TWO CONTRASTING GAMES AT SONNING LANE. A round-up of yesterday’s matches in the England Hockey League.

We love double headers at TalkHockeyRadio, so it didn't take much persuading to tempt us along to Sonning Lane to see Reading's women play Slough, and Reading's men play Hampstead & Westminster.

It would have been difficult to find two more contrasting games. After a slightly cautious start, Reading's Alex Danson opened the scoring in the 19^th minute, after which she led a bit of a goal blitz against the unfortunate Slough. Like a blond terrier let off its leash, she took full advantage of the space given to her by a hapless Slough defence. There was a bit of a debate after the match about how many times she had scored, which varied from five to six, but the official record shows that she scored four, the other five goals in their 9-1 win coming from Emma Thomas (2), Kate Walsh, Jessica Brooker and Susie Gilbert.

Although Slough looked doomed to play their hockey in the Conference next season, there is a glimmer of hope, as demonstrated by Alex Scott's 26 minute goal.

An unfortunate incident saw Olympic bronze medallist Helen Richardson taken off to hospital early in the match after being struck in the eye by a stick. We are please to say that she made an appearance after the match, with her eye closed and bruised, and it appears that the injury is not serious as it might have been. Our best wishes to Helen for a speedy recovery.

Reading men got off to a cracking start with two goals in less than seven minutes against Hampstead & Westminster, both goals coming from Huw Jones. After that Reading seemed to lose the plot entirely, and Hampstead went into the break 2-3 ahead after goals from Neil Hamilton, Scott Cooper and Jack Beard. Reading eventually managed to scrape a point as a result of a second half corner conversion from Richard Mantell.

Elsewhere in the Men's Premier Division, we seem to have returned to crazy and unpredictable results. Surbiton, who were propping up the table only two weeks ago, pulled off a 3-2 win over East Grinstead. Surbiton move up one place to sixth, whilst EG move down one place to fifth.

Canterbury recovered from last weekend's setback against Cannock to beat Brooklands MU 3-5, after the sides had gone into the break three apiece. Beeston continue their winning ways with a 5-1 win over third placed Cannock. It is interesting to note that Beeston's goal difference of +31 means that Canterbury is the only other side in the Premier Division with a positive goal difference. As a benchmark, most other divisions have six sides with positive goal differences.

At the bottom of the table, Southgate made a brave effort to unstick themselves from the bottom place and, at 3-1 down at home to Loughborough Students, a Francois Pretorious penalty stroke must have given them a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, they were not able to improve on this and the match ended 2-3 to the Students.

In the East Conference, Holcombe lead the charge, six points ahead of Wimbledon. They played on Saturday beating Oxted 3-0. Wimbledon dropped points again in a battle royal away at City of Peterborough. With Wimbledon coming from behind to twice take the lead, it was a late Gareth Andrew goal that gave Peterborough a 3-3 draw.

The North Conference leaders are still only separated by one point after leaders Sheffield Hallam beat Wakefield 8-1, whilst Bowdon keep in touch with a 5-1 win over Khalsa.

The West Conference is still led by Guildford and Cardiff and UWIC, both on 21 points. Guildford remain top with an improved goal difference after a 5-2 win over Whitchurch. Cardiff were 5-0 ahead at home to Bath Buccaneers but in just over ten minutes at the end of the match, George Farrant, Tim Davenport and Niklas Rieger had pulled the score back to 5-3. Then, to cap it all, Cardiff conceded an own goal in the last minute. Final score, 5-4 to Carfiff.

FULL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND AT OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

SUTTON’S SEASON COMES APART. A round up of matches in today’s Investec Women’s League.

Four matches were played in the Investec Women's League Premier Division this afternoon, but the results leave an unchanged table.

What had started as a very promising season for Sutton Coldfield is now coming apart at the seams. Only four weeks ago they were in second place, but last weekend saw them slip down to sixth. Although their away defeat to table toppers Canterbury this afternoon leaves them in sixth place, losing a match 8-1 tends to suggest that the slide is likely to continue. There was no indication of the size of the final score when the two sides went into the break with Canterbury leading 2-1, thanks to goals from Lucy Hyams and Sarah Kerly. But a second half blitz from Hyams (2), Judge Mayne, Susannah Townsend, Eliza Brett and Mel Clewlow, gave Canterbury a more than convincing win.

