Men's 1s 5 -2 East Grinstead 1s (H)
By Surbiton HC
The Men’s 1s have gone top of the table following a 5-2 home win over East Grinstead on Saturday evening.
The M1 welcomed captain Dave Goodfield back having missed the start of the season with an injury sustained in the European Championships in the summer, while Dewi Roblin played in goal with Calum Douglas away in Malaysia with the GB U21s alongside club mates Max Anderson and Tommy Austin.
Surbiton gradually built pressure in the early stages of the game, but weren’t rewarded for their efforts until the 20th minute, with a sharp Jake Payton forehand strike from the left hitting the bottom corner following good work from Dave Goodfield and Will Calnan in the build up.
East Grinstead’s Jonty Elmes put away a penalty corner at the death in the first half, leaving the honours even at the break.
There was a flurry of goals shortly after half time, with Gareth Furlong’s 40th minute drag flick and another strike for Jake Payton two minutes later, this time from the right hand side of the circle. East Grinstead pegged another back in the 45th minute with a Joseph Farmer corner strike to make it 3-2.
It took him until the 56th minute, but Nick Bandurak maintained his record of scoring in every game so far this season, latching onto Jake Payton’s weighted through ball and putting it over the keeper’s shoulder with a deft chipped finish on the run.
Four minutes later, Conor Williamson dispatched a flick past the post player from a slick penalty corner move and Surbiton saw out the game to take all three points with a 5-2 scoreline.
With two goals and an assist, Jake Payton was named Surbiton’s Player of the Match.
The M1 now sit top of the Open-Men’s Premier Division table on 12 points, and hold a two point advantage over four other sides going into next weekend’s double header. The M1 head to local rivals Old Georgians next Saturday at 16:00 before hosting Cardiff and Met at Sugden Road at 14:30 on Sunday afternoon.