Match Reports

2009/10 Match Reports
Key : L1 - Ladies 1st; L2 - Ladies 2; M1- Mens 1st; M2 -Mens 2nd; M3 - Mens 3rd; M4 - Mens 4th; B1 - Badgers 1; MV1 - Mens Vets; Mx1 - Mixed 1.

Match Reports (Read below); Results & Tables ( select from red letters)

L1: EHL Premier
Bowdon Hightown 3 Slough 4

SLOUGH Ladies bounced back from last week’s opening day defeat to record a deserved win over the reigning Premier champions Bowdon.
It was all the more remarkable as Slough were missing seven players, six of whom would have been probable starters.
Despite this, Slough were the dominant side and were 4-1 up with ten minutes left before Bowdon closed the gap with two late goals.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: “It was an excellent team performance and the three points were very important at this stage of the season.
“The win boosts our confidence after last week’s defeat and, when we have everyone fit and available, we will have a very good squad.”
Slough got off the mark from their first penalty corner in the second minute when Greenham got a deflection to a Jane Smith shot.
Bowdon equalised after 19 minutes when keeper Kate Filochowski’s corner save was not cleared and Tina Cullen pounced to convert the rebound.
Slough had the lion’s share of possession, as they did throughout the game, and defended well, allowing their hosts few shots on goal, and there were no further goals before half-time.
In the 43rd minute Greenham scored an identical goal to her first and Ashleigh Ball increased the lead nine minutes later with a near post corner deflection.
Smith made it 4-1 two minutes later, converting a penalty stroke after she had been fouled in the act of shooting.
Bowdon scored twice in the last 10 minutes, when Sally Walton fired home a backhand shot and Cullen bagged a second, getting a deflection to a cross from the right.
SLOUGH: Filochowski, Nicholson, Strong, Harte, Coulson, White, Greenham, Ball, Penny, J Smith, Lubbock. Subs: Stewart, Shanahan.

Slough have strengthened their squad with a high profile signing.
Becky Duggan, 26, England’s number two goalkeeper, has joined them from Trojans.
Duggan, who has 30 England caps, was a member of England’s bronze medal-winning squad at the recent European Championship. Her previous clubs were Ipswich and Canterbury.
Another new recruit is 17-year old striker Katie Shanahan, formerly with Barnes, who has played at England U16 and U18 level and made her Slough debut at Bowdon.

Author: Mike Haymonds

L1: EHL Premier
Slough 1 (1) Reading 3 (1)

SLOUGH LADIES came off second-best in their opening day’s derby with newly-promoted Reading, a game which, disappointingly, never reached a high quality and
entertainment level.
Slough were missing six players, either injured or not available, while Reading had only two of their star signings - Alex Danson and Jo Ellis.
Slough enjoyed some ascendancy at the beginning and end of the game, winning ten penalty corners in all and converting only one, but they created few chances from open play.
Once they get back to full strength Reading are likely to be serious title contenders.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham was not disheartened by the defeat. “Even without five likely starting players we showed we are able to compete (with a fancied team) and, with more rub of the green, it could have been closer.”
Slough made a lively start, winning two penalty corners, but Jane Smith’s strikes were charged down while Reading squandered an early corner and then saw Claire Kerr give away possession from a promising position.
Reading opened the scoring in the 19th minute when former Slough player Becky Odlin scored with a close range deflection but Slough equalised four minutes later through Ashleigh Ball, who forced the ball home from a broken-down corner.
Reading then took control but failed to convert five more corners before the break.
The visitors struck in the first minute of the second half when Vicky Bryant took advantage of lax Slough defending to restore the lead and the two sides then traded penalty corners – without success.
Slough’s belated switch from direct strikes produced closer efforts but Nicola White was unable to connect with two Smith forward passes and keeper Kate Filochowski had to come to Slough’s rescue twice.
But after 56 minutes she was beaten to a right-wing cross by Bryant, who steered the ball home.
Slough staged a late rally but Smith was twice denied by the visitors’ keeper Mel Insall who also saved a corner effort by Ball.
An undistinguished game became increasingly scrappy and ended with both teams a player light after Reading’s Odlin received a second yellow card and Ball was sin-binned for the final two minutes after falling foul of the new self-pass rule.
SLOUGH: Filochowski, Coulson, Harte, Greenham, Bell, Nicholson, J Smith, Ball, Bevan, White, Penny. Sub: Lubbock.

Author: Mike Haymonds

March 29 2009 - SHC Badgers Cup

Winners: Aylesbury HC

SHC organised a very successful Badgers tournament, which provided the opportunity for young players aged between 11 and 15 to participate in competitive senior hockey copetition within a safe and fairplay environment.

Aylesbury won the inaugural SHC Badgers cup, winning in style with their speed of play and scoring some spectacular goals along the way. Slough Badgers and Milton Keynes competed well and there were some great performance from their young players. Slough B finished second and and Slough A fourth.

Surjit Sandhu, Slough HC chairman thanked all the participant teams and supporters. He thanked Bal Nijjer for donating the trophies and Inder Poonaji for organising the day.

The trophies were presented by Bal Nijjer, he congratulated the teams and was impressed with the level and spirit the tournament was played with. The Aylesbury coach thanked Slough hockey club and said 'it was a tough tournament played in competitive sprit but within a fairplay environment.'

March 28

Slazenger EHL Premier
Slough (1) 2 Leicester (0) 1

SLOUGH Ladies finished their league season with an impressive win, ending Leicester's hopes of the runners-up spot and a place in Europe next year.
Slough's win, their ninth of the season, meant they finished in fifth place, their worst position for three years, and 22 points behind the league champions Bowdon Hightown, who lost their 100 per cent record in a 3-1 defeat by Canterbury.
Slough coach Aussie Todd Williams said: "We had three main aims and the team responded superbly.
First was to absorb pressure, but not negatively, exploiting the opportunities to counter-attack. Secondly to work on our positional relationships, particularly our left flank, from where the second goal came, and thirdly to play higher in midfield and up front.to deny them space in midfield."
Slough made a dream start in the sixth minute when Alex Scott struck home a cross from Lauren Penny and they won their only penalty corner soon after. However, Ashleigh Ball's strike was deflected out by a defender and Slough failed to create any more chances for the rest of the first half.
Leicester won five corners but Slough keeper Sarah Ellis was in inspired form, making saves from the first four.
The visitors earned two more set pieces but the first was feebly hit wide and Ellis saved the next with her glove
Slough's first chance since their goal fell to Penny who failed to connect with a Hannah Bowe shot on goal.
Hannah Coulson, playing in an unfamiliar striker role, was denied by the visitors' keeper Clare Schulze in a one-on-one situation.
Slough continued to threaten with a shot on the turn by Scott deflected out by Schulze, who then repeated the save from a reverse-stick effort by Penny.
Following an interception by Penny her run on goal was halted by Schulze but the South African increased Slough's lead in the 66th minute by converting a cross from Ball.
In the final minute another glove save by Ellis at Leicester's eighth corner was penalised as dangerous and Kerry Williams gave them a consolation from the penalty spot.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: "We knew what we had to do and we played pretty well, soaking up their pressure in the first half and coming on more strongly in the second."
Looking back over the season she added: "It's been a steep learning curve.
Our limited numbers and hence the lack of competition for places has made it difficult."
SLOUGH: Ellis, Harte, Cox, Greenham, Bell, Nicholson, Bowe, Ball, Penny, Coulson, Scott. Subs not used: Wimshurst, Filochowski.
Slough will now take a two-week break before resuming training for the European Club Champions Cup in 's-Hertogenbosch, Holland, at the end of May.

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Slough Ladies 2s lost 4-0 to leaders Amersham & Chalfont in Trysports Three Counties League Premier 1 but stayed in eighth place.

Author: Mike Haymonds

March 21 2009

Slazenger EHL Premier
Bowdon Hightown (0) 2 Slough (1) 1

SLOUGH Ladies came as close as anyone to ending Bowdon's 100 per cent record but they were denied by their nemesis, former GB and England international Tina Cullen, who scored the winner to condemn them to their seventh defeat of the season.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham described their first half performance as "our best all season: we passed and moved the ball around well, defended deeper to compress the space behind and deserved our half-time lead."
But Bowdon shaded the second period, benefiting from a full squad while Slough's permutations were limited by having only one outfield substitute.
Both sides won just three penalty corners and none were converted with their main corner striker Jane Smith's absence (skiing) sorely missed by Slough.
Lauren Penny scored her 11th goal to open the scoring midway through the first half, completing a left-side move from close range.
Bowdon's equaliser came two minutes after the interval when Sara-Jo Coakley punished a defensive mistake and Cullen's winner in the 57th minute followed a midfield turnover and counter-attack, ending with her steering the ball home.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Harte, Cox, Greenham, Bell, Nicholson, Bowe, Ball, Penny, Scott, Wimshurst. Sub: Coulson. Not used: Filochowski.