Canterbury's goal difference may be important because Leicester are hot on their heels. A single goal from Katie Long gave them a 0-1 win away against Clifton. Clifton is another side that have slid down the table in recent weeks, having been among the early season leaders. The result of this match leaves them in seventh place, whilst Leicester is in second, one point behind Canterbury.

It was a former Clifton player who made the difference when Surbiton met Olton and West Warwicks at home this afternoon. Olton had taken a 0-1 lead into the second half after Kerry Thompson-Moore scored a 27^th minute goal from a penalty corner. Vicky Bryant and Sarah Haycroft gave Surbiton a brief lead before Emma McCabe equalised for Olton. It was two penalty strokes, both converted by Georgie Twigg, that gave Surbiton the eventual 4-2 win. Surbiton are in third place, three points behind Leicester.

University of Birmingham scored three goals to Bowdon Hightown's two this afternoon, but still managed to lose. Liz George put the University 2-0 ahead but, after Tina Cullen pulled one back, the University had the misfortune to score an own goal. A late goal from Cullen gave Bowdon a 2-3 win.

The Premier Division programme will be completed tomorrow when Reading play Slough in a double header at home. Reading are in fifth place, four points behind Bowdon, whilst Slough are four points adrift at the bottom of the table. As a consequence, the result of tomorrow's match will leave the table unchanged.

Last week we made a comment about the neck and neck race at the top of the North Conference. Beeston and University of Durham are both on 27 points, with Beeston having a much superior goal difference. The University could have taken a large chip out of this, but at 1-6 away at struggling Ben Rhydding, two late penalty strokes resulted in a final score of 3-6. Leaders Beeston won their away match at Wakefield Bradford 1-2.

Buckingham has opened up a huge gap at the top of the West Conference. Jo Ellis scored twice to give them a 1-2 win away at Isca University. Buckingham are 10 points ahead of second placed Trojans, who seem to be enjoying something of a revival. They beat Bristol Firebrands away 0-2.

There was a postponement and a late start in the East Conference. Harleston Magpies lost at home 0-2 to Oxford Hawks, which may give Sevenoaks a chance to reclaim the top spot they surrendered last weekend. Sevenoaks are playing Bromley and Beckenham, who are laying at the bottom of the table with zero points. Sevenoaks are playing at 17:00 today.

TABLES AND RESULTS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEB SITE AT: www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

NO CHANGE AT THE TOP OF THE WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION. A round up of today’s league and cup matches.

The results in the Premier Division of the Investec Women's League have started to be more predicable as the teams get back to full strength after the extended post Olympic period.

Champions Leicester visited lowly Slough this afternoon, with Jo Hunter scoring a hat trick in their 0-4 win. Slough stay firmly rooted to the bottom of the table with one point. Leicester keep in touch with the leaders, Canterbury, who are one point ahead of them. Canterbury spiked Surbiton's hope of moving closer to the top, with a single goal from Sarah Kerly. Surbiton remain in third place .

Bowdon Hightown, who have had a promising season, slipped up at Clifton. The home side took a late first half lead through Joanna Leigh, and Hightown had to wait until the last ten minutes for Sally Walton to score an equaliser. Final score 1-1. Bowdon remain in fourth and seventh place respectively.

Reading's season got a bit of a lift when Helen Richardson, Jessica Brooker and Emma Thomas found the net in their 1-3 win at Sutton Coldfield. Both sides have seen a reversal in their fortunes over the last few weeks, with Sutton sliding from second to sixth in the table, whilst Reading have gone from eighth to fifth.

University of Birmingham managed to ease their relegation concerns with an emphatic 4-0 win over Olton and West Warwicks. Olton now occupy the play-off place that was occupied by the university this morning.

The top of the table clash in the East Conference between Sevenoaks and Harleston Magpies, ended in favour of the Magpies 0-2 and they now lead the Kent side by two points. Ipswich keep in range of the top with a 1-2 win at Wimbledon.

