Round nine produced a weekend of upsets in the Victorian Womens Premier League (WPL) with Casey Comets slaying Box Hill Inter at Wembley Park on Friday night then South Melbourne grabbing their first win of the season defeating the in-form Ashburton.
Heidelberg’s good form continues with a 4-1 victory over Preston with goal sneak Melanie Camilleri contributing two goals while, Bendigo and Altona shared the spoils with a one-all draw.
The Comets 2-1 win at Wembley Park on Friday night was almost a year to the day when they defeated Box Hill in 2009 to end the reigning premiers four-year unbeaten run at home.
The Comets have form at Wembley Park, having not lost there in five years.
The first half had all the action as both teams found the target. Inter’s goal coming courtesy of the powerful Kat Smith while Caroline McEvoy and 
Nicola Prins both contributed for Casey.
Despite suffering its first loss for 2010 Box Hill retain top position in the WPL, however its a worrying sign for Inter, which is stacked with Melbourne Victory players, which only managed draws against Bendigo and Sandringham in recent weeks.
The young Casey team on the other hand will take confidence from the big win, their fourth of the year, which see them knocking on the door of the top four.
Ashburton missed out on the chance to regain top position in the WPL when South Melbourne managed their first win of the year with a sweet 2-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at McIvor Reserve.
Two former Asburton players did the damage for South Melbourne after a scoreless first half.
After finishing third in the league in 2009, South Melbourne has suffered a spectacular fall from grace in 2010, remaining at the bottom of the table despite the weekends win.
Assistance coach of South Melbourne, Matt Shaw, said it was a relief to finally be ‘off the mark’ and get the clubs first win of the season.
“We’ve been working hard on the game plan and working hard to get the results,” he said.
Shaw attributed his teams win to commitment to the ball and quality defending, and praised the contribution of Laura Spiranovic. who didn’t score but put significant pressure on Ashburton’s defence.
“The challenge now is to improve the aspects of the game we have been working on, hopefully it’s the start of some thing,” said Shaw.
Last years runner-up Heidelberg United put their stamp on the game early against the Preston Lions when 2009 Golden Boot, Camilleri found range in the third minute to put the Bergers in front.
Preston responded in the 11th minute when Jacinta Mazza curled a sublime free kick into the top left from 25 yards out to even up the match.
Two minutes later Heidelberg’s Sarah Groenewald’s cross found Belinda Pannella and she passed to team mate Julia Nicolaci ,who found the back of the net to give the Bergers a 2-1 advantage.
Substitute Meghan Archer added to Heidelberg’s score when she headed in a Camilleri cross in the seven minutes into the second half then Camilleri got her second ten minutes later to seal the 4-1 win.
Altona’s first trip to Bendigo resulted in a one-all draw with the Vipers, but gave them a valuable point to keep them out of the bottom two for the first time this season.
Talented youngster Sarah Richardson scored for the Vipers and Alexandra Miller was Altona’s single goal scorer.
Altona are the new team in the WPL and despite only winning one match they have been competitive at the top level.
Half way through the 2010 WPL season its no surprise to see Box Hill again topping the league but Sandringham, who had a bye this week, are equal on points and in second place on goal difference. Ashburton and Heidelberg are in second and third with Casey just outside in fifth position.
Next week South Melbourne will be tested when they take on Box Hill, Sandringham are back in action against Bendigo, Heidelberg make their inaugural trip to HC Kim Reserve to play Altona while the Comets will play Preston.
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