Erica Sanders scored four second half goals to haul the University of Birmingham back from two down and claim a dramatic 4-2 victory at home to Clifton in the Investec Women’s Premier Division on Saturday.
The league leaders fell behind early to a goal from Claire Thomas and were further adrift when Aileen Davis netted for Clifton early in the second half. But Sanders came to the rescue, hitting three goals in seven minutes and a fourth at the last minute to keep the hosts two points clear.
Surbiton stay second after they won 5-0 away at Holcombe thanks to goals from Giselle Ansley, Charlotte Calnan, Abi Robinson and two from Jo Hunter to leave Holcombe fifth.
Fi Farley scored a hat-trick as Buckingham looked to register their first win of the season, but she was matched by Leicester’s Liz George who also got three as the side’s played out a 3-3 draw.
Reading needed three second half goals from Rose Winter, Kate Richardson-Walsh and Sophie Shakespeare to see off Bowdon Hightown 3-0 and record their first league win of the season.Elsewhere, Alice Brown’s late goal was enough to see off East Grinstead as Canterbury won 1-0. The result keeps Canterbury in touch at the top of the table, sitting in third.
Investec Conference North
Wakefield remain at the head of the Investec Conference North table after a 4-2 victory over Belper. Gwen Smith, Hannah Norman, Rosie Tootell and Heather Stafford scored the goals to claim another three points.
Ben Rhydding blasted to a fantastic 7-0 win over Liverpool Sefton and Jo Ellis was in top form, scoring four of their goals. They are now up to third in the table.
Springfields moved off the bottom of the table with their first win of the season, a 3-1 victory over Whitley Bay and Tynemouth courtesy of a Rachel Greenwood brace.
University of Durham hold onto second after a 2-1 win over Loughborough Students and Beeston played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Brooklands Poynton. Sophie Robinson scored twice for Beeston and Helen Turner also scored a brace for the opposition.
Investec Conference West
Vicki Woolford scored a hat-trick to fire Sutton Coldfield to a 7-1 win at home to Gloucester City and keep them top of the Investec Women’s West Conference.
Emma McCabe scored twice for the league leaders whilst Susan Wood and Sarah Parkinson-Mills each scored one, as Gloucester were made to settle for a consolation goal by Gemma Baber-Williams.
Swansea City kept pace with the leaders with a 2-0 win at home to Bristol Firebrands thanks to goals from Abi Welsford and Sophie Clayton, whilst Stourport moved into third with a 2-0 win away the University of Bristol.
Becky Odlin scored a hat-trick for Oxford Hawks as they won 3-0 away at Olton and West Warwicks, whilst Trojans and Isca shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.
Investec Conference East
Slough continue to dominate the Investec Conference East and they were in fantastic form as they scored nine without reply against Chelmsford. Amy Sheehan was instrumental in the win, scoring a hat-trick.
Cambridge City couldn’t keep the pressure up at the top as they played out a 2-2 draw with Harleston Magpies. Cambridge were 2-1 down with the clock running down but a penalty stroke converted in the 66th minute by Vicki Franks handed them a point.
St Albans, facing Hampstead and Westminster, also drew 2-2 and a Harriet Naismith double guided Wimbledon to a 3-0 win over Ipswich, and Sevenoaks beat Maidenhead by the same scoreline.
The above photo shows University of Birmingham’s Erica Sanders in action against Clifton.
Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, November 7 2015):
Investec Women’s Premier Division: Holcombe 0, Surbiton 5; Buckingham 3, Leicester 3; University of Birmingham 4, Clifton 2; East Grinstead 0, Canterbury 1; Bowdon Hightown 0, Reading 3.
Investec Women’s Conference East: Cambridge City 2, Harleston Magpies 2; St Albans 2, Hampstead and Westminster 2; Slough 9, Chelmsford 0; Ipswich 0, Wimbledon 3; Sevenoaks 3, Maidenhead 0.
Investec Women’s Conference North: Belper 2, Wakefield 4; Beeston 4, Brooklands Poynton 4; Loughborough Students 1, University of Durham 2; Liverpool Sefton 0, Ben Rhydding 7; Springfields 3, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 1.
Investec Women’s Conference West: Swansea City 2, Bristol Firebrands 0; Trojans 2, Isca 2; Olton and West Warwicks 0, Oxford Hawks 3; University of Bristol 0, Stourport 2; Sutton Coldfield 7, Gloucester City 1.
