Sandringham at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex to take outright lead on the Premier League ladder.
The Comets surprised Sandringham with an all-out attack for the first half where they managed to snatch an early lead, before defending hard for the second half.
It was a game plan that Williamson asked his girls to play.
“Earlier in the year we played Sandy (Sandringham) in a practise match and our girls had been training very hard in the lead up to that game so we just played defensively the whole time … so I think we caught them off guard (on Monday) when we came out attacking,” Williamson said.
“I was hoping we could pinch an early lead then we would change our system and shut-up shop, which we did.
“I think we surprised them with our speed and pressure and confidence.”
Monday’s game was also the first time the coaching panel could catch a glimpse of debutant Annika Lenz.
The German-import, who played in the highest league in Berlin, hadn’t played for a few months so only saw 45 minutes of game time, but from all reports the technically-sound midfielder will be an important asset for Casey.