Week 18 Review of the England Hockey League

Brooklands MU won Division One North as long-time leaders Loughborough Students were denied the title by a last gasp corner conversion from Durham University’s Kristopher Watt meaning their game ended 3-3.  Loughborough needed to win to ensure they stayed ahead of Brooklands MU and led on three occasions only for Durham to level things up each time. This left them waiting on the Brooklands - Nottingham University result and it went the way of Brooklands with a  3-1 win. The Cheshire side return to the top-flight after two seasons’ absence. After a loss in the first round of matches in 2025 Brooklands reeled off seven straight wins, scoring 30 goals along the way,  including a  crucial 4-1 win over Loughborough a fortnight ago. Elsewhere Harborne will have enjoyed a 3-1 derby win against old rivals Olton & West Warwicks and Deeside Ramblers beat Birmingham University 3-1.  The battle between the relegated sides saw Stourport overcome Lindum 3-2 with a hat-trick for Si Claris, the leading scorer in the Division, 29 times on target, over 70% of all of his team’s goals. 
 
Reading wrapped up the Division One South title last weekend but ended on a high with a 3-1 win over Teddington. Runners-up Indian Gymkhana beat Havant 4-2. Tom Watson hit a hat-trick in Old Loughtonians 5-2 win at Sevenoaks.  Exeter University beat already relegated Bristol University 3-1. Who would join Bristol would be decided at Polo Farm where Canterbury met Team Bath Buccaneers needing a win to overhaul them. They did just that, in emphatic style, with a 6-0 win to earn their safety. Alec Rasmussen netted three of their goals. 
 
Conference North winners Timperley received their trophy and medals after a 4-3 win against Doncaster. Second placed Leeds beat Sheffield 5-2. Sheffield in sixth were one of  a number of teams still not safe but Brooklands MU in ninth who could catch them lost 4-2 at Wakefield to go down with the Yorkshire side. This meant Durham University 2s, who lost 1-0 at Oxton and Ben Rhydding, who drew 1-1 with Didsbury Northern, were also safe too. The final table will be revised to reflect a two point deduction for Oxton for playing an ineligible player in their game against Doncaster earlier this year. 
 
Unbeaten Conference West champions Guildford ended on a high with a 4-0 defeat of second placed Clifton Robinsons who pushed them for much of the season and were the only team to take points off them. This means Guildford end eight points clear of Robbies and a huge 25 points ahead of third placed Chichester who won 2-1 at Ashmoor. Exeter University 2s ended level with Chichester after a 4-3 win at Oxford Hawks. Fareham beat relegated Team Bath Buccaneers 2s 6-1 and Reading 2s who will also go down, drew 1-1 at Isca. 
 
It was a free scoring last weekend in Conference Midlands with 34 goals. Champions Repton  didn’t let up winning 6-3 at Harleston Magpies to condemn the East Anglian side to relegation. They are joined by Cambridge City who lost 4-0 at Barford Tigers. Birmingham University 2s  finished two points ahead Harleston after a 3-3 draw at Chelmsford. Morgan Sumner hit a hat-trick for St Albans who beat Nottingham University 2s 6-2 and Norwich City beat Banbury 4-3. 
 
Surbiton 2s took the Conference East title with a 4-2 win over Hampstead & Westminster 2s. The game was 1-1 with 11 minutes to go when Freddie Lett and William Haspel scored in quick succession to put Surbiton 3-1 up. Jordan Turnbull pulled one back for Hampstead but Jack Hobkirk sealed the win. Surbiton’s closest rivals London Wayfarers trailed by -7 goal difference going into the final games but lost 2-1 to Wimbledon 2s who stay up on the back of the win. Tunbridge Wells joined already relegated West Herts after losing 4-1 to Old Cranleighan. West Herts lost5-2 at home to Spencer. Brighton & Hove ended their campaign with a four match winning streak, winning 2-1 against Bromley & Beckenham on Sunday.  
 
