A big crowd at Essendon for the highlight fixture of the round. The A’s were celebrating Tegan “Midge” Purser’s 50th SL1 game, and introduced 2 debutantes in Kelsey Fox and Tilka Hassing. Against a physically strong and experienced Essendon side, our ability to compete in the midfield and use our speed up front would be important in getting a result. The “beach” surface was not conducive to flashy skills, but a strong passing game from our centre halves Bronte Kerley and Danielle Schubach kept our forwards involved often in the first 15 minutes. Youngsters Jess Brennan and Nicola Brown, ably supported by captain Steph Sarantis were licensed to have a go at the sluggish Essendon defenders, and we made many forays into the attacking circle. A resultant penalty corner produced an opportunity for our milestone player, and Midge stepped up with a powerful drag flick to open the scoring.
The A girls were matching the physicality of Essendon, relishing the contest. With experienced Victorian players Erica Trahar and Lisa Burns in their midfield, our defence was also going to be under pressure at some point. But deep defenders Caity Campbell, Lauren Winship and Kerrin Ford held sway with some patient tackling, and clean steals from the Essendon sticks, giving our midfielders Taniciah Isorena, Emma Aitken and Kelsey Fox space in which to run at their defence. The remainder of the first half resulted in a midfield slog, with neither team able to hold much possession under the constant pressure of the absorbing contest.
A slow start to the second half saw Essendon take some chances to penetrate our circle. Again, our deep defence stood firm, protecting Carrie Evans in the net, and preventing penalty corners. Unfortunately the damn wall broke eventually, and a penalty corner was forced. A well worked variation saw a fierce angled shot smash a painful blow into Carrie’s knee, putting a halt to play while she recovered. Still hobbling, Carrie managed to work her way back into the game with an important save, before another penalty corner was forced and Essendon finally capitalized on their advantage. The coaches made some positional changes, moving Carla Ruhe to wide defence, and giving Kez Ford opportunity at CH. With debutant Tilka Hassing giving a spark in the forward line it was up to her and our young forwards to step up and decide the game. With 10 minutes to go, some speculative tackling from the Essendon players led to a quick clearance from our defence. With space in front, player of the moment Midge ran aggressively at the deep Essendon defender. Phoebe moved quickly into position for the 2 on 1, calmly receiving on her forestick, dragging the goalie, and easily sliding the ball into the back of the net for the game winner. The last few minutes saw an increasingly desperate Essendon, and a very composed Altona securing possession of the ball to slow the game, and coming away with a memorable victory over a highly ranked opponent. Final score, Altona 2 vs Essendon 1.
Next up MCC at home Saturday, an important game to capitalize on our good form. We currently sit 6th, a mere 2 points plus goal difference from 2nd.
