Across the EHL | Week Seventeen

Bowdon clinched the Open/Mens Division One North title to return to the top flight after a season’s absence. They were all but mathematically assured of finishing top before the weekend but earned the point they needed to make sure in a 3-3 draw with Harborne. Harborne came from 3-1 down with eight minutes to go to get a point but this did not dampen Bowdon’s celebrations. Runners up Repton also drew 3-3, at Timperley. The relegated teams Deeside Ramblers and Olton & West Warwicks were both beaten heavily in their last games at this level. Deeside lost 6-1 at Nottingham University, Olton’s derby with Birmingham University ended in a 5-1 loss.   Montgomery Neave scored four as Loughborough Students signed off with a 7-2 defeat of Durham University. 
 
Division One South champions Exeter University ended the season with a 2-1 win at Surbiton 2s to end the season 11 points clear at the top. At the other end of the table Canterbury beat Havant 5-2 but are still relegated. The second relegation place is not confirmed and is subject to an appeal regarding player eligibility which may impact the final table. Elsewhere runners up Guildford drew 3-3 at Indian Gymkhana, the Old Loughtonians – Teddington game also ended 3-3 and Richmond enjoyed a 5-1 win over Sevenoaks. 
 
Hampstead & Westminster 2s had won the Conference East title the weekend before but celebrated receiving their trophy and medals with a 4-2 win over Old Cranleighan  who finish third. Second placed Holcombe 2s drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove a result which means the Sussex team are relegated.  They finished level on points with Chelmsford who lost 4-1 at London Wayfarers, and the teams also have identical goal differences but Chelmsford have scored 5 more goals. Wimbledon 2s who lost 2-1 at Southgate 2s are also relegated. Bromley & Beckenham won 3-2 at Spencer The final table will be confirmed once a player eligibility issue that is subject to an appeal has been concluded but this will not impact promotion or relegation. 
 
Leeds took the Conference North title ending three points clear of Neston.  Leeds beat Durham University 3-2. Neston needed a large win and hope Leeds lose to overtake them. Owen Stephenson hit a hat trick for Neston in their 7-0 win at relegated Ben Rhydding but with Leeds holding on, the title goes to the East of the Pennines. Lindum finished third signing off with a 7-1 win at Didsbury Northern and Sheffield fourth, after a 4-1 win over Oxton who finish bottom. Doncaster won 5-2 at Newcastle University. 
 
Leek received the Conference Midlands trophy and medals, concluding their campaign  with a 2-1 over Nottingham University 2s. This meant they were unbeaten all season. A fantastic achievement. Since a 6-0 win over Stourport on the first week back after the break Leek have drawn or won every game by a goal – showing great resilience on their first season back in the EHL. Oxford Hawks trailed them by four points after their 3-2 win at Norwich City. St Albans are third but fell 2-1 at home to Barford Tigers. Relegated Birmingham University 2s enjoyed a second successive win, 3-1 at City of Peterborough. Stourport, who will join them in Midlands Area League, lost 5-1 at Banbury, their second demotion in as many years. 
 
Long term West Conference leaders Clifton Robinsons just held on to take the title but left it very late to do so at Ashmoor. Marlow, who have pushed them all the way needed to beat Bristol University and hope Robbies lost to pip them at the last.  They won 4-0 and Ashmoor led 2-1 going into the final minute in Devon. However Clifton Robinsons Ben Shardlow converted an overtime corner tht was retaken three times to earn a point and keep hold of top spot in dramatic fashion. The loss means Bristol are relegated along with Isca, who were beaten 5-2 at home by Team Bath Buccaneers. Fareham would have gone down in place of Bristol if they lost to Exeter University 2s and were 3-2 down with two minutes left before a James Seager corner earned a crucial point in a 3-3 draw. Chichester won 2-1 at Cardiff & Met 2s.  

