ST Pat's patient approach paid dividends on Saturday as they found a way past the wall of Ex-Services defenders to post a 2-0 women's Premier League Hockey win.
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Exies adopted defensive tactics for much of the match at Bob Roach Field, pulling players back behind the ball and making it hard for the Saints to find space inside the circle.
But the Saints stayed composed, did not allow their rivals to frustrate them and did enough to ensure they kept the pressure on Lithgow Panthers in the battle for the minor premiership.
Sarah Watterson opened scoring for the Saints in the second quarter as her tomahawk found the mark, Kristy Ekert adding the other goal in the third period.
"The one thing I wanted before the game was for patience, to hold our structure. We knew how they were going to play and if we weren't patient and got frustrated it would have gone pear-shaped," Saints coach Jaden Ekert said.
"I know 2-0 doesn't sound a lot, we probably should have put five or six on them, but I think we had three saved on the line. When they have that many people inside the circle there's not much that you can do."
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Exies' chances were limited to a pair of penalty corners, earned after playing a long ball out of defence, but goalkeeper Lilli-Rai Campbell was up to the task.
"We just weren't in front ready to shut it down, but you can have those lapses when you attack for 99 percent of the game," Ekert said.
"They tried those quick counters a couple of times, but structurally our defence was pretty close to perfect.
"I wouldn't say perfect because nothing ever is, but when they had a quick turn over and tried to break away, we had our back four strong structurally in defence and closed it down pretty quickly."
Ekert said Emma White was 'unreal' in defence, Carly Hagney and Kristy Ekert were strong, while Watterson created plenty in attack for the Saints.
