It hasn't been a great year for Daryl Kennewell's Ex-Service's, but the seventh-placed Premier League Hockey outfit is hoping to buck a losing trend when they take on Orange United in a round 12 derby.
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The ladies have three wins to their name this season, and while 33 goals conceded looks fairly alarming on the stat sheet, Kennewell's adamant that the lack of "polish" up front has been their real downfall.
"I think our defence has actually be OK," Kennewell said.
"We just haven't played well at the end of set pieces. There's a lot of games that we've been but we just lose it towards the end.
"There's a couple of really young girls in the side this year which has helped us get a team on the paddock and it's also good for progression."
Orange United are one of the clubs having an excellent 2021, and Kennewell was quick to praise those teams for what they've done so far.
"We've got to give them credit," he said.
"Especially United, they've turned from Feds and attracted some players in key roles. They're well-drilled and have key players in key positions."
While you'd have Orange United as favourites heading into this meeting, Kennewell's side doesn't lack any self-belief and he thinks an upset is very much on the cards.
"The girls are tenacious and they're very passionate about the club they play for," he said.
"Sometimes that passion can come back to bite them, but as long as we stick to our system, we can go a long way to winning."
Orange United's Ellen Warner has been one of several key pieces at her club this season, and attributes the strong campaign to chemistry.
"We really enjoy playing with each other," Warner said.
"We believe in each other and we all just work together. It's been great just having fun and playing hockey again."
While Nic Milne is the centrepiece of the coaching staff, Warner made sure to praise the other mentors.
"There's so many people supporting us," she said.
We're very lucky that we've got so many people putting time and effort in."
During the round 10 double header, United put together a big win over Panthers, before slipping on a banana peel against Bathurst City.
"We need to make sure we work as hard as we can every time we play," she said.
"We didn't have our heads in the game and they outplayed us."
The derby commences at 11.50am.
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