WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE MATCHDAY MEDIA GUIDE 26 SEPTEMBER 2020
~ 1 ~ Wimbledon Set The Pace On Opening Day Newly promoted Wimbledon showed that they intend to make their mark in the Premier Division with a 4-0 home win over also promoted Swansea. Fiona Burnet opened Wimbledon’s account in the fi h minute with Georgie Blackwood doubling their lead in the 28th minute, both goals coming from open play. Suzy Pe y added a third goal with a penalty corner conversion in the 49th minute, with Anna Reynolds’ penalty stroke pu ng the icing on the cake for the hosts. Defending champions Surbiton had double reason to celebrate as they finally received their league championship medals and trophy a er a 3-0 home win over Buckingham. Surbiton had to wait un l the 33rd minute to break their duck for the season, Eloise Stenner conver ng a penalty corner. Lo e Ross, returning to Surbiton a er playing for Beeston and the University of No ngham, scored twice from open play, in the 44th and 69th minutes. Hampstead & Westminster are just behind Surbiton in third a er their 2-0 win at Beeston. The first half was goalless but Holly Hunt’s 38th minute strike and a second from Lucy Hyams in the 56th minute ensured that the points ended up in the Capital. East Grinstead are unbeaten in sixteen regular season league games following their 2-1 win at Cli on Robinsons. Tess Howard gave East Grinstead the lead on the quarter-hour from open play but Cli on held out un l the 61st minute when Sophie Bray gave the West Sussex club extra breathing space with a penalty corner conversion. Kathryn Lane pulled a goal back for Cli on with five minutes to play, also from a penalty corner but East Grinstead repeated last season’s winning scoreline and completed their ninth successive league win and thirteenth victory in their last fourteen league games.
Izzy Pe er earned Loughborough Students a 1-0 win at Holcombe with the only goal coming in the 14th minute. The University of Birmingham had a bye week and will start their campaign in Week 2.
Tarsem Chagger The NPUA tweeted on 21 September “It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tarsem Chagger. Tarsem umpired at various levels for many years, before more recently enjoying a successful career as a match official. A great character and a very popular colleague; he will be sadly missed.”
~ 2 ~ WHL Premier Division - 19 September 2020 Beeston 0 - 2 Hampstead & Westminster (0) HT (0) Holly Hunt 38-F Lucy Hyams 56-F
Match Official: Andy Barnes Umpires: Stephen Cox and Janice Tasho
Cli on Robinsons 1 - 2 East Grinstead Kathryn Lane 65-PC (0) HT (1) Tess Howard 15-F Sophie Bray 61-PC
Match Official: Ben Redwood Umpires: Clare White and Anne e Harvey
Holcombe 0 - 1 Loughborough Students (0) HT (1) Izzy Pe er 14-F
Match Official: Marilyn Walker Umpires: Andy Poulain and Helen Sargeant
Surbiton 3 - 0 Buckingham Eloise Stenner 33-PC (1) HT (0) Lo e Ross 44-F, 69-F
Match Official: James Boylan Umpires: Rachel Williams and Rebecca Woodcock
Wimbledon 4 - 0 Swansea Fiona Burnet 5-F (2) HT (0) Georgie Blackwood 28-F Suzy Pe y 49-PC Anna Reynolds 64-PS
Match Official: Ray Strudwick Umpires: David Howell and Rob Jenkins
Bye: University of Birmingham
~ 3 ~ Saturday, 26 September, Stowe School, 12 noon UNIVERSITY OF BUCKINGHAM BIRMINGHAM
L Form Guide 1st Game
WHL Premier Division 6 Total Seasons 12 4 PL W D L F A Current Consecu ve 12 PL W D L F A 91 31 13 47 136 179 All Time League Rec 198 75 32 91 356 378
W D L F A PTS W D L F A PTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 At Home: 0 0 1 0 3 0 Away From Home: 0 0 1 0 3 0 Total Record
0 0 0 0 0 0 Leading At Hal ime 0 0 1 0 3 0 Trailing At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 Level At Hal ime
0 0 1 0 3 0 Scoring no goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 3 goals +
Keeping a Clean 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sheet 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 2 goals 0 0 1 0 3 0 Conceding 3 goals +
Goals Scored 1st 0 0 1 0 1 0 Half
Goals Scored 2nd 0 0 1 0 2 0 Half
0 3 Total Goals Scored
0 23 Minutes Per Goal
0.00 3.00 Goals Per Game
Method of Scoring
0 2 Open Play
~ 4 ~ 0 1 Penalty Corner
0 0 Penalty Strokes
0 3 Total
F PC PS TOTAL Goalscorers: F PC PS TOTAL
Total Total
Clock
Quickest Goal:
Latest Goal:
~ 5 ~ MATCHDAY NOTES Buckingham v University of Birmingham
Last Season: (28 September 2019) Buckingham 3 (Ki y Higgins (2), Natasha James) University of Birmingham 1 (Rafaela Brandao-Lee)
All Premier Division mee ngs at Buckingham (Buckingham first): (2019-20) 3-1; (2018-19) 4-5; (2017-18) 2-2; (2016-17) DNP; (2015-16) 0-1; (2014-15) 2-3
