Surbiton ended Old Georgians’ three-year stronghold in English men’s domestic hockey while Reading women won their first trophy since 2013 in the Premier Division Finals on Sunday.
Old Georgians had last lost a league game in September 2023 when Surbiton’s Struan Walker scored the winner. On Sunday, Walker scored a 42nd minute goal which also proved the clincher as Surbiton finally ended OGs’ impressive run to prevail 2-1 at Nottingham Hockey Centre.
In George Pinner’s final league game – he wheeled off his kit bag to a guard of honour – it was Surbiton who opened the scoring via the impressive Jacob Payton before Tom Carson’s delicious lob over James Mazarelo levelled matters.
Watch: Tom Carson nets superb lob leveller
A tight, pacey final was then ultimately won after a fine circle aerial and a rebound goal by Walker, one of the rising forces of British hockey, as Surbiton won their first title for five years.
“We had every belief we were going to get over the line,” admitted Payton afterwards.
Surbiton were aiming for their first men’s and women’s double title triumph since 2020 after both clubs reached the final.
But Reading landed the telling blow in the women’s final courtesy of a wonderful, powerful first-half strike by New Zealander Emma Findlay as the Royals, with a 1-0 victory, won their first Premier Division title for 12 years and returned to Europe.
Watch: Kiwi Findlay’s wonder strike
Findlay controlled an aerial just outside the 23m and unleashed a backhand rocket rising high into the net. Player of the match Lizzie Neal later said they had practiced the outcome at their last training session on Thursday.
Reading keeper Nikki Cochrane had a standout game. There were two late yellows for either side, with Reading’s Anna-Rose Gabitass handed one with under 30 seconds remaining.
It meant a last-ditch PC for last season’s champions but Giselle Ansley couldn’t find the net and Cochrane saved the day.
Neal said: “Our coach Rob [Foxall-Smith] is a bit of a tactical genius. We were full pressing them quite aggressively and wanted to be in their face and be quite relentless, but we had to work together as a team to shift our zone.”
In the third/fourth play-offs, Wimbledon beat Oxted in a men’s shoot-out after a 0-0 normal time draw.
In the women’s match, East Grinstead beat Hampstead & Westminster 3-2.
