Premier League Hockey: Souths take their first win of season with one-goal win over Parkes

That's how Souths reaped the rewards in Saturday's 3-2 win over Parkes United in women's Premier League Hockey action.

Souths got out to a 3-1 lead before Parkes got themselves back within striking distance with a third quarter goal.

But a gritty defensive effort across the entirety of the fourth quarter from the two blues got them the points they badly craved.

Souths had lost their opening round match by a goal and drawn their next two matches heading into the weekend's meeting with Parkes.

That made the breakthrough success feel all the greater, according to Souths coach Ange Johnson.

"I think it's been a long time since the girls have sung the team song so they were quite elated. They're feeling positive that they're moving in the right direction," she said.

"Parkes are a tough opponent with good skills and a great mix of players with hockey heads and fast, young players."

Souths took the game to Parkes across either side of half-time, when they found their second and third goals.

Parkes hit back but Souths dodged a third successive draw.

"That was definitely a long last quarter, that's for sure," Johnson said.

"It did get a bit scrappy towards the end of it. At the end of the day we didn't do too much debriefing, we just wanted to enjoy that winning feeling.

"I thought that the leadership team are playing quite strong at the moment, but to win in this competition everyone has to be playing well. When you look at the results across the competition they're all rather tight.

"Pat's winning 4-0 was the only exception to that this week."

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