HOCKEY
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The job’s far from done.
That’s what Souths men’s Premier League Hockey coach Ray Winwood-Smith will be telling his team as they get set to take on competition leaders Lithgow Panthers.
The Two Blues will still be buzzing after knocking over cross-city rivals St Pat’s 2-1 last round, but the tough games keep on coming with a trip to Lithgow.
Winwood-Smith said the win over Pat’s should only be seen as a stepping stone for his side towards even greater achievements.
“We’ve got a run of games with Pat’s, Lithgow, Orange and Zig Zag. Those are four games that could make or break our season. Because the table is so congested all those games are as important as each other. If we don’t win those games then whoever does will get the jump on us,” he said.
“Lithgow in Lithgow, no matter how well you are playing, is always a difficult task. It’s probably the ground that everyone dislikes to play on the most, and is one of the hardest to play at.”
Goals from Dan Carter and Jono Cole in Souths’ last round match got them their first win over Pat’s since 2013.
The confidence taken away from ending the seven-game drought is almost immeasurable, but Winwood-Smith said his team need to show they can back it up today.
“They all believe in their ability. There’s a long time to go of course, but what results like that do is they give you a lot of confidence. We need more of the same. We don’t have to change anything for Lithgow. We’ll just play what’s in front of us,” he said.
“Lithgow’s play style is very different from Pat’s. The boys have to know how to adapt but not necessarily change any of their fundamentals. There are things from the first round that we can learn from and adapt to. Our basic game plan doesn’t change, it’s just the little things we need to adjust as we go.
“As the ladder shows, they’ve got the strongest defence in the competition. They’ve got Ronnie Charlton at the back, who is the best, if not one of the best, players in the competition.
“If we can control him we can control the game.”
Souths did just that in this year’s first meeting with the Panthers where they drew 2-all at Bob Roach Field, a performance that Winwood-Smith said showed a lot of fight.
Panthers had to take Charlton into the midfield to try to quash the pressure that Souths were building up in that area.
Souths recovered from a 2-0 deficit to produce what was arguably their strongest performance alongside their win over Pat’s last week.
Playing at Lithgow will be a whole new ball game for Souths who are sitting in a precarious spot on the ladder. They need a win to hold onto third place, while a loss could drop them back as far as fifth.
The only change to the Souths team will be the addition of key defender Dylan Smith.
The match will start 2.40pm.