THE University of Birmingham maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division with a 3-1 win away at East Grinstead as the home side missed out on the chance to go top.
Erica Sanders scored either side of half time to give the visitors a 2-0 lead before Ruth Gordon reduced the deficit for East Grinstead with a goal three minutes from the end.
But a last-minute strike from Hannah Martin wrapped-up the match for Birmingham and kept up the league leaders’ unbeaten start to the season.
Surbiton kept up the pressure at the top with a 2-0 win at Leicester thanks to goals in each half from Jenna Woolven and Jo Hunter, leaving the home side in eighth place.
Sally Walton gave Bowdon Hightown a first-half lead at home against Holcombe, but goals from Sarah Jones and Jess Brooker turned the match on its head for Holcombe to secure a third win of the season.
Elsewhere Reading stay bottom after they lost an early lead to go down 2-1 at home to Clifton. Hannah Leigh put Reading in front after just three minutes but goals from Aileen Davis and Harriet Pearce came to Clifton’s rescue.
Buckingham are also still searching for their first win of the season following a 3-1 defeat away at Canterbury. Cara Brogan-Jones, Hannah Griggs and Susannah Townsend were on target for Canterbury and Phoebe Richards grabbed a consolation for Buckingham.
Investec Conference North
Tor Hughes scored a brace as Brooklands Poynton caused a major upset in the Investec Conference North by inflicting a first defeat of the season on Wakefield.
Hughes struck twice in the opening ten minutes to stun the leaders and although Gwen Smith and Georgia Byas scored for Wakefield, a third Brooklands goal from Jess Berry saw them win 3-2.
The University of Durham moved to within three points of Wakefield with a 3-2 win against Liverpool Sefton. Laura Bevan hit a double.
Loughborough Students stay third despite losing 3-1 to Beeston and Belper took a narrow 1-0 win over Whitely Bay and Tynemouth. In the other game, Ben Rhydding and Springfields drew 2-2.
Investec Conference West
Sutton Coldfield made the most of a slip up by Swansea to move into top spot in the Investec Conference West.
With Swansea losing 1-0 to Stourport thanks to a goal from Erin Preece, a Vikki Woolford double saw Sutton Coldfield beat Isca 2-1.
Trojans ran out 3-0 winners against the University of Bristol with Sally Gibson scoring twice.
Caro Harris hit a brace as Oxford Hawks got the better of Bristol Firebrands in a 4-3 thriller and in the other match of the day, Gloucester City beat Olton and West Warwicks 2-0.
Investec Conference East
Slough dropped their first points of the season as Wimbledon managed to hold them 1-1. Philipa Newton gave Slough an early lead but it was cancelled out by Catherine Ledesma.
At the opposite end of the table, Maidenhead are still searching for their first win and their latest defeat was a heavy one as a Hattie Sunderland hat-trick helped Harleston Magpies to a 6-0 win.
It was goals galore in the game between Hampstead and Westminster and Ipswich but Hayley Turner’s double helped Hampstead to a 5-3 win.
Cambridge City beat Chelmsford 4-1 and Sevenoaks drew 1-1 with St Albans.
* The above photo shows the University of Birmingham, current leaders of the Investec Premier Division.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, October 24 2015):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Canterbury 3, Buckingham 1; East Grinstead 1, University of Birmingham 3; Reading 1, Clifton 2; Bowdon Hightown 1, Holcombe 2; Leicester 0, Surbiton 2.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Chelmsford 1, Cambridge City 4; Hampstead and Westminster 5, Ipswich 3; Sevenoaks 1, St Albans 1; Wimbledon 1, Slough 1; Harleston Magpies 6, Maidenhead 0.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Brooklands Poynton 3, Wakefield 2; University of Durham 3, Liverpool Sefton 2; Beeston 3, Loughborough Students 1; Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 0, Belper 1; Ben Rhydding 2, Springfields 2.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Swansea City 0, Stourport 1; Bristol Firebrands 3, Oxford Hawks 4; Gloucester City 2, Olton and West Warwicks 0; University of Bristol 0, Trojans 3; Sutton Coldfield 2, Isca 1.