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Slough Ladies host Leicester tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon, hoping to end their league campaign with a bang not a whimper.
After an excellent first half to the season, in second place until just before the midwinter break, the second half has seen Slough slip down to fifth spot and miss out on playing in Europe next year.
Seven defeats so far - although all bar one by a single goal - represent their worst season for four years and defeat tomorrow (and a win for Clifton) would see them finish sixth, a position they last occupied in 2003/4.
Slough who, without any bench substitutes, lost 1-0 to Leicester in the reverse fixture in November, will want to avoid a repeat of last season's final game when, having already clinched the title, they lost 7-2 to the Midlanders.
Jane Smith and Steffi Cordier, who missed the Bowdon game, will be back but Louise Bevan broke a hand in training last week and faces a race to be fit for the European Cup at the end of May.

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DOUBLES for Lesley Hobley and Ali Lubbock gave Slough Ladies 2nds a 4-2 win over Maidenhead 2nds and lifted them a place to eighth in Trysports Three Counties League Premier One.
Author: Mike Haymonds

March 14 2009

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Slough (2) 4 Olton & W Warwicks (3) 5

SLOUGH Ladies' hopes of a runners-up spot and a place in Europe next year were ended in this season's second nine-goal match with Olton.
But, whereas Slough won the first meeting in November by 6-3, this time the Midlanders consolidated their own second place with a one-goal victory.
Thanks to a hat-trick of stunning strikes by veteran Jane Smith and a close-range effort by Alex Scott, Slough clawed back two- and three- goal deficits but the equaliser eluded them in the final dozen minutes.
Slough are six points off second place but, with two games left - against champions Bowdon and fourth-placed Leicester - any realistic chance has gone.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: "We paid a heavy price for poor defending.
"Although they had more possession, we created more open play chances and it was pleasing that we scored four goals against such a good side."
Olton opened the scoring in the second minute from a penalty corner second-phase when Scottish international Emma Rochlin scored from close in.
Smith was denied by the visitors' keeper Mags Rees after a solo run from half-way but she made amends after 13 minutes, finding the net from a tight angle.
But the visitors regained the lead in the 20th minute when Holly Chipman deflected home a Rachel Walker corner strike and they went two up five minutes later through a Lucilla Wright reverse-stick shot from a narrow angle.
Ashleigh Ball missed a good chance with a weak shot from the top of the D but Smith pulled a goal back after breaking clear and launching a screamer into the far corner.
Louise Bevan was denied by the keeper before Slough goalie Sarah Ellis made three crucial saves - at Olton's fourth corner, then from Wright, followed by a full-stretch stick save from Kerry Thompson-Moore at a sixth set piece.
Two minutes after the interval Olton's lead was 4-2 when Emma McCabe deflected in Wright's shot and on 43 minutes a double switch at the visitors' seventh corner gave Naomi James the chance to fire past an unsighted Ellis.
Slough won their only corners - three of them - in the second half and the last two brought goals.
In the 53rd minute a second phase move saw Mandy Nicholson drive to the backline before pulling the ball back for Scott to force it home.
Five minutes later Smith completed her hat-trick, lobbing over the keeper into the roof of the net.
It was Slough's sixth defeat of the season, all bar one by the odd goal: a tale of what might have been.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Harte, Cox, Greenham, Bell, Nicholson, Bowe, Ball, Bevan, J Smith, Scott. Subs: Penny, Coulson, Wimshurst. Not used: Filochowski.

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SLOUGH Ladies face a long journey and a tough task when they meet this season's Premier champions Bowdon Hightown tomorrow (Saturday).
Bowdon, who beat Slough 1-0 in the reverse fixture in November, have a 100 per cent record after 16 games with only two to play.

March 8/9th, 2009
Slazenger EHL Premier
Slough (1) 2 Canterbury (0) 3
Ipswich 1 (0) Slough 4 (3)

SLOUGH Ladies recorded their 200th National League win on Sunday and, with three points from two games at the weekend, their hopes of a runners-up slot and a place in Europe next season were not totally extinguished.
Slough slipped to fifth after Saturday's defeat by Canterbury but only three points separate them from second-placed Olton with Canterbury and Leicester also in contention.
However, Slough now face a tough finish to the season as their remaining three matches are against three of the top four teams.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: "We're starting to recover some form and I regarded last weekend as the start of our preparations for the European Cup in May.
"Our performances were a step up from the previous week's."
Against Canterbury a closely contested first half saw chances falling to both sides.
For Slough Lauren Penny just failed to connect with a free hit while Canterbury made nothing from two early penalty corners.
Slough keeper Sarah Ellis made a diving stick save from the visitors' third corner, followed by a shot by Ashleigh Ball being deflected wide by Jane Smith.
Smith was unlucky not to earn a penalty stroke when she was flattened by the keeper and, from the corner awarded instead, a Canterbury counter-attack was thwarted by another Ellis stick save.
Slough's first corner saw Smith fire the rebound from her own shot well wide but she made amends in the 34th minute when a pass from Hannah Bowe released her to fire home.
Two minutes after the break the visitors' skipper Mel Clewlow drilled home a corner and eight minutes later a cross by Cathy Gilliat-Smith was deflected past Ellis by Susannah Townsend.
Within three minutes Slough equalised when a centre by Mandy Nicholson was steered home by Smith.
Canterbury regained the lead in the 54th minute when Jen Wilson's strike at their eighth corner was deflected into the roof of the net by Jenny Hall.
That proved to be the winner as Slough messed up their second and last corner, Steffi Cordier was off-target from an Alex Scott cross and Smith narrowly missed connecting with a Louise Bevan shot.
Ellis continued her heroics for Slough to the end with saves from Gilliat-Smith and Townsend.
At Ipswich Slough's good form of the previous day continued, giving them a three-goal lead by half time before adding a fourth before the weather conditions worsened.
Driving rain and hail, coupled with a sand storm blown up from the pitch, made quality hockey impossible.
Slough opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Jane Smith's run and cross to the goalmouth was deflected in by Alex Scott and Smith's direct corner strike six minutes later doubled the lead.
After 23 minutes Lauren Penny's deflection at a corner struck a defender on the line and Smith converted the penalty stroke.
Four minutes into the second half an impressive multi-player build-up set up Scott to score her second before Ipswich's 57th-minute consolation goal from Emma Lee-Smith.
SLOUGH (v Canterbury): Ellis, Harte, Cox, Greenham, Bell, Scott, Nicholson, Ball, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Subs: Cordier, Bowe, Coulson. Not used: Wimshurst, Filochowski.
(v Ipswich): Filochowski (for Ellis), Bowe (for Bevan). Sub: Coulson. Not used: Ellis

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SLOUGH Ladies enter the closing stages of the league season when they host Olton & West Warks at 12.30 pm tomorrow (Saturday), the first of three final games against three of the Premier's top four teams.
Olton are in second place and will be keen to keep alive their hopes of competing in Europe next season.
However, their pursuers, Canterbury, Leicester and Slough, are within three points so tomorrow's game is a six-pointer.
Slough won the reverse fixture in November 6-3, helped by a Lauren Penny hat-trick, and have lost to the Midlanders only twice (with no draws) in 16 previous league meetings.

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SLOUGH midfielder Ashleigh Ball has been selected in an England squad to play two matches with Ireland in Dublin over Easter.
Also included in the squad are former Slough players Alex Danson, Beth Storry, Chloe Strong and Kate Walsh, who are all playing with Dutch clubs this season.

