YESTERDAY AT THE KO16

It was a great day for the English here in Amstelveen yesterday.  But there were a couple of things which spoilt it.

First, and most obviously, a second English team is through to Round 3. But this was at the expense of another English side, the two being drawn against each other in Round 2. The draw had guaranteed at least one English representative in Round 3, but on a day where the hockey was not always of the greatest, Beeston and East Grinstead put on a fine display of attacking hockey which showed English hockey in a good light. More of that in a moment.

The other thing which spoilt it was the performance of Bloemendaal, who the winners of the all-English match will meet on Monday.  Their Round 2 match against Club de Campo was being touted as a close one, but in the final event Bloemendaal simply overwhelmed their Spanish opponents. 

Despite being reinforced by a small contingent of German internationals, including FIH Player of the Year Moritz Furste, Club de Campo were simply outplayed in every department.  The half time score was a relatively modest 2-0 but this had been increased to 6-1 by the final whistle.  Playing in his final club matches before retirement, Bloemendaal’s star, Tuen de Nooijer , failed to find the net but he was in the thick of things.  He will have another  chance to round off his career tomorrow afternoon, when his side meet the winner of the Beeston v East Grinstead match.

In a day of one-sided matches, or matches which failed to catch fire because of the bitterly cold weather and the occasional snow, the Beeston v East Grinstead game provided some excellent entertainment, and was close to the finish.  Beeston took a 13^th minute lead, thanks to Carl Smith, but EG’s captain Glenn Kirkhan had soon equalised, and a second from Kirkham took his side into the second half with a 2-1 advantage.

Both sides looked equally dangerous throughout the match, and the score could have moved in either direction.  However, it fell to Beeston’s captain, Adam Dixon to score the equaliser 13 minutes into the second half.  The sides remained at stalemate until the end of normal time, and it fell to Beeston’s Oliver Willars to settle the issue in silver goal extra time.

So, Beeston are through to Round 3, where they meet Bloemendaal.  It will be a difficult match for the Nottingham side.  You could argue that there will be an English interest in whoever wins the match, with ex GB international Russell Garcia being the coach of the Dutch side.

Today’s programme starts the Round 3 knock out matches, with Mulheim playing Rot-Wiess Koln in an all German match.  English interest will focus on Reading v KHC Dragons. And the snow flurries are with us again!

READING TO FACE DRAGONS IN KO8

Reading scored a remarkable victory against one of the top clubs here in Amsterdam yesterday.  Playing Rotterdam, a side filled with players recruited from around the world, Reading stayed with them play-for-play and eventually the matter had to be settled by a one-on-one shoot out.  Reading came from behind twice, Tom Carson scoring the first, and Richard Mantell the second with only a few minutes of play left.

At 2-2 , extra time failed to settle the matter, and so it was on to a one-on-one shoot out. Reading got off to a bright start when Rotterdam’s Nick Wilson failed to net their first attempt, but hero of the hour was goalkeeper James Bailey,  who swept away Oliver Polkamp’s final attempt to give Reading the win.

A slightly down note to a entertaining match was in the form of two serious injuries. Tom Carson received a lifted ball at short range in the face and was taken to hospital. Earlier there had been a multiple pile up which had resulted in Sjoerd Gerretsen receiving treatment on the pitch for what appeared to be a neck injury.  He left the pitch looking extremely groggy and was taken by ambulance to hospital. Latest reports are that both a doing well.

Those with a sense of history will appreciate how fate has put through Reading to Round 3 to face KHC Dragon on Sunday.  Despite a bright start, Lisnagarvey struggled against Dragons in their Round 2 match yesterday and eventually lost the match 7-2.  Sunday should see an epic struggle.

SNOW CANCELS MATCHES BUT MOST ISSUES DECIDED. A round up of today’s hockey.

As expected, the weekend's weather hit the Men's League today, following the disruption to the Investec Women's League yesterday.

At the bottom of the Premier Division, Brooklands MU lost their opportunity to play their get out of gaol card. They were beaten 2-3 at home by Surbiton, and so are now automatically relegated. Southgate's home match against East Grinstead did not go ahead, but they are now wedged in the relegation play-off spot with no means of escape.

Beeston's late season loss of form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Reading, Craig Peel scoring the winner in the 63^rd minute. With Cannock v Canterbury being one of the cancelled matches, places three to six in the table remain unresolved.

