There was no holding back when the opening whistle blew, Lottie Porter firing Buckingham into an early lead with a smart finish before Sally Walton struck back shortly after to level things up.

Buckingham would restore their lead at the end of the first quarter as Rebecca van Arrowsmith tucked the ball away. The momentum continued after the break as Porter grabbed her second of the game immediately after the restart.

It wouldn’t last long as Hannah MacDonald smartly rolled the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs to claw one back before Charlene Mason got one of her own less than a minute later to level things up at 3-3.

Both teams cancelled each other out through a balanced third quarter before Buckingham took the advantage in the early stages of the final quarter, Katrina Nicholson rounding the ‘keeper before finding Abbie Brant who tucked the ball into an empty net for a 4-3 lead.

Though Bowdon pressed for an equaliser in the remaining minutes, resolute defending prevailed and ensured Buckingham would take the title for the first time and spark jubilant celebrations in the Copper Box Arena.

Semi finals

In what was a thrilling match, Buckingham secured their place in the final with a 5-4 victory over last year’s champions East Grinstead. Katrina Nicholson, Lottie Porter, Abbie Brant and a Rebecca Arrowsmith brace were enough to see them through in what was an even contest throughout.

The second semi-final was another gripping watch as Bowdon Hightown booked a place in the final with a 6-3 victory over Sutton Coldfield, making it consecutive games with nine goals scored. Sally Walton, Megan Batchelor, Charlene Mason, Lucy Tennant and a Hannah MacDonald double booked their place in the final as they come out on top over the newly promoted side who had put in a spirited performance.

Courtesy of England Hockey 

The 38-year-old has 21 goals across Bowdon Hightown’s eight group stage matches, which culminated in a 4-0 win over Sutton Coldfield as well as a crucial 4-3 victory over table-toppers East Grinstead.

Things didn’t start well for Bowdon Hightown though, with a 2-2 draw with Surbiton being followed by a 6-1 loss to Slough on Saturday.

But they hit back on Sunday with two wins to book their place at the Copper Box Arena in London for the Finals on February 2.

East Grinstead top the table despite the loss to Bowdon. They drew 2-2 with Buckingham in Saturday’s first match before hammering Clifton 7-0 later in the day. And Sunday’s 8-1 win over Sutton Coldfield guaranteed their spot in the top four.

Despite the loss to East Grinstead, Sutton Coldfield will join them in the finals after finishing third.

They beat Holcombe 4-2 and Leicester 3-2 on Saturday, which gave them enough points to finish third despite losses to East Grinstead and Bowdon Hightown on Sunday.

The fourth and final place in the Jaffa Super 6s Finals next month was taken by Buckingham in the dramatic last match of the day.

They drew 2-2 with Slough to keep hold of fourth spot as their rivals desperately went in search of a win which would’ve seen them leapfrog Buckingham into the last finals place.

Earlier in the weekend Buckingham had drawn with table-topping East Grinstead, beaten Surbiton 7-5 and overcome Holcombe 8-2.

Slough had given themselves every chance of scraping into the top four with a draw against Leicester and wins over Bowdon Hightown and Holcombe, but just came up short.

Jaffa Super 6s Championships Premier Division

Results (Sat, 11 Jan 2020): Holcombe 7, Clifton 1; East Grinstead 2, Buckingham 2; Surbiton 2, Bowdon Hightown 2; Slough 2, Leicester 2; Sutton Coldfield 4, Holcombe 2; Clifton 0, East Grinstead 7; Buckingham 7, Surbiton 5; Bowdon Hightown 1, Slough 6; Leicester 2, Sutton Coldfield 3.

Results (Sun, 12 Jan 2020): Surbiton 7, Clifton 3; East Grinstead 8, Sutton Coldfield 1; Holcombe 1, Slough 3; Leicester 7, Surbiton 1; Bowdon Hightown 4, East Grinstead 3; Buckingham 8, Holcombe 2; Clifton 1, Leicester 5; Sutton Coldfield 0, Bowdon Hightown 4; Slough 2, Buckingham 2.

League table:

East Grinstead…             19pts

Bowdon Hightown…     19

Sutton Coldfield…         16

Buckingham…               15

Slough…                         14

Holcombe…                    9

Leicester…                      7

Surbiton…                      4

Clifton Robinsons…     0

Courtesy of England Hockey

Sophie Bray scored eight times across their four matches, helping to leave East Grinstead as one of two teams with 100% records so far.

Second on goal difference, Bowdon Hightown have also been in superb form with four wins. Their seasoned campaigner Sally Walton is top goal scorer with 15 goals, almost twice as many as Bray in second spot in the goal scoring charts.

East Grinstead opened the weekend with an emphatic 10-2 win over Surbiton and then went on to beat Holcombe 5-2. And Sunday’s victories included a narrow 2-1 win over Slough as well as a 5-1 victory over Leicester in the afternoon’s final match in Telford.

Bowdon Hightown battled to a 6-5 win over Leicester as well as a 7-3 win over Buckingham on Saturday, while Sunday’s results for them included a 5-1 win over Clifton Robinsons as well as a 4-2 victory over Holcombe.

Walton’s heroics included nine goals from penalty corners and three penalty strokes, as well as another three goals from open play.

Sutton Coldfield are also unbeaten, but lie third in the early table after having to settle for a 2-2 draw with Buckingham. Aside from that, they were 2-1 winners over Slough and beat Clifton Robinsons 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.

After drawing with Buckingham, they got back to winning ways with a 4-3 victory over Surbiton.

Buckingham were 4-0 winners over Clifton Robinsons but lost 7-3 to Bowdon Hightown. After the 2-2 draw with Sutton Coldfield, they went on to beat Leicester 4-3.

Slough have won two and last two of their first weekend’s matches. They beat Surbiton 6-1 on Saturday and were 2-1 winners over Sutton Coldfield. But they lost to East Grinstead and Clifton Robinsons on Sunday.

Similarly Holcombe have won two of their four games, with wins over Leicester and Surbiton in the bag.

The teams return to action next weekend with more Premier Division matches.

Jaffa Super 6s Championships Women’s Premier Division

Results (Sat, 4 Jan 2020): Leicester 5 Bowdon Hightown 6, Buckingham 4 Clifton Robinsons 0, Sutton Coldfield 2 Slough 1, Surbiton 2 East Grinstead 10, Holcombe 5 Leicester 4, Bowdon Hightown 7 Buckingham 3, Clifton Robinsons 4 Sutton Coldfield 5, Slough 6 Surbiton 1, East Grinstead 5 Holcombe 2.

Results (Sun, 5 Jan 2020): Buckingham 2 Sutton Coldfield 2, Surbiton 3 Holcombe 5, Bowdon Hightown 5 Clifton Robinsons 1, Slough 1 East Grinstead 2, Leicester 3 Buckingham 4, Sutton Coldfield 4 Surbiton 3, Holcombe 2 Bowdon Hightown 4, Clifton Robinsons 1 Slough 4, East Grinstead 5 Leicester 1.

League table:
East Grinstead…12pts
Bowdon Hightown…12
Sutton Coldfield…10
Buckingham …7
Slough…6
Holcombe…6
Leicester…0
Clifton Robinsons…0
Surbiton…0

Courtesy of England Hockey