Altona’s young guns came to the fore in an impressive 3-0 away triumph over Waverley that places it well and truly in Hockey Victoria men’s premier league finals contention heading into this weekend’s penultimate round.
A’s coach Ben Guy called on the youngsters to make a difference, and Matthew Huf, Harry Dolenc and two-goal hero Andrew Scanlon answered the call.
A’s international representative Matthew Guest described their efforts as “incredible”.
“He challenged the younger guys to step up and take charge and I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better response from them,” Guest said.
“Those three really took the game by the scruff of the neck when we needed them to.”
This was a crossroads game for both Altona (fifth) and Waverley (sixth).
The sides are jostling with fourth-placed Doncaster for the last available finals berth.
The A’s planned to absorb early pressure, not get overawed and dictate the tempo of the game.
“I guess early we tried to sit back a little bit and not necessarily get caught up in the magnitude of the match,” Guest said.
“We set the pace, we were able to take control of the game and play how we wanted to.”
Captain Steve Campbell and Mathew Higgins used all their years of experience to pull strings in the middle of the field.
“Week in, week out, they’re the guys who are really driving the tempo,” Guest said. “They drive the engine room.”
The A’s have all to play for in the last two rounds.
They will have to produce their best hockey and then some to secure points needed, having to play defending champion Camberwell at home on Saturday followed by a meeting with Doncaster that could determine the fate of both sides.
Guest says the A’s are “quietly confident” of upsetting second-placed Camberwell at Grant Reserve on Saturday after achieving a draw on the road against it earlier in the season.
“We’ve taken some huge steps this year,” he said.
“We deserve to be in the position we’re in. We’re excited about the challenge and confident we can do what we need to do in the last couple of weeks to make a run to the finals.”
Footscray had 2-2 draw with Southern United at Kingston Heath Reserve.
In women’s premier league, Altona kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Waverley. Bronte Kerley and Stephanie Sarantis were the A’s goalscorers.
Footscray had a 2-1 win over Toorak East Malvern on the back of goals to Leah Merrett and Olivia Colasurdo.
