UNDERSTRENGTH BEESTON THROUGH TO NEXT ROUND

TalkHockeyRadio was at Holcombe Park for the quarter final cup match between Holcombe from the EHL National South Division and Beeston from the Premiership. It was a much depleted Beeston side that took the pitch and it showed. A goalless first half was followed by a second half where it took Holcombe’s Liam Foster less than six minutes to find the net. There had been occasions when Beeston looked in total disarray against a side two divisions below them but the goal almost seem to shock them into action. After trailing for ten minutes Beeston’s Jamie Parker equalised in open play and ten minutes later he put his side ahead from a penalty corner. It was David Griffiths who put the matter beyond doubt when he scored Beeston’s third in the dying minutes of the game. (Our picture shows David Griffiths putting the ball passed ‘keeper Darren Marchant to score).

Beeston might consider themselves lucky to have progressed through to the next round on that performance but East Grinstead, last year’s finalists, were not so lucky. They went to Havant, where first half goal from Danny Hall was wiped out by goals from Ben Allberry and Tim Davenport. Final score 2-1 to Havant. Goals from Stephen Brogdon, Ibrar Latif, and Alex Edmonstone saw Bowdon through to the final, beating Old Georgians 3-0. Doncaster from the National North Division put up a brave fight against Premiership leaders, Reading, but the Premiership side prevailed. Simon Lanyon scored a hat-trick for Reading in their 5-2 win.

Staines, from the Women’s National South, will find themselves in exalted company after beating Barnes Ealing Hounslow 4-3 on penalty strokes in their quarter final cup match. The match between Old Loughtonians and Leicester went to extra time after 70 minutes without a goal, the game being settled by an extra time golden goal by Leicester’s Kate Sharland. A second half goal by Tina Cullen sees Bowdon Hightown through to the next round after Denise Marston-Smith had equalised for Olton at 3-3 on the stroke of half-time. Slough are already through to the semi-finals having played their quarter final match last weekend.

SLOUGH completed their EUROHOCKEY INDOOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS campaign with a 4-4 draw against Slavia Praha. Jane Smith, who was the tournament’s second highest scorer, scored twice, with the other goals coming from Fiona Greenham. The final was won by German outfit, Havestehuder, with Club de Campo taking the silver and Ritm Grodno the bronze. Slough finished fifth. Meanwhile in Wels, Austria, Glasgow Western won the bronze in the Trophy competition.

GREAT BRITAIN’S WOMEN lost the last test against Australia 1-0 earlier today.

BOTTOM WIN AND TOP LOSE IN PREMIERSHIP / LATEST FROM PRAGUE ON WOMEN'S INDOOR

Canterbury men celebrated their return from an unhappy weekend in Perth by winning only their second match of the season in the Men’s Slazenger EHL this afternoon. Huw Stevens was the scorer in their 1-0 win over Loughborough Students. At the other end of the table Reading suffered their first league defeat of 2007-2008 when they entertained Cannock. A goalless first half was followed by a half in which Stuart Pilgrim and Simon Ramsden converted penalty corners. Final score 2-0 to Cannock. East Grinstead’s Danny Hall scored a hat trick at home to Havant, with other goals coming from Dave De Prez, Ben Payne and Mark Pearn. Tim Davenport was in scoring mode with three for Havant but the final score there was 6-3 to East Grinstead. Hampstead picked up a point against visiting Beeston, David Eakins converting a first half penalty corner. James McBlane equalised for Beeston early in the second half. Final score, 1-1. The scores were even at Sugden Road until the 60^th minute when Surbiton entertained Bowdon. A goal in open play from Simon Egerton gave the visitors a 3-2 win. Today’s results leave the Premier Division unchanged.

In Division One the table remains largely unchanged, although Old Georgians displace Bath Buccaneers from fourth place after OGs came away from their visit to Sheffield University Bankers with the three points after a 5-2 win. Buccaneers met leaders Southgate and went down 4-2. In National South the leaders all managed a win, with Sevenoaks consolidating their pole position with a win over Cambridge University. Exeter saw off bottom place Teddington 5-1, whilst Holcombe scored two second half goals against Indian Gymkhana to give them at 2-0 victory at home. Scott Cordon’s return to Leek saw him score a late first half penalty corner in his side’s 3-1 win over Barford Tigers in National North. Leaders, Birmingham University, put four passed Formby for no reply, but second place Doncaster could only draw 2-2 at third place Stourport. The table remains unchanged after today’s matches, as does the Women’s National South Division. In Women’s National North, Whitley Bay move into second place after a 4-1 win over Rover Oxford, displacing Nottingham Highfields who drop to fourth after losing 2-0 to visiting Ben Rhydding. Liverpool Sefton lost 3-0 to Belper who move up to third.

