Yesterday was a busy day for hockey with matches in both the
NOW Pensions Men’s League and the Investec Women’s League.
Men’s Premier
Division
While the Bees were away East Grinstead took the opportunity
to play and grab the top spot. Both Beeston and Surbiton are in Europe playing
in the Euro Hockey League, and East Grinstead took the opportunity with a
relish, with a goal blitz against struggling Loughborough Students. On the score sheet for EG were Ashley
Jackson, Mark Pearn (2), Ricky Fraser, Andy Piper, Mark Gleghorne and Nial
Stott, in an 9-1 drubbing. The Student’s scorer was Chris Griffiths.
Reading’s 0-2 win away at Sheffield Hallam means that there
are three teams on 12 points, with East Grinstead enjoying the lead with an
impressive +17 goal difference, ahead of Reading on +9 and Beeston on +6. Beeston
hold a 100% record and have a game in hand. The Students drop one place from
ninth into the automatic relegation place. Sheffield Hallam fall from eighth to
ninth place.
At this stage of the season a match won or lost can make a
dramatic difference to your league position, as Canterbury discovered yesterday.
Trailing in tenth place, and behind 0-2 after six minutes they rallied
themselves, and goals from Mickel Pierre, Isaac O’Connor and Liam Foster, gave
them a 3-2 win. This propels them up the table to sixth. Wimbledon are in
seventh place but only one point ahead of the bottom club.
Talk Hockey Radio was at Paddington Rec yesterday to watch Hampstead
& Westminster play Cannock. Hampstead
would rather like some points to keep them in contention with the top of the
tabled, but Cannock need them urgently, being closer to the bottom of the table
than they would like. It promised to be an interesting match and it scored
highly on entertainment value.
H & W seemed to have the match wrapped up in the first
half, with David Smith and Richard Hildreth scoring to give the home side a 2-0
lead at half time. In the ‘if only’ category
was a penalty stroke awarded to Cannock which hit the post, and which would
have made a significant difference to the final score had it gone home. But not
discouraged, Cannock came out in the second half like a side that was
determined to come away with three points, and with two goals in quick
succession from Dave Beckett putting them on equal terms it looked likely that
they would achieve that.
The heartbreaker came in the 69th minute when
Liam Foster found the net and slotted home the winner for Hampstead.
Paddington Rec is one of the more unusual places where we
see hockey, with the pitch set in the middle to one of central London’s many
green lungs. Despite the very
competitive nature of the encounter on the pitch it was played in a good
spirit, and hockey doesn’t get much better than that. Final score 3-2, and
Hampstead creep up to fourth place from fifth, whilst Cannock slip to eighth,
on the same points as the two bottom sides.
PICTURES FROM HAMPSTEAD & WESTMINSTER V CANNOCK ARE ON
OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.HOCKEYIMAGES.CO.UK.
Women’s Premier
Division
Someone looking to place a bet on one of yesterday’s matches
would have been expecting to collecting his winnings this morning if he had put
his money on Canterbury beating Beeston away.
Canterbury had a 100% record and Beeston only had three points up until
yesterday. But, in the shock result of the day, Canterbury came away having
lost 3-1. They were 2-0 behind at the
start of the second half, with goals from Sophie Robinson and Erica Sanders,
and Robinson added third seven minutes into the second half. Canterbury’s Nikki Kidd pulled one back from
the penalty spot, but the 3-1 result means that Canterbury lose the top place
on goal difference.
Canterbury’s place at the top of the table is taken by Reading,
who beat Surbiton 1-2 away yesterday. Surbiton stay in fifth place.
University of Birmingam, who were without a point yesterday
morning, played host to Bowdon Hightown, and finished the game with their first
of the season. Abigail Porter scored for the University shortly before the
break, but the real damage done took place late in the second half, with goals
from Lily Owsley, Ashlie Caddick and Faye Curran. Final score, 4-0. The result
makes no change to either sides’ league position, with Bowdon remaining in fourth
and the University in eighth.
The two Premiership strugglers, Olton & West Warwicks
and Sutton Coldfield, met yesterday. Olton look doomed to relegation, having
conceded 35 goals in four matches, whereas Sutton look as if they could pull
themselves out of the mire. This was very
much reflected in the result of yesterday’s encounter, with Sutton winning 6-1.
The result does not change their league positions but it may provide Sutton
with a launch pad to move up the table. Olton remain on the bottom, with their
goal difference now -37, having conceded an average of just over eight per
match.
Clifton’s hopes of challenging for a top place took a dent
when they were recently deducted a point for fielding an incorrectly registered
player. Their hopes took another knock
when they could only draw 2-2 at Leicester. Els Mansell gave them a 20th
minute lead, only to see Kerry Whitehead equalise. In the second half Mansell again gave Clifton
the lead. However, it was short lived. Lily Elliott scored from a penalty
corner to give both sides’ one point.
Clifton move down to third, and Leicester remain in sixth place.
Men’s Conferences
Southgate dropped their first points of the season, losing
3-2 away at St Albans in the East Conference.
They would have been overtaken by Teddington for the top spot, had they not
been recently deducted six points for fielding an unregistered player. They now
find themselves in ninth place despite beating luckless Brighton & Hove
0-5.
Despite scoring the first and last goal of the match, West
Bridgnorth could not find any points against the leaders, University of Durham.
Their North Conference match ended
2-4 to the University and the two sides keep their places in the table, namely
last and first.
Leaders in the Conference
West, Cardiff and Met, are currently in Barcelona as Welsh representatives
in the Euro Hockey League. A revitalised Havant took the opportunity to join
them on ten points after beating Isca 1-3 away.
They are now in second place, separated from Cardiff on goal difference.
Struggling Guildford are still marooned at the bottom of the table with no
points. They were beaten 1-2 at home to Cheltenham, with coach Ian Jennings
taking to the pitch to score Guildford’s only goal.
Women’s Conferences
Holcombe maintain the six point gap between them and second
placed Old Loughtonians in the East
Conference, with a 2-1 win over Sevenoaks, achieved in part thanks to a
Sevenoaks own goal. Old Loughtonians beat Horsham 2-1. Chelmsford’s miserable season showed a small
sign of improving when they came away from Harleston Magpies with one point
after a 2-2 draw thanks to the efforts of Marie Kirkham, after she had scored
twice to recover from a two goal deficit.
After their recent goal spree in the Cup, it was back to
reality for Boots in the Conference
North, who lost 3-0 away at the University of Durham. The University lead the table, whilst Boots
remain at the bottom.
Buckingham keep up their amazing run at the top of the West
Conference, and one day we must sit down and work out how many matches they
have won in the last few seasons. It could be a record. Yesterday they recorded
their fifth of this season, a 0-1 win at Exe.
Slough are keeping in contact with the top with a 3-1 win at home to
Bristol Firebrands. Ashleigh Ball, who it was widely predicted would move on
after Slough’s relegation, was among the scorers.
FULL SCORES AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE AT WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO.CO.UK.
