CANNOCK AVOID RELEGATION PLAY OFFS

Photo: Action from this afternoons match between West Conference champions Buckingham and Trojans. (www.HockeyImages.co.uk)

The last matches in the 2010-2011 Women's England Hockey League were played this afternoon and all the outstanding issues were resolved.

Cannock managed to pull off a Houdini style escape from the relegation play offs by a surprising 3-1 win over University of Birmingham. By contrast, Olton & West Warwicks suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Clifton, leaving Cannock and Olton on 15 points, with Cannock holding by far the better goal difference. So from the Premier Division, Brooklands Poyton are automatically relegated, with Olton facing a play off to stay in the top division.

The East Conference Championships, relegation, and relegation play offs were already settled before today, but in the North everything was wide open this morning. Sutton Coldfield saw off the challenge of Loughborough Students by winning their match against University of Durham by an impressive 6-1. They head the table by one point over the Students. At the basement end of the table Belper slipped into the relegation spot after losing 5-2 to Sunderland. Aldridge moved up into a relegation play off place by beating Beeston 4-1.

Buckingham were already crowned West Conference champions before today and Worcester, with only one point to their name, have long occupied the relegation place. The only outstanding matter to be resolved was the relegation play-off place, which is now occupied by Exe. They drew their match against Staines this afternoon and, despite having 18 points, find themselves in the play-offs.

The Men's England Hockey League completes the 2010-2011 season tomorrow.

England Hockey League results and tables for 26/3/11:

Women's Premier Division

Brooklands Poynton		(0)		1	-	2		(1)		Canterbury
Natalie Wray 44 - PC										Rebecca Weston 12 - F Mel Clewlow 48 - PC
Cannock		(2)		3	-	1		(1)		University of Birmingham
Linda Royston 24 - F Joanna Leigh 35 - PC Eleanor Watton 54 - PC										Sarah Haycroft 2 - F
Leicester		(0)		0	-	0		(0)		Slough
Olton & West Warwicks		(0)		1	-	2		(1)		Clifton
Lucilla Wright 69 - PC										Dawn Mitchell 22 - F Carla Dunnett 62 - F
Reading		(2)		4	-	0		(0)		Bowdon Hightown
Alex Danson 25 33 37 - F F F Rebecca Halle 48 - F

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Leicester	18	13	3	2	51	12	39	42
2	Canterbury	18	13	1	4	50	19	31	40
3	Reading	18	12	0	6	50	27	23	36
4	Bowdon Hightown	18	10	2	6	34	31	3	32
5	Slough	18	9	3	6	28	27	1	30
6	University of Birmingham	18	8	1	9	36	39	-3	25
7	Clifton	18	6	2	10	29	37	-8	20
8	Cannock	18	4	3	11	40	60	-20	15
9	Olton & West Warwicks	18	4	3	11	32	63	-31	15
10	Brooklands Poynton	18	1	2	15	21	56	-35	5

Women's Conference East

Cambridge City		(0)		0	-	4		(2)		Sevenoaks
										Heather Batten 16 - PC Cathy Gilliat-Smith 31 66 68 - PC PC F
Dereham		(0)		1	-	5		(3)		Surbiton
Kath Malvern 52 - PS										Kate Holmes 20 - F Vicky Bryant 22 40 - F F Amy Bryant 34 42 - F F
Harleston Magpies		(2)		2	-	2		(1)		Chelmsford
Lucy Fields 27 - PC Verity Blyth 30 - F										Loren Sherer 19 - PC Sarah Bolton 39 - PS
Ipswich		(3)		3	-	0		(0)		Old Loughtonians
Emma Millar 4 - PC Faye Curran 27 - PC Chloe Hunnable 29 - F
St. Albans		(1)		2	-	0		(0)		Horsham
Melissa Ball 28 - PC Sarah Cullum 66 - F

