CREATING is one thing, but converting is another - that was the tale for Souths on Saturday when posting a 2-all draw with Ex-Services in their women's Premier League Hockey match.
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Taking on a 10-player Exies at Bob Roach Field, Souths created plenty in attack across the 70 minutes. Emma White found good space down the wings before cutting along the baseline, Charlize Fitzpatrick sparked a number of dangerous looking counter-attacks and the two blues earned 10 penalty corners.
But Souths could not convert those enough of chances and notch up their first win of the season.
"We haven't been on the front foot all year until today. I just think we were just a bit timid when we got up there," Souths coach Chris Stafford conceded.
"It's a hard one, they only had 10 players and we spoke about not getting too carried away in attack, but it's hard not to do that.
"I don't know how to explain it, we created a heap of chances, we created a heap of short corners - that's the most short corners we've had all year by a mile. So we are creating and I didn't think the shots were that bad, they just scrambled really well off their line."
Exies certainly scrambled well in defence during penalty corners, but that's not all they brought to the contest.
Exies threatened on the break, at times got in behind Souths' defence and earned three penalty corners of their own.
And were in not for a sharp Haylea Rogers glove save and two miraculous clearances from Daisy Morrissey in the third quarter - denying Shian Kennewell and Chloe Barrett - Exies could also have finished with more than two goals to their credit.
Coach Darryl Kennewell was delighted with the cohesion and determination his side showed.
"Our girls, they have gelled really well. That's one of the things we've got going over most teams, the girls know each others' game, they are playing well together, they are cohesive and there's no individuals because everyone is playing for each other," he said.
"I suppose it just comes down to everyone doing their jobs. With 10 girls, for the second time this year, we've come out with a 2-all draw. That's the difference between playing together and not playing together, so I am very proud of them.
"There are a couple of little things in there we could have fixed up - like a couple of square balls not going so direct - but we'll get back and work on it at training and go from there."
Souths had the better of the attacking chances in the opening quarter - earning a pair of penalty corners - but as was to be the case for what followed from the set piece, they could not capitalise.
Souths did come close 11 minutes into the second quarter as Sophie McCauley fired in a bullet from the top of the circle, but Exies goalkeeper Anna Kukla turned the penalty corner effort away via a stick save.
It took a piece of Sarah Watterson brilliance to finally get Souths on the board, beating two defenders as she made her way into the left of the circle then blasting a reverse stick effort into top right corner of the net.
Exies came at Souths early in the second half, but Morrissey's desperation held them out. The two blues then doubled their lead in the 39th minute as White tucked the ball in from a tight angle.
Soon after Ali Stanford hit the crossbar when trying to deflect a McCauley tomahawk in as Souths continued to pressure.
But Exies refused to conceded. When a Barrett penalty corner strike was saved only for the ball to hit a Souths defender and deflect into the net, it was game on at 2-1.
Then early in the final quarter Exies was back on level terms thanks to a nice Rachael Goodlock finish.
In the final eight minutes Souths had four penalty corner attempts to try and find a winner, but Exies held on to force a draw.
"I don't think anyone is going to argue the fact that we were all over them for most of the game, but they've done what we've tried to do to teams - hold back, hold back and then attack," Stafford said.
