by Alex Hoad

Canterbury Hockey Club skipper Michael Farrer insists their National Premier Division play-off destiny is “still in our hands” despite a sixth defeat in seven games.

The city club suffered an 8-1 defeat to Reading at Polo Farm on Saturday to slip to third, behind the Berkshire side.

Canterbury only retained their top-four status by a point, with seventh-placed Loughborough just three points behind with four games remaining.

Farrer (pictured) admitted: “Saturday was one of those days. Reading must have scored 80% of the time they got into our D and we just couldn’t score at the other end."

It was a fourth straight defeat for the city club, who have seen their lead in the fight for the top four whittled away by the chasing pack.

Farrer said: “The recent results were probably mental. Someone said to me that it looked from the sidelines that we were defending the 21 points we had on the table rather than trying add to them.

“The start we made put pressure on ourselves and raised expectations but now we need to get back to where we were. This is the business end of the season. We are still third and it is still in our hands.”

Canterbury visit third-bottom Hampstead & Westminster on Sunday.

Do you think the city club can arrest their slump with a win this weekend? Have your say below.