JOY AND GLOOM IN EHL PLAY-OFFS

Formby secured another season in the Slazenger EHL this afternoon by beating City of Peterborough at home. Coming into the match with zero points, the City were playing for their honour only. Formby needed a win to overtake Firebrands who were leading the relegation tournament this morning. A goal in each half, the first from Richard Thompson and the second from Joshua Cropper, was enough to give Formby the three points they needed to draw level with Firebrands. Formby win the relegation tournament with a goal difference of +2, as opposed to Firebrands +1. Firebrands and City of Peterborough are relegated to their respective regional leagues.

In the women's tournament, goals by Jacqui Ward and Rebecca Gladstone in their match against Whitely Bay & Tynemouth gave Sevenoaks maximum points and they remain in the EHL. Whitley Bay's scorer in their 2-1 defeat was Kath Smith.

North Conference Brooklands got off to a cracking start in their campaign to take one of the two places in the Men's Premier Division. Playing in the promotion play-offs in Bristol, their David Seddon scored in under 60 seconds in the match against Havant. Havant fought back, taking the lead through goals by Andrew Pett and Calum Giles, before Brooklands scored the equaliser on the stroke of half time. Brad King and Andy Bull put Brooklands back in front in the second half and, although Havant's Tim Davenport scored late in the half, it was too late to stop Brooklands claiming the three points.

Brookslands lead the promotion table followed by University of Exeter, who beat Oxted 2-1.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Brooklands MU	1	1	0	0	4	3	1	3
2	University of Exeter	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3
3	Havant	1	0	0	1	3	4	-1	0
4	Oxted	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0

The results of the women's promotion play-offs will follow later.

LEOPARDS AND PUMAS ARE THE BIG CATS AT CANNOCK

Photos: GB President Richard Leman presents the GB Super League trophies to Sally Walton, captain of Pennine Pumas, and Glenn Kirkham, Captain of Wessex Leopards.
Wessex Leopards carried off the men’s GB Super League trophy in what was effectively a final at Cannock this afternoon. As the luck of the draw would have it, Wessex Leopards and Pennine Pumas headed the table this morning and so the winner of this match would also be the winner of the tournament.

Jonty Clarke set the ball rolling for the Leopards with a 7th minutes penalty stroke, but Simon Egerton equalised for the Pumas just before the half-time hooter. But the final say went to the Leopards when Ian MacKay netted the ball in the 54th minute. Final Score 2-1 to the Leopards.

Caledonian Cougars finished in third place, nine points behind the winners.

In the women’s GBSL the format is slightly different, and we had a genuine final between Pennine Pumas and Saxon Tigers, which the Pumas won 3-0. The scorers were Suzy Gilbert, Rachel Walker and Kerry Williams. The third place was taken by Caledonian Cougars who beat Celtic Panthers 2-1 in the 3rd/4th play-off.

RESULTS OF YESTERDAYS KNOCK OUT CUP FINALS:

Harrod UK Men’s Trophy Final: Guernsey 4 Henley 3
Women’s Trophy Final: Chichester Priory Park 8 Broxbourne 3
Men’s Vase Final: Sunbury 2 Gainborough Rose 2. Sunbury won on penalty strokes after extra time.
Women’s Vase Final: East Grinstead 5 Lewes 3

LEOPARDS AND PUMAS STILL AHEAD IN SUPER LEAGUE

After four matches it’s still neck and neck at the top of the men’s GB Super League. Time Pinnock, Matt Daly (4) and James Tindall (3) were all on target for Wessex Leopards in their 8-4 win over Saxon Tigers, whilst Pennine Pumas overcame Highland Jaguars 3-2 with goals from Simon Egerton, Richard Smith and Mark Gleghorne.

Leopards and Pumas lead the table on 12 points, separated by goal difference. The two sides meet in the final match of the tournament tomorrow. There is an eight point gap between the sides and the third placed team, Celtic Panthers.

In the women’s Super League Pennine Pumas are the only unbeaten side, with three wins out of three. They played Celtic Panthers in a match which they won 4-0. The scorers were Jo Ellis (2), Chloe Strong and Sally Walton. In second place is Saxon Tigers, who won their match against Caledonian Cougars 3-0, with Harriet Pearce, Jess Wood and Jenny Hall the scorers.

The format for the men’s and women’s tournament is slightly different. Both are played on a round-robin basis but the women’s teams play off to decide their final places. The League finishes tomorrow.

EARLY GOALS FAIL TO SAVE CONFERENCE SIDES FROM RELEGATION

The national league bid goodbye this afternoon to Women’s West Conference side Rover Oxford after they failed to win their second match in the relegation play-offs away to Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. Their hopes of survival must have been raised when Emily Court gave them an 11th minute lead but 13 minutes later Liz Perry equalised for the side from the North Conference. Whitley Bay’s Kath Smith then went on to score two from penalty corners in the second half, giving them the 3-1 win.

Whitley Bay now have three points after one game, as have East Conference Sevenoaks, with both sides on a goal difference of +2. They meet next Saturday (2/5//09). The winner of that match will stay in the national league.

There was a similar story further south at Peterborough where City of Peterborough took a 2-0 lead against Firebrands in the men’s relegation play-offs. Both came from penalty corners by Simon Shorter early in the match. Dominic Bowdon scored before the break to reduce the margin to 2-1 and shortly after the restart David Newns equalised. Joe Finding then put the City back in front only to see George Farrant equalise ten minutes later. The winner was scored by Firebrands Tim Lang with 10 minutes left, to give Firebrands a 4-3 win.

Peterborough are now relegated, despite having a game in hand, as Firebrands now head the table with four points. Firebrands play Formby, who have one point, next Saturday. A win by Formby would be enough to allow them to remain in the national league. Anything less would mean their relegation alongside Peterborough

EVENING MATCHES BRINGS NO CHANGE AT TOP OF SUPER LEAGUE

There were three evening matches in the men’s section of the GB Super League last night.
Wessex Leopards continue to the lead the table after an emphatic 7-0 win over Celtic Panthers at Bisham Abbey. James Kellock, James Tindall (2), Tim Pennock, Peter Dobson, Will Naylor and Harry Slater, all found the net for the Leopards. They are separated on goal difference from second place Pennine Pumas, who recorded a 4-2 win over Saxon Tigers at Cannock.

At Edinburgh’s Peffermill there was an all-Scotland affair with Caledonian Cougars playing Highland Jaguars. Cougars emerged as 3-2 winners of that match.

MEN’S GB SUPER LEAGUE TABLE AFTER THREE MATCHES (Subject to confirmation)

1. Wessex Leopards 9 pts (+14), 2. Pennine Pumas 9 pts (+9), 3. Highland Jaguars 3 pts (-3), 4. Caledonian Cougars 3 pts (-5), 5. Saxon Tigers 1 pt (-3), 6. Celtic Panthers 1 pt (-12).

LEOPARDS AND PUMAS LEAD AFTER FIRST WEEKEND OF GB SUPER LEAGUE

After the first weekend of play in the GB Super League, Wessex Leopards and Pennine Pumas have emerged as the leaders in the men’s tournament.

Playing at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wessex Leopards won their opening match on Saturday by beating Highland Janguars 4-1, goals coming from Leopards’ James Tindall, Matt Daly (2) and Glenn Kirkham. The Jaguars scorer was Cammy Fraser. Daly and Tindall were on the scoresheet again today when they put four passed Caledonian Cougars for no reply, the other scorers being Will Naylor and James Kellock.

Wessex Leopards are separated from Pennine Pumas on goals scored. The Pumas recovered after twice being behind to Caledonian Cougars in their match yesterday, but finally won the game 4-2. Pumas scorers were Mark Cleghorne, Richard Lane, Simon Egerton and Richard Mantell. The scorers for the Pumas were Wel Adams and Christopher Nelson. The Pumas went on to win a high scoring game against Celtic Panthers today, with Martin Jones, Mark Cleghorne, Adam Dixon and Richard Mantell (3) scoring in their 6-1 win. Rick Gay was Panthers scorer.
Wessex Leopards and Pennine Pumas are each on 6 points with a goal difference of +7. Pumas have scored 10 goals as opposed to Leopards 8.

In the women’s league only Pennine Pumas remain unbeaten. Hannah Macleod and Susie Gilbert found the net in the 2-0 win over Saxon Tigers yesterday, and they followed this up with a 6-0 win over Caledonian Cougars today. The scorers were Hannah Macleod (2), Kerry Williams (2), Laura Unsworth and Jo Ellis.

SEVENOAKS MAY BE SPARED RELEGATION

The first matches in the relegation tournament for England Hockey League were played yesterday (Saturday). Whereas the 10th placed team in each of the Conferences is relegated to its appropriate regional league, there is a chance for one of the teams that came 9th to remain playing Conference hockey. Yesterday’s matches involved Sevenoaks from the Women’s East Conference and Rover Oxford from the Women’s West Conference, and Firebrands from the Men’s West Conference and Formby from the Men’s North Conference.

