Men's 1s 4 - 1 Holcombe (A)
By Surbiton HC
The Surbiton Men’s 1s are the only remaining team on maximum points in the Open/Men’s Premier Division following a comeback win at Holcombe Park on Saturday night.
Holcombe and Surbiton went into the game sitting in second and third in the table, and it was the Kent side who got out of the gates fastest, going ahead through a Teague Marcano penalty corner rebound in the second minute.
Despite heavy pressure from Surbiton, Holcombe goalkeeper Dom Dixon was in good form and it wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that Surbiton notched up an equaliser. Nick Bandurak dispatched a fierce finish into the side netting after a spell of sustained pressure from the visitors.
Bandurak struck again shortly before the Q3 break, taking his tally so far this season to four in three and maintaining his personal record of scoring in every game. He was named Surbiton’s MVP after the game following his brace.
Taking a 2-1 lead into the final quarter, Surbiton scored two further field goals, the first of these coming from Stu Rushmere who scored in the 59th minute with a smart close range finish after excellent build up play along the baseline. The result was sealed as Max Anderson surged forward on a rapid counter attack to rifle home with seven minutes left on the clock.
Captain Tim Nurse said, “It was a fantastic performance from the boys to build on our strong start to the season. Holcombe is always a tough place to got but the way the team stayed focused and stuck to the game plan was really pleasing. What excites me most is knowing there’s still room to improve and keep pushing this group to the next level.”
Surbiton remain second in the table on nine points, but have a game in hand over EHL-bound Old Georgians. There is a bye weekend coming up for the Surbiton M1, with the scheduled match against Wimbledon (who also head to Barcelona for EHL) rescheduled for a Thursday night in mid November. The M1 are next back in action back at Sugden Road on Saturday 18th October against East Grinstead.