M1 Home To Hampstead On Sat. Evening
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men will aim to reverse a sudden dip in form when they host Hampstead & Westminster at Sugden Road on Saturday evening (push back 5.30 pm).
Hampstead won for the first time ever away to Surbiton on their last visit in Phase One in November, Matt Guise-Brown and Rupert Shipperley clinching a 2-1 victory after Ben Boon had put Surbiton ahead.
The defeat, which snapped Surbiton's seven game winning streak, was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Wimbledon and home and away defeats to Old Georgians, with the only salvation coming with a 2-1 win at East Grinstead when the season resumed after the winter break.
Last week's 5-1 home defeat to Old Georgians initially saw Surbiton drop to third, but the following day, Surbiton dropped to fourth after Holcombe gave Hampstead a 5-0 walkover which lifted Hampstead into third, a point above Surbiton.
Hampstead have also lost twice to Old Georgians this season, going down 5-0 at home before losing 3-1 away in their first league match of 2022. Hampstead started the season with three wins: 3-2 at Wimbledon, 4-2 at home to East Grinstead and 4-3 at home to the University of Exeter before being held to two successive 2-2 draws at Beeston and at home to Holcombe.
Hampstead recovered from the home defeat to Old Georgians by securing their historic win at Surbiton, and followed up with wins over Durham University (4-0) at Brooklands Manchester University (3-0) and at Oxted (4-1) to close out 2021.
Guise-Brown is always a penalty corner threat and is Hampstead's top scorer with twelve, three coming from the penalty spot.
Rupert Shipperley and Matt Ramshaw are tied on five, with Will Calnan, Josh Kelly, Toby Roche, Joe Sharp, Sam French and Teague Marcano all having scored once, as has James Oates, who is unofficially on six after Hampstead elected to award the five walkover goals against Holcombe to his tally.
Hampstead's win ended a recent sequence of a Surbiton win followed by a 2-2 draw in matches between the teams in Elmbridge. In November 2019, the teams served up a twelve goal feast, Surbiton winning 8-4, although Surbiton's previous margin of victory had been more modest, 2-1 in October 2017.
On Sunday, leaders Old Georgians travel to second-placed Wimbledon in their attempt to avenge their only league defeat of the season, 2-0 at Raynes Park High School in October. Holcombe aim to make up for last week's walkover disappointment with a trip to East Grinstead.
In the Bottom 5, it's Oxted's turn to have a week off as Durham University will aim to repeat their opening day 2-1 home win over Brooklands Manchester University and the University of Exeter will hope that it's not too late to start a revival in form to help them avoid relegation to Division One.