W1 Thrash Wimbledon 4-0 To Top Pool A
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Women finished top of Pool A by thrashing Wimbledon 4-0 at Sugden Road on Saturday afternoon as the visitors' consistently tight defence was severely tested for the second time this season.
The match can be watched back via the Surbiton Hockey Club channel on You Tube here
Wimbledon had boasted the best defensive record in the Premier Division this season on the back of Jess Buchanan's nine clean sheets, but A brace from Darcy Bourne and goals from Erica Sanders and Amy Costello meant that Wimbledon conceded four goals for the second time this season.
The first occasion had been when they drew 4-4 at the University of Birmingham in October, when Birmingham had scored the only goals that Wimbledon had conceded in the first quarter all season when the students scored in the 16th and 17th minutes.
This time, Surbiton took the lead even earlier, Costello finding the backboard from the hosts' first penalty corner in the ninth minute.
Having broken through so early, Surbiton had to wait until the 41st minute for their second goal, Sanders smashing the ball into the net after the ball hit the right post, having scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute a fortnight previously at Raynes Park High School.
Bourne then scored twice in five minutes, putting Surbiton ahead in the 45th minute and then after receiving the ball just inside the Wimbledon half, she ran towards goal and once in the circle, the ball was deflected into the goal of a visiting defender's stick, under pressure from Ellie Mackenzie in the 50th minute.
The convincing win means that Surbiton will face Durham University in next Saturday's semi-final after Durham beat the University of Birmingham 3-2 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in normal time. Lily Sokhi put Birmingham ahead but Ava Findlay levelled with nine minutes to play.
Wimbledon will face Hampstead & Westminster who beat East Grinstead 3-1. Catherine Ledesma, Saar de Breij and Sofia Martin scored for Hampstead with Biba Mills' 16th goal of the campaign proving to be a consolation for the West Sussex club who completed a miserable pool campaign with a third successive defeat.
Loughborough Students won 3-0 at Reading, Amy Cradden, Olivia Breed and Mia Moore ensuring that Reading failed to win a domestic match in 2026.
In the relegation playoffs, Clifton Robinsons' relegation to Division One was confirmed after they could only draw 1-1 with Bowdon, Verity Clark equalising for the Bristol club a minute after Annabel Mills put Bowdon ahead.
The University of Nottingham beat Barnes 2-1, Poppy Dring-Richardson and Monica Watkins scoring for Nottingham and Lara Tegner replying for Barnes.