THE top two teams clashed in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, and they couldn’t be separated as leaders the University of Birmingham drew 1-1 at Surbiton on Sunday.
Lily Owsley slammed home for Birmingham in the 54th minute but Jo Hunter saved a point for Surbiton, finding the net from a penalty corner after 61 minutes.
Canterbury retain third spot after a 7-1 defeat of Bowdon Hightown. Grace Balsdon and Sarah Kerly caused problems in the Bowdon Hightown defence and grabbed three goals apiece.
Hannah Griggs scored their other goal and Natalie Wray notched a consolation goal for the opposition.
Reading moved up to eighth after coming from a goal down to beat Leicester 4-1. Katie Long had given Leicester the lead after nine minutes and it took until the final minute of the first half for Reading to hit back through Elspeth Cockburn.
After the restart, Reading pushed forward in numbers and took victory with further goals from Emma Scriven, Helen Richardson-Walsh and Emma Thomas.
Buckingham still prop up the table after suffering a last gasp 3-2 defeat at the hands of Holcombe.
Alexandra Naughalty gave Canterbury an early lead before Steph Elliott equalised for Holcombe. The home side took the lead through Jessica Booker in the 19th minute but Canterbury hit back through Amie Hone. However, there was another goal left in the game as Emily Maguire fired home from a penalty corner in the dying seconds.
In the day’s other top flight game, two goals from Claire Thomas and one from Danielle Jordan helped Clifton to a 3-0 win over East Grinstead.
Investec Conference East
There was a shock in the Investec Conference East as leaders Slough suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
Harleston Magpies, sitting sixth in the table, took the lead in the second minute through Elizabeth Clymer and managed to hang on for a 1-0 win.
Slough are still well ahead though, with six points on Cambridge City who drew 1-1 with Hampstead and Westminster.
Maidenhead scored their first win of the season to move off the bottom of the table as goals from Jane Smith and Holly Cram handed them a 2-0 win over Ipswich who take their place at the foot of the table.
Two goals from both Katie Warrington and Rebecca Ross helped Sevenoaks to a 4-1 win over Chelmsford and St Albans played out a 1-1 draw with Wimbledon.
Investec Conference North
Wakefield maintained their six-point lead in the Investec Conference North with a narrow 1-0 win against basement club Liverpool Sefton. Heather Stafford scored the lone goal.
Springfields took only their second win of the season, beating Belper 1-0 courtesy of a Hannah Ferguson strike.
The University of Durham are still second despite losing 2-1 to Brooklands Poynton. Ellen Lockhart and Annabelle Watton were on target for Brooklands. Third-placed Ben Rhydding drew 1-1 with Loughborough Students.
Sophie Robinson scored both goals for Beeston as they beat Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 2-1.
Investec Conference West
Sutton Coldfield showed the kind of form which has seen them score almost twice as many goals as any other team in the Investec Conference West as they beat Oxford Hawks 7-0.
They raced into a 5-0 lead before half time with a brace from Susan Wood and further goals from Sarah Parkinson-Mills, Emma McCabe and Vicky Woolford. McCabe scored two goals late on to complete her hat-trick.
In the Bristol derby, it was Firebrands who got the better of the University team, winning 2-1 with goals from Abigail Porter and Holly Savage.
Meg Crowson scored two for Isca, including a last-minute winner as they beat Olton and West Warwicks 2-1 and Stourport beat Trojans 3-1.
Charlotte Lawley scored twice as Gloucester City edged Swansea City out 4-3.
* The above photo shows Canterbury’s Sarah Kerly celebrating her second goal of a hat-trick in her side’s 7-1 win against Bowdon Hightown.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Sunday, November 15 2015):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Reading 4, Leicester 1; Canterbury 7, Bowdon Hightown 1; Clifton 3, East Grinstead 0; Surbiton 1, University of Birmingham 1; Holcombe 3, Buckingham 2.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Slough 0, Harleston Magpies 1; Chelmsford 1, Sevenoaks 4; St Albans 1, Wimbledon 1; Maidenhead 2, Ipswich 0; Hampstead and Westminster 1, Cambridge City 1.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 1, Beeston 2; Wakefield 1, Liverpool Sefton 0; University of Durham 1, Brooklands Poynton 2; Loughborough Students 1, Ben Rhydding 1; Springfields 1, Belper 0.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Stourport 3, Trojans 1; Gloucester City 4, Swansea City 3; Bristol Firebrands 2, University of Bristol 1; Isca 2, Olton and West Warwicks 1; Oxford Hawks 0, Sutton Coldfield 7.