| Women’s Premier Division |
| Bowdon Hightown | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (0) | Reading | ||||
| Rose Winter 46 – F Kate Richardson-Walsh 50 – PC Sophie Shakespeare 63 – F |
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| Holcombe | (0) | 0 | – | 5 | (2) | Surbiton | ||||
| Jo Hunter 30 42 – PC F Giselle Ansley 34 – PC Charlotte Calnan 50 – F Abi Robinson 56 – F |
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| East Grinstead | (0) | 0 | – | 1 | (0) | Canterbury | ||||
| Alice Brown 62 – F | ||||||||||
| University of Birmingham | (0) | 4 | – | 2 | (1) | Clifton | ||||
| Erica Sanders 41 44 47 69 – PC PC PC PS | Claire Thomas 8 – F Aileen Davis 39 – F |
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| Buckingham | (2) | 3 | – | 3 | (1) | Leicester | ||||
| Fi Farley 19 33 58 – F F F | Liz George 28 41 61 – F F F | |||||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | University of Birmingham | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 22 |
| 2 | Surbiton | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 6 | 23 | 20 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 17 |
| 4 | East Grinstead | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 | Holcombe | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 11 |
| 6 | Clifton | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 21 | -7 | 10 |
| 7 | Leicester | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 19 | -10 | 7 |
| 8 | Bowdon Hightown | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 7 |
| 9 | Reading | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 24 | -17 | 4 |
| 10 | Buckingham | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 2 |
| Women’s Conference East |
| St. Albans | (2) | 2 | – | 2 | (1) | Hampstead and Westminster | ||||
| Eleanor Watton 3 – F Emma Onien 36 – F |
Brodie Fairchild 14 – PC Helen Cathcart 40 – F |
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| Ipswich | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (2) | Wimbledon | ||||
| Olivia Martineau 3 – PC Harriet Naismith 9 47 – F F |
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| Slough | (2) | 9 | – | 0 | (0) | Chelmsford | ||||
| Amy Sheehan 20 24 52 – F PS F Alex Scott 37 – F Christie Fearnside 43 – PC Charly Brydon 43 62 – F F Melissa Ball 57 – PC Laura Bailey 68 – F |
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| Cambridge City | (1) | 2 | – | 2 | (1) | Harleston Magpies | ||||
| Holly Parsons 12 – F Vicki Franks 66 – PS |
Elizabeth Clymer 26 – F Lauren Barber 47 – F |
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| Sevenoaks | (2) | 3 | – | 0 | (0) | Maidenhead | ||||
| Jess Denniff 15 – PC Cathy Gilliat-Smith 24 – F Maddie Thompson 45 – F |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Slough | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 30 | 22 |
| 2 | Cambridge City | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 15 |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 13 |
| 4 | Hampstead and Westminster | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| 5 | St. Albans | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 | Harleston Magpies | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
| 7 | Sevenoaks | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 9 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 9 |
| 9 | Ipswich | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 22 | -15 | 2 |
| 10 | Maidenhead | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 33 | -21 | 1 |
| Women’s Conference North |
| Belper | (0) | 2 | – | 4 | (2) | Wakefield | ||||
| Kyla Madsen 41 – F Louisa Boddy 51 – PC |
Gwen Smith 19 – F Hannah Norman 25 – F Rosie Tootell 58 – PC Heather Stafford 60 – PC |
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| Beeston | (3) | 4 | – | 4 | (3) | Brooklands Poynton | ||||
| Sophie Robinson 8 50 – F F Rosy Stephens 10 – F Tori Wensley 32 – F |
Annabelle Watton 10 – F Helen Turner 26 62 – F F Nicola Taylor 34 – F |
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| Springfields | (0) | 3 | – | 1 | (0) | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | ||||
| Katie Penrose 40 – F Rachel Greenwood 54 69 – PC PC |
Naomi Harkness 58 – F | |||||||||
| Liverpool Sefton | (0) | 0 | – | 7 | (1) | Ben Rhydding | ||||
| Rebecca Dallas 26 44 – PC PC Jo Ellis 54 59 66 67 – F F PS F Kate Hesketh 60 – F |
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| Loughborough Students | (0) | 1 | – | 2 | (1) | University of Durham | ||||
| Madeleine Newlyn 43 – F | Amelia Johnson 26 – PS Christabel Mcwhirter 36 – PC |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Wakefield | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 19 |
| 2 | University of Durham | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | Ben Rhydding | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| 4 | Loughborough Students | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 5 | Beeston | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 11 |
| 6 | Brooklands Poynton | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | Belper | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 10 |
| 8 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 6 |
| 9 | Springfields | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 5 |
| 10 | Liverpool Sefton | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 5 |
| Women’s Conference West |
| Olton & West Warwicks | (0) | 0 | – | 3 | (2) | Oxford Hawks | ||||
| Becky Odlin 18 19 59 – F F F | ||||||||||
| Sutton Coldfield | (5) | 7 | – | 1 | (1) | Gloucester City | ||||
| Vicky Woolford 3 9 35 – PC PC PC Susan Wood 14 – F Sarah Parkinson-Mills 24 – PC Emma Mccabe 52 68 – F F |
Gemma Baber-Williams 6 – F | |||||||||
| Swansea City | (1) | 2 | – | 0 | (0) | Bristol Firebrands | ||||
| Abi Welsford 6 – PC Sophie Clayton 45 – F |
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| Trojans | (2) | 2 | – | 2 | (2) | Isca University | ||||
| Jill Tombs 16 – PC Kewley Mccaskill 33 – F |
Megan Crowson 10 – PC Hannah Griffiths 14 – F |
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| University of Bristol | (0) | 0 | – | 2 | (0) | Stourport | ||||
| Claire Pearson 65 – F Irene Johnson 70 – PC |
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| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sutton Coldfield | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 6 | 28 | 21 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 19 |
| 3 | Stourport | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| 4 | Oxford Hawks | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 5 | Gloucester City | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 14 |
| 6 | Trojans | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 7 |
| 7 | Isca University | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 7 |
| 8 | Olton & West Warwicks | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 5 |
| 9 | Bristol Firebrands | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 28 | -14 | 4 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 34 | -28 | 3 |
This report courtesy of England Hockey via Snowdon Sports.
