Orange CYMS continued their unbeaten start to the 2019 Women's Premier League Hockey season on Saturday afternoon and remain in a share for the competition lead as a result, downing Confederates in a scrappy local derby on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Pip Mannix, Kennedy Chapman, Jade Georgiou and Madie Smith all found the back of the net in the 4-1 victory and thanks to that their green and golds stay on level pegging with the also-undefeated Lithgow Panthers.
The perennial powerhouse Panthers do technically claim top spot on goal difference, Lithgow's is three goals better, but CYMS also continued their miserly defensive ways at Orange Hockey Centre.
The one goal they let in to their red and blue Orange counterparts, scored by Jade Williams, was incredibly the first they've conceded in the opening month of the season.
It probably wasn't our best performance but it's really positive for us that we can still get the job done.
- CYMS' Jade Georgiou.
"We do have a really good defensive unit, with someone like Kayla Russell back there and in good form not much gets past her. In saying that our goalkeeper Kimbo (Kiel) just went to a whole new level [on Saturday]," Georgiou said.
"She had quite a bit to do and made some really brilliant saves because Feds threw a lot at us and without her I really think the game could've gone either way.
"The rest of the side really lifted from that and I think that's one of the really great things about our side at the moment, we are all playing for each other and because of that we're really enjoying our hockey.
"It probably wasn't our best performance but it's really positive for us that we can still get the job done. We were good in the first and fourth quarters but lost our structure a bit in the second and third, so we were a bit inconsistent.
"But when we do that we still win 4-1, we're in a pretty good spot I think."
Georgiou heaped praise on Confederates' goalkeeper Kathryn Cox too, although her green and golds ultimately found the back of the net four times she said it could've been more, a lot more, had Cox not been so determined.
"Particularly in the first quarter. We were up 1-nil but we would've had about 10 or so shots on goal just in that quarter alone," Georgiou said.
"She was just outstanding under some real rapid-fire attack from us, she kept us out and kept them in the game."
As the scoreline suggests, CYMS did eventually score thrice more in the final three quarters and as you'd expect after that "inconsistent" performance Georgiou said her side will stay grounded and continue improving over the next few weeks.
Elsewhere, Ex-Services suffered a 3-nil loss to competition leaders Lithgow Panthers, Clare Bosman, Amelia Leard and Mackenzie Stewart scoring in the shut-out victory.
- ORANGE CYMS 4 (Pip Mannix, Kennedy Chapman, Jade Georgiou, Madie Smith) def CONFEDERATES 1 (Jade Williams)
WANT MORE ORANGE AND REGIONAL SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...