PLAY OFFS START TO TODAY

The Championship play-offs kicked off today, along with the England Hockey League Promotion Tournament and the Relegation play-offs.

Bidding for the title of Investec League Champions and qualification for Europe, were Leicester, Canterbury, Clifton and Bowdon Hightown. At Leicester, the home side raced to a 3-0 lead within 12 minutes, thanks to goals from Crista Cullen (2) and Katie Long. Natalie Seymour responded for their opponents, Canterbury, but a late Kerry Williams goal settled the matter decisively in Leicester's favour, 4-1.

Two clubs who have enjoyed improved form this season, Clifton and Bowdon Hightown, met at Bristol with Hightown taking the lead midway through the first period with penalty corner conversions from Sally Walton and Fay Nash. Els Mansell pulled one back for Clifton in the 58^th minute, but the match ended 1-2 to Hightown.

At the other end of the table, Slough were fighting for their Premier Division existence in the promotion play-offs. A Hannah Bowe penalty corner conversion early in the second half was enough to give them a 1-0 win against North Conference champions Beeston.

West Conference Buckingham, who are trying to gain promotion at the second attempt, beat Surbiton from the East Conference 1-2.

There was one women's relegation play-off match today, which saw East Conference Horsham beat North Conference Springfields.

In the men's England Hockey League, it was a successful day for Reading and Surbiton. Reading saw the Mantell brothers, Simon and Richard, score one apiece in the first half in their match against Beeston. Martin Jones raised Beeston's hopes late in the second half, but a Jonty Clarke penalty stroke in the last minutes of the match settled the issue in Reading's favour, 1-3.

Surbiton's James Tindall (2), Phil Messent, Tim Pinnock and Fergus Dunn, were all on target in their match against Cannock. The final score was 3-5 to Surbiton, with Ross Hayward (2) and David Harris being the scorers for Cannock. Surbiton will be hoping to put behind them a dismal record for European qualification. This win will help.

Team Bath Buccaneers may have sailed through the West Conference, but they found life a little more difficult in their promotion play-off match against Canterbury. Despite a 3^rd minute Johnny Kinder goal, the match did not go their way and the final score favoured Canterbury 3-5. Exeter University played Brooklands MU, but a solitary goal from Mark Richardson was enough to give the Manchester side the win.

Bromley & Beckenham's improvement in form in their last East Conference matches continued in the relegation play-offs as they beat Barford Tigers 5-3.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLE FROM TODAY ARE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

SOUTHGATE CONDEMN BOWDON TO RELEGATION

Relegation issues in the men's England Hockey League were still awaiting the outcome of today's matches, with two potential candidates – Southgate and Bowdon – playing each other.

Bowdon's fate was sealed by a Dan Shingles' 46^th minute goal away at Southgate, which lifts Southgate out of the relegation area and into eighth place. Bowdon are now automatically relegated. Bowdon's result, plus a 4-3 win against Loughborough Students, means that University of Exeter live to fight another day. They will have to re-qualify for the Premiership via the play-offs. Tom Carson must be a popular man at Exeter, as it was his hat-trick that contributed to their 4-3 win, although three late goals from Loughborough made it a close run thing.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Saint Hill to see East Grinstead play Surbiton. EG were uncatchable at the top of the Premiership, and Surbiton were assured of a place in the Championships, so there was little to be gained by either side from the outcome. Despite this, after a relatively slow start, the match developed into quite a tussle. Surbiton dominated the early encounters with Fergus Dunn scoring in the 15^th minute. Barry Middleton equalised 20 minutes into the second half, but a second from Dunn put Surbiton ahead. Mark Cleghorne quickly replied for East Grinstead, but a penalty stroke converted by Tim Pinnock restored Surbiton's lead. We hardly had time to stop clapping before Danny Hall equalised again. This seemed to take the wind out of the visitors' sails and a 64^th minute penalty corner conversion from Niall Stott gave the home side a 4-3 win.

Just as a note, we noticed how well mannered Surbiton were in this match, not something we have always been able to say in the past. Keep up the good work boys!

In the midlands, a late David Harris goal for Cannock robbed their visitors, Beeston, of a win, and the match ended 2-2. It was also a 2-2 draw at Hampstead & Westminster, where they were entertaining Reading.

