Men's 1s 2 - 4 Wimbledon 1s (Finals Weekend: SF)

Surbiton M1 suffered an agonising 4-2 semi final defeat against Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon, bringing an end to their 100% domestic win record for the season at the most devastating of moments.

A large crowd were on the sidelines at Sugden Road for the 3:30pm pushback, and it took only a few seconds for the game to fire into life, with a penalty stroke awarded within the first minute, which Nick Bandurak converted into the bottom corner to give Surbiton a very early lead.

The advantage was cancelled out in the ninth minute, with Euan Gilmour scoring a field goal for Wimbledon and two Sam Hooper penalty corner strikes in the second quarter put the Seals in an unfamiliar position, going into half time 3-1 down and with work to do despite creating chances in the first half.

Duncan Scott scored a contentious field goal in the 36th minute to take Wimbledon’s lead to 4-1, leaving Surbiton with an uphill struggle to get back into the game against an increasingly packed defensive set up. Nick Bandurak dispatched a penalty corner rebound high into the net three minutes before the final whistle, but it was too little too late for the Seals, who left the pitch distraught with the result after such an incredible season up to this point.

While a place at Easter’s EHL Tournament in 2027 has already been secured by virtue of the their top of the table league finish, hopes were high for the M1 making it back-to-back titles, and it will be a bitter pill to swallow after some of the outstanding and exciting hockey played throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Sunday’s third/fourth playoff sees Surbiton take on Hampstead & Westminster, who lost 3-1 to Old Georgians in the other semi final. The match starts at 13:15 - advance tickets can be purchased here, as well as a limited number of walk in tickets being available on the gate.