Emotions high as Comets crash out- That close! Alex Lynch got a hand to the passing shot, but couldn’t slow the trajectory as Sandringham went on to win in a penalty shootout. 69711 Pictures: Gavin St

By Gavin Staindl
THE team of 11 players stood at the halfway line, some with hands on faces, others biting their shirts trying to find a way to hold back their emotions.
The Casey Comets fell, in every sense of the word, agonisingly short in Sunday’s preliminary final at White Eagles Stadium.
After 90 minutes of soccer, 30 minutes of extra time and five penalties failed to find a winner, it eventually came down to a sixth penalty to decide which team would progress to the Women’s Premier League grand final.
For the losers, Casey, it was a bitter end to a season and a match that promised so much.
Casey fell behind early in the penalty count after Nicola Prins and Alex Gummer missed from the spot.
The Comets had practised spot kicks prior to the match, with Gummer slotting 10 from 10, but a diving save by the Sandringham keeper put the pressure on Casey keeper Alex Lynch to come up big.
She did. Two lunging saves squared the ledger as Mel Atherton, Danny Lawrence and Aimee Benton brought the scores to 3-3 after five shots each.
All eyes were on the sixth shooter, Lana Bonnet, who was filling in for the concussed Taryn Brown.
Bonnet’s shot sailed high of the goals and she could only drop to the ground in tears on the ensuing penalty as she watched her opponent slip the winner past the palm of Lynch.
Players and coaches alike were left stunned, but in a sign of unity, it was pleasing to see the players put their own grievances behind them and rush to the aid of Bonnet, who for a brief moment, struck a lone and inconsolable figure at the edge of the 18-yard box.
Prior to that, both teams scored in extra time with Aimee Benton’s well-rehearsed free kick sending the match into penalties.
The match was a bruising affair with four yellow cards, two concussions, a bloodied nose and countless cramps.
Atherton struck first when she converted a penalty early in the second half after Gummer was tripped inside the penalty box.
But Sandringham replied moments later when Lynch, who confidently backed herself all day, over-committed to a contested ball, leaving the net free for an easy tap in.
“This sucks so much,” Gummer said post-match.
“We’ve worked hard all season and to have it all come down to a penalty shootout is pretty shattering.”
Casey coach Ian Williamson reflected the sentiment.
“We didn’t deserve to lose it,” Williamson said.
“But we have had a fantastic season.
“To have an average age of 17 or 18 with seven girls who at the start of the season had never played a full WPL game, and to make it as far as we did, I’m very proud of them.”