A National League Hockey Club, part of Holcombeians Sports Club

Match preview – Team Bath Buccaneers vs. W1s (Division One South, 10th March, 2024)

By Lucas Ball

Holcombe are looking for a second Division One South victory in as many days as Nick Bandurak’s side travel to face Team Bath Buccaneers on Sunday (3pm).

The fixture was originally due to take place last weekend but was postponed due to snow in Bath, making this weekend a double-header weekend for Holcs following Saturday’s 6-2 win at Kent rivals Canterbury, who Holcombe also beat 7-1 in both the reverse fixture and the Super 6s Division One.

The two sides drew 4-4 at Holcombe Park back in November in a back-and-forth encounter, Bath coming close to taking all three points with a chance in the last few minutes.

Following yesterday’s victory, Holcombe remain third with promotion rivals Barnes also victorious over Sevenoaks. Barnes sit four points above Holcombe but this is their game-in-hand, meaning the gap could be reduced to one point ahead of Barnes visiting Holcombe Park next weekend.

The Somerset side, though, have taken just one point from their last four matches and lost to fellow strugglers Wimbledon 2s yesterday, leaving them rooted at the bottom of the table, five points from safety with just three games remaining.

Holcombe have returned to the top of the scoring charts despite playing a game less than eight other teams, now having notched 47 times in 15 matches after scoring six at Polo Farm on Saturday.

The hosts, meanwhile, are the second-lowest scorers with 20 strikes in 15 matches – only Canterbury, 9th, have scored less with 15 goals in 16 matches.

In terms of goals against, Holcombe rank fourth, having conceded 25 in 15 – only bettered by Sevenoaks, fourth, and the top-two.

Only one team have conceded more than Bath’s 35 in 15, with Wimbledon 2s shipping 41 goals in their 16 matches so far ahead of fixtures against Sevenoaks and Holcombe to conclude their campaign.

Updates of Sunday’s match will be provided across Holcombe’s social media channels.

Image: Eva Gilbert