The draw has been made for the Women’s Cup third round after this weekend’s round two matches.
After comfortably overcoming fellow England Hockey League (EHL) Premier Division side Brooklands Poynton on Sunday, Leicester will once again travel to a team in the same division after being drawn against Clifton. Clifton won the battle of Bristol in a 7-0 victory over Firebrands in round two and will hope to cause an upset against the 2008 champions who currently sit top of the league with six wins from six.
All of the other Premier Division teams have avoided one another in the round three draw with last season’s runners-up Reading drawing Conference North side Sheffield Hallam away. Reading breezed past Old Loughtonians in the last round with Sheffield Hallam beating Liverpool Sefton for the second time this season to progress. Trojans will travel to Cambridge City with both teams looking to use the Cup to boost their league form as they currently sit bottom of their respective tables without a win. University of Birmingham will travel south to Hertfordshire to take on St Albans and Olton & West Warwickshire will entertain Sutton Coldfield in a Midlands Derby.
Staines will welcome Sunderland to Worple Road, which is the only tie of the round where two teams from the EHL Conferences meet. Both teams have had inconsistent starts to the season with Staines sitting fifth in the Conference West Division and Sunderland currently in fourth place in the Conference North.
Elsewhere in the draw there is a case of déjà vu with Dereham drawing Barnes Hounslow Ealing at home. The two sides met at the same stage last season with Barnes Hounslow Ealing claiming a 5-2 victory to reach the last eight. Surbiton, who alongside Dereham are the only two non-EHL sides left in the competition, will entertain Buckingham who are going strong in their first ever season in the national league.
The draw in full can be seen below.
Women’s Cup Round Three Draw – Ties to be played Sunday 15 November 2009
Cambridge City v Trojans
Clifton v Leicester
Dereham v Barnes Hounslow Ealing
Olton & West Warwicks v Sutton Coldfield
Sheffield Hallam v Reading
St. Albans v University of Birmingham
Staines v Sunderland
Surbiton v Buckingham
