WHEN you're on the lower end of an 11-1 short corner count it's difficult to come away with success in a hockey match.
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But that one and only short corner opportunity for Bathurst City proved to be all they needed to claim an upset 1-0 victory in Saturday's women's Central West Premier League Hockey derby against St Pat's at Bob Roach Field.
Emily Thompson's successful short course strike after the first quarter siren would be all that would separate the teams at the end of an entertaining derby clash, despite the bulk of possession and opportunities for the remainder of the game favouring the Saints.
Seven of the Saints' short corners came during a dominant second quarter's play but City's defence was up to the task on every occasion.
"One short corner was all it took. The girls really scrambled well in defence and did a great job to hold them out," City coach Mal Willott said.
"We talked about what we defensively wanted to achieve before the game and we were able to do that in the match. It was great to see.
"Pat's were second on the ladder going into this game so that's a big win for us, especially bouncing back after last week, where we played alright but nowhere near as good as we did today. We really stepped up.
"It was a really fast paced game and they were ready for that."
Bathurst City were the stronger side over the opening 10 minutes of the game, with Thompson and Kelsey Webb producing some positive early play down the right wing.
Pat's started to create some chances inside the last five minutes of the opening quarter.
The first of those came from a short, lofted pass from Lily Kable to Kristy Ekert, who entered the circle along the baseline but was met by City goalkeeper Maddie Tattersall.
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A poor transition across the top of the circle then gave Millie Fulton a one-on-one opportunity against Tattersall but the City keeper made the stop.
City then brought the ball back downfield for one last crack at the Saints' goal, and earned themselves a short corner with just 20 seconds left.
Thompson capped off her strong opening quarter of hockey with a goal to give City the lead.
The response in the second quarter was emphatic from Pat's, who had an early short corner attempt and then rarely let City make inroads out of their own half.
A short, well-placed Kable pass gave Amy Vanderhel a chance from close range but she couldn't get a clean shot away.
City then survived three straight short corners in a confidence boosting period of play for their defence.
Fulton and Kable linked up to create another great chance for the Saints late into the quarter but Tattersall was well positioned to pounce on the ball.
City's defence continued to absorb plenty of pressure during another strong third quarter from the Saints, and on the back of those efforts City managed to gain back some more time in possession during the final term.
City's Rebecca Arrow got away a reverse stick shot attempt inside the first minute, while teammates Maggie and Emily Thompson each launched shots which required saves from Lilli-Rae Campbell.
Pat's had another three short corner attempts throughout the fourth quarter but they all had the same result as the eight that had come beforehand.
BATHURST CITY 1 (Emily Thompson) defeated ST PAT'S 0
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