A goal in each half from Fiona Harland gave Sevenoaks a 2-0 win. Things were a little tighter down at Firebrands, where Tim Lang gave the home side an early lead. Lang could have increased Firebrands lead but he had his 11th minute penalty stroke saved. Richard Thompson equalised for Formby as half-time approached, but Lang scored his second minutes later to put Firebrands back into the lead. Firebrands held onto their lead until 20 minutes into the second half, when Joshua Cropper scored for Formby. Final score: 2-2.

WOMEN’S RELEGATION TOURNAMENT: 1. Sevenoaks 3 pts (+2), 2. Rover Oxford 0 pts (-2), 3. Whitley Bay & Tynemouth yet to play.

MEN’S RELEGATION TOURNAMENT: 1. Firebrands 1 pt (+0), Formby 1 pts (+0), 3. City of Peterborough yet to play.

A round-up of results from the GB Super League will appear on this blog later today.

European Hockey Round-up - Final Day

Picture: Action from the Round 3 match between Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the EuroHockey League




PETER COLWILL REPORTS FROM MANCHESTER ON THE EUROHOCKEY CUP WINNERS CUP

Amsterdam won their 18th European Gold medal when they beat Campo Villa de Madrid 2-0 in the final of the EuroHockey Women's Cup Winners Cup competition in Bowdon, scoring 26 times without conceding a goal. Host club Bowdon Hightown were edged out of the Bronze medal when they lost a penalty shoot out 4-2 against Rot Weiss Koln after an exciting 3-3 draw.

The final was a one sided affair with Madrid's goalkeeper Marie Jesus Rosa keeping her side in the match with four fabulous penalty corner saves to deny Fieke Holman. Holman, the leading Dutch League goalscorer, eventually found the net in the third minute of the second half at her seventh attempt. When Madrid made a late rally, a break away by Kitty Van Male set up Ellen Hoog for the second goal.

Bowdon Hightown came back three times from behind with the third goal scored by Charlotte Hartley with the last shot of the game when she turned in Sally Walton's pass at a penalty corner.

Andrea Wicken fired Rot Weiss ahead in the third minute but Tina Cullen equalised just before the interval from a penalty stroke. A stunning run by Christina Schutze set up Nicolette Abel for the German club's second goal before Cullen again equalised, only for Abel to put Rot Weiss back in front with her second goal. In the penalty competition Cullen and Michelle Liptrot scored but Nicky O'Donnel's shot was saved and with Clare Parkhill shooting wide, the Germans secured the Bronze.

Bonagrass Grove ensured a Scottish Club will be playing in this competition next year by beating Alta Borispol 15-0, the biggest score of the tournament. From the moment Louise Carroll drove in a penalty corner after 63 seconds, the only question was going to be how many.

Ali Bell, a first choice striker who had not scored in the tournament, helped herself to their next four goals in an eight minute spell and the fifth before half time. There were four goals for Nikki Kidd, two for Linsey Glass with the rest coming from Jen Wright, Ailsa Robertson and centre-back Kat Cameron who celebrated with an exuberant handstand.

Final Day results:
5/8th Lorenzoni (Ita) 1 Royal Uccle (Bel) 3; Bonagrass Grove (Sco) 15 Alta-Borispol (Ukr) 0.
3/4th Bowdon Hightown 3 Rot Weiss Koln 3. Koln won 4-2aps
FINAL Amsterdam 2 Campo Villa de Madrid 0.
Italy and Ukraine relegated to the 2010 Trophy Competition


PETER SAVAGE REPORTS FROM THE EUROHOCKEY LEAGUE IN HAMBURG.

A peculiarity in the league rules means that we now know the semi-final draws without any draw having actually taken place. Designed to try and avoid a final between two clubs of the same nation, the two Dutch clubs who won their Round 3 matches will play each other in the semi finals.

Yesterday's victors over East Grinstead, Bloemendaal, will meet the winner of the last Round 3 match, which was played this afternoon. The match in question, between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, ended in controversial style, after normal time and two periods of silver goal extra time had failed to decide the issue. A trip by the Amsterdam goalkeeper during the one-on-one shoot-out decider, resulted in a goal being awarded to Rotterdam and they go through to next month's semis, at a location in the Netherlands to be announced.

The other semi-final will be between Leuven and Hamburg (Uhlenhorster).

READING'S EURO CAMPAIGN FIZZLES OUT by Peter Savage in Hamburg

Photo: Leuven players celebrate as the final hooter is sounded.

Reading’s hopes of being the first English club to qualify for the semi-finals of the EuroHockey League evaporated in the sunshine here in Hamburg this afternoon. A single penalty corner conversion by Richard Mantell was all that Reading had to offer against the Belgian’s of Leuven.

To be frank, the English side did not appear to be firing on all cylinders, and although they dominated periods of the match, Leuven’s forwards were able to capitalise on odd lapses in Reading’s defence.

The result could have been far worse. Leuven had a goal disallowed after a video appeal and Nick Brothers had a penalty stroke awarded against him for a trip – a decision that reversed after the umpires conferred.

The final score of 2-1 in Leuven’s favour will be a huge disappointment to Reading. Having won a match in Round Two that the pundits assured us they would lose – the game against Barcelona - they have gone on to be knocked out by one of the teams that have widely been regarded as outsiders. That is not to say that Leuven did not deserve their win. Both they and Waterloo Ducks have demonstrated in this competition that Belgian hockey is a force to be reckoned with.

Round-up of Sunday's European Results from Peter Colwill in Manchester and Peter Savage in Hamburg

Photo: English interest (or, to be precise, Scottish interest) in the Hamburg v Club Egara match was in the form of umpire Andy Mair.


REPORT ON THE EUROHOCKEY WOMEN’S CUP WINNERS CUP IN MANCHESTER from Peter Colwill

Bowdon Hightown will play Rot Weiss Koln in the third place match after losing 4-0 to Amsterdam in their final pool match. Amsterdam will play Campo Villa de Madrid in the final.

Although Bowdon Hightown opened strongly they went behind in the 21st minute. A stunning reverse centre by Ellen Hoog was turned in by Kity Van Male, back after missing the previous match through injury. Four minutes later Amsterdam went further ahead when Elsemieke Groen was left unmarked and slotted in the easiest of chances.

Amsterdam's third goal came 11 minutes into the second half. Defender Marieke Mattheussens stole into the top of the circle and finished with a well placed shot. Despite denying Amsterdam at 8 penalty corners a terrible hit-out gifted Amsterdam their fourth goal scored by Eveline Wisse-Smit.

Bonagrass Grove's chance of reaching the third place match evaporated in 5 dramatic minutes at the start of the second half of their match against Rot Weiss Koln.Ailsa Robertson had given the Dundee side the lead sweeping in Linda Clement's cross shot at a penalty corner but Lena Arnold equalised for Rot Weiss just before half-time.

Rot Weiss came out for the second half several minutes early and just stood in their positions whilst Bonagrass came out and went into a huddle. In less than a minute a dazzling run by Christina Schutze set up Andrea Wicken to give Rot Weiss the lead. Within four minutes Wicken had added another from a penalty corner for 3-1.

A 6-1 win would have given Rot Weiss a place in the final but Bonagrass raised their game denying Rot Weiss further penalty corners and pulling a goal back in the penultimate minute when Robertson followed up Louise Carroll's penalty corner shot.

Campo Villa de Madrid secured their place in the final by beating Lorenzoni 9-1 although they had to wait anxiously for the result of the Bonagrass Grove match against Rot Weiss Koln,

Lorenzoni held the Spanish side to 3-1 at half time but the second half was one way traffic with Lorenzoni reduced to hitting centre restarts off the pitch. Amparo Gil scored 4 for Madrid.

Day 3 Results.
Pool A: Campo Villa de Madrid 9 Lorenzoni (Ita) 1; Rot Weiss Koln 3 Bonagrass Grove (Sco) 2.
Final Pool positions: 1 Campo Villa de Madrid 7pts. 2 Rot Weiss Koln 7pts. 3 Bonagrass Grove 3pts. 4 Lorenzoni 0pts.
Pool B: Alta-Borispol (Ukr) 0 Royal Uccle (Bel) 2; Bowdon Hightown 0 Amsterdam 4.
Final Pool positions: 1 Amsterdam 9pts 2 Bowdon Hightown 6pts 3 Royal Uccle 3pts. 4 Alta-Borispol 0pts

EUROHOCKEY LEAGUE ROUND UP from Peter Savage in Hamburg.

Hats off to East Grinstead for a sterling attempt to get into the semi-finals of this competition, against one of the world’s best club sides. But neutral supporters looking for a white knuckle contest were probably more interested in the earlier match, between the host club Hamburg and the Spanish from Club Egara.

Egara have played some stunningly attractive hockey in the two season that the EuroHockey League has been going and we were expecting something special. The match had its moments but it was never the thrilling game that we all had anticipated. The final score of 4-3 to Hamburg delighted the home crowd but denied the final rounds of one of the most attractive teams in the contest.

