M1 & W1 March On With More Big Wins
The Surbiton first teams both made it four wins from four on Saturday, once again notching up massive victory margins against traditional Top 6 opposition.
Men’s 1s 6 - 1 Oxted 1s (A)
The Men’s 1s came out on top in an earlier than usual 4:30pm pushback at Caterham School on Saturday afternoon. Stu Rushmere opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a high finish off a penalty corner rebound with MVP Max Anderson making it two with a fearsome forehand strike after a strong run through midfield in the 21st minute.
Oxted got one back almost immediately through Charlie Axford but Tommy Austin’s backhand restored the two goal margin ahead of the break with an unstoppable backhand into the backboard.
Three unanswered second half field goals from Rob Farrington, Anderson and Jake Payton extended the lead and the M1 secured a second successive 6-1 win to stay top of the Prem on goal difference over East Grinstead, who the Seals will meet in Sunday’s game in the upcoming double header weekend. First up for the M1 is a home game against Bowdon on Saturday afternoon.
Women’s 1s 9 - 0 East Grinstead 1s (H)
The Women’s 1s lit up a cold and misty early evening at Sugden Road with a statement win over East Grinstead to make it an incredible 20 goals scored and none conceded in two games.
The W1 started fast, with Maddie Axford, Darcy Bourne and Player of the Match Lizzy Pocknell firing Surbiton to a 3-0 within the first 13 minutes.
Three further goals followed in Q2, Amy Costello scoring a penalty corner and a stroke either side of another Pocknell field goal to leave a shell-shocked East Grinstead side stacked with GB internationals 6-0 down going into half time.
Costello completed her hat trick with a straight strike from a penalty corner in the 47th minute and quickfire open play finishes from Izzy Petter and Martha Taylor within the next ten minutes sealed a stunning win over a team who will surely be in the mix come the business end of the season.
The W1 will go into next weekend’s double header full of confidence - Saturday sees them take on Hampstead & Westminster who are yet to register a point this season, with a big local derby against Wimbledon at Sugden Road on Sunday afternoon.
Open-Men’s Premier Division Review: 17th October 2026
The Open/ Men’s Hockey League Premier Division reverted back to a full programme of fixtures after Wimbledon’s return from Eindhoven and all six matches ended in away wins.
Surbiton, East Grinstead and Wimbledon all have maximum points, although Wimbledon have only played three matches due to their participation in the Euro Hockey League.
Surbiton travelled to Caterham School and won 6-1 against Oxted to stay top of the table on goal difference after four wins. Stuart Rushmere and Max Anderson gave Surbiton a 2-0 lead before Charlie Axford replied for the hosts, to become the second member of the Axford family to score on the day after Maddie scored Surbiton Women’s first goal against East Grinstead. Surbiton led 3-1 at half time after Tommy Austin scored their third goal and in the second half; Rob Farrington, a second goal from Max Anderson and a sixth goal from Jake Payton earned the visitors their second successive 6-1 win after a home victory over Cardiff & Met last week.
Newly promoted Exeter University suffered their first defeat of the season as goals from Malachi Hayes and Fergus Jackson gave East Grinstead a 2-1 win on their long trip to Devon. Harry Davies scored Exeter’s consolation goal.
Wimbledon also had a reward for their long trip to Bowdon, coming away from Altrincham with a 7-2 win. They had to come from behind after Noah Lakin-Hall put Bowdon ahead in the second minute, but by half time, Wimbledon led 3-1 thanks to Liam Ansell, Sam Hooper and Ali Empey. Felix Tully tried to keep Bowdon competitive in the 46th minute but Wimbledon pulled away as Sam Hooper scored twice and Fred Newbold and Kei Kaeppeler scored once as Wimbledon were clinical in the last eighteen minutes.
Old Georgians stayed in contention with a 4-1 win at Beeston. Henry Croft scored twice against his former club, with Charlie Rowe and Sam Ward also scoring for the visitors. Abdul Reeman converted a penalty corner on the stroke of half time to ensure that Beeston only trailed 2-1 going into the second half.
Holcombe picked up their first win of the season in a 3-2 win at Reading. The Kent club also had to come from behind as Daman Bansal opened the scoring in the fourth minute for the hosts, but goals from Alastair Douglas and Alex Pendle turned the match around. Sam Nicholson thought he had salvaged a point in the 58th minute, but Teague Marcano was on hand three minutes later to take the three points back to the Medway.
Hampstead & Westminster also tasted victory for the first time this season at Cardiff & Met courtesy of a brace from Sam French after Rupert Shipperley opened the scoring. Cardiff & Met are now eleventh on one point ahead of Bowdon, who have lost all four matches so far this season.
