A last quarter blitz from St Pats handed the Albury-Wodonga Spitfires a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss at Albury Hockey Centre on Saturday.
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The home side had put together two good performances against top four sides, Goulburn and United, in the past fortnight and fancied an upset against St Pats on home turf.
It looked on the cards with a 2-0 lead at the final change, but an early penalty corner in the final term was followed by two field goals as the visitors snatched victory at the death.
The Spitfires welcomed back a host of Victorian-based stars who had been ruled out due to the state's lockdown, but received some bad news on the eve of the contest with Seth Albon and Kurt Beath both ruled out with injury and were replaced by Dave Smith and Fenn Dawson.
Coach Shayne Newell's message to the group was to focus on possession and do what was asked of them in their chosen positions.
It was a shaky start for the Spitfires who made a series of mistakes and invited St Pats into the circle, but they fortunately weren't punished.
The second quarter was an improvement but the home side still weren't gelling enough to create any quality opportunities.
St Pats continued to apply pressure, but the Spitfires' defence stood tall to ensure it remained goalless at half-time.
Composure and strength on the ball was the major focus in the second half and the Spitfires delivered with an increase in circle penetrations leading to a breakthrough goal for James Ellis in the seventh minute.
Just three minutes later, David Foster doubled the advantage to give the hosts all the momentum at the final break.
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More of the same was called for, but two minutes into the last quarter, St Pats scored a penalty corner, which gave them a lift and by the 10-minute mark they had a 3-2 lead, which they held until the end.
"We went away from the third quarter effort and made too many mistakes and turnovers," Newell said.
"It's a disappointment to say the least and it was felt throughout the team.
"To be up by two goals and let that slip was a hard lesson, but important learning for all to stay composed and keep possession when under pressure."
Foster was named best on ground for the Spitfires, while Nicho Kilby and Tony Donnelley were solid.
Meanwhile, Hockey Albury-Wodonga's division one competitions returned on Sunday with CR United's men retaining a commanding lead at the top with a 4-1 win against Wombats.
The ladder leaders were tested earlier, but were able to run away with a strong victory in the end.
Norths returned to form with an impressive 4-1 win against Magpies, largely thanks to an Ian Beath hat trick.
Falcons dug deep to post a 2-1 salute over Wodonga.
In division one women, Norths dug deep to outlast Magpies-Wombats, 2-1, while Falcons firmed as premiership favourites with a dominant 7-1 result against Wodonga.
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