After a winless six match streak, Altona’s Mens Premier League side returned to the winners list, with a hard fought victory over Hawthorn at home on Sunday.
Hawthorn started the match well, and dominated possession early. Altona’s defence managed to keep them out though, led by goal keeper, Tom Pinnegar, who made some spectacular early saves.
The majority of Altona’s attacking forays in the first 15 minutes of the half only seemed to come on counter attacks. Strikers Patrick Phillips and John Camelleri were on the end of some long passes and were troubling the Hawthorn defence with their pace. While they weren’t generating goal shots, both were able to win a number of penalty corners, which gave Altona their best chance of scoring.
Chris Coleman converted a penalty stroke, after a penalty corner flick hit a defender’s body on the goal line. Minutes later, he slotted a low drag flick, from a penalty corner, to take a 2-0 lead at half time.
Altona came out after the break firing, maintaining more possession and generating goal shots. Midfielder Chris Porter came into the match, and was providing a lot of drive and breaking through the lines. Against the run of play, Hawthorn converted a penalty corner, despite Pinnegar making an initial save, the rebound was slotted into the goals by the Hawthorn forwards.
Coleman was off injured in the second half, so Neils De Jong took over corner flicking duties. Josh Horton pounced upon a rebound from the Hawthorn goal keeper’s save of one of De Jong’s flicks, and slapped in a goal to take a 3-1 lead.
Hawthorn wouldn’t lie down, and converted another rebound on a penalty corner to give them a sniff in the final minutes of the match. Altona managed to hold them out, and controlled the ball for the final few minutes of the match in their attacking half.
Pinnegar was brilliant all game, making many saves, most of them amazing. He was a clear best on ground.
Coach Ben Guy after the match: “We’ve had some frustrating results in recent weeks, so it was great to take home the three points. A couple of our more experienced players were quiet today, so it reflects well on our team balance that others could stand up and pick up the slack.”
Altona 3 defeated Hawthorn 2
Goals: Chris Coleman 2, Josh Horton 1