Slough eased their relegation worries in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, beating fellow strugglers Bowdon Hightown to leapfrog them into eighth spot in the table.
Dilly Newton’s 61st minute goal from a penalty corner was enough for the home side to step out of the relegation zone and boost the outdoor form of the reigning Super 6s champions.
Elsewhere, Clifton Robinsons moved up to third after a 3-2 home victory over Leicester.
Aileen Davis opened the scoring for Clifton before GB Olympic gold medallist Alex Danson (pictured) scored her first goal since joining from Reading to put the hosts two up.
Maddie Newlyn pulled one back, before Jess Bloom’s eighth of the campaign restored Clifton’s two-goal cushion.
Rachel Mack was on target for Leicester with 15 minutes to play to again reduce the arrears, but the hosts held on to claim the points.
Surbiton extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points after a 4-1 home victory over Canterbury.
Jo Hunter, and Jenna Woolven put the hosts two up, before Grace Balsdon scored for Canterbury to halve the deficit six minutes after the break.
Goals from Hannah Martin and Naomi Evans wrapped up the points for the hosts though, as they preserved their unbeaten record.
Erica Sanders scored a hat trick to take her season tally to 13, as the University of Birmingham defeated Reading 3-2.
The division’s leading scorer had given her side a 3-0 lead but Reading, who are without a league win so far, fought back in the last ten minutes with goals from Georgina Bathurst and Abbie Dixon.
Birmingham held on for the three points, taking them into the top four.
Second placed East Grinstead saw their home game against Holcombe postponed due to snow.
Investec Women’s Conference East
Only two games went ahead in the Investec Conference East as snow blighted many sporting fixtures on Saturday.
Leaders Wimbledon saw their game at Cambridge City postponed, whilst Southgate against Northampton Saints and St Albans’ home game against Sevenoaks also fell foul of the weather.
Third-placed Harleston Magpies took their opportunity to close the gap to the leaders to four points, as they defeated Hampstead and Westminster 2-1.
Two goals in the space of a minute from Maria Andrews, her 12th of the season, and Lizzie Clymer gave the Magpies all three points despite Hayley Turner pulling one back.
Goals from Kate Robinson and Collette Ager gave Chelmsford a 2-1 victory over West Herts, Miranda Hall converting a consolation in the last minute.
Investec Women’s Conference North
It was a good day for Brooklands Poynton at the top of the Investec Women’s Conference North, as they were the only side in the top four to secure maximum points.
A single Charlotte Jackson goal after 16 minutes gave them victory at the University of Durham, extending their lead at the top of the table to four points.
Belper registered their first point of the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to second-placed Beeston, Sarah Glenn’s opener for the hosts being cancelled out by Esme Burge.
Ben Rhydding moved third despite being held to a goalless draw against Loughborough Students.
Elsewhere, Wakefield overtook Sutton Coldfield after defeating them 3-2 and Lexi Panteli scored nine minutes from time to give Timperley a 2-1 win over Liverpool Sefton.
Investec Women’s Conference West
Stourport opened up a three-point lead the top of the Investec Women’s Conference West after a 2-0 victory at Swansea City.
The two leading scorers in the conference Lora Symonds and Sarah Parkinson-Mills scored their 14th and 10th goals of the season respectively to give the hosts all three points.
Buckingham looked set to join them on 31 points as they were leading 3-0 at bottom side Exe, but their game was abandoned after 51 minutes.
Two goals in three minutes from Olivia Abbott and Jessica Thomas were enough for Gloucester City to secure a 2-0 victory at Oxford Hawks.
Beth Marriott converted a penalty corner with the last play of the match to earn Isca a 2-2 draw at Trojans, whilst Bristol Firebrands game against Olton and West Warwicks was postponed due to snow.
* The lead photo shows Alex Danson in action for Clifton versus Leicester. Credit Peter Smith.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, February 11, 2017):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Clifton Robinsons 3, Leicester 2; Reading 2, University of Birmingham 3; Slough 1, Bowdon 0; Surbiton 4, Canterbury 1. Postponed: East Grinstead v Holcombe.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Chelmsford 2, West Herts 1; Harleston Magpies 2, Hampstead and Westminster 1. Postponed: Cambridge City v Wimbledon, Southgate v Northampton Saints, St Albans v Sevenoaks.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Belper 1, Beeston 1; Loughborough Students 0, Ben Rhydding 0; Timperley 2, Liverpool Sefton 1; University of Durham 0, Brooklands Poynton 1; Wakefield 3, Sutton Coldfield 2.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Oxford Hawks 0, Gloucester City 2; Stourport 2, Swansea City 0; Trojans 2, Isca 2. Postponed: Bristol Firebrands v Olton and West Warwicks. Abandoned: Exe v Buckingham (51 minutes).
