A brace from Olympic Gold Medal winner Kate Richardson-Walsh was not enough to prevent East Grinstead losing 5-2 to Leicester in their opening game on Saturday, Chloe Rogers and Lauren Turner both scoring twice for the victors.

They bounced back later in the day, edging out Bowdon Hightown 1-0 in a game full of Olympic heroes, Kate Richardson-Walsh scoring the only goal and Great Britain goalkeeper Amy Tennant keeping a shut out to put East Grinstead on the brink of qualification.

Bowdon sit second in the table and are themselves just one win away from making finals day, they started Saturday with a 5-2 win over Holcombe, GB Olympian Tina Cullen scoring two in a team which also included Rio Olympic gold medal-winning Sam Quek.

After their win over East Grinstead, third-placed Leicester played out an exciting 5-5 draw against fourth place Slough to remain unbeaten. If Lauren Turner’s form continues, Leicester will be a good bet to make finals day – she added a hat-trick to her earlier brace to take her tally for the competition to 17.

Charly Brydon scored two as Slough defeated Sutton Coldfield 4-3 to secure one-point lead over the chasing pack in the final qualification spot.

One win and one defeat for Canterbury kept them in the hunt. After losing the day’s opening game 3-2 to Clifton Robinsons, they bounced back to shut out Reading in a 6-0 victory, Paris Gaisson scoring two.

Holcombe are also just a point behind fourth place, they recovered from their early loss on Saturday to claim a 4-2 victory over Clifton Robinsons, Olympic gold medal winner Ellie Watton netting her seventh of the tournament.

Meanwhile in the final game of the day, Sutton Coldfield defeated Reading 4-3 but both sides had already been eliminated.

* The above photograph shows East Grinstead and Great Britain ace Kate Richardson-Walsh in action against GB team-mate Sam Quek, playing for Bowdon Hightown.

This report has been provided on behalf of England Hockey by Snowdon Sports.