M1 Visit Old Georgians on Saturday Night
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men visit Old Georgians on Saturday Night for a local derby in which the last two unbeaten teams meet in the Men's Hockey League Premier Division.
The match will be played at St. George's College, Weybridge Road, Addlestone KT15 2QS and push back will be at 1800.
Old Georgians have won all nine matches this season and have won every game since they lost 3-2 to Surbiton at St. George's College in September 2023. Old Georgians won the return match at Sugden Road 4-2 and beat Surbiton 3-1 in last season's Championships Final, also held at Sugden Road.
Both teams will be in Den Bosch in Easter 2025 at the Euro Hockey League FINAL8 after Surbiton qualified from the KO16 tournament by beating Wimbledon at the KO8 stage.
Old Georgians have been in stunning form this season with a 6-1 win at Bowdon, an 8-1 home win over Southgate and a 12-1 victory at home to Richmond in their first three matches.
This was followed by a 5-2 win at Holcombe, a narrow 3-2 home win over Beeston and a 9-2 win at Oxted.
A 7-2 win at Cardiff & Met, an 8-2 home win over East Grinstead and a 5-0 win at Hampstead & Westminster last Saturday, which saw George Pinner keep his first clean sheet of the season, has given Old Georgians a four point lead over Surbiton going into the penultimate league match in 2024.
An Old Georgians win would see them clinch the first-place finish in Phase One before they host Wimbledon next week.
Nearly half of Old Georgians' 63 league goals this season have come from Sam Ward (20) and former Surbiton player, Alan Forsyth (11). Tom Carson has scored ten goals with James Carson, Phil Roper and Chris Griffiths all scoring four goals each.
David Condon has contributed three goals, Thabang Modise two, with James Albery, Chris Proctor, Matt Brown, Ed Carson and Liam Sanford all scoring once.
Surbiton also have plenty of scoring options, headed by Struan Walker on 16 goals, after a four goal haul in Surbiton's 6-0 win at Bowdon last Saturday. Luke Taylor is on six with Jake Payton on five. Jake Smith has scored four goals, closely followed by Ben Park and Will Haspel on three. Stuart Rushmere, Rob Farrington, Conor Williamson, Tim Nurse and Gareth Furlong have all scored twice this season.
Surbiton complete their Phase One programme at home to Hampstead & Westminster next Saturday.
If Surbiton slip up at Old Georgians, Holcombe can move into second with a win at Southgate. Wimbledon can also put pressure on Surbiton when they visit Richmond as a win and a Surbiton defeat would see them join Surbiton on 23 points.
Hampstead & Westminster, who are all but guaranteed of a place in the Top Six in Phase Two, go to Oxted, who are currently sixth, but only a point ahead of seventh-placed Beeston. Beeston host Bowdon, who are looking for their first point this season.
Cardiff & Met and East Grinstead both still have Top Six qualification hopes and their positions should be clearer after they meet in South Wales on Saturday night.