HEADLINE NEWS - BOWDON HIGHTOWN DO NOT WIN

Bowdon Hightown not winning three points might seem an odd headline news item but the fact is that before this morning they had gone for six matches and had scored maximum points in the Slazenger Women’s Premiership. Playing Leicester away they were honours even at half time, Becky Herbert opening the scoring for Leicester and Jo Ellis replying four minutes later. Bowdon then went ahead a few minutes into the second half from a field goal by Ashleigh Ball but Lucy Brown put the sides back on even terms. Vanessa Hawkins converted a penalty corner to give Leicester the lead, but with two minutes left on the clock Lyndsay French equalised from a corner.
Slazenger Women’s Premier Division:
Canterbury 0 – Slough
Clifton 2 – 4 Chelmsford
Leicester 3 – 4 Bowdon Hightown
Old Loughtonians 1 – 5 Ipswich
Olton & West Warwicks 4 – 1 Poynton

There was one serious upset in the Men’s Cup this afternoon, when Old Georgians from Division One put four passed Premier Division stugglers, Canterbury. TalkHockeyRadio was at the match between Reading and Chichester from the South Premier Division and photographs from that match will appear on our main site shortly. Other Cup results:

Chelmsford 0 – 6 Beeston
E Grinstead 6 – 1 Old Loughtonians
Gloucester City 0 - 7 Bowdon
Havant 8 – 0 Robinsons
Old Georgians 4 – 0 Canterbury
Reading 8 – 1 Chichester
Sheffield Hallam 3 – 6 Holcombe
Southgate 2 – 3 Doncaster

A report from Antwerp will appear on this blog shortly.

Saturday - Late Result

In the third of there three match series against the Australian Institute of Sport, Great Britain lost 2-5, GB's goals being scored by Hayley Brown and Kate Walsh.

TWO CRISTIES GIVE STUDENTS THE EDGE

Loughborough Students have secured a place in the second round of the EuroHockey League with a convincing win against Scots side Azzurri Kelbourne in Antwerp this afternoon. The students went in front with goals by Michael and Jonathan Cristie and then resolutely defended their lead in the second half. Kelbourne pulled one back with a penalty corner by Niall Stott which was deflected into the net off the stick of defender Jon Bleby. With ten minutes of the match left, Chris Nelson gave the students their third to leave the final score at 3-1.

Last weekend’s first round matches had ended in draws aplenty, so a 9-2 win stands out as a bit of an oddity in this competition. That was how the match between Barcleona and Dinoma Electrostal ended. The other Spanish team playing today also enjoyed a goalfest, putting seven passed Pocztowiec Poznan for no reply. The only German side left in the competition, Uhlenhorster drew against the much fancied Dutch from Bloemendaal 3-3.

On home soil Reading have built up a remarkable eight point lead in the Slazenger EHL Premier Division after overcoming Havant 4-3 this afternoon. Reading’s scorers were Andy Watts, Austin Smith, Richard Springham, and Warren D’Souza. Beeston met East Grinstead away and ran out 6-4 winners. Beeston and East Grinstead now occupy respectively the second and third place slots. Canterbury earned their first points of the season by beating Bowdon 2-0 and the two teams are both at the bottom of the table with Canterbury having the advantage on goal difference.
Men’s Premiership results in full:
Canterbury 2 – 0 Bowdon
East Grinstead 4 – 6 Beeston
Hampstead and Westminster 2 – 3 Surbiton
Reading 4 – 3 Havant.

In Men’s Division One, Southgate moved ahead of Old Georgians at the top of the table after the old boys could only draw when they hosted Brooklands. Southgate had a convincing 6-0 win at Belper.

TalkHockeyRadio should have been in Antwerp but the next best thing was a double header at Sevenoaks where the men met Holcombe in the National South Division. Sevenoaks are reckoned to be slow starters but two penalty corner conversions in the first five minutes put pay to that reputation. Close marking of David Matthews (Pictured No 10) and Danny Laslett effectively neutralised the Holcombe strike force, but the player who impressed was Pete Turner who scored his hat-trick with his third penalty corner conversion in the 60^th minute. Sevenoaks 3-1 win put them in second place separated by goal difference from the leaders, University of Exeter. Holcombe slip into third place.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE MATCHES BETWEEN SEVENOAKS MEN AND HOLCOMBE AND SEVENOAKS WOMEN AND EXE WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE SOON. www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

LOUGHBOROUGH LOOK SET TO PROGRESS

Loughborough Students look set to become the third English club to progress through from the first rounds of the EuroHockey League in Antwerp this afternoon. Playing Swiss side Luzerner, the students got off to a cracking start with an early penalty conversion from Richard Smith. A mistake in the defence allowed the Swiss to equalise, but the English side grabbed the deciding goal in the dying seconds, courtesy of Peter Dobson. Loughborough Students play Kelbourne tomorrow. The Germans, who came away empty handed from last weekend’s first round pool matches, had better luck when Ulenhorster won their match against Polish outfit Grunwald Poznan 5-1. In the other matches played today the host club, Royal Antwerp, drew 3-3 against the Russians from Dinamo Electrostal, and Spanish side Club Egara overcame Pembroke Wanderers from Ireland 3-2.

This evening’s practice match between Great Britain women and the Australian Institute of Sport ended ten minutes short of time due to a floodlight failure. The Australians had taken a twelfth minute lead through Madonna Blyth. Hayley Brown (pictured) replied in open play but Emily Halliday converted a penalty corner just before the half-time whistle. The scored remained at 2-1 at the time of the floodlight failure.

Roger Self has retired from the post of President of Great Britain Hockey on the grounds of ill-health. Bryn Williams will be acting president until a replacement can be appointed.

Notice regarding our European Hockey League Coverage

Our photographer and correspondent, Peter Savage, was involved in serious car accident on the way to Antwerp this morning. Although he is unhurt, it has curtailed his travel arrangements quite dramatically. Although we will be carrying reports from the EuroHockey League, they will not be as comprehensive as first promised. However, we are hopeful of bringing photographs of domestic league and cup action over the weekend.