The eight Area League winners will be promoted to the league and to date the following champions are confirmed  
 
East – City of Peterborough 
London -  Southgate 2s 
North West - Neston 
South Central – Marlow 
West – Cardiff & Met 2s 
Yorkshire & NE – Newcastle University 
 
For a summary of the top of each of the Area Premier Divisions see The Areas Page
 
DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS 

Simon Claris (Stourport) 29 

Ghazanfar Ali (Deeside Ramblers) 15 

Zak Buck (University of Nottingham) 13 

Sam Dixon (Lindum) 13 

Peter Flanagan (Brooklands Manchester University) 11 

Alfie Weaver (University of Birmingham) 11 

Carlon Mentoor (Brooklands Manchester University) 10 

DIVISION ONE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Yuvraj Singh Bhuhi (Loughborough Students) 4 

Jamie Butler (University of Nottingham) 2 

Tom Marshall (Brooklands MU) 2 

David Wood (University of Nottingham) 2 

 
DIVISION ONE SOUTH TOP SCORERS 

Joe Naughalty (Sevenoaks) 21 

Charlie Ellison (Reading) 14 

Oliver Macintyre (Old Loughtonians) 14 

Daman Bansal (Indian Gymkhana) 12 

Vlaccheslav Paviuk (Havant) 12 

Rizwan Ali (Indian Gymkhana) 11 

Jake Bennett (Exeter University) 11 

Tom Watson (Old Loughtonians) 11 

DIVISION ONE SOUTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Jack Tranter (Old Loughtonians) 3 