 
Division One North Top Scorers  

Simon Claris (Repton) 26 

Simon Egerton (Bowdon) 18 

Harvey Edwards (University of Birmingham) 14 

Jake Litchfield (Harborne) 12 

Richie Dawson-Smith (Bowdon) 11 

Luke Holland (University of Nottingham) 11 

Cameron Lewis (Timperley) 11 

Carlos Dolado-Hollyman (Bowdon) 10 

Louie Morris (Harborne) 10 

Division One North Clean Sheets

Joel Clayton (Bowdon) 6 

Yuvraj Singh Bhuhi (Loughborough Students) 4 

Ambrose Davis (Repton) 3 

Division One South Top Scorers 

Vlacheslav Paziuk (Havant) 21 

William Tristem (Guildford) 17 

Kyle White (Teddington) 17 

Joe Naughalty (Sevenoaks) 16 

Callum Lea (Canterbury) 14 

Scott Wall (Richmond) 13 

Cameron Baker (Guildford) 12 

Harry Markham (Exeter University) 11 

Division One South Clean Sheets

Henry Saxby (Teddington) 3 

James Carleton (Exeter University) 2 

Mark Haycroft (Surbiton 2) 2 

Anton van Loggerenberg (Guildford) 2 

Conference East Top Scorers  

Matt Guise-Brown (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 26 

David Agar (Chelmsford) 20 

James Cutter (Old Cranleighan) 20 

Reuben Sendzul (Holcombe 2) 17 

Benedict Roe (Old Cranleighans) 14 

Mubashar Ali (Holcombe 2) 12 

Lewis Hyde (Bromley & Beckenham) 11 

Richard Heywood (Spencer) 9 

Jay Randhawa (Holcombe 2)  9 

Conference East Clean Sheets

James Stock (Chelmsford) 2 

Savaas Hadjigeorgiou (Southgate 2) 2 

Conference Midlands Top Scorers  

Joe Finding (City of Peterborough) 15 

Ben White (Leek) 12 

Cameron Cooke (Norwich City) 11 

Lewis Ingram (University of Birmingham 2) 11 

Spencer Hill (St. Albans) 10 

Jack Hobbs (Oxford Hawks) 10 

Rafe Lochore (Oxford Hawks) 10 

Conference Midlands Clean Sheets

Adam Knott (Leek) 6 

Simon Dolan (Norwich City) 3 

Alex Martin (St. Albans) 3 

Cameron Goodey (City of Peterborough) 2 

Conference North Top Scorers  

Matt Gibson (Doncaster) 21 

George Godwin (Leeds) 17 

Robert Goldthorp (Leeds) 16 

Sam Dixon (Lindum) 16 

James Gardiner (Neston) 15 

Will Musgrave (Ben Rhydding) 14 

Christopher Carter (Sheffield) 12 

Ben Read (Lindum) 12 

Conference North Clean Sheets

Olly Trotter (Leeds) 5 

Maxwell Davidson (Doncaster) 3 

Dan Garlick (Lindum) 3 

Douglas Duffus-Hodson (Durham University 2) 2 

Max Naylor (Neston) 2 

Conference West Top Scorers  

Jayden Zamler (Marlow) 16 

Callum White (Marlow) 15 

Sam Barnett (Exeter University 2) 14 

Isaac Hocking (Clifton Robinsons) 13 

Luke Emmett (Chichester) 12 

Willem Owens (Bristol University) 12 

Jadé Smith (Isca) 10 

Ben Stone (Clifton Robinsons) 10 

Conference West Clean Sheets

Chris Bristow (Chichester) 3 

Will Hunter (Marlow) 2 

Rhys Payne (Cardiff & Met 2) 2 

There was a dramatic end to the Womens Division One North title race with Buckingham taking the title at the death. They had seen their nine point lead at mid- season whittled away by Gloucester City who led the table by two points going into the last round of games needing a win to secure the title. Gloucester however were held to a 2-2 draw by Sutton Coldfield with Sally Walton’s two goals cancelled out by strikes from Vicky Woolford and Susan Wood.  Buckingham, who hadn’t won in seven games, found their form to beat Beeston 5-0 with goals from Sophia Crawshay (2) Jo Day (2) and Mae Reeves, to take the tile on goal difference. Sophia’s goals confirmed her as the Division’s top scorer with 20 goals, the clean sheet was Amelia Jones sixth shut-out and Buckingham return to the top flight for the first time since 2022-23 season.   The only other outstanding issue was who would be relegated with Repton. Leeds in ninth were two points behind Olton & West Warwicks going into Saturday’s games.  They overcame Repton 4-1 and saw their Yorkshire colleagues Ben Rhydding beat Olton 3-1 to mean it’s the Warwickshire side who are relegated. Elsewhere Loughborough Students 2s beat Pendle Forest 3-2 to finish third. 
 