QUEK AND GILBERT COULD BE SUPRISE SELECTIONS by Pat Rowley

Two uncapped teenagers, Samantha Quek of Bowdon Hightown, and Susie Gilbert (Birmingham University), could be surprise selections when Great Britain announce their team to visit Argentina for five test matches later this month. Both have been named to play in at least one of Britain’s two remaining matches against the Australian A side at Bisham tonight and tomorrow evening. They are two of 12 players selected who did not play in Wednesday evening’s 3-0 defeat against what is, to all intents and purposes, the full Australian team. The other ten hoping to stay in the British squad are goalkeepers Beth Storry and Katy Roberts, Hayley Brown, Crista Cullen, Jo Ellis (Bowdon), Rebecca Herbert, Chloe Rogers, Wales’ Sarah Thomas and two Scots, Laura Bartlett and Louise Munn. British coach Danny Kerry has informed his squad that anyone not selected for tomorrow’s game will be released to play for their clubs on Sunday. Loughborough Students ought to become the third English club to make the knockout stages of the new European League, when they play Luzerner (today) and Scottish champions Kelburne (tomorrow) in their three team group at Antwerp. To qualify, the Students have to finish in the top two in their pool. They will be better prepared than Reading were if they have to take part in an unusual tie breaker. What Reading appeared not to realise was that, even if the goalkeeper makes a save in the one on one shoot-out situation, they can still score provided they are within the eight second time limit.

CLARKE PENALTY ASSURES READING SURVIVAL

Reading’s group in the EuroHockey League ended in unconventional style this afternoon. The last match in Group G pitted French outsiders St Germain against the English club. St Germain pulled off a surprise 2-2 draw against Crefelder on Friday, and after Reading’s draw against Crefelder yesterday, Reading needed a win to be sure of proceeding to the next round. In a tense game which kept the umpires busy, Reading found themselves two down before the second half. Jonty Clarke and Richard Mantell equalised for Reading, leaving the pool with all three teams having drawn their matches. St Germain automatically qualified for the next round by virtue of having scored the most goals, leaving Crefelder having to come back for a penalty corner shoot-out with Reading. Jonty Clarke scored the only goal of the penalty barrage, knocking Crefelder – who must have been one of the favourites – out of this competition. Another casualty was Scots side, Grange, who were beaten earlier in the afternoon by Rotterdam.

A full list of results from this first weekend of the EuroHockey League will appear shortly on our web site at www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk. TalkHockeyRadio will be in Antwerp next weekend to report on the matches involving British clubs Loughborough Students and Kelbourne.

Late EHL Result

WOMEN'S SLAZENGER EHL
Bowdon 3 - 1 Poynton

READING DRAW LEAVES POOL WIDE OPEN

Reading’s opening match in the EuroHockey League turned into a disappointing affair for the spectators, although Reading supporters will feel this is a good result against one of Europe’s top sides. Both goals came from the penalty spot in their 1-1 draw against Crefelder. Simon Mantell was the scorer. Crefelder drew against St Germain yesterday, which leaves the outcome of this table on the final match between Reading and St Germain tomorrow. Cannock qualified earlier with their 2-1 win over Wien. In the other matches played today, Club An der Alster (Germany) went down 3-1 to the home side, HGC. It was a good day for the Dutch, with Rotterdam recording a 4-2 win over Atletic Terrassa.

SLAZENGER LEAGUE MATCHES TODAY

Newly promoted Clifton’s recent run in the women’s Slazenger Premiership came to an end this afternoon when they visited Ipswich, despite taking a 3-2 lead into the break. Goals from Leisa King and Jessica Bloom put Ipswich ahead and despite Carla Dunnet restoring parity, a goal in the last five minutes from Mariam Fabregas gave Ipswich the three points. The loss of key players to GB duties may have played a part in the 0-0 draw at Leicester, where Canterbury were the guests. The match between table leaders Bowdon and bottom placed Poynton is a late start.

Womens Premier Division:
Chelmsford 1 – 2 Olton & West Warks
Ipswich 5 – 4 Clifton
Leicester 0 – 0 Canterbury
Slough 5 – 1 Old Loughtonians

In Women’s Division One, Reading’s stellar start to the season seems to have hit the buffers. They went down 2-1 to leaders Sunderland, their second defeat of the season for a team where defeat is a virtually unknown experience. Trojans, who have enjoyed a yo-yo existence over the last few years, edged ahead of Reading into second place after their 4-0 win over Harleston Magpies.

Women’s Division One:
Doncaster 1 – 1 Loughborough Students
University of Durham 0 – 0 Barnes
Harleston Magpies 0 – 4 Trojans
Reading 1 – 2 Sunderland
Sutton Coldfield 1 – 1 University of Birmingham

In the Women’s National South Taunton Vale recorded their first win with their 2-1 defeat of St Albans. Staines remain unbeaten at the top of the table after their 2-1 win over Exe. In Women’s North Cambridge City recorded their first victory by overcoming Rover Oxford 4-3.

CANNOCK SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED

The first round of the EuroHockey League seems to be destined to cause some upsets for the big boys of European hockey. Cannock went one down in the early minutes of their second first round match in The Hague this morning when Wien’s Wolfgang Laminger deflected the ball into the net. However, Gareth Andrew was able to equalise when the Austrian goalkeeper became disorientated and the ball came loose. Cannock’s second came before half time off the stick of Gareth Andrew. Laminger had a second opportunity to restore parity but a fine reaction save from James Fair kept him out. Cannock were in the ascendancy in the second half but were unable to improve on the 2-1 scoreline.

So Cannock have qualified for the second round. The two remaining sides in Pool H play tomorrow.

GERMANS SUFFER BLOODIED NOSES ON DAY ONE OF NEW LEAGUE. Review of yesterday's play in The Hague

Yesterday in The Hague was a day for outsiders in the EuroHockey League. Both the powerful German sides suffered bloodied noses in matches which the bookies would have given them odds on winning. Crefelder, winners of the last European Club Championships, found themselves one down at half time in Pool G against the French side, St Germain. The Germans managed to find some composure in the second half but could only manage a 2-2 draw. Reading play their first match in the tournament against Crefelder this afternoon and it is likely that their opponents will give no quarter after what must be considered an embarrassing result against one of the minnows. The other shock result of the day was the draw in the match between Club An Der Alster and Waterloo Ducks from Belgium. It is a measure of the increasing strength of Belgian hockey that they went into half time with a one goal advantage over one of Germany’s top sides. The final score, 2-2.

Round One 1^st day results:
Pool H: Dinamo Kazan (Russia)1 – 2 Cannock (England)
Pool A: Atletic Terrassa (Spain) 3 – Grange (Scotland)
Pool D: Club an der Alster (Germany) 2 – 2 Waterloo Ducks (Belgium)
Pool G: Crefelder (Germany) 2 – 2 St Germain (France)

Update to Cannock match in the Hague.

Kazan took an early lead in their opening match against Cannock but Simon Ramsden managed to equalise from a penalty corner. Gareth Andrews put Cannock ahead before the break. Cannock were saved by the video umpire towards the second half when it looked as if a Russian forward had tipped the ball into the Cannock goal.

GRANGE CRASH IN EURO OPENER

Scot's club Grange were not able to emulate their English neighbours from Cannock when they played their opening match against Atletic Terrassa in the EuroHockey League in The Hague this afternoon, losing 3-1.