All eyes will now be on tomorrow’s meeting between Reading and Leuven of Belgium. On paper Reading should win the match, but Leuven demonstrated yesterday that they are no pushover. If Reading succeed, they will be the first English club to proceed through to the semi-final stage of the EuroHockey League

GRINSTEAD MAINTAIN ENGLISH PRIDE by Peter Savage in Hamburg

Photo: The pain of defeat. East Grinstead's Dave Cressell is comforted by his girlfriend after his side's 3-2 defeat against Bloemendaal.

I doubt whether I have ever seen a English club side perform against the Dutch as well as I did this afternoon in the quarter finals of the EuroHockey League in Hamburg. Not only did East Grinstead match Bloemendaal in all departments but for much of the game they dominated them.

Danny Hall opened the scoring for Grinstead after 11 minutes but when Wouter Jolie equalised from a penalty 12 minutes later, one could not help but feeling that the Dutch were at their most dangerous when wounded and that East Grinstead would be about to face a backlash. But it did not come, or at least not until much later.

Grinstead went back into the lead when Dave Dee Prez struck in the third quarter, but Jolie equalised with his second with thirteen minutes of play left. Right up to the last it was still anyone’s match and it looked a certainty for a one-on-one shoot-out. Unfortunately, for East Grinstead, Nick Meijer had the final say, scoring in the final minutes to give Bloemendaal a 3-2 victory.

Despite losing, EG were impressive, and there will not be many European club sides who will give these giants of Dutch hockey such a close run for their money. It certainly will give the Dutch something to think about next time they play an English club.

Roundup of Saturday's matches from Hamburg and Manchester

Photo: Hopeful Three Rock Rovers fans before the start of their match against Leuven.

WOMEN’S CUP WINNERS CUP IN MANCHESTER from Peter Colwill.

Bowdon Hightown will play their final Pool match against Amsterdam needing a win to reach Monday's final. The target against Alta-Korispol to overtake the Dutch side on goal difference was a 16 goals and the hosts came desperately close winning 13-0.

So dominant were Bowdon Hightown that they played the last 8 minutes without a goalkeeper. They had 19 corners without reply and Borispol suffered 3 yellow cards. Sally Walton scored 5 goals all from corners and Tina Cullen three from open play. Charlotte Hartley, Fay Nash, Nicky O'Donnell, Lindsay French and Annalisa Bishop scored the remainder.

Reaching the final will be a tough task for Bowdon Hightown. Amsterdam who beat Royal Uccle 6-0 have yet to conceed a goal and in Miek Van Greenhuizen they have the outstanding player of the tournament.

Bonagrass Grove will probably go into their final pool match tomorrow against Rot Weiss Koln needing a win to qualify for the Bronze medal match. They were goalless at half time against Lorenzoni but Ailsa Robertson missed two goal chances and there were strong claims for a penalty stroke following a foul on Susan Hamilton. The Dundee side started the second half more successfully. Nikki Kidd swept in a cross from Ali Bell in the third minute and Becky Merchant took advantage of limited pitch time to convert a corner nine minutes later. Further goals followed. Kidd flicked a corner, Linda Clement unleashed a ferocious shot which hit goalkeeper Sara Sorial but crept over the line and Robertson added a fifth in the penultimate minute.

Rot Weiss Koln who drew 2-2 with Campo Villa de Madrid with whom they finished the day level on points, will know the required margin of victory assuming Madrid beat Lorenzoni.

Day Two Results.
Pool A: Rot Weiss Koln 2 Campo Villa de Madrid 2; Bonagrass Grove (Sco)
5 Lorenzoni (Ita) 0.
Pool B: Amsterdam 6 Royal Uccle (Bel) 0; Bowdon Hightown 13 Alta-Borispol (Ukr) 0.


EUROHOCKEY LEAGUE DAY TWO FROM PETER SAVAGE IN HAMBURG

After Reading’s stunning win against Barcelona this morning, proceedings went rather flat. The match between Rotterdam and Grunwald (Poland) seemed unable to raise much enthusiasm from an uncommitted watcher. Having notched up four goals in 44 minutes, courtesy of Jeroen Hertzberger (PS), Sohail Abbas (2) and Johrus Gommers, Rotterdam took the foot off the gas for the last ten minutes and conceded two goals. Final score 4-2.

The third match of the day did provide some entertainment Maxime Luycx opening the scoring for Waterloo Ducks (Belgium) in their match against Amsterdam. It took less than a minute for Taeke Taekema to work his magic from a short corner, slotting in his second four minutes later. But the Ducks showed no signs of surrending easily and John-John Dohmen equalized just before the break. Unfortunately, the Ducks conceded another corner just before the half-time hooter, and Taekema stepped up to score his third. An early second half goal from Amsterdam’s Mico Pruyser was followed by 30 minutes of stalemate, with the final hooter sounding with the score at 4-2 to Amsterdam.

If ever a case was made for allowing a side to keep a video appeal if they won the appeal, it was made in the match between the Irish of Three Rock Rovers and Leuven of Belgium. Three Rock Rovers appealed against a clear umpiring error when they had a goal awarded against them where the ball had not crossed the goal line. Fortunately the error was corrected by the video umpire but that was an appeal used up. The match eventually finished 2-1 to Leuven, with Peter Blakeney scoring Three Rock Rovers only goal. Leuven now play Reading for a semi-final place on Monday.

SECOND ENGLISH SIDE THROUGH TO ROUND THREE by Peter Savage in Hamburg

A push in the back ended Real Club de Polo de Barcelona's chances of a place in the last eight of the EuroHockey League here in Hamburg this morning. Jonty Clarke's resultant penalty stoke for Reading was the only goal in a match that maintained yesterday's standard for exciting hockey.

Barcelona had much the lion's share of possession for most of the match but some dogged defending by Reading and good work by Nick Brothers in the Reading goal kept their opponents at bay.

Reading now progress through to Round 3. Their opponents on Monday will be the winner of the match between Leuven (Belgiun) and Three Rock Rovers (Ireland). This sets up the possibilty of Reading being the first English club to progress through to the semi finals of the EuroHockey League.

THERE WILL BE FURTHER REPORTS FROM HAMBURG AND FROM THE WOMEN'S CUP WINNERS CUP IN MANCHESTER LATER TODAY.

Roundup of Friday's Hockey from Hamburg, Manchester and Dublin

Photos:
1) Cannock's Stuart Gooderham shaddows Dutch star Teun de Nooijer in the match between Cannock and Bloemendaal
2) Hamburg's Ricardo Nevado gets airborn in their match against Dusseldorfer.

PETER COLWILL REPORTS FROM MANCHESTER:

There were no upsets on the opening day of the Women's EuroHockey Cup Winners Cup at Bowdon with the three fancied sides all scoring convincing victories.

Bowdon Hightown had litttle difficulty disposing of the Belgium side Royal Uccle 5-1 with their captain Sally Walton slotting in two goals from penalty corners. Sam Quek was outstanding at centre half and there were goals for Jo Ellis, Julie Hope and Fay Nash.

In the other match in Bowdon Hightown's pool Alta Borispol, who arrived with just eleven players, not only suffered the worst spell of weahter when the heavens opened but also a deluge in their defence which leaked three goals in the first five minutes to an Amsterdam team who went on to win 16-0 with Fieke Holman coverting five penalty corners. Rachel Walsh, a former Hightown player got in on the act claiming a goal which was believed by the umpire but not the announcer.

Scotland's Bongrass Grove lost a close encounter 2-0 to Campo Villa de Madrid. Carla Rebecchi Madrid's Argentinean forward gave them the lead two minutes before half time with a smartly flicked penalty corner shot. With the Dundee side pressing for the equaliser Anna Schwartz was cruelly exposed in the penultimate minute when Amparo Gil set up Monteserrat Cruz for Madrid's second goal.

Rot Weiss Koln had little trouble overcoming Lorenzoni (Italy) in the first match of the day but they had considerable difficulty with their shirt numberrs. All fifteen outfield players were in different numbers from those initially submitted.

Results:
Pool A: Rot Weiss Koln 6 HF Lorenzoni (Ita) 0; Bonagrass Grove (Sco) 0 Campo Villa de Madrid 2.
Pool B: Amsterdam 14 Alta-Boriispol (Ukr) 0; Bowdon Hightown 5 Royal Uccle (Bel) 1.

PETER SAVAGE REPORTS FROM HAMBURG

The EuroHockey League was at its very best today, with four exciting matches today in Hamburg, supported by a good crowd, and all televised on EuroSport.

One of the reasons for the support, apart from the glorious sunshine, may have been that all three German sides were in action. Unfortunately, for the home supporters, that number was down to one by the end of the day. The loss of one was inevitable, by virtue of Hamburg (Uhlenhorster) and Dusseldorfer being pitted against each other. But Spanish club, Club Egara, were too strong for Der Club An Der Alster, with Egara’s star, Guillermo Schickendantz scoring a hat-trick in his side’s 4-2 win over the Germans.

