It was a weekend of highs and lows for Holcombe’s men or women as they looked to secure their play-off titles.
22/04/17 5.45pm
England Hockey Women’s National Premier League
Playoff Semi-Final
Holcombe HC 2-1 East Grinstead HC
Scorers: Holcombe HC: Emily Beeney, Leah Wilkinson
East Grinstead HC: Bridget Blackwood
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Olympic Park
The England Hockey Post-season got underway for Holcombe Ladies on Saturday evening as, for the final game of the day, they took the field against local rivals East Grinstead.
The two teams had split the regular season games, with East Grinstead leaving Holcombe Park with all three points early in the campaign before Holcombe stole the points with a comeback win at Saint Hill.
With both regular season games being decided by the one goal, it promised to be a close and well contested affair.
The early exchanges showed promise of real aggression from the two sides as East Grinstead came out of the blocks firing. Holcombe struggled to work the ball up the field in the first quarter and just seven minutes into the contest, East Grinstead were rewarded for their pressure.
A ball into the right shoulder of the circle was struck fiercely into the back of the Holcombe net by Bridget Blackwood to give the Saint Hill side an early advantage.
With opportunities kept to a premium, East Grinstead defended resolutely to keep Holcombe at bay as the Kent side pushed hard throughout the remainder of the quarter to restore parity.
Having taken the early lead, East Grinstead struggled to find the same attacking prowess in the second quarter, leaving Aurora Mears in the Holcombe goal largely untroubled. With Holcombe yet to hit their stride in the contest, the second quarter drifted by as both sides looked to regroup at the half-time interval.
Immediately at the start of the third quarter it was apparent that Kevin Johnson’s side had come out with a rejuvenated energy. A greater intensity all over the pitch led to opportunities aplenty in the quarter as the contest burst into life.
Opportunities went begging in the opening 10 minutes of the period but then two goals in two minutes turned the game on its’ head.
Quanita Bobbs cut inside the East Grinstead defence on the left of the circle before firing a ball across the face of goal to be turned in by youngster Emily Beeney who found herself at full strength to get Holcombe back into the game.
From the restart, the Kent side stole possession and broke into the East Grinstead circle, earning themselves a penalty corner. A slick move was deflected home by Vice-Captain Leah Wilkinson to give Holcombe a crucial lead.
With a place in the Championship Final and with it, Europe for next season at stake, East Grinstead came out firing in the final quarter and put Holcombe under considerable pressure.
Mears was alert to deny a hungry East Grinstead front line and some good running from the Holcombe back line negated their penalty corner threats. With less than 2 minutes to go, East Grinstead broke through the heart of the circle and somehow forced the ball through Aurora Mears. With two forwards baring down on the loose ball in front of the open Holcombe goal, a stunning diving clearance from Emma Trunks preserved the slender lead.
The pressure remained and a late penalty corner with under 30 seconds to play was again repelled as Holcombe held on to claim a famous victory that secured European hockey for the very first time for the Women’s side and a shot at the title as they faced three-time reigning Champions Surbiton in the Championship Final on Sunday.
In her first season as Captain of Holcombe, Steph Elliott paid testament to pride of herself and the club in the squad.
“Our aim was (to make) Europe and we deserved it, so feel it feels great to have achieved what we aimed for at the start of the season. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders; I felt quite a lot of pressure to perform for the girls and put a solid performance in, both personally and to lead the team together so that both ourselves and the club would be proud and thankfully we did just that!”
22/04/17 1.15pm
England Hockey Men’s National Premier League
Playoff Semi-Final
Surbiton HC 3-2 Holcombe HC
Scorers: Surbiton HC: Alan Forsyth, Will Marshall, David Goodfield
Holcombe HC: Sam Ward x2
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Olympic Park
Holcombe Men’s return to the European Hockey league was in the balance on Saturday afternoon as their Playoff weekend got underway with a Semi-Final against Surbiton. With Wimbledon winning in the first Semi-Final of the day, the winner of Holcombe’s contest would be guaranteed European qualification ahead of next season and subsequently, an opportunity for the Championship in Sunday’s final.
With Holcombe content to sit in a half-court press and allow their opponents possession, Surbiton made the most of the early exchanges to fashion out a series of chances. George Pinner in the Holcombe goal was on hand to deny Dave Beckett and the prolific Alan Forsyth in the first quarter as Holcombe struggled to get going offensively in the opening period and had to defend well to negate a number of threatening advances from their youthful opponents.