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SLOUGH Ladies 2s lost 6-2 to Wallingford to stay in ninth place in Trysports Three Counties League Premier One. Ali Lubbock and Rajvina Kaur Nijjer were their scorers.
Author: Mike Haymonds

L1: Slazenger EHL Premier
Slough (2) 3 Chelmsford (0) 1
Poynton (1) 1 Slough 1 (0)

SLOUGH LADIES produced under-par performances against two teams in the bottom half of the table but earned four points to maintain their slim hopes of a runners-up slot and a place in Europe next season.
Slough moved up two places to fourth, five points behind Olton and four behind Leicester with a game in hand on both, who they have still to play.
On Saturday Slough had an early warning that bottom club Chelmsford would be no pushovers when their goalkeeper Sarah Ellis had to make full-stretch saves from two of the visitors’ first three penalty corners.
It took Slough 21 minutes and five corners for them to realise that employing direct shots at keeper Lynsey Warren would be an unsuccessful route.
The deadlock was broken when Jane Smith’s sixth strike looped into the net from the stick of Alex Scott and the same ploy 12 minutes later saw a Lauren Penny deflection increase their lead.
Slough’s best two open play chances of the first half fell to Penny while Chelmsford’s only other opportunity saw Kate Maxey fire wide.
Ellis again came to Slough’s rescue after the break at the visitors’ fourth corner but she was given no protection when a long ball put Libby Knifton clear and she finished with aplomb.
Scott and Smith were off target before Smith gave Slough a two-goal cushion on the hour, drilling home their 11th corner.
Two more set pieces brought no reward for Slough and Ellis made a fourth crucial intervention, denying Knifton with a stick save.
Poor finishing and failure to convert any penalty corners contributed to the draw at Poynton.
For the opening 20 minutes Poynton were on top and scored in the ninth minute through a rebound goal by Phillippa Jones.
Eventually Slough got into the game and dominated the second half with South African Lauren Penny equalising in the 47th minute with a fierce shot from the top of the D, her 10th league goal this season.
SLOUGH (v Chelmsford): Ellis, Harte, Cox, Bell, Scott, Greenham, Nicholson, Ball, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Subs: Cordier, Coulson, Wimshurst.
(v Poynton): Bowe for Cordier.

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Slough Ladies face a second double-header league weekend, with their hopes receding of a runners-up place behind Bowdon Hightown, who have claimed the Premier title with four games to go.
Tomorrow (Saturday) Slough host fifth-placed Canterbury at 12.30 pm and on Sunday they travel to second-from-bottom Ipswich.
Slough shared eight goals with the Kent club earlier this season and won both meetings 2-0 last season although Canterbury still have the best league record against Slough in recent years.
Slough recorded their biggest victory (8-1) in this campaign against Ipswich and past form favours Slough, who have lost only twice in their last 17 league meetings, the last time in the 2002/3 season.
Author: Mike Haymond

L1: Slough Ladies Indoor 2009 Feb 20-22 February 2009

SLOUGH Ladies recovered from two defeats on the opening day of the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champions Cup in Madrid by winning their remaining three games to finish in fifth place and preserve top-tier status for Bowdon Hightown next season.
The initial pool defeats by the eventual finalists Dinamo Sumchanka, from the Ukraine (2-9) and the German favourites Club an der Alster (2-6) ruled out the prospect for Slough of a semi-final place and a possible medal by the end of day one.
Their final group match with the Russians Vympel Korolev, who had also suffered two losses, was therefore a must-win game with the winner taking three points into the ‘relegation’ pool.
Slough were always in control, running out 3-0 victors, thanks to goals from Jane Smith and Fiona Grenham (2) although they should have scored a lot more
Their winning streak continued with a 3-2 defeat of the Austrians Wels HC, courtesy of a howler by the Austrian keeper which was punished by a quick- thinking Jane Smith to complete her hat-trick in the dying seconds.
With relegation avoided, Slough could play their final game without any pressure and they produced their best hockey of the tournament to beat Ritm Grodno from Belarus, medallists for the past six years, more comfortably than the 5-3 final scoreline suggests. Smith added four more goals to take her total to nine with Greenham scoring the other.
Slough’s improvement after the opening day was helped by an improved corner success rate from Smith and Greenham but their penalty strokes were woeful, with only one from six converted.
Slough coach Sue Chandler’s verdict on her team’s performance was “very pleasing.”
“In Europe you get punished for little mistakes which you get away with at home and our two defeats on the first day reflected that.
“Despite the two losses I was not unhappy as we’d competed well in both first halves before falling away in the second periods.
“Apart from the game with Ukraine, our defence was pretty sound and we weren’t conceding too many short corners.
“The Austrians presented a different tactical challenge which we coped with well and against the Belarussians we raised our game another notch.”
“I got what I expected from our experienced outfield trio of Mandy Nicholson, Jane Smith and Fiona Greenham (the latter playing for the full 200 minutes).
“But I got more than expected from the younger players whose rose to the occasion when they were given more pitch time in the later games.”
Slough skipper Lynnette Smith said: “I’m disappointed with our final placing but not at the way we played.
“After the first two defeats we achieved the best ranking we could.”
This competition is now much more competitive than in the 1990s when Slough won three silver medals and the honours usually went to German, English and Spanish teams.
Since then the East Europeans, with the benefit of competitive indoor leagues, have become a force and the Dutch are taking indoor hockey more seriously. The gap between these nations and the dominant Germans has narrowed but English clubs will continue to struggle to make semi-finals until they can get tougher preparation at home.

Club an der Alster beat Dinamo Sumchanka 7-5 in the final to maintain Germany’s record of winning all 20 editions of this competition.
Larensche MHC, from Holland, took the bronze medal by beating the hosts Club de Campo 4-2 while the Austrians and Russians were relegated.
SLOUGH: L Smith, Ellis, Nicholson, Greenham, Ball, J Smith, Cordier, Bell , Cox, Penny, Wimshurst.
Author: Mike Haymond

20 February 2009

M1 (5) V Mill Hill (0)

Slough came out a much stronger & determined group in the 2nd half generating more attacking hockey and putting pressure on the Mill Hill defense, had to work hard for their opportunities. It was Slough’s man of the match Avtar Davatwal who created the 3rd goal for Mansoor Ahmed to complete his hat-trick. Slough used both flanks with precision as Mansoor collected a long pass from Waseem and dribbled past two defenders and found Kimanzi to increase the tally four minutes later.

With Slough’s defense soaking the Mill Hill pressure, Slough scored their last from Waseem’s well placed free hit which was deflected home by Mansoor.
Slough Mixed XI booked their place in the Next round of Mixed Trophy on Sunday with a comfortable 6-2 win away at Abingdon.
2 Goals from Mansoor & Kimanzi, while Ali Lubbock & Nim also chipped one goal each
MBBO Fixture Game Saturday
Slough 1st XI V Sonning 1st XI @ 14:00 at Slough Hockey Club, Upton Court Park.
Team: Michael Finlay, Kartar Davatwal, Avtar Davatwal, Kal Mandair(Capt), Steve Dixon, Kieran Sandhu, Dilip Davatwal, Waseem Suhail, Mansoor Ahmed, Robbie Saini, Kimazi Fidelis, H. Sandhu

L1: 13 February 2009

L1: Slazenger EHL Premier
Clifton (0) 2
Slough (0) 1

SLOUGH Ladies’ hopes of a place in Europe next year took a further knock as they lost to Clifton for the third time this season and slipped two places to fifth
Clifton, who had already beaten Slough in the league and cup, came from behind to make it a treble success and take third spot, their highest placing for some years.
Slough were denied the chance to improve their position when Sunday’s home game with Canterbury was postponed as the pitch watering system failed.
Slough are now eight points adrift of second place and face a backlog of fixtures in March, including two double-header weekends.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: “It was a disappointing result as we had enough chances to win.
“I’d hoped we could go into the coming indoor weekend in Europe with a win behind us.
“March is going to be a tough challenge for us.”
Clifton were in attacking mode from the start but Slough edged the goalless first half in which both sides had chances.
From the restart Slough withdrew Mandy Nicholson into a two-man central midfield with Greenham and the move paid off in the 46th minute when they took the lead.
A pass from Greenham to Steffi Cordier brought a shot from the German, saved by the keeper, with Jane Smith tucking away the rebound.
However, a minute later, Clifton were level when lax defending by Slough gifted Leah Wilkinson the equaliser.
Both teams continued to create chances but Clifton got the winner on the hour when they intercepted a Slough free hit and launched a counter-attack finished by Abi Welsford.
Slough were denied the point they deserved when they had a late ‘goal’ disallowed following a penalty corner flick by Smith and an Ashleigh Ball follow-up ruled out as illegal.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Cox, Greenham, Harte, Scott, Ball, Bowe, Nicholson, J Smith, Penny. Sub: Cordier. Not used: Filochowski.

