Hockey: East see South's chances go west

Melanie Clewlow, with a penalty corner equaliser 20 seconds from the end of East's game against the South yesterday, put her side three points clear of their opponents in the Territorial Under-21 tournament at Milton Keynes.

The South, who had dominated the game for long periods, had taken the lead in the 26th minute through a powerful corner strike from Trojans' Charlotte Manchester.

The East had looked very impressive on Saturday in beating the Midlands, the defending champions, 2-1 and then the North 4-1. But they struggled for much of the game against the South, for whom Manchester and Samantha Strange gave powerful displays.

The Midlands hit form against the South yesterday morning, winning an end-to-end game 3-0. Sutton's Natalie Hannah, exchanging passes with Lucilla Wright, put them ahead just before the interval with second-half goals from Kerry Moore and Wright.

Midlands' fluctuating form continued when, despite creating a succession of first-class scoring opportunities, lost 1-0 to the North. A harsh penalty corner decision 20 minutes into the second half gave North's Suzanne Ashworth the chance to score from Joanne Duff's cross after a well-worked corner drill. North's goalkeeper Claire Archer defied the Midlands at 16 penalty corner attempts and a countless number of blocks in open play.

The surprise result was West's 2-1 win against the North. West, well in command for much of game, scored after three minutes through Exmouth's Anna Lambert - a fine solo goal. Nicola Hickton added a second before Lucy Clarke replied late on from a penalty corner.