HOCKEY
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IF this year’s women’s Premier League Hockey season was following a script, then Bathurst City tore it apart on Saturday with a 2-0 major semi-final away win the previously undefeated Lithgow Panthers.
City booked their place in the grand final on the back of one of their strongest performances this season as they delivered when it mattered.
It will be the seventh grand final appearance for the Bathurst club in eight years.
The two goals for City came from penalty corners in the first half with Jess Hotham and Casey Bayliss the sources.
Hotham’s goal came 15 minutes into the first half and a matter of minutes later Bayliss put the Panthers into an unfamiliar situation. Her touch from the set play made it 2-0.
The remainder of the first half saw both sides exchanging periods of momentum.
Panthers came out the stronger side in the second half, but 15 minutes in their frustration began to show as City slowly took the momentum.
Still, Lithgow finished the match with the fervour they had lacked elsewhere in the game.
City’s goalkeeper Maddie Tattersall was tested on several occasions in the final 10 minutes, but Panthers still couldn’t find a goal.
Lithgow will now face Parkes for a grand final spot while City get a one week respite before the season’s decider.
Bayliss was almost at a loss for words when describing how it felt to overcome the Panthers.
“It was fantastic. I never doubted that we could do it. We had a draw with them last time and that was a match that we definitely could have won. Our confidence was very high coming into this,” she said.
“Maddie Tattersall was an absolute legend and had a ripper of a game. Tanya Lowe had a blinder.
“We all just gelled as a team today. It feels great to have done what no other team has done this season.
“To hold them scoreless is fantastic. Our heads never dropped once in the game but I did think the Panthers were a bit flat and certainly not playing their best hockey – though that’s no disrespect to our girls because they still played great.”
Having the extra week to prepare is something Bayliss and her team will be looking forward to but it wasn’t something that looked like happening a couple of months ago.
“I don’t know what we wanted more, the home grand final or the week off,” she laughed.
“We’ve always had a strong team, but this season it’s been a bit different.
“There’s been a lot of younger players coming through and when that happens it can take years for teams to bring themselves up to speed, but these girls have slotted in so well.”
BATHURST CITY 2 (Jess Hotham, Casey Bayliss) defeated LITHGOW PANTHERS 0