Week 14 Review of the England Hockey League

Men's Division One North leaders Loughborough Students won again but were made to work hard by hosts Harborne. Tom Thorne scored twice for Harborne but these sandwiched three Loughborough goals, from Joe Cotton (2) and Jack Webb. A 3-2 win means Loughborough are four points clear of Brooklands MU  who came home with a 5-2 win from the short trip to Deeside Ramblers. Birmingham University also won a local derby, 4-3 against Olton & West Warwicks with captain Alfie Weaver netting a 68^th minute corner to secure the points. Lindum stay ninth after a 3-0 loss at Nottingham University and Stourport are a point behind them. Stourport drew 3-3 with Durham University, Si Claris scored all three including a last gasp pc conversion, however they still trail Durham in eighth by seven points.

Reading stay seven points clear at the top of Division One South. They beat Havant 4-1. Nearest rivals Indian Gymkhana defeated Team Bath Buccaneers 7-3. Bath however climbed out of the relegation zone on Friday evening thanks to a 6-1 defeat of Bristol University in a rearranged match. Bristol dropped to ninth and couldn’t bounce back on Sunday losing 3-0 at home to Old Loughtonians. Bottom of the table Canterbury were beaten at home in a Kent derby by Sevenoaks.

Conference North sees Timperley with an eight points advantage in pole position. They travelled to local rivals Didsbury Northern and won 6-2 with Dominic Ashley scoring two of their goals. Leeds, in second, defeated bottom of the table Wakefield 5-3 to take the Yorkshire derby  honours. After their 2-2 draw with Durham University 2s ninth placed Ben Rhydding moved to within a point of Brooklands MU 2s who lost 3-1 at home to Doncaster. Above them Sheffield and Oxton drew 1-1.

Its tight at the top of Conference East where Spencer remain in pole position but have London Wayfarers and Surbiton 2s in close company. Spencer needed a last-minute goal from Jonny Parke to earn a point in a 3-3 draw with Old Cranleighan. OCs needed points at the other end of the table and led 2-0 and 3-2 at various times, all of their goals coming from Miguel Ralha.  Spencer’s dropped points mean that Wayfarers joined them on 28 points thanks to a 4-2 win over bottom of the table West Herts.  Surbiton 2s missed out on going top on goal difference as they were held 2-2 by Tunbridge Wells, They almost missed out on any points needing a late equaliser, Scott Evans scoring in the 69^th minute. Bromley & Beckenham won 2-0 at Wimbledon 2s and Hampstead & Westminster 2s also won away, 2-1 at Brighton & Hove.

Repton are six points clear at the top of Conference Midlands. They came out on top with a 2-0 win at Nottingham University 2s. Second placed Chelmsford maintained their challenge beating Cambridge City 6-3 with doubles for Freddie Smith and David Agar. Bottom of the table Harleston Magpies ended a six-match losing streak with a 2-1 win over Banbury to give them hope of avoiding the drop. They are three points from safety and trail Birmingham University 2s in ninth by a point. Birmingham drew 3-3 with St Albans.

The Tristem brothers helped Conference West leaders to a 10-0 win over Isca. Ed scored four and William three as they kept up a five-point advantage over Clifton Robinsons. Clifton won 5-3 at Exeter University 2s with Ben Stone netting a hat-trick. At the other end of the table Reading 2s narrowed the gap to safety after a 2-1 win at bottom of the table Team Bath Buccaneers 2s. The South Coast derby went the way of Chichester who beat Fareham 3-1. Ashmoor won 2-0 at Oxford Hawks

DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Simon Claris (Stourport) 25

Ghazanfar Ali (Deeside Ramblers) 12

Zak Buck (University of Nottingham) 10

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) 18

Charlie Ellison (Reading) 12

Vlaccheslav Paviuk (Havant) 12

DIVISION ONE SOUTH CLEAN SHEETS

Jack Tranter (Old Loughtonians) 3

Peter Holdbury (Team Bath Buccaneers) 2

Rory Mylroi (Sevenoaks) 2

Chris Wyver (Reading) 2

CONFERENCE EAST TOP SCORERS

Connor Poulain (Tunbridge Wells) 11

Sebastian Shaw (Spencer) 11

Adam Flett (Brighton & Hove) 9

Morgan Males (Surbiton 2) 9

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS

Matthew Cady (Bromley & Beckenham) 3

Lekan Ogunlana (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 3

Alex Rooney (London Wayfarers) 3

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS

Muhammad Irfan (Barford Tigers) 13

David Agar (Chelmsford) 12

Cameron Cooke (Norwich City) 12

Adam Dixon (Repton) 12

Myles King (Harleston Magpies) 12

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS CLEAN SHEETS

Ambrose Davis (Repton) 3

Will Powell (Banbury) 3

Simon Dolan (Norwich City) 2

James Stock (Chelmsford) 2

CONFERENCE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Will Musgrave (Ben Rhydding) 14

