ALTONA and Spotswood have had plenty of classics in the Western Region Football League’s division 1 over the past few years. Saturday’s clash wasn’t one of them.
A big first half saw Altona control the match early. Spotswood fought back late but it wasn’t enough. Altona won by 17 points, securing second place ahead of Spotswood in the process.
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It was the Vikings’ fourth straight win against the Woodsmen since round 14 last year.
Altona set up victory in the first half, starting with all the run and doing the damage on the scoreboard.
The potency of its attack was there for all to see – 12 shots in the first quarter and 21 in the first half. Spotswood managed only nine.
The Vikings were in front by nine at quarter-time and should have put the result beyond doubt in the second. But poor kicking in front of goal meant what should have been a ten-goal-plus lead was only 37 points.
After a goalless second term Spotswood kicked five in the third quarter, but so too did Altona.
The Woodsmen came hard late, kicking four goals in the fourth to Altona’s 1.4, but it was never going to be enough.
David Barnaby and Joey Halloran were terrific for the Vikings, while Mitchell Turnbull kicked four goals.
Spotswood playing coach Chris O’Keefe also kicked four.
Altona skipper Josh Russo said the players started well and stayed strong.
“We had a solid start but weren’t executing in front of goal,” he said. “They came home hard and we knew they would … We kept chipping away but we were never able to blow them away.’’
O’Keefe didn’t mince words when asked for his thoughts on the game. “It was a big game and to put up that was extremely disappointing,” he said. “I thought we were below par, especially in the first half. We let them dictate the game and you can’t give away leads to Altona.’’
