The defending premiers were without five of their most experienced players for the match but were still able to lead 2-0 at half-time and hold on for the win.

It means that Bathurst City are in third place, just two points behind St Pat’s, while Lithgow Panthers extended their competition lead back out to eight points after they trounced Parkes 7-0.

Sarah McCusker was one of the young Bathurst City players who stepped up to void with the likes of Mel McNab, Kate Brown, Kelsey Willott, Kristy Hewitt and Mardi Watts out and she was outstanding, scoring two goals, including the eventual match winner.

It was the second time McCusker has helped City to a Bathurst derby success, having also scored the match winner in their 1-0 win over Souths on June 18.

“We did extremely well today because we were without five very experienced players but Sarah McCusker, Amy Ashcroft, Jess Gardner and Jamie Floyd really stood up,” Bathurst City coach Jill Long said.

“Sarah really made the most of her opportunity and I thought Jess Gardner was terrific.

“The umpires’ man of the match went to our goalkeeper Page Aberley and I would have given my man of the match award to Annika Dicker.”

St Pat’s had their chances to win despite the headstart that they gave their opponents.

There was still plenty of time on the clock when Amy Boye scored her second goal to reduce the deficit to one.

Saints had no shortage of chances, but finding the net is still an issue.

“We had plenty of chances at the end. We had three or four short corners at the death but it was the same old story, we couldn’t knock it in,” Pat’s coach Dan Casey said.

“They played pretty good hockey. We did too in patches, but there were patches where we played terrible hockey as well.”

City’s Esther Hotham opened the scoring on the back of some quick passes from Katie Lindsey, Dicker and Ashcroft and McCusker made it 2-0 before the break when she was on the end of a perfectly timed pass.

The 16-year-old was then able to squeeze her shot underneath a dive from Pat’s goalkeeper Karen Fieldus.

Boye got her team back in the game with an early second half goal, but McCusker restored the two goal buffer when she got a deflection in the circle that again eluded Fieldus.

Pat’s applied plenty of pressure in the closing stages, but could only find one goal.

Long said even though her team had a two goal buffer for most of the match, she was never completely comfortable.

“I don’t know if we have ever had a 2-0 lead at half-time against Pat’s, but we knew they would come out determined in the second half,” the City mentor said.

“Pat’s had four short corners in each half and we didn’t have any. It’s pretty unusual for that to happen in a game of hockey, but we didn’t let them score off any of theirs.

“Going in without five players is always a bit of a risk but our young girls were fantastic. We should get most of our players back next week.”

BATHURST CITY 3 (Sarah McCusker 2, Esther Hotham) defeated ST PAT’S 2 (Amy Boye 2)