It’s the last week of the regular league season in the Premier Division with the final stages of two pools of four teams leading to the finals weekend to follow.
Women’s Premier Division
In the Top Six, Surbiton will finish top which ensures three home games coming up as well as a European place next season. They play Wimbledon who they drew 0-0 with in November. Second placed Hampstead & Westminster enjoyed success wining the EuroHockey Club Trophy last weekend beating MSC Sumchanka, from Ukraine, 3-2 in the final. They are also rewarded with three home games in the next phase and welcome Durham University this weekend. Previous champions East Grinstead and Reading meet with neither side in great form with only one win, for EG, between them in the last four games. Reading lost their EuroHockey League quarter final last weekend but gained consolation beating Club Egara 2-1 in a ranking match.
In the Lower Six, University of Birmingham and Loughborough Students will finish seventh and eighth to join the Top Six for the final stages. They meet at Bournbrook with Birmingham, the home side, having won all four games since the restart. Elsewhere the other four teams are battling for points going into the relegation play-offs. Barnes need a win against Nottingham University to keep hopes of avoiding the drop alive and will be looking for a repeat of their meeting in October which was their only win to date. A win for Nottingham could see them climb out of the bottom two depending on the result from Bowdon – Clifton Robinsons who are three and two points above Nottingham respectively. The bottom four teams play each other once more in the relegation pool.
Open/Men’s Premier Division
In the Top Six, Surbiton will finish top which ensures three home games coming up as well as a European place next season. They play Holcombe, with Surbiton looking to extend their 100% record to 16 games. They lost for the first time this season in the EuroHockey League last weekend going down 3-1 to Club de Campo in the Quarter Finals and then to Old Georgians in a ranking match after a shootout. This result was a boost for OGs who had also lost 3-1 in the quarters, to La Gantoise. They host Oxted on Saturday who have lost all four games in the second phase to date. Wimbledon welcome Hampstead & Westminster, a win for the visitors would see them overtake Wimbledon and gain second place which comes with the benefit of three home games in the next phase.
In the Lower Six, East Grinstead host Beeston. Both teams are unbeaten in phase two which has seen EG secure a place in the finals stages and the Bees cut the deficit to safety from seven points at the break to one. Cardiff & Met are in eighth and will qualify for the finals in phase 3 if they beat Brooklands MU who are bottom, barring a big win for Southgate. Cardiff come into the weekend on the back of EuroHockey Trophy success in Vienna over the Easter weekend where they picked up gold. Southgate and Reading could both get into the finals but also need points to help with a potential relegation battle if they finish in the relegation pool where the bottom four teams play each other once more.