CANNOCK ON THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION

Cannock took a leap forward in their bid to qualify from Round One of the new EuroHockey League. Meeting Russian outfit Dinamo Kazan in the Hague this afternoon, they were 2-1 ahead at half time and with no score in the second half they ran out with three points from their opening match. They play their second match against Austrian side, AHTC Wien, tomorrow. English champions Reading also play their first match tomorrow, meeting the powerful German side Crefelder.

Keep watching this blog for other reresults.

EuroHockey League

This exciting new competition starts tomorrow (Friday) when Reading and Cannock play in the first set of Round One matches at the HGC club in the Hague. Next weekend it will be the turn of Loughborough Students, who will be going to the Royal Antwerp Club. TalkHockeyRadio will be bringing you the results from the Hague on this blog and we will have photographs and on-the-spot reports from Antwerp.

BOWDON IN DOUBLE SUCCESS AND RECORD SCORE by Pat Rowley

Reading and Bowdon Hightown Ladies emerged as clear leaders of the English League premier divisions after winning their top of the table clashes. Reading opened up a six point lead in the English men’s League after six matches with a 3-0 win at Cannock. It was a disastrous weekend for Cannock whose defence of the English Cup ended with a 3-2 defeat at Beeston. Bowdon Ladies were 4-1 league winners over Slough and had a walk-over in the English Cup. Their men enjoyed a cup goal scoring spree.. A 20-0 victory over City of Peterborough was the biggest cup victory margin ever between two national league sides. Simon Egerton scored seven of Bowdon’s goals. Also among the goals at the weekend was David de Prez. He scored five in an 8-3 East Grinstead victory over Havant that took them up to second in the league and two more as the Sussex club eliminated Surbiton 5-3 in the cup.

OGs GRAB TOP DIV ONE SPOT WHILST READING PULL AWAY FROM PACK

Old Georgians moved into the top slot in the Slazenger Men’s Division One this afternoon with a 6-2 win over Sheffield University Bankers. A hotly disputed goal by OG’s Patrick Kelly in the sixteenth minute seemed to unsettle the Bankers and they were two down a minute late from a goal by Tom Doran. They slipped back further when Ryan Van Der Riet stepped up to convert a penalty corner in the 21^st, and veteran player-coach Nickie Tompson added another, putting the old boys in the second half with a 4-0 lead. Richard Beeching seemed to have started a bit of a revival when he found the net for the Bankers shortly after the restart and Steve Andrews added to the score with six minutes left on the clock but the home side had the last words with goals by Gareth Carr and a second by Van Der Reit (pictured, white shirt).

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THIS MATCH WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

Old Georgians elevation to the top spot came at the expense of Southgate who dropped two points by only managing a 1-1 draw at Bath Buccaneers. The two bottom place teams in the division were on the wrong end of some impressive scorelines, with Chelmsford scoring five at Old Louhtonians, only to lose 8-5 to the home side. Newly relegated Guildford continue to struggle, with third placed Bournville’s Chris Graham scoring at hat trick in his side’s 6-2 win over the Surrey side.

The Men’s Premier Division saw some considerable movement up and down in the wake of this afternoon’s matches. Reading are six points ahead of the pack following their 3-0 win at Cannock. East Grinstead, whose start to the season faltered, now seem to be motoring, as evidenced by their 8-3 win over Havant, with Dave De Prez scoring five goals in that match. Another team who got off to a slow start, Loughborough Students, saw off Canterbury 6-2, condemning the Kent side to bottom place. Bowdon recorded their first win of the season when they entertained Surbiton. Pakistan international, Ali Ghazanfar, and Alex Edmonstone were the scorers for Bowdon.

Bowdon’s women are still on maximum points at the top of the women’s EHL. The big news story there is that their victims today were second placed Slough and Bowdon’s Tina Cullen was not amongst the scorers. Leicester seem determined to prove that they can still cut the mustard even without their GB players, and they overcame the home side 5-1 on their visit to Poynton. Olton recorded their first win of the season in their 4-1 win over Ipswich, Denise Marston-Smith and Rachel Walker scoring two apiece.

FULL EHL TABLES WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN SITE TOMORROW.

TWO WEEKEND WINS LIFT HAVANT

The two debutantes in the Men’s Premier Division were without a win at the start of the weekend but Havant went into their match against Bowdon this afternoon buoyed up by a good win against Canterbury yesterday. Bowdon’s trip south had been less successful, suffering a 6-2 defeat against East Grinstead. But watching this afternoon’s match one was left wondering why either club were swanning around in the lower reaches of the Division. Bowdon got off to a lively start but it was Tim Davenport who opened the scoring for Havant in the eighth minute. Havant’s second goal, sixteen minutes later, can from a penalty corner……against them! A well off-target injection resulted in the ball being intercepted and taken down the length of the pitch for Thornton McDade to put Havant two up. Bowdon had the game by the scruff of the neck for much of the second half but several shots at goal were off target or fended off by Chris Bristow in the Havant goal. It looked as if the score was going to remain at 2-0, but Tim Daventport (Picture shows him celebrating his second goal) struck twice more in the final minutes. Bowdon had the last word after Ali Ghazanfar was stick tackled in the Havant circle, but Simon Egerton’s conversion from the penalty spot was only a consolation goal and it leaves Bowdon three goals adrift and still without a point.

Havant’s second win of the weekend leaves them in seventh place as the two teams ahead of them, Loughborough Students and East Grinstead, both won today. Surbiton had been second behind Reading and only separated by goal difference at the start of the weekend. Yesterday’s defeat by Beeston was followed up by a 5-2 setback against Cannock and they slide from second to sixth.

Slazenger Premier Division Results:
Canterbury 2-6 East Grinstead
Havant 4-1 Bowdon
Loughborough Students 2-1 Hampstead & Westminster
Reading 3-1 Beeston
Surbiton 2-5 Cannock

Southgate’s revival looks on course as they beat Old Loughtonian’s 1-0 at home, the goal coming from Dan Shingles. They are one of three clubs at the top of the table on nine points. Second are Old Georgians where a goal from Nicky Thompson was enough to give them the three points against Chelmsford, who are now trailing at the bottom of the division. Third place Brooklands visited Guildford and came away with the three points. The Surrey club, who were relegated last season, look to be in trouble after a good start to the season.

Not entirely unexpectedly, Holcombe moved into the top place in the National South Division, with Dave Matthews scoring a hat trick in their 6-0 win over Ipswich. Also in hat-trick mode was Philip Balbirnie who scored four times in Cambridge University’s 6-2 win against Whitchurch. In the North Division, Birmingham University consolidated their place at the top of the division with a 5-1 win over Sikh Union Nottingham. High flying City of Peterborough suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat at Barford Tigers. Peterborough are second in the division and Barford are elevated to eighth from their former bottom place.