23 Mar 2019 – Buckingham 4 (Natasha James, Phoebe Richards (2), Millie Holme) University of Birmingham 5 (Lily Owsley, Harriet Mitchell, Holly Hunt, Elena Emo, Amelia Andrew)
21 Oct 2017 – Buckingham 2 (Lauren Thomas, Phoebe Richards) University of Birmingham 2 (Alice Wills, Amelia Andrew)
10 Oct 2015 – Buckingham 0 University of Birmingham 1 (Katelyn Aitchison)
25 Oct 2014 – Buckingham 2 (Alexandra Naughalty (2)) University of Birmingham 3 (Olivia Chilton (2), Xenna Hughes)
The University of Birmingham start their season a er a bye week in Week 1. They travel to Stowe School to take on a Buckingham team beaten 3-0 at defending champions Surbiton last week. Buckingham fielded three new signings: Jo Hunter (from Surbiton), Lyndsey White (Loughborough Students) and Nicole Marks, set to face her former club on her home debut. Birmingham stayed up a er the curtailment of the 2019-20 season prevented them taking on either Wimbledon or Swansea in a promo on/ relega on playoff a er finishing ninth and have recruited Ailsa Naylor from Canterbury and Sarah Spooner from Beeston to try and help them pull away from the bo om of the table, but have lost Catherine Ledesma to Loughborough.
Buckingham have lost their last three home league games (Hampstead 1-0, Beeston 1-0 and Surbiton 5-2) since they last won at home 3-2 against Bowdon Hightown on 7 December 2019. However in that me, they had won four consecu ve away games (Holcombe 3-2, Hampstead 2-1, Cli on Robinsons 3-2 and University of Birmingham 1-0) before last week’s reverse at Surbiton.
Since Buckingham first appeared in the Premier Division in 2014-15, they have only beaten Birmingham once on home turf, last season’s 3-1 win, which they followed up with a 1-0 win in Birmingham on the last day of the season, Lo e Porter giving them their first league double over Birmingham.
Otherwise, Birmingham have won three and drawn one in a fixture where Birmingham have a habit of making a comeback, especially in the March 2019 clash when Birmingham led 4-0 a er just 18 minutes and were pegged back to 4-4, only for Amelia Andrew to break Buckingham’s hearts.
In the first mee ng in October 2014, Buckingham led 2-1 at half me only for Birmingham to score twice in the second half and snatch a 3-2 win. And in October 2017, Buckingham led 2-0 only for Birmingham to grab a point.
Buckingham finally returned the favour last season when Birmingham led 1-0 at half me and Buckingham replied with three goals in 8 second-half minutes to win 3-1.
Trivia note: Buckingham just missed the University of Birmingham in the WHL Conference West as Buckingham were promoted from South Clubs’ Women’s Hockey League Division One in 2008-09 when Birmingham won promo on to the Premier Division from the Conference West via the Promo on Tournament.
~ 6 ~ Saturday, 26 September, Coombe Dingle, 1.30 pm CLIFTON ROBINSONS WIMBLEDON L Form Guide W
WHL Premier Division 31 Total Seasons 4 14 PL W D L F A Current Consecu ve 4 PL W D L F A 489 193 79 217 851 893 All Time League Rec 32 9 4 19 38 80
W D L F A PTS W D L F A PTS 0 0 1 1 2 0 At Home: 1 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Away From Home: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 Total Record 1 0 0 4 0 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 Leading At Hal ime 1 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 1 1 2 0 Trailing At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Level At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring no goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 Scoring 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 3 goals + 1 0 0 4 0 3
Keeping a Clean 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sheet 1 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 Conceding 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goals Scored 1st 0 0 1 0 1 0 Half 1 0 0 2 0 3
Goals Scored 2nd 0 1 0 1 1 1 Half 1 0 0 2 0 3
1 2 Total Goals Scored 4 0
70 35 Minutes Per Goal 18 0
1.00 2.00 Goals Per Game 4.00 0.00
Method of Scoring
0 1 Open Play 2 0
~ 7 ~ 1 1 Penalty Corner 1 0
0 0 Penalty Strokes 1 0
1 2 Total 4 0
F PC PS TOTAL Goalscorers: F PC PS TOTAL
Kathryn LANE 0 1 0 1 Georgie 1 0 0 1 BLACKWOOD
Fiona BURNET 1 0 0 1
Suzy PETTY 0 1 0 1
Anna REYNOLDS 0 0 1 1
Total 0 1 0 1 Total 2 1 1 4
Clock
Kathryn LANE 65 mins PC E Grinstead H 19 Sep Quickest Goal: Fiona BURNET 5 mins F Swansea H 19 Sep
Kathryn LANE 65 mins PC E Grinstead H 19 Sep Latest Goal: Anna REYNOLDS 64 mins PS Swansea H 19 Sep
~ 8 ~ MATCHDAY NOTES Clifton Robinsons v Wimbledon
Last Mee ng: 1992-93
Cli on Robinsons meet Wimbledon for the first me since 1992-93, when Wimbledon spent the third of three consecu ve seasons in “Division 1” as the top flight was cap oned, before being relegated.