Next weekend, Surbiton Men have a double header, hosting Bowdon at 1530 on Saturday before venturing to East Grinstead at 1500 on Sunday.
Surbiton won 6-0 at Bowdon when the teams last met in November 2024, but Bowdon haven’t played Surbiton in the Premier Division at Sugden Road since March 2012, when Surbiton won 6-2, having won 4-1 at Bowdon in October 2011.
Meetings with East Grinstead have been numerous with East Grinstead frequently prevailing when they were one of the most successful teams on a regular basis, although there was a pulsating 5-5 draw at Saint Hill in October 2009. East Grinstead won 6-5 in a thriller in March 2014, while Surbiton won 9-1 at Saint Hill in October 2024. Last season Surbiton won 5-2 at Sugden Road.
Women’s Premier Division Review: 17th October 2026
Surbiton continued their title defence in style as they put East Grinstead to the sword at Sugden Road on Saturday evening, following up their 11-0 win at Buckingham seven days earlier with an equally emphatic 9-0 victory over the West Sussex club. Amy Costello’s hat-trick, including a penalty stroke, against her former club was supported by Lizzy Pocknell’s brace, after Maddie Axford and Darcy Bourne had lit the fuse to an explosive performance which concluded with open play goals from Izzy Petter and Martha Taylor.
Durham University had gone top briefly following their 5-0 home win against Buckingham, their claim to the best defensive record cemented by their third clean sheet of the season. Durham’s attacking strength in depth was displayed as the five goals were scored by five different players, Katie Birch scoring in the first minute before Emmie Gilbert, Helena Youmans, Lorna Crawford and Ava Wadsworth added to Buckingham’s misery at the bottom of the table.
Hampstead & Westminster are also looking for their first point after losing their fourth successive match this season, 5-3 at Loughborough Students. Olivia Breed and Hannah Boss gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and although Esme Burge pulled a goal back at the start of the third quarter, Amy Cradden restored Loughborough’s two goal advantage. Tyler Lench reduced Hampstead’s deficit to 3-2, and Jo Leigh levelled at the end of the third quarter, but Lucy Mackey and Mia Moore both scored in the fourth quarter to ensure the points stayed in Leicestershire with Loughborough joining Durham in having all five goals scored by different players.
Wimbledon made the long trip to Bowdon and came away with a 3-2 win. Flo Fletcher put the London club ahead, but Bowdon fought back to lead 2-1 in the 39th minute with goals by Margot Willis and Annabel Mills. Becky Manton quickly equalised with Hannah French scoring the winner in the 47th minute to stay within two points of the top two teams in third place.
Reading won their first match since November 2025, beating the University of Birmingham 3-2 at Sonning Lane. On a day when teams got off to a lightning start, Madeleine Goodman gave the Berkshire club a first minute lead, before Isabelle Smith levelled for Birmingham in the 22nd minute. Tilly Crampsie restored Reading’s lead just before the end of the third quarter, Georgia Howe effectively sealing the win with five minutes to play, although there was still time for the Midlands students to pull a second goal back courtesy of Caitlin Witham.
In the East Midlands, the University of Nottingham and Teddington battled to a goalless draw, Nottingham having previously drawn 0-0 at home to Bowdon in March, whilst it was Teddington’s first 0-0 draw since they joined the Women’s Hockey League in 2023-24.
Next weekend with the lower divisions taking a Half Term break, the focus is on the Premier Division’s double header with games on Saturday and Sunday. Surbiton travel to Hampstead & Westminster on Saturday and then host Wimbledon on Sunday.
Surbiton have beaten both teams to become Premier Division champions, beating Hampstead 3-1 in 2024 and Wimbledon 4-2 last May. Hampstead are in uncharted territory as they will go into next Saturday’s match (push back 1400) in the relegation zone, when in recent seasons their defence has been a real strength, although they missed out on a League Finals place after losing their form in the qualifying pool.
Surbiton and Wimbledon missed each other in the South Clubs’ Women’s Hockey League as Surbiton were promoted to Division One when Wimbledon were being relegated, but meetings in the Prem have been competitive with Wimbledon handing Surbiton their only defeat in their first sixteen games in 2022-23 with a 2-1 victory at Raynes Park High School and also winning 2-1 at Sugden Road in October 2024 on the weekend that Surbiton held the Men’s Euro Hockey League KO16 tournament. Push back on Sunday is also at 1400 after the clocks go back to end British Summer Time.