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SLOUGH Ladies flew to Madrid yesterday (Thursday) for the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champions Cup for their 11th appearance in the top-tier competition since its inception since 1990.
Slough have won silver medals on three occasions, most recently in 1999, although they won the Trophy (B Division) three years ago.
Last season Slough finished fifth and, playing in the slightly weaker pool, they have an outside chance of winning a medal by finishing in the top two to reach the semi-finals.
However, they have two East European teams, who have a more competitive indoor season, in their pool and, realistically, their aim will be to retain top-tier status for next year’s English representatives Bowdon Hightown by finishing in the top six.
Slough’s squad in Madrid will be the same dozen players who narrowly missed out on their third successive national title last month.
Today Slough face the Ukranians Dinamo Sumchanka, who they beat 5-3 last year, followed by the German favourites Club an der Alster, European champions in 2007, who have just retained their domestic title.
Tomorrow, Slough play Vympel Korolev from Russia before the crossover semi finals and lower classification matches.
The other pool contains the hosts and last year’s runners-up Club de Campo, Ritm Grodno from Belarus, last season’s bronze medallists and runners-up for the preceding five years, the Dutch Larensche HC and the Austrians HC Wels.

25 January 2009

Slazenger EHL Premier
Trojans (0) 1
Slough (1) 2

SLOUGH LADIES resumed their outdoor season with an exact repeat of their opening day win over Trojans.
But, unlike that earlier victory when they survived two penalty strokes in the closing minutes, this one was more comfortable than the final score suggested.
The win kept Slough in the chasing pack behind runaway leaders Bowdon Hightown, whose 8-0 defeat of Poynton maintained their nine-point lead over Olton.
Slough stayed in third place, two points behind Olton with Clifton, Leicester and Canterbury also in contention for the second Europe place.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: “We played pretty well although we were a bit rusty after the league break.
“We had plenty of play around the D but only created one short corner.
“We had chances towards the end to have won more clearly.”
Slough’s opening goal in the 25th minute came from a Mandy Nicholson free hit, picked up by Jane Smith and fired home.
They increased their lead on 48 minutes when Hannah Bowe fed Smith, who was first denied by the keeper but squared the rebound for Lauren Penny to find the net.
Yellow cards for Ashleigh Ball and Penny handicapped Slough but they restricted Trojans to a 58th minute consolation goal by Laura Nicholls.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Cox, Greenham, Bell, Scott, Ball, Bowe, J Smith, Penny, Bevan. Subs: Harte, Wimshurst, Nicholson. Not used: Filochowski.
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Slough Ladies travel to Bristol on Saturday to meet Clifton, who have beaten them twice this season in league (0-2) and cup (3-4).
Slough will be seeking a win to maintain their challenge for second spot and a place in Europe next season.
After two wins last weekend Clifton have climbed to fourth, equal on points with Slough but with an inferior goal difference.
Slough’s only absentees are expected to be Purdy Miller, registered for the second half of the season after a stint playing in Germany but currently sidelined with a knee injury, and Steffi Cordier.

Author: Mike Haymonds

25 January 2009

L1: National Indoor Championships final at the NIA Birmingham

SLOUGH LADIES were unable to repeat their sparkling semi-final performance when they lost 4-2 to Bowdon Hightown in the National Indoor Championships final at the NIA Birmingham on Sunday.
Slough had swept aside Olton & West Warwicks 6-3, with Jane Smith and Alex Scott scoring hat-tricks, in a repeat of last year’s semi-final but Bowdon reversed the result of the past two finals to deny Slough a 14th national title and lift their first indoor trophy since 1995.
Slough coach Sue Chandler was gracious in defeat. “Bowdon played well. I thought
they were a bit off in their semi-final but they certainly came out and played against us.
“In our semi-final we controlled the game for the full 40 minutes. We chose the right time to counter-attack and our passing was good.
“So I was confident going into the final but we didn’t play as well as we could.
“We didn’t show the same energy as against Olton and our decision making was poor.
“Our corner conversions fell apart because we were shooting from poor angles and we didn’t switch passes when we should have done.
“It was Bowdon’s day and they were worthy winners.”
In the final Slough were behind in the second minute to a Tina Cullen goal and, failing to raise their game to the necessary level, they were three down by half time to corner goals by Michelle Liptrot and Sally Walton.
Slough could have got back into contention if their corner routine had been functioning but they failed to convert any of the eight set pieces they won during the game.
They showed some improvement after the interval and reduced the deficit when Natalie Bell set up Steffi Cordier but five minutes later Cullen scored her second.
With 3:30 to go Slough replaced keeper Lynnette Smith with a sixth outfield player and they were given a lifeline with the award of a penalty stroke with two minutes left.
But Jane Smith’s flick hit a post and Slough could only manage one more goal when a Smith cross gave Ashleigh Ball a simple tap-in.
Slough’s comfortable semi-final victory over a fancied Olton outfit promised much for the final.
Jane Smith’s fifth-minute opener, created by Cordier and Scott, gave them the momentum they never relaxed and, after Ball had struck a post, Smith drilled home their sixth corner.
Rachel Walker’s successful penalty stroke gave Olton false hope as Scott responded just before half time.
Scott then completed her hat-trick with strikes set up by penetrative runs from Ball and Smith.
Olton took off their keeper with seven minutes remaining but she was brought back to defend a penalty stroke, converted by Smith, before departing for a second time.
In the final three minutes Emma McCabe and Denise Marston-Smith (from a corner) made the final score more respectable for Olton.
SLOUGH: L Smith, Ellis, Nicholson, Greenham, Ball, Scott, J Smith, Bell, Cordier, Cox, Penny, Wimshurst.

Slough’s domestic indoor season is over but they have a date in Europe next month when they compete in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champions Cup in Madrid from 20-22 February.
For the next three weeks they will juggle indoor and outdoor training sessions.rrr

SLOUGH LADIES return to outdoor league action on Saturday when they travel to meet Trojans.
The Southampton-based club have returned to the top flight this season after an absence of three years and lie in eighth place, just above the play-off place, with just two wins.
In the only five league meetings between the two clubs in the past decade Slough have won all five but in the latest, on the opening day of this season, Slough were fortunate to get a 2-1 win after Trojans missed two penalty strokes in the last three minutes.
In their last games before the mid-winter break Slough suffered single-goal defeats by leaders Bowdon Hightown and Canterbury and slipped down to third place.
With a nine-point lead, Bowdon Hightown are unlikely to be caught but the second place in Europe next year is up for grabs with five clubs in contention and only separated by five points.
So a win tomorrow is vital to maintain Slough’s European hopes.

Author: Mike Haymonds

17 January 2009

M2: (4) v A&C (2)

Scorers: Surjeet P (2) Inder D (1) Ashu S (1)

11 January 2009

L1: National Indoor League Women’s Premier Division

SLOUGH LADIES missed out on a third successive national indoor league title by the narrowest of margins when they were beaten into second place behind Canterbury by a single goal on goal difference at Whitgift School, Croydon, on Sunday.
Having won three games and needing only a draw against Bowdon Hightown in their final game, they lost 3-2 and had to settle for a top-four place and qualification for the
Finals Day play-offs at the NIA Birmingham on January 25.
Despite that defeat, Slough still had a chance of glory as their two title rivals Olton and Canterbury had their final games to play, both against Clifton.
To pip Slough, Olton had to win by eight clear goals but fell three short in a 7-2 victory. Canterbury needed a seven-goal winning margin and just managed it with a 9-2 win.
On Saturday Slough had begun with a below-par opener with promoted Aldridge, who had failed to win any points on the opening weekend but held Slough to 2-2 until half time after which Slough pulled away for a comfortable 7-3 victory.
Against Clifton Slough were always in control, holding a 3-0 interval lead and adding two more before Clifton got a late consolation.
On Sunday Slough clinched their play-off place with an 8-4 win over Ipswich, after racing to a 6-1 lead at half time before losing their momentum in the second period.
Whilst disappointed with the eventual outcome, Slough coach Sue Chandler said: “We played extremely well for most of the first three games, much better than on the first weekend.
“We kept up a good tempo, with good passing and movement in our offensive play, and our defence was sound.
“The Bowdon result was disappointing,” she said.
“Mandy Nicholson’s hand injury was a big loss; we didn’t get the rub of the green with some decisions and we ran out of legs at the end. It was Bowdon’s first game of the day and our second with a short gap between the two.”
Jane Smith was the tournament’s leading scorer with 22 goals, 14 from corners, while Alex Scott scored 11.
------------------------------
In their opening game with Aldridge on Saturday Lauren Penny got Slough off the mark after a build-up from Natalie Bell and Ashleigh Ball.
But their opponents went ahead within five minutes through corner goals by Kerry Taylor, the second a cheeky lob over keeper Sarah Ellis.
Just before half time Jane Smith levelled with a corner strike and added two more within six minutes of the restart – the first after a solo run, followed by a trademark corner strike.
Linda Webb reduced the deficit midway through the second but Slough eased to victory.
Fiona Greenham struck at a corner before Steffi Cordier set up Smith’s fourth and a pass from Penny to the far post gave her a fifth.
Against Clifton Slough were three up by the seventh minute. Smith and Scott exchanged passes for the latter’s opener and Smith sank their first corner and then touched home after Cordier and Greenham combined to create the chance.
Greenham made a goalline save to maintain the lead at the interval.
Slough’s continued control brought two more goals. Smith extracted herself from a tight situation to set up Bell, unmarked in front of goal, and then had herself a reverse-stick tap-in, created by Bell and Cordier.
Juliet Rayden scored a consolation goal for Clifton with four minutes left.
Sunday’s opening match with Ipswich saw Slough produce a vintage first half performance.
Scott turned in a Ball free hit and Smith drilled home two corners before Vic Sandall reduced the lead.
Ball made amends for missing an earlier ‘sitter’ with a fine solo goal and launched the move which gave Scott her second.
Smith completed her hat-trick in the last minute of the half, rolling the ball over the line after a build-up involving Cordier and Mandy Nicholson.
Ipswich struck back with goals from Lizzy Aldous and Sandall but Scott immediately replied to complete her hat-trick.
Jess Bloom made it 7-4, after which the Ipswich coach replaced his keeper with a sixth outfield player but the move failed and Smith slammed home Slough’s sixth corner in the dying seconds.
Needing only a draw against Bowdon to retain their league title, things started badly for Slough. In the second minute Scott had a penalty stroke saved and Nicholson suffered a hand injury and played no further part.
Bowdon were denied by a post and, in the seventh minute, a long pass was turned in by Nicky O’Donnell. Within two minutes Slough were level through Cordier and in the 15th minute both teams again traded goals.
Sally Walton got the first but Smith replied by deflecting home a Cordier pass.
As Slough tired, Bowdon became the dominant force, coming close with three efforts and hitting a post. The winning goal, with four minutes to go, came from a solo run by Fay Nash, who beat keeper Lynnette Smith with a reverse-stick shot.
With 1:40 left, Slough brought on an extra outfield player but the equaliser, which would have given them the title, eluded them.

