42-goal east grinstead lead the national league
t
wo clear front-runners have emerged in each of the England league premier divisions as matches are about to re-start after an
indoor break that was slightly extended, for most, by cold weather in December. Champions East Grinstead top the
men’s premier having only dropped two points from nine games. The Sussex side are scoring, on average, nearly five goals a game. Nottingham club Beeston trail the top spot by four points. But a gap has then opened up to the only team to have taken points off the champions this season, Bowdon, who are a further six points adrift. Last season’s table-toppers Reading
find themselves in the bottom half of the division. Although with five teams
– half the league – qualifying for the championship playoffs, Reading, in seventh, are not out of the title hunt and could qualify for Europe again. Beeston demonstrated last year it is possible to reach the playoffs and grab a European spot from the lower playoff positions. At the bottom of the table newly
promoted Canterbury and nine-time national league champions Cannock face a relegation battle. In the women’s league the gap to
the top two places is narrower and the mid-league table is also very tight. Fine form in the latter part
Surbiton’s penalty corner ace Tim Pinnock
of the pre-Christmas season has taken Canterbury to the top. The new coach at Polo Farm is Nick Clark who coached Beeston men for four years, helping them win promotion to the premier division. National cup winners, and last
season’s beaten playoff finalists, Leicester trail Canterbury by a point. Then comes a pack of three sides on 16 points making up the playoff places,
including champions Slough. Division newcomers Cannock have shipped 35 goals in 10 games, but their scoring power, headed by league top scorer Linda Royston has kept them off the bottom of the table. On the men’s scorers list, East
Grinstead’s Danny Hall and Mark Pearn both have 10 open play goals. The top penalty corner shooter is Tim Pinnock of Surbiton with nine strikes.
Ady Kerry
East Grinstead Beeston Bowdon
Men’s premier division (up to January 31) P W D L GF GA GD P 9 8 1 0 42 11 31 25 9 7 0 2 23 11 12 21 9 4 3 2 16 12 4 15
Loughborough Students 9 4 1 4 27 26 1 13 Hampstead and Westminster 9 4 1 4 19 21 -2 13 Surbiton Reading
Brooklands MU Cannock
Canterbury
9 4 0 5 20 26 -6 12 9 3 1 5 20 21 -1 10 9 2 2 5 10 17 -7 8 9 1 3 5 16 34 -18 6 9 1 2 6 17 31 -14 5
Canterbury Leicester
Reading Clifton
Cannock
Women’s premier division (up to January 31) P W D L GF GA GD P 9 7 0 2 29 14 15 21 9 6 2 1 23 7 16 20
University of Birmingham 9 5 1 3 19 14 5 16 Bowdon Hightown Slough
9 5 1 3 18 18 0 16 9 5 1 3 13 14 -1 16 10 4 0 6 23 22 1 12 9 3 2 4 15 15 0 11 10 2 2 6 25 35 -10 8
Olton and West Warwicks 9 2 1 6 22 34 -12 7 Brooklands Poynton
9 1 2 6 17 31 -14 5 For league updates and pictures see
www.pushhockey.co.uk
llllllllllllllllllllll PLANET HOCKEY
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