TWO goals down at half time, Holcombe battled back in style to take a 3-2 win over Clifton and secure their passage into the League Finals Weekend in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division.
Two goals from Els Mansell had put hosts Clifton into the lead, but after the break Emily Maguire, Nic White and Sarah Jones struck to snatch victory and make sure Holcombe held on to fourth spot.
East Grinstead had high hopes of snatching fourth place, but they lost out at home 1-2 to relegation-threatened Buckingham.
Kitty Higgins had put bottom of the table Buckingham into the lead, and although Josephine Blunt equalised for East Grinstead on the stroke of half time, Phoebe Richards scored on 51 minutes to give Buckingham only their third league win of the season.
However, with Bowdon Hightown beating Reading 5-3, Buckingham stay bottom and are relegated.
Bowdon’s Hannah Richardson scored early in the game and Lisa Garbutt made it 2-0 on 23 minutes. Helen Richardson-Walsh made it 1-2 at half time with a 26th minute goal for Reading and Susie Gilbert’s 43rd minute goal equalised, but Bowdon went on to win with Lily Wolstenholme scoring on 56 minutes before Sally Walton found the goal on 57 and 65 minutes.
Elsewhere, Canterbury beat the University of Birmingham 2-1 with Jen Wilson and Ainsley McCallister scoring their goals. The two will line-up again in the League Finals Weekend at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on April 16-17.
And Surbiton ended the 18-match regular season unbeaten following a 2-0 win over Leicester, Robyn Collins and Sarah Haycroft scoring their goals.
Investec Women’s Conference East
Maidenhead will have to battle through the relegation play-offs to preserve their National League status after they lost out 1-0 at home to Wimbledon, for whom Emer Hickey scored their goal.
Elsewhere Conference East winners Slough won 6-2 at Chelmsford, while second-placed Cambridge City lost out 3-1 at Harleston Magpies.
Hampstead and Westminster battled out a thrilling 3-3 draw against St Albans with Cressida Grant, Alex Irwin and Annebeth Wijtenburg scored the goals. Meanwhile, Emma Onien scored twice for St Albans and Eleanor Watton scored the other.
Sevenoaks beat relegated Ipswich 4-1 with both Katy Warrington and Maddie Thompson scoring a brace of goals.
Investec Women’s Conference North
Conference North winners Wakefield had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the University of Durham. Georgia Byas gave them the lead early in the second half, only for Anna Baker to level with six minutes remaining.
Rachel Greenwood scored a hat-trick for Springfields, who drew 3-3 with Ben Rhydding. Sophie Robinson scored twice and Rosy Stephens once for the visitors.
Brooklands Poynton were 3-1 winners over Liverpool Sefton, while Belper lost out 3-0 at home against Ben Rhydding and Whitley Bay and Tynemouth also lost at home, 2-0 to Loughborough Students.
Investec Women’s Conference West
Trojns made sure of National League survival with a 6-0 win over relegated University of Bristol. Rosie Lickorish and Nyssa Cole both scored twice, while Jenny Peebles and Elizabeth Jenkins also got on the scoresheet.
Stourport were 3-1 winners at Isca, with their goals coming from Hannah Corcoran, Lora Symonds and Lauren Shilvock.
Bristol Firebrands will have to go through the relegation play-offs if they want to preserve their national League status, following a 3-1 defeat at Oxford Hawks.
Elsewhere winners Sutton Coldfield won 3-2 against Olton and West Warwicks, while Swansea City and Gloucester City drew 1-1.
* The photo above shows Holcombe’s Nic White (right).