Wimbledon’s first season in the Na onal League was in a ten team division, but the next two seasons had twelve teams in Division 1 as an eight team Division 2 was added. The good news in 1993-94 was that Wimbledon stayed in Division 1; the bad news was that Division 1 became the second er as the top division was renamed the Premier Division as the league further restructured into three divisions of eight teams. Wimbledon stayed in Division One un l the end of the 2003-04 season, not quite managing to achieve that elusive first place finish to win promo on back.
Another restructuring saw Wimbledon placed in Premier 2, the second of three twelve team divisions, before a er just one season, there were three ers with 40 teams: one Premier Division; one Division One and two Na onal Regional Divisions.
Wimbledon finished bo om of Division One in 2005-06 and eleventh out of Na onal South Division a year later as four more teams were added to the na onal league. Wimbledon ended up in the South Clubs’ Women’s Hockey League. By 2009-10, they were down in Division 2 but not only were promoted in 2010-11, but won Division 1 in 2011-12. In 2013-14, they were in the Conference East alongside current Premier Division rivals, Holcombe and East Grinstead. Both Holcombe and East Grinstead won promo on, as did subsequent Conference East rivals, Hampstead & Westminster, but Wimbledon missed out in 2016-17 when having won the Conference East, they could only finish third in the Promo on Tournament behind Bowdon Hightown and another current Premier Division rival, Buckingham. Wimbledon finished top of Division One South in 2019-20 and with no promo on playoffs, were promoted with Division One North champions, Swansea.
Wimbledon beat Swansea 4-0 last week, whilst Cli on Robinsons were losing 2-1 at home to East Grinstead for the second season running. Wimbledon have brought in Nicki Cochrane and Mairi Drummond, along with Annie Dalton, all from Beeston. With Anna Toman, Georgie Blackwood, Eliza Bre and Suzy Pe y also in the squad, Wimbledon will not be aiming to just make up the numbers.
Cli on relied on Kathryn Lane to score their goal last week and she will want to build on the three goals she scored last season, but with Claire Thomas and Kathryn Lane both having scored seven goals last season, they can’t be ruled out as Cli on aim for a top six place.
~ 9 ~ Saturday, 26 September, Saint Hill, 3 pm EAST GRINSTEAD BEESTON W Form Guide L
WHL Premier Division 6 Total Seasons 5 6 PL W D L F A Current Consecu ve 3 PL W D L F A 91 50 16 25 184 112 All Time League Rec 73 19 7 47 101 165
W D L F A PTS W D L F A PTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 At Home: 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 Away From Home: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 Total Record 0 0 1 0 2 0
1 0 0 2 1 3 Leading At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Trailing At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Level At Hal ime 0 0 1 0 2 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring no goals 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 Scoring 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Keeping a Clean 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sheet 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 Conceding 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 2 goals 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goals Scored 1st 1 0 0 1 0 3 Half 0 1 0 0 0 1
Goals Scored 2nd 0 1 0 1 1 1 Half 0 0 1 0 2 0
2 1 Total Goals Scored 0 2
35 70 Minutes Per Goal 0 35
2.00 1.00 Goals Per Game 0.00 2.00
Method of Scoring
1 0 Open Play 0 2
1 1 Penalty Corner 0 0
~ 10 ~ 0 0 Penalty Strokes 0 0
2 1 Total 0 2
F PC PS TOTAL Goalscorers: F PC PS TOTAL
Tess HOWARD 1 0 0 1
Sophie BRAY 0 1 0 1
Total 1 1 0 2 Total
Clock
Tess HOWARD 15 mins F Cli on R A 19 Sep Quickest Goal:
Sophie BRAY 61 mins PC Cli on R A 19 Sep Latest Goal:
~ 11 ~ MATCHDAY NOTES East Grinstead v Beeston
Last Season: (23 November 2019) East Grinstead 2 (Tess Howard, Sophie Bray) Beeston 1 (Sian Emslie)
All Premier Division mee ngs at East Grinstead (East Grinstead first): (2019-20) 2-1; (2018-19) 2-1;
29 Sep 2018 – East Grinstead 2 (Bridget Blackwood, Sophie Bray) Beeston 1 (Caroline Hanks)
East Grinstead have only ever met Beeston twice at home in the Premier Division since East Grinstead made their top flight debut in 2015-16 and Beeston lost both games 2-1. Ironically, Beeston were the team replaced by East Grinstead in the 2014-15 Promo on Tournament a er the No ngham club were automa cally relegated.
