Today the England Hockey League resumed its programme after
the winter break, with a full programme in the Investec Women’s League.
At the top of the Premier
Division the tussle for leadership between Reading and Canterbury saw
Reading close the gap to one point after Canterbury’s match at home to Bowdon
Hightown ended in a scoreless draw. Meanwhile, at Sonning Lane, Reading
recorded a useful 2-0 win over visiting Beeston. Both goals came from first
half penalty corners, one each from Leah Wilkinson and Emma Thomas.
Surbiton are still in the chase, only two points behind
Reading. They beat the unfortunate Olton & West Warwicks 0-4, a comparatively
modest defeat by Olton standards. When the sides met in September the match
ended 12-1. Surbiton’s scorers were Jenna Woolven and Sarah Page, each scoring
a brace apiece
Leicester move above Bowdon Hightown into fourth place after
a 2-1 win at home to Sutton Coldfield.
Clifton pushed Birmingham University nearer to the danger zone, beating them
1-0 thanks to a penalty stroke converted by Isabel Palmer just before half
time.
In the East
Conference it is the new girls that are leading the charge. Holcombe played
struggling Ipswich, beating them 1-3 East Grinstead kept their hopes alive with
a useful 1-3 win over third placed Sevenoaks. With six games left to play they
are six points behind Holcombe.
Chelmsford in the relegation spot recorded their seventh draw of the
season, with Kate Hales scoring a late goal against Old Loughtonians to finish
the match 3-3. Also on the score sheet
was former Chelmsford player, Chloe Rogers, now in Old Loughts’ colours.
Chelmsford are four points adrift of ninth placed Ipswich and seven points
behind eighth placed Old Loughtonians.
Things remain tight at the top of the North Conference, with both promotion contenders winning their
matches. Leaders, Wakefield, overcame Loughborough Students 2-1, both Wakefield
goals being scored by Cat Horn from penalty corners. Brooklands Poynton are only one point behind them
after a 1-4 win over Boots. Bottom placed Doncaster added a point to their meagre
total after a 3-3 draw at home to Stourport. They had led the match until the
70th minute, when Lora Symonds scored from a penalty corner for
Stourport.
At the top of the West
Conference, Buckingham and Slough are still well ahead of the pack.
Buckingham came from behind to beat Trojans 1-2. A revitalised Sough keep up
the pressure with a 0-1 win away at struggling Barnes. Exe are in deep trouble after only picking up
one point in 12 matches. Their visit to
Oxford Hawks this afternoon brought them no joy. They lost 3-1.
In the NOW:Pensions
Men’s Hockey League the most anticipated match of the day was the titanic
struggle between Beeston and East Grinstead at the top of the Premier Division. Two points separated the two
sides this morning, with Beeston ahead of EG. And a titanic struggle it turned
out to be. Grinstead went behind several times in the match but managed to pull
back. Goals by Chris Proctor and Stuart Pilgrim left EG trailing 4-2, but an
Adam Jordon penalty stroke and a David Condon field goal brought the score up
to 4-4. The ink was barely dry on the
match report when Proctor scored his second in the 54th minute to
give Beeston a 5-4 win.
The gap opened up between Beeston and East Grinstead was
filled by Reading. They were two points behind Grinstead in third place this
morning, but a 2-4 win away at Cannock pushes them into second place.
The match between Hampstead & Westminster against
Sheffield Hallam was postponed due to poor visibility. H&W may see this as a blessing in
disguise. They play Non-League Sevenoaks
in the Cup tomorrow.
There were two East Conference matches today. Old Loughtonians beat Richmond 5-1, and Oxted
beat Bromley & Beckenham 4-2.
There was one match played in the North Conference, but it was a relatively important one. Table toppers
Brooklands MU were separated from second place Durham University by four
points. This remains unchanged after
their match this afternoon ended 1-1.
