Cougars come back with a vengeance

Elijah Gamaeu played his role expertly in Pakenham United's 3-0 triumph over Casey Panthers. 155846 Pictures: ROB CAREW

By JARROD POTTER

FFV STATE LEAGUE 5 SOUTH – ROUND 13
THEY did it.
After three months of near misses, obliterations and disappointing fade-outs – Pakenham United claimed victory for the first time in the State Leagues.
Taking its first senior triumph since Sunday 6 September 2015 – its penalty shootout win over FC Strathmore in the Metropolitan 2 League final – the 293-day dry-spell was broken emphatically with a 3-0 rout of neighbouring Casey Panthers.
It started from the back as Elijah Gamaeu, Jarrod Reynolds, Alex Herrera and Louis Hatfield kept the Panthers in no-man’s land and without a decent strike to show for their efforts.
After a heated first half, the Panthers were forced to go one-man down after a player received two yellows, leaving the match even more primed for the Pakenham taking.
The youthful forward half started to cash in early for the Cougars as Joe Priest loaded up. The 17-year-old striker curled a free kick in to the back of the net approaching the half to push the Cougars ahead 1-0 and celebrate not only his first senior goal, but also the first signs of Pakenham’s stellar Saturday to come.
Michael Phillip – getting on the end of a brilliant through ball – doubled the lead at the hour-mark to give Pakenham United a virtually unassailable lead against the flat-lining Panthers.
The relentless run down either wing from Patrick Nolan and Hatfield kept the tempo up and the Cougars were able to cash in once again to make the celebrations that little bit sweeter after nearly a year without a win.
Liam Mcafferty sealed the deal as he found Hatfield, who finished the job with a cannoned ball thumped into the top corner to complete the three-goal whitewash.
“There was a sense of relief for everyone, just making sure we got the win and the three points, but getting together at the end of the game and really celebrating that as a team was just fantastic,” Pakenham United coach Wayne Schembri said. “It does wonders for us because we know we’re a better team than what the ladder position tells us – out of 11 games we’ve got one win, six draws and four losses … so we’ve got some good results and haven’t lost in over a month now.
“I’m just really proud of the boys and effort – we’ve been building character and resilience for most of the year now and hopefully we can start translating that into a few more wins for the club.”
It gave the Ballarto Road boys plenty to celebrate as the reserves defeated Casey 7-0; the club’s first double-win weekend since joining the state ranks.
Pakenham United hosts East Bentleigh – an eighth versus ninth battle – in a fortnight with hopes high of continuing the strong form.
The Shire had one more monster win – Bunyip District’s 12-0 rout of Riversdale SC.