East Grinstead extended their unbeaten run to 16 games with their 2-1 win at Cli on Robinsons last weekend, adding to the 15 games since they last lost 2-1 at Surbiton on 28 September 2019, a year ago. In that me, they have won 13 and drawn 3 of their 16 games; are currently on a nine game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 14, the only interrup on coming in a 1-1 draw at home to Bowdon Hightown in November.
Beeston lost at home to Hampstead & Westminster on opening day for the second season running when they lost 2-0 last Saturday. Beeston also suffered consecu ve league defeats to the London club as the teams met on the last day of the 2019-20 season, Hampstead winning 4-0 at Paddington Recrea on Ground.
Beeston last scored a league goal on 29 February 2020 when Courtney Schonell’s goal was enough to earn a 1-0 win at Buckingham, a run of 254 minutes without a goal. The three game goalless run included the return game at East Grinstead, lost 2-0.
However, Beeston are the England Hockey Tier 1 champions following their 3-2 win over Cli on Robinsons earlier in the month as the 2019-20 compe ons finally came to their conclusion following the lockdown.
East Grinstead found out last week that they are due to compete in the Euro Hockey Club Trophy in Boom, Belgium from 2-5 April.
Trivia note: Sophie Bray has scored in East Grinstead’s last seven league games and 14 of the last 15, only failing to score at Cli on Robinsons last season when Lucy Holder and Courtney Hansford scored in the 2-1 win.
~ 12 ~ Saturday, 26 September, Loughborough University, 2 pm LOUGHBOROUGH SURBITON STUDENTS
Form Guide
WHL Premier Division 3 Total Seasons 9 2 PL W D L F A Current Consecu ve 9 PL W D L F A 10 All Time League Rec 37 10 5 22 60 81 145 4 23 18 367 136
W D L F A PTS W D L F A PTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 At Home: 1 0 0 3 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 Away From Home: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 Total Record 1 0 0 3 0 3
1 0 0 1 0 3 Leading At Hal ime 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Trailing At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Level At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring no goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 Scoring 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 3 goals + 1 0 0 3 0 3
Keeping a Clean 1 0 0 1 0 3 Sheet 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goals Scored 1st 1 0 0 1 0 3 Half 1 0 0 1 0 3
Goals Scored 2nd 0 1 0 0 0 1 Half 1 0 0 2 0 3
1 0 Total Goals Scored 3 0
70 0 Minutes Per Goal 23 0
1.00 0.00 Goals Per Game 3.00 0.00
Method of Scoring
~ 13 ~ 1 0 Open Play 2 0
0 0 Penalty Corner 1 0
0 0 Penalty Strokes 0 0
1 0 Total 3 0
F PC PS TOTAL Goalscorers: F PC PS TOTAL
Izzy PETTER 1 0 0 1 Lo e ROSS 2 0 0 2
Eloise STENNER 0 1 0 1
Total 1 0 0 1 Total 2 1 0 3
Clock
Izzy PETTER 14 mins F Holcombe A 19 Sep Quickest Goal: Eloise STENNER 33 mins PC Buckingham H 19 Sep
Izzy PETTER 14 mins F Holcombe A 19 Sep Latest Goal: Lo e ROSS 44 mins F Buckingham H 19 Sep
~ 14 ~ MATCHDAY NOTES Loughborough Students v Surbiton
Last Season: (14 September 2019) Loughborough Students 2 (Izzy Pe er, Beth Peers) Surbiton 3 (Georgie Twigg, Alice Sharp, Emily Defroand)
Surbiton were Loughborough’s opening day opponents last season a er Loughborough returned to the Premier Division for the first me since their only previous season in 2000-01.
Loughborough made an immediate impact a er going 2-0 down in the 13th minute, figh ng back to level at 2-2 within six minutes. Defroand’s second half goal was enough to win the match for Surbiton but Loughborough could have earned a point if Lucy Millington had converted from the penalty spot.
The return game saw Surbiton win 3-1 with the teams mee ng for the first me since 2015 when Surbiton won 2-0 at Loughborough University in the Investec Women’s Cup semi-final. Loughborough had also given Surbiton a ba le, the season before, former Surbiton player Ellie Tait scoring a hat-trick before Loughborough bowed out with a 4-3 defeat in the last 16.
Loughborough achieved their ambi on of earning a second season in the Premier and got off to a superb start last Saturday, when Pe er scored the only goal at Holcombe.
