THANKS to Saturday's 4-3 victory over Dubbo, Orange Ex-Services are back in the women's Premier League Hockey top two for the first time since dropping out after being stripped of points earlier this season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"That's where we want to stay too," Ex-Services striker Chloe Barrett said.
Barrett sealed the win for Ex-Services with a strike in the dying stages, which also helped the blue and golds narrowly avoid imploding against the winless Blue Jays.
Ex-Services led 3-0 at half-time but conceded three in the early stages of the second period before Barrett's 66th minute goal gave her side the lead again and ultimately the win.
"Nothing really went wrong for us during that period when Dubbo scored, we just weren't finishing and the 50-50 calls sort of went against us," Barrett said.
"We didn't really drop our heads or drop off or anything. Dubbo are always tougher to beat at home though, like any side, so it's a really pleasing win for us.
"It keeps us up there with the top sides so that aspect is good too."
Madie Smith, Shian Duboc and Deb Orrock found the back of the net in a clinical first half from the Orange side which looked to have opened the floodgates.
The Blue Jays clawed their way back into the game though, through Courtney Hogan, Emma Corcoran and Emily Lake.
But in a clutch moment, Barrett nailed a short corner shot with less than five minutes to go to see her side home.
"Madie passed it to me from the short corner and gave me plenty of time," Barrett said.
"I actually had more than enough time to really wind up and smack it, so I did.
"We've been working on some new structures and we're still getting used to them, but they worked well for us on the weekend.
"Larissa Atkinson was really good, she was a stand-out for us and then Madie Smith, Shian Duboc and Leanne Kennewell all played really well too."
Ex-Services trail the first-placed Lithgow Panthers by 14 points.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
