Chelmsford II 2, Dereham Ladies 3Dereham maintained their National Hockey League promotion challenge despite a below-par Women's East League performance at Chelmsford II.

Chelmsford II 2, Dereham Ladies 3

Dereham maintained their National Hockey League promotion challenge despite a below-par Women's East League performance at Chelmsford II.

The visitors struggled for long periods and were twice behind on a wet surface but eventually came through to keep the pressure firmly on main rivals Holcombe.

With Canterbury II not eligible for promotion it's a straight fight between Dereham, Holcombe and Maidstone in the East League Premier Division - and if Dereham win their final five games they will go up, no matter what happens elsewhere.

On Saturday, Sam Skelton and Holly Allen hit the target to cancel out earlier efforts from Chelmsford before, with just three minutes remaining, Allen fired home a crucial third for the visitors.

The only downside of the weekend for Dereham was the decision to forfeit their National Cup quarter-final at Trojans.

The club opted not to make the long journey down to Southampton on Sunday as a variety of issues had left them with a depleted squad that would have had little chance against a National League outfit.