PICTURES OF THE MATCH BETWEEN HAVANT AND BOWDON WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE TOMORROW (MONDAY) TOGETHER WITH FULL UPDATED LEAGUE TABLES. GO TO www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

HAVANT START TO CLIMB

Havant recorded their first win since promotion to the Men’s Premier Division in a thirteen goal thriller at Canterbury. Havant opened the scoring with Ben Alberry converting a penalty stroke in the sixth minute, but the visitors soon found themselves trailing after a field goal by Chris Bassano-Harper and a penalty corner conversion by Brian Garcia. Havant were able to restore their lead and went into the half time break 5-3 up with goals by Thornton McDade, Ahmed Ezz Mohamed, and two penalty corner strikes by Callum Giles. Further goals by Ezz Mohamed and Giles gave Havant the 8-5 win, which elevates them to seventh in the table. Fellow new boys Bowdon had less luck at East Grinstead. Grinstead, whose start to the season had been disappointing, put six passed the visitors, with Ben Payne, Darren Cheeseman (3), Danny Hall and Mark Pearn, the scorers. Beeston’s early one goal lead at Surbiton was pulled back in the 57^th minute by a brilliant goal by Jimmy Wallis but the Midland’s Tom Sharratt scored twice in the dying minutes to give them the win. Reading remain top of the table on goal difference after their 3-2 win against Loughborough Students. Beeston move into second place.

Final Scores:
Canterbury 5-8 Havant
East Grinstead 6-2 Bowdon
Hampstead & Westminster 0-3 Cannock
Reading 3-2 Loughborough Students
Surbiton 1-3 Beeston

In the Women’s Premier, Tina Cullen has increased her season’s goal tally to seven with a comparatively modest – by her standards – single goal for Bowdon in their 3-1 win at Ipswich. Old Loughtonians, who had shown some promises but had yet to get their season really started, earned their first points against a depleted Canterbury, winning 3-1. Clifton recorded their second win of the season with a 4-1 win at Olton. Two clubs that were particularly likely to feel the impact of extractions, were Leicester and Slough. Alexis Williamson opened the scoring early in the first half for Leicester but Fiona Greenham converted a penalty corner just before half-time. The decider came off the stick of Slough’s Natalie Bell in the last few minutes of the match. As a result of today’s matches Bowdon and Slough stay top separated by goal difference. Old Loughtonian’s win, and Poynton’s 1-1 draw at Chelmsford, mean they move up, leaving Olton in bottom place.

Final Scores:
Chelmsford 1-1 Poynton
Clifton 4 – 1 Olton & West Warwicks
Ipswich 1-3 Bowdon
Leicester 1-2 Slough
Old Loughtonians 3-1 Canterbury.

Update on service problem 15:50 13-10-07

Out intermintent Broadband connection problem has been diagnosed by BT as a line fault which is due to be repaired on 15-10-07. Meanwhile there may be problems updating both this blog and our main web site.

Service Problem 12:00 13-10-07

THR News Blog and TalkHockeyRadio are currently suffering an intermitent problem with Broadband connection which may delay both the blog and the site from being updated.

PREMIER CLUBS TAKE HOME ADVANTAGE by Pat Rowley

All eight premier clubs who entered this winter’s English Women’s Cup have uniquely had the good fortune to be drawn at home for the third round on Sunday week. Bowdon Hightown, the holders who trounced Leeds 16-0 in the second round on Sunday, next meet newcomers to the English League, Taunton Vale.

Slough, last season’s beaten finalists, have been drawn against first division side Trojans whom they beat 8-0 in the 2003 semi-finals.

Leicester, the English League champions, will play National North side, Whitley Bay, for the first time.

ENGLISH WOMEN’S CUP. Third round (Sunday Oct 21). Bowdon Hightown (holders) v Taunton Vale, Cambs City v Staines, Clifton v Cambs Univ, Epsom v Maidenhead or Sevenoaks, Hampstead & W v Reading, Harrogate v Sunderland, Horsham v Barnes HE, Ipswich v Wimbledon, Leicester v Whitley Bay, Nottingham H v Sheffield Hallam, Old Loughtonians v Woking, Olton WW v Chester, Poynton v Wisbech T, Slough v Trojans, W Herts v Birmingham Univ, Worcester v Oxford Hawks.

BEESTON'S PRE SEASON PROMISE COMES TRUE

Before the season started TalkHockeyRadio was being taken to task by Beeston for suggesting that their prospects for the start of the 2007-2008 season were not that bright. It looks as if we are going to have to eat our words. They knocked mighty Cannock off the top spot in the Men’s Premier Division today with a 2-1 victory in a Midlands derby which saw a penalty corner conversion in each half from Richard Stamp and Adam Dixon. The scorer for Cannock was Andrew Langlands. Beeston move up third place behind Surbiton, whose improved form saw them beat Canterbury 1-0. The new league leaders are Reading who met luckless Bowdon away and won 4-1. East Grinstead are far too good a side to be languishing at the bottom of the division and it all came right for them today when they went to Hampstead and Westminster and came away with a 4-1 scoreline. This lifts them to sixth place. Loughborough Students showed that they are a still a force to contend with when they overcame Havant 6-3, leaving the Hampshire side with only one point out of three games.

In Division One, Guildford’s bright start to the season seems to be falling apart. They are on the wrong end of a 6-2 scoreline at Belper and drop down one place to nineth. John Bell’s goal for Brooklands thirteen minutes before the end of time dented Southgate’s promising start to the season but they still lead the pack on goal difference. In fact, all but four of the clubs in the division are on six points. Chelmsford seem to be in deep trouble, with Sheffield University Bankers – a team that was bottom of the division this morning – beating them 5-2. Sheffield move up two places to be replaced by Chelmsford in the bottom slot.

TalkHockeyRadio was at Holcombe Park to see Holcombe play Firebrands in the South Division, although we saw only the last few minutes of the match due to the start time being brought forward to accommodate a Women’s Cup Second Round Match. Holcombe have acquired the service of Dave Matthews, until three seasons ago star of the Dutch Premier League and until recently of Canterbury. Joined by fellow team-mate Danny Laslett from Canterbury, Matthews (pictured - red shirt) has been a prolific goal scorer for his new club. Today was no exception, with Matthews scoring a hat-trick in his side’s 4-1 win. The other scorer for Holcombe was Eric Rose-Innes. Holcombe’s goal average is an astonishing five per match, although surprisingly it is not the highest in the division. Nor do they look likely to catch up with the leaders, University of Exeter, who found the net seven times for no reply against the students from Cambridge. Exeter lead the table on 13 points, with Holcombe in second place (11 points) and Sevenoaks in third (10 points). Teddington’s luck has still not changed as they went down to Whitchurch 5-2.