| Women’s Premier Division |
| Holcombe | (2) | 3 | – | 2 | (1) | Buckingham | ||||
| Steph Elliott 7 – PC Jessica Brooker 19 – F Emily Maguire 70 – PC |
Alexandra Naughalty 3 – PC Amie Hone 47 – PS |
|||||||||
| Canterbury | (3) | 7 | – | 1 | (1) | Bowdon Hightown | ||||
| Grace Balsdon 4 41 43 – PC PC PC Sarah Kerly 16 35 39 – F F F Hannah Griggs 50 – F |
Natalie Wray 26 – F | |||||||||
| Reading | (1) | 4 | – | 1 | (1) | Leicester | ||||
| Elspeth Cockburn 35 – F Emma Scriven 44 – F Helen Richardson-Walsh 48 – F Emma Thomas 59 – PC |
Katie Long 9 – F | |||||||||
| Surbiton | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | University of Birmingham | ||||
| Jo Hunter 61 – PC | Lily Owsley 54 – F | |||||||||
| Clifton | (1) | 3 | – | 0 | (0) | East Grinstead | ||||
| Claire Thomas 8 40 – F F Danielle Jordan 53 – F |
||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | University of Birmingham | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 23 |
| 2 | Surbiton | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 7 | 23 | 21 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 20 |
| 4 | Holcombe | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 14 |
| 5 | East Grinstead | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 13 |
| 6 | Clifton | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 13 |
| 7 | Leicester | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 23 | -13 | 7 |
| 8 | Reading | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 25 | -14 | 7 |
| 9 | Bowdon Hightown | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 25 | -17 | 7 |
| 10 | Buckingham | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | -13 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference East |
| Maidenhead | (1) | 2 | – | 0 | (0) | Ipswich | ||||
| Jane Smith 27 – F Holly Cram 39 – F |
||||||||||
| Hampstead and Westminster | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (1) | Cambridge City | ||||
| Emma Stocking 14 – PC | Rebecca Livings 10 – PC | |||||||||
| Slough | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (1) | Harleston Magpies | ||||
| Elizabeth Clymer 2 – F | ||||||||||
| St. Albans | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Wimbledon | ||||
| Natasha Humphris 35 – PC | Nicola Lloyd 40 – F | |||||||||
| Chelmsford | (0) | 1 | – | 4 | (1) | Sevenoaks | ||||
| Kate Maxey 43 – PS | Katy Warrington 26 44 – PC F Rebecca Ross 56 60 – PC F |
|||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 6 | 29 | 22 |
| 2 | Cambridge City | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 14 |
| 4 | Hampstead and Westminster | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | St. Albans | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 14 |
| 6 | Harleston Magpies | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 13 |
| 7 | Sevenoaks | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 12 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 25 | -14 | 9 |
| 9 | Maidenhead | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 33 | -19 | 4 |
| 10 | Ipswich | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 24 | -17 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| University of Durham | (1) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | Brooklands Poynton | ||||
| Christabel Mcwhirter 21 – F | Ellen Lockhart 34 – PC Annabelle Watton 51 – F |
|||||||||
| Loughborough Students | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (1) | Ben Rhydding | ||||
| Annabel Sams 22 – F | Rachel Doherty 11 – F | |||||||||
| Springfields | (1) | 1 | – | 0 | (0) | Belper | ||||
| Hannah Ferguson 22 – F | ||||||||||
| Wakefield | (1) | 1 | – | 0 | (0) | Liverpool Sefton | ||||
| Heather Stafford 13 – F | ||||||||||
| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | (1) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | Beeston | ||||
| Joss Plummer 24 – PC | Sophie Robinson 32 43 – PS F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 22 |
| 2 | University of Durham | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 16 |
| 3 | Ben Rhydding | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| 4 | Beeston | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 14 |
| 5 | Brooklands Poynton | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Loughborough Students | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 7 | Belper | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 10 |
| 8 | Springfields | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 20 | -12 | 8 |
| 9 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 10 | Liverpool Sefton | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 25 | -16 | 5 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Gloucester City | (0) | 4 | – | 3 | (1) | Swansea City | ||||
| Charlotte Lawley 38 52 – PC PC Kim Pullon 50 – PC Zoe Burford 66 – F |
Lisa Daley 31 – PC Katrin Budd 57 – PC Abi Welsford 60 – PC |
|||||||||
| Isca University | (0) | 2 | – | 1 | (1) | Olton & West Warwicks | ||||
| Megan Crowson 50 70 – PC PC | Lucy Tate 8 – PC | |||||||||
| Oxford Hawks | (0) | 0 | – | 7 | (5) | Sutton Coldfield | ||||
| Susan Wood 1 24 – F F Sarah Parkinson-Mills 10 – F Vicky Woolford 19 – PC Emma Mccabe 33 62 65 – PC PC PC |
||||||||||
| Bristol Firebrands | (2) | 2 | – | 1 | (0) | University of Bristol | ||||
| Abigail Porter 10 – F Holly Savage 25 – F |
Alison Oliver 41 – F | |||||||||
| Stourport | (2) | 3 | – | 1 | (0) | Trojans | ||||
| Hannah Corcoran 8 – PC Lora Symonds 34 – F Hannah Goss 51 – F |
Kewley Mccaskill 69 – PC | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 6 | 35 | 24 |
| 2 | Stourport | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 20 |
| 3 | Swansea City | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 19 |
| 4 | Gloucester City | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 17 |
| 5 | Oxford Hawks | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 6 | Isca University | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 7 | Trojans | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 21 | -7 | 7 |
| 8 | Bristol Firebrands | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 7 |
| 9 | Olton & West Warwicks | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 5 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 36 | -29 | 3 |
Report courtesy of England Hockey via Snowdon Sports.
