HOCKEY
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NEW Bathurst City coach Lisa Quinn might still be learning about what her women’s Premier League Hockey squad is capable of, but on Saturday at Bob Roach Field her players showed her that they are willing to fight all the way to the final whistle.
City posted a 4-1 win over fierce rivals Souths, Quinn was delighted to see the effort her players produced. Their mental approach is one of the reasons the club has forged a reputation as a competition heavyweight.
“We had a 3-1 lead at half-time, so while we only scored one goal in the second half, we had a lot of attack, I thought we controlled play,” Quinn said.
“The girls kept playing like it was a draw, not as if we were winning the match, and I was pretty happy with the way they played the game out.
“I think it was a very positive performance for us going forward, we really kept our structure well, so I was very impressed.”
Over the past two seasons Souths and City have developed a healthy rivalry and early on in Saturday’s match the crowd was again treated to some excellent hockey.
Inside the first 15 minutes City opened scoring via Andrea Seymour, Souths responded almost immediately thanks to Sarah Watterson then Quinn’s side went ahead once more.
When Watterson found the back of the net for the second time, Souths thought they had locked things up at 2-all in a frenetic opening to the match. However, the umpire had blown a penalty corner before she had taken her shot and play was called back.
According to Souths coach Melissa Bestwick, that proved a turning point in the contest.
“Had that gone our way it would have been 2-all and from there I think the game could have turned out differently. Had we levelled that would have changed the game,” she said.
“But that was how the umpire called it and instead of going on with things we dropped our bundle and made some silly decisions, that cost us in the end.
“Before that, the first 15 minutes, it was really good hockey.”
It was Meg Booth who gave City their 2-1 lead and as a frustrated Souths struggled to regain their focus, the 2014 grand finalists were able to deal another blow. Danielle Fisher put them 3-1 ahead by the break before Kelly Baker sealed the win with a fourth goal in the second stanza.
Baker, who started the match at inner before switching to centre half, impressed Quinn. Whereas Souths took the wrong options a number of times, the young talent was the catalyst of many of City’s attacking forays thanks to her strong positional play.
“Kelly Baker is really starting to develop as a player in terms of the way she manoeuvres herself to open up opportunities,” Quinn said. “She is really reliable player for us.”
For Souths it was goalkeeper Kate Brown who drew praise, Bestwick admitting the final scoreline could have been worse if the shot blocker had not been on her game.
“Kate Brown is just moving ahead leaps an bounds for us, she was players’ player today and she certainly deserved it. She was making three and four stops in a row,” the coach said.
“She trained the house down again this week, she has been working really hard and I am really pleased with how she played.”
BATHURST CITY 4 (Andrea Seymour, Meg Booth, Danielle Fisher, Kelly Baker) defeated SOUTHS 1 (Sarah Watterson)