Canterbury & Surbiton through to Investec Women’sFinal
12th April 2014In just their second season of top flight hockey Surrey side Surbiton put in a brilliant performance against defending champions Reading to earn themselves a 4-1 victory and a place in the championship final tomorrow. In the match before Canterbury continued their dominance in the Premier Division as they saw off Clifton in the first semi-final of the day; goals from Eliza Brett and Anna Baker gave them a 2-0 victory and guaranteed the Kent side a top two finish.
Earlier in the day Conference East side Holcombe and Premier Division Sutton Coldfield took a step towards securing top flight status next season. Holcombe were in fine form as they saw off Play-Off regulars Buckingham, while Sutton Coldfield came from behind twice to take a 3-2 victory over Conference North representatives Brooklands Poynton.
Investec Women’s Hockey League Championship
Canterbury 2 (1)
Eliza Brett 8 (FG)
Anna Baker 43 (FG)
Clifton 0 (0)
The first semi-final of the day saw Clifton take on top-of-the-table Canterbury for a place in tomorrow’s final. The match started with equal possession from both teams as they settled in to the game. In the 8th minute however, a pass from Canterbury’s Gen Masters crossed the face of the goal and was tapped in by Eliza Brett giving them a 1-0 lead over Clifton. Despite notable performances from Clifton’s Zoe Leach and Izzy Palmer, no further goals were scored in the first half.
The second half started explosively, both teams eager to score the next goal but it was Canterbury again who were successful. Thirteen minutes in to the half, Canterbury’s Anna Baker struck the ball in to the top right of the net, past Clifton’s Caitlin Jeffries in goal, bringing the score to 2-0. Despite several opportunities, including a penalty corner in the final minute of the match, Clifton were unable to get on the score-sheet and the final score stood at 2-0 to send Canterbury through to tomorrow's final.
Following the game, Canterbury's Captain Grace Balsdon commented on her team's performance. "We’re really happy, the girls did an excellent job on the pitch. We’d done our homework on Caitlin [Jefferies], the Clifton goalkeeper. We know she’s a very good shot stopper and so we had to move the ball around her in the circle and get tips and touches. Credit to the girls, they did exactly that and we managed to sneak in two goals, so we're very pleased."
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Reading 1 (0)
Dirkie Chamberlain 59 (FG)
Surbiton 4 (0)
Jenna Woolven 38, 66 (PC, FG)
Rebecca Herbert 55 (FG)
Georgie Twigg 69 (PS)
Surbiton booked their place in the Investec Women's Hockey League Final with a fantastic 4-1 win over Reading. The [Reading] home crowd were left disappointed, after a goalless first-half turned Surbiton's way in the second 35 minutes and with four goals to their name the Surrey side booked their place in the final against Canterbury.
The first half saw few clear chances for either team as they each searched for a way to penetrate strong defences. Sarah Haycroft and Sarah Page looked threatening for Surbiton and their pressure created the best chance of the half; a mistake by the Reading defence gifted Page the ball in danger, and she drove into the circle, but was denied by a superb save by Sarah Ellis in goal.
Surbiton quickly took the lead early in the second half from a penalty corner, as Chloe Strong's shot was saved but the rebound was put away by Jenna Woolven to make it 1-0. Reading were steadily increasing the pressure though, with Alex Danson, Becky Halle and Susie Gilbert all creating good chances. But Surbiton's defence looked imperious, especially Giselle Ansley who was rock-solid.
Surbiton's second goal came from another error by the Reading defence. This time Beckie Herbert was given the ball inside her own half and drove the length of the pitch before tucking the ball neatly underneath the on-rushing Ellis with a reverse stick shot. At 2-0, Reading were not out of it, and got themselves back in it when Susie Gilbert's mazy run and pass found Dirkie Chamberlain on the back post, who flicked the ball past Abi Walker. At 2-1, the game was poised. Surbiton sealed their place in tomorrow's Final with a net-busting Jenna Woolven reverse-stick shot and a late Georgie Twigg penalty stroke.