Ethan Price (Oxton) 14

Matt Gibson (Doncaster) 12

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Robert Turner (Timperley) 4

Alexander Findlater (Sheffield) 3

CONFERENCE WEST TOP SCORERS

William Tristem (Guildford) 18

Ed Tristem (Guildford) 13

Cameron Baker (Guildford) 12

Ben Stone (Clifton Robinsons) 12

CONFERENCE WEST CLEAN SHEETS

Conal Blackwell (Guildford) 5

Chris Bristow (Chichester) 4

Paddy Walton (Ashmoor) 4
 

Durham University maintain their three point advantage at the top of Womens Division One North thanks to a 2-0 win at Ben Rhydding. Goals in the first and last quarter from Amelie Hales and Scarlett Spavin earned them the points. Second placed Beeston remain on Durham’s heels. They had a tough match at third placed Buckingham, trailing 1-0 just before the break but fighting back to win 3-1. Repton eased relegation fears with a 3-0 win over bottom of the table Wakefield, Lucy Barker netting a first half hat-trick for Repton. Pendle Forest, who are also just above the relegation places picked up a useful point, coming from two down to draw 2-2 at Olton & West Warwicks. Gloucester City moved two points above Leicester City, who replace them in ninth, after a 5-0 win, that saw two goals apiece for Emily Rogers and Sally Walton.

A point separates the top two in Division One South where the teams both won and have moved clear of the pack. Leaders Barnes won 3-1 at Bristol Firebrands with two goals for Alice Huddlestone and one for Lara Tegner. Second placed Exeter University beat Surbiton 2s 4-2 with Lorna Willmott scoring a hat-trick, to leave Surbiton on the fringe of the title race. Guildford are in the same position after a 2-2 draw with bottom of the table Wimbledon 2s. Sevenoaks in eighth earned another point in their quest for safety in a 1-1 draw with Harleston Magpies whilst below them Slough went down to a 2-1 defeat at home to Southgate.

The top five played the bottom five in Conference West and the form book was followed in all of the games. Leaders Reading 2s stay nine points clear after a 3-0 win at Team Bath Buccaneers. Second placed Trojans were 2-0 winners at bottom of the table Witney.  Two Claire Jones goals helped Clifton Robinsons to the same scoreline against Exeter who stay ninth. The teams just above them both also lost. Swansea were defeated 5-2 at Lansdown where Emma Howitt hit a hat trick and Marlow were beaten 4-0 at home by Cheltenham.

Leeds are now three points clear at the top of Conference North. They won 3-1 at Alderley Edge and saw second and third placed Fylde and Bowdon 2s play out a 0-0 draw to dent both their title hopes. At the other end of the table Doncaster slip to ninth after a 1-0 defeat at Whitley Bay & Tynemouth. Didsbury Northern go above Doncaster after securing an important three points in defeating bottom of the table Harrogate 3-1. Harrogate’s relegation is now confirmed.  Emma Sawers scored twice as Newcastle University beat student rivals Durham 2s 4-0.   

A 3-1 win over bottom of the table Bedford means Loughborough Students 2s stay six points clear at the top of Conference Midlands. Emily McStea scored two of second placed Cambridge City goals in a 3-0 win at Stourport. Beeston 2s picked up important points in their battle to avoid the drop, winning 3-0 at Cambridge University. Cannock did likewise in beating Oxford Hawks 4-2. Jodie Beddow scored two of their goals as they move out of the bottom two replaced by Hawks who trail them on goal difference. St Albans beat Birmingham University 2s 2-0.    

It was tight day’s action in Conference East with only one game having more than a single goal margin. And that was a crucial one as Hampstead & Westminster 2s won 2-0 at Teddington to replace them at the top of table on goal difference. Third placed London Wayfarers are five points back after a 1-0 win over Canterbury who stay eighth. Sevenoaks 2s are a point behind Canterbury after their 0-0 draw with seventh placed Wapping. Bottom of the table East London boosted their hopes of staying up with a 2-1 win over Old Loughtonians. Only four points separate East London from sixth placed Old Georgians who drew 2-2 with Spencer, being denied all three points by a 70^th minute Maddie Cleat corner.  
 

DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Alice Conquest (Olton & West Warwicks) 15

Sophia Crawshay (Buckingham) 14

Lizzy Pocknell (Durham University) 12

DIVISION ONE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Gabrielle Barraco (Beeston) 9

Madeline Boyes (Durham University) 7

Amelia Jones (Buckingham) 5

DIVISION ONE SOUTH TOP SCORERS

Emily Barrett (Sevenoaks) 9

Allice Huddlestone (Barnes) 8

Katie McCallum (Southgate) 8

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

Katherine Round (East London) 9

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS

Cecily Wood (Teddington) 6

Frederique Briscoe (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 5

Jenna Broughton-Lloyd (Wapping) 5

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS

Emily McStea (Cambridge City) 17

Jodie Beddow (Cannock) 13

Amy Cradden (Loughborough Students 2) 8

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS CLEAN SHEETS

Millie Owton (Loughborough Students 2) 6

Serena Cole (Cambridge University) 3

Frances Taylor (Stourport) 3

Kate Brine (Oxford Hawks) 3

Heather Elder (Cambridge City) 3

CONFERENCE NORTH TOP SCORERS

Anna Rutherford (Leeds) 13

Jeorgia Carr (Bowdon 2) 9

Georgia Lawes (Newcastle University) 9

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS

Ffion Horrell (Durham University 2) 4

Katie Barker (Fylde) 4

Grace Hardy (Bowdon 2) 4

Amy Keirl (Whitley Bay & Tynemouth) 4

Lucy Stead (Newcastle University) 3