BRILLIANT, unreal, fantastic, unbelievable.
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Those were the words St Pat's coach Jaden Ekert used to describe the performance on Saturday which saw his side defeat Lithgow Panthers 2-1 and move into the top two on the women's Premier League Hockey ladder.
Panthers had suffered just one loss in 11 rounds heading into Saturday's clash at Bob Roach Field and boasted the best attacking record of any side in the competition.
But a much-improved performance in defence from the Saints, combined with a Kristy Ekert double, saw the Saints leapfrog the Panthers on the ladder.
"It's awesome," Jaden Ekert said.
"Either one of us could have won, but our defence was back to normal, we were fantastic defensively. I'd asked them to improve that area of our game and they did that.
"It was a phenomenal game. I couldn't speak highly enough of Luc [Lucy Harvey], Sophie [Conroy] - our whole defensive unit was brilliant. Jodie [Webb] played unbelievable at left half, she was on her death bed all week then comes out and plays hockey and plays an unreal game.
"Adversity was against us during the week knowing we wouldn't have a full team with Watto [Sarah Watterson], Mish [Somers] and Paige Hay out, but we still won, it was fantastic."
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It was Panthers who struck first in Saturday's clash as a piece of good fortune fell their way two minutes into the second quarter.
"Luc [Lucy Weal] went to hit through the line and the girl basically just closed her eyes, but she got a touch on it. Next minute they had three people in the circle and scored," Ekert said of the opener.
"It was just a lucky goal for them."
But just before the half-time break the Saints were back on level terms as Kristy Ekert scored off a penalty corner set piece.
She struck once more right on three-quarter-time, again from a penalty corner play. This time she blasted home from the top of the circle to make it 2-1.
In the final quarter both sides had their chances and even the final minute was full of drama.
The Saints had a penalty corner attempt saved, Panthers quickly worked their way down field, shot and while the attempt was blocked by Sophie Conroy, the ball lifted off her stick.
It meant the Saints had to survive one last Panthers penalty corner to emerge victorious. The win also keeps them in the hunt for the major semi-final.
"They played scoreboard hockey and just pushed everyone up, but defensively we held our structures and held them at bay," Jaden Ekert said. "They got a short corner right on the hooter and girls defended it out, which was fantastic."