James Carleton (University of Exeter) 3 

Chris Wyver (Reading) 3 

Peter Holdbury (Team Bath Buccaneers) 2 

Rory Mylroi (Sevenoaks) 2 

CONFERENCE EAST TOP SCORERS 

Connor Poulain (Tunbridge Wells) 13 

Sebastian Shaw (Spencer) 13 

Morgan Males (Surbiton 2) 12 

Joseph Mulholland (Bromley & Beckenham) 12 

Adam Flett (Brighton & Hove) 10 

Neil Hamilton (Spencer) 10 

Sam Paterson (London Wayfarers) 10 

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS 

Matthew Cady (Bromley & Beckenham) 3 

Lekan Ogunlana (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 3 

Alex Rooney (London Wayfarers) 3 

Chris Borsoi (Brighton & Hove) 2 

Lucas Egloff (Old Cranleighan) 2 

Dewi Roblin (Surbiton 2) 2 

 
CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS 

Muhammad Irfan (Barford Tigers) 18 

David Agar (Chelmsford) 17 

Cameron Cooke (Norwich City) 17 

Conor Annand (Cambridge City) 15 

Adam Dixon (Repton) 15 

Myles King (Harleston Magpies) 15 

Joshua Nunneley (Banbury) 15 

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 

Matt Gibson (Doncaster) 17 

Will Musgrave (Ben Rhydding) 16 

Jack Fletcher (Leeds) 15 

Ethan Price (Oxton) 15 

George Godwin (Leeds) 13 

Cameron Lewis (Timperley) 12 

Connor Miller (Timperley) 12 

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Robert Turner (Timperley) 5 

George Bradley-Consitt (Leeds) 3 

Alexander Findlater (Sheffield) 3 

Tom Mealor (Oxton) 3 

Maxwell Davidson (Doncaster) 2 

Josh Parkinson (Wakefield) 2 

Martin Rose (Brooklands MU 2) 2 

Jacob Van Bentum (Didsbury Northern) 2 

CONFERENCE WEST TOP SCORERS  

Ben Stone (Clifton Robinsons) 21 

William Tristem (Guildford) 21 

Ed Tristem (Guildford) 15 

Sammy Dowds (Guildford) 14 

Cameron Baker (Guildford) 13 

Jonathan Wright (Isca) 11 

Raphael Boulanger (Guildford) 10 

Jack Hobbs (Oxford Hawks) 10 

CONFERENCE WEST CLEAN SHEETS  

Conal Blackwell (Guildford) 5 

Paddy Walton (Ashmoor) 5 

Chris Bristow (Chichester) 4 

Ben O’Sullivan (Clifton Robinsons) 4 

Anton van Loggerenberg (Guildford) 4 

Louis Greig (University of Exeter 2) 3 

Durham University clinched the Womens Division One North title with a 4-3 win at Gloucester City. Needing to avoid defeat to finish first Durham found themselves 1-0 and 2-1 down to an in-form Gloucester team either side of half time. They then took a 3-2 lead into the dying moments before a 68^th minute Emma Williams equaliser set up a potentially stressful last two minutes. However Scarlet Spavin settled the nerves with a goal a minute later to seal a 4-3 win and promotion to the top-flight for the first time. After a poor start to the season Beeston had pursued Durham all the way and won 5-0 at Ben Rhydding but to no avail. The other outstanding matter was who would go down with Wakefield. Leicester City defeated the Yorkshire side 5-1 but were unable to overhaul Pendle Forest who had a fine 4-2 win at Buckingham, pipping Leicester for eighth on goal difference.  Elsewhere Repton beat Olton & West Warwicks 2-0. 
 
All matters had been wrapped up in Womens Division One South before the weekend. Champions Barnes received the trophy and medals after a 4-0 win over Harleston Magpies. Runners-up Exeter University won 3-0 at Bristol Firebrands, Sevenoaks beat  Southgate 3-1 at Trent Park and Surbiton 2s won 2-1 at Guildford. In the battle between the bottom two Wimbledon 2s came out on top in a 3-0 win over Slough to move above them into ninth.        
 
It was a similar story in Conference West with only pride up for grabs. Emma Howitt scored both Lansdown’s goals in a 2-0 win at champions Reading 2s, ending their hopes of an unbeaten season.  Second placed Trojans drew 3-3 with Exeter. Team Bath Buccaneers beat Marlow 2-0. The relegated teams Witney and Swansea both lost at home, to Clifton Robinsons 2, 5-1 and Cheltenham, 2-0, respectively. 
 
In Conference Midlands title winners Loughborough Students 2 signed off in style with a 7-2 win at Cannock. Runners-up Cambridge City beat Cambridge University 2-1 to take the Town v Gown honours. Birmingham University 2s won 3-1 at Stourport and St Albans were victorious 3-2 at relegated Bedford. Who would join Bedford in playing Area League hockey next season was the only outstanding matter. Beeston 2s travelled to Oxford Hawks with the hosts needing to win to overhaul the Nottinghamshire side. Hawks achieved this with a 3-1 win. 
 
The Conference North champions Leeds fell to a 4-2 loss at Whitley Bay & Tynemouth. Alderley Edge beat Durham University 2s by the same scoreline as did Bowdon 2s against relegated Harrogate. A 1-0 win for Didsbury Northern at Newcastle University meant they jumped out of the bottom two, to be replaced by Doncaster who went down 4-3 at Fylde,  
 
The battle for the Conference East title went to the wire and it was Teddington who proved victorious by two points. They went into the last round of games level on points with Hampstead & Westminster 2s but with a marginally inferior goal difference. However Hampstead could only draw, 2-2, at Old Georgians meaning that Teddington’s 4-2 win at London Wayfarers secured them top spot.  Elsewhere relegated East London lost 2-0 at home to Canterbury and Sevenoaks 2s who are also going down drew 2-2 at Spencer. Old Loughtonians and Wapping drew 1-1. 
 
The eight Area League winners will be promoted to the league and to date the following champions are confirmed

East – Harleston Magpies 2s  
Midlands – Nottingham Trent University 
North West – Kirkby Stephen 
South Central – Oxford University  
West – Cardiff & Met 
Yorkshire & NE - Sheffield 
 
DIVISION ONE NORTH TOP SCORERS  

Sophia Crawshay (Buckingham) 17 

Lauren Burrell (Beeston) 16 

Lizzy Pocknell (Durham University) 16 

Alice Conquest (Olton & West Warwicks) 15 

Evelyn Wilson (Durham University) 14 

Charlotte Hartley (Pendle Forest) 13 

Sally Walton (Gloucester City) 13 

Isabelle Smith (Beeston) 11 

Emma Williams (Gloucester City) 11 

DIVISION ONE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Gabrielle Barraco (Beeston) 11 

