Week 14 Review of the England Hockey League

Saturday saw a potentially season defining day at the top of Mens Division One South with leaders Reading securing a narrow home win and their nearest rivals Indian Gymkhana falling to defeat on the road. Reading overcame stern resistance from Exeter University to run out 2-1 winners whilst Indian Gymkhana were beaten for only the second time this season, going down 3-2 to Old Loughtonians whose skipper Conor Caplan hit the winner with eight minutes left. It was a similar scoreline at Teddington, victors over Havant, and at Canterbury who overcame relegation rivals Bristol University. Canterbury remain bottom but had more positive news from just along the M2  as Sevenoaks defeated Team Bath Buccaneers who are also in the drop zone, 7-2.

The top 5 met the bottom 5 in Division One North and the games all went to form. Montgomery Neave hit a hat-trick in unbeaten leaders’ Loughborough Students 6-2 rout of bottom of the table Stourport. It was the same score at Brooklands MU who beat ninth placed Lindum to remain four points off the top. Two late goals for Nottingham University helped them to a 4-2 win in the all-student match-up with Durham and Harborne took the “town v gown” honours beating Birmingham University 4-2.  Olton & West Warwicks saw off Deeside Ramblers with a 3-2 win.

Timperley remain unbeaten at the top of Conference North but were made to work hard for a 3-1 home win by bottom of the table Wakefield. Their lead over Leeds is extended to eight points after Leeds were held to a 4-4 draw by second bottom Ben Rhydding, the home side battling back from 4-1 down at the start of the last quarter. Didsbury Northern enjoyed a good 2-1 win at Doncaster and Oxton put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone winning 3-1 at Brooklands MU 2s.  Durham University 2s and Sheffield drew 1-1.

Guildford march on at the top of Conference West, with a 5-0 defeat of visiting Team Bath Buccaneers 2s keeping them five points clear at the top, Bath remain rooted to the bottom. Second placed Clifton Robinsons keep in touch thanks to a 4-1 win over Oxford Hawks. Exeter University 2s gained some consolation for their 1s loss beating Reading 2s 4-1. Reading in ninth are now five points off safety after eighth place Isca edged out Chichester 4-3. Chichester pulled the game back from 3-1 down with ten minutes to go but Jonathan Wright converted a last gasp corner to give Isca all three points. Ashmoor beat Fareham 2-0.

Repton extend their lead at the top of Conference Midlands to six points after a 2-1 win at St Albans who were second going into the latest round of games. Chelmsford move up to second on the back of their 4-0 win at bottom of the table Harleston Magpies.  Birmingham University 2s stay ninth after a 4-2 home loss at the hands of Norwich City. Cambridge City are three points ahead of them after they lost too, 5-1 at Banbury. Barford Tigers and Nottingham University 2s played out a 5-5 thrilling draw, Nottingham led 3-0 after just 10 minutes, Barford led 5-3 with six minutes remaining and Nottingham scored in the 64th and 67th minutes to earn a point.

Two goals apiece from George Carson and Sebastian Shaw propelled Spencer to the top of Conference East in a 4-1 win at Wimbledon 2s. Previous leaders Surbiton 2s were beaten 3-1 at London Wayfarers, who join them on 25 points, two behind Spencer. At the other end of the table Tunbridge Wells jumped out of the bottom two thanks to a 5-1 defeat of 10^th placed West Herts. They are replaced by Old Cranleighan who lost 3-0 to resurgent Brighton & Hove, Adam Flett scoring all three of the Sussex side’s goals.   Fourth placed Bromley & Beckenham are only five points clear of ninth so the three points earned in a 2-0 win over Hampstead & Westminster 2s are crucial.

DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Simon Claris (Stourport) 22

Ghazanfar Ali (Deeside Ramblers) 12

Sam Dixon (Lindum)10

DIVISION ONE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Yuvraj Singh Bhuhi (Loughborough Students) 4

Jamie Butler (University of Nottingham) 2

Tom Marshall (Brooklands MU) 2

DIVISION ONE SOUTH TOP SCORERS

Joe Naughalty (Sevenoaks) 17

Vlaccheslav Paviuk (Havant) 12

Charlie Ellison (Reading) 11

DIVISION ONE SOUTH CLEAN SHEETS

Peter Holdbury (Team Bath Buccaneers) 2

Rory Mylroi (Sevenoaks) 2

Jack Tranter (Old Loughtonians) 2

Chris Wyver (Reading) 2

CONFERENCE EAST TOP SCORERS

Sebastian Shaw (Spencer) 11

Connor Poulain (Tunbridge Wells) 10

Adam Flett (Brighton & Hove) 8

Bill Gage (West Herts) 8

Morgan Males (Surbiton 2) 8

Sam Paterson (London Wayfarers) 8

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS

Alex Rooney (London Wayfarers) 3

Lekan Ogunlana (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 3

Chris Borsoi (Brighton & Hove) 2

Matthew Cady (Bromley & Beckenham) 2

Dewi Roblin (Surbiton 2) 2

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS

David Agar (Chelmsford) 11

Adam Dixon (Repton) 11

Muhammad Irfan (Barford Tigers) 11

Myles King (Harleston Magpies) 11

Joshua Nunneley (Banbury) 10

Le-Neal Jackson (Barford Tigers) 10

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS CLEAN SHEETS

Will Powell (Banbury) 3

Ambrose Davis (Repton) 2

Simon Dolan (Norwich City) 2

James Stock (Chelmsford) 2

CONFERENCE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Will Musgrave (Ben Rhydding) 14

Ethan Price (Oxton) 13

Jack Fletcher (Leeds) 11

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Robert Turner (Timperley) 4

Alexander Findlater (Sheffield) 3

George Bradley-Consitt (Leeds) 2

Martin Rose (Brooklands MU 2) 2

Jacob Van Bentum (Didsbury Northern) 2

CONFERENCE WEST TOP SCORERS

William Tristem (Guildford) 15

Cameron Baker (Guildford) 12

Jonathan Wright (Isca) 10

CONFERENCE WEST CLEAN SHEETS

Conal Blackwell (Guildford) 5

Chris Bristow (Chichester) 4

Ben O’Sullivan (Clifton Robinsons) 3

Paddy Walton (Ashmoor) 3

The top two in Womens Division One South Barnes and Exeter University both enjoyed 3-1 wins on Saturday. Leaders Barnes overcame visiting Slough and Exeter, who trail them by a point, won  at Guildford, a result that means Guildford are now six points off the top. Harleston Magpies who are unbeaten in 2025 won 3-2 at bottom of the table Wimbledon 2s, and Bristol  Firebrands who have also had a good 2025 won 4-2 at Southgate with Maria Andrews netting a hat-trick. Sevenoaks in eighth, put daylight between themselves and the relegation spots with a 2-1 win at  Surbiton 2s.

Durham University stay three points clear in Division One North after a 4-0 win at Pendle Forest. Beeston will be waiting for any slip up and overcame Leicester City 7-0, including a hat-trick for Isabelle Smith. Repton put daylight between themselves and the relegation places thanks to a 2-0 win at Ben Rhydding. Bottom of the table Wakefield gained a credible point in a 2-2 draw at Olton & West Warwicks, ninth placed Gloucester City also picked up a point in a 3-3 draw with third placed Buckingham.

Top played bottom in Conference West and there were no surprises as leaders Reading 2s ran out 6-0 winners over Witney. Reading lead second placed Trojans by nine points after the Southampton side beat Team Bath Buccaneers 3-1. Exeter, in ninth,  kept their hopes of avoiding the drop alive with a 5-1 win at Swansea, the Welsh team are now just two points above them. Cheltenham beat Clifton Robinsons 2s 2-0 and Lansdown overcame Marlow 1-0.