In the North Division Birmingham University beat mid-table Telford and Wrekin 6-2 to retain the top spot. Leek’s campaign took a knock when they were beaten 2-1 by Peterborough. Peterborough move into second place ahead of Leek. Barford Tigers remain in bottom place after a close encounter at Stourport, which ended at 4-3 to Stourport. Doncaster were in high scoring mode with their 8-3 victims being Kingston-upon-Hull. Nick Budgeon scored five times for Donny in that match.

PICTURES OF THE MATCH BETWEEN HOLCOMBE AND FIREBRANDS WILL SHORTLY BE UPLOADED TO OUR MAIN SITE (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) AND UP-TO-DATE SLAZENGER LEAGUE TABLES WIL APPEAR ON THE SITE TOMORROW (MONDAY).

HIGH SCORING DAY IN WOMEN'S PREMIER DIVISION

England’s success on the Rugby field did little to distract the top teams in the Women’s Slazenger EHL from getting on with business as usual. The four top teams in the Women’s Premier Division look intent on opening a gap between them and the lesser teams with goals aplenty this afternoon. Leicester, who we featured last Saturday, were up to full strength with the return of Crista Cullen and bettered Chelmsford 5-3, with a goal each from their England contingent - Hannah Macleod, Helen Richardson, Kerry Williams, Crista Cullen, and Anne Panter. The reply came from Chloe Rogers, Rebecca Alltree, and Ciara O’Brien. (Our picture shows Hanah Macleod on the ball during last season’s clash between the two sides). The Tina Cullen Show hosted Old Loughtonians where the star of the show scored a hat-trick in their 6-0 win over the visitors, whilst there was also no shortage of goals at Slough, where the visitors were Ipswich. Final score there: 5-0. Newly promoted Clifton and Poynton had been struggling until today but the outcome of their match against each other leaves Clifton with three points and a hike into 6^th place in the table, whilst Poynton remain without a point, as do Olton & West Warwickshire and Old Loughtonians. Today’s results put three teams on maximum points – Bowdon, Slough, and Canterbury – with Leicester bringing up fourth place.

Scores in the Women’s Premier today:
Bowdon 6-0 Old Loughtonians
Canterbury 2-1 Olton & W. Warwickshire
Leicester 5-3 Chelmsford
Poynton 0-3 Clifton
Slough 5-0 Ipswich

Reading’s phenomenal success in the Women’s South Division last season looks set to repeat itself in Division One. They beat University of Durham 6-0 at home, with goals from Chiara Clarke (2) Claire Kerr (3) and Jenna Woolven. Sutton Coldfield, who must hold some sort of record for the most promoted/relegated club, notched up their second win of the season by beating Doncaster 4-1, and are in third place behind Sunderland, who could only draw against Barnes. Only Reading are on maximum points, whilst Harleston struggle at the bottom end of the table, still without a point, after their defeat by Loughborough Students.

In the Women’s National North Division, the women from Cannock seem keen on emulating the menfolk. They have a three point lead in the table after their 6-2 win over Sheffield Hallam. In Women’s South Division a top versus bottom clash ended predictably, with Staines overcoming Taunton Vale.

MEN’S NATIONAL NORTH AND SOUTH DIVISIONS

Telford & Wrekin hoisted themselves up the table into fifth when they saw off visiting Barford Tigers 6-2 in the North Division, whilst Leek secured their lead at the top of the table by winning against Sikh Union Nottingham 1-3. There were several high scoring matches in the South Division. Exeter Uni put eight passed Ipswich for a reply of two, Sevenoaks overcame Indian Gymkhana 5-2, and Holcombe were the victors in an 8-1 goal blitz against Teddington, whose season seems to being going from bad to worse.

Holcombe are entertaining Firebrands tomorrow and we hope to bring you a report on that match together with photographs.

FULL LEAGUE TABLES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR MAIN WEBSITE ON MONDAY. GO TO www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

SURBITON IN CLOSE SCRAPE AT OXTED IN CUP

The second round of the Men’s Cup was played today. The upset of the day was First Division Old Georgians beating Hampstead & Westminster 4-3 and it was a close run thing at Oxted where Premier Division visitors Surbiton were held to a 1-1 draw in ordinary time. Surbiton eventually managed to win 3-1 on penalty strokes. Other Premier Division sides won overwhelming victories against opposition from lower leagues. Beeston’s David Griffith put seven passed Harborne in their 14-0 win and Bowdon put twelve passed Timperley for no reply. Simon Ramsden scored a hat-trick in Cannock’s 6-1 win over Leek, and former GB internationals Danny Hall and Mark Pearn also scored hat tricks when East Grinstead entertained Spencer. There were also two hat-tricks at Havant where Ben Allbery and Tim Davenport added to Teddington’s problems, and at Reading where Austin Smith and Andy Watts split six goals between them in their 11-0 win over Banbury.

In addition to the above, the following clubs progress through to the next round: Holcombe, Bournville, Mansfield, Broxbourne, Cambridge City, Cambridge University, Chelmsford, Robinsons, Guildford, Indian Gymkhana, City of Peterborough, Old Loughtonians, Canterbury, Oxton, Sheffield Hallam Civica, Southgate, Doncaster, Sikh Union, University of Birmingham, Khalsa, Chichester, and Jersey. Gloucester City and Preston had byes through the second round.

Late result

The Men's Premier League match between Reading and Hampstead and Westminster was a late start. Final score; Reading 4 - 2 Hampstead & Westminster.

As a result of today's matches there are three teams on maximum points (6 pts), each separated by goal different or goals for. 1. Cannock (GF 9 GD +4), 2. Surbiton (GF 4 GD +4), 3. Reading (GD +3).

In the Women's Premier the top of the table looks like this; 1. Bowdon (6pts +6), 2. Slough (6pts +5), Canterbury (6Pts +2).

Full Slazenger EHL tables will appear on our main web site (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) later tomorrow (Sunday), together with photographs of the Old Loughtonians v Leicester match.

LEICESTER IN GOAL SPREE AT OLD LOUGHTS

If you want to see goals, go and watch Leicester – at least that was the wise hockey watchers choice last season. But would it be the same this season? Playing against Old Loughtonians at Luxborough Lane, and with an almost full compliment of their England players in the side, the early exchanges looked as if they were going to disappoint. The visitors looked disjointed and played without their usual rhythm in the first half, It took all of 23 minutes for them to find the net via the stick of Vanessa Hawkins (pictured). Just before the break Gemma Darrington converted a penalty corner to make it two but it hardly looked as if a goal feast was on the cards, particularly when Louise Jukes pulled one back for Old Loughts. Then, almost out of the blue, Leicester went through a golden patch halfway through the second half. A penalty corner conversion by Ann Panter was followed two minutes later by a Becky Herbert field goal two minutes later. A minute after that Darrington scored her second from a penalty corner. Just as the final whistle approached, Helen Richardson scored from the penalty spot to make the final score 6-1. Although this result leaves Old Loughtonians planted at the bottom of the table, they will not meet many sides stronger than this one, and on to todays performance they should have a reasonable season. However, they need to urgently look at the state of their pitch which is almost unplayable in places due to algae. England and GB Head Coach, Danny Kerry, who was watching the match, must have had nervous moments watching members of his squad playing on this potentially dangerous surface.

