AFTER three weeks off the field, Souths resume their quest for glory in the men’s Premier League Hockey competition this afternoon against improving but still battling local rivals Bathurst City.

And they will have a new talent on deck to help their cause.

Last weekend’s general bye was preceded by a washed-out meeting with Lithgow Zig Zag, a game that both clubs have agreed to re-play on July 24 in Lithgow.

With both teams in the finals mix, it is a crucial match in the context of the season.

However, for now Souths have to concentrate on City, who are coming off a win in their last match against Dubbo two weeks ago and are showing signs that they have adjusted to the pace and intensity of Premier League.

The two blues get the chance to unveil a new star in the shape of Spanish import Edu Garriga Viudes, who will play with the club for the remainder of the season.

He brings huge credentials, having represented Spain in the under 21s national side during a career that has seen him playing in Europe virtually full-time since he was old enough to qualify for seniors.

“I’ve known him for a while now. He played in Sydney when I was down there and got in contact recently about coming back to Australia during the European off-season,” Souths coach Ray Winwood-Smith said.

“He’s just finished the recent season in Belgium and is essentially here to keep his fitness and skills up, and his sister is coming out here to spend time working on her English, so that’s the reason he was keen to come back and play a bit of hockey.

“He’s a good striker and a very good player in general, but at the end of the day a striker can only be as good as the rest of the team around him and whether they are getting him the ball often enough.

“But I know that if he gets chances in front of goal, he will put them away.”

Goals are at the top of the agenda for Souths this afternoon.

Winwood-Smith’s men have regularly had to rely on their defence to win them games that they have otherwise dominated this season without putting the score on the board to match.

“Defensively I think we’ve been very strong, about as good as I could have hoped for,” the coach said.

“But we’ve not executed nearly as well as I would have liked when we’ve been in attacking positions.

“We are up against a young team this weekend who are starting to earn some respect in this competition because of their improvement, but I think it is still a game in which we should be looking to put them under a lot of pressure at their end of the ground.

“Our attitude is that it doesn’t matter what team we’re up against, we go out there the same way and play as hard as we can regardless.”

Souths will do battle with Bathurst City from 3.20pm at Bob Roach Field today.