FOR weeks Orange Wanderers have highlighted slow starts as a problem, one which has been a deciding factor in results - win, loss or draw.
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Now, coach Beth Shea said her players need to stop talking about fixing the issue, and just fix it, adding Saturday’s men’s Premier League Hockey clash with Parkes United is her team’s best chance to do so.
“We need to beat the bottom two sides to stay fourth, and Parkes are one of them,” Shea said.
“We have been starting slowly, and we’ve focused a lot on our warm ups and why we’re doing it. I’ve put the onus on the players a bit to know how to get themselves to a position where they’re ready to go.
“I thought we were ready last week, as did the senior players, but (Lithgow) Zig Zag still came out much quicker.”
Wanderers were forced to come back from 3-1 down last week after a slow start, eventually winning 4-3.
“We still took plenty of positives in certain aspects of the game, which we’ll need to bring into [today’s] game as well,” Shea said.
“We were persistent in coming from behind, and our fitness was fantastic. We came out well over the top of Zig Zag in that respect which shows our substitution system is working.
“I’m confident in saying the guys understand the structures, and systems, we are playing now. We’ve also developed a new defensive system, which we’ll need to play well [today].
“The onus has been on the senior players to own the team a bit more, at trainings and in games, and [today] is no different.
“They know how Parkes play, so if we think quickly we should be fine.”
Wanderers play Parkes United, in Parkes, from 1.25pm.