As a result of today's matches, the winners and losers in the Men's Premiership are:

Championship play offs: East Grinstead, Beeston, Reading, Cannock and Surbiton.
Relegation play offs: University of Exeter.
Bowdon: Relegated.

In the Conferences:

North Conference:
Promotion play-offs: Canterbury
Relegation play-offs: Bromley & Beckenham
Relegated: Harleston Magpies

North Conference:
Promotion play-offs: Brooklands
Relegation play-offs: Barford Tigers
Relegated: Deeside Ramblers

West Conference Conference:
Promotion play-offs: Team Bath Buccaneers
Relegation play-offs: Lichfield
Relegated: Bournville

IN THE INVESTEC WOMEN'S CUP SEMI FINALS Surbiton beat Clifton 1-0, with University of Birmingham winning their match against Buckingham 5-0.

IMAGES FROM THE MATCH BETWEEN EAST GRINSTEAD AND SURBITON WILL APPEAR ON OUR PICTURES SITE SOON. Go to www.HockeyImages.co.uk.

 

 

RELEGATION LOOMS FOR SLOUGH IN LAST DAY DEFEAT

That was the season that was, at least for the Investec Women's League. The men's national league plays its final games tomorrow.

A surprising number of promotion and relegation issues were left until the final week. Probably the most significant was the scrap at the bottom of the Premier Division to avoid the relegation play-offs. Slough, in their final match, had the misfortune to meet neighbours Reading, who punished them with a 1-8 win at home, which included an Alex Danson hat-trick. The result pushes Slough into ninth place.

Clifton's 6-1 win over relegated Cannock offered them an opportunity to overtake third place Canterbury, but the Kent side also scored maximum points with a 2-1 win over Bowdon Hightown. Bowdon held onto their fifth place despite this, thanks to Leicester winning 0-2 at Olton & West Warwicks.

The final positions in the Premiership mean that Reading, Leicester, Canterbury, Clifton and Bowdon Hightown will be in the Championship play-offs. Slough will be in the relegation play offs and Cannock are relegated.

RELEGATION AND PROMOTION ISSUES IN THE CONFERENCES:

East Conference:
Promotion Play offs: Surbiton
Automatic Relegation: Maidstone
Relegation Play-offs: Horsham

North Conference:
Promotion Play offs: Beeston
Automatic Relegation: Northampton Saints
Relegation Play-offs: Springfields

West Conference:
Promotion Play offs: Buckingham
Automatic Relegation: Exe
Relegation Play-offs: Team Bath Buccaneers

 

2015 EUROPEAN CUP COMING TO LONDON

The European Hockey Federation has announced that the 2015 European Championships for both men and women has been awarded to England.

The tournament will be played in the legacy facility at Eton Manor. The Riverbank Stadium, which is the venue for the Olympic Hockey Tournament, is due to be relocated after the Games to Eton Manor, which forms part of the Lee Valley Park.  The tournament will take place at the end of August 2015.

The 2013 European Championships is due to be played in Boom, Nr Antwerp in Belgium.

Pictures from today's announcement can be found on our www.HockeyImages.co.uk site.

SURBITON SECURE PLAY OFF PLACE. Roundup of today’s league and cup matches.

There was a full programme of matches in the Investec Women's Conferences today, the penultimate day of the 2011-2012 season.

In the East Surbiton's 2-0 win over Harleston Magpies means that they are four points ahead of Sevenoaks in second place, and consequently they qualify for the promotion play-offs. It's still neck and neck at the bottom of the table, with any two of three facing either automatic relegation or the relegation play-offs. Old Loughtonians lost 3-1 to St Albans and are on nine points, whilst Horsham and Mainstone are both on eight. Horsham lost away at Sevenoaks to a single goal from Cathy Gilliat-Smith, whilst Maidstone went down 0-2 at home to Ipswich.

The meeting between table topping Beeston and relegated Northampton Saints in the North Conference, was only ever going to go one way. However the margin was an unexpected 12-0 in fabvour of Beeston, with hat-tricks from Eleanor Watton and Hollie Webb. Beeston can still be caught by University of Durham, who could only draw 1-1 at home to Loughborough Students. The relegation play off spot goes to Springfields who, despite their 2-2 draw against Doncaster, are too far adrift from eighth place Liverpool Sefton to escape.