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sevenoaks	18	12	5	1	42	10	32	41
2	Surbiton	18	11	4	3	43	18	25	37
3	Chelmsford	18	10	5	3	47	24	23	35
4	Ipswich	18	11	2	5	40	22	18	35
5	Harleston Magpies	18	9	3	6	32	22	10	30
6	Horsham	18	7	5	6	28	18	10	26
7	Old Loughtonians	18	5	6	7	24	28	-4	21
8	St. Albans	18	4	4	10	22	41	-19	16
9	Cambridge City	18	2	2	14	17	48	-31	8
10	Dereham	18	1	0	17	12	76	-64	3

Women's Conference North

Aldridge & Walsall		(2)		4	-	1		(0)		Beeston
Omarah Taylor 1 - PC Lisa Prince 6 - PC Joanne Walker 48 56 - F F										Hannah Wraith 62 - F
Wakefield Bradford		(3)		6	-	0		(0)		Springfields UCLAN
Daisy Morgan 5 62 - F F Eleanor Stones 9 70 - F PC Gwen Smith 12 - F Hannah Norman 59 - F
Loughborough Students LHC		(2)		4	-	0		(0)		Doncaster
Rachel Malcolm 17 42 - PC F Kate Hewitt 25 - F Holly Brown 40 - F
Sunderland Ladies		(2)		5	-	2		(1)		Belper
Julie Hope 17 - F Joss Plummer 25 - PC Emma Onien 43 64 69 - F F F										Charlotte Hobbs 5 38 - PC PC
Sutton Coldfield		(4)		6	-	1		(1)		University of Durham
Jane Sixsmith 6 - F Clare Florida-James 13 - PC Sarah Mills 15 - F Charlene Mason 30 54 - PC F Vicky Woolford 57 - F										Harriet Moore 24 - F

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sutton Coldfield	18	15	0	3	85	21	64	45
2	Loughborough Students LHC	18	14	2	2	53	12	41	44
3	Sunderland Ladies	18	12	1	5	47	34	13	37
4	Wakefield Bradford	18	10	3	5	48	33	15	33
5	University of Durham	18	9	5	4	46	25	21	32
6	Doncaster	18	5	6	7	38	46	-8	21
7	Beeston	18	3	3	12	25	41	-16	12
8	Springfields UCLAN	18	3	3	12	26	66	-40	12
9	Aldridge & Walsall	18	2	4	12	16	70	-54	10
10	Belper	18	2	3	13	21	57	-36	9

Women's Conference West

Firebrands		(1)		2	-	3		(2)		Team Bath Buccaneers
Stephanie Kinder 33 - PC Georgie Field 57 - PS										Emma Batten 6 44 - F F Aileen Davis 18 - F
Isca University		(2)		3	-	0		(0)		Barnes Hounslow Ealing
Amy Sheehan 3 8 - F PC Nikki Brooks 38 - F
Staines		(0)		1	-	1		(0)		Exe
Melanie Martell 46 - PC										Linda Webb 41 - F
Swansea		(3)		7	-	0		(0)		Worcester
Natalie Blyth 16 - PC Lisa Daley 23 25 60 - F F F Rosie Bailey 43 - F Sophie Clayton 48 68 - PC F
Trojans		(1)		1	-	2		(0)		Buckingham
Stephanie Farmer 10 - PC										Emily Court 48 57 - PC F

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Buckingham	18	14	2	2	56	13	43	44
2	Isca University	18	12	4	2	41	18	23	40
3	Trojans	18	9	3	6	46	23	23	30
4	Swansea	18	8	5	5	37	28	9	29
5	Team Bath Buccaneers	18	6	7	5	30	25	5	25
6	Barnes Hounslow Ealing	18	6	3	9	22	24	-2	21
7	Firebrands	18	5	6	7	25	30	-5	21
8	Staines	18	5	5	8	19	38	-19	20
9	Exe	18	4	6	8	32	35	-3	18
10	Worcester	18	0	1	17	7	81	-74	1