Holcombe returned to Premier Division action triumphantly with a 2-0 victory over bottom-side Sutton Coldfield on Saturday at Holcombe Park.

Sarah Robertson scored on her second debut for the club in the first half before New Zealand international Tessa Reid added a second goal late on.

It was Holcombe’s third victory of the season and took them to 11 points, with just one point separating sides from seventh to 11th in the Lower Six.

In front of an expectant home crowd, Holcs started brightly – winning several short corners, but these came to nothing, either being saved well or going wide.

There were also a number of open play chances with Mads Newitt, Eloise Richards and Mayra Lacheno all forcing good saves.

Holcs did have a great chance to take the lead shortly before the opener. 

Tilly Tillings was played through and her goal-bound shot was stopped illegally on the line – penalty stroke awarded.

Marian Ledesma stepped up but her flick was just wide.

Brad Read’s side finally took the lead on 30 minutes from an excellent strike from new signing Robertson, who struck superbly into the corner from the top of the circle to render the goalkeeper helpless.

This seemed to galvanise Sutton Coldfield and through good play down the right, Tilly Woodhead made an important save to keep the home side in front at the halfway stage.

Refreshed from the half time interval, Holcombe continued to dominate the game into the third quarter but the deserved second goal would not come despite multiple circle penetrations.

The visitors began to open up a little more in an attempt to get back level but any penalty corners were well-defended and Sutton Coldfield struggled to create from open play, with Holcs defending well.

The second goal finally came in the 68th minute as Reid slapped low into the corner from a penalty corner to secure the points.

Elsewhere in the Lower Six, there was a victory for Bowdon against Clifton Robinsons as the Manchester side won 2-1.

The hosts took an early lead in Q1 through Georgia Carroll and Clifton equalised ten minutes into the third quarter via Sarah-Jayne Thorburn’s penalty corner effort.

It was Alia Jacques that secured the points in the 50th minute with a field goal.

In the all-university clash between Nottingham and Birmingham, the points were shared in a 2-2 draw.

Nottingham took the lead with a strike by Freya Robinson from a penalty corner before University of Birmingham equalised with a penalty corner of their own through Carter Ayars.

The drama continued in the final quarter with Nottingham taking the lead in the 64th minute through a field goal from Chloe Walton only for Lily Sokhi to level things up with just a minute remaining.

This meant that the University of Birmingham leapfrogged Clifton Robinsons into seventh place on goal difference. 

In the Top Six, league leaders Hampstead and Westminster secured a 2-1 home win against Loughborough Students.

All three goals came in a back-and-forth last quarter – Hampstead took the lead through Lucy Hyams but were soon pegged back by Olivia Breed’s goal.

Former Holc Catherine Ledesma scored the winner with six minutes remaining and this put the London team four points ahead of second-placed Reading.

Reading battled to a 2 -2 draw against Surbiton in the Saturday evening match at Sugden Road.

The home side took the lead with a field goal from Alice Sharp and Georgia Howe equalised two minutes later through a penalty corner strike. 

Surbiton restored their lead with another field goal from Izzy Petter but in the final quarter, Georgia Jones scored a penalty corner to level up the match and ensure the points were shared.

In the final Top Six clash, Wimbledon suffered a 4-2 home defeat to in-form East Grinstead. Hockey Writers’ Club Young Player of the Year winner Biba Mills scored two of the goals, with two further goals from Carlota Gomez and Grace Balsdon putting the Sussex-based team a four-goal lead.

In the final quarter, Wimbledon pulled two goals back through Lydia Macdonell and Lucy Holder.

Holcombe travel to Bowdon this Saturday (13:30) looking for their second win of the season over Nick Clark’s side.

Image: Gaby Hull