M1 Beat Beeston 5-2 To Stay Five Points Behind Old Georgians
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men beat Beeston 5-2 at Sugden Road on Sunday afternoon to stay five points behind leaders Old Georgians with a game in hand in the Men's Hockey League Premier Division.
The match can be watched back via the Surbiton Hockey Club channel on You Tube here
Surbiton, boosted by the euphoria of earning a point in a 4-4 draw at Holcombe with a last gasp penalty corner conversion by Luke Taylor the previous evening, were fast out of the traps against Beeston.
in only the second minute, Nick Park's pass to the left of the circle found Struan Walker, whose shot was deflected past Simon Hujwan by Jake Smith to give the hosts the perfect start.
However, Beeston, who had lost 3-2 at neighbouring Old Georgians on Saturday night, fought back a minute later, William Prentice finding Jack Stamp at the right post for an instant equaliser.
Before the crowd could get their breath back, Surbiton were back in front in the seventh minute, Walker's shot into sent high into the roof of the net to leave Beeston trailing 2-1 early in the match.
The match then settled down with Surbiton still leading 2-1 at half time.
In the 43rd minute, Will Haspel turned the ball in at the left post to extend Surbiton's lead, and when Walker scored his second goal of the match in the 59th minute to put Surbiton 4-1 ahead, Surbiton were in control.
Henry Croft has scored in all of Beeston's league matches this season and he managed to maintain his record in the 63rd minute from the penalty spot after a stroke was awarded following a Beeston penalty corner. Croft slotted the ball to Surbiton goalkeeper, James Mazarelo's left to reduce the deficit to 4-2.
Surbiton had the final word in the last minute, Nick Nurse's pass finding Haspel in the circle before the ball was smashed against the backboard with Hujwan unable to react, to complete a comprehensive 5-2 victory.
Leaders Old Georgians romped to a 9-2 win at Oxted, Alan Forsyth and Thabang Modise each scoring twice supported by Matt Brown, James Carson, Ed Carson, Chris Griffiths and Phil Roper. Owen Williamson and Charlie Axford scored for Oxted.
Holcombe followed up from the 4-4 draw with a 4-2 win at East Grinstead. Teague Marcano scored a hat-trick with Tom Russell also scoring for the Kent club. Trevor de Lora and Louis Tipper replied for East Grinstead.
Wimbledon stayed in contention with a 2-1 win at Hampstead & Westminster. Fred Newbold and Ed Horler gave Wimbledon a 2-0 lead in the first quarter with Kiran Aruasalam scoring for Hampstead with just three minutes left.
Cardiff & Met finally won at home in the Premier Division and did it in style, beating Richmond 7-0. Owain Dolan Gray and Scott Rawlings scored braces, Ioan Wall, William Riley and Rhys Gowman helped the Welsh club make history in the top flight after Richmond had beaten Bowdon 3-1 the previous day to secure their first Premier Division victory.
Bowdon are the only team in the Premier Division without a point, but they battled at Southgate before going down 4-3. Dan West gave Southgate an early lead before Archie Foster completed a second half hat-trick. Carlos Dolado-Hollyman scored twice for the Northern club with Maks Wyndham-Smith bringing Bowdon level at 3-3 before Foster secured the win with his hat-trick goal.
Next weekend, Surbiton travel to East Grinstead on Saturday night (push back at 1800) and then on Sunday after the clocks go back, they travel to Fareham to participate in a EH Men's Tier 1 KO Championships tie.