Hampstead & Westminster And East Grinstead Lead The Way At Super 6s Halfway Mark

Photo credit: Eva Gilbert 

You can view full the full set of results from this weekend’s games as well as the tables and the upcoming fixtures for the Super 6 Championships by clicking here. 

Hampstead & Westminster took control of the men’s Premier Division, while East Grinstead did likewise in the women’s Premier Division after an enthralling second day of action in the Super 6s Championships. 

With the top four teams from each of the Premier Divisions following the weekends of 8-9 and 15-16 January qualifying for the Super 6s Finals - Hockey's Big Day In – at the Copper Box Arena on Sunday 30 January, every game is vital during the fast and furious indoor spectacle. 

Having won their first two games on Saturday, Hampstead & Westminster followed that up with another two victories on Sunday to stay perfect at Repton School. 

In the day’s opening game, they dispatched Reading 6-1 thanks to doubles from Kai Kaeppeler and Teague Marcano, with Joe Sharp and skipper Marc Edwards also getting on the scoresheet before Daniel Cox grabbed a late consolation. 

And Repton were then similarly impressively dispatched 5-1 to ensure a 100 per cent record for Hampstead & Westminster heading into next weekend’s decisive games. 

Kaeppeler netted twice in the opening 11 minutes and Sutcliffe made it 3-0 right at the end of the second quarter before strikes by Will Calnan and Edwards – the latter from a penalty corner – sandwiched a goal from Repton’s Simon Claris to seal the deal. 

Hampstead’s place atop the table at the halfway mark was then secured by Surbiton slipping to a 5-3 defeat to Wimbledon in a local derby.  

A back-and-forth game saw Rhys Smith and Duncan Scott give the Dons a 2-0 first-quarter lead and although James Gall and Jamie Golden levelled things up with a two-minute salvo, Liam Ansell and Ed Horler restored the two-goal advantage. 

A scoreless third quarter favoured Wimbledon but Zach Wallace’s strike from open play early in the fourth set up a grandstand finale before Sam Hooper’s goal from a penalty corner right at the death finally rubber-stamped the win. 

That result meant Wimbledon and Surbiton ended the day on nine points, three behind Hampstead & Westminster, with Sevenoaks and East Grinstead also on nine – meaning the battle for the four Super 6s Finals spots is shaping up to be a five-horse race in the men’s Premier Division. 

Wimbledon star Horler may have ‘only’ found the net once against Surbiton but he netted four times in the earlier 12-3 victory over Brooklands MU – a game in which Benjamin Francis also got a hat-trick – to top the goalscoring charts with 11 from four matches. 

Sevenoaks joined the collection of teams on nine points after notching two wins on Sunday, with Ben Allberry’s double and David Smith’s strike overcoming Robert Field’s early goal from a penalty corner in a 3-1 triumph against Holcombe before Allberry notched a hat-trick as Brooklands MU fell 7-4 in a thriller. 

Before losing to Wimbledon, defending champions from 2020, Surbiton, had claimed an impressive 8-0 victory against East Grinstead, with Gall’s fourth-quarter double capping a fine performance. 

To their credit, East Grinstead bounced back in the final game of the day, moving on to nine points in the process, by downing Repton 6-1 as a first-quarter blitz with goals from Jarryd Jones (two), Daniel Faulkner and Ross Stott did most of the damage. 

The day’s other game in the men’s Premier Division saw Holcombe emerge as 7-2 winners over Reading to get their first points of the Super 6s on the board – Field’s treble the highlight of an efficient display. 

Women’s Premier Division 

Meanwhile, in the Women’s Premier Division matches taking place at Whitgift School, an East Grinstead win in the very final game of the day ensured they top the table at the halfway mark. 

A tense encounter against Repton, who had a 100 per cent record from their first three games, saw captain Sally Walton give Repton an early lead from a penalty corner before Litiana Field responded in a similar fashion to equalise. 

Chloe Brown then put East Grinstead on top, Courtney Hansford made it 3-1 and although Svea Boker closed the gap six minutes from time, the West Sussex side held on for a hard-fought 3-2 win. 

Repton had previously looked almost unbeatable, with skipper Walton leading the way in style to top the goalscoring charts by some distance thanks to 11 in four games. 

She incredibly scored five in a swashbuckling 10-3 triumph over Wimbledon earlier on Sunday, as Boker and Claudia Swain also bagged braces after the Dons had taken a first-minute lead through Megan Batchelor. 

Despite defeat to East Grinstead – who had also won their first game on Sunday when Brown’s four goals helped them beat Bowdon Hightown 8-5 despite a Catriona Booth hat-trick for Bowdon – Repton still sit second in the table, just a point behind the leaders. 

Buckingham are third, level on points with Repton, after their Sunday matches both ended 3-2.  

Bowdon Hightown got the better of Bucks in the very first game of the day as Holly Hunt, Michelle Liptrot and Beth Alexander all netted, but Buckingham bounced back to edge Sutton Coldfield by the same scoreline thanks to strikes from Rebecca von Arrowsmith, Lauren Thomas and Lottie Porter. 

Sutton Coldfield’s other Sunday game was also decided by a one-goal margin as Leicester were downed 5-4 after Beth Peers’ late penalty stroke to complete her hat-trick made it 4-4 and captain Vicky Woolford then snatched a dramatic winner right at the death to stun their opponents. 

The victory means Sutton Coldfield are currently in possession of the fourth and final qualifying spot for the Super 6s Finals, ahead of fifth-placed Bowdon on goal difference. 

Slough are two points further back in sixth after they earned four points on Saturday but slipped to two narrow defeats 24 hours later – goals from Emma Bandurak and Candice Manuel handing Holcombe a 2-1 win, their first of the tournament, and Leicester then edging them 4-3. 

Sarah Parkinson-Mills grabbed a hat-trick for Slough but Jordan Homann and Alice Page’s early goals, combined with Katie Long’s double, was enough for the side from the East Midlands. 

The day’s other game saw Wimbledon record their first win by downing Holcombe 4-1, with Lucy Holder netting all four, and means no team in the women’s Premier Division is more than three points out of a Super 6s Finals qualifying spot ahead of next weekend’s action at Repton School. 

The Super 6s Finals - Hockey's Big Day In - return to the Copper Box Arena on Sunday 30 January 2022. Tickets will go on sale next week so keep a close eye on England Hockey's website and social media channels.