Comets come from behind

By Gavin Staindl
THE Casey Comets have retained first place on the Premier League table with an injury-time winning goal to substitute Danielle Lawrence.
Coach Ian Williamson demanded his bench players have more of an impact when entering the game, and on Sunday Lawrence did exactly that, leading her team to a 2-1 win over Ashburton at Ashburton Park.
The Comets went a goal down within the first 10 minutes, but Nicola Prins responded to level the match in the 31st minute.
In anxious moments for Casey, Prins and Natalie Grubic had multiple chances to put the Comets in front, but couldn’t capitalise on one-on-one opportunities. However, a spectacular strike by Lawrence in the 93rd minute ensured Casey remained the team to beat.
“We had a slow start but we got our act together and should have been 4-1 up at half time,” Williamson said.
“When you miss goals like we did, you start to think it’s just not going to be a good day, but Dani (Lawrence) did exactly what I asked of her during the week, and she scored a screamer. You need all 16 players to win these games and it came down to the strength of the bench and depth of quality players.”
And quality players are what Williamson has, with German import Annika Lenz playing her first game as a starter.
After coming off the bench in her debut match last week, Lenz started in the midfield on Sunday and her patience on the ball will be a strong attribute.