M1 In Super 6s Survival Battle This Weekend
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men face a battle to preserve their Premier Division status after a disappointing first weekend in the Super 6s at Whitgift School in Croydon last weekend.
Surbiton go into the second weekend in last place having lost all four games last week and have four more matches to save themselves from Division One hockey in 2025.
Surbiton are only three points adrift of safety and with meetings with Holcombe (3 points) and East Grinstead (4 points) to come on Sunday, there is still hope of a reprieve.
However, Surbiton face a tough Saturday with an opening match against second placed Wimbledon at 1130 and a 1530 meeting with fourth placed Sevenoaks, both opponents aiming for Finals Day qualification.
Sevenoaks inflicted Wimbledon's only defeat, winning 5-2 before Wimbledon beat Holcombe 9-3, East Grinstead 8-1 and Hampstead & Westminster 6-2 to move up to second.
Sevenoaks went on to draw 4-4 with East Grinstead before narrowly beating Holcombe 5-4 and losing 6-3 to leaders Old Georgians to finish the first weekend a point ahead of fifth placed Hampstead & Westminster.
On Sunday, Surbiton meet East Grinstead at 1000 and then face what could be a vital match against Holcombe at 1300.
East Grinstead also face Holcombe at 1600 on Sunday, having lost 7-1 to Old Georgians and sneaking a narrow 4-3 win over Ashmoor to move up to the steady heights of sixth place.
Surbiton struggled over the weekend, surprisingly losing 3-0 to newly promoted Ashmoor and then throwing away a 4-0 lead over the other promoted side, Team Bath Buccaneers before losing 5-4 on Saturday. Both Old Georgians and Hampstead & Westminster proved too strong winning 9-1 and 8-2 respectively on Sunday to leave Surbiton in peril.
In strong contrast to their outdoor scoring form, Surbiton managed just seven goals from four games with Jonny Gall and Gareth Furlong both scoring twice.
The games can be followed in real time on the England Hockey Altius website here