W1 End Phase Two Unbeaten After 1-0 Win At Wimbledon
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Women ended Phase 2 of the Women's Hockey League Premier Division unbeaten after a 1-0 win at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon.
Surbiton won fourteen and drew two of their sixteen fixtures, one of the draws coming in the first meeting at Sugden Road in November when the game ended goalless. With Surbiton conceding fifteen goals in their sixteen matches and Wimbledon only conceding fourteen, the rematch at Raynes Park High School was always likely to be a defensive battle and in spite of plenty of attacking intent, defences were very much on top.
Surbiton were guaranteed to finish first in the Top Six table, whilst Wimbledon had hopes of moving up to third above East Grinstead with a win. Wimbledon ultimately finished in fourth, a point behind the West Sussex side, who drew 2-2 at home to Reading.
The match was played in mainly sunny conditions, but both teams had to contend with a blustery wind with occasional strong gusts, especially during the second half.
The game was very competitive, but there were few scoring opportunities in the first half and neither team could take advantage of penalty corner opportunities, Wimbledon having two successive awards near the end of the first quarter with Surbiton goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran saving from the second, whilst Wimbledon's penalty corner defence were alert in defending Surbiton's first two awards, whilst the third resulted in a mis-trapped injection.
Surbiton managed to put together a passing move involving Sophie Hamilton, Erica Sanders and Darcy Bourne, but Wimbledon's Flora Peel was on hand to keep the home goal intact, to ensure that the game remained devoid of goals and Wimbledon's goalkeeper, Jessica Buchanan on course for a ninth clean sheet of the season.
Surbiton tried to catch the Wimbledon defence out at the start of the third quarter, Martha Taylor's shot going past the right post after receiving an aerial from Giselle Ansley, a minute after Buchanan had to kick the ball away.
Hamilton combined with Ella Burnley, Taylor and Alice Sharp, before Buchanan intervened again.
Surbiton's determination to break the deadlock was rewarded in the 42nd minute as the visitors remained patient in front of goal, Buchanan trying to keep the ball out of her goal, but outwitted by Erica Sanders, who managed to force the ball over the line as her 13th goal of the season ultimately proved unlucky for Wimbledon.
Discipline could have been a deciding factor as Wimbledon's Beth Bingham and Becky Manton were shown green cards in the second half, with Burnley having a first half green and Izzy Yonge also resting for two minutes for smashing the ball towards goal after the whistle was blown.
Wimbledon's hopes of a late equaliser were boosted when Surbiton's Katie Curtis was banished to the naughty step for the last four minutes after seeing yellow, but Surbiton held out to claim their third win in four visits to Raynes Park High School in the Premier Division.
Buchanan ended Phase 2 with the most clean sheets as her nearest rival, Miriam Pritchard was beaten twice at Paddington Recreation Ground, where Hampstead & Westminster beat Durham University 3-2. McFerran claimed her fifth clean sheet of the season and her first away from Sugden Road having thwarted Barnes, the University of Nottingham and Reading in addition to the stalemate with Wimbledon. It was also the only clean sheet of the day.
Hampstead finished nine points behind Surbiton having led Durham 3-0 thanks to goals from Tyler Lench, Holly Hunt and Rachel Greenwood. Lizzy Pocknell pulled a goal back and Katie Birch scored in the final minute to ensure that Durham finished sixth.
Durham would have finished sixth even if they had won as Reading also came from 2-0 down, but to salvage a 2-2 draw at East Grinstead. Biba Mills scored both East Grinstead goals to join Bourne as the Premier Division top scorer with fourteen goals, but Lizzie Neal and Megan Crowson scored for Reading as East Grinstead finished third, a single point ahead of Wimbledon.
In the Lower Six, Loughborough Students won 4-2 at the University of Birmingham in the battle of the two teams who will join the Top Six for the Premier Division pools. Coca Hall and Lily Sokhi scored for Birmingham.
Barnes' relegation back to Division One was confirmed as they lost 4-1 at home to the University of Nottingham. Barnes had won 2-0 at Dukes Meadow earlier in the season, but although Naomi Kelly put them ahead, Amelia Pollock and Freya Robinson both scored braces for the East Midlands students, who lifted themselves out of the relegation zone.
They were replaced by Clifton Robinsons, who dropped into the bottom two as a result of their 2-1 loss at Bowdon. Annabel Mills and Tilly Irvine scored for the Altrincham club.
The pools for the Premier Division Finals qualifiers in Phase 3 will consist of:
Pool A: Surbiton, Wimbledon, Reading, Loughborough Students
Pool B: Hampstead & Westminster, East Grinstead, Durham University, University of Birmingham.
Fixtures will be confirmed shortly and will take place on 18, 19 and 25 April.