| Women’s Premier Division |
| Surbiton | (2) | 4 | – | 1 | (0) | Canterbury | ||||
| Jo Hunter 10 – PC Jenna Woolven 28 – F Hannah Martin 44 – F Naomi Evans 70 – F |
Grace Balsdon 41 – PC | |||||||||
| East Grinstead | () | P | – | P | () | Holcombe | ||||
| Slough | (0) | 1 | – | 0 | (0) | Bowdon Hightown | ||||
| Philipa Newton 61 – PC | ||||||||||
| Clifton Robinsons | (2) | 3 | – | 2 | (1) | Leicester | ||||
| Aileen Davis 6 – PC Alex Danson 11 – F Jessica Bloom 42 – F |
Madeleine Newlyn 26 – F Rachel Mack 55 – PC |
|||||||||
| Reading | (0) | 2 | – | 3 | (1) | University of Birmingham | ||||
| Georgina Bathurst 60 – F Abbie Dixon 64 – F |
Erica Sanders 14 39 59 – F F F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Surbiton | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 32 |
| 2 | East Grinstead | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 25 |
| 3 | Clifton Robinsons | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 22 |
| 4 | University of Birmingham | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 22 |
| 5 | Holcombe | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 21 |
| 6 | Leicester | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 17 |
| 7 | Canterbury | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 12 |
| 8 | Slough | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 29 | -17 | 10 |
| 9 | Bowdon Hightown | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 7 |
| 10 | Reading | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 37 | -24 | 1 |
|
|
| Women’s Conference East |
| Harleston Magpies | (2) | 2 | – | 1 | (0) | Hampstead and Westminster | ||||
| Maria Andrews 8 – PC Elizabeth Clymer 9 – F |
Hayley Turner 44 – F | |||||||||
| Chelmsford | (0) | 2 | – | 1 | (0) | West Herts | ||||
| Kate Robinson 45 – F Collette Ager 55 – F |
Miranda Hall 70 – PC | |||||||||
| Cambridge City | () | P | – | P | () | Wimbledon | ||||
| Southgate | () | P | – | P | () | Northampton Saints | ||||
| St. Albans | () | P | – | P | () | Sevenoaks | ||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wimbledon | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 11 | 28 | 30 |
| 2 | Sevenoaks | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 9 | 26 | 27 |
| 3 | Harleston Magpies | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 17 | 21 | 26 |
| 4 | Hampstead and Westminster | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | St. Albans | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 17 |
| 6 | Cambridge City | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 14 |
| 7 | Chelmsford | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 24 | -7 | 14 |
| 8 | Southgate | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 30 | -10 | 9 |
| 9 | West Herts | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 49 | -33 | 4 |
| 10 | Northampton Saints | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 52 | -43 | 1 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| Belper | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Beeston | ||||
| Sarah Glenn 50 – PC | Esme Burge 59 – PS | |||||||||
| Wakefield | (2) | 3 | – | 2 | (1) | Sutton Coldfield | ||||
| Matilda Morgan 22 – F Kelly Baxter 31 – F Hannah Norman 44 – F |
Jane Sixsmith 28 64 – PC F | |||||||||
| Loughborough Students | (0) | 0 | – | 0 | (0) | Ben Rhydding | ||||
| University of Durham | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (1) | Brooklands Poynton | ||||
| Charlotte Jackson 16 – F | ||||||||||
| Timperley | (1) | 2 | – | 1 | (1) | Liverpool Sefton | ||||
| Catherine Thompson-Smith 2 – F Lexi Panteli 61 – PC |
Jane Bazley-Harrison 35 – F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Brooklands Poynton | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 6 | 29 | 33 |
| 2 | Beeston | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 22 | 29 |
| 3 | Ben Rhydding | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 21 |
| 4 | University of Durham | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 20 |
| 5 | Wakefield | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 17 |
| 6 | Sutton Coldfield | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 16 |
| 7 | Loughborough Students | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 14 |
| 8 | Timperley | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 37 | -22 | 10 |
| 9 | Liverpool Sefton | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 21 | -8 | 9 |
| 10 | Belper | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 35 | -28 | 1 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Bristol Firebrands | () | P | – | P | () | Olton & West Warwicks | ||||
| Oxford Hawks | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (2) | Gloucester City | ||||
| Olivia Abbott 27 – F Jessica Thomas 30 – F |
||||||||||
| Stourport | (2) | 2 | – | 0 | (0) | Swansea City | ||||
| Sarah Parkinson-Mills 4 – F Lora Symonds 17 – F |
||||||||||
| Exe | () | A | – | A | () | Buckingham | ||||
| Trojans | (1) | 2 | – | 2 | (1) | Isca University | ||||
| Jill Tombs 2 – PC Sally Gibson 47 – PC |
Elly Yard 30 – PC Beth Marriott 70 – PC |
|||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Stourport | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 11 | 33 | 31 |
| 2 | Buckingham | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 7 | 30 | 28 |
| 3 | Olton & West Warwicks | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 22 |
| 4 | Trojans | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 19 |
| 5 | Swansea City | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 18 |
| 6 | Gloucester City | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 22 | -4 | 14 |
| 7 | Isca University | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 26 | -12 | 14 |
| 8 | Oxford Hawks | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 10 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 23 | -15 | 6 |
| 10 | Exe | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 33 | -21 | 4 |
Report courtesy of England Hockey by Snowdon Sports.
