By Lucas Ball
Holcombe restart their Division One South campaign with a clash against Southgate on Sunday afternoon (1pm) at East Grinstead Hockey Club.
Saturday’s match against league leaders Surbiton 2s will be re-scheduled for a later date, with an update to be provided in due course.
Nick Bandurak’s side ran out 2-1 winners at the Southgate Hockey Centre on the opening day of their season, courtesy of goals from Emma Bandurak and Phoebe Steele.
New signing Bethan Hodges could make her outdoor Holcombe debut against her former club having played in the last two Super 6s campaigns as Holcombe look for back-to-back Division One South wins, their final game before the Christmas break a 5-1 win away to relegation-threatened Wimbledon 2s.
Former Holcs Lorna Cruickshank and Charlotte Childs could also be in action for Andy Richardson’s side.
Holcombe are also boosted by gaining promotion in their Super 6s Division One campaign, hoping to bring that momentum to their outdoor season as Nick Bandurak’s side look for an immediate return to the Premier Division. A win would put Holcs second following Barnes’ loss to Team Bath Buccaneers on Saturday.
Holcombe sit third heading into the match, with Southgate currently seventh, having moved out of the relegation zone with a 4-0 win over Canterbury last weekend. Andy Richardson’s side made it back-to-back wins by beating Slough on Saturday, they remain seventh but any points today would move them up the table.
Nick Bandurak’s side have scored almost double the amount of goals compared to Southgate, with 33 compared to just 17, though the London side have conceded just one more than Holcombe, with 17 compared to Holcombe’s 16, Southgate therefore boasting a better defensive record than second-placed Barnes, who have conceded 19 in their 11 matches.
A win for Holcombe would earmark their promotion credentials once more with just seven games left to play after Sunday’s clash as they aim for an immediate return to the Premier Division.
East Grinstead are live streaming the match on their channels – thank you to them for hosting the fixture.
Image: Matt Woodhead