READING HC’s departing manager Liz Spencer said she was still proud of her team despite seeing them relegated from the Premier Division, writes Dave Wright.

She ended her reign on a high note with the Blues beating Slough 1-0 on Saturday to record their first Investec Women’s League victory for more than a year.

But the three points – one more than they had taken in their previous 17 games – was not enough to end an eight-season stay among England’s elite clubs.

Dropping to Conference level was not the reason behind Spencer’s decision to quit for she revealed: “I said I would only do two years of managing the team. I want to return to umpiring, hopefully in the South League next season.”

As for the current season, which for her team ended last Saturday, she admitted: “It has been really disappointing on the whole, but we haven’t been a walkover.

“Ask any team walking off the pitch, was it an easy game against Reading and they will say no. In many games we have lost by only the odd goal.

“Our opponents know they have been in a hard battle and that is why I am really proud of the girls because they have fought every inch of the way. They really worked hard in every game, but in the end, we were just not able to score enough goals to keep us up.”

Spencer will, however, continue to be the club’s vice-chairman, showing some of the loyalty that hasn’t been seen in abundance at Sonning Lane in recent years.

“Over the last few years, we have had a turnover of up to five or even six players – many big players – every season, so it has been really hard to build a team.,” she said.

“We did manage to attract a few new players, but we have had to rely on a lot of young players and some really good ones have come through the club.

“We are going through a rebuilding phase, and you need more than a year to rebuild. It takes a couple of seasons and we’re halfway through that.

“If we can keep most of the players together and attract a few more then I think we will be in a good position.”

Team skipper Emma Thomas also remains positive about the future. She said: “We have had several Under 18s who have been given amazing opportunities. They are all playing in the national junior set up now.

“We improved during the season and the second half was far better than the first. There is more to come from this team.”

It was a 19th-minute goal from Thomas that secured Reading’s first league win of the season last Saturday. In eight seasons in the Investec League, they have made five trips to Upton Park Court and emerged victorious on every occasion.

Reading Men ended their league fixtures with a 6-1 win at relegated Loughborough Students, who have managed only one point all season.

Team manager Chris Davey, who is also standing down at the end of the season, said: “It was a pretty comfortable win and you could see why they have struggled this season.”

James Carson scored twice in the opening seven minutes with Kiran Patel and Ben Boon making it 4-0 by half-time.

After Elliot Smith had pulled a goal back for the hosts, Boon scored again just before the half mark with Rhys Doherty completing the second from a 62nd-minute penalty corner.

Blues were missing Tom Carson, Nick Park and Tim Atkins all due to injury, but all three are hoping to be fit for the National Cup semi-final tie with Brooklands MU at Sonning Lane on Sunday (2pm). They will be without Ajai Dhadwal, who is captaining the USA in their World League round two competition in Trinidad.