Surbiton Put Two Perfect Records on the Line as England’s Matchday 9 Arrives
Eight games, eight wins. Twice over.
That’s where Surbiton stand heading into Saturday. The men have won all eight. The women have won all eight. Nobody else in either Premier Division can say that, and Matchday 9 is the next chance for someone to finally knock one of them over.
The men have the trickier trip. They go to Exeter, who came up this season and have scrapped their way to seven points from eight games. Surbiton have scored 40 goals in those eight games. Nick Bandurak grabbed a hat-trick in last week’s 6-1 win over Wimbledon, and the champions Old Georgians are the only side keeping them honest. Exeter will need the game of their lives. They know it, and so does everyone else.
Wimbledon, though, could end the weekend as the big winners. They’ve got two games, not one. Saturday takes them to Cardiff, who have two points all season. Then on Sunday they host Reading in a rearranged Round 3 game. Win both and Wimbledon jump from 18 points to 24, level with Surbiton at the top. That’s the subplot that makes this weekend worth watching even if Surbiton keep winning.
Old Georgians won’t be waiting around either. The champions go to Oxted having scored 21 goals in their last three games, including the 8-1 win at Exeter and last week’s 7-0 hammering of East Grinstead. Sam Ward is the division’s leading scorer, and Oxted, on seven points, are the next side in the way.
Elsewhere on Saturday, fourth-placed Hampstead & Westminster host Reading. Hampstead haven’t lost in five and moved up to fourth after last week’s 1-0 win at Exeter. Reading sit seventh on 11 points and need something from this one to stay in the top-six hunt.
Bowdon against Holcombe is the 6pm game. Bowdon have one point from eight games. Holcombe have just hit Cardiff for six and climbed into the top six. On paper it’s a mismatch, but Bowdon finally got off the mark last week with that 1-1 draw at Reading, and Holcombe have to go to them. East Grinstead host Beeston in the other game, fifth against eighth.
The women’s game of the day is at Loughborough
Second against third, and it’s the one to clear the diary for. Loughborough have 21 points from eight games and have been the only side keeping Surbiton in sight. Wimbledon have 16 and arrive off last week’s comeback, 2-0 down at Teddington and winning 3-2. If Loughborough win, the gap to third stretches to eight points. If Wimbledon win it, the top three concertinas right up.
Surbiton, meanwhile, host Durham. The leaders have scored 42 and conceded three in eight games. Durham are sixth on 15 points and no pushovers, but nobody has found a way past Surbiton yet, and it’d be a shock if Saturday was the day.
The most interesting game might be the one at the bottom. Buckingham have lost all eight, scored three goals and conceded 40. They host Teddington, who have seven points. If Buckingham are ever going to get off the mark, this is the fixture. Teddington won’t see it that way, but that’s what makes it worth watching.
Hampstead & Westminster host Reading in the women’s league too, a week after Hampstead finally won their first game of the season, 2-1 against Nottingham. Birmingham host East Grinstead in a fifth-against-fourth scrap, and Nottingham, second bottom on four points, host Bowdon.
Matchday 9 fixtures, Saturday 14 November
Men:
- Bowdon v Holcombe (6pm)
- Cardiff & Met v Wimbledon
- East Grinstead v Beeston
- Exeter University v Surbiton
- Hampstead & Westminster v Reading
- Oxted v Old Georgians
- Sunday 15 November: Reading v Wimbledon (rearranged Round 3 game)
Women:
- Birmingham University v East Grinstead
- Buckingham v Teddington
- Hampstead & Westminster v Reading
- Loughborough Students v Wimbledon
- Nottingham University v Bowdon
- Surbiton v Durham University
For our money, Surbiton’s men get to nine from nine, but Wimbledon are the team to watch this weekend. Two wins and the title race has a whole new shape by Sunday night.
