By Lucas Ball
Holcombe are looking to return to winning ways in the Premier Division as they head to winless University of Nottingham on Saturday evening.
Barry Middleton’s side will face the university outfit at the Nottingham Hockey Centre after a mixed double-header weekend, when they won 7-1 at East Grinstead but were beaten 3-0 at home by Wimbledon, the Londoners’ first win in Medway for three years.
Holcombe sit third in the table following those results, behind reigning champions Old Georgians and Surbiton, with both of those sides winning big on both Saturday and Sunday.
Old Georgians beat Beeston 12-4 on Saturday before thrashing Cardiff & Met 9-1 on Sunday, while Surbiton beat Oxted 6-0 before their own romping of Beeston, winning 9-1 against the Nottingham side.
Middleton’s side sit above Hampstead & Westminster on goal difference, having scored the same number of goals but conceding two less, maintaining the joint-second-best defensive record in the league.
The University of Nottingham, meanwhile, have lost all seven matches so far this season including most recently losing both double-header matches to the two newly-promoted sides.
Cardiff & Met ran out 4-3 winners at the Nottingham Hockey Centre on Saturday, while Kwan Browne’s Southgate romped to a 5-1 win on Sunday.
Having ended last season strongly, the University lost a number of players over the summer after winning all three of their Phase Three matches to ensure safety, but are without a win since a 5-2 victory over Brooklands Manchester University in March.
The two sides met just once last season, in Phase One, as Holcombe won 6-3 at Holcombe Park – the goals coming from Nick Bandurak (4), Jake Owen and Hayden Phillips.
Saturday’s match will be live streamed on this link, while updates will also be provided on our social media.
Image: Martin Waight