Surbiton v Wimbledon Headlines England’s Matchday 8 as the Two Perfect Sides Meet
Saturday 7 November gives England’s Premier Division the game it’s been building towards all season. Surbiton host Wimbledon, and both sides are still perfect — Surbiton after seven rounds, Wimbledon after six, with a game in hand from their Euro Hockey League weekend.
Surbiton have been ruthless. Seven wins from seven, and last weekend they put three past Beeston without ever looking troubled. Wimbledon have matched them stride for stride, including a 6-1 win over East Grinstead in Round 7 with Fred Newbold scoring twice. One of these records ends on Saturday night at Sugden Road, 6:00pm GMT (11:00pm PKT).
The chasing pack will be watching closely. Old Georgians are the champions and the most dangerous side in the league on their day: they thumped Exeter University 8-1 last weekend, with Charlie Rowe scoring twice and Sam Ward, Henry Croft, Phillip Roper, Edward Carson, Andrew McConnell and Alan Forsyth all on the scoresheet. Hampstead & Westminster are fifth, and they’re right in the mix after a 7-1 win over Bowdon built on a Karan Sofat hat-trick. Only four points separate fifth from tenth, so the race for the top six is as tight as the title race at the top.
The other confirmed men’s game on Saturday is Holcombe against Cardiff & Met, also at 6:00pm GMT. Holcombe are coming off the wildest game of last weekend, a 6-5 win over Oxted with eleven goals, Timothy Guise-Brown scoring four penalty corners for Oxted and Teague Marcano and Rohan Bhuhi scoring two each for Holcombe. If Saturday is half as open, it’ll be worth staying up for.
The women’s card is just as busy. Surbiton top the table after Round 7, when they beat Nottingham 6-1 with Izzy Petter scoring twice. They travel to Reading on Saturday at 4:00pm GMT (9:00pm PKT), and Reading are in form too after a 3-0 win over Buckingham built on a Madeleine Goodman hat-trick. East Grinstead host Buckingham at 2:00pm GMT (7:00pm PKT), Birmingham University welcome Bowdon at the same time, Teddington face Wimbledon at 2:00pm, and Hampstead & Westminster host Nottingham at 3:30pm GMT (8:30pm PKT). One further women’s fixture was not confirmed at the time of writing.
Two perfect records, one Saturday night, and a title race that finally gets its first real test. Don’t miss it.
