W1 To Meet East Grinstead In Super 6s Semi-Final
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Women will face holders East Grinstead in the second semi-final at Derby Arena on 1 February as they aim to become Super 6s champions for the first time in their history.
Surbiton were runners-up to East Grinstead in the last two finals, but with Sutton Coldfield having finished top of the table, second placed East Grinstead will take on third placed Surbiton, whilst Holcombe, who pipped Clifton Robinsons and Harleston Magpies to fourth place will stand in Sutton's way to the final.
The results, scorers, line-ups and other tournament stats can be found at the England Hockey Altius website here
Surbiton went into the final day of competition realistically needing a single point to book their place in the top four, whilst opponents Buckingham were aiming to stave off the threat of relegation with a win. In the end, Surbiton came away with the 6-5 victory they needed, but Buckingham battled before falling through the relegation trap door, coming back from 5-1 down after 23 minutes, Maddy Newlyn scoring four goals in seven minutes before time ran out for last season's semi-finalists.
Buckingham quickly fell behind to Erica Sanders' first minute penalty stroke and by half time led 4-0 with Katie Southorn netting a brace and Josie Hippe scoring just before the midpoint interval. Sophia Crawshay gave Buckingham hope of an unlikely comeback in the 22nd minute, but with Sanders immediately responding to put Surbiton 5-1 ahead, Buckingham seemed to be speeding towards Division One.
Still 5-1 down going into the final quarter, Newlyn scored from open play in the 32nd and 33rd minutes and then completed her hat-trick in the 34th as Surbiton saw their lead shrink to 5-4. With five minutes to go, Sanders clinched her own hat-trick, but Newlyn converted a penalty corner in the penultimate minute to go down fighting.
With qualification achieved, Surbiton beat Slough 5-0, facing former Surbiton player, Asha Tranquille-Day in the Berkshire club's goal. Slough held out until the tenth minute when Southorn opened the scoring, Sanders scoring in the 15th and 20th minutes to earn Surbiton a 3-0 half time lead. Slough then conceded two goals at the end of the match, Ella Burnley converting a penalty corner in the 38th minute before Southorn scored in the final minute to seal the win.
Sanders finished with 21 goals across the eight games and will meet the division's top scorer, East Grinstead's Biba Mills, who finished the qualifiers with 25 goals in the last four.
Goalkeeper Lexi Higginson was rewarded for her patience on the bench by playing for the last three minutes after being in goal for the final six minutes of the 10-0 win over Harleston Magpies. Alice Sharp and Katie Swanson played in all eight games and Rowena Hearn played a part in both games on the first and last days.
Buckingham were relegated with Beeston and the teams will be replaced by Bowdon and Lansdown, who finished first and second in Division One. Leicester City and Canterbury were relegated to Division Two and the promoted teams will be decided next weekend.