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, March 19 2016):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Canterbury 2, University of Birmingham 1; Clifton 2, Holcombe 3; East Grinstead 1, Buckingham 2; Reading 3, Bowdon 5; Surbiton 2, Leicester 0.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Chelmsford 2, Slough 6; Hampstead and Westminster 3, St. Albans 3; Harleston Magpies 3, Cambridge City 1; Maidenhead 0, Wimbledon 1; Sevenoaks 4, Ipswich 1.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Belper 0, Ben Rhydding 3; Brooklands Poynton 3, Liverpool Sefton 1; Springfields 3, Beeston 3; University of Durham 1, Wakefield 1; Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 0, Loughborough Students 2.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Isca 1, Stourport 3; Oxford Hawks 3, Bristol Firebrands 1; Sutton Coldfield 3, Olton & West Warwicks 2; Swansea City 1, Gloucester City 1; Trojans 6, University of Bristol 0.
| Women’s Premier Division |
| East Grinstead | (1) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | Buckingham | ||||
| Josephine Blunt 35 – PC | Kitty Higgins 16 – PC Phoebe Richards 51 – F |
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| Clifton | (2) | 2 | – | 3 | (0) | Holcombe | ||||
| Els Mansell 9 17 – F F | Emily Maguire 48 – PC Nicola White 49 – F Sarah Jones 57 – PC |
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| Canterbury | (2) | 2 | – | 1 | (1) | University of Birmingham | ||||
| Jen Wilson 10 – PC Ainsley Mccallister 23 – F |
Hannah Martin 15 – F | |||||||||
| Surbiton | (0) | 2 | – | 0 | (0) | Leicester | ||||
| Robyn Collins 39 – PC Sarah Haycroft 47 – F |
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| Reading | (1) | 3 | – | 5 | (2) | Bowdon Hightown | ||||
| Helen Richardson-Walsh 26 38 – F PC Susie Gilbert 43 – F |
Hannah Richardson 6 – PC Lisa Garbutt 23 – F Lily Wolstenholme 56 – PC Sally Walton 57 65 – F PC |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Surbiton | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 11 | 42 | 46 |
| 2 | Canterbury | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 18 | 27 | 40 |
| 3 | University of Birmingham | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 20 | 17 | 36 |
| 4 | Holcombe | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 31 | -3 | 30 |
| 5 | East Grinstead | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 36 | 30 | 6 | 25 |
| 6 | Leicester | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 24 | 36 | -12 | 22 |
| 7 | Clifton | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 46 | -16 | 18 |
| 8 | Reading | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 24 | 44 | -20 | 14 |
| 9 | Bowdon Hightown | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 21 | 44 | -23 | 13 |
| 10 | Buckingham | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 19 | 37 | -18 | 12 |
| Women’s Conference East |
| Maidenhead | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (0) | Wimbledon | ||||
| Emer Hickey 58 – PS | ||||||||||
| Chelmsford | (0) | 2 | – | 6 | (5) | Slough | ||||
| Kate Maxey 57 – PC Thea Franklin 58 – F |
Louise Bevan 6 – PC Philipa Newton 8 – PC Ellie Chapman 21 – F Laura Gleghorne 28 – F Charly Brydon 31 – F Melissa Ball 65 – PC |
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| Harleston Magpies | (1) | 3 | – | 1 | (0) | Cambridge City | ||||
| Susan Wessels 10 43 – F PC Elizabeth Clymer 57 – F |
Vicki Franks 64 – PS | |||||||||
| Hampstead and Westminster | (1) | 3 | – | 3 | (2) | St. Albans | ||||
| Cressida Grant 9 – PC Alexandra Irwin 39 – F Annebeth Wijtenburg 52 – PC |
Emma Onien 2 21 – PC PC Eleanor Watton 44 – F |
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| Sevenoaks | (3) | 4 | – | 1 | (0) | Ipswich | ||||
| Katy Warrington 6 63 – PC F Maddie Thompson 21 28 – F F |
Lucy Dunnett 69 – F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 17 | 34 | 39 |
| 2 | Wimbledon | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 33 |
| 3 | Cambridge City | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 38 | 23 | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | Hampstead and Westminster | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 32 | 12 | 31 |
| 5 | Harleston Magpies | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 19 | 11 | 27 |
| 6 | Sevenoaks | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 26 |
| 7 | St. Albans | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 32 | 28 | 4 | 25 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 52 | -28 | 16 |