Hampstead & Westminster and Loughborough Students finished their league programme with Londoners beating the Students 3-2. They finish the season seventh and eighth respectively.

The monumental tussle at the top of the East Conference was settled this afternoon. Under any other circumstances Holcombe's 1-3 win away at Old Loughtonians should have been enough to secure for them the promotion play-off spot, but Wimbledon's 5-0 win against Cambridge City gives them a goal difference advantage of +3. It could not have been much closer. The remainder of the table has been pretty right too but, with no East Conference games cancelled today, City of Peterborough's 4-1 defeat at Richmond means that they are relegated. Cambridge City will have to play in the relegation play offs to retain their national league status.

The North Conference was badly hit by the weather, with none of the front runners playing. Bowdon, with one game left to play, are two points ahead of Sheffield Hallam, who have two matches in hand. Preston were already relegated, but the relegation play-off place relied on the outcome of the match between Wakefield and Doncaster, which was played. The match ended 2-2, so Doncaster will have to go to the play-offs.

The West Conference managed to finish its programme today. A 0-0 draw between the first and second placed teams means that Cardiff finish top, with University of Exeter in second place. Whitchurch are condemned to the relegation play-offs after losing 1-2 to Havant. Fareham would have been in their predicament had Whitchurch not lost. They lost 2-4 to Bath Buccaneers and they finish only two points ahead of Whitchurch. Firebrands, who are already relegated, lost 0-1 at home to Cheltenham.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

Only one of the two matches in the Investec Women's Cup survived the weather. Clifton go through to the final after beating Sutton Coldfield on penalties after the match ended 2-2 in normal time. The game between Buckingham and Bowdon Hightown was snowed off.

SNOW PLUS SHOCK DEFEAT FOR CANTERBURY LEAVES LEAGUE UNDECIDED. A round up of today’s matches in the Investec Women’s League

The 2012-13 Investec Women's League season had promised to go out with a bang this afternoon, but instead was muffled under a layer of snow. Out of a programme of 20 matches due to be played today, only eight survived the weather. England Hockey has limited options as to when the remaining matches can be played, due to Easter and the proximity of the Championship and Promotion play-offs.

Knowing that the match between second placed Leicester and Slough had fallen victim to the weather, any sensible pundit would have predicted that Canterbury would have finished the Premier Division is poll position. However, they would have been wrong. Playing away at Surbiton, Vicky Bryant and Hannah Coulson scored early for the home side to give Surbiton a 2-1 win. Leicester only has to draw against Slough in their re-arranged match to finish in top place.

The only other Premier Division match played today saw Bowdon Hightown pulled back from a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 against Clifton. The draw means that Hightown will miss out of the Championship play-offs as they will finish fifth.

At the basement end of the table the scheduled match between Olton & West Warwicks and University of Birmingham, which will decide which enters the relegation play offs, was one of the casualties of the weather today.

Today's Premiership results mean that we know who the top four clubs are that qualify for the Championship play-offs, but exactly who plays who will not be known until the outstanding matches are played. The current table puts Cantertbury on top (40 points and all matches played), followed by Leicester (39 points and one match outstanding), Reading (36 points and one match outstanding) and Surbiton (34 points and no matches outstanding).

The Women's West Conference was the least affected by the weather conditions, with all but one match being played. Taunton Vale lost their match away a Barnes Hounslow Ealing 2-1, and their theoretical, but high improbable, chance of avoiding relegation has now gone. They might have swapped places with Staines, who drew 2-2 at home to Firebrands. Staines now have a get out of gaol card in the form of the relegation play-offs. The only missing match in the Conference was that between Buckingham and Stourport. Buckingham were declared Champions of the West Conference some weeks ago, but Stourport could move up from eighth to seventh if they win the re-arranged match.

Manchester seems to have escaped the worst of today's weather, as Brooklands Poynton against Ben Rydding was the only match played in the North Conference. This leaves a number of issues to be resolved. At the top, University of Durham could catch Beeston, although Beeston have a massive goal difference in their favour. Realistically, there could be changes at the bottom. Bottom placed Cannock have a relatively good goal difference and could overtake Liverpool Sefton in ninth place. Sefton's poor goal difference should stop them overtaking either Doncaster or Ben Rhydding, who are three points ahead of them. The one match played today resulted in Brooklands Poynton beating Ben Rhydding 2-1.