Part-way through the first half however and it was the Kent side who took the lead. A loose ball in midfield was pounced upon by Great Britain Captain Barry Middleton. His direct run at the heart of the Surbiton defence preceded a stunning reverse stick pass to Sam Ward who deflected home to open the scoring.
It didn’t take Surbiton long to respond as they found themselves level just minutes later. A great run down the left channel from Arjan Drayton-Chana found Dave Beckett in space on the Holcombe baseline. His cross to the unmarked Alan Forsyth led to the Scotsman spinning 10 yards out from goal and firing home to open his account.
After the interval, the game followed a similar pattern with Holcombe content to sit deep and allow Surbiton time on the ball at the back. Gibson remained largely untroubled throughout the third quarter but the West London side soon found themselves ahead through Will Marshall. His flick from a well-worked penalty corner put Surbiton in control of the tie going into the fourth quarter.
Holcombe began to creep out and push for a way back into the game but cam unstuck through Surbiton’s prolific offense. David Goodfield latched onto the end of a slick passing move to finish on his reverse and give his side an invaluable two-goal cushion.
With time running down, Holcombe pressed forward in search of a way back into the contest and found it through Sam Ward. Holcombe’s top goal-scorer despatched only their second penalty corner of the afternoon with just 6 minutes to spare to set up a tense finale.
Holcombe continued to push and removed George Pinner in favour of a kicking-back with less than 3 minutes to play but it wasn’t enough as Surbiton held firm to secure their place in Sunday’s Championship final and condemn Holcombe to their second Championship Playoff Semi-Final defeat in their second year of Premier League hockey.
Holcombe Captain Richard Lane was disappointed that his side failed to play to their full potential in a frustrating day for the Kent side; “It was a bit of a battle. We tried to stick to the game plan but were broken down by their physicality. They took their chances well and disappointingly we didn’t quite play to our potential.”
Lane’s sentiment was echoed by Holcombe Manager Keith Martin; “We’re very disappointed with our all-round performance against Surbiton; we just did not reproduce our normal high level game.”
23/04/17 4pm
England Hockey Women’s National Premier League
Championship Final
Holcombe HC 1-3 Surbiton HC
Scorers: Holcombe HC: Ellie Watton
Surbiton HC: Giselle Ansley, Hollie Webb, Naomi Evans
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Olympic Park
Having secured their place in Europe ahead of next season, Holcombe went into Sunday’s Championship Final against three-time reigning Champions Surbiton with a renewed confidence.
The reigning champions have been a formidable force over recent years; amassing over 50 games unbeaten and boasting a side littered with senior International players.
Surbiton started the stronger of the two sides, forcing Holcombe onto the back-foot through pressing high up the field. Holcombe’s defensive unit held strong to negate most clear-cut opportunities but struggled to make in-roads into the Surbiton defence at the other end.
Sarah Haycroft, who played a dominant role in midfield throughout the contest, created the best opportunity of the first half but Grace Lawes, rotated in for Aurora Mears in goal, was equal to the opportunity.
Just four minutes before the interval however and Surbiton had the lead. Giselle Ansley, the Premier League’s top goal-scorer, added to her tally with a fiercely struck penalty corner to convert the pressure that the West London club had been piling on throughout the first half.
If Holcombe were looking to utilise the half-time break to re-group and re-energise themselves as they did in their semi-final a day earlier, all hopes of a smooth transition were dashed just two minutes into third quarter when Surbiton doubled their lead through Great Britain International Hollie Webb. Her slap from a well-worked penalty corner found the bottom left corner of Lawes’ goal to put the reigning Champions two goals clear.
Just over five minutes later however and Holcombe had their response. Having gone two goals down, the Kent side looked far more threatening going forward as they searched for a way back into the contest. Earning themselves a penalty corner, it was a diving Ellie Watton who finished a well-worked move to halve the deficit.
Holcombe gained a new lease of life after their top scorers’ intervention and began to create further chances to complete the comeback. Committing more players to attack provided Surbiton with opportunities to break but the resolute Holcombe back four denied any clear-cut opportunities as the game rested on a knife edge at the end of the third quarter.
With the Championship held delicately in the balance, the fourth quarter was a tense and frenetic affair. Surbiton continued to look dangerous on the attack but Holcombe’s commitment to offense led to several threatening forays into the Champions’ half but the Kent side were unable to muster meaningful shot on target as Surbiton’s defensive line held firm.