SLOUGH: L Smith, Ellis, Nicholson, Greenham, Ball, Scott, J Smith, Bell, Cordier, Cox, Penny, Wimshurst.

The semi-final pairings for the Finals Day play-offs on January 25 are:
Canterbury v Bowdon Hightown and Slough v Olton & West Warwicks.

Author: Mike Haymonds

13/14 December 2008

L1: National Indoor League Women’s Premier Division

SLOUGH LADIES are in pole position after winning three of their four games on the first weekend of the national indoor league at Whitgift School, Croydon.
They started with a 3-2 defeat by Olton but wins over Chelmsford (9-1), Liverpool Sefton (5-0) and Canterbury (4-3) saw them finish level with Olton on nine points – but with a better goal difference – with the top seven teams separated by only three points.
Slough will need at least six points from their remaining four matches on January 10/11 to secure a top-four finish and a place in the Finals Day play-offs at the NIA Birmingham on January 25.
Slough coach Sue Chandler said: “We are not the strongest team on paper but I was very pleased with our performance.
“In our opener with Olton we didn’t recognise when they upped the pressure in the final stages and they scored twice to nick the victory.
“But we didn’t make the same mistake in our game with Canterbury who were also strong opponents.
“We played our best against Chelmsford and our margin of victory over Liverpool could have been much wider but we were able to give pitch time to the whole squad and save legs for the tougher task against Canterbury.
“It was pleasing to see the less experienced players developing and making greater contributions this year which bodes well for the future.
“The senior trio of Fiona Greenham, Mandy Nicholson and Jane Smith were consistent throughout and Alex Scott improved with each game.”
Smith was Slough’s leading scorer with nine goals, eight from corners, with Scott bagging seven.
Slough’s corner conversion rate was good – 10 goals from 31 attempts.
----------------------------------------
In their opening game against Olton on Saturday Jane Smith got Slough off the mark with an early corner strike – as she did in the other games – this time in the second minute, but Denise Marston-Smith equalised five minutes later.
There were no further goals before half time, just before which Fiona Greenham had
to make a goal-line save at Olton’s second set-piece.
Slough totally dominated the second half until Alex Scott gave them the lead at their seventh corner from a short injection by Greenham.
Things looked even better for Slough when the Olton coach was sin-binned but, with three minutes left, a foul by Jo Cox conceded a penalty stroke which Rachel Walker converted.
Less than a minute later Slough’s Ashleigh Ball was yellow-carded for a stick tackle and Slough were caught by a quick free-hit to an unmarked Emma McCabe, who netted the winner.
Slough’s next opponents Chelmsford had been three times national indoor champions
this century but were never in the game against a rampant Slough although Chloe Rogers equalised a second-minute corner goal by Smith after eight minutes against the run of play.
Smith buried a second corner two minutes later before Zoe Wimshurst, free on the far post after a determined Mandy Nicholson run and cross from Natalie Bell, added a third.
Scott fired in from close range and Smith notched her hat-trick from a cut-back by Nicholson just before half time.
A crossfield pass by Smith to Steffi Cordier gave the German her first goal for Slough, Smith sank Slough’s sixth corner and Scott converted their next at the second attempt.
Chelmsford won two late corners with the second hitting Bell’s foot on the line but the penalty stroke was easily saved by Slough keeper Sarah Ellis.
There was still time for a ninth score for Slough when Smith’s run and cross found Lauren Penny free in front of goal.
Slough’s first opponents on Sunday were promoted team Liverpool Sefton who had earlier suffered two heavy defeats.
Slough were two up by the third minute, thanks to Smith set piece goals, and Scott finished off a build-up by Cox and Cordier for a third in the 13th minute.
The second half saw continued control by Slough with coach Chandler resting her starting outfield players for long periods.
Scott completed her hat-trick, firing in from an Ashleigh Ball pass and another by Greenham, in a two-minute spell midway through the half.
But Scott was denied a fourth when Liverpool’s goalkeeper/coach Carolyn Reid kept out her penalty stroke.
Slough needed a win against Canterbury who, like Slough, had won two games and Smith gave them the ideal start with a fourth-minute corner strike followed by a Greenham set piece goal three minutes later.
Scott spun to fire home a third after11 minutes before Canterbury rallied to win a first corner with Mel Clewlow’s shot being deflected clear, Lynnette Smith then saving from Cathy Gilliat-Smith.
Ball had a lobbed effort helped over the bar by the keeper and Canterbury had a ‘goal’ disallowed for being struck outside the D.
Clewlow drilled home a corner three minutes after the break and Jen Wilson further reduced the deficit five minutes on.
But Smith smashed home Slough’s ninth corner to restore their two-goal margin.
Clewlow’s second corner strike with three minutes left set up a nervy finish for Slough but Nicholson was their last-minute heroine, taking another Clewlow set piece off the line.

SLOUGH: L Smith, Ellis, Nicholson, Greenham, Ball, Scott, J Smith, Bell, Cordier, Cox, Penny, Wimshurst.

Author: Mike Haymonds

6 December 2008

M2: Slough 1v Sonning 1

The team buoyed by the news that Captain Mark Brown had become a proud father of twin boys. However, unlike Mark the team were not firing on all cylinders. The team spurned numerous short corners to take the lead in the first half. The midfield controlled large part of the half; but the frontline could not take advantage of the chances. All to often the ball was lost cheaply on the wings. Sonning gained more confidence exerted more pressure and they deservedly took the lead via a short corner before the second half.

The Second-half saw more asserted effort from Slough, once again originating from the middle. An excellent drilled ball by Ashu Sharma witnessed a gapping miss by Gary Saini, when only a touch was required. Nick Mathru and Surjit Panwar then created some telling runs into the D and caused the Sonning defence problems. Eventually with increased pressure Slough slotted a goal. The build up, saw the ball move from the centre to the right side with Mathru supplying the final ball to Dipu Benawra who slid it under the keeper. The defence with Mark Brown, Sharma, Binny and Inder Daggar held strong. Sonning were then reduced to 10 men as persistent back chat led the Umpires to sin-bin the Sonning player. Slough increased the pressure; leaving gaps for Sonning to exploit. Ravi Kumar on three occasion saved Slough from three goal bound shots. Slough were denied a clear cut penalty; when Inder Poonaji cleared two defenders and was about to shoot on goal when he was shoved from the back. From the resulting corner Poonaji’s shot deflected over the keeper and was saved on the line by a defender using his body. Unfortunately Nick Mathru missed the resulting penalty bring the game to a draw.” Overall: two points lost for Slough, 1 point gained for Sonning and twins for Mark Brown.

