Men's 1s 2 - 1 Old Georgians 1s (A)
By Mark Haycroft
Surbiton Men’s 1s travelled to leafy Weybridge, a short journey within Elmbridge council, to play Old Georgians in a rematch of the League Final, held at the impressive St. George’s school. A mouthwatering encounter beckoned, with some fans making the journey all the way from Ipswich to watch a feast of hockey prowess. Both teams boasting sensational players with current and former GB players galore, but both teams also with their fair share of injuries, Surbiton recently losing Time Nurse and Old Georgians without Sam Ward and Liam Sanford.
The late afternoon push back trying to fight off the rain with the temperature dropping considerably compared to the last few weeks could do nothing to cool the possibility of a red hot fixture. Everything to play for between the reigning champions of Surbiton and the previous winners OGs, especially as Georgians had lost last week to Hampstead and Westminster at home and drawing to Wimbledon before their EHL campaign - a successful trip which saw them beat Bloemendaal on shuffles to join Surbiton in the KO8 in April.
The game started as expected with both teams vying for possession and looking to create their chances. Surbiton, having the clearer chances early on, broke the deadlock after seven minutes through a Nick Bandurak field goal. Strong play down the right hand side saw the cut back pass across the goal with Bandurak tipping in in front of the defender and former Surbiton goalkeeper James Mazarelo. The OGs defence protested but to no avail and Surbiton took their lead all the way until nearly half time when former Surbiton striker Alan Forsyth scored a penalty stroke.
Will Calnan had a golden opportunity from a PC to tip the Seals even further ahead until OGs had built some pressure, forcing a couple of good saves from open play and PCs by Calum Douglas and the Surbiton defence, including Conor Williamson and Gareth Furlong. Surbiton did have more of the chances in a fairly matched first half seeing captain David Goodfield and Adam Buckle receiving green cards on 14 and 30 minutes respectively, but OGs could not make their numerical advantage count for any clear cut chances. Henry Croft did have a PC in the back of the net, but his straight strike was high above the backboard and therefore an illegal attempt on Surbiton’s goal. A fairly evenly matched game was locked in a stalemate at 1-1 at half time.
The second half proved to be Surbiton’s as they created numerous chances including several PCs, two of which were saved off the line brilliantly by OGs captain James Albery, and numerous other open play chances which went begging. Old Georgians always pose a dangerous threat in attack and on the counter attack, however, the resolute defence from Surbiton and impressive midfield play saw the Seals thwart every attack from the Old Georgians and Surbiton were finally rewarded with a winning goal after some more impressive play down the right hand side from Adam Buckle, accelerating past Dan Shingles and making up for his earlier green card, a flowing counter attack move, which saw Nick Bandurak again slotting the ball home and taking all three points for Surbiton with only seconds to spare before the final whistle.
A strong performance from Surbiton, including Jake Payton, James Gall and Tommy Austin who all showed exquisite touches and moments throughout the game, could have seen them score more had they been more clinical, but a vital three points away to Old Georgians. OGs will be grateful that they will no doubt make it through to the top 6 and that is all that matters at this stage. They will surely regroup and be a threat and in contention towards the end of the season. Surbiton continue to impress and march on undefeated with maximum points. #Seals