W1 Resume Premier Division Season At Home To Reading On Saturday
By Colin PIke
Surbiton Women resume their Women's Hockey League Premier Division campaign on Saturday evening when they welcome Reading to Sugden Road (push back 1800).
The resumption has been delayed until the first day of March due to England Women competing in the FIH Pro League and with the twelve Premier Division teams split into a Top Six and Lower Six in Phase 2, based on their finishing position after a single round-robin schedule in Phase 1, qualification places are up for grabs for the League Finals in Phase 3.
Surbiton ended Phase 1 in third place and along with the other five teams in the Top Six are guaranteed a place in the League Finals Pools stage, along with the top two teams in the Lower Six.
Surbiton will face the other five teams in the Top Six once for an overall sixteen game schedule, with the top team after sixteen games earning a place in Europe.
After the two qualifiers from the Lower Six are known, the remaining four teams will battle it out in the relegation playoffs, meeting each other once for one final time before the bottom two teams are relegated to Division One.
Reading will be extremely disappointed to go into Phase 2 in second place, two points behind Hampstead & Westminster after a 5-1 home defeat to the London club in their final Phase 1 match on 23 November ended Reading's first-place tenure, which had started on 5 October, when they replaced Surbiton after the reigning champions lost 2-1 at home to Wimbledon.
With Surbiton just three points off the top, there will be all to play for in the race to secure a place in Europe and determine their opponents and venues for the League Finals pools, which will be dependent on each team's finishing position at the end of Phase 2.
Reading have had the upper hand in recent meetings, having done the league double last season with an opening day 3-2 home win and a stunning 6-3 victory at Sugden Road at the end of Phase 2.
When the teams met at Sonning Lane on 20 October, Surbiton battled to a thrilling 4-4 draw. Reading led 2-0 after Lorna Mackenzie scored in the 20th and 30th minutes, although Jordan Homann halved the deficit a minute before half time. Darcy Bourne equalised for the visitors in the 43rd minute, only for Mia Moore to restore Reading's lead in the 49th minute.
Martha Taylor made the score 3-3 two minutes later, but Reading led yet again when Fran Clements netted in the 53rd minute to leave Surbiton trailing 4-3. Bourne came to Surbiton's rescue with nine minutes remaining to clinch what could be a vital point, having had a penalty stroke saved in the 57th minute.
The original match report can be read here.
Moore is Reading's leading goalscorer with eight goals, with Lorna Mackenzie on five. Caroline Spence is on four with Emma McKenzie Findlay, Abbie Dixon and Georgia Jones all on three. Anna-Ross Gabbitass and Annie Wilson have each scored twice whilst Jemima Copeman, former Surbiton player Jo Pinner, Anna Crowley and Fran Clements have found the net once.
Bourne and Ellie Mackenzie are Surbiton's leading goalscorers with seven apiece, but Mackenzie is in Chile on Scotland duty in the Hockey Nations Cup. Scotland lost 3-0 to Ireland before beating Korea 2-0. A 3-1 defeat to New Zealand saw Scotland finish third in Pool B, leaving them to battle for 5th to 8th place. Scotland face Canada in their bid to avoid relegation to Hockey Nations Cup 2. Defeat would see them face the losers of the clash between Japan and Korea, needing to avoid defeat to maintain their status.
Erica Sanders, who caused havoc to opposing defences in the Super 6s, has scored four goals whilst Issy Yonge, who has featured for Surbiton Women's second team in February and Homann are both on three. Sophie Hamilton, Alice Wills and Taylor have scored twice with Meg Dowthwaite, Lottie Ross, Liz Thompson and Alice Sharp have scored a single goal each.
Supporters unable to attend the match can watch via the Surbiton HC You Tube stream here.
Elsewhere in the Top Six, Hampstead & Westminster host Loughborough Students and East Grinstead visit Wimbledon.
In the Lower Six, Clifton Robinsons make the long trip to Bowdon; Sutton Coldfield, who earned their only point of the season in a 1-1 draw at home to Holcombe, travel to Kent for the reverse fixture and there is a Midlands University derby as Nottingham go to Birmingham.