SLOUGH boosted their hopes of climbing out of relegation trouble in the Investec League with an excellent 2-0 win over Clifton Robinsons on Saturday, writes Dave Wright.

First-half goals from Dilly Newton and Lizzy Totten secured only their second win of the season after what team manager Bill Griffiths described as a “professional display.”

They remain second from bottom in the table but have closed the gap on the side above them, University of Birmingham, to just one point with both sides having three fixtures remaining.

The Bristol-based visitors travelled to Upton Court Park fourth in the standings but came up against a side whose performance belied their lowly position.

Slough had mainly been playing well in recent weeks without getting the right results, but it all came together for them on this occasion.

Captain Kat McGonigle and her defence stayed firm throughout the game, while good link-up play led to plenty of penetrations into the Clifton circle.

The hosts delivered a quick one-two to leave their rivals reeling.

The first came in the 24th minute when Mel Ball forced her side’s first penalty corner which led to Newton finding the net, and two minutes later Slough doubled their advantage thanks to Totten.

These goals gave Kali Takher’s team an injection of confidence going into the second half.

They came under increased pressure as Clifton worked hard to get back into the game, but, with keeper Asha Tranquille-Day in good form, Slough never looked like relinquishing their lead. She was voted her team’s player of the match.

Slough must now look to produce a repeat performance when they host sixth-placed Beeston at Upton Court Park this Saturday (12.30pm push-back).

To complete a good day for the club, Slough men won 4-3 away to West Hampstead, who started the day seven places higher in the Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Premier Two standings.

Rai Singh bagged a brace to take his season’s goal tally to 19, while there was a goal apiece for Rohan Channa and Kuli Matharu. Chris Todd netted a hat-trick for play-off chasing West Hampstead.

Slough, who can only finish in the bottom two, take on second-placed Trojans this Saturday (2.30pm) in their last home fixture of the season.

The second sealed the London League Division Six title last weekend by hammering Richmond Deerstalkers 5-0, with Romnik Nijjer now on 30 goals and Inderpal Dhak just one fewer.