Olton ladies end season on a high by hitting six past Exe to finish third - The Solihull Observer

Olton ladies end season on a high by hitting six past Exe to finish third

Solihull Editorial 27th Mar, 2017 Updated: 28th Mar, 2017   0

HOCKEY: SIX goals in the second period saw Olton & West Warwickshire thump Exe 6-1 at Grange Road as they finished the 2016/17 season in third place in the Investec Conference West.

With the score 0-0 at half-time at Grange Road on Saturday, Olton stepped up their performance after the break and roared into a 3-0 lead.

Former Great Britain star Sally Walton scored from a penalty corner in the 38th minute and Anna Griffiths scored twice in the space of two minutes to put the home side in control.

The goals kept coming and six minutes later, 15-year-old Lucy Smith scored her first National League goal in her second game for the first team by tapping in a Walton pass.




Walton scored again five minutes later before Exe got a consolation goal in the 65th minute. Walton completed her hat-trick in the 69th minute to wrap up a 6-1 win in what was a game of two halves with an amazing second half Olton performance.

The ladies finished the season in third place, 12 points behind second spot and just one point above their nearest rivals in fourth.


Olton’s men’s team travelled to Leek already assured of third place in the Division, the highest they have finished in the seven years in the National League.

Their opponents were fighting to move from automatic relegation as bottom club and it was going to be one of those games where a side with nothing to lose played against one with much, and so it panned out.

Olton took the lead in the tenth minute with a goal from James Blackwell, his first of the season, and that lead was held for 25 minutes before the home side levelled from a penalty corner.

At 1-1 it was still anyone’s game and it was Leek who took the lead but three minutes later Tom Mallett pulled Olton level before Steve Batten fired Olton back in front.

Leek needed points and about seven goals advantage and this drove them on in the last ten minutes as they scored three goals to give them a 5-3 win which combined with Oxton’s loss put the two sides level on points and goal difference.

This was not enough to save Leek and they ended up being relegated back to Midlands hockey.

Olton returned home beaten by a battling side as they finished in third position.

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