Men's Hockey League Week 8 2022 Review

Week 8 in the Men's hockey league saw double headers for Old Georgians and Wimbledon as parity was restored throughout the leagues.

Jade Bloomfield of Hockey World News looks over the action that led to a new team reaching the league's summit.

On Saturday evening Old Georgians and Wimbledon met at St Georges College in a hotly anticipated clash. With both sides having a game in hand over the rest of the division, a win for either side will see them close to within striking distance of leaders Surbiton.

As he has been on so many prior occasions, Sam Ward was the man of the moment, scoring all four goals for his side on their way to a 4-2 victory. With five of the match's six goals coming from a penalty corner, Sam Ward opened his tally in the 20th minute before doubling the lead with the only open-play goal in the 31st. Ward scored again in the 44th before Wimbledon struck back with a double of their own from David Condon (57) and Sam Hooper (66). With the deficit reduced to just one goal, Ward (68) was again on the scoresheet to restore the two-goal advantage for the home side.

With Old Georgians taking all three points, Surbiton knew they would need to win, at Hampstead & Westminster, to have any chance of staying on top of the league come Sunday evening. A tense first half ended with David Goodfield scoring with two minutes to go for the visitors. Adding his second shortly after halftime, Goodfield gave his side a lead they should be able to see out. However, a lapse in defensive concentration gave Marc Edwards and Hampstead a chance to force an exciting end to the match, scoring from open play. With Surbiton against the ropes, Hywel Jones (63) added another blow to Surbiton, firing home to level the scores and ensure a share of the points.

In the final Premier Divison game of the day, the University of Nottingham faced Beeston in the Nottingham derby. With goals in the 1st and 4th quarters from Rohan Bhumi (17) and Robbie Gleeson (61-PC), Beeston took all three points on offer and the bragging rights to go with it.

With the opportunity to go top, Old Georgians needed to pick up at least a point when the University of Exeter travelled to Weybridge. A fourth-minute penalty stroke from Matt Brown gave the hosts the lead before Lee Morton (14), and Sam Ward (16) both scored from a penalty corner. Ward scored his second and sixth of the weekend from open play in the 28th minute before James Tindall and Morton extended the halftime lead to 6-0.

The second half started in much the same vein as Tindall, and Morton, completing his hat trick, was on the scoresheet once again. As the match petered out, Tom Carson (65) rounded off the scoring in a game that sent Old Georgians to the top of the league.

Wimbledon bounced back in style from the disappointment of losing in Saturday's fixture against OG's, hitting Oxted for six. Ed Horler was in deadly form, hitting five of the six goals (13, 21-PS, 43, 57, 61). Barney Wilkinson was also on the scoresheet for the hosts, whilst Nick Giles (55) added to his tally for Oxted.

Holcombe had Nick Bandurak to thank as they brushed aside Brooklands Manchester University. A hat-trick of penalty corners from the Holcombe hitman gave his side all three points as they moved to within three of second-placed Surbiton.

Reading climbed into the top six, thanks to a 3rd-minute goal from Tom Minall to give the host a 1-0 win over visitors East Grinstead.

For full scores and league tables, visit the MHL section of the website HERE.