W1 Stay Ahead Of Hampstead After 6-0 Win Over Birmingham
By Colin Pike
The race to finish top of the Women's Hockey League Premier Division at the end of Stage 1 will go down to the wire after Surbiton won 6-0 at home to the University of Birmingham and second placed Hampstead & Westminster won 1-0 at Wimbledon to remain within a point of Surbiton with one match to play.
Pippa Lewis's 29th minute field goal means that Hampstead host Reading while Surbiton make the long trip to Durham University next Saturday, knowing that nothing short of a win at Paddington Recreation Ground will deprive Surbiton from entering 2026 at the top of the Premier Division table, taking into account that Surbiton have a twelve better goal difference than Hampstead.
The game versus the University of Birmingham can be watched back via the Surbiton HC You Tube channel here
Surbiton were in the unique situation of fielding three different goalkeepers in three successive matches as Sabbie Heesh returned to the Surbiton goal for the first time since March 2024 and kept a clean sheet on her return, following on from Jemma Woods who performed heroics at Paddington Recreation Ground last weekend and Ayeisha McFerran, who was in goal for Surbiton's first eight league games.
The University of Birmingham last visited Sugden Road in March 2023 and have now failed to score on their last three visits having lost 5-0 and 4-0 previously.
Tilly Woodhead made an early save from Maddie Axford before Surbiton opened the scoring in the tenth minute, Surbiton attacking down the left wing before the ball found Alice Wills in the circle, her pass to the right finding Izzy Yonge in space to score with Woodhead committed.
Birmingham fell 2-0 behind two minutes later, Ellie Mackenzie's shot rebounding off the left post with the rebound crossing the line after an unfortunate contact with Woodhead.
In the 16th minute, Surbiton were in complete control, Martha Taylor running to the right before smashing the ball against the backboard for a superb finish.
Surbiton still led 3-0 at half time, but in the second quarter Axford forced another save from Woodhead, with Alice Wills also giving Woodhead something to think about.
Birmingham were under pressure with Ruby Spavin and Lottie Atkinson having to work together to make a clearance and Axford was frustrated after an excellent run ended with the ball going the wrong side of the left post.
Surbiton went a tenth successive match without conceding a first half goal, but Birmingham had an opportunity to end the run in the 31st minute when they were awarded the first penalty corner of the match but Hannah Pearce was denied.
Erica Sanders had a shot saved early in the third quarter, Betsan Thomas eventually clearing the ball and Darcy Bourne attacked with Sanders before Caitlin Witham intervened.
Surbiton scored three goals late in the third quarter, Taylor having a shot saved before the rebound fell nicely for Yonge to dispatch the ball against the backboard in the 48th minute to extend the hosts' lead to 4-0.
Three minutes later a well worked move out of defence saw Giselle Ansley pass the ball down the left to Sanders, who ran towards the centre of the pitch before finding Axford on the right. Axford passed the ball for Bourne to notch her twelfth goal of the season.
In the 53rd minute, Bourne ran down the left and into the circle before slipping the ball to Wills, whose cross from the left was turned in by Sanders for her eighth goal of the season, against her former club.
Going into the fourth quarter, Surbiton had not won any penalty corners, mainly because they prioritised their open play attacking opportunities, but Birmingham defended three awards, Katie Curtis a casualty from the first penalty corner after the ball hit her head, but she was able to recover quickly.
Surbiton's 6-0 victory was their largest home win over Birmingham and equalled their biggest ever win in Feb 2017 in the West Midlands.
Third placed East Grinstead won 2-1 at Reading to extend their advantage over fourth placed Wimbledon to four points. Alex Malzer and Beth Alexander gave the visitors a 2-0 half time lead with Reading only able to respond through Emma Findlay in the third quarter.
Wimbledon lost ground due to their home defeat to Hampstead, whilst Reading clinched their place in the Top Six in spite of their loss to East Grinstead.
Durham University have all but booked their place in the Top Six after a stunning 5-0 win at Loughborough Students. Lizzy Pocknell, Lorna Crawford, Ava Findlay, Amelie Hales and Scarlett Spavin. The University of Birmingham and Loughborough Students would need heavy wins at home to East Grinstead and at Bowdon respectively and hope that Surbiton also have a massive win at Durham next Saturday to have any chance of catching the newly promoted side.
Bowdon closed to within a point of Birmingham and Loughborough after coming from behind to win 3-2 at Barnes. The hosts led twice through Lydia Thacker and Megan Lewis-Williams, but Margot Willis equalised the first time and Hannah Macdonald levelled at 2-2 before Willis scored the winner with four minutes remaining.
Barnes dropped to the bottom of the table after Clifton Robinsons won their first match of the season, 3-1 at home to the University of Nottingham. Monica Watkins gave Nottingham a 1-0 half time lead, but goals from Victoria McCabe, Evie Grindal and Eloise Moat enabled Clifton to move outside the relegation zone, a point ahead of their opponents.
As next weekend is the last round of matches in Stage 1, all the fixtures are scheduled to start at 1400.