Buckingham lead the charge in the West Conference with a 0-4 win against Exe. Buckingham can still be caught by Swansea, who won their match against Staines 0-4 and are only two points behind. The automatic relegation place is still a tussle between Exe and Team Bath Buccaneers, the Buccs losing to Isca this afternoon 2-1. Exe are on 11 points and Buccaneers on 10.

Brooklands MU have qualified for the promotion play offs as a result of the only match today in the Men's North Conference. Catching up on postponed fixtures, they beat Belper 0-1 away and are now six points clear of second place Sheffield Hallam. Havant were also catching up when they played Whitchurch in the Men's West Conference. They move up to second, but they are a massive 16 points behind leaders, Bath Buccaneers.

The first of the Men's Cup semi finals were played today. Bowdon were unable to salvage anything out of what has been an awful season for them. Despite briefly taking the lead, they fell to late goals from Hampstead & Westminster's Will Naylor and Neil Hamilton. Final score 5-4. If you want the result of the other semi final, you will have to wait until the evening of Thursday 16^th April, when Beeston play Cannock.

Full results and tables can be found on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

BEESTON GO ALL OUT BUT ARE TOO LATE

The fact that East Grinstead had already achieved first place in the Premier Division of the England Hockey League did not stop their nearest rivals, Beeston, going all out for a win when the two leading sides met at Saint Hill this afternoon.

Beeston's Adam Dixon found the net in the first three minutes, but East Grinstead's Ashley Jackson replied soon after. After that the two sides shared no less than 12 goals between them. At 8-5 in Beeston's favour, Nial Stott scored in the dying seconds, but the match ended 8-6 to Beeston. Four points separate the two sides but, with only one match left to play, Beeston must settle for second.

Reading are now four points behind Beeston after putting Southgate to the sword, 6-0. Fortunately for Southgate, Hampstead and Westminster beat Bowdon 4-3. Bowdon slip to bottom after University of Exeter shared the points with Surbiton in a 1-1 draw. Southgate, University of Exeter and Bowdon are on 15, 14 and 13 points respectively.

Cannock drop one place to fourth after losing 1-2 at home to Loughborough Students. Loughborough Students, in sixth place, are four points behind fifth place Surbiton, which means that East Grinstead, Beeston, Reading, Cannock and Surbiton, have all secured Championship play-off places.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Luxborough Lane to see Old Loughtonians go down 1-2 to visiting Bromley and Beckenham in the East Conference. Old Loughts were playing on their new blue and pink pitch and pictures of this match will appear on our HockeyImages web site tomorrow (Sunday). Unfortunately for them, the defeat means that they can no longer catch Canterbury in poll position, despite Canterbury losing 2-3 to Teddington this afternoon.

There was a bit of déjà vu for us this afternoon, as two years ago we were at Old Loughts when they were high in the table and they lost to a struggling Bromley and Beckenham. Despite the win, Bromley will now face a relegation play-off. On what we saw this afternoon, they deserve better. Harleston Magpies, one place below them at the bottom of the table, drew 4-4 against Indian Gymkhana but are relegated.

The top of the table clash in the North Conference ended with Sheffield Hallam going down 0-4 to Brooklands MU. Sheffield can catch Brooklands and have a better goal difference, but Brooklands have a game in hand. Issues are still to be decided at the basement end of the table, with Deeside Ramblers losing 4-5 to Belper, and Barford Tigers losing 5-4 to Doncaster. Next weekend's results will decide which is relegated and which will be in the relegation play off.

Team Bath Buccaneers secured the West Conference Championships several weeks ago, but they are ending the season with a flourish with a 3-1 over University of Birmingham in their penultimate match. Bournville are already relegated, but the relegation play off place is still to be decided. Cheltenham, currently in eighth place, could be caught by Lichfield in ninth. Lichfield recorded a 2-1 win at home to Guildford this afternoon.

There was a full set of matches played in the Investec Women's Premier Division this afternoon. Bowdon Hightown beat Sutton Coldfield 3-2, and move up into fifth place, two points ahead of Olton & West Warwicks.

The automatic relegation spot was decided some time ago, but there is a real scrap going on for the relegation play off placed. Slough, in ninth place, beat relegated Cannock 2-1, whilst eighth place University of Birmingham beat Olton & West Warwicks 4-1. Today's results leave Sutton Coldfield on 20 points and University of Birmingham and Slough on 19.