Trivia note: Loughborough almost scored and conceded the same number of goals both home and away last season. At home they scored 12 and conceded 17, whilst away they scored 12 goals and conceded 18. ------
Premier Division Sequences Beeston’s last score draw was on 3 November 2018 v Slough (H) (1-1) (30 games) Beeston’s last no-score draw was at Slough on 16 March 2019 (21 games) Buckingham’s last score draw was at East Grinstead (1-1) on 5 October 2019 (15 games) Buckingham’s last no-score draw was at Leicester on 14 October 2017 (51 games) and immediately followed another 0-0 draw at home to Holcombe seven days earlier. Cli on Robinsons’ last no-score draw was at home to Slough on 10 February 2018 (43 games) Cli on Robinsons last won by more than one goal on 23 February 2019 at home to Beeston (3-0) (24 games) East Grinstead’s last no-score draw was at home to Holcombe on 23 September 2017 (54 games) East Grinstead last failed to score at Holcombe on 14 September 2019 (0-1) (18 games) Holcombe’s last no-score draw was at Buckingham on 7 October 2017 (52 games) University of Birmingham last drew 0-0 at home to Slough on 25 March 2018
~ 15 ~ Saturday, 26 September, King George V, 12 noon SWANSEA HOLCOMBE
Form Guide
WHL Premier Division 1 Total Seasons 7 1 PL W D L F A Current 7 PL W D L F A Consecu ve 1 0 0 1 0 4 All Time League Rec 109 53 26 30 199 162
W D L F A PTS W D L F A PTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 At Home: 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 Away From Home: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 Total Record 0 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 Leading At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 Trailing At Hal ime 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Level At Hal ime 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 4 0 Scoring no goals 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 1 goal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scoring 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Keeping a Clean 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sheet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 1 goal 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conceding 2 goals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 Conceding 3 goals + 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goals Scored 1st 0 0 1 0 2 0 Half 0 0 1 0 1 0
Goals Scored 2nd 0 0 1 0 2 0 Half 0 1 0 0 0 1
0 4 Total Goals Scored 0 1
0 18 Minutes Per Goal 0 70
0.00 4.00 Goals Per Game 0.00 1.00
Method of Scoring
0 2 Open Play 0 1
~ 16 ~ 0 1 Penalty Corner 0 0
0 1 Penalty Strokes 0 0
0 4 Total 0 1
F PC PS TOTAL Goalscorers: F PC PS TOTAL
Total Total
Clock
Quickest Goal:
Latest Goal:
~ 17 ~ MATCHDAY NOTES Swansea v Holcombe
First Na onal League mee ng
Swansea will host Holcombe across the Welsh border on an historic day for the na onal league.
Swansea first played in the na onal league in 2004-05 when they were members of the one season Premier 3. Swansea then spent the next three seasons in Na onal South Division before the Conference restructuring star ng in 2008-09. As with Oxted in the Men’s league, Swansea were ever-present in the Conference West where they met current Premier Division members, Buckingham and the University of Birmingham.
Then when in 2019-20 the Conference set-up became the third er with two regional divisions in the second er, Swansea were placed in Division One North due to a geographical anomaly. However, the move worked as Swansea finished in front of Leicester with the final round of matches not played due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
With the playoffs also cancelled, Swansea were automa cally promoted along with South champions, Wimbledon (who they met and lost 4-0 to last Saturday) and find themselves in the top flight for the first me in their history.
Meanwhile, Holcombe didn’t have the best start to their season last week when they lost 1-0 at home to Loughborough Students and will want to regroup against their newly promoted opponents in Week 2.
Holcombe have been in the Premier Division since 2014-15, a er winning promo on in their first season in the Conference East in 2013-14. A er finishing as runners-up to Surbiton in the Championships final in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and finishing top of the regular season league table in 2019, Holcombe slumped to a disappoin ng sixth finish, a mere three points ahead of ninth placed University of Birmingham in a congested table.
Last week’s defeat was their second successive league loss to Loughborough, Holcombe losing 3-2 in the Midlands on the last day of the 2019-20 season.
East Grinstead & Swansea Europe Bound East Grinstead and Swansea have both discovered where they are due to compete in Europe in 2021.
East Grinstead, as runners-up to Surbiton in last season’s Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, qualified for the Euro Hockey Club Trophy in Boom, Belgium from 2-5 April. East Grinstead have been drawn in Pool B along with Gantoise of Belgium, GHC Rtm Grodno of Belarus and hosts Braxgata. Pool A consists of C.H. SPV Complutense of Spain, Loreto HC of Ireland, Ak Bars-Dinamo of Russia and Lille MHC of France.
