Altona City V Darebin Falcons
When the Falcons Metro Team met Altona in the last round it was a game of two halves. The first half was a tight battle ending 0-0 but this gave way to an Altona goal fest in the second half with the scoreline finishing up 5-1. However the Metro team had learned the lessons of this game and had taken heart from the fact that they had matched it with the Altona for the first 45 minutes. So it was with an air of quiet confidence that the team travelled to Altona City to take on the young, fit team, perched in third place on the ladder.
Perhaps it was the canary yellow strip that made them so visible, but from the outset Altona seemed to be everywhere. After a flat start, the Falcons, with 11 fit players available, battled well, mostly in their defensive half for the first 30 minutes. But with Eva Kotsiras sweeping at her best, Ruth Barton filling in ably at left back, and Sal Rees making some spectacular saves, Altona were unable to find their way to the back of the net. Things pickup for the Falcons before half time and Eliza Eddy was able to make some runs down the right wing, crossing in to Heidi Fisher and Amy HIgginson in the middle and there were a few attacks on the Altona goal.
Right on the half time whistle, with the score locked at 0-0, Eliza (in the words of Captain, Stacey Timms) “copped a wicked ankle injury” and was out for the rest of the game.
Starting with 10 players in the second half, the Falcons troubled the Altona City attack, keeping them out of the 18 yard box and, despite being a player down, were able to press forward on a few occasions. But 20 minutes in, an Altona striker latched on to a through ball with her shot sweeping across the face of goal, just sneaking inside the far post.
Unlike at their last meeting, Altona were unable to score any further goals so with the score finishing 1-0 to the home team, the Falcons were justifiably proud of their efforts. Another loss that felt like a win.