HOCKEY
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OVER the past two years the words 'clinical' and 'ruthless' have often been used when describing the St Pat's men's Premier League Hockey outfit, but on Saturday it would have been more apt to use 'scrappy'.
Pat's were unable to produce the sort of hockey that took them to consecutive grand finals and the 2015 premiership as they went down 4-2 to Lithgow Panthers at Bob Roach Field.
It was the first time Panthers had beaten Pat's since causing a boil over in the 2014 decider.
"It was very frustrating, there's not a lot I can say," St Pat's coach John Ninness said.
When asked if a tough state championships campaign had taken a toll on representative players in his squad, Ninness said 'No.'
Instead of blaming the below-par performance on fatigue, he pointed to other flaws.
"It was not possessing the ball, not having confidence, not having confidence in your team-mates. We were just throwing the ball away - we were working hard to get the ball, but then we gave the pass away," he said.
"I think everyone is frustrated, so we just have to start again and make sure we do the basics well."
Pat's actually made the stronger start to Saturday's top of the table match, Josh Toole firing in the opening shot after 90 seconds while Darcy Davis drew a sharp glove save soon after.
But while the blue and whites threatened, they were unable to capitalise on their early possession and midfield dominance. It came back to hurt them.
In their first chance of the match - a 10th minute penalty corner - Panthers' Ron Charlton found the mark.
The set play specialist did the same again in the 24th minute to double Panthers' advantage, while in contrast the five first half penalty corners Pat's earned did not lead to a goal.
Nic Milne added a third goal for the visitors to go to the break with a handy buffer and 12 minutes after play resumed, Panthers dealt their fierce rivals another blow.
Joss Luka set up Jordan Savage for an easy tap in to make it 4-0 and the frustration on Saints faces was clear to see.
The Saints finally got on the board via a Tobbie Muldoon drag-flick off penalty corner number six with just under 10 minutes to go, and young talent Tyler Willott added another late goal.
It gave the final scoreline some respectability for Pat's at 4-2, but Ninness knows his men must be better if they are to defend their crown.
"They got four goals and they were really soft goals, I was pulling out my hair. At this stage they are not going to get anywhere near the semi-finals if they play like this," he said.
LITHGOW PANTHERS 4 (Ron Charlton 2, Jordan Savage, Nic Milne) defeated ST PAT'S 2 (Tobbie Muldoon, Tyler Willott)