Swansea will play in EuroHockey Club Challenge II in Rakovinik, Czech Republic from 20-23 May. Swansea are in Pool B with Dinamo Elektrostal of Russia, WAC of Austria and hosts, HC 1972 Rakovnik. Pool A contains Luzerner SC of Switzerland, Zuvedra Tauras of Lithuania, NAVAX AHTC of Austria and Kolos Boryspil of the Ukraine.
~ 18 ~ Women’s Hockey League Premier Division – Phase 1 P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Wimbledon 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3 2 Surbiton 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 3 Hampstead & Westminster 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 4 East Grinstead 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3 5 Loughborough Students 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 6 University of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Cli on Robinsons 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 8 Holcombe 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 9 Beeston 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 10 Buckingham 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 11 Swansea 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0
. Premier Division – Phase 1 Bee Buc CR EG H&W Hol LS Sur Swa UoB Wim
Beeston 28 Nov 0-2 7 Nov 3 Oct 24 Oct 19 Sep
Buckingham 24 Oct 21 Nov 17 Oct 26 Sep 12 Dec
Cli on Robinsons 5 Dec 1-2 17 Oct 21 Nov 26 Sep 19 Sep
East Grinstead 26 Sep 3 Oct 28 Nov 24 Oct 7 Nov
Hampstead & Westminster 7 Nov 18 Oct 3 Oct 5 Dec 28 Nov
Holcombe 21 Nov 5 Dec 24 Oct 0-1 3 Oct 19 Sep
Loughborough Students 17 Oct 10 Oct 12 Dec 21 Nov 26 Sep
Surbiton 3-0 28 Nov 10 Oct 12 Dec 24 Oct 19 Sep
Swansea 10 Oct 12 Dec 26 Sep 7 Nov 5 Dec
University of Birmingham 10 Oct 12 Dec 7 Nov 28 Nov 3 Oct
Wimbledon 10 Oct 5 Dec 21 Nov 4-0 17 Oct 19 Sep
PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS: 5 Home Wins (2) Draws (0) Away Wins (3) 1-0 4-1 0-0 0-1 1 1-4 2-0 4-2 1-1 0-2 1 2-4 2-1 4-3 2-2 1-2 1 3-4 3-0 1 5-0 3-3 0-3 0-5 3-1 5-1 1-3 1-5 3-2 6-0 2-3 0-6 4-0 1 6-1 0-4 1-6
Games since…. A A An A A An A A Co Sco Co Sco Ke Fail Wi Los Gai Los Wi Los Wi Ho Aw Def Ho Aw Sco No nce rin nce rin epi ing nni ing nin ing n s n me ay eat me ay re Sco din g A din g ng To ng Co g A A By By (Premier Division Wi Wi Def Def Dra re g A Go g Mo A Sco Co nse Poi Poi Mo Mo Regular Season only) n n eat eat w Dra Go al Mo re Cle re nse cu nt nt re re w al re Th an cu v Th Th Th an Sh v e an an an 1 eet e Ga On On 1 Ga me e e me s s Beeston 3 2 1 0 0 0 30 21 0 3 0 4 3 0 3 0 3 0 10 0
~ 19 ~ Buckingham 1 3 1 0 0 0 15 51 0 1 0 4 1 0 6 2 1 0 14 0 Cli on Robinsons 1 1 0 0 0 2 3 43 0 0 0 4 1 11 1 4 1 0 24 11 East Grinstead 0 0 0 16 8 8 9 54 0 0 14 0 2 18 0 16 0 9 1 17 Hampstead & W 0 0 0 3 1 5 14 N 3 0 3 0 0 N 0 3 0 3 0 10 Holcombe 2 1 2 0 0 0 3 52 0 1 1 1 6 0 11 0 2 0 2 5 Loughborough S 0 0 0 2 1 1 7 N 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 17 3 Surbiton 0 0 1 1 1 0 8 20 1 0 1 0 0 2 3 1 0 1 0 1 Swansea** N N 0 0 N 0 N N 0 N 0 N N 0 N N N 0 N 0 U of Birmingham 2 1 1 0 0 0 7 36 0 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 Wimbledon* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
N= No occurrence * Wimbledon were last in the Premier Division in 1992-93 and records are not currently accessible, so sequences will be added from this season as they occur. ** Swansea are in their first ever season in the Premier Division Home Table P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Wimbledon 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3 2 Surbiton 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 3 Buckingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 East Grinstead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Hampstead & Westminster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Loughborough Students 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Swansea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 U of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Cli on Robinsons 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 10 Holcombe 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 11 Beeston 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Away Table P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Hampstead & Westminster 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 2 East Grinstead 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3 3 Loughborough Students 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 4 Wimbledon 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0 5 Beeston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Cli on Robinsons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Holcombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Surbiton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 U of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Buckingham 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 11 Swansea 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0