Madeline Boyes (Durham University) 9 

Amelia Jones (Buckingham) 5 

Isobel Orpin (Repton) 4 

Charlotte Smith (Ben Rhydding) 4 

 
DIVISION ONE SOUTH TOP SCORERS  

Aleesa Ferguson (Barnes) 13 

Alice Huddlestone (Barnes) 12 

Emily Barrett (Sevenoaks) 9 

Amie Hunt (Surbiton 2) 9 

Katie McCallum (Southgate) 9 

Maria Andrews (Bristol Firebrands) 8 

Matilda Gibson (Surbiton 2) 8 

DIVISION ONE SOUTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Sophia Colman (Harleston Magpies) 7 

Katie Martin-Fagg (Barnes) 7 

Rose Thomas (Guildford) 6 

Meg James (Sevenoaks) 4 

 
CONFERENCE EAST TOP SCORERS  

Olivia Lee-Smith (London Wayfarers) 13 

Bente Eggink (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 11 

Madeleine Newlyn (Old Loughtonians) 11 

Mel Ball (Teddington) 10 

Hannah Griggs (Spencer) 10 

Katherine Round (East London) 9 

Gillian Pinder (Spencer) 7 

CONFERENCE EAST CLEAN SHEETS 

Cecily Wood (Teddington) 7 

Frederique Briscoe (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 5 

Jenna Broughton-Lloyd (Wapping) 5 

Jenny Lee (Spencer) 3 

Tamsin Rees (Sevenoaks 2) 3 

Vicky Shelbourn (London Wayfarers) 3 
 

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS TOP SCORERS  

Emily McStea (Cambridge City) 19 

Jodie Beddow (Cannock) 16 

Lottie Gill (Cambridge University) 11 

Amy Cradden (Loughborough Students 2) 9 

Sade Gerald (Stourport) 9 

Bryony Gillgrass (Stourport) 9 

Georgina Hampson (St. Albans) 8 

Kirby Harris (Loughborough Students 2) 8 

CONFERENCE MIDLANDS CLEAN SHEETS 

Millie Owton (Loughborough Students 2) 7 

Serena Cole (Cambridge University) 3 

Frances Taylor (Stourport) 3 

Kate Brine (Oxford Hawks) 3 

Heather Elder (Cambridge City) 3 

Amy Hughes (University of Birmingham 2) 3 

 
CONFERENCE NORTH TOP SCORERS  

Anna Rutherford (Leeds) 18 

Nicola Kellett (Fylde) 13 

Alice Lamb (Durham University 2) 12 

Megan Wildish (Fylde) 11 

Georgia Lawes (Newcastle University) 10 

Jessica Wharton (Fylde) 10 

Jeorgia Carr (Bowdon 2) 9 

Jess Ferguson (Leeds) 9 

Rebecca Worthington (Fylde) 9 

CONFERENCE NORTH CLEAN SHEETS 

Amy Keirl (Whitley Bay & Tynemouth) 5 

Katie Barker (Fylde) 4 

Grace Hardy (Bowdon 2) 4 

Ffion Horrell (Durham University 2) 4 

Naomi McCarthy (Leeds) 4 

 
CONFERENCE WEST TOP SCORERS  

Amy Sheehan (Trojans) 21 

Emma Howitt (Lansdown) 19 

Claire Jones (Clifton Robinsons 2) 13 

Eliza Chippendale (Reading 2) 10 

Emily Hobbs (Cheltenham) 10 

Olivia Forey (Swansea) 9 

Cerys King (Team Bath Buccaneers) 9 

Martha Goodridge (Marlow) 8 

CONFERENCE WEST CLEAN SHEETS 

Mia James (Reading 2) 5 

Victoria Waring (Lansdown) 5 

Grace Diamond (Swansea) 4 

Nicole Marks (Clifton Robinsons 2) 4 

Alys Ramm (Marlow) 4 

Alice Patterson (Team Bath Buccaneers) 3