SOUTHS might not have been as clinical as coach Ray Winwood-Smith would have liked in Saturday's men's Premier League Hockey match against Orange Wanderers, but such was the control they showed he was always confident they would win.

His confidence was not unfounded as the two blues posted a 3-1 victory over the visitors at Bob Roach Field.

Chris Hanrahan celebrated his birthday by opening scoring in the first half, while both Nick Milligan and Adam Campbell found the mark before Nick Sharp got Wanderers on the board with just over two minutes remaining.

"I think we controlled the whole game well, our structure was great, we dominated, but we just didn't finish. I think there were five chances definitely that we should have finished and didn't - that would have made things a lot more interesting - but I always felt comfortable," Winwood-Smith said.

"We moved the ball around well, our defence and midfield was great. We actually created opportunities in the circle which I am really, really pleased about, just that last little touch or that last pass wasn't quite there.

"I said to the boys the first 20 minutes be patient and be strong and it will come from there, and it did."

It took just under 20 minutes for Souths to get on the board. By that stage Jono Cole had been denied by a sharp Darryl Kennewell glove save while down the other end, John Rudge made a one-on-one block off a Connor Morris attempt.

The goal came from a quick counter attack, Souths fullback Bryce Hitchcock releasing Cole who drew out the Wanderers defence before linking with Hanrahan. He was left with an easy tap in.

The chances continued to come for Souths, but a combination of smart work from Kennewell and final passes which were just wide of the mark kept the score at 1-0.

The frustration showed as both sides had a pair of players green carded - Campbell and Dan Carter spending an enforced break in the dugout for Souths while Wanderers duo Keiran Gentles and Mitch Kennewell did the same.

But Souths' weight of possession kept the pressure on and they finally found reward for their effort.

With an hour of play gone a penalty corner attempt from Cole was blocked, but Wanderers were unable to clear the ball and Campbell pounced.

The third goal was created by smart passes from firstly Hitchcock then Campbell, who found Milligan on the fly at the far post.

Wanderers did have their chances as the clock ticked down, Rudge blocking an Adam Skelton effort and one-on-one attempt off Sharp, before Sharp hit the mark.

While the result was not the one that Wanderers president Adam Hurford was hoping for, given his side was missing the Matt Johnston's creativity in, he was not too disappointed.

"We fell away to sort of give us a little more tightness in the back end of the field. They were clinical with the ball and much to our credit I suppose, they didn't put a lot of goals away," he said.

"We had a couple of guys out including Matty, he takes a lot of the pressure onto himself, but going forward was no problem for us, it was just misreading what we needed to be doing.

"We fixed a four-nil deficit, we came down here the first round and we lost 7-1, so 3-1, I will take that as a positive."

SOUTHS 3 (Adam Campbell, Chris Hanrahan, Nick Milligan) defeated ORANGE WANDERERS 1 (Nick Sharp)