England Premier Division: Two Perfect Records Go Into Matchday 8
Seven games, seven wins. That’s Surbiton’s record going into Matchday 8 of the England Hockey League Premier Division on Saturday. And they aren’t alone. Wimbledon have won all six of theirs, with a game in hand after their EHL weekend, which means the two best teams in the country haven’t dropped a point between them yet.
The champions, Old Georgians, found that out the hard way on the opening day, losing 3-2 to Surbiton. Since then the gap has only grown. Surbiton and Wimbledon are setting the pace, and everyone else is playing for the places behind them. Or at least that’s how it looks after seven rounds.
Behind the top two, it’s genuinely tight. Only four points separate fifth-placed Hampstead & Westminster from tenth-placed Oxted. That’s six teams in a four-point band, all fighting for the top-six cut ahead of Phase Two. One bad Saturday can drop a side three places. One good one can lift them into the mix.
On the women’s side, Surbiton lead the way after seven matches too, with East Grinstead pushing hard to lock down a top-six place before Phase Two. The women’s league has the same shape as the men’s: a clear leader, then a scramble.
Two fixtures are confirmed for Saturday: Surbiton host Wimbledon at Sugden Road at 6 p.m. GMT, and Holcombe’s men host Cardiff & Met at the same time. The rest of the Matchday 8 card wasn’t published in written form before this piece went out, so check the Live Centre on Saturday for the full results as they come in. The headline, though, is already written. Two teams, thirteen games between them, zero defeats. Somebody has to blink eventually. Matchday 8 might be the weekend it happens.
