Sarah Watterson banged home a treble in the visiting Bathurst club’s six-goal romp at the Orange Hockey Complex on Saturday and it wasn’t until the final five minutes the blue and golds got on the board, through Shian Duboc.

Ekert said his girls were made to work for the four points, by both Services and the notoriously tricky Orange turf, a win that keeps St Pat’s inside the women’s PLH top three.

“I wouldn’t say easy, nothing is easy on that turf,” Ekert said.

“They played well for the majority of the game, but I think our girls, with the basics and the simplicity we’re adopting this season, it just worked well.”

St Pat’s scored in the opening minute of both halves to set the pace for either term.

Watterson was the beneficiary of that fast-paced hockey, her speed and skill on the ball enough to give the Servies veterans more than a few headaches.

Ekert said Watterson has meshed well with her new club and says there’s no reason his side can’t match it with the competition’s current top two – CYMS and City.

“We’ve had some inconsistency the last couple of years, but we had a draw with Souths and lost against City and really we should have won both of those,” he said.

“The girls have to learn to be consistent, week in, week out. We’re getting there.”