Man of the Match: Ravi Kumar
Scorer: Dipu Benawra

29 November 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Leicester 1 Slough 0

SLOUGH LADIES’ title hopes took a further blow as they suffered their second successive single-goal defeat by one of their nearest rivals.
Leaders Bowdon’s 1-0 win over Canterbury continued their 100 per cent record and took them nine points clear of Olton who overtook Slough, now a further two points adrift together with Canterbury.
With Jane Smith sidelined for a second week with a knee injury, Emer Harte, out with a cracked hand, and Natalie Bell with a hip injury, Slough had no bench substitutes.
The suspension of Alex Scott for ten minutes, yellow carded for an above-shoulder trap, proved a handicap to an already threadbare squad.
Despite that and Leicester’s shading of possession (by 60-40), Slough contributed fully to a competitive end-to-end game in which both sides had chances, none of which required the goalkeepers to make difficult saves.
Slough’s best chances fell to Scott and Lauren Penny.
Slough won three penalty corners, the first two saved by the home keeper and the third blocked by an outrunning defender.
The game was decided by a 54th minute goal when Lucy Brown got the second Leicester deflection to a free hit.
Slough skipper Fiona Greeenham said: “We gave a better performance than in last week’s defeat by Bowdon.
“We wanted to start the game with more confidence and we did that. But our inexperience in certain areas meant we played at a quicker pace than necessary.”
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Cox, Greenham, Wimshurst, Ball, Bowe, Cordier, Bevan, Scott, Penny.

Author: Mike Hammonds

M2: Banbury 2 v Slough 0

Slough played with a depleted squad with only four regular seniors against an all firing Banbury squad . Banbury had most of the first half possessions but were unable to create a clear opening. A high stick tackle after 5 minutes saw Deepu smashed on the hand. Slough played the remainder of the half with 10 men. Only a fortuitous deflection off a Slough player saw an opening for Banbury. With the score at 1-0 Slough contained Banbury comfortably. Persistant sticking tackling by Banbury was used to break down the Slough counter attacks. These went unpunished most of the time. Slough in the second created four excellent chances none were taken with Sabi going closest. Banbury scored another fortuitous goal with the ball bobbling over the Keeper allowing an easy tap in for the forward. The whole team played well with Ravi Kumar pulling some excellent saves. The young recruits from the 4th XI held their own, in particular Sabi Bason who carried out an excellent job of Man Marking.

MOTM: Nicky M and Ravi Kumar

22/23 November 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Slough 0 Bowdon Hightown 1

SLOUGH LADIES’ hopes of retaining their Premier title suffered a severe blow when they lost this top-of-the-table clash with Bowdon Hightown, who preserved their 100 per cent record and extended their lead to eight points.
Slough stayed in second place – which offers a second ticket to Europe – but only goal difference and one point separate them from Canterbury and Olton respectively.
It was always going to be a tough task for Slough with their most experienced players, Jane Smith sidelined with a knee injury and skipper Fiona Greenham unable to play a full part, not having fully covered from a virus which prevented her from training for the past two weeks.
Slough were on the back foot for much of the game but their defence restricted the visitors to few open play chances, which were usually off target, and Bowdon’s nine penalty corners were either saved by keeper Sarah Ellis or run down by defenders.
But Slough created little from the limited possession they had, winning only three
corners with only the last, struck by Greenham, testing but not beating keeper Kirsty Mackay.
Alex Scott had the sole field play chance but she fired straight at Mackay.
Bowdon’s match winner was the former GB and England international Tina Cullen, all too often Slough’s nemesis.
She was the quickest to the loose ball after Ellis’s initial save at the visitors’ second short corner in the 28th minute.
Cullen joined Jane Smith as the leading Premier scorer with 10 goals.
Slough captain Greenham commented: “We’re very disappointed at our performance and the result.
“I felt we started nervously, possibly because of the match’s importance, and Bowdon showed more energy and intensity, especially at the start.
“We had a better second half when we moved the ball more quickly and played with more width.
“After this setback our next game at Leicester is crucial.”
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Cox, Harte, Bell, Ball, Greenham, Bowe, Bevan, Scott, Penny. Subs: Cordier, Lubbock, Wimshurst. Not used: Filochowski.
Author: Mike Hamonds

M1: Eastcote HC 3 v Slough HC 5

Slough went to Eastcote with the bare eleven looking to return to form following two poor performances in the last 2 weeks
Eastcote started brightly catching Slough napping but Slough immediately launched a counter attack allowing Kim Fidelis to open the scoring for Slough.
Eastcote rallied and put pressure on the defence with some strong tackling from Kal Mandair keeping the opposition at bay. Eastcote’s pressure paid off when they were first to a rebound to level the scores. They then moved into the lead shortly after when lax marking allowed an attacker to deflect a shot from close range.Slough’s slow start continued and Eastcote capitalised this as a quick break saw them able to beat Slough’s defence and extend their lead.Being 3-1 behind seemed to spur Slough into action and the whole team pulled together stringing passed together in a way not seen in the last two weeks. The slick passing and movement piled the pressure onto Eastcote and Robbie Saini was able to find Kim Fidelis in the D to slot home and reduce the deficit. Slough then moved up a gear and started to camp close to the Eastcote ‘D.’ Slough then equalised from a well worked short corner move which allowed Robbie Saini to level things up on the stroke of halftime.

Second-half
Slough started the second half strongly but was unable to find the lead and gradually Eastcote found a way back into the game but sturdy defence from both Avtar Davatwal and Kieran Sandhu prevented Eastcote from getting anything. The strong defence paid off when Mansoor Ahmed dispossessed his opposite number in his own half before beating 4 Eastcote players and the keeper in a fantastic solo run giving slough the lead again. Man of the match Mansoor was on hand shortly after to extend the lead further with another brilliant finish past the helpless keeper. Eastcote rallied as they looked to gain something form the game and were awarded a penalty flick for their efforts. But in form Michael Finlay prevented them getting back into the game by saving the flick and a late short corner to preserve the lead and cap a strong team performance and well earned victory.

Team: Michael Finlay, Avtar Davatwal, Kal Mandair(Capt), Steve Dixon, Kieran Sandhu, Dilip Davatwal, Waseem Suhail, Raju Singh, Mansoor Ahmed, Robbie Saini, Kimazi Fidelis

8th November 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Olton & West Warwicks 3 Slough 6

LAUREN PENNY was the hat-trick heroine for Slough Ladies as they triumphed in a nine-goal thriller and leap-frogged Olton to take over second place ahead of their meeting with unbeaten leaders Bowdon Hightown this weekend.
But it was not plain sailing for Slough as they surrendered a 3-0 lead before pulling away with three goals in the last quarter.
Acting captain Jane Smith – in the absence due to illness of Fiona Greenham – said: “It was an end-to-end game full of intensity and high tempo.
“Apart from a dodgy spell either side of half time our passing game gave us the edge.”
Penny, a 22-year-old South African striker, gave Slough a two-goal lead by the 15th minute, banging in right-wing crosses from Louise Bevan, who gave her full back a torrid time.
The former Wales international was again involved in the third goal in the 24th minute, latching onto a through ball from Penny and entering the D before passing for Smith to fire home.
Rachel Walker launched Olton’s comeback with a 28th minute penalty corner strike and scored a second six minutes later when, after Slough failed to clear their lines, she was presented with a simple tap-in.
Lucilla Wright equalised after 54 minutes, flashing a reverse-stick shot into the far corner, but parity lasted only three minutes.
Smith’s corner strike hit a defender on the line and Alex Scott made no mistake from the penalty spot.
Smith’s next corner effort met no obstruction and Penny completed her hat-trick – and her seventh league goal - two minutes from time, tucking away the rebound from an Ashleigh Ball shot.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Harte, Wimshurst, Bell, Ball, Bowe, Scott, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Subs: Cox. Not used: Filochowski, L Smith.
Author: Mike Hamonds

8th November 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Slough 8 Ipswich 1

A HAT-TRICK by Jane Smith, her second this season, was the highlight of the game as Slough Ladies impressed in a mauling of an Ipswich side which offered little resistance.
It was Slough’s biggest league win since February 2003 when they beat Leicester
10-0. With her side dominant virtually throughout the game, Slough skipper Fiona Greenham commented: “It was a very pleasing performance, probably our best of the season.
“We passed the ball better and kept our shape.
“We got a bit careless for a spell early in the second half but, apart from that, we played well.
“Our plan was to make space and get round the back and several goals came that way.”
Another improvement from recent weeks was Slough’s penalty corner conversion rate: four from 10 attempts. Alex Scott opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a firm strike from the top of the D but it was not until the 31st minute, from a slipped move at their sixth corner, that Ashleigh Ball netted just inside a post.On the stroke of half time a cross from Scott was diverted by Smith into the far corner.Slough keeper Sarah Ellis saw her first action, with a double kicked clearance at Ipswich’s second corner, before Smith increased Slough’s lead with a corner drag-flick at 49 minutes.Emma Lee-Smith pulled a goal back two minutes later but Slough cruised home with four goals in the last 12 minutes.
Scott deflected home a corner strike by Smith, who then deprived Scott of her hat-trick - and bagged her own - by helping a goal-bound shot over the line.
South African Lauren Penny converted a pass from Scott and then had a shot deflected over the bar by the keeper before a corner rebound was hammered home by Natalie Bell.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Harte, Greenham, Bell, Ball, Bowe, Scott, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Subs: Wimshust, Cordier, Cox. Not used: Filochowski

Author: Mike Hamonds

M2: Slough 0 Milton Keynes 0.

