Women's League Finals at SHC This Weekend
By Colin Pike
The Women's League Finals will be held at Surbiton HC for the second season running as the Women's Hockey League Premier Division season comes to a close this weekend.
With Surbiton already guaranteed a place in Europe next season after their first-place finish at the end of Stage Two, this weekend's action will determine which team will be England's top ranked team in European competition in 2024-25 and overall league champions.
Reigning champions, East Grinstead, who ended Surbiton's eight year run in 2023 by winning 3-2 in last year's final, face Hampstead & Westminster, last season's third-placed team in the first semi-final at 1100 on Saturday.
East Grinstead finished joint fifth as they experienced the Women's Euro Hockey League for the first time, losing 3-1 to AH&BC Amsterdam in the FINAL8 before beating Gantoise 2-1 in the ranking match. The West Sussex club will want to return to the EHL to test themselves and gain even more experience and will also want to defend their coveted domestic title.
In the regular season, East Grinstead finished second, ahead of Reading on goal difference and five points behind Surbiton, justifying their top seeding in Pool B by finishing top on 8 points thanks to 2-1 wins over both Wimbledon and Reading and a shootout bonus point after being held to a 1-1 draw by Bowdon. By finishing second in the regular season, East Grinstead earned the right to play all three games at home.
Hampstead & Westminster finished fourth in the regular season to qualify for a place in Pool A, in which they found goals easy to come by with a 9-3 home win over the University of Nottingham and a 5-1 home win over Clifton Robinsons before travelling to Sugden Road to face a Surbiton team which prevailed 4-1.
Hampstead can boast the Premier Division's top scorer, Madi Ratcliffe, who goes into the tournament having scored 15 goals this season.
East Grinstead will be favourites as they won both meetings 5-1, at Paddington Recreation Ground in October and at Saint Hill last month.
The second semi-final at 1315 sees hosts Surbiton face Wimbledon as they try and regain the title they lost 12 months ago. Surbiton lost three games on their way to finishing top of the Premier Division table for the fourth season running and qualified for League Finals weekend in emphatic fashion, beating Clifton Robinsons 4-1, University of Nottingham 6-2 and Hampstead & Westminster 4-1, as with East Grinstead, earning the right to play all three games at home in Pool A.
Surbiton have already won a European competition this season after bringing back the second-tier EuroHockey Club Trophy I from Hamburg after a 4-3 victory over KHC Dragons in the final and will want to complete a double by lifting the top domestic trophy. Although the competition is considered second-tier, neither the victory over KHC Dragons nor the sensational second half performance which saw Surbiton overcome a 3-0 half time deficit against Club an der Alster to win 4-3 in their second pool match, would have been out of place in the top-ranked Euro Hockey League.
Wimbledon surprisingly failed to qualify for the Top Six, but secured one of the all-important top two places in the Lower Six to ensure they qualified for the League Finals Pool stage. Although Wimbledon lost their opening Pool B match 2-1 at East Grinstead, they shocked Reading in Berkshire 2-1 before clinching their place in the last four with a 2-0 win at Bowdon, qualifying the hard way by playing all three games away from home.
Wimbledon are making their first appearance at League Finals weekend after missing out last season as Clifton Robinsons qualified in their place. Because Wimbledon played in the Lower Six after the mid-season break, Surbiton and Wimbledon have only met once this season, Surbiton winning 2-0 at Sugden Road in October.
The third-place playoff takes place at 0900 on Sunday with the final scheduled for 1430 on Sunday. If any of the four games finish level at the end of normal time, there will be a shootout to decide the winning team.
More information about the tournament, including team lineups and statistical information will be available at the England Hockey Altius website here
Tickets can be bought via the England Hockey Ticketing website here
Supporters unable to attend can watch the matches via the England Hockey TV channel on You Tube here