All issues had been resolved in Womens Division One South. Champions Teddington received the trophy and medals at Holcombe where they drew 3-3. Mikayla Evans scored a hat-trick for Holcombe, only the second in the Division this season.  Runners up Exeter University drew 4-4 at Southgate. Liselot Mander  from Surbiton 2s was the Division’s leading scorer and notched the other hat trick, and she was on target in their 3-0 win at Reading 2s. Bristol Firebrands beat relegated Guildford 4-3 and bottom of the table Harleston Magpies’ difficult season concluded with a 4-1 loss at Sevenoaks but the club, that is so strong in so many ways, will benefit from playing a level lower next year.  
 
A 1-0 win at Newcastle University confirmed Bowdon 2s as Conference North champions. This was keeper Katherine Somerville’s tenth clean sheet of the season. Bowdon will be promoted subject to their 1^st team retaining Premier Division status. Alderley Edge pushed Bowdon all the way finishing three points back. Edge’s Amelia Long ran away with the leading scorer honours across the six Divisions and ended the season with a hat-trick in their 4-1 win over Sheffield. Shefield are relegated along with Wakefield who also lost, 4-1 at Fylde. Didsbury Northern, who could have been overhauled by the bottom two. made the other results academic with a 2-1 win over Kirkby Stephen.  Durham University 2s beat Whitley Bay & Tynemouth 2-1. 
 
In Conference East top of the table Old Loughtonians led Old Georgians by +5 goal difference with the teams level on points before Saturday and that is how it finished as both recorded wins by two goals so Old Loughtonians go up as champions. They were held until the 30^th minute by Wimbledon 2s when Hannah Bloy scored, and Florrie Pidduck added the second. OGs needed a big win at Spencer to overhaul Loughts but were never more than two goals ahead running out 4-2 winners. At the other end of the table Wapping ‘s relegation was confirmed some weeks ago but they ended with a good point at Hampstead & Westminster 2s, the game ending 1-1. Barnes 2s went above Guildford 2s in beating them 3-2. Guildford 2s relegation was previously confirmed as their 1sts are relegated to the Conference. Wimbledon’s 2s final points will be adjusted due to a player eligibility issue but this has no bearing on relegation. Canterbury won 2-1 at London Wayfarers. 
 
Leicester City had already clinched the Conference Midlands title and played out a 1-1 draw at Cambridge City before receiving their medals. Runners-up Birmingham University 2s went down 1-0 at Nottingham Trent University and third placed Oxford Hawks won 10-0 at relegated Harleston Magpies 2s. There was a hat-trick for the Division’s leading scorer Eloise Ward which made it nine goals for her in Hawks two wins over the Magpies in their ornithological derbies.  Who would join Harleston went down to the wire. A Lucy Walton hat-trick helped Stourport to a 3-1 win over Cambridge University and this result meant they went above Cannock by a point after the Staffordshire side were held 2-2 by St Albans. Jodie Beddow scored a 67^th minute equaliser for Cannock but they were unable to find the last gasp winner to save them.  
 
All five games in Conference West had a bearing on the title or relegation outcomes. Team Bath Buccaneers were crowned champions after their 1-1 draw at Slough. The draw meant they could have been caught by Cardiff & Met had they had a convincing win at Lansdown but they lost 1-0.  The point earned by Slough was enough to see them avoid relegation by the narrowest of margins. They were level on 15 points and goal difference with Clifton Robinsons 2s but had scored more goals. Clifton were beaten 3-0 at Trojans. Cheltenham also ended on 15 points but with a worse goal difference to finish bottom after a 3-0 win at Marlow which staved off any relegation fears for them.   Exeter lost 1-0 at Oxford University but other results went their way and they ended two points above the bottom three.    
    