Beeston and University of Durham are both on 24 points at the top of the North Conference with a seven point cushion between them and Brooklands Poynton in third place. Beeston's three point came at the expense of Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, who they beat 1-2 away. The University need to score a massive 15 goals more than Beeston to close the goal difference, but they only took a tiny chip out of this with a 2-0 win over Cannock.

Buckingham in the West Conference remain the only side with a 100% record. Jessica Bloom scored all three of their goals in their match at Stourport. Second placed Isca suffered a 1-3 defeat at home to Swansea, and the gap between them and Buckingham has opened up to eight points.

In the Men's Cup, City of Peterborough managed to score all eight of the goals in their 7-1 defeat away at Cannock. The eight goals scored at Surbiton were all for the home side as they qualified for the quarter finals with an 8-0 win over Preston. East Conference Holcombe did creditably well to stave off the Premier Division leaders, Beeston, to lose by 2-0.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

 

 

BOTTOM SIX MIX CHANGES. A round up of yesterday’s England Hockey League Results.

Last weekend we commented on how the bottom six of the table were only separated by three points. Despite yesterday's Premier Division matches all ending with wins, that position remains unchanged, although the mix is somewhat different.

The real winners from yesterday afternoon were East Grinstead. TalkHockeyRadio was there to see them have a fairly comfortable 3-1 win against Southgate. EG had all their GB players on the pitch, including Ashley Jackson back from injury, but the goals came from Andy Piper, Matt Cox and Adam Jordan. East Grinstead move up to fourth, whilst Southgate slump to bottom place.

Surbiton rocketed up the table to seventh as a result of a 4-1 win over Brooklands MU. Before we get carried away, that's still only one point off the bottom place they occupied until yesterday.

Loughbrough Students seemed to be in the driving seat at home to Hampstead and Westminster. The Student's Chris Griffiths scored in the third minute, followed by an Andy Bull penalty corner strike 17 minutes later. Although Neil Hamilton pulled one back for the Londoners just before half time, it was their Will Naylor who did the damage in latter part of the second half, with two goals to give the visitors a 2-3 win. With the bottom half of the table being so tight, three points can have a dramatic effect. Hampstead rise from nineth to sixth, with the Students dropping one place to fifth.

At the top of the table, Beeston refound their form with a 4-1 win over Reading. Sam Dixon, Carl Smith (2) and Ben Arnold all found the net before Reading earned a late consolation goal from a Richard Mantell corner strike in the 63^rd. The defeat sees Reading slip down the table from sixth to eighth. Second placed Canterbury received a real pasting off visiting Cannock, despite taking an early 2-0 lead. The final score, 2-6 , leaves Cantebury and Cannock in second and third place respectively, but the margin is reduced to two points.

The top two places in the North Conference are still very tight after yesterday's matches. Sheffield Hallam came from behind to win 1-2 away at University of Durham, whilst Bowdon had a 1-0 home win against Belper. Sheffield Hallam lead the table, one point ahead of Bowdon.

In contrast to the Premier Division, it's the top of the West Conference where only a few points separate the leading teams. Guildford move to the top of the table after a 1-3 win away at University of Birmingham. They are separated on goal difference from second placed Cardiff and UWIC, who beat University of Exeter 2-1. Just how tight the table is, is demonstrated by the University's drop from top spot to fourth as a result of that defeat. Fareham's visit to Bath was a forgettable one with an own goal in the 12^th minute, which the Buccaneers were able to add a further four, with Tim Davenport scoring a hat-trick. The 5-0 win means that Bath Buccaneers move back into third place after slipping back one last weekend.