Cannock’s defeat at the hands of Bloemendaal was not without honour. The English side clearly learnt some lessons from their previous meeting in Round 1a. Nick Meijer scored for the Dutch from a penalty corner after 21 minutes, but the match was in its closing stages before Bloemendaal were able to unpick Cannock’s defences, Ronald Brouwer the scorer.

Cannock were never out of the game, but briefly there was a chance that they might actually win it. With ten minutes left to play, Harry Jawanda converted a penalty corner, to close the score to 2-1. Unfortunately, the Dutch had the last say, with their supertstar striker, Teun De Nooijer, scoring from open play. Final score 3-1.

In the last match of the day Hamburg overcame Dusseldorfer 3-2 in a gripping struggle, supported by a capacity crowd.

RESULT FROM DUBLIN

In one other result today, England’s women beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, the goal being scored in the 12th minute by Canterbury’s Jenny Hall.

WIN / LOSE SITUATION FOR ENGLISH CLUBS IN ROUND TWO by Peter Savage in Hamburg

Photograph: Mark Pearn celebrates Danny Hall’s 70th minute winner

Some people were writing off East Grinstead’s opponents in their Second Round EuroHockey League match before the game had even started, but those of us had seen St Germain play in the EuroHockey League before knew they would be a tough nut to crack. Despite opening the game with considerable panache, it was four minutes into the second half before East Grinstead could find the French net, Danny Hall the scorer. Julien Thamin in the St Germain goal had done much to thwart East Grinstead’s attempts to take a lead, aided by some effective defensive tackling before the ball reached the French twenty-five.

Despite their early dominance, East Grinstead let the game slip away from them in the third and fourth quarters, with two excellent goals from Martin Genestet and Jean Pauchet. At 2-1 down it looked all up for Grinstead until Martin Haner, playing on his native soil, equalised with six minutes left.

As the minutes ticked away, it looked more and more as if the match would be decided by a EuroHockey speciality – the one-on-one shoot out. Fortunately, in the nick of time, Danny Hall exploited a lapse in the St Germain defence and shot the winner. The final hooter sounded seconds later.

East Grinstead will play Bloemendaal (Netherlands) on Sunday after Cannock went down 3-1 to the Dutch side this afternoon. It was a brave effort from Cannock, who seemed to have learnt lessons from their previous encounter back in Round One. Cannock’s scorer was Harry Jawanda.

Further reports will appear later.

EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS CUP IN MANCHESTER. Preview by Peter Colwill

The stage is set here in Bowden, South Manchester for a gigantic clash on Sunday afternoon in the EuroHockey Cup Winners Cup competition between two clubs with vast experience of European hockey, the hosts Bowdon Hightown and Amsterdam, with the winners almost certain to face the Germans Rot Weiss Koln or Campo Villa de Madrid.

Amsterdam, who will be looking to win their 18th European Gold medal start favourites to win the competition. Loaded with Dutch international players and with English International and former Hightown player Rachel Walsh dominant on the right of their defence they appear to be the team to beat. Amsterdam are currently second in the Dutch National League.

Although Hightown Bowdon can claim only one European Gold, when they beat Berliner in Rotterdam in 1996 to win this competition, they have had a remarkable season. They have already won the National League, the National Indoor title and are favourites to complete the National treble when they face Reading in the Cup Final next month. Former Great Britain and England striker Tina Cullen Hightown’s 39 year old player coach is still slotting in goals finishing once again top goal scorer in the League this season with 24 gaols taking her all time total to a record 324 over 100 ahead of her nearest rival. They have also built a solid defence around Lyndsay French and England international Sally Walton conceding just 12 goals in their 18 National League encounters. However before the vital game against Amterdam they have to face the Belgium club Royal Uccle tomorrow (Friday) and Alta Boriispol from the Ukraine on Saturday.

Dieter Hill, the Bowdon Hightown manager, with half an eye on the practising Spanish team, told me that he was happy to have a fully fit squad who have been back up to their high performance level since their defeat in their final league match at Canterbury. “A real wake up call was not such a bad thing.”

Easter Hockey Coverage

TalkHockeyRadio has coverage on this blog of the two major European events over Easter.

East Grinstead play their Round Two match against St Germain of France at mid-day (local time) tomorrow (Friday) in the EuroHockeyLeague. This is followed at 14:30 by the game between Cannock and the powerful Dutch side from Bloemendaal. The winners of these two matches will meet in Round Three on Sunday.

Reading play their Round 2 match against Real Club Polo de Barcelona on Saturday.

TalkHockeyRadio will have daily reports from Hamburg, together with photographs, of each days proceedings.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the Women's European Cup Winners Cup is being played at Bowdon. Bowdon Hightown open their campaign with a match against Royal Uccle of Belgium. Peter Colwill is a our man on the sport there.

DOUBLE TRIUMPH FOR READING IN CUP SEMIS

Anyone who stayed behind after the Men’s Cup Semi-Final at Sonning Lane were in for a real treat. The men’s semi was a bit of a done deal. No matter how worthy a side Fareham are, they were always up against it facing a team of Reading’s calibre. For a real thriller you had to wait for the Women’s Semi Final that followed it.

I haven’t checked the record books but I would think it must be a first to have both the men’s and women’s team of a club playing in a Cup semi-final on the same ground on the same afternoon. Having just seen their men overcome Fareham 7-1, it was the turn of Reading’s women to make a bid for cup glory in their match against the University of Birmingham. And cup glory seemed very much on the cards as Reading took the lead through a Clare Kerr penalty stroke midway through the first half. But in a terrible spell, lasting no more than five minutes, the students struck three times, the first from Jo Turnbull, the second from Suzi Gilbert and the third from Turnbull again. Vicky Bryant managed to pull one back for Reading just before half time and the match went into the break at 3-2 in the University’s favour.

The second half seemed very much a stalemate until two Beckys got on the scoresheet. Reading’s Becky Odlin equalised with 13 minutes left on the clock, with Becky Dru converting a penalty corner six minutes later, putting Reading in front. But the real drama was left to come. An overtime penalty corner was converted by Tina Evans to put the score at 4-4 during normal time. The first half of extra time went without the matter being decided but Reading’s Emily Maldon provided the golden goal to give her side a place in the final.

Their final place will be – and there is no surprise here – against Bowdon Hightown, who overcame Barnes Hounslow Ealing 6-0.

The other men’s semi final, between Canterbury and Beeston, finished 5-1 in Beeston’s favour.

SURBITON TAKE EAST GRINSTEAD TO THE WIRE IN THRILLING FINISH TO LEAGUE

A large crowd at Sugden Road were treated to a thrilling finale to the Slazenger England Hockey League season this afternoon as Surbiton played host to East Grinstead.

Here are the maths. If EG won the match they would take the Premiership title. If they lost and Beeston won at Hampstead, Beeston would be crowned champions. If both lost, then Reading would be in with a chance, provided the score improved their goal difference. There were several permutations in between, but you may have got the flavour of the importance of winning. The England Hockey President, Martin Gotheridge, was at Sugden Road, along with the League Trophy, not knowing whether he would have to drive with the trophy to Paddington Rec, or Sonning Lane, or simply stay put to make the presentation

East Grinstead got off to a dream start, with their German international Martin Haner cracking in a penalty corner within the first four minutes. Matt Daly replied after 15 minutes and at 1-1 that is how the match went into the break. Five minutes in the second half Danny Hall put EG back into the lead but James Tindall equalised literally seconds later. Then the whole match seemed to fall apart for Grinstead. A breakaway and solo run by Matt Daly left only George Harris left between Daly and the East Grinstead net. When they met at the top of the ‘D’, Daly was upended (see our picture), and umpire Andrew Kennedy pointed straight to the penalty spot, before producing a yellow card for Harris. Ben Hawes stepped up and put Surbiton in the lead for the first time in the match. East Grinstead looked demoralised as the match started to slip away from them.

But the match was to have a fairy tale ending for East Grinstead. Their Dominic Male scored twice in the space of five minutes to give them the lead and, just to add some icing to the cake Haner scored his second from a penalty corner as the match came to its conclusion. Final score: 5-3 to East Grinstead. Although it was East Grinstead’s day, they deserve credit for the part that they played in putting on a display of entertaining hockey.

As it happens, the threat of stealing the trophy, had East Grinstead lost, came from Reading, not Beeston. What seems like an annual tussle between them and Cannock for the title ended with Reading winning 5-0. Austin Smith scored a hat-trick , with Richard Mantell and Jonty Clarke getting themselves on the scoresheet. Cannock, who have long been out of contention, finished their season in fourth place, five points behind Beeston.

There was a school of thought that Beeston’s match against Hampstead & Westminster was an obvious win for Beeston. But Hampstead’s Will Naylor had other ideas. Having seen the lead that his early goal had given his side wiped out by Beeston’s Richard Stamp, he scored two more in the last four minutes to give his side a 3-1 win.