There was a change at the top of Conference North where Leeds now lead by a point. They defeated Newcastle University 6-1 and saw Fylde, who were in pole position going into the weekend’s games, lose 3-2 at Alderley Edge. Bowdon 2s missed the chance to get into the title mix after being held 1-1 by Durham University 2s. Durham beat Alderley Edge 1-0 in Sunday’s rearranged game. Bottom of the table Harrogate lost 1-0 to Whitley Bay & Tynemouth whilst above them Doncaster moved out of the bottom thanks to a 1-0 win over Didsbury Northern who replace them in ninth.

A 2-0 win at Beeston 2s means Loughborough Students 2s are now six points clear at the top of Conference Midlands.  The extended lead was due to nearest rivals Cambridge City, dropping points in a 2-2 draw with Cannock. Cannock stay in the relegation spots despite this point as Oxford Hawks won 3-0 against bottom side Bedford. Birmingham and Cambridge Universities drew 2-2 and St Albans won 2-0 at Stourport.

Conference East leaders Teddington won 3-0 at Spencer and remain three points ahead of Hampstead & Westminster 2s who won 2-1 at Canterbury. Things are tight at the other end of the table. Tenth placed East London earned a point at London Wayfarers with Victoria Beglin’s second goal, an overtime corner, tying things up at 3-3. Sevenoaks 2s, in ninth, lost 1-0 at Old Loughtonians but Wapping, who were level on points with Sevenoaks before Saturday, beat Old Georgians 1-0 to climb up the table and keep OGs in the relegation fight. 

DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Alice Conquest (Olton & West Warwicks) 14

Sophia Crawshay (Buckingham) 13

Lizzy Pocknell (Durham University) 12

DIVISION ONE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Gabrielle Barraco (Beeston) 9

Madeline Boyes (Durham University) 6

Amelia Jones (Buckingham) 5

DIVISION ONE SOUTH TOP SCORERS

Emily Barrett (Sevenoaks) 8

Aleesa Ferguson (Barnes) 7

Katie MacCallum (Southgate) 7

DIVISION ONE SOUTH CLEAN SHEETS

Rose Thomas (Guildford) 6

Katie Martin-Fagg (Barnes) 5

Sophia Colman (Harleston Magpies) 4

CONFERENCE EAST TOP SCORERS

Olivia Lee-Smith (London Wayfarers) 12

Mel Ball (Teddington) 10

Bente Eggink (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 10

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS

Cecily Wood (Teddington) 6

Frederique Briscoe (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 5

Jenna Broughton-Lloyd (Wapping) 4

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS

Emily McStea (Cambridge City) 15

Jodie Beddow (Cannock) 11

Amy Cradden (Loughborough Students 2) 7

Holly Dean (Cambridge City) 7

Lottie Gill (Cambridge University) 7

Bryony Gillgrass (Stourport) 7

Conference Midlands Clean Sheets

Millie Owton (Loughborough Students 2) 6

Serena Cole (Cambridge University) 3

Frances Taylor (Stourport) 3

Kate Brine (Oxford Hawks) 3

CONFERENCE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Anna Rutherford (Leeds) 12

Jeorgia Carr (Bowdon 2) 9

Alice Lamb (Durham University 2) 8

Georgia Lawes (Newcastle University) 8

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Ffion Horrell (Durham University 2) 4

Katie Barker (Fylde) 3

Grace Hardy (Bowdon 2) 3

Amy Keirl (Whitley Bay & Tynemouth) 3

CONFERENCE WEST TOP SCORERS

Amy Sheehan (Trojans) 13

Emma Fluff Howitt (Lansdown) 12

Claire Jones (Clifton Robinsons 2) 10

CONFERENCE WEST CLEAN SHEETS

Grace Diamond (Swansea) 4

Mia James (Reading 2) 4

Nicole Marks (Clifton Robinsons 2) 3

Alys Ramm (Marlow) 3

Victoria Waring (Lansdown) 3