Holcombe beaten 2-1 by Beeston at Lee Valley in England Hockey Tier One Championship final

Holcombe were beaten 2-1 by Beeston in Monday’s England Hockey Tier One Championship final.

Hattie Jones on the scoresheet for Nick Bandurak’s side, who were chasing a unique treble, having already secured an immediate return to the Premier Division via a second-placed finish in Division One South, as well as having won promotion to the Super 6s Premier Division after winning Division One in January.

Report by Lucas Ball

Holcs had the better of the first half with a number of chances before the Bees scored twice through Lucy Millington and Lottie Summers in the third and fourth quarters.

Jones pulled one back with three minutes remaining as Holcs piled on late pressure, but a super last-minute save from Steph Tirrell meant that Beeston held on for their third consecutive Tier One title and fourth in five seasons.

Holcs’ calmness on the ball through transfers was not matched by their opponents early on, James Sordillo’s side giving up possession deep in their own territory on a number of occasions in the first half or being forced into often-hopeful aerials.

That being said, the first penalty corner of the game did come Beeston’s way as Tilly Woodhead made a good save from a reverse effort seven minutes in, before Holcs tried a variation at their first corner five minutes later which did not quite pay off.

As the quarter-of-an-hour mark neared, Holcs’ high-press looked like it might pay dividends as Tilly Tillings and then Hannah Carney won the ball from Beeston defenders, the latter put under heavy pressure by Tirrell as she looked to work the space for a shot.

It was Tillings’ turn just minutes later as she again won the ball on the edge of the circle, driving past a defender before striking a great reverse effort