In other matches, the match between Havant and Southgate was won 3-2 by Havant. The fate of these two stuggling sides has been known for some time, and Southgate go out of the Premiership after only one season, whilst Havant will have their future decided in the play-offs. Bowdon went down to a late James Osborne goal to Loughborough Students and finish one above the play-off place.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
Champions: East Grinstead 41 points (+31)
Runners-up: Reading 38 points (+28)
Relegation play-off: Havant 12 points (-28)
Relegated: Southgate 5 points (-41)

At the top of the MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE, goals by Neil Turk and Johannes Kloess gave Oxted the win they needed against Sevenoaks to stay ahead of Canterbury. Canterbury, who were playing Indian Gymkhana, also won today. The final score was 4-3, although the outcome could have been different if Gymkhana’s Tejinder Hanspal had not missed a penalty. Chelmsford recorded a 6-3 win over Chelmsford, pulling them clear of the relegation play-off spot. City of Peterborough now occupy that slot, courtesy of a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Old Loughtonians.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: Oxted 43 points (+38)
Runners-up: Canterbury 41 points (+29)
Relegation play-off: City of Peterborough 7 points (-54)
Relegated: Ipswich 6 points (-62)

Brooklands and Belper met in a match that would decide the MEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE. Brooklands held onto their unbeaten league record thanks to two late second half goals from Ollie Cooper. The final score of 3-3 keeps Brooklands one point ahead of Belper. By coincidence, the ninth and tenth side also met today but their future had already been decided. Just for the record, Telford and Wrekin beat Formy 4-0.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE MEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: Brooklands MU 44 points (+53)
Runners-up: Belper 43 points (+45)
Relegation play-off: Formby 12 points (-44)
Relegated: Telford & Wrekin 4 points (-43)

In the MEN’s WEST CONFERENCE Firebrands may live to fight another day. Their 2-1 win over Bournville lifts them above Cardiff, who lost 3-1 to Bath Buccaneers. Firebrands will now have to go forward to the play-offs to discover their fate. Promoted Exeter University won their remaining match, beating Stourport 4-3.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE MEN’S WEST CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: University of Exeter 42 points (+25)
Runners-up: Guildford 32 points (+32)
Relegation play-off: Firebrands 16 points (-36)
Relegated: Cardiff & UCWIC 14 points (-20)

CANTERBURY TARNISH BOWDON'S CROWN

You could almost taste the tension as Bowdon – crowned Champions weeks ago – went into this afternoon’s match against Canterbury on the final day of play of this season’s Slazenger EHL Women’s Premier Division. There were prizes at stake for both sides. A win for Bowdon would have given them an astonishing 18 wins out of 18 matches, plus a confidence boost into next weekend’s Cup semi-final and the European Cup Winners Cup the weekend after that. For Canterbury there was an outside chance of a place in Europe next year, dependent on the result between Olton and Poynton. Canterbury had suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Bowdon earlier in the season and were full of confidence that they could crack the return fixture at home.

Bowdon opened the scoring, Tina Cullen finding the net halfway through the first period, and that is how the match stood at the re-start. But it was clear that not all was well with Bowdon. Some clumsy tackling had earned them more than their fair share of free hits and it was not long before the yellow cards started to come out. Kirsty MacKay in the Bowdon goal did her best to keep the hordes at bay, but Canterbury scored a well-earned equaliser after 20 minutes of second half play off the stick of Natasha Brennan. Six minutes later Cindy Botha scored Canterbury’s second, and we hardly had time to write down the name of the scorer before Brennan scored her second from a penalty corner. Final score 3-1 to Canterbury. Not quite a rout, but an uncomfortable experience for a side which has not tasted defeat in the league or Cup all season. The game also evidences the enormous progress made by Canterbury under the guiding hand of their coach, Ian Jennings (pictured).

Canterbury’s fairy tale end to the season was wrecked by Denise-Marston Smith, whose 43rd minute goal against Poynton gave Olton & West Warwicks a 3-2 win and keeps them in second place, one point ahead of Canterbury. The match at the basement end of the table between Ipswich and Chelmsford ended in a 2-2 draw, whilst Trojans also earned a single point when they drew 1-1 against visiting Clifton. Slough made most of the running at home to Leicester with a goal in each half, the first from Alex Scott and the second from Lauren Penny. Kerry Williams scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the dying seconds of the match.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE, WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
Champions: Bowdon Hightown 51 points (+48)
Runners-up: Olton & West Warwicks 36 points (+32)
Relegation play-offs: Ipswich 9 points (-36)
Relegated: Chelmsford 5 points (-71)

The play-off place for promotion to the Premier Division from the WOMEN’S CONFERENCE EAST had been decided in Reading’s favour several weeks ago, but relegation issues still had to be decided. Despite Sevenoaks winning their match against Barnes 3-2, with two of their goals being scored in the last two minutes, they failed to acquire sufficient goal difference to overtake Horsham in eighth place. Horsham had gone down to Staines 2-0, allowing Staines to move out of harms way. Maidstone’s fate has been known for some time and they are automatically relegated.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE, WOMEN’S EAST CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: Reading 49 points (+52)
Runners-up: Old Loughtonians 33 points (+9)
Relegation play-offs: Sevenoaks 19 points (-36)
Relegated: Maidstone 9 points (-27)

The championship place in the WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE had still been wide open this morning, with both University of Durham and Loughborough Students in contention. Loughborough Students put four passed Liverpool Sefton for no reply, but remain in second place by virtue of Durham’s win in the local derby against Sunderland. Sunderland had given Durham a good run for their money, but three late goals gave Durham the 6-2 win. At the other end of the table the match between Whitley Bay and Ben Rhydding merely served to decide which of the two would be automatically relegated and which would win a play-off place. Whitley Bay emerged 2-0 winners from that meeting and so Ben Rhydding are relegated.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE, WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: University of Durham 46 points (+45)
Runners-up: Loughborough Students 45 points (+44)
Relegation play-offs: Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 14 points (-23)
Relegated: Ben Rhydding 11 points (-25)

In the WOMEN’S WEST CONFERENCE all the important issues had already been decided before today. Second placed Sutton Coldfield gave an unwelcome farewell present to relegated St Austell, winning the match 7-0. Champions, University of Birmingham, topped off their championship with a 5-0 win over Swansea.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE, WOMEN’S WEST CONFERENCE:
Promotion play-offs: University of Birmingham 50 points (+98)
Runners-up: Sutton Coldfield 41 points (+33)
Relegation play-offs: Rover Oxford 13 points (-44)
Relegated: St Austell 5 points (-42)

TWO CONFERENCES STILL UP FOR GRABS

With just one match left, play-off places in the two of the three men’s Conferences are still up for grabs.

In the EAST CONFERENCE, Oxted maintain their charge with an emphatic win over City of Peterborough. The list of scorers looks more like a roll-call than a score sheet, with Nick Sisson, Richard Appleton, Thornton McDade (2), Ricahrd Arscott, Johannes Kloess, Ben Shorten, Ken Forbes and Chris Grounds all finding the net. This was despite the City’s Richard Corbett opening the scoring with less than 60 seconds on the clock. Final score 9-2. Canterbury, who are two points behind leaders Oxted, came away the winners at home to Bromley and Beckenham with two apiece from Leigh Barratt and Lloyd Norris-Jones. Final score 4-1. Ipswich suffered a 6-1 setback at Holcombe but can still escape relegation if they win their match next week, when they play fellow strugglers Chelmsford. Both Chelmsford and City of Peterborough are on seven points, one point ahead of Ipswich.

University of Durham dented their chances of a play-off place in the NORTH CONFERENCE when they went down 5-4 to Leek. They are now three points behind Brooklands MU who head the table. Brooklands saw off Formby 5-1 this afternoon, aided by an Ollie Cooper hat-trick. Belper, in second place, keep up their challenge with a 2-0 win over Barford Tigers. Brooklands and Belper meet next weekend in what will effectively be a decider in this Conference.

In the WEST CONFERENCE, University of Exeter have bagged their play-off place with a 3-1 win over Guildford. Relegation issues are still open with Cardiff and Firebrands being on 14 and 13 points respectively.

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS DOWN TO TWO TEAMS

This morning there were no less than five clubs who had the theoretical chance of taking the Slazenger Men’s Premier League Championship. As a result of this afternoon’s activities the field has, for all practical purposes, reduced to two.

This morning’s leaders, East Grinstead, added another three points to their total with a vital win over Bowdon. It took just nine minutes for Grinstead to unpick Bowdon’s defence, with a field goal from Dominick Male, followed by goals from Mark Pearn, Martin Haner (penalty stroke), Danny Hall (pictured) and Glenn Kirkham. Male added his second in the closing minutes of the match. Although East Grinstead dominated the encounter, some fine defensive work by goalkeeper George Harris kept Bowdon off the scoresheet and the match ended 6-0. Photographs from this match will appear on our main web site in the next few days.

Beeston remain one point behind East Grinstead after they played host to Surbiton. A Matt Daly corner just before half time cancelled out Chris Seddon’s earlier goal for Beeston. Surbiton had the chance to go ahead when they were awarded a penalty stroke towards the end of the match but Ben Hawes’ failed to find the net. The decider came from Beeston’s Wayne Rowland. Final score 2-1.