| Women’s Premier Division |
| East Grinstead | (0) | 1 | – | 3 | (1) | University of Birmingham | ||||
| Ruth Gordon 67 – F | Erica Sanders 18 60 – F F Hannah Martin 70 – F |
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| Reading | (1) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | Clifton | ||||
| Hannah Leigh 3 – F | Aileen Davis 18 – PC Harriet Pearce 52 – PC |
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| Bowdon Hightown | (1) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | Holcombe | ||||
| Sally Walton 21 – PS | Jessica Brooker 35 – F Sarah Jones 49 – PC |
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| Canterbury | (2) | 3 | – | 1 | (1) | Buckingham | ||||
| Cara Brogan-Jones 17 – F Hannah Griggs 31 – F Susannah Townsend 54 – F |
Phoebe Richards 29 – F | |||||||||
| Leicester | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (1) | Surbiton | ||||
| Jenna Woolven 32 – F Jo Hunter 60 – PC |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | University of Birmingham | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 19 |
| 2 | Surbiton | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 17 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| 4 | East Grinstead | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| 5 | Holcombe | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 11 |
| 6 | Clifton | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 10 |
| 7 | Bowdon Hightown | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 7 |
| 8 | Leicester | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 6 |
| 9 | Buckingham | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 1 |
| 10 | Reading | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 24 | -20 | 1 |
| Women’s Conference East |
| Hampstead and Westminster | (3) | 5 | – | 3 | (2) | Ipswich | ||||
| Fleur Horner 4 – PC Hayley Turner 5 37 – F PC Brodie Fairchild 20 – PC Helen Cathcart 51 – F |
Ami Humphreys 24 – F Sarah Bamfield 26 – F Shenarda Dedic 61 – F |
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| Sevenoaks | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | St. Albans | ||||
| Cathy Gilliat-Smith 5 – PC | Natasha Humphris 39 – PC | |||||||||
| Wimbledon | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (1) | Slough | ||||
| Catherine Ledesma 24 – F | Philipa Newton 8 – PC | |||||||||
| Harleston Magpies | (4) | 6 | – | 0 | (0) | Maidenhead | ||||
| Abby Gooderham 2 – PS Elizabeth Clymer 10 – F Emma Lee-Smith 17 – F Hattie Sunderland 27 61 66 – F F F |
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| Chelmsford | (1) | 1 | – | 4 | (2) | Cambridge City | ||||
| Kate Maxey 29 – PC | Tess Howard 7 – F Hannah Crack 16 – F Lucy Holder 63 – F Jo Ellis 70 – PC |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 21 | 19 |
| 2 | Cambridge City | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | Hampstead and Westminster | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | St. Albans | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Wimbledon | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 10 |
| 6 | Harleston Magpies | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| 7 | Chelmsford | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 9 |
| 8 | Sevenoaks | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | -7 | 6 |
| 9 | Ipswich | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 2 |
| 10 | Maidenhead | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 30 | -18 | 1 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| Ben Rhydding | (2) | 2 | – | 2 | (1) | Springfields | ||||
| Jenny Wilson 8 – F Amy Cordukes 30 – PC |
Grace Robertson 2 – F Rachel Greenwood 45 – F |
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| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (0) | Belper | ||||
| Louisa Boddy 49 – PC | ||||||||||
| Brooklands Poynton | (2) | 3 | – | 2 | (1) | Wakefield | ||||
| Tor Hughes 3 9 – F F Jessica Berry 48 – F |
Gwen Smith 16 – F Georgia Byas 62 – F |
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| University of Durham | (1) | 3 | – | 2 | (0) | Liverpool Sefton | ||||
| Laura Bevan 15 45 – F F Ellen Paterson 38 – F |
Chloe Tyler 54 – PC Emma Gaunt 59 – PC |
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| Beeston | (0) | 3 | – | 1 | (0) | Loughborough Students | ||||
| Tori Wensley 54 – F Rosy Stephens 62 – PC Sophie Robinson 68 – F |
Tilly Dyos-Szolkowska 36 – F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 16 |
| 2 | University of Durham | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | Loughborough Students | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Beeston | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 5 | Ben Rhydding | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | Brooklands Poynton | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 | Belper | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 10 |
| 8 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 6 |
| 9 | Liverpool Sefton | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 5 |
| 10 | Springfields | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 19 | -15 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Bristol Firebrands | (1) | 3 | – | 4 | (3) | Oxford Hawks | ||||
| Tam Pascoe 13 – PS Holly Savage 51 – F Emily Dunne 60 – PC |
Kate Lowe 10 – F Caro Harris 21 23 – PC PC Becky Odlin 53 – F |
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| Gloucester City | (1) | 2 | – | 0 | (0) | Olton & West Warwicks | ||||
| Maisie Robertson 30 – PC Zoe Burford 64 – F |
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| Sutton Coldfield | (2) | 2 | – | 1 | (1) | Isca University | ||||
| Vicky Woolford 6 33 – F PC | Sophie Jefferson 2 – F | |||||||||
| University of Bristol | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (1) | Trojans | ||||
| Sally Gibson 12 42 – PC PC Nyssa Cole 44 – PC |
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| Swansea City | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (0) | Stourport | ||||
| Erin Preece 59 – PC | ||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 5 | 22 | 18 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 16 |
| 3 | Gloucester City | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 14 |
| 4 | Stourport | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Oxford Hawks | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | Trojans | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 6 |
| 7 | Isca University | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 8 | Olton & West Warwicks | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 5 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 26 | -12 | 4 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 32 | -26 | 3 |
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Report courtesy of England Hockey via Snowdon Sports.
