TalkHockeyRadio went out looking for a giant killing act in the Fifth Round of the England Hockey Cup and chose the match between Havant from Div.1 and Premier Division side Hampstead and Westminster. It looked as if we had made a poor choice when the Londoner’s scored in the 12th minute, courtesy of Scott Webster. But with penalty corner danger man Callum Giles in their side, Havant were always going to be a problem at corners, and it was as half-time approached that Callum Giles gave Havant a well deserved equaliser. Shortly before the break, Tasmanian Richard Hedlam, gave Havant the lead with a well taken goal from open play. In the second half, Havant’s two Egyptian internationals, Ezz and Hamoza, combined well, and Hampstead were caught on the break by Ezz, who scored after a fine run down the left wing. Hampstead then started to claw their way back into the match and a penalty corner conversion by Josh Smith closed the gap to 3-2. Several times during the closing minutes it looked as the match would go to extra time but some fine goalkeeping enabled Havant to hang on to their lead and progress through to the next round. Photographs from this match will appear on our main site over the next few days.
Havant were not the only Div 1 side to take a Premier Division scalp. Div 1 leaders Bowden overcame Beeston 2-1. Elsewhere the underdogs had less luck. Canterbury overcame Chelmsford 6-3, Loughborough Students beat Exeter University 4-1, Old Loughtonians went down 1-4 to Cannock, and Surbiton won against Southgate 5-2. In a re-run of the 2006 final, East Grinstead met Reading, the game ending in draw. The final result was a reversal of the last cup meeting, EG winning 4-1 on penalty strokes after extra time. The biggest score of the day was between Div 1 Bournville and South Div Indian Gymkhana, which ended 14-1.
The EHL now takes a rest until 27 January. There were matches played in the Women’s Premier, and North and South divisions, and the men’s North and South divisions yesterday (Saturday). Wins by Canterbury, Leicester, and Slough have resulted in the top three pulling away from the rest of the pack. Leicester were victorious against fourth placed Bowden Hightown, despite being 2-0 early in the match. Final score 4-3. Ipswich’s 3-2 win over Chelmsford drops Chelmsford from 5th to 7th place and the draw between Old Loughtonians and Doncaster lifts the Yorkshire side off the bottom of the table.
A full set of league tables has been posted to our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.
