The penultimate day of play in the men's England Hockey League resolved one or two issues but left others wide open.At the bottom end of the Premier Division a 2-0 win by University of Exeter over Cannock served as little more than a consolation for the Devon side, who are already relegated. Brooklands' last chance to escape from a relegation play off slot was lost when they were defeated 0-1 by visiting Hampstead & Westminster.
Surbiton, who play this weekend's game tomorrow when they face Reading, slipped back into third place after East Grinstead beat Loughborough Students 4-3. The Students are now on 22 points separated on goal difference from Hampstead and Westminster. The two sides are squabbling over the fifth place, the winner of which would give them access to the Championship Play-offs and potential European qualification.
TalkHockeyRadio was at Canterbury this afternoon to see the home side play Southgate in the Men's Conference East. Both sides are recent inhabitants of the Premier Division, with Canterbury looking as if they have a real chance of a return. They have reinforced their squad this season with Trinidad and Tobago international Kwan Brown (pictured), whose silky skills seem to inspire everyone around him.
You could liken the game itself to a sandwich, with a dull bit at each end but with a really wonderful filling in the middle which provided some excellent and entertaining hockey. All Canterbury's goals came from penalty corners, with three being scored before the break and one after. The 4-0 win puts Canterbury at the top of the table, five points ahead of Old Loughtonians, who play tomorrow. Of the two sides, Canterbury have potentially the more difficult finish to the season, so the promotion play-off place is still up for grabs.
In the Women's Premier Division there was one game played today. Bowdon Hightown took a step nearer the danger zone when they went down 2-4 against Olton & West Warwicks. Clifton, one point beneath them, still have two games to play. Ironically, one of them is against Hightown next weekend.
Results and tables for 20/3/10:
Men's Premier Division |
Beeston |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 1 |
| (1) |
| Bowdon |
Jamie Parker 19 - F |
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| Chris Borrett 6 - PC | |
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Cannock |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 2 |
| (1) |
| University of Exeter |
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| James Royce 28 - F | ||
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Brooklands MU |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Hampstead and Westminster |
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| David Eakins 68 - F | ||
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Loughborough Students |
| (2) |
| 3 | - | 4 |
| (2) |
| East Grinstead |
Simon Faulkner 5 65 - PC PC |
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| Mark Pearn 15 - F | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Reading | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 22 | 22 | 37 |
2 | East Grinstead | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 64 | 45 | 19 | 32 |
3 | Surbiton | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 30 |
4 | Beeston | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 35 | 9 | 27 |
5 | Loughborough Students | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 29 | 34 | -5 | 22 |
6 | Hampstead and Westminster | 17 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 28 | 37 | -9 | 22 |
7 | Bowdon | 17 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 38 | 37 | 1 | 19 |
8 | Cannock | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 19 |
9 | Brooklands MU | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 47 | -18 | 15 |
10 | University of Exeter | 17 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 51 | -28 | 9 |
Women's Premier Division |
Bowdon Hightown |
| (1) |
| 2 | - | 4 |
| (1) |
| Olton & West Warwicks |
Tina Cullen 14 - F |
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| Emma Mccabe 27 - F | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Leicester | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 8 | 48 | 46 |
2 | Reading | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 53 | 26 | 27 | 38 |
3 | Slough | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 36 |
4 | Olton & West Warwicks | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 35 | -11 | 22 |
5 | University of Birmingham | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 21 |
6 | Canterbury | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 19 |
7 | Brooklands Poynton | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 38 | -13 | 19 |
8 | Bowdon Hightown | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 33 | 44 | -11 | 15 |
9 | Clifton | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 42 | -21 | 14 |
10 | Trojans | 16 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 58 | -50 | 1 |
Men's Conference East |
Canterbury |
| (3) |
| 4 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Southgate |
Andrew Sutherland 16 - PC |
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Harleston Magpies |
| (1) |
| 1 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Oxted |
Simon Hipwell 28 - F |
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Indian Gymkhana |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 3 |
| (1) |
| Sevenoaks |
Jagdeep Gill 3 - PS |
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| Nick Mclaren 18 - F | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Canterbury | 17 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 24 | 41 | 46 |
2 | Old Loughtonians | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 61 | 24 | 37 | 41 |
3 | Southgate | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 34 | 8 | 32 |
4 | Oxted | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 26 |
5 | Holcombe | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 27 | 15 | 25 |
6 | Harleston Magpies | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 38 | -2 | 20 |
7 | Sevenoaks | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 38 | 47 | -9 | 19 |
8 | Bromley and Beckenham | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 36 | 48 | -12 | 11 |
9 | Indian Gymkhana | 17 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 31 | 62 | -31 | 9 |
10 | Chelmsford | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 30 | 75 | -45 | 4 |
Men's Conference North |
Barford Tigers |
| (0) |
| 2 | - | 1 |
| (1) |
| Deeside Ramblers |
Jimmy Singh 40 - PC |
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| Ali Ghazanfar 30 - PC | |
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Doncaster |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 2 |
| (1) |
| University of Durham |
Tim Shelley 5 47 - PC PC |
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| Daniel Coultas 33 - PS | |
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Belper |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Sheffield University Bankers |
Ben Inshaw 27 - F |
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Harborne |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Leek |
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| Ben Darlington 55 - F | ||
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Deeside Ramblers | 17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 62 | 32 | 30 | 38 |
2 | Sheffield Hallam Civica | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 52 | 28 | 24 | 30 |
3 | Leek | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 41 | 36 | 5 | 30 |
4 | University of Durham | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 26 |
5 | Harborne | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 39 | 5 | 25 |
6 | Doncaster | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 42 | -8 | 25 |
7 | Belper | 17 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 42 | 36 | 6 | 22 |
8 | Barford Tigers | 17 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 45 | -9 | 19 |
9 | Sheffield University Bankers | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 16 |
10 | Formby | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 21 | 58 | -37 | 5 |
Men's Conference West |
Bournville |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Stourport |
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| Dan Packwood 55 - PC | ||
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Fareham |
| (1) |
| 4 | - | 2 |
| (2) |
| University of Birmingham |
Craig Peel 8 - F |
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| Nick Rees 4 - F | |
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Old Georgians |
| (0) |
| 1 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Guildford |
John Ryan Van Der Riet 42 - PC |
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| William Blockley 45 - PC | |
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Team Bath Buccaneers |
| (0) |
| 4 | - | 2 |
| (1) |
| Whitchurch |
Richard Bendry 38 65 - F F |
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| Rhys Gowman 22 - F | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Team Bath Buccaneers | 17 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 67 | 34 | 33 | 46 |
2 | Whitchurch | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 47 | 41 | 6 | 26 |
3 | Guildford | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 27 | 9 | 24 |
4 | Fareham | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 43 | 36 | 7 | 24 |
5 | Stourport | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 37 | 39 | -2 | 22 |
6 | Old Georgians | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 39 | 47 | -8 | 21 |
7 | University of Birmingham | 17 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 38 | 41 | -3 | 20 |
8 | Havant | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 40 | -4 | 20 |
9 | Bournville | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 19 |
10 | Plymouth Marjon | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 31 | 51 | -20 | 13 |
