Bathurst City lose 2-0 to Orange Confederates in Women's Premier League Hockey

Played at the Orange Hockey Complex, City were no match for Confederates, who now move into outright fourth after their win.

The defeat for the Bathurst-based side leaves them six points off a top four spot, at the Women's Premier League Hockey hits the halfway mark of the 2019 season.

Bathurst City coach Lisa Quinn said it definitely wasn't the result she wanted.

"We went into the game over there thinking we were more than capable of beating Feds," she said.

"Feds actually played well and I think that's the best I've seen them play.

"We didn't bring our best game. We just weren't competitive enough for those 50-50 balls and that sort of let us down.

"It is what it is. You lose some, you win some. We've just got to keep plugging away and we'll need to look at strategies to improve the girls each and every game and improve as a team."

She said it's always challenging to play away in Orange, especially considering the surface.

"Everyone knows the turf is a bit bouncy and rough, but both teams are in the same situation," she said.

"We know what the turf is like, so we've got to go with the bounce. You've got to have your corners set up accordingly, knowing that you can't do a stick trap.

"We were prepared for that but we just didn't play as well as we could."

Even though her side lost, Quinn said her side's defensive corners were "excellent".

"I think Feds had half a dozen corners and they didn't score any of them, so we defended really well," she said.

Combined with Souths' loss to St Pat's, Confederates' win pushes them four points clear of the fifth-placed two blues, who are two points clear of Bathurst City.

Last year was the first year in recent memory City didn't earn a grand final berth but the perennial contenders have had a slow start to 2019.

Bathurst City are next in action on June 22, when they take on city rivals Souths in what shoul dbe a cracking match, to be played at the Cooke Hockey Complex.