EUROHOCKEY INDOOR WOMEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PRAGUE.

Slough are playing in the relegation pool after having been pipped on goal difference for a semi final place. Yesterday they drew 2-2 against Dutch champions Kampong with Jane Smith (pictured [left] playing in the national finals at the NIA recently) scoring both Slough goals. They then went down to the Belarussians from Ritm Grodno 5-1, Jane Smith scoring the single Slough goal. In the last of their Pool B matches this morning they beat Dinamo Sumchanka from the Ukraine 5-3 with goals from Alex Scott (2), Jane Smith (2) and Natalie Bell. Ironically, the Ukrainians qualify for the semi-finals with a single goal separating their goal difference from Slough’s. Slough carry over one point into the final stages from their draw against Kampong and have this afternoon beaten Vilnius from Lithuania 5-3 with goals from Jane Smith (3), Natalie Bell and Victoria Goodacre. Slough play their final match against Slavia Praha tomorrow. Slough and Kampong are three clear points ahead of the two bottom placed teams, so Slough look reasonably safe from relegation.

GREAT BRITAIN WOMEN LOSE TEST SERIES

GB’s women, in Australia for a series of training and test matches, lost the fourth test at Toowoomba 4-2 yesterday. GB found themselves 3-0 behind but Helen Richardson managed to score just before the break. Kate Walsh managed to close the gap just after the restart but Australia scored ten minutes later to give them the win.

QUALITY AUSTRALIAN FINISHING DEFEATS GB

In the third test in Perth, Australia, Great Britain's women went down 2-0 to Australia from goals by Teneal Attard and Hope Monro.

POLES GIVE GERMANS RUN FOR THEIR MONEY IN EURO FINAL by Peter Savage in Perth

Spectators were treated to a match to tell their grandchildren about in the final of EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships in Perth this afternoon. Crefelder, who had strolled passed all their previous opposition were pitted against another Pool A side, the Poles from Pocztowiec Poznan. The Poles had looked good in all the previous matches but surely no match from the German masters from Crefelder? When the match got underway the Poles demonstrated that they had kept something back in reserve by scoring an early goal from open play courtesy of Tomasz Gorny. Oskar Deecke replied almost immediately from a penalty corner and the Germans went briefly ahead when skipper Matthias Witthaus found the net. Just before half time Rafal Grotowski put the sides back on equal terms when he converted a penalty corner. The second half went goalless, with the Poles perhaps having the better share of the possession. The match went to golden goal extra time and although the Poles had some scoring chances in the opening exchanges, the Germans had a spell where they put their opponents’ goal under increasing pressure and, from a resultant penalty corner, Witthaus found the net again with less than two minutes of extra time played. Final score 3-2 and the Championship goes to Crefelder. .

British hopes rested on the Scots from Menzieshill. The Scots had demonstrated that they were competent at this level, if a little lacking in ideas when faced by continental opposition. Ross McPherson gave them an early goal in their semi-final match against Club de Campo but the Spanish were too good for them and an overtime penalty corner conversion by Kenny Stibbles made the score look more flattering than perhaps the match deserved. Final score 5-4 to Club de Campo.

Canterbury’s almost impossible task of avoiding relegation was to prove to be just that. 4-0 at half time against Wiener, they stage a mini comeback in the second half when Stewart Keir converted a penalty corner and Zak Jones scored in open play of but the final score of 8-2 to the Austrians mean that both sides are relegated

Final placings in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships: 1. Crefelder (Germany), 2. Pocztowiec Poznan (Poland), 3. Club de Campo (Spain), 4. Menzieshill (Scotland), 5. Luzerner (Switzerland), 6. Orient Lyngby (Denmark), 7. Wiener (Austria), 8. Canterbury (England). England and Austria are relegated to the Trophy in 2009 when the English representatives will be Loughborough Students.

