Souths aim to make it two Central West Premier League Hockey wins in as many weeks

Last Saturday Souths not only posted its first win over Bathurst rivals St Pat's since round 12 of the 2016 competition, but did so in emphatic fashion with a 6-1 score line.

It was by far and away Souths' biggest win over the Saints in the past decade, eclipsing their previous best result of 3-0 which came on April 12, 2014.

It was a victory which elevated Souths, an outfit which has not featured in the women's Premier League Hockey finals series since 2015, into second on the ladder.

It's an unfamiliar spot for Souths, but now the side is in the top two that's exactly where the playing group wants to stay.

To do that means winning another local derby this Saturday against Bathurst City.

"We need to back up what we did last week, we've got to show up, just because we won against Pat's doesn't mean we slack off now. We've got to take it and run with it," Emma Siejka, who has played with Souths since 2103, said.

"We do have another derby this weekend and Bathurst City, as we all know, they're not just someone that you just walk in and take lightly at all.

"They could come out with anything and I know they had a loss to Parkes last weekend, but they had people out. We're not looking at that and thinking 'Cool, we can get on top of them'.

"I wouldn't say that any of us are taking this game lightly, just like last weekend, we didn't take that game lightly either. I think the pressure will still be there."

In recent seasons when under pressure, Souths has struggled to come up with the big plays to switch momentum.

For example last season Souths had seven draws - if the side had found a match winner in a handful of those it would have been in the finals.

But last Saturday showed Souths can produce under pressure. Not only did the side manage to convert in attack, but the defence also repelled nine of the 10 penalty corner plays the Saints earned.

"There was no panic, normally with local derbies you get a little bit nervous and a bit stressed, but there was no panic, everyone just went out there and did their job," Siejka said.

"It even felt more structured, yes there were moments that we were under the pump, but I felt like in those moments we held our composure a lot better than we have previously.

"To be honest going into it I had the confidence that we'd probably win, but I didn't think by that margin. At the end of the game, coming off field, I didn't feel like we didn't deserve to win like that or we didn't deserve those goals because the long and the short of it was, every opportunity we had we really tried to put it away.

"You're always going to miss a few, but for us the execution was there. We've been practicing that every training, and the amount of people coming to training and the dedication from everyone in the team - it's there and that's what showed."

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As Siejka points out, last Saturday's performance came off the back of plenty of hard work done at training.

But she feels Souths' current three-game winning streak is about more than dedication to training.

She feels the confidence and composure of younger members of Souths' squad has been a noticeable change.

Now not only are those young players - the likes of Sam Brown, Charlize Fitzpatrick and Georgia Kearney - a threat due to their speed, but they are backing their skills too.

"Obviously our squad this year is very different to what we've seen in the past because a couple of girls have retired, and the pace of our younger girls up front - they are very, very quick," Siejka said.

"I've noticed even in the last 12 months with those younger girls, their confidence levels have gone through the roof, so they're actually backing themselves and running and not throwing anything silly.

"It is like someone has flipped a switch. Maybe it's because Sam has made it to the CHS and then Charlize has got AAP as well, I think those pathway programs and those extra things like district hockey or WRAS, I think they have brought out the confidence of those young girls even more.

"Look I'm not taking away from anyone in the past Tahni [Isedale] was our work horse in the back and without her this year I thought 'This is going to be hard', but the young girls know that's what she used to do, so they've stepped up and are doing what Tahni used to do."

Siejka said Souths' new coaching duo Annie Pakinga and Scott Hanrahan "have been great", but just like the players they know there is still plenty of hockey to come this season.

Souths only met Bathurst City once last year, that match resulting in a nil-all draw.

The last time the two blues beat Bathurst City was in the 2019 season opener when prevailing 1-0.

Saturday's local derby at Bob Roach Field will commence at 12.20pm.

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