First Half Table P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Wimbledon 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 2 East Grinstead 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 3 Loughborough Students 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 4 Surbiton 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 5 Beeston 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 Hampstead & Westminster 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 U of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ~ 20 ~ 8 Buckingham 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 9 Cli on Robinsons 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 10 Holcombe 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 11 Swansea 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Second Half Table P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Hampstead & Westminster 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 2 Surbiton 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 3 Wimbledon 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 4 Cli on Robinsons 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 5 East Grinstead 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 6 Holcombe 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 Loughborough Students 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 U of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Beeston 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 10 Buckingham 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 11 Swansea 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Current Form Guide P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Wimbledon 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 3 2 Surbiton 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 3 Hampstead & Westminster 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 4 East Grinstead 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3 5 Loughborough Students 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 6 University of Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Cli on Robinsons 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 8 Holcombe 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 9 Beeston 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 10 Buckingham 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 11 Swansea 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0
~ 21 ~ EARLY/ LATE GOALS
Early Late
1-10 61-70
F A F A
Beeston 0 0 0 0
Buckingham 0 0 0 1
Cli on Robinsons 0 0 1 1
East Grinstead 0 0 1 1
Hampstead & Westminster 0 0 0 0
Holcombe 0 0 0 0
Loughborough Students 0 0 0 0
Surbiton 0 0 1 0
Swansea 0 1 0 1
U of Birmingham 0 0 0 0
Wimbledon 1 0 1 0
Totals 1 1 4 4
SCORERS
Women's Premier Division F PC PS Total Lo e Ross Surbiton 2 0 0 2 Georgie Blackwood Wimbledon 1 0 0 1 Fiona Burnet Wimbledon 1 0 0 1 Tess Howard East Grinstead 1 0 0 1 Holly Hunt Hampstead & W 1 0 0 1 Lucy Hyams Hampstead & W 1 0 0 1 Izzy Pe er Loughborough S 1 0 0 1 Sophie Bray East Grinstead 0 1 0 1 Kathryn Lane Cli on Robinsons 0 1 0 1 Suzy Pe y Wimbledon 0 1 0 1 Eloise Stenner Surbiton 0 1 0 1 Anna Reynolds Wimbledon 0 0 1 1
Total 8 4 1 13 Percentages 61.54% 30.77% 7.69% 100%
DISCIPLINARY RECORDS
Women's Premier Division Yellow Red Total Tess Howard East Grinstead 1 0 1
Total 1 0 1
~ 22 ~ ~ 23 ~ WHL FIXTURES
Women's Premier Division Fixtures – 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Buckingham v University of Birmingham 12:00 James Boylan David Howell, Helen Sargeant Cli on Robinsons v Wimbledon 13:30 Ben Redwood Clare White, Rebecca Woodcock East Grinstead v Beeston 15:00 Thea Hitchcock Andy Poulain, Rachel Williams Loughborough Students v Surbiton 14:00 Bev Deakin Gill Lord, Janice Tasho Swansea v Holcombe 12:00 Lesley Bayne Karen Fynn, Cathy Wright Bye: Hampstead & Westminster
Women's Division One North Fixtures - 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Ben Rhydding v Brooklands Poynton 13:30 Trevor Williams Stephen Cox, Jonathan Hull Olton & West Warwicks v Belper 12:00 Jane Rickey Tony Rollins, Kevin Twissell Stourport v Leicester City 18:00 Steve Kirby Clare Barwood, Pritpal Sihota University of Durham v Gloucester City 12:00 Peter Cocker Gemma Jones, Steve Perruzza University of No ngham v Bowdon Hightown 12:30 Jo Barnes Colin Anderson, Anne e Harvey
Women's Division One South Fixtures- 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Canterbury v Cambridge City 14:00 Marilyn Walker Ann Hopkins, Neil Smith Isca v Reading 12:00 Richard Hill Charles Hallows, Jo Spooner Slough v Sevenoaks 12:15 Ray Strudwick Elysee Enness-Laporte, Rob Jenkins Surbiton 2 v Harleston Magpies 14:30 Ian Marsh Jane Halle , Julie Spice Wimbledon 2 v Trojans 14:00 Keith Dawson AJ Small, Julian Warburton
Women's Conference East Fixtures – 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Barnes v Hampstead & Westminster 2 12:00 Home Team Sheryl Nokes, Paul Sexby East London v Bromley & Beckenham 18:00 Home Team Mark Oldfield, Chris Peart Horsham v Bedford 13:30 Debbie Garner Andy Brookes, Christopher O’Hagan Southgate v Chelmsford 14:30 Home Team Caroline Illing, Anne e Thorpe St. Albans v Canterbury 2 13:00 Hilary Kay Nikki Butcher, Zoe Hall
