HOCKEY
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A goal to Luci Ferguson two minutes from full-time has helped the Dubbo Blue Jays enter the upcoming Premier League Hockey general bye on a positive note.
Ferguson's strike earned her team a 1-1 draw with Lithgow Zig Zag on Saturday, a deserved reward in a match where they looked the better side for the majority of the contest.
Coach Graeme Waters was a proud man after the game as his side once again showed resilience after conceding a lead.
"I was really happy with the performance, that was the main thing for me," Waters said.
"Obviously a draw is better than a loss but even if they had been beaten, the way they played I would have been happy."
With captain Alex Waters still on the sidelines with a knee cartilage problem, Emma Corcoran captained the side which welcomed back Prue Rutherford and Michaela Wheeler.
Their experience helped no end, with goalkeeper Wheeler called on a number of times throughout the match and Rutherford covering a number of positions during the course of the match.
After an even start the visitors were first onto the scoreboard when Jess Harris found the goal after a scramble following a penalty corner in the 20th minute.
Her goal set up a period of dominance for the Lithgow side but stout defending from the likes of Tracey Sallustio, Kendall McDonagh, Chantelle Warner and Aimee Davies, combined with Wheeler's goalkeeping, kept the visitors at bay.
In the second half Corcoran moved forward and the move proved a masterstroke as she caused plenty of headaches for the Lithgow defence.
Combined with some incisive runs from young guns Courtney Hogan and Gemma Mitchell it allowed the Blue Jays to apply plenty of pressure on Zig Zag, and it culminated when the home side earned a penalty corner in the 68th minute.
Ferguson took the corner, and after an impressive passing movement the ball ended up back at her feet.
She had the luxury of firing into an open goal after Lithgow's keeper had come off her line to try and nullify the attack.
The job wasn't done though as Zig Zag earned a pair of penalty corners in the final 45 seconds, however the Blue Jays were able to see the threat off and hang on for the draw.
"We've got next week off and it will be good for the girls to have a fortnight to enjoy that performance," Waters said.
"The thing I was really happy with was that everyone played well. We had a veteran like Tracey Sallustio play brilliantly and our young players like Kendall McDonagh and Gemma Mitchell had great games too.
"There wouldn't be one girl who would feel bad about how they played today and it got to the point where a top player like Kate Corcoran told me not to send her back out there because the young girls were playing so well."
o DUBBO BLUE JAYS 1 (Luci Ferguson goal) drew with LITHGOW ZIG ZAG 1 (Jess Harris goal)