There were two late but important results in the East Conference yesterday, and hence the reason for our round-up appearing this morning. Holcombe continue to lead the table with a 5-4 win over Old Loughtonians. Wimbledon, who held pole position until last weekend, slipped up again when they visited Cambridge City. Wimbledon has a fair contingent of exiles from Surbiton in its ranks, including Ben Marsden, who scored the opener in the fourth minute. But the City has its own fair share of recycled internationals, both of whom were on the scoresheet. Scottish international Stephen Dick equalised in the 16^th minute, whilst veteran England and GB international Nicky Thompson scored City's third just before half time. Final score 4-3 to Cambridge City. The result means that Cambridge City only move up one place to seventh in crowded mid table. Wimbledon still have a three point buffer between them and Bromley and Beckenham in third place. The Becks went down at Oxted 2-3.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

PICTURES FROM THE MATCH BETWEEN EAST GRINSTEAD AND SOUTHGATE WILL APPEAR ON OUR PICUTURES WEB SITE AT www.HockeyImages.co.uk later. WE ARE CURRENTLY CARRYING OUT AN UPGRADE TO THE SITE. HENCE THE DELAY.

UPSETS GALORE IN THE ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE. A round up of results in today's league and cup matches.

There were upsets galore in the men's England Hockey League, with the leaders dropping points to sides from the bottom half of the table.

Brooklands were eighth in the Premier Division this morning and pulled off something of a coup when Charlie Brooke scored a 70^th minute goal against leaders Beeston to finish the match 3-2 and dent Beeston's 100% record. Likewise, second placed Canterbury lost 2-1 away at Southgate. 

Despite the defeats, there is a substantial cushion between second and third place in the Premier Division, helped by the defeat of third placed Cannock by East Grinstead. Cannock had gone into half time with a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Peter Jackson and David Harris. Harris scored another 10 minutes into the second half, his second from the penalty spot. 'Grinstead's Rick Gay got his side back into the match with two penalty corner conversions, and this was followed by a golden five minutes which saw Mark Gleghorne, Mark Pearn and Andy Piper, give EG a 3-5 win. East Grinstead move up one place to fifth.

Surprisingly, after eight matches, the bottom five clubs are separated by only three points, so we could see some shuffling around in the remaining matches before Christmas. Loughborough Students were in fourth this morning and remain there after a 2-2 draw against Reading. Reading slip down to sixth as a result the draw and East Grinstead's win. The big losers this afternoon were Hampstead & Westminster. Their 2-2 draw against bottom placed Surbiton sees them drop from seventh to the relegation play-off spot. But, as we said, it's very close amongst the bottom five clubs.

Upsets were not confined to the Premier Division. Wimbledon, who have been at the top of the East Conference since week one, surrendered their place to Holcombe after losing 2-3 to Bromley and Beckenham. Holcombe travelled to Chiswick where their two East Grinstead exiles, Gareth Carr and Danny Hall, contributed two in their 0-4 win over Richmond.

In the North Conference, the top of the table tussle between Sheffield Hallam and Bowdon was settled when the two sides met. Hallam emerged as the 3-1 winners and they move into top place.


Today's results in the West Conference sees three sides on 15 points, with a fourth on 14. University of Exeter could only draw 1-1 against Havant, and have been caught by Guildford after Guildford beat Cardiff 1-0. The current top of the table reads; University of Exeter, Guildford, Cardiff. Bath Buccaneers slip to fourth after being beaten 2-1 by struggling Whitchurch.

There were four Premier Division sides in the last 16 of the Investec Women's Cup.  That number has been reduced to three as a result of the draw pitting University of Birmingham against Clifton. Despite two late goals from the University, it was clifton who progress through to the quarter finals on the back of a 2-4 win.

The other Premier Division sides playing in the Cup saw Bowdon Hightown beat Harrogate 2-0, and Sutton Coldfield beat Cannock 0-6.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Hollybush Close to see East Conference Sevenoaks play Firebrands from the West Conference. Despite being a reasonably balanced match, Firebrands failed to capitalise on their chances and goals from Nicky Lloyd and captain Jet Van Zalen gave Sevenoaks a deserved 2-0 win. We hope to have a few images from this match on our sister site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk later.

Others going through to the quarters finals are Wimbledon, Liverpool Sefton and Chelmsford.
FULL RESULTS AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT: www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

RETURN AFTER BREAK BRINGS SOME FAMILIAR SCORES. A round-up of today’s matches in the Investec League.

The Investec Women's League took a rest last weekend, and today's results look as if we have passed through a time warp in the process. Some very familiar names have started producing some very familiar scores.

Reading, who have had a very poor start to their season, suddenly sparked into life when they played host to Clifton. They increased their goal tally by 30% this afternoon after putting five past Clifton, Reading's goals coming courtesy of Rebecca Halle (2), Alex Danson, Halley Munt and Amanda Potgeiter. Final score 5-1. Leicester has also had an indifferent start to the season by their high standards, but they collected three points against University of Birmingham with a 4-1 win at home. Leicester's goals came from Anne Panter, Katie Long (2) and Jo Hunter. Reading move from seventh to sixth in the table, swapping places with Clifton. Leicester remain in second but the University's defeat slips them down into the relegation play-off spot. 

For the nostalgic, it seemed very much like the old days when Bowdon Hightown took a substantial win against Sutton Coldfield. On the scoresheet for Bowdon were Tina Cullen (2) – no surprise there – Sally Walton (2) and Hannah Pike. Final score 5-1. Sutton's promising start to the season now seems to be in disarray as they slipped from second to fourth, and now surrender that place to Bowdon. 

After a runaway start, a bit of the gloss was starting to go off Surbiton's season, but they got back to their winning ways this afternoon with a win over lowly Slough, who remain propping up the table with one point from eight games. Surbiton's scorers in their 2-0 win were Vicky Bryant and Abi Robinson. Surbiton remain in third place.

Perhaps the most surprising result today was the draw between Olton and West Warwicks and leaders Canterbury. Mel Clewlow gave the Kent side the lead with a penalty corner conversion just before the break, but Kerry Thompson-Moore equalised 14 minutes into the second half. Canterbury remain at the top of the table, one point ahead of Leicester, but the single point earned was enough to lift Olton out of the relegation play-off area.

In the East Conference, Sevenoaks and Harleston Magpies lead the table. A Jet Vab Zalen goal gave Sevenoaks a 0-1 win at Chelmsford, and they are one point ahead of Harleston who beat Horsham 2-1. Bromley & Beckenham, who have only scored twice all season, had another fallow afternoon when they entertained Wimbledon. Losing 0-2, they remain at the bottom of the table with zero points.

Beeston continue to lead the North Conference, their seven goals this afternoon bringing their goals total up to 45. Their victims were Ben Rhydding, who remain at the bottom of the table with no points. Astonishingly, Beeston only lead the table on goal difference, although it is a substantial one. University of Durham also scored seven times in their match against Liverpool Sefton for no reply. Beeston and the University are both on 21 points.

Buckingham remain the only side with a 100% record, although it must have seemed in doubt when Becky Westall scored for their opponents in the 11^th minute in their match against Trojans in the West Conference. Buckingham managed to pull back two second half goals to win the match 2-1, which keeps them five points ahead of their nearest rivals, Isca University. 

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE AVAILABLE AT OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO.CO.UK

Round up of this weekend’s re-arranged England Hockey League matches

Simon Egerton scored his 17^th goal of the season as Beeston put clear water between themselves and second placed Canterbury when they played their game in hand against Loughborough Students on Friday evening. Egerton scored a hat trick in a match which saw the two sides on even terms at half time, but Beeston quickly took the lead in the second half and finished the game with a 3-5 win.

Yesterday saw struggling Surbiton pick up their fifth point of the season as they drew 2-2 at home to Reading, all the goals coming in the second half. East Grinstead's dismal start to the season just got worse with a 2-4 defeat at home to Canterbury.

The results leave the table unchanged, although Beeston are no longer reliant on goal difference to hold their pole position. At the bottom end of the table, three points or less separate Reading, East Grinstead, Hampstead & Westminster, Brooklands MU and Southgate, from bottom place Surbiton.

There was one match today in the England Hockey League. This was between East Conference Richmond and Bromley & Beckenham, which finished 0-2 in favour of the Becks. As a result, Bromley & Beckenham return to third in the table.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE.

OUR SISTER SITE, HOCKEYIMAGES.CO.UK, TOOK THE WEEKEND OFF, BUT YOU CAN FIND PICTURES FROM BEHIND THE SCENES AT SILVERSTONE ON THEIR SITE AT www.HockeyImates.co.uk.