THE finishing touches - that is what Bathurst City is searching for as it continues its quest to be part of this year's women's Premier League Hockey finals series.
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On Saturday City kept itself in contention for fourth spot on the ladder with a 1-0 win over Ex-Services at Bob Roach Field, but the victory certainly could have been more convincing given its glut of attacking possession.
Exies repelled seven Bathurst City penalty corners and while the hosts dominated the circle penetration count, they struggled to get their shots once in there on target.
The defensive brand of hockey Exies played certainly had an impact on that - at times the Orange outfit had nine players in the circle - but City captain Bec Bosianek knows that was not the only factor.
"This season we've actually struggled with our finishing touches, we've had a few short corners and we just can't convert," Bosianek said.
"We are working on it at training, it's just that last finishing. When everyone plays their position and works well, it goes in every time. We've just got to time it right.
"It's not far away, we are starting to click and the talk is getting way better between us all. It's just that last tiny little finish that we are inches off."
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City's only goal of the contest came one minute before the half-time break as coach Lisa Quinn slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
It meant there were some nervous moments when Exies did manage to counter - Shian Duboc drawing a sharp Kylie Tattersall save in the third quarter, while City also survived a penalty corner with five to go.
"It was scrappy. It makes it hard when we have no outlet because they are crowding us, we just had to keep using our short balls, play our game and play at our pace," Bosianek said.
"But that win is important, we want that fourth position and to secure our spot in the finals. We just need to work on our goal differences."
While Exies have not been in finals contention for some time, co-coach Michelle Barrett feels things could have been different had her side enjoyed greater player depth in 2019.
They only had the bare 11 for Saturday's match.
"I thought we showed a bit of heart today, which was good," she said.
"There were phases there where we actually had some attacking opportunities which surprised me because we went into that game to defend knowing we didn't have any subs.
"We played our way into the contest, there were some opportunities that were coming from some nice short passing. It was nice to see them have the opportunity to have some shots on goal.
"It shows what we could do if we had a bigger squad and a bit more commitment at training - if we had that I think we could could do what we wanted to do."
