Club qualify for Over-35 showpiece

Redbridge’s women booked their place in the National Over-35 Shield final with a 3-1 victory over Hertford on Sunday.

But the men saw their hopes of a national final ended by Crawley in the Vase, falling to a 7-1 defeat in Sussex.

Redbridge women got off to a strong start on home turf and it wasn’t long before Tanya Hurst cut across the D and fired into the net.

The hosts doubled their lead after more pressure led to Carrie Hicks deflecting the ball home on 10 minutes.

And it was 3-0 when a superb through ball from Bronwyn Wood split the Hertford defence and allowed Hurst to slot home her second goal of the tie.

The visitors hit back from a short corner before the interval, but the scoreline remained unchanged in the second half, despite Redbridge creating many good chances to add to their tally.

They can now look forward to playing at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre against Harrow on April 26, when the final will start at 9.30am.

The men held out for most of the first half at Crawley, but the hosts netted twice just before the break.

And fitness told in the second half as Crawley netted five more times to finish emphatic winners, although Reds felt the margin of victory flattered the home side.

Hurst’s hat-trick had proved in vain on Saturday as the women fell to a 4-3 defeat against Tunbridge Wells seconds.

Emma Smith, Marisa Beer and Emily Gibson struck as the seconds beat East London fourths 3-0, while Jo Miller and Izzy Kearin goals saw the thirds beat Upminster fourths 2-0.

Harpinder Roopra (2), Konrad Kowalski, Dylan Sandhu, Aidie Palmer and Marc Tovell led the men to a 6-4 win over Upminster seconds, as they missed out on promotion by just two points.

The seconds beat Upminster fourths 4-1 to avoid relegation as Tushar Hasan, Josh Forman, Sunny Rehal and Rohan Shivalkar struck.

Jim Lawton’s goal for the thirds came in a 2-1 loss to their Havering counterparts and Archie de Graaf got a consolation for the academy in a 7-1 defeat to Division Nine champions Plashet.

Colin Finch took Redbridge’s man of the match award for his tireless display, but there was no denying Plashet an 18th successive win as they completed a perfect season.