The game between the A’s WPL and Doncaster had no bearing on the finals. However, the improving Altona outfit were desperate to finish the season on a good note against a good, talented team.
Altona, as has been the pattern in recent games surprised the opposition with a quick aggressive start. The A’s got off to a flyer with goal sneak extroardinare Phoebe Rothfield chipping the ball into the net. A couple of half chances may have extended the lead but Donny was able to repel.
A period of end to end hockey followed with Scoobs, Loz, Raiders, Tash and Caity absorbing many attacks.
After a period of attacking Donny were able to convert a corner with a powerful strike just inside the left post.
Instead of crumbling the much improved A’s began to control possession. A Steph Sarantis entry on the right squared the ball to Jess who made no mistake. A tense last 5 minutes saw Taz make a few saves to take Altona into the break 2-1 up.
The 2nd half started in the best possible way with Bronte perfectly positioned to punish the DHC defence.
3-1 up with more to come. A bad pass from a Donny defender directly onto the stick of Dan Schubach. Dan at full speed charged into the circle and a clinical finish made it 4-1.
A period of strong play from Donny followed where again our defensive unit stood firm. Donny weren’t to be denied and were rewarded for some strong play and scored with a good shot. 4-2 with 8 mins to go, surely we couldn’t drop a point here. NO….. Once more the girls began attacking. Donny looked gone and with a few minutes to go Bronte once again was in the correct position to nail the coffin closed.
A great 5-2 win for the big Altona crowd as an entree to the men’s epic that followed.
This season our WPL squad has matured and improved. Next season with continued improved performance could see our girls involved in September action.