Reading, in third place, still have a mathematical chance of retaining the championship, helped by a 4-1 win over lowly Southgate. Cannock have put themselves out of the running after only managing a 2-2 draw against Hampstead & Westminster. Trailing at 2-1, they were in danger of losing the match until Harry Jawanda scored his second in the last two minutes. Havant’s slim chance of avoiding the play-offs was lost when the Smiths were on scoring form at Loughborough Students. Richard Smith opened the scoring after two minutes, followed by a second 20 minutes later. Carl Smith added a third to his sides tally after the break, with Simon Faulkner scoring his side’s fourth towards the end of the match. Final score 4-0 to Loughborough Students.

Southgate’s last chance of avoiding automatic relegation disappeared this afternoon after their defeat at Reading. Four points adrift at the bottom of the table, they have only one match left to play and are therefore relegated. Havant in ninth place will have to fight to retain their Premiership status at the play-offs.

SLAZENGER MEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. East Grinstead 38 pts (+29), 2. Beeston 37 pts (+21), 3. Reading 35 pts (+23), 4. Cannock 32 pts (+19), 5. Surbiton 31 pts (+15), 6. Loughborough Students 21 pts (+1), 7. Hampstead & Westminster 14 pts (-17), 8. Bowdon 14 pts (-22), 9. Havant 9 pts (-29), 10. Southgate 5 pts (-40).

Although the Championship in the WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE has long been decided, the competition for the runners-up spot, and a place in Europe, still remains unresolved. Olton & West Warwicks and Canterbury, in second and third place respectively, drew their match 2-2. Leicester, in fourth place, found themselves trailing 1-0 for almost thirty minutes after Trojans’ Amy Sheehan scored late in the first half. Leicester managed to rescue one point from the match after Lucy Brown equalised. Final score 1-1.

Ipswich avoid automatic relegation after a 2-0 win over Poynton, only the Suffolk side’s second win of the season. The scorers for Ipswich were Leisa King and Lizzy Aldous. Chelmsford’s chances of exchanging automatic relegation for a play-off place evaporated when they went down to Clifton. So it’s East Conference hockey at Beehive Lane next season. At the other end of the table, Bowdon Hightown made it 17 out of 17 with a 2-1 win against Slough. The failure of any of the chasing teams to win three points this afternoon has opened Bowdon’s gap even further, to a massive eighteen points.

SLAZENGER WOMEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. Bowdon Hightown 51 pts (+50), 2. Olton & West Warwicks 33 pts (+31), 3. Canterbury 32 pts (+22), 4. Leicester 31 pts (+21), 5. Slough 26 pts (+15), 6. Clifton 26 pts (-2), 7. Poynton 18 pts (-16), 8. Trojans 13 pts (-14), 9. Ipswich 8 pts (-36), 10. Chelmsford 4 pts (-71).

Amongst the women’s conferences, only the WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE remains in contention. This morning’s leaders, Loughborough Students could only draw 3-3 against Belper, and were overtaken by University of Durham, who beat Bradford 4-2. The two sides are now separated by one point and a goal difference of one.

Today's Premiership Results

Here are the results of the Slazenger Men's Premier Division matches today:

Beeston 5 Cannock 3
Bowdon 1 Surbiton 4
Hampstead & Westminster 3 Southgate 1
Havant 4 East Grinstead 7
Reading 2 Loughborough 1

The top of the table now looks like this: 1. East Grinstead 35 pts, 2. Beeston 34 pts, 3. Reading 32 pts, 4. Cannock 31 pts, 5 Surbiton 31 pts.

We are unable to bring you a full report on the league today as we are currently working away from our studio on some material for TalkHockeyRadio and have limited access to the Internet.

Please note:

Due to circumstances beyond our control there were some errors in the women's Premier Table contained in the earlier posting. This has now been corrected.

Information: Blog updates this weekend.

Reports on EHL matches on Sunday 15/3/09 will be limited and there will be no new photographs on our main web site this weekend. This is due to a hockey related commitment which will take us out of the country

FIGHT FOR SECOND EUROPEAN PLACE IN WOMEN'S PREMIERSHIP

Unlike the top of the men’s Premiership, where five clubs are still in the running to take the title, the Championship of the Slazenger EHL Women’s Premier Division was decided weeks ago. However, there is still the matter of the second European place and, of course, the fight to escape relegation. As of this evening, only two points separate the second, third and fourth placed teams and with, only two matches to play, points have suddenly become more important than ever.

At the basement end of the table, either Ipswich or Chelmsford are certain of relegation, with the team not automatically relegated going into the play-offs. Ipswich helped Canterbury’s chances of a European spot this afternoon by going down 2-0, Canterbury’s goals coming from Jenny Hall and Cindy Botha. Canterbury have had better seasons and only a few weeks ago they were languishing in sixth, but a run of good form and today’s result now sees them in third place. Poynton, who will be amalgamating with Brooklands next season, were awarded two penalty strokes against visiting Chelmsford, both taken by Helen Armishaw. One found the net and the other didn’t. Libby Knifton’s 17th minute goal had given Chelmford a 1-0 lead which lasted about 10 minutes, before Armishaw struck in open play. Her 64th minute penalty stroke then deprived Chelmsford of a possible draw. Final score 2-1 to Poynton.

Clifton’s promise seems to have run its course and they went down to Leicester 3-1 this afternoon. Chloe Rogers (2) and Lauren Turner were the scorers for Clifton. There was a battle royal at Slough where Olton’s Emma Rochlin opened the scoring in less than a minute. Jane Smith came to Slough’s rescue twelve minutes latter, only to see the visitors retake the lead through goals by Holly Chipman and Lucilla Wright. Jane Smith scored her side’s second shortly after, but the teams went into the break with Olton having a 3-2 advantage. Shortly after the re-start Emma McCabe and Naomi James added two more to Olton’s tally. But Slough were not finished by any means. Alex Scott converted a penalty corner to close the gap to two goals and Jane Smith added her third to the scoresheet to reduce the deficit further. Final score 5-4 to Olton.

Oh, and there was also Bowdon Hightown. They maintained their 17 point lead at the top of the Premiership with a 5-0 win over Trojans, the goals coming from Tina Cullen (3), Fay Nash and Sally Walton. They, of course, are already champions.

SLAZENGER WOMEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. Bowdon Hightown 48 pts (+49), 2. Olton & West Warwicks 32 pts (+31), 3. Canterbury 31 pts (+22), 4. Leicester 30 pts (+21), 5. Slough 26 pts (+16), 6. Clifton 23 pts (-4), 7. Poynton 18 pts (-14), 8. Trojans 12 pts (-14), 9. Ipswich 5 pts (-38), 10. Chelmsford 4 pts (-69).

The WOMEN’S EAST CONFERENCE shows similarities with the Premier Division, inasmuch as Reading are assured of a play-off place by a healthy margin, with a pack of teams following separated by a few points. Reading managed to widen the gap between themselves and Barnes as a result of a 5-1 win over St Albans and Barnes’ defeat at home to Old Loughtonians. Rebecca Hale scored a hat-trick for Loughts but her side almost saw the three points slip away as Triona Doyle scored twice for Barnes in the last ten minutes. Unfortunately, time was against Barnes and Old Loughtonians won the match 3-2. At the other end of the table Maidstone were beaten 5-1 by Southgate and are relegated.

WOMEN’S EAST CONFERENCE TOP THREE: 1. Reading 46 pts (+52), 2. Barnes 31 pts (+8), 3. Old Loughtonians 29 points (+7).

In the WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE the play off place is between Loughborough Students and University of Durham, both of who emerged this afternoon from 5-1 wins. Loughborough’s was against visiting Sunderland, whilst Durham recorded their win against Doncaster. Relegation issues in this division are still unsettled and Ben Rhydding took a small step towards a possible escape with a 1-1 draw against Bradford. They are two points adrift at the bottom of the table behind Whitley Bay (10 pts) and Sunderland (14 pts).

WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE TOP THREE: 1. Loughborough Students 41 pts (+40), 2. University of Durham 40 pts (+39), 3. Belper 29 pts (+11).

The WOMEN’S WEST CONFERENCE has become a two horse race with University of Birmingham four point ahead of Sutton Coldfield. Third place Cannock are five point behind Sutton and are out of the running for promotion. Goals from Jo Turnbull, Sophie Bray and Alys Brooks, gave the University a 3-0 win over Firebrands. Sutton Coldfield went to Swansea and came away 4-2 winners but Swansea’s Angharad Griffiths must be as sick as the proverbial parrot this evening. Swansea were awarded two penalty strokes, both taken by Griffiths, the first of which was saved by Sarah Fellows. The second went wide. As the season draws to a close it looks increasingly like we will be saying goodbye to St Austell. Although theoretically they could avoid automatic relegation, their next matches are against Exe and Sutton Coldfield. They are currently five points adrift at the bottom of the table.

WOMEN’S WEST CONFERENCE TOP THREE: 1. University of Birmingham 41 pts (+79), 2. Sutton Coldfield 37 pts (+26), 3. Cannock 32 pts (+18).

