Altona’s fourth placed State League One side went down in a thrilling match to second placed Greensborough in the inaugural Michael McLean Cup on Saturday.
Named in honour of the Greensborough stalwart, who was a friend to many at Altona, the sides put on a fantastic, skilful spectacle in honour of the man, with Mathew Higgins one of two players recognised for his efforts, winning a Michael McLean Medal. Altona were first to score, about 20 minutes into the match, from a low drag flick from young forward, Mitch Gough, for his first ever State League One goal. The sides had played the first stanza at a high intensity, but neither was able to capitalise, despite several chances at both ends. Greensborough answered quickly, taking advantage of a midfield turnover and slotting a field goal despite the best efforts of goal ‘keeper Aaron Anstis. The ease with which Greensborough scored, seemed to put Altona back into their shell, with the home side getting on top in the lead to half time. Altona looked rushed in attack, and were opened up several times on the counter attack. A second Greensborough goal, starting from an Altona error, saw them take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Altona came out refreshed and looking like the side that was right in the contest in the early part of the first half. Greensborough, however, were still looking dangerous, with the quick forwards running hard and creating many opportunities. Another Greensborough goal followed, and it looked like they may run away with the game, but Altona had other ideas.
Co-Captains, Steve Campbell and Tyson Priddle, began to control the midfield, with defenders Mathew Higgins and Matthew Briscoe looking solid. The Altona attack started to cause some headaches for the Greensborough defence, with Sukh Butter, Pat Phillips, Dan O’Loughlin and Mitch Gough working well together. Sustained pressure in the Altona attacking circle eventually yielded a penalty corner, which young drag flicker, Chris Coleman, slotted past the Greensborough keeper, to bring Altona back into the contest. Minutes later, Coleman scored another flick from a corner, and it looked like Altona may be able to hold on to a draw in the remaining minutes. However, a blistering run along the base line from a Greensborough midfielder, saw a ball passed back to an unmarked striker on the penalty spot, who slotted the ball past Anstis to score the winner.
Co-Coach Ben Guy was disappointed with the result, but also encouraged by the performance: “To go down by one goal, after fighting our way back into the contest is obviously gutting, but the show of character from the boys was encouraging. They have been one of the competition benchmarks for a while, so being able to mix it with them for a large part of the game gives us something to build on for the re-match in 9 weeks.” Altona 3 lost to Greensborough 4
Goals: Chris Coleman 2, Mitchell Gough 1
Best: Mathew Higgins, TJ Priddle, Sukh Butter, Steve Campbell
Altona take on MCC at Grant Reserve next Saturday.
