Old Georgians Extend Men’s Premier Division Lead As Title Rivals Draw Thriller

Photo credit: Debbie Christopher (@debbiechris33)

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A thrilling weekend of action in the Men’s Premier Division saw Old Georgians extend their lead at the top with a clinical 8-2 win over Holcombe while their title rivals played out a dramatic draw.

Wimbledon and Surbiton had the chance to put the pressure on the league leaders in their Saturday showdown but an entertaining contest ended in a 5-5 draw.

Surbiton had won on their last three visits to Wimbledon and stormed into an early 2-0 lead thanks to efforts from Jamie Golden and Jack Middleton before Wimbledon responded through Ben Francis and Ed Horler to level the match up.

The visitors retook the lead through Luke Taylor before extending their advantage to 5-2 with further strikes from James Gall and a second for Middleton.

But second-placed Wimbledon launched a remarkable late recovery, with David Condon scoring a brace before Horler added his second of the game to rescue a memorable draw.

That result kept Wimbledon in second place in the standings but opened the door for leaders Old Georgians to increase their lead - an opportunity they grasped with both hands.

Tom Carson opened the scoring before James Albery, Sam Ward, Ashley Jackson, James Tindall and James Carson all struck to put Old Georgians into a commanding 6-0 lead.

Holcombe, who beat Surbiton 3-0 last weekend, responded through Rob Field but two more goals for Ward completed his hat-trick put the icing on the cake for Old Georgians before Tom Russell added a late consolation for the visitors.

Old Georgians now hold a ten-point lead at the summit of the Top 6 standings, but they were not the only team to take make the most of Surbiton and Wimbledon’s draw on Saturday.

Hampstead & Westminster also closed the gap to Surbiton in third with a 4-1 win over East Grinstead. 

Matthew Guise-Brown scored two quickfire goals for the visitors before Louis Gittens responded for East Grinstead. Guise-Brown then completed his hat-trick after Kei Kaeppeler also found the target. 

Elsewhere, University of Exeter were unable to back up their sensational 9-0 win over Durham University last weekend as they went down 4-2 to Brooklands Manchester University.

Brooklands hit the ground running with goals from Andrew Jackson and Nick Hale before University of Exeter reduced the deficit thanks to an effort from Rhys Bradshaw.

Andrew Rusbridge added a third for Brooklands and while Jacob Payton pulled one back again for University of Exeter, Jackson’s second goal wrapped up the points for the visitors.

The other game in the Bottom 5 split league saw Beeston overcome Oxted 2-1 as goals from Eddie Harper and Gareth Griffiths cancelled out Alex Blumfield’s opener.

Division One North

The much-anticipated showdown between the top two sides ended in an emphatic victory for University of Nottingham as they defeated title rivals Loughborough Students 4-1, ending their unbeaten record in the process. That result means the winners have replaced Loughborough at the summit. Meanwhile, third-placed Cardiff & Met ran out comfortable 8-1 winners against Deeside Ramblers as Rhys Gowman struck four times for the visitors and Bowdon romped to a 4-1 victory against Cambridge City. At the bottom, Sheffield Hallam and City of Peterborough both suffered defeats. Sheffield Hallam were beaten 2-1 by University of Birmingham while Olton & West Warwickshire defeated City of Peterborough 4-2.

Division One South

Reading made it back-to-back wins with a 2-1 success over Sevenoaks to increase their advantage at the top of the division after title rivals Canterbury slipped up against Old Cranleighan, who triumphed 3-2 on Saturday thanks to a hat-trick from Muhammad Irfan. Team Bath Buccaneers moved up to second after they were also victorious, beating Brighton & Hove 4-1, while bottom side Havant were unable to avoid relegation despite winning 2-0 against Southgate. Havant needed to win and hope that Oxford Hawks lost to Teddington, but while they claimed just their second victory of the campaign, Hawks prevailed 2-1 to send them down.

Conference East

Old Loughtonians remain the frontrunners in the Conference East division, extending their unbeaten run to six games with a 4-1 win over Indian Gymkhana. Their lead at the top is still five points as nearest challengers Richmond were also victorious, sealing a 2-1 triumph over London Wayfarers, while third-placed Spencer continued to keep pace with the top two with a thumping 6-2 win over London Edwardians. Elsewhere, Hampstead & Westminster 2s held Wapping to a 2-2 draw while West Herts claimed another important win in their bid to avoid the drop, beating fellow strugglers Bromley & Beckenham 4-1.

Conference Midlands

Santi Binaghi scored his 30th goal of the season as he bagged a hat-trick for league leaders Barford Tigers in their 4-1 win over Lichfield, which moves them a step closer to securing the Conference Midlands title. Second-placed Harborne now trail Tigers by six points after they slipped up against University of Birmingham 2s, losing 4-3 on the road. Meanwhile, Khalsa Leamington’s troubles continued as they went down 3-0 to Cambridge University, who also drew 1-1 with St Albans on Thursday night. St Albans followed up that draw with a 3-1 defeat to Harleston Magpies while Bedford eased to a 3-0 victory over Loughborough Town.

Conference North

The race for the title has become even tighter in the Conference North division. League leaders Belper were held to a 2-2 draw by Preston as second-placed Timperley cut the gap to their title rivals to just two points with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Durham University 2s. Elsewhere, Doncaster celebrated a dominant 6-0 win over Didsbury Northern to move into third while Leeds also hit six past relegation-threatened Alderley Edge, prevailing 6-2 at home. It remains incredibly tight at the bottom, though, with Beeston 2s coming from a goal behind to claim a much-needed 2-1 win over Wakefield as they boosted their survival hopes.

Conference West

University of Bristol continue to lead the way in the Conference West, securing a 1-0 win over Clifton Robinsons on Friday night to maintain their place at the summit. Second-placed Isca managed to keep the pressure on the title favourites with a 4-1 win at Cardiff University, while Fareham also remain very much in the hunt after defeating bottom side Cheltenham 1-0. Fellow strugglers Plymouth Marjon were beaten 6-2 by University of Exeter 2s, while Chichester edged out Ashmoor in a tight contest, eventually prevailing 3-2.