M1 Visit East Grinstead On Saturday Evening
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men travel to East Grinstead on Saturday evening for a Men's Hockey League Premier Division match as they aim to keep up the pressure on leaders Old Georgians.
The match will be played at East Grinstead Sports Club, Saint Hill Road, East Grinstead RH19 4JU and push back is at 1800.
Supporters unable to attend can watch the match via the East Grinstead Hockey TV channel on You Tube here
At one time, East Grinstead were a dominant force in Men's outdoor hockey, but in recent years they have struggled, not qualifying for the Top Six since the 2021-22 season.
East Grinstead go into the match in ninth place in the Premier Division with their two wins out of six coming in a 3-1 win at Bowdon and a 6-2 home win over Richmond.
Their other four games have ended in defeat: 3-1 at home to Hampstead & Westminster; 4-2 at local rivals Oxted; 3-2 at Wimbledon and 4-2 at home to Holcombe.
Louis Tipper is East Grinstead's top scorer with three goals, Trevor De Lora, Sam Knight, Kurt Lovett, Hugh Pembroke and Alex Sheldon all on two with Dylan Holland, Daniel Faulkner and Simon Faulkner each having scored once this season.
On their last visit to West Sussex last November, Surbiton won 4-1, Luke Taylor, Struan Walker, Alex Williams and Gareth Furlong scoring for the visitors with Jack Webb scoring East Grinstead's consolation goal.
Surbiton are second, five points behind Old Georgians but with a game in hand at home to Wimbledon on 7 November. Surbiton had a mixed doubleheader weekend, grabbing a point in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Holcombe on Saturday night thanks to Luke Taylor's last gasp penalty corner equaliser and then beating Beeston 5-2 at home on Sunday afternoon, unable to stop Henry Croft's phenomenal scoring run for the Nottingham club as he scored their second goal from the penalty spot.
Struan Walker has kept up his momentum from last season as Surbiton's current top scorer with nine goals, followed by Luke Taylor on five. With Ben Park on three and Will Haspel on two following his excellent brace against Beeston and Jake Smith and Conor Williamson also on two, Surbiton have plenty of scoring options to rely on.
Rob Farrington, Tim Nurse, Jake Payton and Stuart Rushmere have all found the net once as Barry Middleton's first season in charge as Surbiton coach continues to progress on a domestic front after qualification for the FINAL8 in the Euro Hockey League.
Old Georgians head to Cardiff & Met on Saturday night whilst Holcombe make the long trip to Bowdon. Wimbledon host Oxted, Beeston welcome Southgate to Nottingham Hockey Centre and Richmond, who secured their first ever Premier Division win over Bowdon on Saturday, only to crash 7-0 at Cardiff on Sunday, have a London derby at home to Hampstead & Westminster.