M1 Win 9-2 At East Grinstead
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men stayed five points behind leaders Old Georgians in the Men's Hockey League Premier Division after thrashing East Grinstead 9-2 at Saint Hill on Saturday evening.
On a night when Old Georgians scored seven goals at Cardiff & Met and Hampstead & Westminster also scored seven goals at Richmond, Surbiton scored nine to take their season tally to 36 in just six games.
Surbiton had also scored nine against the West Sussex club in a 9-1 home win in March 2022.
Yet, Surbiton only led 3-1 at the half time interval and really found their form in the second half.
The game can be watched back via the East Grinstead Hockey TV channel on You Tube here
East Grinstead announced the arrival of Nick Bandurak from Holcombe the day before the match and a competitive first half indicated that the move would boost East Grinstead's scoring ability.
Surbiton took the lead on a chilly night in the 16th minute, Jake Smith finding the backboard from just wide of the right post after receiving a pass from Struan Walker to convert a penalty corner.
But there was no evidence of the rout to come when Stephen Perry equalised from open play in the 27th minute with a superb shot.
Surbiton needed two goals in the final five minutes of the second quarter to open up some breathing space, Jake Payton deflecting the ball in the 30th minute whilst running across goal and four minutes later, Payton passing the ball from a penalty corner for Stuart Rushmere to score from the right post.
When Surbiton won 8-0 at Richmond in September, Rob Farrington scored Surbiton's fourth goal within the first minute of the third quarter, and at East Grinstead, he repeated the trick to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.
Will Haspel, who scored twice at home to Beeston last Sunday, was on the scoresheet again this week, finishing at the right post after Conor Williamson took a free hit before Nick Park combined with Smith who supplied the assist from the left.
In the 55th minute, Trevor Junior De Lora found Ronan Taggart who ran into the circle before scoring East Grinstead's second goal with another superb effort.
Two minutes later, Walker extended Surbiton's advantage to 7-2 with a shot which went in off the inside of the right post.
A breakaway attack saw Payton in a one on one situation with Oliver Smart before Payton rounded Smart and found the backboard to make the score 8-2.
The final goal came right at the end of the match when Williamson found Payton, who passed to Nick Nurse before Nurse put away the return pass on the final whistle to complete a stunning 9-2 victory.
Sam Ward and Chris Griffiths both scored twice as Old Georgians won 7-2 at Cardiff & Met. Tom Carson, Phil Roper and Alan Forsyth were also on target for the reigning champions whilst Rhys Gowman converted from the penalty spot and Jonny Fleck scored a last minute consolation goal for the Welsh hosts.
Holcombe are level with Surbiton but have played a goal more after a 4-1 win at bottom club Bowdon. Matt Ramshaw's brace plus goals from Tom Russell and Rob Field ensured that the three points would be heading back to Kent, Ollie Rogerson replying for Bowdon.
Hampstead were also in supreme goalscoring form at Richmond, Josh Kelly and Kiran Arunasalam each scoring twice in the 7-1 win. Tim Guise-Brown, Nicholas Steffens and Rupert Shipperley were also on the scoresheet, Max Evans scoring for Richmond with two minutes remaining.
Wimbledon lost ground after their 3-3 home draw with Oxted. Sam Hooper, Joe McConnell and Liam Ansell gave the hosts a 3-1 half time lead, but two goals in the last three minutes from Peter Jarvis and Guy Morgan earned the visitors an unexpected point.
The remaining match at Beeston was also drawn as Southgate equalised twice to earn a 2-2 draw in Nottingham. George Fletcher and Henry Croft, on a phenomenal scoring run, were Beeston's scorers with Karan Sofat and Archie Foster netting for the Londoners.
Surbiton take part in the EH Men's Tier 1 KO Championships on Sunday, when they visit Fareham for a 1330 pushback. Fareham are third in the Men's Conference West, part of the third tier of the Men's Hockey League. There are no league fixtures this weekend, due to half term.
The game will be played at the Henry Cort Community School, Henry Cort Drive, Fareham PO15 6PH.