Whilst large areas of the South and East were free of snow, it does seem to have fallen mainly in those areas where East Conference matches were being played. The one match that was played, the game between Harleston Magpies and Sevenoaks, decided who goes forward to the promotion play offs. The 1-1 draw means that Harleston finish three points ahead of Sevenoaks. The bottom end of the table is already decided, with Bromley & Beckenham relegated and Chelmsford taking part in the relegation play-offs.

FULLS RESULTS AND TABLES ARE ON OUR WEB SITE AT: www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

BUCKINGHAM SHOW THEIR CLASS. A round-up of today’s matches in the Investec League Conferences.

TalkHockeyRadio was at a very wet Eastleigh this afternoon to watch Trojans play host to Buckingham in the West Conference. Although the torrential rain threatened the start, with pools of water gathering around the pitch, the rain eased sufficiently to avoid a postponement, although it remained a miserable afternoon to play hockey.

Buckingham clearly deserve their massive lead in the Conference – they are 14 points ahead of second placed Isca University – but Trojans made a game of it, which made up for the shocking weather. Former England and GB international Jo Ellis joined Buckingham at the start of this season, and has clearly played a part in their domination of the division, but other players impressed as well, in particular Zoe Shipperly, who made a number of penetrating runs, and scored one of Buckingham's six goals. The result of the match was somewhat academic, as Buckingham had the West championship sewn up weeks ago, but a 2-6 win over an able side like Trojans says much for their quality.

We've commented repeatedly over the last few weeks about how tight the national leagues have been this season, and with only one match left to play, the automatic relegation spot in the West Conference is still being contested. The contenders for either relegation or the relegation play-offs, Taunton Vale and Staines, met this afternoon with Taunton Vale winning only their first match of the season. The 4-2 result means that Staines remain on seven points with Taunton Vale increasing their total to five.

It looks as if Harleston Magpies are a shoe-in for the East Conference championship. Sevenoaks' return to form appears to have been too late. They beat Chelmsford 1-0 this afternoon, but Magpies won their match at Horsham 1-3. Three points separate the two sides, but Magpies' goal difference is +16 as against Sevenoaks' +9. As a fitting finale to the season, the two sides meet next weekend.

Bromley & Beckenham are already relegated, and Chelmsford's defeat at Sevenoaks means they must survive the relegation play-offs to maintain their Investec League status.

The North Conference has issues at top and bottom which still remain undecided. Beeston went to Ben Rhydding and came away with a 1-5 win. Theoretically they could be caught by University of Durham who are in second place and three points behind them. The University beat Liverpool Sefton 0-3 today, but there is a +23 goal difference between them and Beeston. That's an awful lot of goals to make up with only one game to play!

Cannock is currently occupying the automatic relegation spot. If they win next week they could move into ninth place. Unfortunately they will be playing University of Durham. Liverpool Sefton, who are in the relegation play-off position, could still catch either Doncaster or Ben Rhydding on points, but they have an X-rated goal difference (-51) and they are almost certain candidates for the play-offs.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

PICTURES FROM LAST EVENING'S MATCH BETWEEN HOLCOMBE AND RICHMOND CAN BE FOUND AT www.HockeyImages.co.uk.

The finalists in the Men's Cup will be Hampstead & Westminster and Surbiton. H&W drew 2-2 against Cannock in today's semi finals but won on penalty strokes. Surbiton beat Oxted 6-1.

LAST BUT ONE WEEKEND, BUT STILL ALL TO PLAY FOR. A round-up of yesterday’s games in the national leagues.

Yesterday there were matches in both the men's and women's Premier Divisions, plus a full programme of men's Conference games. Let's look at the Investec Women's Premiership first where, with only one match left to play, many of the issues at the top and bottom of the table are still undecided.

The two contenders for the poll position are still neck and neck with only one point separating them. Canterbury had a bit of a goalfest at home to Olton & West Warwicks with a 6-2 win, whilst Leicester were away at University of Birmingham and came away with a 0-4 win under their belt. Keep an eye on next weekend's results, with Leicester having the easier of the two fixtures. They play Slough, whilst Canterbury visit Surbiton.

