M1 Visit Beeston On Sunday
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men travel to Nottingham Hockey Centre on Sunday for their second Men's Hockey League Premier Division match of the weekend to take on Beeston (push back 2 pm).
The match will be streamed via the Bee TV channel on You Tube here
Both teams will go into the match with mixed fortunes. Surbiton beat Oxted 6-0 at Sugden Road on Saturday afternoon and are second behind leaders Old Georgians on goal difference.
Beeston were stunned by Old Georgians 12-4 at St. George's College and are currently fifth, five points behind fourth-placed Hampstead & Westminster.
Beeston's heavy defeat was a surprise as they had won their previous two games, 4-0 at home to local rivals, the University of Nottingham and 4-1 at Cardiff & Met.
Although Beeston had lost 5-2 at Wimbledon, a 5-3 home victory over East Grinstead and a 2-2 draw at home to Southgate had seen them on a four game unbeaten run.
But Sam Ward's six goal haul and Alan Forsyth's hat-trick proved too much as the Men's reigning champions demonstrated their full potential.
Surbiton and Beeston have a long history of league meetings and between 2006 and 2013, Beeston won eight successive home league meetings against Surbiton including a 7-2 victory in October 2012 and 6-2 and 5-1 wins in 2010.
However, the 3-2 victory in October 2013 is the last time that Beeston tasted victory over Surbiton on home turf and it has been Surbiton in recent years who have dominated.
Ironically, Surbiton are themselves currently on an eight game successive win in the East Midlands including a 7-1 win in March 2020 when Luke Taylor helped himself to five goals. Surbiton have scored five goals on their last two visits to Nottingham Hockey Centre, yet Beeston's most recent overall league win was at Sugden Road in November 2022 when Beeston won 4-3, current Surbiton player, Nick Park, one of Beeston's heroes that day.
Another current Surbiton player, James Gall scored for Beeston in the first of Surbiton's current eight game winning streak, in the Nottingham club's 4-2 defeat in March 2015.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Old Georgians cross the Welsh border to face Cardiff & Met; Holcombe follow up their 7-1 win at East Grinstead with a home encounter with Wimbledon and East Grinstead travel to Hampstead & Westminster.
Oxted and Reading will both want to bounce back from defeats when they meet at Caterham School, Reading going down 4-1 at home to Southgate, who are at home to the University of Nottingham on Sunday.