THEY snapped a five-year losing run during the first women's Premier League Hockey derby of the season but will Souths be able to claim back-to-back successes against Bathurst City?
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The Bathurst sides meet again this Saturday, each hurting after defeats in the previous round and both needing a win to keep pace with the competition's top four.
The two blues will take confidence into the match, despite a 5-0 defeat to St Pat's last weekend, since they picked up a 1-0 win over City back in the first round of the season.
However, Souths coach Chris Stafford said it's almost pointless reflecting on the previous meeting since it happened earlier in the season.
"They're a completely different team [compared to Pat's] so you can only take so much out of games," he said.
"I know we're missing quite a few this week and from what I understand they will be as well so it's going to be quite a different game from the first round, that's for sure.
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"They've got some quality players in there so if they click that's going to make it tough for us.
"We just need to tighten up the guts a bit, not panic, control the ball and just do what we know we can do."
City's season needs a quick turnaround after their loss to Confederates last round.
The team sits on one win from seven matches and desperately needs a win to stay in touch with the top four.
"This will be a tough match physically and mentally for both sides. It was only 1-0 last time ... and we did dominate moments of play, but Souths have been playing very well since then," City coach Lisa Quinn said.
"This is probably the best year I've seen Souths have since I've been in Bathurst and they just keep getting better with each game. This will be harder than the first time we played them.
"I've been following up on the system and style that they play and hopefully we've got some strategies to combat that."
Saturday's game shapes up as a huge depth tester with both clubs expecting multiple players absent through injuries and other commitments.
Souths can draw level with fourth-placed Confederates with a win while City will leap ahead of the two blues should they turn around the result from the first derby.
The game gets underway from 12.20pm.
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