Women's Conference North Fixtures – 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Alderley Edge v Leeds 14:00 Home Team Sophie Parker, Lou Robinson Didsbury Northern v Cannock 12:30 David Alcock Paul Bradley, Eric Dickinson Fylde v Pendle Forest 13:30 Home Team Paul Masterton, Ed Westbrook Loughborough Students 2 v Doncaster 12:00 Bev Deakin Teresa Jolly, Rajiv Khanna Wakefield v Timperley 15:00 Steve Ball Helen Benne , Adursh Ruparelia
Women's Conference West Fixtures – 26 September 2020 Start MO Umpires
Basingstoke v Exe 14:00 Stephen Downham Stuart Fenton, Stuart Freeman Bristol Firebrands v Oxford Hawks 12:30 Nicky Atkinson Jim Marchant, David Savage Oxford University v Cheltenham 12:30 Roger Flood Andy Lord, Martyn Shu ler Su on Coldfield v University of Birmingham 2 12:30 Lesley Evans Saul Shohet, Pritpal Sihota Team Bath Buccaneers v Cli on Robinsons 2 13:30 Home Team Anthony Bridge, Steven Rice
~ 24 ~ National League Ups and Downs In Out Premier Division: Bowdon Hightown relegated to Division One North Swansea promoted from Division One North Wimbledon promoted from Division One South
Premier Division increased from 10 to 11 teams for 2020-21
Division One North Bowdon Hightown relegated from Premier Division Swansea promoted to Premier Division University of No ngham promoted from Conference North Leeds relegated to Conference North
Division One South Wimbledon promoted to Premier Division Surbiton 2 promoted from Conference West St. Albans relegated to Conference East Wimbledon 2 promoted from Conference East
Conference East Wimbledon 2 promoted to Division One South Broxbourne relegated to East League Ipswich relegated to East League East London promoted from East League Hampstead & Westminster 2 promoted from South League St. Albans relegated from Division One South
Conference North Leeds relegated from Division One North University of No ngham promoted to Division One North Didsbury Northern promoted from North League Loughborough Students 2 promoted from Midlands League Beeston 2 relegated to Midlands League Su on Coldfield transferred to Conference West
Conference West Surbiton 2 promoted to Division One South University of Bristol relegated to West League Su on Coldfield transferred from Conference North Bristol Firebrands promoted from West League
N.B. To ensure that the Conferences all had ten teams following the expansion of the Premier Division to eleven teams, only one of the three ninth placed teams (Broxbourne) was relegated instead of the normal two. Therefore Doncaster kept their place in the Conference North, when they would normally have been relegated to the North League. Team Bath Buccaneers would have stayed up in the Conference West as the highest ranked ninth placed team.
How To Find Further Information The Women’s Matchday Media is published under the umbrella of Hockey World News! h ps:// hockeywrldnws.com/
~ 25 ~ As in previous seasons, the aim is to produce sta s cal informa on about forthcoming matches in the Women’s Hockey League Premier Division with an overview of the rest of the league.
For one season only, the Premier Division will consist of eleven teams, with Swansea and Wimbledon both promoted from Division One and the University of Birmingham retaining their top flight status a er finishing ninth in 2019-20.
Overall, the league will have 61 teams, with only one of the ninth placed teams in the Conferences relegated to the regional leagues instead of the two teams originally planned. With the divisions below the Premier Division star ng their league programmes on 26 September, there will be more informa on in next week’s edi on.
This week, the focus is on the Premier Division. So where can you find informa on to complement this media guide?
The home page for all England Hockey compe on for the 2020-21 season including the six divisions of the WHL can be found here: h p://www.englandhockey.co.uk/page_noside.asp? sec on=2342&sec onTitle=Fixtures%2C+Results%2C+Tables%2C+Stats%2C+Teams+%26+Players
Compe on informa on is also available for seasons 2017-18 to 2019-20 by selec ng the appropriate season and category.
A comprehensive list of player movements for both Premier Divisions can be found at the Hockey Paper website here: h ps://www.thehockeypaper.co.uk/ar cles/2020/09/02/hockey-transfers-2020-21-premier-divisions-latest-ins- and-outs-in
Informa on about the WHL Premier Division including hopefully being able to follow the games in real me can be found at the England Hockey Al us website: h ps://englandhockey.al usrt.com/compe ons/247
Upcoming umpire appointments can be found for all na onal league divisions at h p://oms.englandhockey.co.uk/ npua/index.php Click on “Appointments” for any updates a er the media guide is published.
And if you want to look at WHL History going back from 2016-17 h ps://w.fixtureslive.com/sta capi.aspx?a=league_all_comps.ashx%3fleagueid%3d3342
Click on a division (e.g. Women’s Premier Division 2016-17) and the league table will be displayed. By clicking on “Detail” and scrolling down, a list of fixtures in batches of 30 will appear. Clicking on the red arrow for each match will display the scorers and goal mes as officially recorded. Informa on exists going back to 1999-2000 but some of the early seasons don’t have goalscorer informa on.
~ 26 ~