Division One North Top Scorers  

Sophia Crawshay (Buckingham) 20 

Sally Walton (Gloucester City) 17 

Emma McCabe (Sutton Coldfield) 11 

Jess Roe (Gloucester City) 9 

Beth Peers (Olton & West Warwicks) 9 

Kirby Harris (Loughborough Students 2) 8 

Emma Williams (Gloucester City) 8 

Division One North Clean Sheets

Amelia Jones (Buckingham) 6 

Becky Batsford-Webb (Sutton Coldfield) 4 

Amy Hughes (Loughborough Students 2) 4 

Laura Kendall (Pendle Forest) 4 

Izzy Evans (Beeston) 3 
 

Division One South Top Scorers  

Liselot Mander (Surbiton 2) 13 

Madeleine Moore (Sevenoaks) 12 

Maria Andrews (Bristol Firebrands) 11 

Millie Attwell (Teddington) 10 

Lizzie Cook (Bristol Firebrands) 10 

Lorna Willmott (Exeter University) 10 

Division One South Clean Sheets

Emily Overend (Teddington) 7 

Jemma Woods (Surbiton 2) 4 

Louisa Bray (Southgate) 3 

Abigail Cox (Holcombe) 3 

Rose Thomas (Guildford) 3 

Conference East Top Scorers  

Madeleine Newlyn (Old Loughtonians) 17 

Katie MacCallum (Old Loughtonians) 10 

Orna Bools (Old Georgians) 8 

Jasmine Clark (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 8 

Jessica Dickinson (Guildford 2) 7 

Steph Elliott (Old Georgians) 7 

Hannah Griggs (Spencer) 7 

Olivia Lee-Smith (London Wayfarers) 7 

Conference East Clean Sheets

Rochelle Feather (Old Georgians) 7 

Phoebe Menear (Old Loughtonians) 7 

Jenny Lee (Spencer) 6 

Victoria Drews (Hampstead & Westminster 2) 3 

Vicky Shelbourn (London Wayfarers) 3 
 
Conference Midlands Top Scorers  

Eloise Ward (Oxford Hawks) 19 

Jodie Beddow (Cannock) 15 

Olivia Back (Leicester City) 12 

Holly Dean (Cambridge City) 12 

Sophie Thompson (Stourport) 12 

Isobel Johnson (Cambridge City) 11 

Sandra Roche (Oxford Hawks) 10 

Lottie Gill (Cambridge University) 9 

Rhianne Noor (Cambridge City) 9 

Lucy Walton (Stourport) 9 

Conference Midlands Clean Sheets

Ruby Jamieson (Oxford Hawks) 5 

Charlotte Salmon (Nottingham Trent University) 5 

Emily Gerke (St. Albans) 4 

Evie Halsall (University of Birmingham 2) 4 

Caitlin Jeffries (Leicester City) 3 

Georgie Marsden (Cambridge City) 3 

Conference North Top Scorers  

Amelie Long (Alderley Edge) 27 

Martha Bainbridge (Kirkby Stephen) 19 

Jessica Wharton (Fylde) 13 

Nicola Kellett (Fylde) 12 

Naomi Harkness (Whitley Bay & Tynemouth) 9 

Frankie Sinclair-Bruce (Durham University 2) 8 

Emily Cook (Newcastle University) 7 

Isabelle Moriarty (Durham University 2) 7 

Conference North Clean Sheets

Katherine Somerville (Bowdon 2) 10 

Ella Buddle (Alderley Edge) 8 

Katherine Fricke (Durham University 2) 8 

Amy Keirl (Whitley Bay & Tynemouth) 5 

Katie Barker (Fylde) 3 

Lucy Stead (Newcastle University) 3 

Sophie Winder (Kirkby Stephen) 3 

Conference West Top Scorers  

Amy Sheehan (Trojans) 17 

Jamie Bulbring (Cardiff & Met) 12 

Izzy Usher (Team Bath Buccaneers) 10 

Pauli Gutierrez Duport (Slough) 9 

Tabitha Tinniswood (Team Bath Buccaneers) 9 

Lorel Wallis (Exeter) 9 

Milly Chatterley (Trojans) 8 

Emily Hersch (Oxford University) 7 

Conference West Clean Sheets

Victoria Waring (Lansdown) 6 

Amy Partridge (Cardiff & Met) 5 

Peggy Marshall (Team Bath Buccaneers) 5 

Sheona Craig (Trojans) 4 

Hilary Hawthorne (Oxford University) 3 

Open the PDF file to view the table