By the end of the Tamworth Women’s Hockey match between South United and Waratahs, Souths had scored a 3-0 win.
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However, it wasn’t until the late that Souths edged clear.
The scrambling defence and outstanding goalkeeping of Lara Taggart coupled with some “poor options” by Souths kept Waratahs in the match.
“I felt we were controlling the ball well in the first half. However, we lacked patience in the attacking third, being too direct with our passing and we were not using enough width or depth to stretch the Waratahs defence,” Souths coach Andrew Davy said.
“We were also a little lazy in our reverse press and this was allowing the opposition an easy passage out of defence with little pressure from behind.”
The addition of Sarah Askey midway through the first half helped to strengthen Waratahs resolve and add creativity in the midfield which resulted in a good contest between Askey and Meg Lye.
Waratahs proved dangerous on the counter but Allison Billinghurst and goalkeeper Maeve Galvin were able to match the attack and hold Waratahs out.
Souths finally found the back of the net after responding positively to the half-time speech. With the shackles broken, Souths snared another two quick goals to seal the win.
While Davy was happy with the two points, he said it was “more satisfying to watch the development of all players on the field and the enjoyment they are getting from playing with and for one another, resulting in a pleasing style of hockey.”
Tudors and Olympians also clashed on the weekend.
The message at half-time from Andrew Farmilo to his Olympians side was simple: “Keep doing what we're doing.”
Despite trailing 1-0 to Tudors in their Tamworth Women’s Hockey match, Olympians had put in a handy first half of hockey, Farmilo said.
“Our defensive work was really good and our play up to the circle was good. We just let ourselves down with attacking circle work,” Farmilo said.
“The way we played was good. It was a good free-flowing game.
“We were always trying to pass the ball quickly and get the ball going.”
Continuing that first half effort resulted in a pair of goals for Olympians to take out a 2-1 win.
Isobel Hazell scored the first goal for Olympians before Jane Mukome scored the match-winner.
Farmilo said Dana Constable, who was playing a high fullback role, had a great game along with the captain Kate Reynolds.
Reynolds was playing at centre-half and put in her usual workmanlike performance.
“She just works hard all the time and has a real dig,” Farmilo said.
Meanwhile, Flames scored a close 5-4 win over Services to close out the round.
Captain Tegan Smith led the way for Flames with a hat-trick.