CANTERBURY Hockey Club’s ladies will be hoping to carry on their outstanding indoor form outdoors when they resume their National League programme on Sunday.

The club travel to Leicester for their first Premier Division game since November with spirits high after a superb performance in the Higgins Group PLC Indoor Hockey League at Haslemere, Surrey.

Fifth after the opening round of matches last weekend, Canterbury won all four of their second round games to reach the semi-finals for the third year running as group runners-up.

Mel Clewlow was at the heart of their success, scoring 11 goals, including five in one game. The captain admitted a desire to prove people wrong had spurred on the squad.

She referred to a headline in the Kentish Gazette last week which declared: ‘Finals look distant prospect.’

Clewlow said: “We played really, really well, at the weekend probably as well as we have indoors. But, then, we wanted to prove our local paper wrong! We told our coach Danny Kerry that we were always in control, but I don’t think he believed us.”

Canterbury face Clifton in the semi-finals on Friday week at Crystal Palace, where they will be joined by their men, who face Loughborough Students in the semi-finals of their competition.

Clewlow believes that playing indoors helps keep players sharp when they return to outdoor action and she says Canterbury still harbour hopes of reaching the league play-offs.

Included in their squad, for the first time outdoors this weekend, are South Africans Susan Webber and Jen Wilson.