Talking of Slough, they are now definitely relegated after their 1-6 defeat at home to Surbiton. They are four points adrift at the bottom of the table. Despite their defeat against Canterbury, Olton could theoretically avoid the relegation play-offs if they could beat University of Birmingham by a substantial margin next weekend.

Reading had a real fight when they went to Clifton yesterday. Late goals from Dawn Mitchell and Zoe Leach pulled Clifton up from being 2-4 behind, but a penalty stroke by Reading's Emma Thomas with two minutes left on the clock gave her side a 4-5 win. Bowdon Hightown had a profitable visit to Sutton Coldfield, where a Sally Walton hat-trick contributed to their 3-5 win.

Yesterday's results mean that there are seven points separating the fifth and sixth placed sides, with the top five being Canterbury, Leicester, Reading, Surbiton and Bowdon Hightown.

In the Men's Premiership, East Grinstead managed to creep into the top five yesterday with a 3-2 win against Cannock, who they displace into sixth position. Next weekend East Grinstead have marginally the easier of the two games. They meet Southgate, whilst Cannock play Canterbury.

Beeston, who have been uncatchable at the top of the table for some weeks, entertained Brooklands MU, and took the points with a 5-3 win. Although Brooklands and Southgate cannot now escape from the bottom two, the automatic relegation is still not decided. Southgate, who lost 3-2 to Canterbury, are only one point ahead of them in ninth place.

If you wanted to see goals yesterday, Loughborough Students versus Reading was definitely the match to watch. It was classically a game of two halves, with the Students scoring five times in the second half to steal a 6-6 draw. Surbiton, whose record this season has been one of the most remarkable in the League, continued their winning ways with a 3-1 win at home to Hampstead & Westminster.

Contenders for the Championship play-offs in a few weeks time are still not decided although they will definitely include Beeston and Surbiton. Other possible contenders include any one of three from Canterbury, Reading, East Grinstead and Cannock.

TalkHockeyRadio was a Holcombe yesterday to watch them play Richmond. They are neck and neck at the top of East Conference alongside Wimbledon. Being an evening start, they already had the bad news that Wimbledon had beaten Bromley and Beckenham 2-7 and we now three points ahead. Whether this had any impact on their performance is hard to judge, but they definitely looked fired up from the start, with a goal as early as the fourth minute. What was very noticeable was the Danny Hall factor. Perhaps not as swift as he once was, Hall seemed to be somehow and somewhere instrumental in many of Holcombe's eight goals, scoring two of them himself. The other former East Grinstead player, Gareth Carr, also made a significant contribution, with two penalty corners and a penalty stroke finding the back of the net. Credit has to go to Richmond, who despite the final score, did make a match of it and provided the spectators with an entertaining game.

The final score of 8-2 means that both Holcombe and Wimbledon are on 38 points, with a goal difference of +28. Holcombe lead the table by virtue only of having scored more goals – 63, as opposed to Wimbledon's 61. Remarkably, with only one match left, the other sides in the East Conference are only separated by seven points and relegation issues are wide open.

The top of the table clash between Bowdon and Sheffield Hallam in the North Conference ended 1-2 in Hallam's favour, but they are still two points behind Bowdon. Preston are automatically relegated but the candidates for the relegation play-offs are still to be decided. Doncaster managed a 4-0 win over Leek yesterday and are in ninth place with 15 points. Wakefield lost 4-0 to Olton & West Warwicks and are in eighth place with 16 points.

Cardiff's 2-0 win over Guildford in the West Conference puts Guildford out of contention for promotion, and it is now between the Welsh side and University of Exeter. The University beat Havant 1-4 yesterday and are in second place, one point behind Cardiff. The relegation play-off spot has still to be decided with Fareham, Cheltenham and Whitchurch all at risk. Sixth place Havant could theoretically be in danger, but they have a much better goal difference than the teams beneath them. Bristol Firebrands are already relegated.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk. PICTURES FROM THE MATCH BETWEEN HOLCOMBE AND RICHMOND, AND TODAY'S MATCH BETWEEN TOJANS AND BUCKINGHAM, WILL BE ON www.HockeyImages.co.uk TOMORROW (MONDAY).

 

EIGHT EAST CONFERENCE TEAMS SEPARATED BY FOUR POINTS! A round-up of today’s matches in the Men’s Hockey League.

