NEITHER Bathurst City or Souths will be in the mood to lose their second game of the season when they meet in Saturday’s women’s Premier League Hockey derby.
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The Bathurst clubs are enjoying excellent starts to their opening round of matches, and their success will add to the intensity of their upcoming contest at Bob Roach Field.
Neither side had tasted defeat until last round but the Bathurst squads are starting down the barrel of back-to-back losses.
Souths coach Ian North watched his side receive a lesson from a red hot CYMS last Saturday.
Although the 5-1 loss ended the two blues’ unbeaten run it gave North plenty of insight into where his team’s game could improve.
“We played a team that deliver an absolute first-class game. We just weren’t quite there. They put away a couple of chances that we didn’t. They deserved to win but the scoreline probably doesn’t show how we played,” he said.
“City were like us, undefeated up until last week, so I think we’re keen to not have it happen again. They’re the reigning premiers and we certainly won’t take them lightly so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Souths get a welcome boost to their squad thanks to the return of Tahni Isedale and Emma Siejka.
Those additions give Souths extra strength at both ends of the field.
“I think that might have been a little difference last week. We didn’t quite have the firepower that we usually do,” North said.
“When you play teams like CYMS, Panthers and City you’ve got to be on your game from the opening whistle to the very last one.
“When you look at the table there’s really not much of a difference between the top four or five teams. There’s so much quality and girls who just turn up every week.”
North is expecting a friendly derby to unfold, aided by a personal bragging rights battle.
“I know one of the girls on the other team and she’s a quality player, Anna Cartwright. We’ve been stirring each other up all week,” he said.
“She said ‘you’ll be crying at the end of the week’ and I said it ‘might be you’. I’m really looking forward to this one.”
Bathurst City’s experimentation across the park didn’t quite pay off last week against Lithgow Panthers but coach Nick Klower is determined to keep trying combinations to find the perfect setup.
Klower said his team will take a lot away from the 4-2 loss.
“We tried some new things last week and they didn’t quite work out as well as we would have liked. We’ll look to rectify that this weekend and move forward with a good win,” he said.
“We’re trying young players in different positions and trying out different systems. We’re trying to speed up our attack a little more but also hold onto possession a bit longer.”
Klower said both Bathurst clubs have reasons to be happy with their season starts.
“Souths look hungry and really want it so I think it’s going to be an amazing game,” he said.
“They’ve got a lot of depth with younger players through to some experienced senior players. They’re very fast. They haven’t had a perfect start to the year but I think their season’s only going to improve week to week.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more from our team. Their commitment at training is great and their effort on and off the field has been fantastic.”
The derby gets underway from 3.20pm.