THINGS were looking promising for St Pat’s when they were 3-0 up after almost 65 minutes in their women’s Premier League Hockey derby against Souths on Saturday.
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However, in the space of four minutes the two blues struck three times to salvage one of the most unlikely draws you’ll ever see in the competition.
Souths’ final goal, off the stick of Emma Siejka, came inside the final minute to cap off an entertaining derby at Bob Roach Field.
Sarah Watterson scored from the field either side of half-time to go 2-0 up against her former club.
Her first came courtesy of a tricky tomahawk attempt and her second came via a strong link-up play with Kristy Ekert.
Pat’s continued to make the most of their time in possession to score from a short corner.
Emma White’s successful hit put the Saints in prime position to take their second win of the season.
Souths struck in quick succession from back-to-back penalty corners to keep slim hopes of a draw alive.
Ali Stanford and Mandy George were the players who found the back of the net for the two blues.
Souths continued to apply the pressure against a quality Saints defence and found their unlikely comeback goal with less than a minute remaining.
“We hadn’t had much attack for the majority of the game but over those last 10 minutes we started to feel more confident in ourselves,” Siejka said.
“We went out and started to play like we had nothing to lose and we looked a lot more relaxed.”
Siejka wasn’t even sure her strike had levelled the scores.
“We made a final attack down the right hand side, the crossed was sent in and I just took a slog at it,” she said.
“I was stoked because at first I didn’t know if it had gone in. I dived, fell as I hit it and then suddenly all the girls are around me saying it went in.
“A big credit to Pat’s. Ali had been saying through the week what a strong team they are and how well their combinations work, and you could see that.”
The draw is a valuable one for the two blues. It puts them on eight points – in fourth place – and keeps them two points clear of the Saints.
“In the old local derby you can’t ever give up,” Pat’s coach Jaden Ekert said.
“We attacked all game and had the majority of possession but you could tell Souths had that bit of extra intent at the end.
“Sarah Watterson and Amy Glenn were both fantastic. I moved Watto up the front and she scored two amazing goals.”