The Tina Cullen show visited Olton and West Warwickshire this afternoon and came away 4-2 winners, with Cullen scoring a hat-trick. The other scorer for Bowdon was Liz Chaffey. The two newly promoted teams had a bad day. Clifton were hosts to Canterbury and went down 3-2, whilst Poynton’s visit to Ipswich resulted in a 2-1 defeat.

Women’s Premier Division:
Chelmsford 1 – 5 Slough
Clifton 2 – 3 Canterbury
Ipswich 2 – 1 Poynton
Old Loughtonians 1 – 6 Leicester
Olton & West Warwickshire 2 – 4 Bowdon

In the Men’s Premier Division Cannock consolidated their lead at the top by beating visitors Havant 5-4. Bowdon are finding life in the top division difficult with some hard opening matches. They don’t come much harder than Loughborough Students who won the match 2-1. Surprisingly, East Grinstead found themselves in bottom place this afternoon after going down 3-0 at home to a revitalised Surbiton.

Men’s Premier Division
Cannock 5 – 4 Havant
East Grinstead 0 – 3 Surbiton
Loughborough Students 2 – 1 Bowdon
Reading L – L Hampstead & Westminster
Canterbury 2 – 5 Beeston

RESULTS AND LEAGUE POSITIONS WILL BE UPDATED LATER THIS EVENING

GB GET LATE CHAMPIONS TROPHY CALL UP by Pat Rowley

Great Britain have received a late call-up to compete in the 2007 Champions Trophy. The event has been switched at short notice to Kuala Lumpur (Nov 29-Dec 9) after several countries indicated they were not prepared to play in the original venue of Lahore because of the Pakistani political situation. Traditionally the event is for the world’s top six countries but it will, on this occasion, be an eight nation round robin. The original six countries, Australia, Germany, Holland, Korea, Pakistan and Spain will compete. Pakistan were not eligible except as hosts but the International Hockey Federation have decided to include them as some compensation for them no longer being hosts. Britain would have replaced them on the strength of England’s 5^th place at the 2006 World Cup, while lowly ranked Malaysia come in as the new hosts. Britain, Germany and Malaysia have yet to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and will consider themselves very lucky to get the opportunity of match practice against the world’s best sides before their respective final qualifiers.

HARROGATE WITHDRAW FROM EHL AFTER THREE MATCHES

After only three matches, Slazenger EHL North Division side Harrogate has decided to disband its 1^st Xl and withdraw from the league. The decision was made by the club committee due to a lack of available players. Harrogate was unable to raise a team for their first match of the season and was fined £100 by the league committee as a result. At the time of their withdrawal they had recorded zero points from the three matches played and had a goal difference of minus 25 after a devastating 13-0 defeat at the hands of Birmingham University.

Harrogate’s current second team, playing in North Men’s Division Two East, will now become the club’s first X1. The Slazenger North Division will now be played as an eleven team league. The eleventh placed team at the end of the season will be relegated and the tenth team will be entered into the play-offs.

INJURED HAWES UNDERGOES FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION by Pat Rowley

Ben Hawes, the former England captain who was surprisingly dropped for the recent European Cup, has had to have major facial reconstruction after being hit in the face by a ball during a pre-season warm-up game for Surbiton. The 27 year old who returned to this country after playing in Holland in a bid to make the Great Britain Olympic team, was, at first, expected to miss a whole winter’s hockey. After a successful operation on Saturday, his surgeon said, while he will have to wear a special mask, he may be able to resume hockey in six weeks. George Bretten, the man who replaced Hawes in the Surbiton line-up yesterday, scored the only goal to give his new club a 1-0 win over Loughborough Students on the first day of the premier division.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS WIN DESPITE DEPLETED SQUADS

It was the men’s turn today to kick off the Premier and First Divisions of the Slazenger England Hockey League this afternoon. With members of the England squad unavailable and resting after Manchester, there was some pre-season speculation about how robust some of last season’s front runners’ squads would be. East Grinstead and Reading both fielded depleted sides at Saint Hill but both were bolstered by former England and GB players. Reading had the double problem of having to re-integrate some of their Welsh internationals back into the side, newly returned from duties in Portugal. One wag was heard to comment that the Reading side had to be introduced to one another before the match. Simon Mason had been lured out of retirement to keep goal for Reading, whilst Grinstead had the benefit of their new signing from Guildford, Danny Hall (Pictured). In the opening exchanges EG looked marginally the stronger side and it came as no surprise when David De Prez found the net after eight minutes. But midway through the half Austin Smith converted a penalty corner to put the sides on even terms. In the second half, Reading came out a better organised side and had the lion’s share of the play. Reading’s Iain MacKay added two more to the tally from open play, and Reading could easily have gone three ahead when Dominic Male tripped MacKay in the Grinstead circle, earning Reading a penalty stroke and Male a yellow card. Having survived that scare, thanks to a very weak flick at goal, East Grinstead began to re-assert themselves using Hall as their target man. It was a last gasp penalty corner that earned East Grinstead their second goal and Hall’s first league goal for his new club. Before the season started we predicted that Bowdon would lose to Cannock and Beeston would lose to Havant. We got the Bowdon part of the prediction right but at Beeston we seemed to be completely wrong with the half-time score 4-2 in Beeston’s favour. But Havant came back strongly in the second half with goals from Ahmed Ezz Mohamed and Calum Giles (2) to end the match on a draw.

Premier Division results:
Beeston 5 – 5 Havant
Bowdon 1 – 4 Cannock
East Grinstead 2 – 3 Reading
Hampstead & Westminster 2 – 1 Canterbury
Surbiton 1 – 0 Loughborough Students

In Division One, Danny Hall’s old club earned themselves three points at Sheffield University Bankers. Southgate’s trip to Chelmsford proved profitable, with the North Londoners scoring six for a reply of one.

Division One results:
Belper 1 – 3 Bournville
Brooklands 2 – 4 Bath Buccaneers
Chelmsford 1 – 6 Southgate
Old Georgians 2 – 3 Old Loughtonians
Sheffield University Bankers 0 – Guildford 1.

