St Andrews University look set for a comfortable passage into women’s Division 3 in the new season after winning their four matches on day one of the qualification tournament at Liverpool.

The students hammered another Scottish team, Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth, 11-1, and then proved too good for near rivals Liverpool Water Beatles, winning 4-0 with goals by Lauren Charter (2), Kate Mackie and Amelia Downs.
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Manchester Comets finished the day with seven points from a possible eight, beating Solihull 7-3 thanks to goals from Fran Collings (3), Charlotte Pritchard (2) and Lilly Pryce (2). 

Watford and Welsh Wanderers will meet tomorrow at Watford Woodside pool (10.30) in a winner-takes-all decider for the one remaining place in men’s Division 1 at the start of the new season.

Wanderers set up the finale with a superb 11-9 victory over Sutton & Cheam, also at Watford, today.

Sutton went into the match knowing that a win or draw for them would guarantee promotion alongside Championship 1 winners Polytechnic and runners-up Cheltenham. But the Welsh side were having none of it, storming into a 5-1ead in the opening quarter with goals by Joe Jenkins-Delf, Charlie Hinder, Lewis Gilmour, Dan Laxton (Photo: Trevor Hyde) and Lloyd Pittick.

It was 8-4 to Wanderers after three periods. Sutton briefly narrowed the gap to 10-8 in the last before Matt Griffiths scored to ensure a Welsh triumph. 

Wanderers will progress to the top division – for the first time since 2010 – if they beat Watford, or tomorrow’s match is drawn. A Watford victory would put them in the top division for the first time as they would be equal on points with Wanderers – but take preference by winning the match between those sides.

Seven teams were battling for three places in women’s Division 3 next season when the qualification tournament opened in Liverpool today.

Close matches were inevitable. At the start, two teams that dropped out after phase one in 2019/20 – Liverpool Water Beatles and Manchester Comets – drew 3-3.

Later, the Comets left it late to defeat one of the new applicants, Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth, 6-5, claiming late goals by 14-year-old Charlotte Pritchard and Fran Collings.
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There were wins for two more new teams. Solihull beat Sunderland 8-2, with Emma Marshall notching a hat-trick, and St Andrew’s University cruised to a 10-3 victory over Durham Palatinates, including three goals from Carla Carrega.

Later St Andrew's easily defeated Solihull 7-1 while Durham needed a late goal from Sophie Orger to edge out ​Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth 7-6.