After beating leaders Surbiton last weekend, Buckingham are preparing to take on East Grinstead in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division on Saturday.
Lauren Thomas’s last minute goal gave her side a 2-1 win against the reigning champions on Saturday, a victory which brings them within touching distance of the top of the table.
But East Grinstead will be no pushover, having won 4-3 at Clifton Robinsons last weekend with two goals in the final ten minutes snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
“If you look at our results across the season they’ve been pretty consistent so for us last weekend’s result wasn’t a surprise as we knew we could compete with the top teams,” Buckingham head coach Zak Jones. “But the league is so competitive this year that we’re not taking anyone lightly, especially a team like East Grinstead.
“We just want to keep the momentum going. We’ve got a lot of experienced players in our team who have been there before as well as some great new faces.”
Surbiton will be aiming to bounce back from last week’s loss as they head to Bowdon Hightown, while the University of Birmingham entertain bottom of the table Canterbury and could go top with a victory.
Similarly, Holcombe could also head the table at the end of the weekend if other results go in their favour and they can win at Leicester, while Clifton Robinsons are on the road to Slough, who are level with them on points.
Investec Conference East leaders Hampstead & Westminster head to second-placed Sevenoaks on Saturday for a game that will see one of them lose their current 100% league record.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon host Barnes as they bid to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Hampstead.
Beeston play Timperley at home as they bid to maintain their 100% record in the Investec Conference North, while second-placed Brooklands-Poynton travel to Ben Rhydding.
Third-placed Stourport play host to leaders unbeaten Reading in the Investec Conference West on Saturday, while second-placed Trojans could go top if Reading lose and they can win at bottom of the table Team Bath Buccaneers.
* The lead photo shows Buckingham’s Kat Nicholson, left.
FIXTURES
Saturday, November 18 2017
Investec Women’s Hockey League
Investec Premier Division
Buckingham v East Grinstead 12:00
Slough v Clifton Robinsons 12:30
Leicester v Holcombe 13:30
Univ of Birmingham v Canterbury 13:30
Bowdon Hightown v Surbiton 13:45
Investec Conference North
Beeston v Timperley 12:00
Univ of Durham v Liverpool Sefton 12:00
Loughborough Students v Sutton Coldfield 12:30
Ben Rhydding v Brooklands Poynton 13:30
Fylde v Wakefield 13:30
Investec Conference East
Chelmsford v St Albans 14:00
Harleston Magpies v Southgate 14:00
Wimbledon v Barnes 14:00
Bedford v Cambridge City 14:30
Sevenoaks v Hampstead & Westminster 17:00
Investec Conference West
Oxford Hawks v Swansea City 12:00
Gloucester City v Olton & West Warwicks 12:30
Team Bath Buccaneers v Trojans 12:30
Stourport v Reading 14:30
Cannock v Isca 16:00
Report courtesy of England Hockey via Snowdon Sports
