The University of Birmingham survived an early scare to defeat Bowdon Hightown 5-1 at home and stay top of the Investec Women’s League Premier Division on Saturday.
Natalie Wray scored early for Bowdon before Rebecca Condie hauled the home side level before the break, but a second half onslaught from the students resulted in goals from Emily Defroand, Hannah Martin, Holly Hunt and Lily Owsley to put Birmingham two points clear at the top.
Canterbury are still second after a convincing 5-0 win over bottom club Reading. Anna Kolarova led the scoring with a brace. Jen Wilson, Kirsten Greaves and Susannah Townsend also found the target.
East Grinstead remain third after a 4-0 win at home to Leicester, thanks to goals from Laura Unsworth, Maude Van Der Kamp, Lucy Bairner and Pippa Chapman.
The result leaves the hosts two points behind the leaders whilst Leicester’s second defeat of the season sees them fall to sixth.
Surbiton secured their first win of the season when they beat Buckingham 5-0 with two goals from Jo Hunter and others from Jenna Woolven, Sara Page and Charlotte Calnan.
Elsewhere Clifton staged a remarkable late comeback to rescue a 2-2 draw at Holcombe after Emily Kirkham scored twice in the final three minutes.
The visitors had looked to be heading for defeat after Stef Elliot and Emily Maguire each scored for Holcombe before Kirkham’s late show rescued a point.
Investec Conference North
A late burst of goals saw Wakefield keep their 100 per cent start to the season and stay top of the Investec Conference North as they beat Springfields 4-0.
Heather Stafford broke the deadlock on 59 minutes before Emma Berry notched in the 67th minute. Georgia Byas added a third two minutes later and in the dying seconds, Berry scored her second.
Ben Rhydding enjoyed the biggest win of the day, beating Belper 6-1. Sophie Robinson hit a hat-trick in Beeston’s 5-1 away victory at Liverpool Sefton.
Loughborough Students remain second despite drawing 1-1 with Brooklands Poynton. A Laura Bevan double saw the University of Durham draw 2-2 with Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.
Investec Conference West
Sutton Coldfield remain top of the Investec Conference West with a superb 10-0 victory over the University of Bristol. Vicky Woolford and Susan Wood both hit hat-tricks.
Swansea City remain second after goals from Jo Westwood, Abi Welsford, Sophie Clayton and Natalie Blyth saw them beat Trojans 4-1.
Isca won a seven-goal thriller, beating Bristol Firebrands 4-3 and Stourport took a 3-0 win away to Olton and west Warwickshire. Gloucester City and Oxford Hawks drew 1-1.
Investec Conference East
It was first against second in the Investec Conference East as Slough met Cambridge City. Slough made sure they stayed at the top of the pile with a 3-0 win with Philipa Newton hitting a brace.
The result enabled Hampstead and Westminster to jump into second place as they beat Sevenoaks 4-2 with Emma Stocking, Fleur Horner, Amy Askew and Louise Radford all scoring.
Eleanor Watton scored four as her St Albans side battled to a 5-3 win over Maidenhead and Harleston Magpies beat Ipswich 2-1. Chelmsford hosted Wimbledon and the game ended 1-1.
* Above photo shows the University of Birmingham women’s hockey team.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, September 26 2015):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Holcombe 2, Clifton 2; University of Birmingham 5, Bowdon Hightown 1; East Grinstead 4, Leicester 0; Surbiton 5, Buckingham 0; Canterbury 5, Reading 0.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Chelmsford 1, Wimbledon 1; Slough 3, Cambridge City 0; St Albans 5, Maidenhead 3; Sevenoaks 2, Hampstead and Westminster 4; Ipswich 1, Harleston Magpies 2.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Liverpool Sefton 1, Beeston 5; Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 2, University of Durham 2; Loughborough Students 1, Brooklands Poynton 1; Wakefield 4, Springfields 0; Ben Rhydding 6, Belper 1.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Olton and West Warwicks 0, Stourport 3; Swansea City 4, Trojans 1; Gloucester City 1, Oxford Hawks 1; University of Bristol 0, Sutton Coldfield 10; Isca 4, Bristol Firebrands 3.