In our report on the Investec Women's League yesterday, we commented on the fact that there are so many undecided issues with only two matches left to play. The same is very apparent in the Men's Hockey League.

If you are looking for an example, you only have to look at the East Conference, where Wimbledon and Holcombe are both on 35 points, separated by a goal difference of +1. Beneath them, the remaining eight teams are separated by four points. In theory any one of the eight could face automatic relegation in two weeks time.

For the record, East leaders Wimbledon beat Old Loughtonians 3-2, whilst Holcombe closed the goal difference gap by beating Teddington 3-6, thanks in part to a Danny Hall hat trick.

The top spot in the Premier Division has belonged to Beeston for several weeks, but the Championship play-off places remain very much in contention, with seven clubs in contention. Even relegation issues remain open.

Beeston recovered from last week's slip up at Surbiton to beat Southgate 6-0 at home. Their opponents last weekend, Surbiton, move into second place after beating Reading 2-5 away. East Grinstead stay in contention after a 2-3 win away at Canterbury. Cannock slip down one place to fifth after losing at home to Hampstead & Westminster, which eases the West London club's relegation worries and gives them an outside chance of finishing in the top five.

Bottom placed Brooklands MU needed three points today to avoid the certainty of either automatic relegation or the relegation play-offs. They kept their hopes of survival alive by beating Loughborough Students 3-2 at home, although the odds are still stacked against them.

In the North Conference Bowdon missed an opportunity to move clear of second placed Sheffield Hallam when they could only draw 4-4 at home to Durham University. Hallam's game against Preston was postponed, meaning they have a game in hand. They are currently five points behind the leaders. This is another Division where the bottom placed clubs could escape the drop. Preston, as we mentioned, have a game in hand, and are on seven points, five points below Doncaster who drew 1-1 at Belper this afternoon. Above them are Wakefield on 16 points, who drew 2-2 to visiting Khalsa.

In the West Conference Cardiff & UWIC lead the table on 35 points. They beat ninth placed Cheltenham 3-1, whilst University of Exeter's 4-2 win over Whitchurch keeps them in touch, only one point behind the leaders. The other contenders for a promotion play-off spot are Guildford, who have faded slightly of late and could only draw 1-1 at home to Bath Buccaneers. Firebrands are already relegated, but with only six points separating Havant, Fareham, Whitchurch and Cheltenham, Cheltenham have two more games to pull themselves out of the relegation play off spot.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES ARE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT: www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.

 

TWO MATCHES TO GO AND IT’S STILL ALL TO PLAY FOR. A round up of today’s Investec Women’s League matches.

With only six points on offer until the end of the season, it is surprising how many issues remain unresolved in the Investec Women's League.

The Premier Division is a good example of this, particularly after Slough won their first match of the season this afternoon. Playing fellow strugglers Olton and West Warwickshire, it was two Amys that gave Slough a small glimmer of hope of survival in the top division. Two first half goals from Amy Turnbull and a late second half goal from Amy Sheehan provided them a 1-3 win and a much needed three points. This theoretically means that they could still move out of the automatic relegation zone into the play- off spot. Olton, currently in that place, could move above Birmingham University, who lost 1-5 to Canterbury today. As we said, it's all still left to play for.

The top three in the Premiership kept up the charge, each winning their matches. Leicester beat Sutton Coldfield 7-2, Reading beat Bowdon Hightown 2-1, and (as already mentioned) leaders Canterbury stay four points ahead at the top of the table after their 1-5 win away at Birmingham University.

Surbiton, playing at home to Clifton, will be disappointed with this afternoon's result after Vicky Bryant gave them a 55^th minute lead, only to see the match end at 3-3 after an own goal gifted their visitors a draw.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Sevenoaks in the East Conference, to see them play Ipswich. Sevenoaks, who have been in contention for the promotion play-off place for much of the season, have faded of late, and a late surge by Ipswich pushed them down to third last weekend. We must confess that we were rather disappointed with Ipswich, although Sevenoaks failed to capitalise on some of their opponents' weaknesses, and the final score was a relatively modest 2-1 to Sevenoaks. Both Sevenoaks' goals came from ex-England international Cathy Gilliat-Smith, demonstrating that she still knows how to score goals.