In the South Divison, Firebrands go top after three games. Holcombe’s visit to Exeter Uni was marked by two David Matthews penalty strokes, both of which were saved. Final score there, 3-3. In the North Division, University of Birmingham beat Harrogate 13-0, leaving them as the only team in the division on maximum points and a very healthy goal difference.

FULL LEAGUE TABLES WILL BE UPLOADED TO OUR MAIN WEB SITE TOMORROW TOGETHER WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EAST GRINSTEAD v READING MATCH. Go to www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

FREE SCORING BOWDON GO TOP ON DAY ONE

The Premier and First Divisions of the Slazenger EHL kick off this weekend and today (Saturday) saw the opening exchanges in the women’s divisions. It was a disappointing start for the debutantes in the Premier Division, with Clifton suffering at the hands of a Bowdon side who look set to continue their free-scoring ways of last season. Poynton could have sent their visitors from Canterbury home with only one point but their Cath Linaker failed to convert a 23^rd minute penalty stroke and the match finished 3-2 in Canterbury’s favour, with the winner coming off the stick of one Sarah Kerly. It was a similar story at Slough where the home side were entertaining Olton & West Warwickshire. In a match that finished 2-1 to Slough, the visitors must regret the 27^th minute penalty stroke that they were unable to convert. After one match Bowdon go top on superior goal difference. With the availability of Great Britain players being in doubt, this just could be Bowdon’s season.

Women’s Premier Division:
Bowdon 5 – 1 Clifton
Chelmsford 3 – 2 Old Loughtonians
Leicester 2 – Ipswich 2
Poynton 2 – Canterbury 3
Slough 2 – 1 Olton & West Warwicks

The first day in Women’s Division One saw some high scores. Lisa Garbutt found the net four times in her side’s 7-0 defeat of Harleston Magpies. Newly promoted Reading put six passed Doncaster with Jenna Woolven scoring a hat-trick, and in the clash of the universities at Durham, Birmingham came away with three points after beating the home side 6-1. Relegated Sutton Coldfield beat one of last season’s promotion prospects, Barnes, 3-1, with Sutton’s Vicky Woolford scoring all her side’s goals.

Women’s Division One:
University of Durham 1 – 6 University of Birmingham
Harleston Magpies 0 – 7 Sunderland
Reading 6 – 1 Doncaster
Sutton Coldfield 3 – 1 Barnes
Trojans 2 – 2 Loughborough Students

In other divisions, the men’s EHL North and South played today. David Matthews arrival at Holcombe reminds one of the old Holcombe of a few seasons back – free scoring but with a leaky defence. Matthews scored four times in Holcombe’s 6-3 defeat of Whitchurch. For a high scoring match you could not have done much better than a visit to the University of Exeter, where Robinsons were on the losing end of a 8-4 scoreline. Teddington’s woes continue after last week’s debacle when they could not raise a team. They went down 2-1 at Firebrands. In the North there were more high scores, where the menfolk from the University of Birmingham came close to emulating their women by beating Barford Tigers 5-3. Kingston-upon-Hull beat Harrogate 5-0, Leek beat Formby 5-3, and Stourport beat Telford & Wrekin 6-3 with four of Stourport’s goals coming from penalty corner’s by Imran Yousaf.

In the Women’s North Division only Cannock and Ben Rhydding are on maximum points afer two matches, with Cannock beating Whitley Bay 3-0 and Ben Rhydding overcoming Liverpool Sefton 3-1. Staines are the only South Division team on maximum points after their 4-1 defeat of St Austell. We featured the match between Horsham and Taunton Vale last week and this week it was Horsham’s turn to go on the road with a visit to Exe, a match which ended in a goalless draw. Taunton Vale are finding promotion to the EHL difficult. They entertained Woking today, with all the goals in the first half. Having briefly taken a 2-1 lead in the 24^th minute, they then conceded a penalty stroke and a goal just before the break, to lose 2-3.

SHOWDOWN WITH INDIA FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION by Pat Rowley

Great Britain’s men’s team face a probable showdown against India for a place at the Beijing Olympics after England’s failure to qualify for them at the European Cup. As expected Britain have to go to Santiago in Chile for their 6-team qualifier at which only the winner makes the 2008 Games. Apart from India, the recent winners of the Asia Cup, Britain will face Egypt, Bangladesh, Chile and Austria at Santiago.

2008 OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS.
MEN. (at Auckland, New Zealand, 02-10 February): Argentina, Cuba, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Trinidad & T. (at Santiago, Chile, 1-9 Mar): Austria, Bangladesh, Chile, Egypt, Great Britain, India. (at Kakamigahara, Japan, 5-13 Apl): Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Switzerland.

WOMEN. (at Baku, Azerbaijan, 12/20 Apl): Azerbaijan, Belarus, Chile, Kenya, Spain, Ukraine. (at Kazan, Russia, 19/27 Apl): Belgium, Chinese Taipei, India, Netherlands Antilles, Russia, USA. (at Victoria, Canada, 26 Apl-4 May): Canada, Cuba, Ireland, Italy, Korea (S), Malaysia

Reserve nations: Men. 1 Netherlands Antilles, 2 USA, 3 Mexico. Women: 1 France, 2 Uruguay, 3 Barbados

[Our picture shows England's Simon Mantell in action against India in this summer's Champions Challenge]

TEDDINGTON CONTINUE TO SLIDE

Teddington’s woes continued today on the first day of the Slazenger EHL South Division. Having been relegated in successive seasons, the world’s oldest hockey club were forced to concede their opening match to visiting University of Exeter through a shortage of registered players. Elsewhere in the Division there were two high scoring draws. Indian Gymkhana took an early lead against Holcombe with goals from Jagdeep Gill and Tejinder Hanspal. South African international Denzil Dolley scored a hat-trick for Holcombe and the match ended on level terms at 4-4. Whitchurch and Bromley & Beckenham went one better with a 5-5 draw. There were also wins for Sevenoaks, Firebrands and Ipswich.

In the North Division Harrogate also had to concede their match against Sikh Union. Doncaster drew against Stourport and there were wins for City of Peterborough, Leek, Telford & Wrekin, and University of Birmingham.

Today also saw the First Round of the Men’s Cup, with some high scoring matches in evidence. Chichester put sixteen passed Camberley and Farnborough for no reply, as did Staines against Bournemouth. Cheshunt managed to find the net once against St Albans but their visitors’ reply was fifteen. Dereham, Broxbourne, Cheltenham, Oxton, Gloucester City, Harborne, Isca, Jersey, Khalsa, Preston, West Bridgford Monarchs, Long Sutton, Spencer, Mansfield, Oxford Hawks, Timperley, Urmston, Harleston Magpies, Winchester, and Woking, also won today and progress through to the next round.

