Women's Premiership champions Bowdon Hightown's sorry start to the season took a further turn for the worse when they travelled south to play bottom of the table Trojans this afternoon. In truth you could detect the difference in status between the two sides by the amount of possession and penetration but the inability of Hightown to bring their forwards into the play – in particular the ever goal-hungry Tina Cullen – inevitably meant that the match was doomed to be a disappointing one for the visitors.
A goalless first half was relieved by a penalty stroke conversion by Cullen seven minutes into the second half. The goal seemed to act as a spur for some good attacking hockey from Trojans, with Laura Nicolls (pictured) particularly impressing. It was Nicolls who scored a fine equalising goal two minutes later, that put the sides on equal terms. For the last ten minutes the match seemed to hang in the balance, and Hightown's miserable afternoon was made worse by Sally Walton's visit to the sin bin in the closing minutes.
The match ended at 1-1 with Trojans celebrating their first point of the season. They will, however, have to play a lot better to avoid relegation. Bowdon, find themselves in unfamiliar territory in seventh place. It looks like being a barren season for the champions.
Today's results and tables:
Women's Premier Division |
University of Birmingham |
| (0) |
| 1 | - | 2 |
| (2) |
| Slough |
Jo Turnbull 63 - F |
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| Jane Smith 18 25 - F F | |
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Canterbury |
| (1) |
| 2 | - | 3 |
| (1) |
| Reading |
Susie Rowe 4 - PC |
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| Claire Kerr 11 - F | |
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Leicester |
| (0) |
| 2 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Clifton |
Crista Cullen 42 - PC |
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Olton & West Warwicks |
| (1) |
| 2 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Brooklands Poynton |
Rachel Walker 5 - PS |
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Trojans |
| (0) |
| 1 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Bowdon |
Laura Nicholls 44 - F |
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| Tina Cullen 42 - PS | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Leicester | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 15 |
2 | Olton & West Warwicks | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 13 |
3 | Reading | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
4 | Slough | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 10 |
5 | University of Birmingham | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 9 |
6 | Canterbury | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
7 | Bowdon | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 4 |
8 | Brooklands Poynton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 4 |
9 | Trojans | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 | -13 | 1 |
10 | Clifton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 15 | -14 | 0 |
Women's Conference East |
Cambridge City |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Ipswich |
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| Vanessa Roberts 40 - PC | ||
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Horsham |
| (0) |
| 1 | - | 1 |
| (1) |
| Harleston Magpies |
Erica Rogers 64 - F |
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| Cherry Seaborn 11 - F | |
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Chelmsford |
| (2) |
| 4 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| St. Albans |
Beth Wild 3 - F |
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Northampton Saints |
| (1) |
| 1 | - | 2 |
| (0) |
| Old Loughtonians |
Claire Buxton 5 - F |
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| Rachel Dunning 47 54 - PS PS | |
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Southgate |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Sevenoaks |
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| Anna Frizoni 53 - PC | ||
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Ipswich | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 13 |
2 | Chelmsford | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
3 | Harleston Magpies | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
4 | Horsham | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
5 | Sevenoaks | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
6 | Old Loughtonians | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
7 | St. Albans | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 5 |
8 | Southgate | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 4 |
9 | Northampton Saints | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 1 |
10 | Cambridge City | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
Women's Conference North |
Beeston |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 1 |
| (0) |
| Sunderland Ladies |
Sophie Robinson 29 51 - F F |
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| Julie Hope 58 - PC | |
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Belper |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 4 |
| (2) |
| Sutton Coldfield |
Alicia Robinson 4 54 - F F |
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| Vicky Woolford 8 44 63 - F F F | |
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Doncaster |
| (2) |
| 4 | - | 1 |
| (1) |
| Sheffield Hallam |
Charlotte Tomlin 2 - F |
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| Nicole Perkins 15 - PC | |
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University of Durham |
| (1) |
| 1 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Bradford |
Gabrielle Foster 23 - F |
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Liverpool Sefton |
| (3) |
| 3 | - | 3 |
| (2) |
| Loughborough Students |
Zoe Bayne 7 31 - F F |
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| Amy Turnbull 12 - PC | |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Sutton Coldfield | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 11 |
2 | University of Durham | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
3 | Belper | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
4 | Sunderland Ladies | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
5 | Beeston | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 |
6 | Liverpool Sefton | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
7 | Bradford | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 5 |
8 | Loughborough Students | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | -6 | 4 |
9 | Sheffield Hallam | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 4 |
10 | Doncaster | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 3 |
Women's Conference West |
Aldridge |
| (0) |
| 1 | - | 4 |
| (1) |
| Barnes |
Helen Parr 55 - PC |
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| Michelle Stone 9 - PS | |
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Firebrands |
| (1) |
| 2 | - | 4 |
| (2) |
| Exe |
Annabel Hockey-Smith 34 - PC |
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| Liz Perry 13 - F | |
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Cannock |
| (1) |
| 3 | - | 2 |
| (1) |
| Swansea |
Georgie Rawlinson 4 - PC |
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| Natalie Blyth 35 - PC | |
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Staines |
| (2) |
| 4 | - | 2 |
| (1) |
| Buckingham |
Kelly Morgan 13 46 - PC PC |
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| Fiona Farley 7 - PC | |
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Team Bath Buccaneers |
| (0) |
| 3 | - | 0 |
| (0) |
| Bournemouth |
Tash Dykes 46 - F |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
1 | Exe | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
2 | Barnes | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
3 | Cannock | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 11 |
4 | Buckingham | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 9 |
5 | Staines | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 8 |
6 | Team Bath Buccaneers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 7 |
7 | Firebrands | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 6 |
8 | Aldridge | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 2 |
9 | Bournemouth | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 1 |
10 | Swansea | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 0 |