Milton Keynes were expected to be the tough opposition but Slough stepped up their game and should have won. Early on there was little between the two side, Raj and Dipu were effective in breaking down MK before they threatened. Initial chances went to Gary Saini and Surjeet Panwar, who hit the post. A short corner drag-flick from Mandeep hit a chest, the follow-up hit another defender - good advantage was played and Surjeet saw another shot hit the post when he should have scored. Top Scorer, Surjeet saw AT LEAST THREE further chances go over or wide. Kalvir missed one but nearly made amends when a chip went inches over. Inder Daggar was very quiet but worked himself a couple of reverse shots. I could probably carry on listing misses but I have only a few free Saturday nights before xmas.
MK had one or two half-chances but Ravi Kumar kept a second consectutive clean-sheet, despite being smashed on the knee by an reckless forward.Raj & Inder Poonaji (playing centre and inside-right) worked well. The MK pulled off a brilliant save after Poonaji dribbled his way into the D from the 25 and played a one-two with Surjeet,before flicking the ball towards the bottom left hand corner, the MK keeper's acrobatic dive deflected the ball out. Sudarah gave a good performance at left half but man of the match Jassi who was unbeatable.

Slough team : Asim, Bini Shergill, Keiran, Sudarah, Dipu Benawra, Gary Saini, Inder Poonaji, Jassi Benawra, Kalvir Bahia, Mark Brown, Ravi Kumar, Surjeet Panwara, Inder Daggar, Raj Davatwal, Mandeep Daggar


Man of Match: Jassi Benawra.

1st November 2008

EH Cup Round 3
L1: Clifton 4 Slough 3 (golden goal)

SLOUGH LADIES, beaten cup finalists for the past two years, made an early exit this season, losing to a golden goal after holding a 3-1 lead into the final quarter of their last-32 tie against Clifton. With a squad of only 12, including three second-team members, due to injuries and non-availability, and with their leading scorer Jane Smith withdrawn to a right midfield role Slough’s game plan was simple: soak up the pressure and hit on the break.
In this they were successful but they were undone by dubious umpiring decisions which led to two goals, the second the golden goal winner. Slough skipper Fiona Greenham said: “We played as well as we could under the circumstances and the players who came in played their full part.”
In the first half Clifton won more penalty corners while Slough had more open play chances and the blank scoreline was a fair reflection of play. Immediately after the interval Slough broke the deadlock when Greenham converted a penalty stroke but Harriet Pearce equalised two minutes later with a penalty corner rebound.
Slough replied with two strikes, a minute apart, on 40 minutes when a break by Smith and Lauren Penny ended with the latter scoring, followed by Greenham rolling a free hit into the D for Smith to add a third. But within 13 minutes Clifton were again level. Fleur Horner drilled home a penalty corner and then came the first umpire howler.
When she was tackled by Greenham, the ball hit Cerys Hopkins’ foot and she then kicked it before netting, all unseen by the officials. Despite Clifton keeping two or three players up high Slough managed to hold out until full time. However, four minutes into extra time came an even more crucial decision in Clifton’s favour. As keeper Kate Filochowski came out to smother, a shot first struck Jo Cox on the hand and then deflected into her shoulder.
Greenham, as a last defender, stopped the ball from crossing the line but it was not seen that way by the umpire who awarded a penalty stroke, not a short corner.
Isabel Palmer slotted home to give Clifton their second win over Slough this season but, unlike the first, a fortunate one.
SLOUGH: Filochowski, Coulson, Cox, Greenham, Wimshurst, J Smith, Bowe, Bell, Lubbock, Penny, Rey. Sub: Gemmell

Author: Mike Hamonds

25th October 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Chelmsford 0 Slough 4

JANE SMITH was back to goalscoring form with a hat-trick in Slough Ladies’ win over basement club Chelmsford. The 39-year-old striker, who is playing with a long-term back injury, put the Essex side to the sword, leaving them as prime relegation candidates with no points and no goals after five games. The departure of GB Olympians Chloe Rogers and Lisa Wooding and the retirement of veteran Lyn Bollington and keeper Katy Roberts have meant that Chelmsford are a pale shadow of the team which qualified for Europe only three years ago. They presented no challenge to a Slough side growing in confidence.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham described the win as “probably our best performance this season. “Since the draw with Canterbury we’re settling down as a side as the new players gain Premier experience.”
Slough started strongly and were two up in 15 minutes with direct penalty corner strikes from Smith. Further chances produced no further score before half time but South African Lauren Penny added a third in the 43rd minute, tucking away the rebound from a Smith corner strike.
Smith failed to convert a penalty stroke but completed her hat-trick six minutes from time.
A Penny pass released Louise Bevan, who was denied by the keeper, but Smith was on hand to sweep home the loose ball.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Harte, Greenham, Bell, Scott, Bowe, Cordier, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Subs: Cox, L Smith, Filochowski.

Author: Mike Haymonds

M1: Oxford Rovers 2 – Slough 3

Slough’s unbeaten start to the season continued with an impressive victory away to Rover Oxford at the weekend. Slough started brightly with slick passing and movement stretching the Rover defence from the outset. Early pressure was rewarded when after 10 minutes Kim was sent through by Mansoor and rounded a defender before slotting the ball past the goalkeeper. Sturdy defending kept the opposition attacks at bay whilst crisp movement left Slough unlucky not to score when a sublime move sliced through the opposition defence but Raju was unable to convert the chance. Slough capitalised on the break however when Dilip drove across the Rover defence and cut a pin point pass back across the D to Kim who only had the keeper to beat from close range and made it 2-0 Rover came back with overlapping moves on both wing but some strong tackles from Kieran limited the opportunities before Rover caught the defence unawares allowing them to reduce the deficit to 2-1 before Kim completed a clinical hat-trick to take Slough into the break at 3-1
Second-half
Slough broke early but could not make their pressure tell instead preferring to defend their lead. Rover’s pressure slowly built but some strong saves from Finlay in goal and a goal line clearance from Avtar kept the home side at bay until shortly before the final whistle when Rover reduced Slough’s advantage to 3-2. It was too late however and Slough held on for a deserved win.

Team: Finlay(GK), Kartar Davatwal, Papu Sandhu, Dilip Davatwal, Robbie Saini, Mansoor Ahmed, Avtar Davatwal, Anil Mavar, Kieran Sandhu, Steve Dixon, Raju Singh, Kal Mandair

18 October 2008

B1: MK (3) v Badgers SHC (2)

10 men Slough were denied a point from the game, with a last minute goal by MK. Inder Poonaji led Slough and was accompanied by Umesh Sharma and Ravi Kumar as the three senior players. Libby once again proved her strengths in controlling the right half working well with Ravi Kumar. MK took an early lead with both goals resulting from errors by the Slough defence. The second half saw Slough raise and control the game, Ravi Kumar converted the first goal , followed by a short corner strike by Dev Mavar. Ajeet Pansser came to life in the second half reverting to a more attacking approach. The game was evenly balanced with both sides playing in a sporting manner. Slough did not deserve the loss, but can be proud that they competed with 10 players against a good MK side.

