Canterbury Ladies’ glorious campaign ended on a low note after suffering disappointment in the Investec Championship Play-off final on Sunday.

The city club topped the Premier Division table during the regular season, and breezed into the Championship decider by virtue of a semi-final win over Clifton on Saturday, however they went down 3-0 in the final against ambitious Surbiton, who will be GB’s top seed in Europe next season, with Canterbury having to settle for the second seed.

Emily Atkinson gave the Surrey side the lead from close range inside two minutes after a penalty corner was saved.

Eliza Brett came close to an equaliser, firing inches wide, but the majority of pressure came at the other end, with Canterbury doing well to only go in a goal behind.

The second eventually arrived on 53 minutes, again after a penalty corner strike had been saved by Helen Fagg, with Hollie Webb following up to double the advantage.

The third arrived just four minutes later when Atkinson freed Jenna Woolven to slot home, and only Fagg’s heroics prevented a fourth before the close.