After grinding out a somewhat uninspiring 1–1 draw in the make-up match against Lennox Head on Tuesday night, The Apex Byron Bay Rams regained their form against Casino Cobras on Saturday afternoon at the Rec Grounds.
The Reserves set the pace with a solid 3–1 win over their Casino counterparts, holding onto second spot on the table, one point behind Rovers.
Despite a promising start, with an early goal from Herick Schuenemann, the Premier Rams struggled in front of goal for much of the first half and a quick counter attack saw Casino equalise twenty minutes in.
The Rams finally regained the lead just before halftime when Thiago Priori finished a scrappy goalmouth skirmish with a flying scissor kick.
The second half produced a much more convincing performance with some smooth transitions and combinations yielding six more goals to the Rams.
Five minutes into the second session, a cross from Ethan Archer found Matt Pike in front of the goal to make it 3–1.
Another five minutes later, first division sub Caio came off the bench to cleanly tap in Byron’s fourth goal. Ben Ahern slipped number five through the defence and inside the post at the 20-minute mark and, just a minute later, Thiago Priori took his second with a 25-metre screamer to take the score to 6–1.
Thiago was brought down in the box in the closing stages of the match and the resulting penalty was clinically despatched by Jono Pierce.
A moment later, another set piece had the ball rattling around the box before Jono Pierce again found the net to take the final score to 8–1.
The Rams sit at third place on the ladder, one point behind this Saturday’s visitor, South Lismore, with a game in hand.
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