Confederates claimed a massive scalp on Saturday afternoon, springing an upset on reigning women’s Premier League Hockey champions Bathurst City.
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With both sides short-staffed, Eva Reith-Snare’s 18th minute goal ultimately proved the match-winner as Confederates held on to win 1-nil.
The Orange side’s victory continues their recent run of form and also extends a rare lean run for Bathurst City, Confederates have now won two of their last four games and drawn another while in same period the reigning premiers have celebrated victory just once.
Confederates coach Fiona Reith acknowledged it was a weakened Bathurst City side, but that didn’t make her any less pleased with her young side.
“They were down a few players but we were as well, and both sides still played for the win. We had to earn it, that’s for sure,” she said.
“We went into the game with a plan and we were able to execute it for 75 per cent of it, and it paid off. The girls played with their usual commitment and enthusiasm.”
She explained her side had tailored a plan specifically for Bathurst City, although she didn’t delve into too much detail on it, and Confederates created plenty of opportunities on the back of that.
Fortunately, Reith said, Confederates’ NSW under-21 star was able to convert one of those.
“We created a lot more chances on goal than we usually do and City, to their credit, were resolute in defence,” Reith said.
The win also keeps Confederates’ slim finals hopes alive, landing a big blow to Bathurst City’s top two hopes in the process.
With four regular-season rounds remaining Confederates are now 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Bathurst City, and with a maximum of 16 points available to them there’s still a chance they can make it with a late-season run.
Bathurst City, on the other hand, now trails third-placed CYMS by two points and is another four back from competition leaders Bathurst St Pat’s.
“We’ll keep working away and hopefully find some ways to continue being competitive,” Reith said, also mentioning her side will be down on troops for basically the rest of the season.
“We don’t get a full team back on the paddock until the last round game.”
- CONFEDERATES 1 (Eva Reith-Snare) def BATHURST CITY 0