THERE were moments of panic and there were moments frustration, but with just over four minutes left on the clock there was a moment of brilliance that saved St Pat's.
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Locked at 1-all against Orange CYMS with a quarter to play in Saturday's women's Central West Premier League Hockey clash at Bob Roach Field, the Saints were in genuine danger.
So when a string of passes between sisters Millie and Macey Fulton plus skipper Jodie Webb found space in CYMS' defence before Hannah Kable slotted home to make it 2-1, there was utter relief for the Saints.
Coach Bec Clayton knows that being able to find that goal rather than the game ending in a draw or defeat is important as her Saints build to the finals.
"We've got four games to go, there's five rounds but we've got a bye in that, so every win is important," she said.
"We want to stay in that second spot. There's no way we're going to get to first, that won't happen unless Lithgow falls in a heap, so we're assuming they're going to stay first and for us to stay in second, we have to win all our games."
While win keeps Pat's in second place as Clayton wanted, for CYMS the result means there's still work to do in order to earn a spot in the semi-finals.
However, CYMS skipper Kayla Russell thinks if her side can keep producing the same sort of hockey that tested the Saints, semi-finals are a realistic goal.
"I think now we've come to this second half of the comp we're definitely heading in the right direction. It was a really close game today and I think it shows we are premiership competition," she said.
"It was a really good, gutsy effort. I think the girls gave everything today, we were just unlucky."
As always Russell was brilliant at the back, but that the work of the CYMS' defensive unit as a whole impressed was another good sign for the Orange side.
While the Saints earned a glut of circle penetrations, CYMS did well to make sure a majority of those did not translate to a shot or a penalty corner.
"Defence is one of the stronger parts of our game, but today our junior defenders they stepped up majorly and they were helping the senior players pull people into position," Russell said.
There was little CYMS' defence could do about the opening goal which came five minutes into Saturday's match.
The Saints earned a penalty corner and Kable's angled strike was both powerful and accurate.
Accuracy when playing out of defence was a feature of the opening quarter for the Saints too, in particular down the left edge.
Carly Sandry and Sophie Conroy threw some brilliant balls to the Fulton sisters and that quick transition into attack created pressure on CYMS.
Still, it was pressure CYMS absorbed to go to half-time still very much in the contest at 1-0 down.
In the third quarters CYMS better restricted Pat's outlet balls and in turn, it saw errors begin to creep into the hosts' game.
Just before three-quarter-time CYMS locked things up at 1-all as a quick counter then brilliant Addi Chapman cross left Sophie Goodall with the easiest of tap-ins.
It made for a tense finish, but with 4:36 left Kable scored her second for the match and the Saints avoided the upset.
But while Kable's match-winner is evidence of what Pat's can do when they keep composure, play eyes-up and string together quick passes, it's not something Clayton saw enough of.
She conceded in the second half CYMS out-enthused her side. It's something she knows she needs to address.
"Look especially in that second half they just wanted the ball way more than we did, they were getting to the ball before us. Their want was just more than ours," Clayton said.
"I think we did panic a little bit, I think the fact we'd had a few short corners, we were just making silly mistakes, I don't know where our heads were at sometimes. We were just handing the ball over way too easily.
"So we need to work on that and it starts by getting people to training. If you train well you don't make those silly mistakes."
ST PAT'S 2 (Hannah Kable 2) defeated ORANGE CYMS 1 (Sophie Goodall)
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