Undefeated St Pat's far too good for Lions

The Bathurst side made the trip to Pioneer Park having not lost a match this season and despite Dubbo scoring first it was the visitors who went on to win 5-1.

Fortunately for the fifth-placed Lions, fourth-placed Lithgow Zig Zag also lost to their match on the weekend to ensure the gap between the two stays at two points.

But the form of Orange Wanderers is starting to become a worry after they drew with Lithgow Panthers to move level with Dubbo.

With only three regular season matches remaining the battle for top four spots is well and truly alive and Dubbo would have sensed an upset on Saturday when they opened the scoring inside five minutes.

Like so many other times this season, Samuel Mould was the man to convert a chance from a penalty corner for the Lions.

That goal brought back memories of the last time the two sides met in Bathurst where St Pat's were made to work hard before winning 2-1 after an early Dubbo goal.

This time around the Bathurst side looked much more assured in attack.

Brodie Cook soon put Pat's ahead and Josh Toole was on hand to help his team to a 3-1 lead at half-time.

The dominance continued after half-time as the limited opportunities for the Lions continued to be snuffed out before they could find the Saints' circle.

Toole found his second goal of the day to virtually seal the deal 20 minutes out from full-time.

Riley Hanrahan then linked up with Aiden Charters in a clinical play from the Saints to produce the goal of the day, an extra sweetener for the travelling side.

Worryingly for Dubbo, the loss was their second 5-1 defeat in a row while it also means they finish the month of July without a PLH win. The Lions last victory came back on June 27 against Parkes United.

The task doesn't get any easier for Dubbo captain Matt Waters and his team this weekend when they play host to the third-placed Lithgow Panthers.

BATHURST ST PAT'S 5 (Josh Toole 2, Jaden Ekert, Riley Hanrahan, Brodie Cook) defeated DUBBO LIONS 1 (Samuel Mould)