Rejuvenated Reading scored a 3-1 win at Clifton in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, leaving them seventh in the table and unbeaten in four matches.
They lost their first seven matches but the turnaround has been remarkable, and continued with the win at Clifton. Hannah Leigh scored first after 11 minutes, and scored against early in the second half.
Clifton’s Joanna Carter pulled one back on 57 minutes, but Reading made sure of the win with Liz Hunt scoring two minutes from time.
Elsewhere a strong defensive performance from Buckingham saw them hold out against league leaders University of Birmingham.
But a sole second-half strike from Rebecca Condie spared their blushes and means the students remain unbeaten.
Surbiton also head into the winter break unbeaten after they secured a 4-0 win at home to Holcombe with goals from Emily Atkinson, Abi Robinson, Hannah Coulson and Emmie Le Marchand keeping them in touch with the leaders.
Canterbury in third also claimed a 4-0 win thanks to goals from Grace Balsdon, Dirkie Chamberlain and two from Sarah Kerly as opponents Leicester remain in eighth place.
Bowdon sit one place below them in ninth after they let a 1-0 lead slip to lose 2-1 away at East Grinstead.
Investec Conference East
Amy Sheehan scored twice to help maintain Slough’s eight-point advantage at the top of the Investec Women’s Conference East with a 2-1 win at home to Ipswich.
Charlotte Anderson scored late on to give the bottom-placed side hope, but Ipswich remain winless as Slough stay comfortably clear at the top.
Hampstead and Westminster consolidated second place with a 3-2 win at home against Wimbledon thanks to goals from Fleur Horner, Hayley Turner and Amy Askew.
Cambridge City led 2-0 at St Albans but had to settle for a 3-3 draw after the home side put in a strong second-half showing, whilst Chelmsford lost 2-0 at home to Maidenhead and Sevenoaks drew 2-2 with Harleston Magpies.
Investec Conference North
League leaders Wakefield slipped up in the Investec Women’s Conference North as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Beeston.
Sophie Robinson and Tori Wensley scored either side of the break for Beeston to inflict Wakefield’s second defeat of the season.
Brooklands Poynton moved into second after Ellen Lockhart’s goal helped them defeat Belper 1-0 and cut the gap at the top to five points.
The University of Durham missed the chance to close the gap on the leaders after they were beaten 3-0 away at Liverpool Sefton, a result which sees them drop to third.
Elsewhere Ben Rhydding were 3-1 winners away at bottom of the league Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, whilst Loughborough Students beat Springfields 6-1.
Investec Conference West
Sutton Coldfield made it nine wins out of 11 with a 6-1 victory against the University of Bristol in the Investec Women’s Conference West.
There were goals for Emma McCabe, Claire Florida-James, Sarah Parkinson-Mills, Susan Wood, Charlene Mason and Beth Merriman as the league leaders continued their fine start to the season and leave the students rooted to the bottom.
Swansea City maintained the pressure in second with a comfortable 4-1 win at home to Olton and West Warwicks, whilst Trojans also racked-up a big win with a 6-2 victory over Oxford Hawks.
Elsewhere Gloucester City and Isca played out a 1-1 draw whilst Stourport were 3-1 winners over Bristol Firebrands.
* The above photo shows Reading women.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, November 28 2015):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Clifton 1, Reading 3; East Grinstead 2, Bowdon 1; Leicester 0, Canterbury 4; Surbiton 4, Holcombe 0; University of Birmingham 1, Buckingham 0.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Chelmsford 0, Maidenhead 2; Hampstead and Westminster 3, Wimbledon 2; Sevenoaks 2, Harleston Magpies 2; Slough 2, Ipswich 1; St. Albans 3, Cambridge City 3.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Belper 0, Brooklands Poynton 1; Liverpool Sefton 3, University of Durham 0; Loughborough Students 6, Springfields 1; Wakefield 0, Beeston 2; Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 1, Ben Rhydding 3.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Gloucester City 1, Isca 1; Stourport 3, Bristol Firebrands 1; Sutton Coldfield 6, University of Bristol 1; Swansea City 4, Olton & West Warwicks 1; Trojans 6, Oxford Hawks 2.
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This report courtesy of England Hockey by Snowdon Sports.
