Missing three key players in Millie Leard, Keely Hunter and Chris Stapleton Zig Zag found themselves down 2-nil at the half time break in the match against the third-placed Bathurst Souths.

A better second half saw them hold the visitors to a scoreless second half, but the damage was done in a 15 minute period when Souths seized on two of the few chances to come the way of either side.

The first umpire’s points went to Stacey Tomlinson (3), Candice Falconer (2) and Nikki Braun (1) while the second umpire’s points saw Falconer gain 3, Tomlinson 2 and Zig Zag’s Tegan Walsh 1 who was also adjudged Zig Zag’s players’ player.

It was a much-needed win for Souths who are locked in a six-way battle for top spot, headed by Lithgow Panthers.

To Zig Zag’s credit, they did produce some good play in defence, displaying their usual characteristic scrambling style.

Ali Stanford made the most of Souths’ early possession when she finished off a nice string of passes to make it 1-nil.

Sarah Watterson scored the second of the two blues’ goals just minutes later in similar fashion, strong build up from her team-mates once more creating the opportunity.

From there the chances dried up and while Souths remained in control, they struggled to get the ball inside the circle.

“We probably had five or six other chances to score in the rest of the game,” Souths coach Melissa Bestwick said.

“We really struggled to put two passes together the whole game with Zig Zag pressing us with their defence.

“We got frustrated when we weren’t able to play our normal game.

“I don’t think we made our first circle penetration in the second half until there was about 10 minutes to go, and we only had one penalty corner in the half.”

While happy to get the points, Bestwick knew the final margin could have been greater if her team didn’t let Zig Zag dictate the style of the game.