Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Ladies’ big weekend
Pratt seeks consistency
CANTERBURY Hockey Club’s ladies face a potentially crucial doubleheader this weekend as they seek to close-in on the Investec National Premier Division title.
The leaders visit winless bottom side Slough on Saturday before a trip to second-placed Leicester – who sit just a point behind them – the following day.
With just five games to play following the weekend, Canterbury’s Mel Clewlow knows that their hopes of securing a top-four finish and also topping the table, could rest on the two games in 24 hours.
She said: “It’s a big weekend, no doubt about it. When we have Slough, Leicester are playing (fifth-placed) Hightown. If we could win both games and Hightown lose both, then we could guarantee a top-four place this week.
“We are still unbeaten but it won’t mean anything unless we have got some silverware to hold up at the end of the season.”
The 35-year-old added: “It’s easy to focus on the Leicester game but we can’t afford to do that.
“Slough have only got one point and have been conceding lots of goals but we only beat them 2-1 earlier in the season.
“Being top puts the pressure on us and everyone expects us to win, so we will have to focus.”
She added: “The media make Leicester the favourites on Sunday and we haven’t won there for a long time but it would be good to go up there and play without pressure and get a result.”
Canterbury are set to welcome back defender Dilly Newton and midfielders Susannah Townsend and Jade Mayne from the Investec Challenge in South Africa this weekend after they missed the 2-1 win at Bowdown Hightown on Saturday.
Clewlow added: “The players who have come in have done a job and have given (coach) Nick Clark a headache.”
The city club rely heavily on the likes of youngsters Harriet Pickard, Lucy Hyams, Grace Balsdon, Sarah Kerly and Eliza Brett and Clewlow said: “These junior players are showing their worth. We have a couple of old heads but the younger players have really come on and we probably have the fastest front five in the league.” CANTERBURY Rugby Club coach Andy Pratt has targeted improved consistency from his side as they bid to return to winning ways against Dings Crusaders at Merton Lane on Saturday. The city club lie in eighth four points ahead of Dings in National 2 South but go into the game on the back of a 31-18 defeat at Chinnor. Pratt admitted: “Teams like Dings, Launceston, Chinnor and Clifton are our peer group in the middle of the table and these are the games we really want to win. “We have been a bit inconsistent since Christmas, but hopefully we can put it together again on Saturday.”