Snow disrupted the Slazenger League fixture list this afternoon, but for a change it was matches in the South East that bore the brunt of the weather. The important Premiership match between East Grinstead and Beeston was one postponed match. The table remains unchanged except for Loughborough Students and Hampstead & Westminster swapping places. Hampstead suffered a 6-0 defeat when they played hosts to Reading, with Jonty Clarke being on target with four goals, including a penalty stroke. The other Reading goals were by Richard Mantell and Austin Smith. A trio of GB players were on target for Surbiton in their match against Loughborough Students, with Ben Hawes, Matt Daly and James Tindall finding the net, but the Students were able to earn a 3-3 draw thanks to second half goals from Simon Faulkner and Nick Catlin. Their other scorer was Richard Smith. Havant, adrift at the bottom of the table, scored three thanks to Andrew Pett (2) and Tom Murtagh, but their opponents, Cannock, enjoyed a goal spree too, with goals from Gareth Andrew (4), Harry Jawanda and Matthew Plunkett. Final Score 6-3 to Cannock. The other struggling Premiership side, Southgate, went down 2-1 to visiting Bowdon.
In the Men’s Conference East the matches between Canterbury and City of Peterborough, Holcombe and Indian Gymkhana, and Sevenoaks and Ipswich were all snowed off. Oxted’s 4-3 win at Old Loughtonians allows them to move to the top of the table, but both Indian Gymkhana and Canterbury have games in hand. In the West, Exeter University stay ahead with a 4-1 win over University of Birmingham. Durham University had a tight match against struggling Barford Tigers. With Chris Borrett’s 68 minute penalty corner being the decider in their 5-4 win. They lead the table by two points.