The Division winners, Reading went down 0-3 at home to Canterbury, which means that the Kent side move up to third. Second place Leicester beat Clifton 5-0.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES FOR TODAY'S MATCHES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

EAST GRTINSTEAD WIN GRABS THE HEADLINES. Roundup of today’s league and Varsity matches.

The headline grabbing result from the England Hockey League this afternoon was East Grinstead's 11-1 win over Hampstead & Westminster, with no less than nine of the squad finding the net. The result means that East Grinstead finish top of the Premiership table and qualify for next season's EuroHockey League.

A real scrap is developing at the bottom of the table, with only two points separating the bottom three clubs after today's matches. Bottom place University of Exeter picked up three points with a 2-0 win over Southgate, and Bowdon managed a 2-1 win over Cannock. Bowdon and University of Exeter share the bottom place, with Bowdon having the better goals scored rate. Southgate are in ninth place, two points ahead.

Loughborough Students missed out on a draw at home to Beeston when Richard Dwdson-Smith had a 52^nd minute penalty stroke saved by George Pinner. Beeston emerged the winners, 2-1. Jonty Clarke also had a stroke saved in Reading's match at Surbiton, but Reading still won the match 4-3.

At the top of the East Conference, Canterbury still lead the charge with a four point lead over second placed Old Loughtonians. Loughts could only draw3-3 away at Holcombe, despite a second half revival which saw them come back from 3-0 down. Canterbury maintained their unbeaten record with a 4-3 win over Oxted. Issues at the bottom of the table have still to be settled.

In the North, Barford Tigers are clinging onto their national league status with a 5-3 win over fellow strugglers Deeside Ramblers. At the other end of the table it's still neck and neck between Sheffield Hallam and Brooklands MU. Brooklands recorded a 1-0 win over Olton & West Warwicks, whilst Sheffield overcame Belper 3-1. Sheffield top the table on goal difference.

Tim Davenport was one of the scorers in Team Bath Buccaneers 2-1 win over Guildford, but they were already crowned West Conference champions. At the bottom of the table, Bournville are relegated after losing 1-5 at home to Cardiff. Both Cheltenham and Lichfield are in contention for the relegation play-offs after Lichfield suffered a 7-2 reverse at Havant, and Cheltenham went down 4-2 at Whitchurch.

There was one match in the Investec Premiership today. Leicester blew their remote chance of finishing top of the table by drawing away at Bowdon Hightown. As a result, Reading win the automatic European place.

TalkHockeyRadio was at the Varsity Match at Southgate this afternoon, and witnessed a cracking game between Oxford and Cambridge which saw Cambridge come back from behind three times to win the match 5-3. This is Cambridge's 50^th win of the annual match, but their first since 2008. Despite being a 0-0 draw, the women's match was an excellent curtain raiser for the men's event. Oxford retain the title for the second successive year by virtue of the draw. Images from both matches will be on our www.HockeyImages.co.uk site some time tomorrow.

Full results and tables from today's league matches can be found on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

ENTERTAINING MATCH SEES SLOUGH SLIP. Roudup of today's matches in the Investec Women's League

We’ve seen some pretty dull women’s matches over the last few weeks, so it was worth taking the trip north to Bowdon to see Bowdon Hightown play Slough in the Investec Women’s Premiership and be treated to some entertaining hockey.

A look at the tables shows that Slough are in dire straights and there must be concerns for their long term future. This was reflected in the fact that they could only muster 11 squad members for the match.  But despite the shortcomings, Slough did not look like a side of the verge of extinction. Indeed, over the course of the match, Slough had more than their fair share of territorial advantage.  Indeed, Sally Walton’s 29^th minute goal for Bowdon came as a bit of a surprise.

It was no surprise when Tina Cullen got her name on the scoresheet with  a cracking goal from the edge of the circle two minutes into the second half, to increase Bowdon’s lead.  But Slough continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession, and Kirsty Mackay in the Bowdon goal was called into action more than once. When eventually she was beaten, it was off a cruel deflection which just evaded her outstretched glove – Lauren Penny the scorer.

Bowdon Hightown’s 2-1 means that Slough have slipped in the relegation play-off spot after Birmingham University held Clifton to a 1-1 draw. 

