EHL Premier Division Review | Week Ten

Open/Men's Premier Division

Surbiton stay top of the Open/Men’s Premier Division after a 7-0 win at Southgate to make it 10 wins out of 10 with one game in the first phase of the league remaining.  Nick Bandurak, the Division’s leading scorer has found the net for Surbiton in all ten games and this included a double on Saturday. 

Wimbledon are second but dropped points for the second successive game, in a 2-2 draw with Hampstead & Westminster. Damon Steffens converted a 70^th minute corner for Hampstead to earn a share of the points, the fourth last minute goal in the Division to date this season. The result means Wimbledon now trail Surbiton by seven points and Hampstead extend their unbeaten run to eight games. 

Old Georgians move above Hampstead & Westminster into third thanks to a 5-1 win over Holcombe. This was OG's fourth win on the spin and courtesy of a hat-trick by Henry Croft and a Chris Proctor brace. Despite the defeat, results elsewhere confirmed Holcombe’s top-six place.

Oxted took a big step to a top-six finish thanks to a 4-3 win at bottom of the table Beeston. Chris Porter netted a rebound from a 69^th minute corner to secure the points and heartbreak for the Bees who have still yet to pick up a point but have lost five of their ten games by just one goal. 

Oxted went above East Grinstead into sixth as EG were held 2-2 at Reading. Two Jonty Elmes goals gave EG a 2-0 lead at the break, Elmes has scored in eight out of the last nine games. However Reading bounced back in the second half and Jamie Rawlings also scored twice to level things up and keep their top-six hopes alive.  

Cardiff & Met also have an outside chance of a top-six finish after ending a five-match streak without a win in emphatic style at Brooklands MU. Jack Pritchard scored four as Cardiff ran out 8-3 winners. For BMU it was the second successive match they scored three goals and lost, and they have now seen their defence breached 22 times in the last three games.

Premier Division Top Scorers

Nick Bandurak (Surbiton) 17

Damon Steffens (Hampstead & Westminster) 14

Teague Marcano (Holcombe) 12

Jonty Elmes (East Grinstead) 11

Henry Croft (Old Georgians) 10

Peter Jarvis (Oxted) 9

Premier Division Clean Sheets

James Mazarelo (Old Georgians) 4

Dom Dixon (Holcombe) 3

Calum Douglas (Surbiton) 3

Lekan Ogunlana (Hampstead & Westminster) 2

Women's Premier Division

Surbiton stay top of the Women’s Premier Division and remain a point clear of Hampstead & Westminster after wins for both teams in Saturday’s penultimate round of fixtures in Phase One.

Surbiton beat the University of Birmingham 6-0, after Isabelle Yonge scored twice and there were four other players on the scoresheet. Sabbie Heesh kept a clean sheet in her first match since March 2024 as Surbiton’s run of not conceding a first half goal extends to ten games. It was the first time Birmingham have failed to score this campaign and the result diminishes their chance of securing a top six finish. 

Hampstead and Westminster's result was a much closer affair with Philippa Lewis’s 29^th minute goal giving them a 1-0 win over Wimbledon, with both teams confirmed in the top-six for the next phase of the season.

East Grinstead were quick out of the blocks at Reading with goals from Alexandra Malzer and Beth Alexander inside 18 minutes. They held on for a 2-1 win after Emma McKenzie Findlay pulled one back early in the second half. This was the reigning champions third loss of the season but they are guaranteed a top-six place whilst EG bounced back from last week’s defeat to Wimbledon to secure their sixth win in the last seven games.

Durham University took a big step to a top-six finish with a 5-0 win at Loughborough Students. Lizzy Pocknell’s early strike and ninth goal of the season set Durham on their way and they also kept a first clean sheet of the season. Durham lead Birmingham and Loughborough by three points with a vastly superior goal difference. 

Bowdon’s outside chance of a top-six finish was ended by the Durham win but they will be pleased with three points from their game at Barnes. Bowdon trailed twice but Margot Willis' second, with four minutes left, secured a 3-2 win. 

The result saw Barnes slip to the foot of the table as Clifton Robinsons went above them and the University of Nottingham after a 3-1 defeat of Nottingham. The travelling side led 1-0 at the break but three unanswered goals from Victoria McCabe, Evie Grindal and Eloise Moat gave Clifton their first win of the season and extended their unbeaten run to three games.

Premier Division Top Scorers

Darcy Bourne (Surbiton) 12

Biba Mills (East Grinstead) 10

Lizzy Pocknell (Durham University) 9

Coca Hall (University of Birmingham) 8

Erica Sanders (Surbiton) 8

Amy Costello (Surbiton) 6

Premier Division Clean Sheets

Jessica Buchanan (Wimbledon) 6

Miriam Pritchard (Hampstead & Westminster) 5

Ayeisha McFerran (Surbiton) 3

Mila Welch (East Grinstead) 3