Goals: Ravi Kumar (1), Dev Mavar (1)

M2: Stains 3rds (4) v Slough2nds (2)

Two Ashu Sharma short-corners were not enough as Slough tired in the final 10 minutes. The 1st-half saw some brilliant keeping by Ravi Kumar particularly stopping the 4 shot salvo.
Inder Daggar went close by beating the keeper but then striking the ball badly. Ashu thumped in a short-corner to give Slough a 1-0 lead. It was against the run of play, Staines were rattled, and it was no surprise when their right-back was sin-binned for persistent dissent. 2nd-half. Immediately after the restart Staines were awarded a penalty. Slough were robbed and even Staines were surprised. It was a terrible decision - Surjeet Panwar had knocked the ball onto an attackers foot at the edge of the 'D' (which had other defenders lining up).
With legs tiring, the game drifted out of reach - even though Ashu equalised briefly, to make it 2-2. Staines finally put away a short corner to make it 3-2 and a last-minute goal flattered them as Slough pushed up.

Man-of-Match: Inder Poonaji
Goals: Ashu (2)

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Slough 2 Poynton 0

GOALS from Alex Scott and Louise Bevan steered Slough Ladies to their second win and up to fourth place in the Premier table.
Slough skipper Fiona Greenham’s verdict was “a scrappy game but the important thing was the win. “We stepped up with an improvement on last week’s display and dominated the first half. “But the second half saw a drop-off in performance. With only one substitute it was difficult to play our preferred high-intensity game.” Slough won three early penalty corners but failed to trouble the visitors’ keeper until Lauren Penny had a close range shot blocked.
The deadlock was broken in the 32nd minute when Penny was upended and, after consultation between the umpires, a penalty corner was upgraded to a stroke. Scott coolly converted for a second week running.
The second half offered no more quality with scoring chances mainly confined to corners, two more of which Slough squandered, before Bevan sealed the victory, beginning and finishing a 63rd minute right wing move. The most memorable moment came just before the final whistle when Slough keeper Sarah Ellis made a flying stick save at Poynton’s second corner – although the shot was probably off target.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Harte, Greenham, Bell, Scott, Bowe, Wimshurst, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Sub: Cordier. Not used: Filochowski.

Author: Mike Haymonds

11 October 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier
L1: Canterbury 4 L1 Slough 4

A GAME of fluctuating fortunes ended in an eight-goal draw as Slough Ladies produced a much-improved performance from the previous week’s defeat by Clifton. After scoring first Slough were 3-1 down at half time but battled back to take a lead before Canterbury managed an equaliser with 15 minutes to go. Slough skipper Fiona Greenham was full of praise for her team’s display: “We raised our work rate and were more decisive in what we did.
“We showed grit and determination, particularly in the latter stages when we were under heavy pressure.” South African Lauren Penny opened the scoring for Slough in the fourth minute, tucking away the rebound from a Jane Smith shot
The hosts levelled eight minutes later when Grace Balsdon punished lax defending before a Mel Clewlow corner strike was helped home by a defender’s stick.
Slough went further behind in the 19th minute when a shot into the D fell free for Cindy Botha to fire home. The half time tactics message for Slough - to play up higher and make more space - was heeded and a goal created within three minutes when Jane Smith’s 40-yard run into the D was halted by a stick tackle. Smith’s effort from the penalty spot was saved but the keeper had moved too early. Scott made no mistake with the retake to launch Slough’s recovery. Three minutes later Louise Bevan pulled the ball back for a Smith equaliser and a similar move on 50 minutes brought a second for Smith.
Canterbury replied with sustained pressure but were restricted to one goal when a hit by Clewlow into the D was deflected for Cathy Gilliat-Smith to tap in.
SLOUGH: Ellis, Coulson, Harte, Wimshurst, Bell, Goodacre, Bowe, Scott, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Sub: Tredget. Not used: Filochowski, L Smith.

EH Cup Round Two
L1: Slough 11 Salisbury 0

A HAT-TRICK by Alex Scott helped Slough Ladies to a crushing victory over Salisbury from the West Premier League and a place in the last 32 of the cup.
Slough took the opportunity to give a trio of second team players a game and Ali Lubbock, who bagged a brace, Georgie Metcalfe and Nim Panesar played their part in what proved to be a one-sided affair. It took only six minutes for Lauren Penny to open the scoring after Hannah Bowe and Alex Scott combined to set up the chance.
Five more goals before half time came from Scott (2), Bowe (2) and Goodacre and a further five after the interval from Bevan (2), Goodacre, Emer Harte and Scott completed the rout.
SLOUGH: Filochowski, Coulson, Harte, Wimshurst, Metcalfe, Bowe, Goodacre, Scott, Bevan, Penny, Lubbock. Subs: Panesar, L Smith. Not used: Ellis.

SLOUGH have been given an away tie with Clifton in the next round on November 2. The Bristol club beat Slough 2-0 in the league earlier this month.

Author: Mike Haymonds

B1: Badgers SHC (0) v GX (4)

This was the first league game for Slough Badgers (youth development side). Slough's young players performed well but were outplayed by a very organised GX team. Slough dominated play down the right side with Libby and Sofi playing an outstanding first half. Gx scored through excellent first time passing culminating with'tap-ins' for all their goals.

The three senior players Inder Poonaji, Suki Panesar and Surjit Sandhu congratulated the youths on a good performance and will be build on the good work achieved at the Sunday Morning training sessions at SHC.

The Badgers play Milton Keynes next week and meet at the club at 9.00am.

M2: SHC (1) v Eastcote 3rds (0)

Slough scraped a win when a drawn seemed certain. Eastcote applied much of the early pressure and dominated the first half with Ravi Kumar keeping an excellent clean sheet for Slough. Slough's only chance came by Gary Saini’s run down the wing, his pass found Inder Poonaji who laid the ball for Anil Mavar to strike at goal- unfortunately Mavar's shot was wide.. The second half saw a more balanced game. Eastcote were denied a certain goal when captain Mark brown cleared of the line.
Slough then scored with a pass from Nick Mathuru with the diving Diou Benawra sloting the ball home. Solid performance by Ravi Kumar and Mark Brown ensured Slough stayed in the game.

11 October 2008

Slazenger EHL Premier

L1: Slough 0 Clifton 2

SLOUGH LADIES' captain Fiona Greenham expects this season to be a difficult one after an abject performance condemned her team to a deserved defeat against Clifton.They continue to be plagued by absences and injuries, leaving them on Saturday with only 11 players and new co-manager Lynnette Smith, who was not expecting to play.But, when Natalie Bell took a hefty blow on the foot, Smith was pressed into service for 10 minutes as a forward.

New signing Ashleigh Ball broke a hand on her England debut in Hamburg in mid-week, Irish international Emer Harte was sidelined by illness and defender Jo Cox out with a back injury. However, Alex Scott returned after playing in Germany during September. The disruption is having an adverse effect and, for the second week running, they struggled to overcome a side they would have swept aside in recent years.

Greenham said: "We've not been able to replace the players we've lost with ones with the same experience at Premier level and, on Saturday, with the number we had, there were no options to change things." As well as their failure to convert any of the 11 penalty corners they won, they created precious few chances from open play.

In the first half a cross from the right just eluded Lauren Penny and Smith with the visitors' keeper Gemma Ible saving a backhand effort by Scott. Clifton made the most of their even rarer chances with a goal in each half. Leah Wilkinson tucked away a 24 th minute corner rebound and Sandra Franklin punished slack marking to clinch victory in the 54 th minute

SLOUGH : Ellis, Coulson, Wimshurst, Greenham, Bell, Goodacre, Bowe, Scott, Bevan, J Smith, Penny. Sub: L Smith.

Author: Mike Haymonds

M2: A&C (2) v M2 SHC (3)

For a first game of the season it was a fairly unenthusiastic affair with the early morning start seemingly being to neither sides liking. Amersham however took early advantage of their additional player to pressurise slough and to pin them in their own half for much of the first 20 minutes, their right winger repeatedly tormenting the Slough defense and getting a number of good crosses into the Slough D, only for them to be repelled. However they were unable to capitalise until Slough actually made their first foray into the Amersham half and Inder Poonaji created a short corner that they failed to convert. Amersham cleared, went straight back to the other end and scored. Slough then equalised though Surjeet Panwar who intercepted a pass intended for Anil Mavar.
With the score at 1-1 at half time, Amersham scored again after the ball ricochet off Ravi Kumar's pads straight to an attacker only for Inder Poonaji to equalise once again shortly afterwards when he picked the ball of the keepers pads after a Steve Dixon's short corner strike and slotted over the keeper with a reverse flick. Mandeep Daggar finally got the winner from a short corner flick.
Although there was a sluggish start it was a first win for new captain Mark Brown and there were a number of positives from the game with Gurdeep Benarwra showing his usual energy, Anil Mavar's clearances being particularly important, and with Gary Saini, Inder Daggar and Inder Poonaji all putting in solid performances.
Goals: Surjeet Panwar, Inder Poonaji, Mandip Daggar