M1 To Face Wimbledon In Jaffa Super Sixes Semi-Final
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men will face local rivals Wimbledon in the first semi-final of the Jaffa Super Sixes at the Copper Box on 2 February after finishing top of the Premier Division table at Repton School.
Surbiton were in devastating form against the bottom two teams, scoring 27 goals on the final day with a 13-2 win over Canterbury and a 14-4 victory over Bowdon.
In the first match of the day, Alan Forsyth scored twice in the third minute before Lewis Fossey replied for Canterbury in the fifth minute.
Willie Marshall restored Surbiton's two goal advantage in the same minute as Surbiton led 3-1 after one quarter.
The Forsyth and Marshall double act came on for a repeat performance in the second quarter, Forsyth scoring in the 14th and 16th minutes with Marshall on target in the 18th as Canterbury trailed 6-1 at the halfway stage.
Ben Boon and Zach Wallace got on the scoresheet in the 24th and 25th minutes respectively before Marshall added another three goals between the 28th and 32nd minutes with two coming from the penalty spot.
Canterbury didn't give up and Ben Allberry scored the Kent club's second goal with five minutes to play but Marshall scored his sixth goal of the match in the 37th minute and Forsyth claimed his fifth in the last minute as Canterbury's relegation to Division One was confirmed.
Bowdon will be joining Canterbury in the second tier, but Surbiton had to battle in the early stages before finding their form. Ben Boon's third minute goal seemed to suggest that Surbiton were on course for another big win, but to their credit, Bowdon fought back to lead 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, David Egerton levelling in the fourth minute and Robert Creffier putting them ahead in the tenth minute.
Normal service was resumed in the second quarter as Surbiton scored five goals without reply to lead 6-2 at half time.
Arjan Drayton Chana equalised in the 13th minute and Jonny Gall put Surbiton 3-2 ahead a minute later before the Forsyth and Marshall combination added goals in the 15th and 16th minutes.
Zach Wallace scored at the end of the first half to put Surbiton firmly in control.
Or so they thought as Bowdon gave them a scare with Richie Dawson-Smith and Matthew Bellin scoring in the 23rd and 24th minutes to give the scoreline a 6-4 look.
But Boon scored Surbiton's seventh goal in the 26th minute and a quickfire double from Tom Sorsby in the 30th minute finally ended Bowdon's resistance as they trailed 9-4 with ten minutes remaining.
As in the second quarter, Surbiton scored another five goal without reply in the final period, Marshall scoring in the 32nd and 35th minutes to complete his hat-trick and Forsyth striking in the 36th, 37th and 38th minutes to complete a comprehensive 14-4 victory.
Forsyth finished with 31 goals, nearly double that of his closest rival, Rory Patterson of Wimbledon. Combined, Patterson and his Wimbledon team-mate, Ed Horler matched Forsyth's total between them with Marshall getting into double figures with ten.
East Grinstead finished second after losing their final game to Hampstead & Westminster 5-3 with last season's table toppers missing out completely on qualification.
Holcombe finished third a point ahead of Wimbledon, who fought off Sevenoaks for the last finals place on goal difference after both teams won five games.
Next season, Bowdon and Canterbury will be replaced by Brooklands Manchester University and Repton. Beeston missed out on promotion as Repton won five games to Beeston's four in spite of Beeston having a greater goal difference.