Report courtesy of England Hockey by Snowdon Sports
Women’s Premier Division |
| Surbiton | (3) | 5 | – | 0 | (0) | Buckingham | ||||
| Jenna Woolven 5 – F Jo Hunter 13 28 – F F Sarah Page 44 – F Charlotte Calnan 61 – F |
||||||||||
| Holcombe | (1) | 2 | – | 2 | (0) | Clifton | ||||
| Emily Maguire 3 – F Steph Elliott 51 – PC |
Emily Kirkham 67 70 – F PC | |||||||||
| East Grinstead | (2) | 4 | – | 0 | (0) | Leicester | ||||
| Laura Unsworth 22 – PC Maud Van Der Kamp 26 – PC Lucy Bairner 47 – F Pippa Chapman 63 – F |
||||||||||
| Canterbury | (3) | 5 | – | 0 | (0) | Reading | ||||
| Jen Wilson 15 – PC Anna Kolárová 23 32 – F F Kirsten Greaves 45 – F Susannah Townsend 67 – PC |
||||||||||
| University of Birmingham | (2) | 5 | – | 1 | (1) | Bowdon Hightown | ||||
| Rebecca Condie 21 – PC Emily Defroand 33 – F Lily Owsley 53 – PC Hannah Martin 60 – F Holly Hunt 69 – F |
Natalie Wray 3 – PC | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | University of Birmingham | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 9 |
| 2 | Canterbury | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 7 |
| 3 | East Grinstead | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | Surbiton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Clifton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 4 |
| 6 | Leicester | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 3 |
| 7 | Holcombe | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| 8 | Bowdon Hightown | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 1 |
| 9 | Buckingham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 1 |
| 10 | Reading | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | -10 | 1 |
Women’s Conference East |
| Sevenoaks | (2) | 2 | – | 4 | (2) | Hampstead and Westminster | ||||
| Jet Van Zalen 4 – PC Katy Warrington 7 – PC |
Emma Stocking 16 – F Fleur Horner 29 – PC Amy Askew 57 – PC Louise Radford 59 – F |
|||||||||
| Slough | (1) | 3 | – | 0 | (0) | Cambridge City | ||||
| Jo Bryant 15 – F Philipa Newton 39 51 – PC PC |
||||||||||
| St. Albans | (1) | 5 | – | 3 | (2) | Maidenhead | ||||
| Eleanor Watton 6 50 54 67 – F F F F Emily Panniers 45 – F |
Holly Cram 4 – PC Alison Lubbock 12 – F Cheryl Valentine 59 – PC |
|||||||||
| Chelmsford | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Wimbledon | ||||
| Hayley Heggie 43 – PC | Nicola Lloyd 55 – F | |||||||||
| Ipswich | (0) | 1 | – | 2 | (0) | Harleston Magpies | ||||
| Chloe Williams 56 – PC | Emma Lee-Smith 47 – F Abby Gooderham 62 – F |
|||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 9 |
| 2 | Hampstead and Westminster | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Cambridge City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | St. Albans | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 6 |
| 5 | Wimbledon | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | Harleston Magpies | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Chelmsford | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 2 |
| 8 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| 9 | Maidenhead | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 0 |
| 10 | Sevenoaks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -8 | 0 |
Women’s Conference North |
| Liverpool Sefton | (0) | 1 | – | 5 | (1) | Beeston | ||||
| Sophie Oliver 61 – F | Suzy Petty 33 – F Sophie Robinson 39 55 63 – F F F Madeleine Pearce 66 – F |
|||||||||
| Ben Rhydding | (3) | 6 | – | 1 | (0) | Belper | ||||
| Jo Ellis 7 – F Jenny Wilson 17 – PS Sarah Whitehead 35 – PC Beth Cordukes 44 – F Eleanor Trafford 47 – F Tanisha Janzen 60 – PC |
Elizabeth Lamb 56 – F | |||||||||
| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | (0) | 2 | – | 2 | (0) | University of Durham | ||||
| Emily Watkinson 53 – F Joss Plummer 58 – F |
Laura Bevan 36 60 – F PC | |||||||||
| Loughborough Students | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (1) | Brooklands Poynton | ||||
| Ellie Tait 40 – PS | Sarah Newman 6 – PC | |||||||||
| Wakefield | (0) | 4 | – | 0 | (0) | Springfields | ||||
| Heather Stafford 59 – F Emma Berry 67 70 – F F Georgia Byas 69 – F |
||||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Loughborough Students | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Ben Rhydding | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Beeston | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | University of Durham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 4 |
| 7 | Brooklands Poynton | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Liverpool Sefton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
| 9 | Springfields | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 1 |
| 10 | Belper | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 0 |
Women’s Conference West |
| University of Bristol | (0) | 0 | – | 10 | (5) | Sutton Coldfield | ||||
| Susan Wood 2 4 40 – F F PC Charlene Mason 9 – F Beth Peers 12 – F Vicky Woolford 16 48 69 – F PC F Jane Sixsmith 37 – F Emma Mccabe 65 – F |
||||||||||
| Olton & West Warwicks | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (1) | Stourport | ||||
| Katie Miller 5 – PC Claire Pearson 36 – F Hannah Corcoran 39 – PC |
||||||||||
| Gloucester City | (0) | 1 | – | 1 | (0) | Oxford Hawks | ||||
| Kim Pullon 53 – F | Kathryn Poulter 69 – F | |||||||||
| Swansea City | (2) | 4 | – | 1 | (1) | Trojans | ||||
| Joanne Westwood 7 – F Abi Welsford 30 – PC Sophie Clayton 44 – F Natalie Blyth 52 – PC |
Kewley Mccaskill 13 – F | |||||||||
| Isca University | (2) | 4 | – | 3 | (1) | Bristol Firebrands | ||||
| Katie Taverner 9 53 – F PC Clare Poole 11 – F Sophie Jefferson 59 – F |
Amy Moss 13 – F Kathryn Bache 40 40 – PC PC |
|||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 20 | 9 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 9 |
| 3 | Stourport | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Oxford Hawks | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Gloucester City | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Isca University | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 | Olton & West Warwicks | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 3 |
| 8 | Trojans | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 0 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 0 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 22 | -21 | 0 |