Outdoors, in the Slazenger England Hockey League, East Grinstead were in free scoring mode when they visited Bowdon. Goals from Danny Hall (2), Dave de Prez, Darren Cheeseman (3) and Ben Payne gave East Grinstead the advantage in their 8-4 win. East Grinstead now go second, having displaced Cannock who could only manage a draw at Hampstead and Westminster.

A FULL SET OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE EUROHOCKEY INDOOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO.CO.UK IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

CANTERBURY LOOK RELEGATION BOUND by Peter Savage in Perth

Harry Lime in the movie The Third Man once famously described Switzerland as the land of peace and brotherly love. If there was ever any truth in that it was seemingly absent from the match between Canterbury and Lucerner in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships in Perth this afternoon. Canterbury were on the verge of filling one of the relegation spots and the Swiss were keen to help them on their way. It seemed at first as if the Kent side would at last be on the way to getting a result in this tournament. An early goal from Edward Welch was soon wiped out by a goal for Lucerner by their Thomas Gahwiller. But despite this, Canterbury were very industrious in the first half, hoping that sheer effort might counter their opponents’ skill on the ball. It was not until five minutes into the second half that we saw another goal, this one by Lucerner’s Michael Casagrande, and after that Canterbury’s heads went down as seven more followed in quick succession. The final score of 9-1 leaves Canterbury at the foot of the relegation pool. They play their final match tomorrow, this against Wiener, and on my calculations they would have to win by sixteen clear goals to avoid relegation.

In the other matches today, Crefelder played Pocztoweic Poznan and emerged 7-3 winners. This sets the two sides up for the repeat in the finals tomorrow after Crefelder demolished Menzieshill 9-0, and Poznan beat Club de Campo 7-6 after golden goal extra time.

Our photographs show Canterbury’s David Matthews (white shirt) in action against Orient Lyngby, Canterbury skipper Stewart Keir in action in the same match, and action in the match between Club de Campo and Pocztoweic Poznan.

DANES ADD TO CANTERBURY WOES by Peter Savage in Perth

Canterbury’s campaign in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships went from bad to worse when they met Danish champions Orient Lyngby in Perth this afternoon. Canterbury got off to a reasonable start with an early goal by Matt Harper and a penalty stroke conversion from David Matthews. But Canterbury are playing in the company of some very experienced indoor exponents and it shows. Denmark may not be regarded as a top hockey nation, they were already resident in the ‘A’ division when the English arrived. Canterbury were 4-2 down at half time and although the position seemed recoverable, the game just slipped away in the second half. Goals from Edward Welch and David Matthews (2) were simply not enough and with the Canterbury defence often in complete disarray, the goal difference started to widen. Hat-tricks from Casper Guidbrandsen and Christopher Hellstrand added to the English woes and the match finished 9-5 in Orient Lyngby’s favour.
Canterbury now go into the relegation pool with zero points. Crefelder, who met Pocztowiec Poznan this morning, beating the Poles 7-3, lead the Pool, with the Poles finishing second. Crefelder will play Menzieshill in the crossovers later today. The Scots pulled off a creditable 5-2 win against Luzerner this morning and finish second in Pool B behind Club de Campo. Canterbury’s first relegation pool match will be against Luzerner at 18:15 today.
For those not familiar with the relegation pool system, the bottom two teams in each pool play the bottom two teams from the other pool. They take with them the points already earned in the original pool against the other third or fourth placed team.

Review of First Day in Perth

There was a certain predictability in the results in Pool A today in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships in Perth this afternoon. As reported earlier, the Poles from Pocztoweic Poznan saw off Canterbury 7-4, although the Kent side had briefly held the lead in the second half. Also in Pool A the Germans from Crefelder took three points off Danish side Orient Lyngby, although the Danes put up a good fight, going down 9-4. Later in the afternoon the Danes met the Poles and lost 9-3. One almost hesitates to mention the remaining Pool A match but to repeat our earlier report, Crefelder beat Canterbury 18-1. This leaves Crefelder and Poznan, who will meet in their final pool match tomorrow, on six points apiece. Canterbury’s hopes will rest on their match against Orient Lyngby tomorrow. Although clearly destined to finish the Championships in the lower half of the final table, they need to pick up some points to take with them into the so-called relegation pool.

