Reading ladies return from the domestic indoor season having come together and grown as the competition progressed but ultimately deflated not to have reached the latter stages of the competition. We knew that we went into the second weekend with a tough challenge ahead of us. With both Bowdon and Slough, who had dominated the first weekend, to play on Saturday, the chips were down immediately and it was crucial that the team hit the ground running. Ultimately, only the first half against a Bowdon side determined to qualify at the earliest opportunity, was beyond the Reading girls, but spectators watching us go into half-time 5 goals down might have feared the worst.

In truth, our recovery started from here. We recovered the Bowdon score to get back to 5-3 with opportunities to get another goal back before Bowdon scored what turned out to be the decider. The pressure was then even greater against Slough, but we fought our way back into the tournament through a hard fought 4-3 win, having conceded no goals in the second half. The way the tournament was developing meant we knew that the challenge for Sunday was not just to win games, but to work on our goal difference as well.

The game against Harleston turned out to be a Masterclass. We were fully back to being perhaps the most organised side in the tournament, but added a cutting edge to this and came away with a 7-0 win. Unfortunately, at this point previously dominant sides had started to loose points, and teams around us gained ground, which meant that we had all to play for against Birmingham who have - at times been a bogey side for us. Following a 4-2 win, all we could do was wait, for results in the Canterbury, Sutton and East Grinstead games.

Photos of the Ladies Indoor can be found at : https://www.facebook.com/pages/RSKG-Photography

Mens Report by Andy Watts

We are delighted to have made it through to Wembley. It was a fantastic display of disciplined indoor hockey and hard work that takes us into the top four.

The first weekend was a real learning experience with a new group. There was certainly great improvement and an important 3 points gained from the Holcombe fixture gave us hope going into the second weekend.

Comfortable wins over Bowdon and Bath proved crucial in moving us up the table, but also boosting goal difference. A tight victory over Surbiton meant that a point in the final game would be enough. 3-2 down with 5 minutes to go and Rich Mantell stepped up to score the all important goal and make it 3-3.

John Jackson was a constant threat in front of goal with Tom Carson and Rich Springham adding valuable goals. Dan Shingles and Tommy Alexander both performed superbly in helping maintain a solid defensive record.

Squad: Alexander, Noble, Shingles, Atkins, R Mantell, Newman (C), Clee, Jackson, Carter-Keall, Campbell, Carson, Springham, Watts

Mens Photos to follow.....