SOUTHS have added another win over Bathurst rivals St Pat’s in men’s Premier League Hockey this season with a 3-0 victory at Bob Roach Field on Sunday.
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The two blues ended a long-running drought to the Saints with their 2-1 win last month but have now gone a step further as they achieved the rare feat of keeping Pat’s scoreless.
An Edu Garriga Viudes goal from a penalty corner five minutes before half-time was all that stood between the two teams in an even first half of hockey.
The match maintained its high quality and end-to-end status following the break but a superb finish from Souths’ Nick McEwen gave his side the momentum.
Souths stamped their authority on the game with their third and final goal through Mike Stanford, which was scored while they were down a player.
“The first half was an arm wrestle. There wasn’t much in it but we got a short corner just before half-time which I suppose took the pressure off us a little bit. It allowed us to re-focus,” Souths coach Ray Winwood-Smith said
“The standard of the game was pretty good. I think both sides turned up to win.
“I think the difference was the ability to move the ball up front quicker for us and general ball control. We had less errors and when you’ve got less errors that means you’ve got more opportunities.”
Souths had the better start to the game and before the clock had reached 15 minutes they had already amassed four penalty corners.
Pat’s had goalkeeper Tyler Newton to thank for saves off stinging Garriga Viudes and Bryce Hitchcock drag flicks.
Pat’s were a little more starved for opportunities but had a couple of close calls in front of goal through Brodie Cook and Darcy Davis attempts.
Penalty corner number five for Souths drew first blood as Garriga Viudes’ low attempt into the left corner couldn’t be stopped.
McEwen was found open in the Pat’s circle 11 minutes into the second half and produced a stunning finish. He pulled up in front of a diving Newton, took the ball left of goal towards the baseline before finishing high into the net from a tight angle.
Pat’s threatened to find a way back into the match when Jack Bright was given a yellow card with 14 minutes to go.
Instead, just before Bright had finished serving his five-minute spell, Stanford deflected a long pass into the Saints’ goal to all but assure his side of the win.
“The local derby is always special, no two ways about that. The boys really lift themselves for this game,” Winwood-Smith said.
“For me it’s one of many [great performances this season]. We keep moving on towards September. If we continue to play that style and tempo then I’m more than happy with where we are at this point of the season.”
SOUTHS 3 (Edu Garriga Viudes, Nick McEwen, Mike Stanford) defeated ST PAT’S 0