If Pool A was predicable, Pool B was far from. Luzerner, from newly promoted Switzerland, seemed to outclass Wiener and put six passed them for no reply. British hopes rested on the fortunes of Scots side Menzieshill, who came from behind to snatch a 5-4 win against Club de Campo de Madrid. Based on those results one could have second guessed the results of the next two matches in the pool. If you had tried, you would have been wrong. It was Club de Campo’s turn to come from behind against Luzerner, eventually winning 5-3. In the final match of the day Menzieshill showed little enterprise and Wiener defended well and the Austrians emerged the 3-2 winners in a game that should get the award for the dullest game of the day. So, whereas Pool A is clear cut, we have all four teams on Pool B on three points. Based on goal difference the table reads 1. Luzerner (+4), 2. Club de Campo (+1), 3. Menzieshill (+0), 4. Wiener (-5). Wiener play Club de Campo and Menzieshill play Luzener tomorrow morning. It would be a very brave person who predicted the outcome.

Our photographs show Andrew Dunn (in white shirt) making a last ditch tackle for Canterbury in their match against Pocztoweic Poznan, David Matthews and the Canterbury goalkeeper get up close and personal in against a Polish attacker in the same match, and finally action from the match between Menzieshill (dark shirts) and Club de Campo.

CANTERBURY IN ROUT AT HANDS OF CREFELDER by Peter Savage in Perth

What started as a romp turned into a rout when Canterbury played their second Pool A match in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships in Perth this afternoon. Playing the German champions Crefelder, they found themselves two behind in the opening minutes of the match. But despite that, there was no hint of what was to follow. Showing great effort in the face of some consummate skill on the part of their opponents, they managed to get back into the match with a seventh minute goal from Matt Harper. After that it was all downhill. The Crefelder defender Oska Deecke scored four before half-time, with other goals coming from captain Matthias Whitthaus (2) and Tim Witthaus. 7-1 down at half-time, the second half turned into a rout. Pin-point passing and clean stopping of the ball set the Germans apart. Canterbury’s defence was in disarray and at one stage skipper Whitthaus calmly strolled up the back line, untroubled by any defenders, to calmly walk the ball into the Canterbury net. When the eleventh Crefelder goal went in off the stick of Alan Butt I saw Canterbury’s David Matthews turn and look at the scoreboard in disbelief. Worse was to come. Crefelder eventually managed to clock up a total of eighteen. Final score 18-1 to Crefelder. Canterbury’s next Pool match is against Danish side Orient Lyngby at 13:00 tomorrow. The first of the crossover matches are later that afternoon.

A full summary of today’s play plus photographs will appear on this blog later.

CANTERBURY NEARLY PULL IT OFF by Peter Savage in Perth

Canterbury nearly pulled off a shock win against the Poles from Pocztowiec Poznan in the opening match of the EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships here in Perth this afternoon. Canterbury, who have had a disappointing season both indoors and out, went down to an early goal from the Poles, but David Matthews led the Canterbury charge with a reply within seconds. It took the Poles less than a minute to retake the lead but again it was Matthews who made an almost immediate reply from the penalty spot. (Our picture shows the foul on Matthews that resulted in the penalty award). Although their inexperience at this level showed, Canterbury clearly were not overawed by their more experienced opponents. A save at full stretch by Ben Cowling in the Canterbury goal kept the Kent side in the running but Poznan went into the break at 3-2 ahead. The second half was less than a two minutes old when Matthews struck again to level the scores and three minutes later Matt Harper scored to give Canterbury the lead. Their lead was not to last long. A penalty stroke brought the score up to 4-4 and seemingly galvanised by losing the lead, the Poles struck twice more to give the final score of 7-4. The score belies the fact that Canterbury actually put in a very creditable effort against a side which was caused problems for English opponents in the past. Canterbury’s next match is against the very strong German side, Crefelder at 17:00.

IT'S TOUGH FOR PREMIERSHIP LEADERS

It was tough at the top for everyone except Cannock in the Men’s Slazenger EHL this afternoon. Reading dropped their first points of the season when they drew 3-3 against Bowdon, and East Grinstead were lucky to win a point when they entertained Hampstead & Westminster, only equalising in the dying seconds courtesy of Dave De Prez. Final score there 3-3. Loughborough Students went down 5-3 to visiting Havant, with the Students’ Paul Gleghorne receiving a red car for violent conduct in the 54^th minute. Cannock kept up the honour of the leadinf pack by a 6-2 win over Beeston, with goals from Simon Ramsden (2), Richard Lane, Andrew Brogdon, Matthew Plunkett and Gareth Andrew. Cannock now move into second, ahead of East Grinstead. Life is looking increasingly grim for Canterbury, who seem firmly wedged at the bottom of the table on three points. Hampstead, who have had two points deducted for fielding an ineligible player, are on six points ahead of them.

