IT is only natural when a team racks up a score like the 21-0 goal explosion Souths managed against Lithgow Zig Zag on Saturday that questions are asked.

The obvious one is regarding the circumstances. In the case of the two blues’ win over Zig Zag in women’s Premier League Hockey, there were some extenuating ones as the Lithgow side began the game with 10 players and finished it with nine.

Another is to ask where that particular effort sits in the history of the competition

The Souths players will be pleased to know that they have created some history.

The Western Advocate could find no evidence of a scoreline as big as Saturday’s in the history of the competition, though Premier League Hockey president Kent Bestwick is aware of one match.

“When I was playing for St Pat’s, maybe 14 or 15 years ago, we won a match with something like 24 or 25 goals. I don’t even remember who it was against,” he said.

“It is certainly the highest score I’m aware of in the women’s competition since it started 17 years ago or thereabouts.

“It is disappointing to see a side struggle that much, there was some debate from Zig Zag about whether they would put a side in this season. But overall it isn’t a huge concern because these things tend to go in cycles.”

The highest score that could be verified was a 2002 effort from Lithgow Panthers, who crushed Confederates 20-0 in a season where the Orange side were routinely beaten by 10 or more goals.

A year earlier Confederates were bested 19-0 by Parkes and 16-0 by Lithgow. 

In the last eight years across the men’s and women’s competitions, the best efforts are a couple of 13-0 hammerings.

One of those was inflicted by Lithgow Panthers men against the now defunct Parkes Redbacks in round six, 2008.

Earlier this season the St Pat’s men delivered the same treatment to competition newcomers Bathurst City.

In the women’s competition, both Souths and Bathurst City have had 10-1 victories, Souths against Kinross-CYMS last year and City against Dubbo in 2008.

City can lay claim to a 10-0 shut-out of Parkes in 2012 as well.

But none come close to what Souths did on the Saturday, and it can’t just be put down to a struggling opponent.

“Realistically we probably should have scored another six or seven during that period after half-time, we became a little bit complacent in a way,” Souths coach and Kent’s wife Melissa Bestwick said

“We needed to boost our goal difference, but not really by that much and I’m not sure if that sort of result is all that great for us going into the semi-finals where things will be a lot tougher.

“I felt terrible for the Zig Zag girls, they had a player pull out before the game, lost another during it, and only seven of their 10 were actually Premier League players and they could have just forfeited.

“I think our girls showed great sportsmanship to not really shove it down their throat or carry on about it or anything like that.”

As much as Zig Zag’s deficiencies contributed to the gargantuan score, no-one can put away 21 goals in a game and not be playing exceptional hockey.

The apparent record they now own will be a source of pride for the Souths players in years to come according to their coach.

“It is a once in a lifetime sort of thing. I can remember playing a school game against a side and we beat them 30-something to nil, it doesn’t happen very often,” Bestwick said.

“We felt bad for the opposition, but at the same time the girls just scored 21 goals in a game of Premier League hockey, that is something to be proud of.”

So will Kent be reminding his other half that he still has bragging rights?

“I’m not poking that hornet’s nest,” he said wisely.