M1 Beat Hampstead 6-3 In Last Night Goalfest
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men beat Hampstead & Westminster 6-3 in their final Men's Hockey League Premier Division match of 2024 and end Phase One in third place after leaders Old Georgians and second-placed Holcombe also won.
Old Georgians beat Wimbledon 4-3 at home to complete a Phase One grand slam by winning all eleven matches whilst Holcombe beat Beeston 4-2 in Kent to finish five points behind the reigning champions.
Surbiton finished seven points off top spot with Wimbledon a further three points behind in fourth. Hampstead and Oxted will complete the Top Six lineup after Oxted won 5-1 at Richmond.
Surbiton v Hampstead can be watched back via the Surbiton Hockey Club channel on You Tube here
Hampstead have only ever won once at Sugden Road, but they led twice in the first half before Surbiton took control in the fourth quarter.
Kiran Arunasalam turned in Jolyon Morgan's shot towards goal, from the right post to give Hampstead a second minute lead.
Surbiton were level in the 13th minute, James Gall scoring from short range, but Hampstead restored their lead in the 29th minute, Tim Guise-Brown's drag-flick giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Yet, Surbiton led 3-2 at half time, Nick Park finding their second equaliser following an initial foul with the shot deflected off a Hampstead defender. The umpires consulted before the goal was confirmed.
And then in added on time at the end of the second quarter, Gareth Furlong's deadly drag-flick gave Surbiton the lead for the first time in an entertaining match.
When Struan Walker extended Surbiton's lead in the 45th minute following a one on one situation with Hampstead goalkeeper, Toby Reynolds-Cotterill in which Walker spun round before dispatching the ball into goal, it seemed that Surbiton were well in control.
But Hampstead fought back at the end of the third quarter after forcing four successive penalty corners, Surbiton goalkeeper saving a shot from the fourth only for Ted Graves to score from the rebound.
With a slender 4-3 lead, Surbiton scored twice in the fourth quarter, Conor Williamson and James Gall setting up the opportunity for Jake Smith to finish from short range in the 55th minute and right at the end of the match, Luke Taylor's trademark drag-flick sealed a 6-3 victory.
Tom Carson scored all four goals as Old Georgians beat Wimbledon 4-3 in a match which saw home goalkeeper George Pinner shown a yellow card. Wimbledon led 2-1 early in the third quarter, Sam Hooper and Fred Newbold scoring. Old Georgians turned the match around to lead 3-2 before Hooper equalised at 4-3, only for Carson to maintain Old Georgians' one hundred per cent record.
Holcombe's Teague Marcano netted a hat-trick in their 4-2 home win over Beeston, Sam Taylor scoring the fourth goal. Jamie Rawlings and the ever-consistent Henry Croft replied for Beeston.
Oxted's Owen Williamson also found the net three times in his side's 5-1 win at Richmond, a result which confirms their place in the Top Six. Peter Jarvis and Michael Royden-Turner also scored for Oxted with Richmond's consolation coming from Scott Wall.
Nick Bandurak scored his first goals for East Grinstead in their 6-2 win over Southgate. Louis Tipper, Simon Faulkner, Sam Knight and Malcolm Curley were also on target for the West Sussex hosts, with Sean Davis scoring both Southgate goals.
As with their women's team, Bowdon Men were unable to travel to Cardiff & Met. The Welsh club can't catch sixth-placed Oxted, but Bowdon could move up to tenth with a win. The match will be rearranged.