There was one game in the Women’s Premiership, where Leicester and Chelmsford met for the second day running. The result was another draw, this time 1-1. There were also two games played in Women’s Division One, both of which were significant in deciding the leaders. Trojans finally overhauled leaders Sunderland, by beating Birmingham University 4-2. They go top of the table by two points. Reading move into third by beating Durham University 1-0.

In Men’s Division One, leaders Southgate stumbled as they were beaten 1-0 by third placed Brooklands. Brooklands move into second place after Bath Buccaneers were held to a 2-2 draw by Old Georgians. Old Loughtonians retain their third place despite a 2-2 draw at Bournville. Chelmsford recorded only their second win of the season when they entertained Sheffield University Bankers. It moves them up one place to eighth in the table.

Full league tables will be posted to our main site (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) later this evening (Sunday).

BRAY'S TWO NOT ENOUGH TO GIVE TROJAN'S LEAD

The Slazenger Women’s Premier Division got under way again this afternoon after its winter break and threw up some surprising results. The only predictable outcome was high flying Slough’s emphatic win when they visited Poynton. Jane Smith scored a hat trick from penalty corners in her side’s 6-1 victory there. Bowdon’s phenomenal scoring rate hit the buffers with a bump when they went to Chelmsford, with neither side finding the net. Canterbury’s loss of form before the break seemed past history as they overcame Ipswich 5-3 at Polo Farm. Returning from indoor duties, Natasha Brennan and Cathy Gilliat-Smith were on the score sheet there, with other goals from Helen Grant (2) and a certain Miss Sarah Kerly. Goal scoring seems to run in the family. Clifton, who seem to be re-establishing themselves well in the division after their return this season, managed a useful 2-1 win over second place Leicester, with Carys Hopkins and Carla Dunnet Clifton’s scorers. In the other Premier Division match, Olton and West Warwicks beat bottom place Old Loughtonians 1-0. The top and bottom of the table remain unchanged. Canterbury move up from 6^th to 5^th, with Ipswich dropping two places to 7^th.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Eastleigh to see if Trojans would take the lead in Women’s Division One. The match was made even more appealing as it was against a side that share with Trojans’ an ability to bounce back after relegation, Sutton Coldfield. Sutton Coldfield, without their evergreen star striker Jane Sixsmith, could not match Trojans for pace and were 3-0 down at half time thanks to goals from Ali Wakefield, Sophie Bray (2) and Amy Sheenan (PS). A consolation goal by Sandeep Kaur was cancelled out by a second from Bray to leave the score at 4-1 to Trojans. The win was not enough to give Trojans the lead in the division, as leaders Sunderland took all the points in their 3-2 win over Durham University. The table remains largely unchanged save that Sutton have slipped from 3^rd to 5^th and their place has been taken by Reading.

There was one match in Men’s Division One today, Brooklands beating Chelmsford 4-0 at Chelmer Park.

In Men’s National North second placed Doncaster slip to third after Stourport beat leaders Birmingham University 3-1. Doncaster did not have a game today and their place in taken by Stourport.

Our photograph shows goal scorer Sophie Bray of Trojans in action in the match between Trojans and Sutton Coldfield. A full album of this, and last night’s match between GB and Poland, will appear on our main site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk soon.

GB MEN FIND GOAL FORM IN SECOND MATCH AGAINST POLES.
Ashley Jackson, Niall Stott, John Bleby, Stephen Dick, Marry Middleton, and Rob Moore, all scored in Great Britain’s 6-0 win over Poland this afternoon.

GB WORKMANLIKE AGAINST POLAND by Peter Savage at Sonning Lane

It was an effort that was more workmanlike than spectacular. An injury hit GB squad – both of the Mantell brothers were rested – took on Poland at Reading this evening (Friday). The event was noteworthy for the enormous crowd of spectators, many from Reading’s Polish community, who flocked to the Sonning Lane ground, and gave the match an atmosphere quite unlike any I have witnessed at a club ground in recent years. Poland, who themselves are due to take part in an Olympic Qualifier in Japan, are a competent side with a strong defence, despite their lower world ranking, and are probably a good test for Great Britain in advance of their trip to Chile for their own Olympic Qualifier next month.

