M1 To Visit Richmond On Historic Night For Hosts
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men travel to Richmond on Saturday (28 September) for their first away Men's Premier Hockey League Premier Division match of the season on what has inadvertently become a historic night for the hosts.
The match will be played at the Qunitin Hogg Memorial Ground, University of Westminster, Hartington Road, London W4 3UH and push back is at 6 pm.
Richmond were supposed to make their Premier Division debut last Saturday at Nottingham Hockey Centre against Beeston, but due to a thunderstorm and lightning, the match was abandoned after three quarters and has been rearranged for Sunday (29 September) at 2 pm.
Richmond were trailing 3-0 when the match was abandoned, Jamie Rawlings, Owen Sutton and Henry Croft having scored for Beeston.
Therefore, Surbiton will be Richmond's first-ever opponents in the top-flight. The teams have met in the MHL twice before, way back in 1991-92 and 1993-94 when teams only met once a season in Division Two, the second tier of national league hockey.
Both matches were Richmond home games with Surbiton winning 3-1 at 1991-92 and a 2-2 draw in 1993-94. The teams didn't meet in 1992-93 because Surbiton played in Division One.
Richmond were founder members of the Men's Hockey League in 1988-89 and played in Division Two until 1995-96 when they were relegated to the South League.
Richmond returned to the Men's Hockey League when the league had been restructured with Richmond playing in the Conference East. They were champions in 2015-16, but missed out on promotion after losing all three matches in the Promotion Tournament.
The Conference East was the second tier of the MHL, but when Division One North and South was added as a second tier in 2019-20 Richmond dropped to the third tier and were transferred to the Conference West. Richmond were transferred back to the Conference East and eventually won promotion in 2022-23, pipping Spencer on goal difference.
Richmond then won a second successive promotion after finishing top of Division One South and now find themselves in the Premier Division for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Surbiton beat Oxted 4-2 at Sugden Road last Saturday after coming from 1-0 down. Luke Taylor, Stuart Rushmere, Ben Park and Struan Walker were all on target for last season's runners-up.
Elsewhere, Oxted are at home to East Grinstead in a local derby at Caterham School. Newly-promoted Bowdon, who had a baptism of fire with a 6-1 home defeat to Old Georgians last weekend, travel to Wimbledon.
Cardiff & Met will be looking for their first ever home win in the Premier Division when Holcombe make the trip to South Wales.
Beeston will be returning from Hampstead & Westminster before they host Richmond on Sunday. Old Georgians will be at home to Southgate.