After six long years Confederates finally snapped their winless streak against Ex-Services, claiming a 3-0 win in Saturday’s all-Orange women’s Premier League Hockey derby and scoring their first win over the blue and golds since re-entering the competition back in 2012.
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Although the scoreline suggests the win was a somewhat comfortable one Confederates coach Fiona Reith said it was actually anything but, praising Ex-Services’ ability to create an arm wrestle, before lauding her troops’ defensive effort.
In particular Confederates goalkeeper Kathryn Cox was excellent, building on a stunning performance in Orange High School’s Astley Cup clash on Friday to keep a second clean sheet in as many days.
“We lose a few players to various things over the next couple of weeks, so it was really important to grab a win,” Reith said, her side is now just two points shy of Bathurst Souths in fifth.
“It was a great game with both sides playing for a bit of local pride, and it was played in great spirits.”
Heidi Townsend’s double was a catalyst in the win while Eva Reith-Snare also scored, but they were only able to find the back of the net thanks to strong build up work through the back and midfield.
“We were able to create chances up front by capitalising on good defence and midfield work, and we were able to finish them,” Reith said.
Townsend kicked off proceedings in the fourth minute to give her side a 1-0 lead, that’s where the scoreline stayed until after half-time as both sides dug in hard.
Lilly Baker controlled Ex-Services’ attacking raids and created several of opportunities for the blue and golds in a superb showing, while the likes of Townsend, Reith-Snare, Millah Allcorn and Grace Evans fought hard to give their side the upper hand.
Reith-Snare’s 49th minute strike pushed Confederates’ buffer to two, before Townsend completed her brace and sealed the victory five minutes from full-time.
“We spoke at half-time about Ex-Services not giving up and we definitely had to commit to the full 70 minutes, but we were able to play it out and keep a clean sheet too which is a credit to our defence,” Reith said.
The derby clash completed the first half of the 2018 season’s games and Reith said her side is desperate to build on the momentum it’s picked up in recent weeks, prior to Saturday’s win Confederates forced a 1-1 draw against CYMS and defeated Lithgow Zig Zag 2-1 as well.
Ex-Services, on the other hand, remain winless on the bottom of the table but have rarely been outclassed, often showing signs that their record doesn’t reflect their performances.
They’ll be looking to break their duck against Bathurst Souths at this weekend’s Orange gala day – all the men's and women’s games are at Orange Hockey Centre – and build on that at Bathurst’s gala day the week after against Bathurst City.
- CONFEDERATES 3 (Heidi Townsend 2, Eva Reith-Snare) def EX-SERVICES 0
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.
