Southagte 0
Old Georgians 9
27th September, Premier Division Fixture at Southgate Hockey Centre
It was always going to be a tough ask. Huw Stevens’ side have yet to play a league game in this new season due to the abandonment of their first fixture at Brooklands. To start at home against arguably the strongest side to play domestic hockey in recent decades -with a team still finding its feet, meant that realistically even the most optimistic Southgate supporter knew there was likely only to be one result.
And so it proved. The buzzing and often awed balcony were witness to a display of awesome firepower from the visitors. The stats don’t lie. Across the 70 minutes OG’s managed 23 shots, 14 were on target and 7 went in from open play alone. They showed a 45% efficiency in the Southgate circle and converted 40% of their penalty corner opportunities.
The first goal by new signing Henry Croft fell after less than two minutes and caught almost everyone- even Erdal Demir in the Southgate goal by surprise. The ball was turned over from a Southgate 16 at the half way line by England’s James Albery who put a diagonal slap pass to the top of the circle picked up like a magnet on iron by Henry Croft who hugged the top of the D and fired the ball still on the line past the kicker of Demir- before the crowd had even seen the ball. Clinical, ruthless and completely unforgiving. It set the tone somewhat.
Goals followed from England’s Phil Roper and Chris Proctor in the 9th and 14th minutes before Tom Carson and England’s Sam Ward added to the scoreline before half time meaning the Southgate side were left staring at a 5-0 deficit with 35 minutes left to play.
Yet in the face of the onslaught and skill of the opponent, there was also no denying that Huw Stevens’ Southgate side stuck to their task with admirable spirit and guts. With captain John Sterlini away for the weekend and key player Mo Gandhi on the sidelines nursing a hamstring injury it fell to stand in captain Xavier Guy to marshal the players- half of whom were playing their fist league game for the club. And perhaps against the odds stacked against them, Guy led his players to really come back into the game.
Southgate v Old Georgians – EH Men’s Premier Division at Southgate Hockey Centre, Trent Park, London, UK on 27 September 2025.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images
They achieved double the number of circle penetrations in Q3 than they did across Q1 & Q2 combined. They tackled more than the opposition intercepted more ball, and nearly scored when Charles Hamilton shot hard off his back foot into the bottom corner which somehow England’s James Mazarelo ( another new signing for OG’s ) managed to keep out. It was his only touch of the game- to stay sharp enough to make a save of that quality in the 65th minute says something of the standards this Old Georgians side set themselves.
Southgate v Old Georgians – EH Men’s Premier Division at Southgate Hockey Centre, Trent Park, London, UK on 27 September 2025.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images
Of course the visitors still managed 4 more goals, Sam Ward completing his second successive hat-trick by the 61st minutes, and former GB player Alan Forsyth also got himself on the scoresheet at the end of Q3.
Yet as the Southgate players headed up to the bar, there was little sense of the scoreline hanging over their heads. Put simply they got better as the game went on, they were up against a team of international professional athletes who are so good that they can use the domestic league season as a warm up for their ambitions in Europe. Southgate had played well through much of the second half- challenged, fought and worked like lions.
The Southgate supporters could only doff their caps to that professionalism shown on the pitch and off by Ashley Jackson and his players- who head off for a mid week game against Reading on Thursday night before facing Wimbledon at home on Saturday night.
John Sterlini and his team meanwhile face an epic weekend of away fixtures with a trip to Oxted on Saturday followed by the long journey (another) to Brooklands for the re-match on Sunday at 2pm. 6 points are in the offing. The memory of the OG’s game could be but ashes on the horizon come 4pm on Sunday afternoon.