Although Reading have all but won the Premiership – their goal difference assures them of that – their crowning was delayed by their 3-3 draw against Olton and West Warwicks.  It was a result that offers a slim chance for Bowdon to qualify for the Championship play-offs. They are only two points behind Olton.

Jess Wood scored only Cannock’s eighth goal of the season, but they went down 6-1 to Sutton Coldfield. Sutton probably appreciated the three points as it probably assures them of staying in the Premier Division next season.

Second placed Leicester beat Canterbury 3-1.  Leicester have a game in hand and theoretically could beat Reading for top spot.  The problem is that Reading’s goal difference is +48 as opposed to Leicester’s +15 and best that they can do from their remaining three matches is to draw level with Reading on points.

Full results are available on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.  Images from the match between Bowdon Hightown and Slough have been uploaded to our Pictures pages at www.HockeyImages.co.uk.

THE GLOSS IS TAKEN OFF READING’S WEEKEND

Reading had the gloss taken off their double-double header weekend when their women could only draw 0-0 against Bowdon, and their men found their heads on the block when East Grinstead demolished them 8-1, with goals from Danny Hall (4), Mark Pearn (2), Will Arthur and Darren Cheesman. By any standards that is an extraordinary change of fortunes in 24 hours.

Whilst the win might have been expected, although perhaps not the scale of it, there was another surprise in the Men's Premier Division. Second place Cannock lost to bottom place University of Exeter, a result that makes Bowdon's position even more precarious. They lost 6-2 to Surbiton, which puts them on equal points with Exeter.

Overall there were goals galore in the Premiership, with a total of 33 being scored in five matches. Beeston made a contribution to that figure with a 4-0 win over Hampstead & Westminster, whilst a revitalised Southgate pulled off a 4-1 win over Loughborough Students.

The Premiership was not the only place to see goals. East Conference leaders Canterbury beat Bromley and Beckenham 7-3. Oxted and Teddington in the bottom half of the table, managed 10 goals between them, with Oxted emerging the 7-3 winners.

It was the same in the North, where Sheffield Hallam took advantage of a waterlogged pitch at Belper to overtake Sheffield Hallam with a 5-1 win over bottom place Barford Tigers. The postponement of the match between Belper and Brooklands MU means that Sheffield and Brooklands are both on 35 points separated only by goal difference, although Brooklands have a game in hand.

With only three matches left, Team Bath Buccaneers are West Conference Champions after beating Fareham 3-0. Their nearest rivals, Havant, palyed out a 1-1 draw at home to Guildford. As a result, Havant, University of Birmingham and Guildford are all on 27 points. Bottom place Bournville looked doomed after losing 3-2 at Whitchurch. They are eight points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Full results and tables can be found on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE FOR READING. A round up of today’s national league matches (3/3/12).

It was a good day at the office for Reading this afternoon as their two Premiership sides played a double header at home.

Despite having only two of their GB players present, Reading's women dominated second place Leicester. The writing was on the wall early in the match when Alex Danson opened the scoring after only three minutes. There was a lull in the scoring until Emma Thomas scored her side's second nine minutes after the break. Lisa Letchford wrapped it up for Reading with a penalty corner strike in the 60^th minute.

Reading's win opens up the points between Reading and Leicester to 10, and with only 12 points available until the end of the season, a table topping finish is as good as in the bag.

Leicester have a game in hand over third place Clifton, who overcame Sutton Coldfield 4-0. Jenny Wilson scored a hat-trick in Canterbury's 9-3 win over relegated Cannock, whilst Slough's 2-3 defeat at the home to Olton & West Warwicks leaves them perilously close to the relegation play-off zone.

The two matches in the Men's Premiership saw a total of 15 goals. TalkHockeyRadio was at Reading to witness something that was more of an execution than a defeat, with Reading displaying some clinical finishing to win the match 7-1. On what had been a bright and pleasant afternoon, the storm clouds rolled in towards the end of the match like a portent of doom, and Bowdon have only four matches to climb out of the play-off spot. On what we witnessed this afternoon, they are going to struggle.

The other Premiership game saw East Grinstead put six past bottom place University of Exeter. The Men's Premier Division has now caught up with the backlog and there are no games in hand.

Full results and tables from today are on our web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk. Images from the double header at reading will be on our site at www.hockeyimages.co.uk tomorrow morning.