Altona Seagulls have kept their finals hopes alive in the Hockey Victoria men’s premier league, recording a 2-1 win over Essendon at Grant Reserve on Saturday.
The A’s made a sluggish start but survived the early exchanges thanks to a number of big saves by goalkeeper Tom Pinnegar. Their first attacking foray resulted in a penalty corner, earned by striker John Camelleri.
With regular drag flickers Chris Coleman and Andrew Scanlon on the bench, midfielder Harry Dolenc stepped up and slotted the
ball into the bottom left for the A’s’ go-ahead goal.
Altona turned the game on its head to dominate the second half but could not translate that into a big advantage on the scoreboard.
Much like the A’s in the first half, Essendon scored an equaliser against the run of play and the A’s were suddenly staring down the barrel of a wasted season with a finals berth on the line.
It took veteran striker Tyson Priddle to seal the deal for the A’s. He got on the end of some fantastic build-up from Camelleri and captain Steve Campbell and guided in the winning goal from a cross.
“While we got the three points, our conversion of circle penetrations was disappointing so we will need to improve against higher-ranked opposition,” A’s coach Ben Guy said.
Altona remains on track to make finals for the first time since 2003, but the ladder is tight so there are no guarantees.
Across town, Footscray was hammered 8-2 by finals-bound Powerhouse-St Kilda.
The Bulldogs remain mid-table and out of the finals race, but they’re in no apparent danger
of being sucked into the relegation zone.
In women’s premier league, Footscray has solidified its place with a 3-2 win over cellar dweller Powerhouse-St Kilda. Altona was stung 5-2 by Essendon.