| 9 | Maidenhead | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 27 | 51 | -24 | 15 |
| 10 | Ipswich | 18 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 52 | -39 | 3 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| University of Durham | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Wakefield | ||||
| Anna Baker 64 – PC | Georgia Byas 37 – PC | |||||||||
| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (1) | Loughborough Students | ||||
| Madeleine Newlyn 14 – F Megan Lewis-Williams 60 – F |
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| Belper | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (2) | Ben Rhydding | ||||
| Jenny Wilson 11 – F Beth Cordukes 18 – F Tanisha Janzen 46 – PC |
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| Springfields | (0) | 3 | – | 3 | (1) | Beeston | ||||
| Rachel Greenwood 44 57 63 – F PC PC | Sophie Robinson 28 41 – F F Rosy Stephens 68 – F |
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| Brooklands Poynton | (1) | 3 | – | 1 | (1) | Liverpool Sefton | ||||
| Ellen Lockhart 17 – PC Helen Turner 39 – PC Jessica Berry 64 – F |
Jane Bazley-Harrison 13 – F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 23 | 18 | 38 |
| 2 | Ben Rhydding | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 16 | 29 | 36 |
| 3 | Brooklands Poynton | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 35 |
| 4 | Beeston | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 47 | 25 | 22 | 34 |
| 5 | University of Durham | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 32 | 39 | -7 | 27 |
| 6 | Loughborough Students | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 36 | 29 | 7 | 26 |
| 7 | Belper | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 23 | 32 | -9 | 18 |
| 8 | Liverpool Sefton | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 22 | 39 | -17 | 18 |
| 9 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 17 | 35 | -18 | 12 |
| 10 | Springfields | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 50 | -35 | 9 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Trojans | (1) | 6 | – | 0 | (0) | University of Bristol | ||||
| Nyssa Cole 22 49 – PC F Rosie Lickorish 39 56 – PC F Jenny Peebles 47 – PC Elizabeth Jenkins 61 – F |
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| Isca University | (1) | 1 | – | 3 | (1) | Stourport | ||||
| Hannah Griffiths 5 – F | Hannah Corcoran 27 – PC Lora Symonds 47 – PC Lauren Shilvock 64 – PC |
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| Oxford Hawks | (0) | 3 | – | 1 | (0) | Bristol Firebrands | ||||
| Lucy Stewart 49 – PC Lucy Millington 66 – PC Ella Cusack 70 – F |
Tam Pascoe 58 – F | |||||||||
| Sutton Coldfield | (2) | 3 | – | 2 | (0) | Olton & West Warwicks | ||||
| Emma Mccabe 16 – F Susan Wood 24 – F Vicky Woolford 41 – PC |
Emma Rosser 42 – F Jenny Pritchard 58 – PC |
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| Swansea City | (1) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Gloucester City | ||||
| Carys Gordon 16 – PC | Kim Pullon 53 – F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 18 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 69 | 20 | 49 | 46 |
| 2 | Stourport | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 16 | 21 | 40 |
| 3 | Gloucester City | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 26 | 12 | 34 |
| 4 | Swansea City | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 30 |
| 5 | Isca University | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 26 |
| 6 | Oxford Hawks | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 44 | -6 | 26 |
| 7 | Olton & West Warwicks | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 32 | -3 | 19 |
| 8 | Trojans | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 30 | 38 | -8 | 17 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 26 | 47 | -21 | 14 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 18 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 81 | -66 | 3 |
League Finals weekend now on sale
The next big event in the club calendar is the League Finals Weekend on the 16th and 17th April – this year the Men’s and Investec Women’s Hockey Leagues Finals and playoffs are combined into one action-packed weekend at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre so drama is guaranteed!
League Finals Weekend tickets are on sale now here. Knockout Finals tickets will also go on sale soon.
Report courtesy of England Hockey via Snowdon Sports.