With time running down, a bouncing cross from Surbiton was met by Naomi Evans who got the slightest of deflections to beat Lawes and claim the fourth successive title for the West London side.
Holcombe’s faultless efforts were undone by the quality of a Surbiton side that has dominated domestic hockey in recent years but Captain Steph Elliott was pleased with her sides’ performances over the Playoff weekend.
“It was quite bittersweet today in that we feel we played well, gave it our all, went one step better than last season with silver, but just couldn’t get the win we wanted over Surbiton. In all honesty, they were the better team, but you always hope they’re going to have an off day and you can sneak that lucky win.”
“This whole weekend has been a rollercoaster of emotion and although I’ve aged about ten years it’s still been an epic experience and if anything, it’s made us more hungry to step it up again next season.”
23/04/17 1.45pm
England Hockey Men’s National Premier League
Championship 3rd/4th Place Playoff
Holcombe HC 7-3 Hampstead and Westminster HC
Scorers: Holcombe HC: Robert Field x2, Nick Bandurak x 2, James Steadman, Barry Middleton, Iain Lewers
Hampstead and Westminster HC: Kwan Browne, Richard Alexander, Rupert Shipperly
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Olympic Park
With the prospect of a potential third seeded place in Europe for next season to play for, Holcombe faced off against Hampstead and Westminster in the aptly named ‘Euro-Decider’ on Sunday afternoon.
With both sides deflated after their Semi-Final losses just 24 hours earlier, picking themselves up enough to play again at Lee Valley was a test of far more than simply their physical recovery.
Holcombe utilised the same tactics as the day before by sitting compact as a defensive unit but there was a greater intensity in their defensive work, denying any easy ball through for the Hampstead forwards.
Just 6 minutes in and Holcombe took an early lead. Chasing a long ball from Iain Lewers, Nick Bandurak stole the ball from Marc Edwards in the Hampstead defence before playing through Rob Field. Field made mistake on his reverse stick; firing low into the bottom corner past the on-rushing David Kettle.
Just two minutes later however and Hampstead were back in the game through a penalty stroke. Kwan Browne calmly finished low to George Pinners’ right to restore parity.
Pinner had to be alert throughout the opening half to make several saves from penalty corners where Matt Guise-Brown remained a constant threat.
Just two minutes into the second quarter however and Holcombe had restored their advantage. A flowing counter attack started from Dan Fox stealing the ball in his own half before playing a diving through-ball to Iain Lewers. With just the one defender to beat, Lewers’ found Bandurak in the Hampstead circle who spun before finishing low into the Hampstead goal.
Holcombe continued to look threatening in attack and three goals in six minutes before the interval put the game out of sight.
Same great work down the right baseline from Rob Field set James Steadman up to finish from close range in his final game for the club. Just four minutes later, Barry Middleton opened his playoff account, slamming home a loose ball in the Hampstead circle to make the score 4-1. In the final seconds before the break, Sam Ward found himself in a heap on the floor after a challenge from behind by Kettle. Iain Lewers stepped up to calmly despatch the subsequent penalty flick high into the top right corner of the goal to give the Kent side a four-goal advantage after a blistering quarter of hockey.
After the interval, Holcombe continued to attack with purpose and were rewarded 10 minutes into the half with their sixth. Rob Field latched onto Steadman’s cross to deflect home at the second time of asking for his second of the afternoon.
Hampstead continued to push forward in search of an improbable comeback and at the start of the fourth quarter, they removed their goalkeeper altogether in favour of an additional outfield player. Holcombe held strong through the opening exchanges until a fast break down the left channel earned them a penalty corner.
With 5 defenders but no goalkeeper to beat, Bandurak flicked high down the middle for his second and Holcombe’s seventh of the contest.
With the game won, late goals from Richard Alexander and Rupert Shipperly offered served as consolation to the London side as Holcombe wrapped up third place in the Playoffs.
“It’s great that we have a chance to still play in Europe next season,” said Holcombe Captain Richard Lane after the contest. “However, after a long season it is important we take the lessons from Saturdays game and improve for next season.”
Keith Martin, Holcombe’s Manager, was pleased with his sides’ response after Saturdays’ disappointment; “Our third-place playoff game saw a much improved performance with a high percentage of chances taken and players performing far better than in the semi final.”
Holcombe now await the Final 4 of this year’s European competition in the hope that Wimbledon do well enough to earn England a third seed in next years’ competition, meaning the Kent side would join the two West London clubs in the 2017/18 European Hockey league.
Pictures supplied by Andy Smith.