W1 Host Clifton Robinsons on Saturday
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Women play their first match in the Women's Hockey League Premier Division League Finals Pool B when they welcome Clifton Robinsons to Sugden Road on Saturday (push back 4 pm).
Supporters unable to attend Sugden Road can watch the game online via the Surbiton Hockey Club channel on You Tube here.
Surbiton missed out on finishing top of the Premier Division table at the end of Phase Two after East Grinstead won 5-3 in Elmbridge last weekend, whilst Clifton Robinsons, after losing their first three games of the season and only drawing the fourth, made an excellent recovery to finish seventh overall by topping the Lower Six table and qualifying for the League Finals together with Bowdon.
Clifton Robinsons and Surbiton met on the opening day of the season back in September, when Surbiton won 2-0 at Clifton College, the first time that the teams had played at the venue after the previous encounters took place at Coombe Dingle.
Issy Yonge and Jordan Homann both scored to ensure that Surbiton began the defence of their title with an away win.
The teams met twice last season at Sugden Road and Surbiton won both games 4-1.
Incredibly, in 24 league meetings, Clifton have only won once, Kathryn Lane scoring the only goal at Sugden Road in March 2020, whilst four games have ended as draws, including the first three matches played in the Premier Division starting in 2012-13.
Livvy Lane is Clifton's top scorer this season with five goals, closely followed by Sarah-Jayne Thorburn on four. Rebecca Daniel and Evie Grindal have both found the net three times this season with Carmen Ansley and Darcy Shields netting twice. Caitlin Witham, Zoe Cullum, Jess Lea and Phoebe Richards have all scored once.
Surbiton's Giselle and Clifton's Carmen Ansley will continue their family rivalry, both players having scored for their respective teams last Saturday.
Reading will play Loughborough Students in the other Pool B match at 1700.
In Pool A, Hampstead & Westminster are at home to Bowdon and Wimbledon are away to East Grinstead in their opening matches.
The top two teams in each Pool will qualify for the finals weekend at Nottingham Hockey Centre on 3/ 4 May. Each team gets three points for a win and one point for a draw. All drawn games will continue with a shootout to decide which team will get an extra point.
The Women's relegation playoffs also continue, with Sutton Coldfield already relegated. Holcombe could join them in Division One if the University of Nottingham beat Sutton Coldfield and Holcombe lose at the University of Birmingham.