Altona’s Mens Premier League side travelled to Hawthorn chock full of confidence after an opening round win against local rivals Footscray last week in the West End Riot.
They could not have dreamed of a better start. A foray forward in the first thirty seconds saw striker Jesse Gatt cross a ball across the circle, where striker Matthew Guest tapped in the ball for the opening goal.
Hawthorn looked shell shocked, and Altona took advantage, pressing hard forward, with lots of fast ball movement. When Hawthorn had the ball, the Altona forward line put immense pressure on them, causing turnovers and errors. Gatt, Guest were combining well with their fellow strikers, Niels de Jong and Patrick Phillips, while the midfield trio of Harry Dolenc, Josh Horton and Chris Porter were troubling the Hawthorn defence with their pace and slick skills.
With only five minutes on the clock in the opening half, de Jong found himself on the end of another cross, and tapped in a simple goal from a metre out, for his first Premier League goal in his career.
Altona needed a good start in the second half, to ensure they didn’t let Hawthorn back in the game, and they got off to another flyer. Winning a penalty corner in the opening minute, young defender, Matthew Huf, slotted a low, fast, drag flick into the net to take a 3-0 lead. This was followed up minutes later by another goal, with Harry Dolenc slotting a classy goal.
The game was beyond Hawthorn’s reach. While they scored three goals in the half, all through classy deflections from one of their Victorian representatives, the Altona defence actually played quite well, with skipper Steve Campbell and Jake Macvean the stand outs. The score could have been closer, if it wasn’t for goal keeper Tom Pinnegar, who made at least 5 brilliant saves on penalty corners.
Guest set up Phillips for the fifth goal, late in the half, much to the delight of a strong Altona crowd that travelled across the bridge for the clash.
“After the previous week, where we only scored once from over thirty circle entries, it was very pleasing to see the boys take advantage of their chances today.” commented coach Ben Guy.
Altona 5 defeated Hawthorn 3
Goals: Matthew Guest, Niels de Jong, Matthew Huff, Harry Dolenc, Patrick Phillips
Earlier in the day, the young womens Premier League side faced a daunting challenge, with Hawthorn having one Hockeyroo and six Victorian Vipers in their side. The experience of Hawthorn proved too much, with the A’s going down 0-5 (0-3 at half time). The experienced trio of Danielle Schubach, Mairaed Crawford and Bronte Kerley battled hard all day in the midfield, and young players Phoebe Rothfield, Scarlett Kennedy, Olivia Rogg and Nicola Brown showed flashes of brilliance. Goal keeper Taylah Brennan was brilliant, and the score could have been much more one-sided, had she not made some spectacular saves.