SLOUGH head coach Kali Takher firmly believes that teams containing international players hold a distinct edge in hockey, writes Dave Wright.

His view was underlined on Saturday when the Pink ‘n’ Blacks were beaten 3-0 at home by East Grinstead with England and Great Britain stars Sophie Bray and Ellie Rayer scoring the goals.

“If you have three or four internationals in your team, they’re going to make a difference,” he said. “I think we may be the only team in the league without a current international.

“The main difference is in athletic ability and quality of skills, and I think we saw a top-five team playing a bottom-five side.

“We survived in the first-half, but in the second we had our moments and at 1-0 I still thought we could get something out of the game.

“There was a time in the second-half when we had the ascendency. We had two corners, but didn’t take advantage of them and when they counter-attacked we got punished. They were clearly the better team.”

Going behind in the sixth minute to a Bray goal, certainly did not help Slough. Yet they worked hard to get back in the game and at times linked some promising attacks together without being able to produce the final product.

“We didn’t have many chances but there were more than we had the previous week,” Takher added. “Not taking chances was the turning point.”

Bray doubled East Grinstead’s lead on 44 minutes with Rayer adding the third just after the hour mark.

It was Slough’s third defeat in four games but it is still early days and Takher remains optimistic about the future.

He told the Observer: “We are going to need a little bit more from the team if we’re to survive in this league. We need belief and confidence.

“You can play really well but ultimately you need to score goals. If you don’t your opponents will always have the quality to come back at you”

He continued: “We are not down in the dumps. We will be realistic about where we are at the moment.

“There will be teams where we need to pick up points against and that’s what we must now work towards.”

Slough, whose player of the match on Saturday was new goalkeeper Clare Comerford, travel down to Bristol to face Clifton Robinsons on Sunday.

Slough men are still seeking their first point in Premier Division Two after losing 3-1 at homeby Staines. Their goal coming from Kuli Matharu.

This Saturday, they make the long trek to Eastbourne.