Second Successive Men’s Hockey League Victories For Surbiton And Hampstead & Westminster

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Surbiton and Hampstead & Westminster both continued their fine starts to the Men’s Premier Division with their second victories in as many weeks.

Following on from their stunning comeback victory over Holcombe, free-scoring Surbiton beat Oxted 5-2 this time round to gain revenge on their loss to the same team last season. Luke Taylor scored twice for Surbiton while Gareth Furlong, James Gall and Nick Park were all on target. Max Gilbert had given Oxted the lead in the 14^th minute while Jordan Turnbull added his name to the scoresheet late on.

Hampstead & Westminster backed up victory over Wimbledon last week with a 4-2 victory over East Grinstead at Paddington Rec. Louis Gittens gave the visitors the lead twice in the first half, only for Hampstead to draw back level on both occasions through Rupert Shipperley and Matt Ramshaw. Matthew Guise-Brown fired home early in the second half to hand the hosts the lead for the first time before Will Calnan secured the three points in the 51^st minute.

Wimbledon held off a late resurgence from Beeston to claim their first victory of the season. They lead 3-0 shortly after half-time through Ben Francis, Arthur Hughes and Rhys Smith before Kai Aichinger pulled one back for Beeston. With just over one minute left, Eddie Harper added another but the Nottinghamshire-based team couldn’t find a dramatic equaliser.

Holcombe also recorded their first points of 2021/22 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over the University of Durham. Craig Wild handed his side the advantage in the third minute before second-half goals from Nick Bandurak and Thomas Russell sealed the win.

Finally, Brooklands MU also picked up their first win as they overcame the University of Exeter 2-1. David Flanagan gave them the perfect start as he opened the scoring in the first minute, only for Max Cowrey to equalise shortly after. But a 54^th minute field goal from Alex Holmes gave Brooklands MU the victory.

Ellis Robson was the star of the show as the Division One North returned, scoring four times for Loughborough Students as they beat Bowdon 5-1. Cardiff & Met also started strongly with a 5-2 win over the University of Birmingham, while Cambridge City beat the City of Peterborough 3-1. The University of Nottingham were 2-0 victors over Sheffield Hallam while Deeside Ramblers beat Olton & West Warwicks 2-1.

Reading sent out a statement of intent as they thrashed Brighton & Hove 7-1 in Division One South, Matt Richards scoring a hat-trick. Teddington came from two goals down to beat Canterbury 3-2 while Sevenoaks beat Havant 3-1. The other games saw Old Cranleighans and Team Bath Buccs play out a 1-1 draw while Southgate against Oxford Hawks ended 2-2.

Old Loughtonians produced a stunning comeback to beat Richmond 6-5 in their opening Conference East Game. They actually led 4-1 at half-time, only for Richmond to score four goals to take a 5-4 advantage into the final 10 minutes. But two goals from Harvey Edwards – including a last minute winner – saw Old Loughts take the three points. Elsewhere, Spencer beat West Herts 4-1 while Bromley & Beckenham and London Edwardians recorded 3-0 wins over Hampstead & Westminster 2s and Wapping respectively. The other game saw London Wayfarers beat Indian Gymkhana 4-2.

Harborne and Barford Tigers both struck seven goals to send out a strong message in the Conference Midlands. The former beat Loughborough Town 7-2 while the latter emerged 7-3 winners over University of Birmingham 2s. St Albans fought off a stubborn Khalsa Leamington 4-3 in another exciting match, while Harleston Magpies beat Cambridge University 3-1. Finally, Lichfield and Bedford played out a thrilling 3-3 draw.

The opening weekend in the Conference North saw Belper run out 5-2 winners over Leeds, with Sam Dixon scoring four times. Jack Entwistle scored a hat-trick for Timperley as they beat Leeds 4-1 while both Didsbury Northern and University of Durham 2s won 2-1 against Wakefield and Beeston 2s respectively. The game between Doncaster and Preston was postponed as a mark of respect following the tragic death of lifelong Doncaster member Andy Gibson.

Isca were on fire in their opening game of the season as they thumped Plymouth Marjon 6-0 in the Conference West. The University of Bristol beat Chichester 3-0 while Cardiff University recorded a 2-1 win over Cheltenham, with Clifton Robinsons beating Ashmoor by the same scoreline. Fareham and University of Exeter 2s drew 3-3 in the other game.