Southgate walked away from the double header weekend with 4 crucial points that sees them push up the Premier Division table having beaten Beeston by the tightest of margins in an electric match on Sunday afternoon.
Southgate v Beeston – EH Men’s Premier Division at Southgate Hockey Centre, Trent Park, London, UK on 26 October 2025.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images
Huw Stevens and his players endured two back to back games, a concussion and a stomach bug to walk away with a points haul that sets them now above the drop zone.
East Grinstead is a tough away fixture, made tougher when the pressure is on. John Sterlini and his team worked hard from the get-go, Erdal Demir in the Gate goal in action in a scrappy, competitive encounter with EG finding plenty of opportunity to challenge the Southgate D. Yet the visitors found their own moments including a fine drag flick from James Hickson that was only stopped by a very fine save from EG’s Oliver Smart sending the ball like a missile into the car park and high over the back netting to prevent Southgate taking the lead.
The game was 0-0 at HT and it was Fergus Jackson who finished a superb deflection to finally beat Demir that gave the home side the lead in the 42nd minute. Southgate endured a barrage of shots from the boys in blue but slowly managed to stave off the threat and work themselves back into the game and in the 64th minute on his second attempt Hickson outsmarted Smart to equalise the contest leaving the game tied 1-1 at the final whistle.
Beeston arrived the following day north of the river in Trent Park reeling from a tough 0-1 loss against Reading and sitting in 0 points at the bottom of the table came into the fixture knowing as did Southgate that it was a 6 pointer in the truest sense of the word- with the season of both clubs arguably in the balance.
Predictably the game began in cagey manner with chances scrappy and hard to come by. Beeston left at half time the happier of the sides with a succession of corners, Southgate unlucky with James Hickson hitting the cross bar in the 31st minute. Yet some words from coach Stevens at half time seemed to galvanise the Southgate players who spurred on by an excitable crowd worked themselves into pole position with James Hickson that man again beating Hujwan in the Bees goal in the 50th minute before Charles Hamilton and Dan West collaborated in thrilling fashion to set James Clifton up for a wonderful deflected finish on the left post to give Southgate a commanding 2-0 advantage with 13 minutes to play.
Southgate v Beeston – EH Men’s Premier Division at Southgate Hockey Centre, Trent Park, London, UK on 26 October 2025.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images
Predictably there was a third act with Beeston galvanised and fighting as if their lives depended on it, eventually earning a stroke which despite Demir’s very best efforts saw Bees skipper Gareth Griffiths find a way to convert the stroke to get the game back in the balance. Beeston continued to press as Gate supporters held their breaths as Demir, Gandhi, Gill, Walker and Sterlini pulled the kitchen sink at some deep dive defence. Beeston won a final corner in the last minute of the game which was sent just wide of Demir’s left post and just thirty seconds later the umpires whistle sounded for a breathless end to a pulsating, charged and emotional game.
Southgate move onto 5 points for the season and look now to Saturday for a second succesive home game against 2nd placed Wimbledon- can the Gators pull off a shock result and charge further up this premier division of English Hockey. Don’t miss it-
Next game
Saturday 1st November 18:00pm
Southgate vs Wimbledon
