The Altona Premier League sides ventured to Essendon this weekend, our women were first up, and faced a tough task against perennial the finalists. It was a tough game from the outside with nothing going right for the A’s, going down early and entering the half-time break 3 nil down. Despite coming out hard in the second half, Altona conceded an early goal that put the game beyond doubt. Altona continued to attack and apply pressure but some clinical finishing from Essendon blew the game out to a 9-0 scoreline by the final whistle. The A’s still managed to create plenty of chances despite the unflattering scoreline, but couldn’t take them, while Essendon more than made the most of every circle entry. It is a big blow for the young side who have been improving every week, however, there were still positives to come out of the game with three debutants, Chelsea Pugh, Anisha Kidd and Ellen Polacsek playing extremely well and showing glimpses of a bright future ahead.
The next game for the afternoon was a crucial clash for both sides with only 1 point separating them on the ladder and both within a game of the top 4. Essendon responded to the pressure early winning a penalty corner in the opening minutes of the game which was sent high into the net with a searing drag flick. The A’s defence looked off it’s game as Essendon moved the ball convincingly forward while Altona scrambled to hold possession, Essendon again finding the back of the net to open up a 2-0 lead. The Seagulls started to work themselves back into the game as skipper Steve Campbell worked hard to direct his troops in the mid-field. U18 Victorian rep Josh Horton was able to swing some momentum back Altona’s way and brought the score back to 2-1, before a well worked penalty corner gave drag flicker Chris Coleman an opportunity after the half time whistle. He made no mistake, crashing the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-2 at the break. The half time talk was a wake-up call from coach Ben Guy who urged his players to work harder at executing the game plan.
The second half opened much the same as the first with Essendon mounting the early attack, A’s goalie Ben Oborne continued his brilliant form with a high glove save while partially blinded by the setting sun. The Altona midfield lifted and displayed some slick skills moving forward, Ben Burris had the ball on a string and was instrumental in creating attacking passages. One such attack left Altona debutant striker Neel Marí Garcia in a one on one with the Essendon goalie which he calmly slotted to send the A’s 3-2 up. It was short lived though as Essendon quickly pounced following the re-start, evening the game up once again at 3 all. A frustrating remainder to the game saw Altona earn multiple penalty corners which they were unable to convert, while Essendon continued to trouble Oborne and the Altona defence. Coach Ben Guy was clearly frustrated with his teams performance on the day, “We failed to execute the game plan today and were lucky to walk away with a point, patches of great hockey won’t make us a finals contender” said Guy. Final score Altona 3, Essendon 3.
Next weekend is a weekend off in the Hockey Victoria competition with Altona to play Hawthorn @ Hawthorn on 14 July, the women’s game at 2pm followed by the men at 3.30pm.