SLOUGH men’s 1st XI sit proudly on top of the Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Regional One table approaching the half-way stage of the season, writes Dave Wright.

They went top on goal difference after their 3-2 win over Marlow at Upton Court Park last Saturday.

Slough are joined on the 20-point mark by PHC Chiswick, but have a slightly superior goal difference of two.

But it remains very tight, with Oxford and last week’s leaders Eastcote both on 18 points, followed by Maidenhead on 17 and Marlow with 16.

So their defeat of the sixth-placed club was of particular importance.

Johannes Kloss scored two of the Slough goals, taking his season’s tally to nine, with Kuli Matharu grabbing the vital other goal in a tight game where the half-time score was 2-2.

Tom Sheldon and Greg Tyler were on target for Marlow, who battled hard throughout the 70 minutes.

Slough are now unbeaten in seven games and will be looking to extend that sequence when they host second-from-bottom Milton Keynes 2nds at Upton Park this Saturday (10.30am).

This match will mark the midway point of the season before the league takes a month’s break.

Slough Observer:

Marlow men (red) lost to Slough last weekend. 

Slough Women finished their outdoor fixtures for 2017 with a 2-1 win over local rivals Maidenhead in the second round of the Investec Tier One Championship in a tie played under floodlights on Wednesday of last week.

It was a game of two halves, as the Pink and Blacks captain Kat McGonigle explained: “We went two up in the first half and we played really well and could have scored more.

“But we were poor in the second half, while Maidenhead played much better and nicked a goal back. We certainly didn’t play our best hockey and it wasn’t an easy game, but we are obviously pleased to have made it through to the next round.”

Georgina Bathurst and Amy Sheehan were on target, with Lizzie Totten earning her side’s player-of-the-match vote.

The Pink and Blacks are now preparing to open their defence of their England indoor hockey championship title with their first four matches taking place in Telford on December 16-17.

One of their goalkeepers, Amber Lewsey, has been named in the Great Britain Colleges’ representative squad following a successful trial at Cannock last week.

She is a student at Barnfield College in Luton.

Windsor Hockey Club

WINDSOR men’s four-match MBBO Division Two winning streak was ended with a narrow 3-2 defeat to South Berkshire 2nds.

A sub-par first-half performance led to Windsor going into the break 3-0 down, but they rallied impressively and could have completed the comeback.

A slick Kevin Jones flick from a penalty corner pulled one back and gave Windsor a foothold in the game.

Slough Observer:

Marlow (red) come under pressure from Slough.

And Michael Jones added fresh hope with a superb deflection from another set-piece to edge closer at 3-2.

John Carpenter saw his shot hit the post and skim away from the goal as South Berks breathed a massive sigh of relief at their lucky escape.

Windsor host Eastcote 3rds tomorrow.

In Division Six, table-topping Windsor 2nds battled to a hard-fought 2-1 victory at BA (IG) Club.

Windsor struck first just three minutes into the game as an opportunist shot from James Fenton caught BA off guard and gave them an early lead.

Windsor’s player of the match – goalkeeper David Ive – kept the hosts at bay before Fenton made it 2-0.

BA grabbed a late consolation, but it was not enough.

In Division Seven, Windsor 3rds were beaten 5-2 by Oxford 7ths.

Windsor Ladies started brightly before losing 3-1 at Milton Keynes 2nds in Division One of the Trysports Three Counties League.

Maxine Bonnage put Windsor ahead with an unstoppable shot from a well-worked penalty corner and the visitors could have added more to their tally by half time.

The second half took a different course as Milton Keynes seized the initiative, and sensing Windsor had gone off the boil, tweaked their formation to load the attack.

While keeper Ruki Sayid punched a high ball away from the goal, a Milton Keynes striker took the clearance on her stick and slammed it to the left corner to equalise.

And a fiercely struck penalty corner minutes later gave the hosts a 2-1 lead, before a text book penalty flick put the game out of Windsor’s reach.

Windsor host Bicester tomorrow.

In Division Four, a Paula Green goal gave Windsor 2nds a stunning 1-0 win at leaders Sonning 3rds.