Conference East side Holcombe took a step towards securing top flight status next season on Saturday afternoon.
Holcombe were in fine form as they saw off Play-Off regulars Buckingham.
Both teams were comfortable in possession in the opening period of play; however it was Holcombe who took the lead through their captain Leigh Maasdorp after six minutes. Holcombe doubled their goal tally eight minutes later after some clever build up play down the right hand side resulted in the ball being cut back for Lauren Osborne to sweep home.
The last ten minutes of the first half saw a spell of sustained pressure from Buckingham and a series of penalty corners. England International Maddie Hinch was on hand to pull off some smart saves and keep the score at 2 – 0 going in half time.
Buckingham came out of the blocks quickly in the second half; however, they were unable to convert any of their chances and four quick fire goals in the space of nine minutes from Holcombe sealed the victory.
Top goal scorer for Conference East, Megan Frazer, bagged herself a brace and England International Laura Unsworth also got her name on the score sheet with a fierce reverse stick strike. Nicci Daly rounded off a dominant performance for Holcombe as she got the final goal of the game and secured a 6 – 0 victory.
Speaking after the game, Holcombe’s Laura Unsworth was understandably pleased with the result. “We knew we had to come here and win today and to come away with 6-0 is going to put us in a good place for tomorrow against [Brooklands] Poynton.”
“We worked well as a team and when we do that we know we can play some really good hockey. Tomorrow is going to be a tough match but we’re looking forward to it. We’re not going to underestimate them but we’re going to be confident after our victory today.”
Brooklands Poynton against Holcombe is the first game of the day tomorrow at 10am followed by Buckingham against Sutton Coldfield at midday in the final match of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Play Offs. Tickets are still available to purchase at the gate.
Picture supplied by England Hockey.
Play-Off tournament standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| Holcombe | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Sutton Coldfield | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Buckingham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| Brooklands Poynton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |