Surbiton 1 Buckingham 2

Buckingham travelled to three time champions and league leaders Surbiton on Saturday evening for a top of the table clash. It was an even open quarter as both sides went at each other and the game flowed from end to end at high speed. Both sides created half chances but neither side could fashion any clear openings. It was Buckingham who created the first clear cut opening of the match on twenty minutes, when some fine interplay down the right hand side saw Phoebe Richards find Alex Naughalty but the home keeper was quickly out to smother. Although the ball looped behind her, the home defence was able to clear the danger. It was Surbiton that created the next real opening from their first penalty corner, five minutes later but the chance came to nothing. Surbiton were in the visitors D again a couple of minuets later but this time the chance was sniffed out by Buckingham's tight marking. Ex Buckingham player and England and Great Britain player Jo Hunter earned the home side their second penalty corner after twenty-eight minutes but once again, the routine did not go to plan. Buckingham broke down the other end with another flowing move but just couldn't find a telling final pass. Ella Jackson was called into action for the first time two minutes before the break but made a comfortable glove save from the rasping shot, to ensure the scores remained level.
The second period dis not start well. Richards was green carded just two minutes in and the hosts took full advantage of their numerical advantage as a smart finish from Sarah Page made the score 0-1 after just five minutes. A swift counter from Richard's after ten minutes led to Buckingham’s first penalty corner of the match. However, the ball was miss trapped at the top of the D and the chance evaporated. It was the superb Richard’s who was denied by a swift smother after some impressive skill with fourteen minutes gone. Both sides were playing some fine hockey it attack but both defences were limiting the number of real openings. After a period of sustained pressure, Abbie Brant came close to levelling things but couldn't quite connect well enough with her back foot shot. Surbiton gave themselves a chance to seal the win with just over five minutes remaining, when they earned their third penalty corner of the match but the ball was miss trapped. From the resulting counter, Alice Rolfe earned Buckingham’s second penalty corner and in the process a yellow card saw Surbiton reduced to ten players for the remainder of the match. From the penalty corner, a well rehearsed routine saw Kitty Higgins deflect the ball high into the net to make the score 1-1.. Now with the numerical advantage, Buckingham went in search of a winner. Player of the match Richards drew a third penalty corner with just over a minute left to play and Lauren Thomas fired the ball home to give Buckingham a 2-1 lead. The hosts barely had time to push back before final whistle sounded on a historic victory for Buckingham. The result kept Buckingham in third place, just a point behind joint leaders Surbiton and the University of Birmingham but the result was made more impressive by the fact that their hosts had been unbeaten at home since February 2014 a record stretching to thirty-two games.