M1 On Course For Super 6s Finals Day Qualification
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men are on course for qualification for the Super 6s Finals Day at Derby Arena on 1 February after bouncing back from a 3-1 defeat to local rivals Old Georgians to beat Sevenoaks 5-2 on the second day of the Premier Division qualifiers.
At the halfway point of the tournament, Surbiton are on nine points in third place ahead of fourth placed Oxted on goal difference with both teams going into the second weekend with a six point advantage with four games remaining.
All the results, scorers and team line-ups can be found at the England Hockey Altius website here
Old Georgians had beaten Holcombe 5-4 in the opening match on Sunday and were aiming to end the first weekend on maximum points against Surbiton. David Condon gave Old Georgians a seventh minute lead, with Chris Griffiths quickly doubling the reigning champions' advantage a minute later. Griffiths then converted a penalty corner in the 17th minute to leave Surbiton trailing 3-0 at the halfway point. Adam Buckle managed to pull a goal back from a penalty corner in the 27th minute but Old Georgians won 3-1 to finish the first weekend in second place behind Wimbledon, who have a better goal difference after winning all four of their matches.
In the last match of the day, Surbiton faced Sevenoaks, who had lost 7-3 to Oxted immediately before Surbiton's clash with Old Georgians and on Saturday had lost 4-3 to Wimbledon, but beaten Southgate 8-3.
Sevenoaks opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Ben Allberry, but the lead lasted just a minute as Jonny Gall quickly equalised. Tommy Austin converted a penalty stroke and Nick Nurse scored from open play to help Surbiton turn round with a 3-1 lead. Sevenoaks didn't give up with Femi Owolade-Coombes catching out the Surbiton defence near the start of the third quarter from a penalty corner, but a penalty corner from Gall and an open play clincher from Rob Farrington secured the 5-2 win which gives Surbiton a strong chance of qualifying for Finals Day on their return to the top flight.
Surbiton start the second weekend with a key match against Oxted on Saturday, followed by a clash with Holcombe, one of four teams on three points. On Sunday, Surbiton take on current leaders, Wimbledon before finishing against East Grinstead, whose indoor history is legendary, but after a very disappointing first four games, find themselves stranded at the bottom of the table with no points but a chance of relegation to Division One.
Which teams from Division One will replace the bottom two teams in the Premier Division is completely unknown as the first weekend's fixtures at Telford were postponed and rearranged for 24-25 January.
Division Two is initially split into two six team divisions with each team playing the other five teams once over a single weekend. The top three teams from the North join the top three teams from the South in another six team competition from which the top two teams are promoted to Division One for 2027.
Brooklands Manchester University, Beeston and Banbury qualified from the North division and will compete with Epsom, Ipswich and Clifton Robinsons on 24-25 January.