Update on Sunday's Hockey

Unfortunately we had to keep our report on Sunday’s hockey brief as we were delayed returning to the studio from Old Loughtonians by heavy traffic. Here you will find some additional information about yesterday’s hockey.

WOMEN’S SLAZENGER EHL PREMIER DIVISION TABLE: 1. Bowdon Hightown 45 pts (+44), 2. Olton & West Warwicks 29 pts (+30), 3. Canterbury 28 pts (+20), 4. Leicester 27 pts (+19), 5. Slough 26 pts (+17), 6. Clifton 23 pts (-2), 7. Poynton 15 pts (-15), 8. Trojans 12 pts (-9), 9. Ipswich 5 pts (-36), 10. Chelmsford 4 pts (-68).

Reading in the WOMEN’S EAST CONFERENCE have secured a promotion play-off place after second placed Barnes went down 3-1 to Harleston Magpies. Reading have now opened up a 12 point gap between themselves and Barnes as a result of their 5-0 win over Horsham. Old Loughtonians suffered a surprise setback in their home game against lowly Staines when Alex Stacy put the visitors ahead after only seven minutes, but they came back strongly in the second half, winning the match 3-1.

WOMEN’S EAST CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. Reading 43 pts (+48), 2. Barnes 31 pts (+9), Old Loughtonians 26 pts (+6).

In the WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE, University of Durham closed the gap between them and leaders, Loughborough Students, with a late penalty corner conversion by Gabrielle Foster. Final score there, 1-0 to Durham. The play off place in this division is now a two-horse race between these two sides, as the gap between Durham and third placed Belper has opened up to 11 points.

WOMEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. Loughborough Students 38 pts (+36), 2. University of Durham 37 pts (+35), 3. Belper 26 pts (+26).

Leaders in the WOMEN’S WEST CONFERENCE, University of Birmingham, did not play yesterday. They were due to play Aldridge but the match was postponed due to illness. The University’s nearest contenders for a play-off place, Sutton Coldfield, beat Bournmouth 2-1. Theoretically, Cannock are still in with a chance, although their 2-2 draw against Exe puts them out of the running for all practical purposes. It would require Birmingham to lose their last four matches and Cannock to win their remaining three by a hefty margin. Birmingham University have only conceded nine goals all season and have been prolific scorers, which makes their position unassailable for practical purposes by anyone other than Sutton Coldfield.

EXTRA TIME ENDS BOWDON CUP HOPES

There will be no repeat of last year’s cup final between Beeston and Bowdon this season after Bowdon crashed out to East Conference Canterbury in extra time this afternoon. The heroes of the match were Canterbury’s Michael Farrar, whose 70th minute penalty corner strike forced the match to extra time, and Lloyd Norris-Jones, who scored his third of the match from the penalty spot to wrap up the match for Canterbury. Final score 5-4 to Canterbury.

The other half of last year’s final, Beeston, overcame Cannock 2-1 with goals by Jamie Parker and David Griffiths. But the real shock of the afternoon came as South Premier League Fareham, who knocked out North Conference Brooklands 5-3, Fareham scoring twice in extra time. As reported yesterday, the other quarter-final match, between Reading and Old Loughtonians, was a walk-over in favour of Reading.

Old Loughtonians were in action in the only Men’s Conference match of the day, when they played bottom-of-the-table Ipswich. In not altogether the most pleasant of conditions, Old Loughts dominated the match, with the Suffolk side giving them more space than was prudent. Alex Jennings scored for the old boys after only 6 minutes, with further goals coming from Liam Doidge (3), Oliver Didham and Stuart Robson. Our picture shows action from this match and further images will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk tomorrow (Monday).

In the SLAZENGER WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION Bowdon Hightown’s unstoppable march continues, with Jo Ellis and Tina Cullen (3) scoring in their 3-1 win over Leicester. Trojans, who have been inhabiting the lower half of the table for most of the season, nearly pulled off a surprise win against second placed Olton and West Warwickshire after two Sally Gibson goals in less than a minute put them ahead. However, it took Denise Marston-Smith less than a minute to score the equaliser and the match ended 2-2.

Jenny Hall (2), Natalie Seymour, Mel Clewlow and Cidy Botha, were all on the scoresheet for Canterbury when they visited Chelmsford. Final score 5-0 to Canterbury. Chelmsford remain on the bottom of the table with Ipswich one point ahead of them. Ipswich had no better luck than their menfolk after they went down 4-1 to Slough at home. Clifton held a one-goal lead at home to Poynton after Harriet Pearce scored early in the match, but Katie Maltman scored for Poynton nine minutes into the second half. The result, a 1-1 draw.

Further match reports will appear on this blog in the morning (Monday).

Update on Saturday's Results

The evening match between Bowdon and Beeston re-shuffles the pack at the top of the Men’s Premiership. In the best traditions of Beeston, they went into the break with a two goal lead courtesy of Mohammed Nadeen (penalty stroke) and Adam Dixon, but squandered their lead in the second half when Bowdon’s Michael Hoare and Simon Egerton (penalty stroke) put the sides on equal terms. Jamie Parker put Beeston back into the lead with 12 minutes remaining but two minutes later the umpire was pointing to Beeston’s penalty spot again, and Michael Hoare stepped up to make it 3-3. The decider came with six minutes remaining, again by Mohammed Nadeem from the penalty spot. Final score 4-3 in Beeston’s favour, but four of the seven goals coming from penalty strokes? Perhaps not a record but hardly an everyday achievement.

Susan Edghill was at the Southgate Hockey Centre for TalkHockeyRadio and sends this report on the match between Championship contenders Cannock and bottom-of-the-table Southgate.

This was a game that had two sides fighting for the points for very different reasons. Southgate took the lead early in the game with a goal from Joel Evans and it wasn’t until half way through the first half that Cannock won a penalty corner and Will Pearce levelled the score. Two superb saves from England goalkeeper James Fair at penalty corners, as Southgate pressed forward, kept the score level at half time.

In the second half Cannock showed their quality, but also their youth. It was left to a superb run by Hardeep ‘Harry’ Jawanda to force yet another penalty corner, and a second goal by Will Pearce, to put them 2-1 up. Cannock had a lot of play but their lack of experience showed on occasions when they gave the ball away too easily. Southgate pressed hard for the equaliser but it was all too little too late and if their finishing had been a little better Cannock could have been 3 or 4 up.

After retiring from international hockey as the highest capped player for Wales with 153 caps, coach Paul Edwards took over at Cannock at the beginning of this season. He spent 18 years playing at Cannock, “coming back home” as he put it after just one season coaching at Olton. After the match he said “They are a young team. Nobody expected us to lead early in the season. In 12 months time they will be even better”.

As a result of the evening fixture at Bowdon, Reading slip down to fourth whilst Beeston step up to third. However, only four points separate the top five and, with three matches left to play, a place in Europe (top three teams) and the Championship are up for grabs by any of the five.

SLAZENGER ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE TABLE: 1. East Grinstead 32 pts (+20), 2. Cannock 31 pts (+21), 3. Beeston 30 pts (+18), 4. Reading 29 pts (+19), 5. Surbiton 28 pts (+13), 6. Loughborough Students 18 pts (-2), 7. Bowdon 14 pts (-13), 8. Hampstead & Westminster 10 pts (-19), 9. Havant 9 pts (-22), 10. Southgate 5 pts (-35).

READING TOPPLED BUT WORSE MAY BE TO COME

The top of the Men’s Slazenger Premiership could look a very different place tonight after Reading were toppled by two goals by East Grinstead’s young German International, Martin Haner. Reading had taken a lead in the first half through a penalty corner conversion by Tom Bertram. The final score of 2-1 to East Grinstead puts them at the top of the table.

Cannock’s 2-1 win over Southgate pushes Reading down to third, although that might not be the end of their slide. Beeston have a 18:00 start at Bowdon and a win for Beeston would push Reading into fourth position.

Loughborough Students, who earlier in the season seemed to be having a perilous courtship with relegation, have secured their season with a 3-0 win over Hampstead and Westminster. The Student’s goals were scored by Simon Faulkner, Peter Dobson and Carl Smith. Calum Giles managed to equalise for Havant after Tim Pinnock’s fifth minute goal gave Surbiton the lead, but Havant’s hopes of picking up a much needed point were dashed when Ben Hawes scored a second half goal from a penalty corner. After what was initially a disappointing season, it is almost a surprise to find Surbiton are suddenly within reach of taking the championship. Despite their fifth place they are only four points behind the leaders.

Joel Evan’s goal in under 60 seconds must have given Southgate a glimmer of hope as they languish at the bottom of the table, but a penalty corner conversion in each half by Cannock’s Will Pearce spoilt any planned celebration. Final score 2-1 to Cannock.

A league table for the Premier Division will appear on this blog later this evening when the result of the Bowdon V Beeston match is in.