FULL SLAZENGER EHL TABLES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE SOON. www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

RELEGATED HORSHAM START NEW SLAZENGER SEASON IN STYLE by Peter Savage

The Slazenger England Hockey League started the 2007-2008 season today with a full programme in the Women’s South and North Divisions.

Intriguing amongst the pairings was the match between newly promoted Taunton Vale and relegated Horsham in the South. Last season Horsham hardly had a sniff at any points, whilst Taunton Vale’s promotion is evidence of a successfully fought campaign. The Horsham line-up look very different to last year’s, although still with some familiar faces, and Taunton Vale opened the season without the pick of their first choice eleven.

The newcomers come into the EHL with a reputation for a fairly robust defence, and so it proved in the opening encounters of the two sides. Some very confident passing of the ball at the back under pressure showed that the West Country team were going to be a difficult nut to crack. But cracked they were after 33 minutes, with Kate Kaye opening Horsham’s account from open play. Horsham settled down to some spirited play in the second half, with Erica Rogers (pictured) causing the Taunton defence a number of problems on the left and Fran Crossley harrying the defence on the right. It was Crossley who was the beneficiary of an inspired advantage played by umpire David Adams four minutes into the restart, netting the ball to give Horsham a two goal lead. Seven minutes later Rogers had a fine solo run to see her shot from the edge of the circle find the goal. Final score 3-0 to Horsham. Despite defeat, Taunton Vale did not seem overawed by the experience and they may well prosper at this level. Horsham will be relieved to open their 2007-2008 campaign in fine style. They have already amassed almost half as many points as they achieved last season and a win on the opening day of the season will boost their confidence for the campaign ahead.

Elsewhere in the South Division, Staines made a profitable visit to Swansea and came away with three points and a goal advantage of plus four. This puts them at the top of the table. Other clubs that recorded wins were Exe, Sevenoaks, Bournemouth, and Maidstone.

In the North Division, Liverpool Sefton started their season in fine style with goals from Natalie Wray (2), Fiona Harland, Debbie Mills, and Laura Brown in their 5-1 win over Sheffield Hallam. Whitley Bay and Tynemouth’s Kath Smith scored a hat-trick in her side’s 4-3 win over Nottingham Highfields, and South club Rover Oxford, recently promoted to the North Division, found the visit of Ben Rhydding not to their liking. Having gone into the second half with a 2-0 lead they were pegged back by first a penalty stroke and then two penalty corner conversions to leave the final score at 3-2 to the visitors. Cannock and Bradford Ladies also recorded wins, whilst the match between Cambridge City and Aldridge ended in a draw.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE HORSHAM v TAUNTON VALE MATCH WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE SOON - www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

LAHORE TO LOSE CHAMPIONS TROPHY by Pat Rowley

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has decided to move the men’s Champions Trophy from Lahore in Pakistan “due to circumstances not related to sport”. A new venue has yet to be named. FIH have revealed that several countries, including first reserves England, declined to play in Lahore in December.

A world record score was set for the second day running at the Oceanic Olympic Qualifier at Buderim in Queensland. New Zealand eclipsed Australia’s record 35-0 win over Papua and New Guinea on Tuesday by defeating the same opponents 39-0. New Zealand forward Simon Child equalled the world individual record for a game by scoring 11 goals.

HALLIDAY AND PARNHAM TAKE CHARGE INDOORS by Pat Rowley

Andy Halliday and Craig Parnham will be head coaches when England return to international indoor hockey this winter. Halliday (St Albans), the former England indoor team captain, will have David Ralph (Loughborough and Scotland) as assistant men’s coach while Richard Organ (East Grinstead) will assist Parnham (Cannock). England’s first indoor matches for many years will be against Scotland just before Christmas. They will also play in the Burlington Cup in Vienna before taking part in the lowest European Division, the Challenge, at Sheffield in mid-January.

BOWDON GET CONFIDENCE BOOST by Pat Rowley

New Premier League side Bowdon had an enormous confidence boost two weeks before the English League season starts by winning the annual PLUM tournament at Chelmsford, ahead of five other premier clubs. The Cheshire club beat title holders East Grinstead 2-1 in the final after taking a 2-0 lead with goals by Simon Egerton (stroke) and Ali Ghazanfar, their Pakistani international (pictured).

Ghazanfar was no doubt missed by Pakistan who finished sixth, an all-time low, in the Asia Cup at Chennai. Hosts India handed Korea, the 2006 Asian Games champions, a 7-2 hiding in the final.

HALL DOES PLUM JOB FOR GRINSTEAD by Pat Rowley

Danny Hall, the former Great Britain centre forward, scored a hat-trick for East Grinstead in his first competitive game for his new club. Hall (pictured here playing for his former club) has made the switch from Guildford and was playing for Sussex club Grinstead in the annual pre-season PLUM tournament at Chelmsford. His goals helped them to beat Havant 4-3. East Grinstead are attempting to win the event for the third successive year. Hall (2) and David Du Prez gave the Sussex club a 3-0 lead but they started to give the ball away too easily and let Havant back into the game. Later Grinstead were held to a 2-2 draw by host club Chelmsford in their second match.

English champions Reading, another of six English Premier League sides in the event, failed to impress in their opening game and scraped a 1-0 win with a second half goal by Simon Pinks, another former Guildford player.

Wales gained promotion to the European Women’s Trophy by defeating Slovakia 4-1 in their European Challenge semi-final at Zagreb.

THR News Blog plans for 2007-2008 season

The new Slazenger EHL season is just over a week away and we are making plans for in depth coverage for you. Most weekends will see a featured match, with photographs and a report from a men's or women's game. There will also be a weekend summary, with details of how the leaders in the Premier Divisions are doing.

Next weekend we will be reporting on one of the newcomers to the EHL. How will they find their first match since promotion? Visit us next weekend to find out.

Our all-on-one-page league tables can be found on our main website at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

SCOTLAND JOIN THE CHAMPIONS by Pat Rowley

Scotland won promotion to the 2009 European Championship when they beat Belgium 2-0 in the semi-finals of the European Trophy at Siauliai. Their fourth straight victory in the event came courtesy of corner goals by Holly Cram and Vikki Bunce.

Champions Reading and five other English men’s premier league clubs compete in the 22^nd annual Plum tournament which this year takes place at Chelmsford and Chigwell.

Preliminary Round of Men's Cup

We have the following results from the Preliminary Round of the England Hockey Cup, which were played today.

Ashford (Mddx) 2 Spencer 4
Cheltenham 3 Devizes 2
Leicester Westleigh 3 Olton & West Warwicks 1
Lewes 6 Eastcote 1
Norwich City 0 Cambridge City 6
Old Midwhitgiftians 2 Camberley & Farnborough 4
Preston 3 Alderley Edge 0
St Neots 2 Blueharts 4