M1 To Face Wimbledon In Super 6s Semi-Final
By Colin Pike
Surbiton Men will take on Wimbledon in the second Super 6s semi-final at Derby Arena on 1 February after finishing second in the Premier Division qualifiers.
Reigning champions, Old Georgians won all eight games to finish top and they will meet Oxted, who sealed their place with a 6-1 win over Southgate in their first match on Sunday and finished fourth, three points ahead of Holcombe.
The results, scorers, line-ups and other tournament stats can be found at the England Hockey Altius website here
Surbiton went into the last day of competition having already booked their place in the final four and in what proved to be a semi-final rehearsal, beat Wimbledon 5-2. Nick Nurse opened the scoring in the second minute, but Ed Horler, who ended up as the division's top scorer with 18 goals, equalised for Wimbledon seven minutes later.
The score was still 1-1 at half time, but Rob Farrington restored Surbiton's lead five minutes into the third quarter. Tommy Austin and Ollie Shelton extended Surbiton's lead in the fourth quarter, but although Rory Patterson reduced Surbiton's lead to 4-2 with a penalty corner conversion, Nurse had the first and last say with a last minute goal.
East Grinstead, whose history in Super 6s competition is legendary, were bottom of the table without a point after the first weekend. Their second weekend performance, not only saved them from relegation to Division One but saw them finish sixth. The West Sussex club's renewed confidence saw them establish a 2-0 lead at the start of the third quarter, Fergus Jackson having scored in the 17th minute, followed up by Sam Knight's 21st minute finish.
Surbiton battled back to level with two goals in the 23rd minute from Nurse and Austin, but East Grinstead's determination earned them a 3-2 lead three minutes later, courtesy of Stephen Perry. Adam Buckle rescued the point four minutes from the end as Surbiton drew for the first time with the game finishing 3-3.
Mark Haycroft started in the Surbiton goal against East Grinstead, with Calum Douglas starting the other seven matches. Nic Morgan played in all four games of the second weekend and player/ coach Barry Middleton and Sam Geering were also in the squad.
Sevenoaks and Southgate were relegated to Division One, Sevenoaks missing the chance to save themselves when they could only draw 4-4 with Hampstead & Westminster, who avoided relegation with a seven goal better goal difference.
The Division One competition won't be completed until next weekend after last week's tournament was postponed. Repton are top of the halfway league table after winning all four games, whilst Ashmoor are two points behind.
The Division Two tournament will also be completed next weekend.