The Altona Women’s Premier League side came out breathing fire on Sunday night at the Hockey Centre in the game that had been dubbed the battle for relegation. With just one win for the year, the side has struggled this year after losing key players, and needed to beat cellar-dwellers Powerhouse/St. Kilda to stay in the Premier League. It took less than four minutes for Altona to assert the dominance on the game with Hockeyroo Danielle Schubach taking the ball from a free hit, beating a defender and smashing a backstick shot past the Powerhouse keeper. The large, parochial Altona crowd responded and continued to lift the girls, with Bronte Kerley and Schubach dominating through the midfield while Steph Sarantis, Chelsea Pugh, Jess Brennan and crowd favourite Phoebe Rothfield looked dangerous up front.
It didn’t take long for Altona to extend their lead thanks to Pugh’s first Premier League goal, following a 50-yd run from Schubach to break through the lines. Rothfield added a third with a backstick shot high past the keeper, before Powerhouse hit back with a goal of their own just before half time. A 3-1 half-time scoreline did not reflect a first half in which the A’s had the majority of possession and chances. Brennan made sure it didn’t stay that way for long, opening the scoring in the second half within the first minute, before Anisha Kidd was rewarded for some fantastic play slotting home Altona’s 5th just a few minutes later.
With 15 minutes remaining and their chances of staying in the Premier League looking desperate, the Powerhouse coach decided to pull his goal keeper off the field to play with an extra field player (a powerplay!). The ploy didn’t pay off and Sarantis was able to make the most of an open net by calmly slotting a shot from the top of the circle into the bottom corner. With their goal keeper recalled Powerhouse were able to make another foray forward and scored a consolation goal to bring the final scoreline to 6-2.
Altona 6 – 2 Powerhouse/St. Kilda
Goals: Schubach, Pugh, Rothfield, J. Brennan, Kidd, Sarantis.
Best: Schubach, Kerley, Kidd, J. Brennan, Sarantis, Rothfield.