Great Britain seemed to have much of the running in the early part of the match and opened the scoring with a goal from Jonty Clarke. But it was Barry Middleton, whose skills on the ball and under pressure demonstrated why he has just been voted the UK Player of 2007, who shone throughout the match and demonstrated what a world class player he has become. Unfortunately, an old England/Great Britain problem crept into the game as the first half progressed – a loss of concentration - and Poland scored via Tomasz Marcinkowski from open play in the 22^nd minute. And it was still one apiece when the sides took the pitch for the second half. Ashleigh Jackson, who in the absence of Richard Mantell is GB’s main corner striker, put Great Britain ahead just after the restart, followed by a field goal by Niall Stott minutes later. Despite turning up the pressure, Great Britain were unable to find the net again and the score remained at 3-1.

As I said, a workmanlike performance, with nothing too much to cheer about or cause concern. Indeed, an almost predictable scoreline. Great Britain play Poland again at Bisham again tomorrow, but the atmosphere will not be the same.

Our photograph shows GB scorer Jonty Clarke on the attack.

GB WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA
Jo Ellis scored two first half goals to give GB a 2-0 win against SIS/SAS in Perth this afternoon (Friday). Unfortunately, due to injury Charlotte Craddock has had to withdraw from the squad and is being replaced by Kerry Williams. GB won their match against the Western Australia Institute of Sport on Wednesday, 2-1. The GB scorers were Kate Walsh and Helen Richardson

OLD LOUGHTS MOVE UP

This afternoon it was the turn of Men’s Division One of the Slazenger EHL to blow off some of the cobwebs from their two month winter recess. Joshua Coote scored twice in two minutes as leaders Southgate came from one behind against Sheffield University Bankers to win 2-1. The second and third placed teams swapped places after they met, with Alex Jennings and Oliver Didham (2) scoring in Old Loughtonians’ 3-2 win over Bath Buccaneers. Old Georgians move up to fourth place after their 4-1 win over struggling Guildford, replacing Bournville who lost 0-2 at Brooklands.

Today’s National North programme escaped the weather problems that had plagued the division yesterday. Although a full programme was played, the table remains unchanged from yesterday. In the South, Sevenoaks go top after an emphatic 5-1 victory over Bromley & Beckenham. The leaders this morning, University of Exeter, were beaten 3-2 by Cambridge University. Holcombe’s 4-3 win over Firebrands moves them up into third place after Indian Gymkhana could only draw at Oxted.

Full league tables will be available from our main site tomorrow (go to www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk).

NOTICE FOR VISITORS TO WWW.FIELDHOCKEY.COM AND WWW.TALKINGHOCKEY.NET
Visitors to these popular sites may have noticed that they have not been available over the last few days. We have been in touch with the webmaster and have been informed that this is a temporary interruption caused by their hosts upgrading their servers.

WEATHER CUTS SLAZENGER RE-START

The Slazenger EHL reopened today after its winter break with matches in Women’s Division One and both National North and South Divisions. The day was plagued by cancellations caused by frozen pitches, with the men’s National North being the worst affected, with only the match between Formby and City of Peterborough surviving. Formby emerged the 4-3 winners there. Women’s North lost two matches, those at Nottingham Highfields and Whitley Bay. Both top and bottom of the table remain unchanged. All the matches in Women’s National South started, although the game between leaders Staines, and Horsham, had to be abandoned when umpire Annika Midwinter was struck by a deflected penalty corner shot. She bravely soldiered on until half time, when she was forced to retire. The lack of points there has closed the gap between Staines and chasing Swansea to five points.

Women’s Division One lost two matches due to the weather – the games between Birmingham Uni and Trojans, and Durham Unit and Reading. Despite this the table remains unchanged.

Teddington men won only their second point in two seasons when the troubled Slazenger EHL National South side visited Holcombe this afternoon. James Maxwell opened the scoring for the visitors early in the second half but Holcombe were quick to respond, courtesy of Paul Rudd. The other bottom of the table clash, between 10^th placed Robinsons and 11^th placed University of Cambridge, ended5-2 in the students’ favour. The top of the table remains unchanged with University of Exeter leading, one point ahead of Sevenoaks.