There will be no repeat of last year’s cup final between Beeston and Bowdon this season after Bowdon crashed out to East Conference Canterbury in extra time this afternoon. The heroes of the match were Canterbury’s Michael Farrar, whose 70th minute penalty corner strike forced the match to extra time, and Lloyd Norris-Jones, who scored his third of the match from the penalty spot to wrap up the match for Canterbury. Final score 5-4 to Canterbury.
The other half of last year’s final, Beeston, overcame Cannock 2-1 with goals by Jamie Parker and David Griffiths. But the real shock of the afternoon came as South Premier League Fareham, who knocked out North Conference Brooklands 5-3, Fareham scoring twice in extra time. As reported yesterday, the other quarter-final match, between Reading and Old Loughtonians, was a walk-over in favour of Reading.
Old Loughtonians were in action in the only Men’s Conference match of the day, when they played bottom-of-the-table Ipswich. In not altogether the most pleasant of conditions, Old Loughts dominated the match, with the Suffolk side giving them more space than was prudent. Alex Jennings scored for the old boys after only 6 minutes, with further goals coming from Liam Doidge (3), Oliver Didham and Stuart Robson. Our picture shows action from this match and further images will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk tomorrow (Monday).
In the SLAZENGER WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION Bowdon Hightown’s unstoppable march continues, with Jo Ellis and Tina Cullen (3) scoring in their 3-1 win over Leicester. Trojans, who have been inhabiting the lower half of the table for most of the season, nearly pulled off a surprise win against second placed Olton and West Warwickshire after two Sally Gibson goals in less than a minute put them ahead. However, it took Denise Marston-Smith less than a minute to score the equaliser and the match ended 2-2.
Jenny Hall (2), Natalie Seymour, Mel Clewlow and Cidy Botha, were all on the scoresheet for Canterbury when they visited Chelmsford. Final score 5-0 to Canterbury. Chelmsford remain on the bottom of the table with Ipswich one point ahead of them. Ipswich had no better luck than their menfolk after they went down 4-1 to Slough at home. Clifton held a one-goal lead at home to Poynton after Harriet Pearce scored early in the match, but Katie Maltman scored for Poynton nine minutes into the second half. The result, a 1-1 draw.
Further match reports will appear on this blog in the morning (Monday).
