This morning there were no less than five clubs who had the theoretical chance of taking the Slazenger Men’s Premier League Championship. As a result of this afternoon’s activities the field has, for all practical purposes, reduced to two.
This morning’s leaders, East Grinstead, added another three points to their total with a vital win over Bowdon. It took just nine minutes for Grinstead to unpick Bowdon’s defence, with a field goal from Dominick Male, followed by goals from Mark Pearn, Martin Haner (penalty stroke), Danny Hall (pictured) and Glenn Kirkham. Male added his second in the closing minutes of the match. Although East Grinstead dominated the encounter, some fine defensive work by goalkeeper George Harris kept Bowdon off the scoresheet and the match ended 6-0. Photographs from this match will appear on our main web site in the next few days.
Beeston remain one point behind East Grinstead after they played host to Surbiton. A Matt Daly corner just before half time cancelled out Chris Seddon’s earlier goal for Beeston. Surbiton had the chance to go ahead when they were awarded a penalty stroke towards the end of the match but Ben Hawes’ failed to find the net. The decider came from Beeston’s Wayne Rowland. Final score 2-1.
Reading, in third place, still have a mathematical chance of retaining the championship, helped by a 4-1 win over lowly Southgate. Cannock have put themselves out of the running after only managing a 2-2 draw against Hampstead & Westminster. Trailing at 2-1, they were in danger of losing the match until Harry Jawanda scored his second in the last two minutes. Havant’s slim chance of avoiding the play-offs was lost when the Smiths were on scoring form at Loughborough Students. Richard Smith opened the scoring after two minutes, followed by a second 20 minutes later. Carl Smith added a third to his sides tally after the break, with Simon Faulkner scoring his side’s fourth towards the end of the match. Final score 4-0 to Loughborough Students.
Southgate’s last chance of avoiding automatic relegation disappeared this afternoon after their defeat at Reading. Four points adrift at the bottom of the table, they have only one match left to play and are therefore relegated. Havant in ninth place will have to fight to retain their Premiership status at the play-offs.
SLAZENGER MEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. East Grinstead 38 pts (+29), 2. Beeston 37 pts (+21), 3. Reading 35 pts (+23), 4. Cannock 32 pts (+19), 5. Surbiton 31 pts (+15), 6. Loughborough Students 21 pts (+1), 7. Hampstead & Westminster 14 pts (-17), 8. Bowdon 14 pts (-22), 9. Havant 9 pts (-29), 10. Southgate 5 pts (-40).
Although the Championship in the WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE has long been decided, the competition for the runners-up spot, and a place in Europe, still remains unresolved. Olton & West Warwicks and Canterbury, in second and third place respectively, drew their match 2-2. Leicester, in fourth place, found themselves trailing 1-0 for almost thirty minutes after Trojans’ Amy Sheehan scored late in the first half. Leicester managed to rescue one point from the match after Lucy Brown equalised. Final score 1-1.
Ipswich avoid automatic relegation after a 2-0 win over Poynton, only the Suffolk side’s second win of the season. The scorers for Ipswich were Leisa King and Lizzy Aldous. Chelmsford’s chances of exchanging automatic relegation for a play-off place evaporated when they went down to Clifton. So it’s East Conference hockey at Beehive Lane next season. At the other end of the table, Bowdon Hightown made it 17 out of 17 with a 2-1 win against Slough. The failure of any of the chasing teams to win three points this afternoon has opened Bowdon’s gap even further, to a massive eighteen points.
SLAZENGER WOMEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. Bowdon Hightown 51 pts (+50), 2. Olton & West Warwicks 33 pts (+31), 3. Canterbury 32 pts (+22), 4. Leicester 31 pts (+21), 5. Slough 26 pts (+15), 6. Clifton 26 pts (-2), 7. Poynton 18 pts (-16), 8. Trojans 13 pts (-14), 9. Ipswich 8 pts (-36), 10. Chelmsford 4 pts (-71).
Amongst the women’s conferences, only the WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE remains in contention. This morning’s leaders, Loughborough Students could only draw 3-3 against Belper, and were overtaken by University of Durham, who beat Bradford 4-2. The two sides are now separated by one point and a goal difference of one.