The result at Sevenoaks restores their second place in the table and Ipswich move down to third. Leaders, Harleston Magpies, stay in front by three points after a 2-0 win over Old Loughtonians. Theoretically, any one of Harleston Magpies, Sevenoaks and Ipswich, could qualify for the promotion play-off, but it practical terms it is a two horse race between Magpies and Sevenoaks.

At the bottom of the table, already relegated Bromley & Beckenham won their first match of the season, beating Oxford Hawks 2-0. Chelmsford will now have to play for Conference survival via the relegation play-offs, after losing 0-3 to Horsham.

After last weekend's surprise draw - the first points they had dropped all season - West Conference Buckingham decided to emphasise why they are leaders in this division, with an 8-0 demolition of bottom placed Taunton Vale. The Vale's fate is not yet sealed and they could still move above ninth placed Staines, who lost 0-6 at home to Isca University. There is a massive gap of 12 points between Staines and Barnes Hounslow Ealing, which means that the two bottom place sides cannot escape either automatic relegation or the relegation play-offs.

Beeston are de facto
North Conference Champions after a 4-0 win over Doncaster. University of Durham, who lost 0-1 to Bradford Wakefield, are six points behind, but Beeston's goal difference is +52 as opposed to the University's +26. But at the other end of the table there are four clubs separated by less than six points, Ben Rhydding, Doncaster, Liverpool Sefton and Cannock, so there is everything left to play for. All four lost this afternoon.

SURBITON IN SURPRISE UPSET FOR BEESTON. A round up of today’s national league matches.

This morning Beeston were leading the men's Premier Division by 15 points, so seeing off Surbiton some 17 points beneath them should have been no problem. Only a few weeks ago Surbiton were facing almost certain relegation, but something seems to have happened to them since then. That 'something' was very much in evidence at Sugden Road this afternoon.

It would have been easy to write off James Tindall's second minute goal for Surbiton as a bit of an aberration, but it did not take long to realise that Surbiton were on fire, whilst Beeston could only produce a dull flicker. Robert Schilling made it two only five minutes later, with Alexander Penney mading it three before the half was over.

An early second half goal from Adam Dixon signalled what have been a revival for Beeston – and we've seen them come back from more than 0-3 down in the past – but if there was any sort of revival it soon fizzled out. A 58^th minute own goal added to Beeston's misery, which was topped off by a second goal from Tindall just before the final whistle. Final score 5-1 to Surbiton. It was not Beeston's finest hour, but they still remain uncatchable in top place, 12 points ahead of their nearest rival.

Surbiton's win helps cement their place amongst the play-off candidates. They are in fifth place, only two points behind second placed Reading, who had a useful 3-1 win against bottom placed Brooklands MU. Canterbury, who slipped down the table from second to third last week, keep their third place thanks to a win over Hampstead and Westminster.

A Mark Pearn hat-trick, with all three goals being scored in the last ten minutes, rescued a point for East Grinstead in a 3-3 draw away at Loughborough Students. It was a late goal from Peter Jackson that grabbed all three points for Cannock, away at Southgate. The final score there, 2-3 to Cannock.

Apart from Beeston's poll position, the men's Premiership remains remarkably fluid, with only three matches left to play. Nine points separate second place Reading from eighth place Hampstead and Westminster, and the bottom placed Brooklands MU, and ninth placed Southgate, could still avoid the drop with a few surprise results. After all, we saw one at Surbiton this afternoon.

In the East Conference it is still neck and neck between Wimbledon and Holcombe. Both are on 32 points and neither can be caught by the rest of the pack. Wimbledon spoilt third placed Oxted's chances of being in the final reckoning, with a single Johnny Kinder goal in the second half penalty corner at Oxted. Holcombe won their match against Bromley and Beckenham 5-2, and are in second place by the narrowest of goal differences. Issues at the bottom of the table are still to be decided, with two points separating bottom place City of Peterborough from eighth placed Cambridge City with Richmond sitting between the two in ninth.

In the North Conference Bowdon moved four points ahead of second placed Sheffield Hallam after they beat Leek away 0-3. Hallam could only draw 3-3 at Olton & West Warwicks, as did University of Durham at Preston. The University have a game in hand, but are 13 points behind Bowdon and so are out of the running. The North is another Division where the issues at the bottom are still to be decided, with Preston on seven points, Doncaster on 11 and Wakefield on 15.

