SLOUGH ladies are the indoor champions of England after winning the Super Sixes title at the SSE Arena in Wembley.

Having unexpectedly won the indoor league three weeks earlier, they again rose to the occasion on Sunday.

They beat Sutton Coldfield 3-1 in the semi-final with Laura Bailey scoring twice and Harriet Ward adding the other.

Then, in front of a crowd of nearly 5,000 the Pink and Blacks defeated Canterbury 2-0 in the final thanks to first-half strikes from Dilly Newton and Georgie Whittaker.

Proud captain Kat McGonigle beamed: “Obviously we’re absolutely delighted. We’ve worked really hard for this.”

Whilst Canterbury had looked marginally the more impressive side in the semi-finals when defeating Bowdon Hightown 4-2, Slough soon had them on the back foot in the final.

Newton opened the scoring from a penalty corner with just six minutes gone and Mel Ball was not far away from doubling their lead.

Slough, coached by Kali Takher, had boasted the meanest defence in the eight league matches played in Telford, and they again remained solid as the Kent team tried to get back on level terms.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: Slough celebrate their Super Sixes final win with fans at the SSE Arena in Wembley on Sunday.

A call from the umpire presented Canterbury with an unexpected opportunity to get on level terms after 15 minutes. McGonigle and Ward challenged Victorine Van Kemmel, who went down and the umpire awarded a penalty stroke.

"It shouldn't have been a stoke as we played the ball," McGonigle said later.

So, in their eyes, justice was done when keeper Asha Tranquille-Day dived low to her right to pull-off an outstanding save from Grace Balsdon.

Great Britain's Olympic gold medal-winning keeper Maddie Hinch, who was in crowd, would have been impressed.

Like Hinch, Tranquille-Day had prepared well to cope with the pressure.

The 26-year-old explained: "A lot of homework goes into penalty corners, how opponents play and also strokes.

"I knew that, looking at Grace's feet, I could tell where she was going to go.

"I don't react to the ball, I react to their body language, because in indoor hockey especially, it's too quick, so you have to decide before they shoot, and luckily it worked for me.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: Slough come together for a team huddle during the Super Sixes finals.

Spurred on by her save, Slough returned to the attack and doubled their lead in the 19th minute through Whittaker, shortly after she had entered the fray from the bench.

From then on the final result never looked in any serious doubt as their confidence grew despite having only a fraction over 45 per-cent possession.

Slough were happy to soak up the pressure, with their defence allowing Canterbury only 17 shots at goal from 32 moves into their circle.

Asha Bhogal and Ward were among those to make a timely clearance, while the non-stop Charly Brydon was prominent at both ends.

Slough entered their opponents circle 15 times, seven of which produced shots at goal.

At the final hooter, 200 fans leapt out of their seats to salute their heroes.

Slough player Emma O'Nien commented: "The atmosphere has been absolutely incredible. It has been absolutely incredible playing here. We're over the moon, it's such an amazing result for the team and for the club."

On Saturday, O'Nien had been at Tottenham to watch her younger brother, Luke, play for Wycombe Wanderers in their seven-goal FA Cup thriller.

He missed out in a 4-3 defeat, but Emma finished an eventful weekend for her proud family on a high.

It is back to the outdoor season for Slough this Saturday with an Investec League fixture at the University of Birmingham.

HAVING lost their unbeaten record the previous week, Slough men returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory at Oxford Hawks 3s.

Bobbie Bansal (2), Kuli Matharu, Monty Panesar, Sunny Sangha and Devon Teixeira scored for the Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Regional Two leaders, who are at home to third-bottom Oxford 2s on Saturday.