SOUTHS may not have quite been able to make it three consecutive men’s Premier League Hockey wins over St Pat’s on Saturday, yet coach Ray Winwood-Smith was still satisfied with a 4-all draw.
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The two blues beat Pat’s 6-1 in their final meeting of 2017, but as their 2018 campaign got underway at Bob Roach Field they were made to fight hard to split the points.
Souths were 3-0 down after 26 minutes, but fought their way back into the contest. Winwood-Smith’s men scored four unanswered goals before Pat’s nabbed a late equaliser.
Still, with a handful of new players in his side and Saturday being their first game since last August’s grand final, Winwood-Smith saw plenty of positives.
“We started off very slowly and I think that was a reflection of the fact we didn’t have any trial games,” he said.
“You can train as much as you want, but playing in a game situation is very different. We’ve got a couple of new inclusions and some changes and it took us a little while to settle down and gel.
“I’m very happy with the guys, to be 3-0 down and fight their way back, that’s exceptional. We are probably not moving the ball quick enough and exploiting the space when we move. But that will come, I’ll take the draw and be happy.
“Pat’s played very well, they were very strong and I thought for the first game, it was a very good quality game.”