| Women’s Premier Division |
| Clifton | (0) | 1 | – | 3 | (1) | Reading | ||||
| Joanna Carter 57 – F | Hannah Leigh 11 36 – F F Elizabeth Hunt 68 – F |
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| Leicester | (0) | 0 | – | 4 | (2) | Canterbury | ||||
| Grace Balsdon 4 – PC Sarah Kerly 21 38 – F F Dirkie Chamberlain 44 – F |
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| East Grinstead | (0) | 2 | – | 1 | (1) | Bowdon Hightown | ||||
| Joanna Davis 47 – F Pippa Chapman 57 – PC |
Sally Walton 25 – F | |||||||||
| Surbiton | (1) | 4 | – | 0 | (0) | Holcombe | ||||
| Emily Atkinson 22 – PC Emmie Le Marchand 48 – F Abi Robinson 58 – F Hannah Coulson 65 – F |
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| University of Birmingham | (0) | 1 | – | 0 | (0) | Buckingham | ||||
| Rebecca Condie 52 – PC | ||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | University of Birmingham | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 29 |
| 2 | Surbiton | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 8 | 29 | 27 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 9 | 22 | 24 |
| 4 | East Grinstead | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Clifton | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 26 | -5 | 16 |
| 6 | Holcombe | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 15 |
| 7 | Reading | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 11 |
| 8 | Leicester | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 28 | -18 | 7 |
| 9 | Bowdon Hightown | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 30 | -19 | 7 |
| 10 | Buckingham | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 26 | -16 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference East |
| Chelmsford | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (1) | Maidenhead | ||||
| Jane Smith 7 – PC Bex Miall 51 – PC |
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| Hampstead and Westminster | (1) | 3 | – | 2 | (2) | Wimbledon | ||||
| Fleur Horner 13 – F Hayley Turner 52 – F Amy Askew 66 – PC |
Lizzie Rae 6 – PC Lauren Seaman 8 – F |
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| Sevenoaks | (1) | 2 | – | 2 | (0) | Harleston Magpies | ||||
| Cathy Gilliat-Smith 26 – F Sophie Crosley 59 – PC |
Emma Lee-Smith 42 – F Kara Kilbourn 52 – F |
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| Slough | (0) | 2 | – | 1 | (0) | Ipswich | ||||
| Amy Sheehan 36 58 – F F | Charlotte Anderson 68 – PC | |||||||||
| St. Albans | (1) | 3 | – | 3 | (2) | Cambridge City | ||||
| Katie Hockley 32 – F Amy Kee 39 – PS Sarah Embrey 50 – PC |
Tess Howard 1 70 – PC F Jo Ellis 7 – F |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 7 | 31 | 28 |
| 2 | Hampstead and Westminster | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 20 |
| 3 | St. Albans | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | Cambridge City | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Sevenoaks | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 16 |
| 6 | Harleston Magpies | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Wimbledon | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 14 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 28 | -14 | 12 |
| 9 | Maidenhead | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 35 | -18 | 7 |
| 10 | Ipswich | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 29 | -20 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| Liverpool Sefton | (1) | 3 | – | 0 | (0) | University of Durham | ||||
| Victoria Bell 35 44 – PS PC Jane Bazley-Harrison 70 – F |
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| Loughborough Students | (2) | 6 | – | 1 | (1) | Springfields | ||||
| Ellie Tait 7 23 38 – F F F Ellie Rayer 42 – F Rachel Malcolm 57 – F Hannah Pike 65 – F |
Kate Ollerenshaw 35 – PC | |||||||||
| Wakefield | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (1) | Beeston | ||||
| Sophie Robinson 9 – F Tori Wensley 56 – F |
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| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | (0) | 1 | – | 3 | (1) | Ben Rhydding | ||||
| Joss Plummer 48 – F | Rachel Doherty 28 – PC Beth Cordukes 42 – F Tanisha Janzen 50 – PC |
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| Belper | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (0) | Brooklands Poynton | ||||
| Ellen Lockhart 47 – PC | ||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 25 |
| 2 | Brooklands Poynton | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 20 |
| 3 | University of Durham | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 19 |
| 4 | Beeston | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 18 |
| 5 | Ben Rhydding | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| 6 | Loughborough Students | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 17 |
| 7 | Belper | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 11 |
| 8 | Liverpool Sefton | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 11 |
| 9 | Springfields | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 29 | -18 | 8 |
| 10 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 20 | -9 | 6 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Stourport | (1) | 3 | – | 1 | (1) | Bristol Firebrands | ||||
| Rosie Lewis 14 – F Claire Pearson 43 – F Georgina Bathurst 51 – PC |
Holly Savage 13 – F | |||||||||
| Sutton Coldfield | (4) | 6 | – | 1 | (0) | University of Bristol | ||||
| Emma Mccabe 5 – F Sarah Parkinson-Mills 23 – F Susan Wood 28 – F Clare Florida-James 30 – F Charlene Mason 48 – F Bethan Merriman 65 – F |
Minty Culley 66 – F | |||||||||
| Gloucester City | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Isca University | ||||
| Kim Pullon 48 – F | Olivia Hoskins 60 – F | |||||||||
| Swansea City | (3) | 4 | – | 1 | (0) | Olton & West Warwicks | ||||
| Natalie Blyth 8 – PC Sophie Clayton 15 – F Bridget Radice 30 – F Carys Tucker 48 – PC |
Laura Collins 70 – F | |||||||||
| Trojans | (4) | 6 | – | 2 | (0) | Oxford Hawks | ||||
| Nyssa Cole 6 – F Sally Gibson 17 26 43 61 – F F F F Kewley Mccaskill 28 – PC |
Lucy Millington 39 – F Lucy Stewart 60 – F |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 9 | 39 | 27 |
| 2 | Stourport | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 26 |
| 3 | Swansea City | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 11 | 18 | 25 |
| 4 | Gloucester City | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 18 |
| 5 | Oxford Hawks | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 27 | -6 | 17 |
| 6 | Isca University | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 14 |
| 7 | Trojans | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 13 |
| 8 | Olton & West Warwicks | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 21 | -13 | 8 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 33 | -16 | 7 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 45 | -36 | 3 |