In the West Conference the leaders, Guildford and University of Exeter, met this afternoon, with the University winning 2-1. Both are on 31 points, with Exeter just ahead on goal difference. They are being chased hard by Cardiff and UWIC , who drew 3-3 against Havant, and Bath Buccaneers, who went down 3-1 at University of Birmingham. Bristol Firebrands are doomed to automatic relegation, but the play off spot could be filled by any of the sides currently fifth to ninth. That's Birmingham Uni, Fareham, Havant, Whitchurch and Cheltenham. It could be an interesting finish to the season in the West.

There was one match in the Investec Women's Premiership this afternoon, when second place Leicester lost their position in the table to Reading, who beat them 1-0.

FULL RESULTS AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND AT www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk. Pictures from the match between Surbiton and Beeston will be on our www.HockeyImages.co.uk site later this evening.

BUCKINGHAM LOSE 100% RECORD. Round up of this afternoon’s matches in the Investec Women’s League.

The big news in the Investec Women's League this afternoon came from the West Conference, where Buckingham dropped their first points of the season. Until today their record was 14 games played and 42 points won. Their nearest rivals in this respect were in the North Conference, where Beeston were six points behind them.

Buckingham's nemesis was Swansea City, sitting in mid table. It must have seemed like business as usual when Buckingham's Zoe Shipperley scored in the ninth minute, but Sophie Clayton equalised for Swansea with a penalty corner just before half time. Kitty Higgins restored Buckingham's lead in the second half, but seven minutes later Bridget Radice score the equaliser for the match to end 2-2. Buckingham is, of course, uncatchable. With three matches left to complete the season they are 13 points ahead of second place Trojans.

At the basement end of the West table, both Staines and Taunton Vale lost this afternoon. The best bottom placed Taunton Vale can hope for is a play-off place to avoid relegation. Staines, who have pulled off a number of last minute escapes in recent seasons, are nine points behind eighth place Barnes and seventh place Stourport, so their prospects look grim too.

A play-off place is all that Slough can hope for as they lost their 14^th match of the season this afternoon in the Premier Division. Their opponents in their 5-0 defeat were Bowdon Hightown. Bowdon join a cluster of sides on 27 points. One of these, third place Reading, did not play today. They meet second placed Leicester tomorrow. The other, fourth place Surbiton, won their home match against University of Birmingham, 1-0.

University of Birmingham, who are in eighth place, may not feel quite so secure after ninth placed Olton & West Warwickshire came away with three points from Sutton Coldfield. They have now closed the gap to three points.

Clifton must have wondered what had hit them as first Mel Clewlow, and then Sarah Kerly, found the net for Canterbury in the first four minutes. This was followed up by third Canterbury goal, scored by Jade Mayne. Clifton managed to steady the ship, but could not stop Eliza Brett from making it 0-4 at the finish. Clifton lead the table from Leicester by four points, but Leicester have two games in hand.

Back in the Conferences, Beeston continue to lead in the North, adding three more points to their tally with a 0-4 win away at Liverpool Sefton. They can still be caught by University of Durham, who kept in the race by beating Brooklands Poynton 1-0. They are three points behind Beeston. At the bottom end of the table, 12 points separate sixth placed Brooklands Poynton from seventh place Ben Rhydding, who in turn are only four points ahead of bottom placed Cannock. That mix also includes Doncaster and Liverpool Sefton, so it could be a real scrap as the season draws to a close to avoid relegation amongst that group.

The East Conference can be very competitive, and this season is proving particularly so. Keeping up the pressure in the run in to the end of the season can be difficult, and one of the casualties has been Sevenoaks, who surrendered the lead to Harleston Magpies four weeks ago, and now slip down to third after losing 2-1 at Old Loughtonians this afternoon. Magpies beat Chelmsford 3-1, and Chelmsford now have to find some points to rescue them from an end to long and often successful national league career. They are seven points behind eighth placed Horsham. At least they have the knowledge that they will not be in the automatic relegation spot. This goes to Bromley & Beckeham, who finish 11 points behind them. Bromley & Beckenham's 7-2 defeat at Ipswich means that the Suffolk side move up two places into second. St Albans may have wrecked their chances of overtaking the leaders by losing 2-0 away at Oxford Hawks.

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