It’s still tight at the top of the MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE, with the top-of-the-table clash between Oxted and Indian Gymkhana ending 3-1 in Oxted’s favour. Canterbury move ahead of Indian Gym after a high scoring match at Sevenoaks, which ended 7-4 to Canterbury. Old Loughtonians, who did not play today, will have a chance to keep in touch with the leaders tomorrow when they play Ipswich, who are currently in bottom place.

MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE LEADING SIDES: 1. Oxted 34 pts (+25), 2. Canterbury 32 pts (+18), Indian Gymkhana 29 pts (+23), Old Loughtonians 28 pts (+27).

The MEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE also saw a high scoring match when leaders Belper played host to Leek. Leek were 7-0 down after fifty-nine minutes of play after Sam McCambridge (3), Tom Sherratt (2), James Hewitt and Richard Kitchen scored for Belper. Then in the space of a little over ten minutes, Scott Cordon, James Gough and Paul Nixon found the net for Leek, and Tom Sherratt scored his third for Belper. Final score 8-3. A Dan Berry goal gave Sheffield Hallam an early lead against Brooklands, but Brooklands finally prevailed 5-2. Brooklands remain the only unbeaten team in the North Conference. University of Durham remain in contention after a 4-3 win at Doncaster. The three leaders and now separated by a single point, with a gap between them and the fourth placed side of thirteen points.

MEN’S NORTH CONFERENCE LEADING SIDES: 1. Belper 38 pts (+43), 2. Brooklands 37 pts (+37), 3. University of Durham 37 pts (+24).

Two of the three leaders in the MEN’S WEST CONFERENCE won today, with University of Exeter putting six passed University of Exeter for no reply. Guildford kept their hopes for a play-off place alive by beating University of Birmingham 2-0, with one of the goals coming from their recent signing, Mani Kochar. The surprise result from the top group is Bournville, losing 1-4 to Stourport, although from what we saw of Stourport last weekend, they seem to be a better side than their sixth place in the table might suggest.

MEN’S WEST CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. University of Exeter 33 pts (+21), 2. Guildford 28 pts (+7), 3. Bournville 27 pts (+8).

There was one match in the WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP today. Canterbury’s visit to Slough ended in a 3-2 win for the visitors.

EH CUP NEWS

The last remaining Premier Division side will meet East Conference Barnes Hounslow Ealing in the semi finals of the Women's Cup on Sunday 5 April. The other semi final will involve another East Conference side, Reading against West Conference Birmingham University.

The men's version of the competition plays its quarter finals tomorrow (Sunday) and sees both of last year's finalists in action. Beeston entertain Cannock (14:00) whilst Bowdon play host to Canterbury (12:00). However, perhaps the most interesting of the quarter-final games will be the match between Fareham from the South Premier League, who take on Brooklands MU. Fareham reached this stage by knocking out Sheffield University Bankers in the previous round. The match will be played at Henry Cort Community College at 14:00. The match between Reading and Old Loughtonians has already been decided by way of a walkover to Reading

OXFORD BAGS UNIVERSITY DOUBLE

The 109th Varsity match was held at the Southgate Hockey Centre this afternoon with the dark blues recording victories in both the men's and women's games.

Cambridge have only won the women's title once since 2000 but it looked as if nine years of bad luck was about to change when Jenny Stevens scored for Cambridge in under two minutes of play. Spurred into action, Oxford were immediately on the attack, although it was end-to-end stuff until Helen Macadam equalised 12 minutes later. Seven minutes into the second half the dark blues skipper, Charlotte Jackson, found the net from a penalty corner. Final score 2-1 to Oxford.

Cambridge were quickly on the attack in the men's game too. Jack Yelland scored in open play early in the first half but the game remained finely balanced until the second period. John Fedderson opened Oxford's account five minutes into the half and it looked as if the match could be played out to an uninspiring draw. The drizzle and chilly wind that had kept much of the crowd in the clubhouse started to get more biting as the evening drew in, but as the match moved towards its conclusion things started to heat up on the pitch. Thomas Lockton put Oxford ahead and in the last ten minutes Alex Evans found the net, followed by John Fedderson scoring his second. Final score 4-1 to Oxford putting an end to a run of two wins by Cambridge in the men's Varsity match.

Further images from this match will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk tomorrow (Wednesday)

PREMIERSHIP MOVING TOWARDS EXCITING CLIMAX

Picture: Reminders of classic tussles between Reading and Cannock as Mani Kochar (in white) and Andrew Langlands meet in this afternoon's West Conference match between Guildford and Cannock.

The Premier Division of the Men’s Slazenger England Hockey League looks like coming to an exciting climax, with the top four clubs only separated by two points courtesy of some very unexpected results this afternoon. Leaders Reading now only hold their position by a goal difference of a single goal after they went down 1-3 to Surbiton at home. The goals came late in both halves, with Surbiton’s Andy Cornick scoring just before the break. Rob Moore made it two with ten minutes of play remaining, with Cornick scoring his second two minutes later. Ian Mackay scored Reading’s only goal seconds later.

East Grinstead’s win over Hampstead & Westminster elevates them up one place to second in the table. The London side staged a late rally, with goals from Pim Van Groeningen and Simon Lanyon (2) but they could not catch East Grinstead’s five goal lead. Final score 5-3 in East Grinstead’s favour. Cannock took an early lead when they played host to Loughborough Students, courtesy of Gareth Andrew, but Richard Smith and Carl Smith overturned the lead with goals in each half. Final socre 1-2 to the Students.

Beeston have enjoyed a recent run of good form and their opponents today were lowly Southgate. Rick Gay’s penalty corner just before half time sent the two teams into the second half at one apiece but goals from Richard Stamp, Martin Jones and Jamie Parker gave Beeston the 4-1 final score. Havant recorded their second win of the season when they played Bowdon. Ahmed Ezz Mohamed opened the scoring for Havant with Stephen Brogdon replying for Bowdon. A second half goal by Alex Edmonstone gave Bowdon a brief lead, but late goals from Warren Gilmour and Tim Davenport ended the match at 3-2 to Havant.

SLAZENGER MEN’S ENGLAND HOCKEY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION: 1. Reading 29 pts (+20), 2. East Grinstead 29 pts (+19), 3. Cannock 28 pts (+20), 4. Beeston 28 pts (+20), 5. Surbiton 25 pts (+12), 6. Loughborough Students 15 pts (-5), 7. Bowdon 14 pts (-12), 8. Hampstead & Westminster 10 pts (-16), 9. Havant 9 pts (-21), 10. Southgate 5 pts (-34).

TalkHockeyRadio was at the MENS EAST CONFERENCE match between Reading and Cannock this afternoon. Well, actually, it was the match between Guildford and Stourport, but with Simon Mason and Mani Kochar playing for Guildford and Andrew Langlands playing for Stourport, it took one’s mind back to some classic meetings between those two Premiership sides a few seasons back. It was goalkeeper Simon Mason who was responsible for the final score in this match. Without some superlative play from him Guildford would have been in serious trouble. Stourport had much the greater possession and some near suicidal passing in the 25 yard area meant that Mason’s goal was under pressure for much of the match. After Jonathan Haynes 14th minute goal for Guildford, his side hardly had a sniff of the net for the remainder of the match. The final score of 1-0 to Guildford did not do justice to Guildford’s poor performance although it certainly did justice to Mason’s.

Guildford’s win elevates them to third place in the table after two of the three teams ahead of them had disappointing afternoons. Table leaders, University of Exeter, could only pull of 1-1 draw when they went to Bath Buccanneers and the meeting between Old Georgians and Bournville ended 1-3 in Bournville’s favour.

MEN’S WEST CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. University of Exeter 30 pts (+15), 2. Bournville 27 pts (+11), 3. Guildford 25 pts (+5), 4. Old Georgians 23 pts (+17).

Indian Gymkhana surrendered their lead at the top of the MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE when they visited Bromley and Beckenham. All the goal action was in the second half with a Phillip Froeschie hat-trick giving B&B a 3-2 victory. Oxted move into second place after a 2-0 win over Holcombe. Canterbury keep in the running by beating Chelmsford 4-3 away.

MEN’S EAST CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. Oxted 31 pts (+23), Indian Gymkhana 29 pts (+25), 3. Canterbury 29 pts (+15), Old Loughtonians 28 pts (+27).

The three top teams in the MEN’s NORTH CONFERENCE all drew today, with leaders Belper ending their match against University of Durham 5-5. Belper’s Nick Morris equalised within a minute of James Warburton scoring Durham’s fifth goal. Brooklands visited Barford Tigers and scored within the first three minutes with a David Seddon goal. Satinderpal Mann scored Tigers’ equaliser within a minute of the restart.

NORTH CONFERENCE LEADERS: 1. Belper 35 pts (+38), 2. Brooklands MU 34 pts (+36), 3. University of Durham 34 pts (+23).

Bowdon Hightown are the only Premiership side left in the WOMEN’S EH CUP after Clifton were beaten 3-4 in the quarter finals by University of Birmingham. Results:
Barnes Hounslow Ealing 4 Cambridge City 0
Epsom 0 Reading 4
Sutton Coldfield 3 Bowdon Hightown 6
University of Birmingham 4 Clifton 3.