Playing at Bob Roach Field, Pat’s surprised Panthers when they scored the opening goal against the run of play via Paityn Simpson in the 31^st minute.

Panthers came up with an equaliser 90 seconds later as a Hannah Kable shot was deflected off a defender’s stick into the top of the net.

Still, sharing the lead at 1-all at half-time gave Pat’s hope of upsetting the undefeated defending premiers.

Experienced goalkeeper Tracey Gunning had been superb for the Saints while Sophie Conroy and Alana Webber made some good tackles under pressure.

However, in the second half the class of the Panthers came to the fore as Chelsea Marshall, Emily Thompson and Amanda Saladine all found the mark for the visitors.

Panthers’ speed on the counter-attack and quick transfer of the ball opened up gaps in the Saints’ defence.

While beaten, Pat’s coach Chris Conroy was happy with the effort of his players.

“We turned the ball over too much but we played well, we didn’t didn’t panic,” he said.

“They had a few missed chances, but to our credit, when they were throwing it around we held our structure and shuffled across.

“We are pretty happy with that, especially without Little [Kristy Ekert]. We played pretty well and held them for awhile, but we have just got to be a bit stronger on the ball and be more direct with our passes.”