Speaking after the match birthday girl and Surbiton Captain, Sarah Haycroft, had this to say: "It was amazing to get the win but it was a complete team effort. We defended with our lives for a lot of the match because obviously Reading are a really tough opposition but we just stuck together, worked well and were rewarded in the end so we're really happy. Now we just need to get home, rest, recover and do our pre game preparations all over again; hopefully we'll finish in that top of the league spot!"
Tomorrow the losing semi-finalists Clifton and Reading will battle it out for third place at 14:15 and then the Championship battle between Canterbury and Surbiton will start at 16:45. Tickets are still available to purchase at the gate.
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Investec Women’s Play-Offs
Sutton Coldfield 3 (1)
Gemma Brown 9 (FG)
Emma McCabe 49 (FG)
Jane Sixsmith 51 (FG)
Brooklands Poynton 2 (1)
Cat Savage 4 (FG)
Kellie Baxter 39 (FG)
Sutton Coldfield gave themselves a good chance of retaining their Premier Division status after defeating a spirited Brooklands Poynton side 3-2 in the first encounter of the Investec Women's Hockey Finals Weekend.
The game started brightly for Brooklands. In the opening five minutes Helen Turner fed Cat Savage the ball who tapped it past Sutton's goalkeeper Becky Batsford, giving them a 1-0 advantage. Play was quickly turned over, however, and a rare error from Brooklands allowed Gemma Brown to score the equalizer with an easy tap-in at the back post. This brought the score to 1-1 coming in to the half time break.
Eager to regain their lead, Brooklands were quick to score in the second half. Kellie Baxter found space in the circle and put her shot neatly in to the goal, bringing the score to 2-1. Desperate not to be defeated, Sutton started to up the pressure, winning a series of penalty corners. It was Emma McCabe who scored the inevitable equaliser, lifting the ball in to the goal with ease, making the score 2-2. Quick stick work from Rosie Bailey and Jane Sixsmith allowed Sutton Coldfield to score another, bringing the final score to 3-2, giving them the win.
Speaking after the match, winning goal-scorer Jane Sixsmith had this to say; "It was a really tough match, both teams had so much to lose today but we kept fighting and believing in ourselves. We got the winning goal with about ten minutes to go so it really was all hands on pump! Looking ahead to tomorrows match, we know it's probably going to be very tough. We're just going to rest as much as we can now and just prepare ourselves as best as possible."
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Holcombe 6 (2)
Leigh Maasdrop 6 (FG)
Lauren Osborn 14 (FG)
Megan Frazer 58, 62 (PC, PC)
Laura Unsworth 60 (PC)
Nicci Daly 67 (FG)
Buckingham 0 (0)
The second match of the promotion and relegation battle saw Holcombe convincingly beat Buckingham 6 – 0.
Both teams were comfortable in possession in the opening period of play; however it was Holcombe who took the lead through their captain Leigh Maasdorp after six minutes. Holcombe doubled their goal tally eight minutes later after some clever build up play down the right hand side resulted in the ball being cut back for Lauren Osborne to sweep home. The last ten minutes of the first half saw a spell of sustained pressure from Buckingham and a series of penalty corners. England International Maddie Hinch was on hand to pull off some smart saves and keep the score at 2 – 0 going in half time.
Buckingham came out of the blocks quickly in the second half; however, they were unable to convert any of their chances and four quick fire goals in the space of nine minutes from Holcombe sealed the victory. Top goal scorer for Conference East, Megan Frazer, bagged herself a brace and England International Laura Unsworth also got her name on the score sheet with a fierce reverse stick strike. Nicci Daly rounded off a dominant performance for Holcombe as she got the final goal of the game and secured a 6 – 0 victory.
Speaking after the game, Holcombe’s Laura Unsworth was understandably pleased with the result. “We knew we had to come here and win today and to come away with 6-0 is going to put us in a good place for tomorrow against [Brooklands] Poynton. We worked well as a team and when we do that we know we can play some really good hockey. Tomorrow is going to be a tough match but we’re looking forward to it. We’re not going to underestimate them but we’re going to be confident after our victory today.”
Brooklands Poynton against Holcombe is the first game of the day tomorrow at 10am followed by Buckingham against Sutton Coldfield at midday in the final match of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Play Offs. Tickets are still available to purchase at the gate.