Round 3 – Altona v Hawthorn WPLR
By Phoebe Rothfield
Our Altona Hockey Club WPLR girls travelled across the bridge on a warm and sunny Sunday to take on Hawthorn HC, currently unbeaten in the competition and on top of the ladder. Our girls started off the game incredibly well taking the Hawthorn girls by surprise with our structured press and ball movement across the field. Hawthorn drew blood eventually mid way through the first half slotting a sloppy ball into the net to make it 1-0.
The A girls did not drop their heads and only a few minutes later with some excellent work from our backline, through our midfield and up to our strikers we earned our first short corner. A quick ball on a slow field reached Phoebe Rothfield at the top of the battery who flicked to the bottom right corner to put us 1-1 just before a much needed half-time break, as the girls had been working incredibly hard for 35 minutes.
After the break we once again started well with some excellent work forward by debutant Riley Breen and Brittany McIntyre who had been causing some headaches in a strong backline. Our defenders worked tirelessly, lead by Ainslie Kennedy and Holly Azzopardi, trying to stop the run of the young Hawthorn outfit, but after a few decisions didn’t go our way and the experience of a mature team, they eventually ran over the top of us winning 5-1. The girls put in a great effort and look forward to taking on Burra this coming weekend in Ballarat.
Goals: Phoebe Rothfield