Hampstead men’s unbeaten run comes to an end at Holcombe

Hampstead & Westminster men saw their unbeaten start to the new season end after a 3-2 defeat to Holcombe.

After an emphatic victory over East Grinstead last week, Hampstead travelled to Holcombe looking to build on their recent form.

The past two games at Holcombe Park saw Hampstead dominate with big wins, but with four Great Britain representatives away on international duty, and top scorer Matt Guise-Brown out of the game, they knew it was going to be a closer encounter.

Holcombe took the lead in the first quarter through a Nick Bandurak strike.

There were few chances for either side in the first half and it remained 1-0 at the break.

Hampstead piled on the pressure, creating many chances, but Bandurak doubled his tally in the third quarter with a scrappy goal.

After winning several corners and creating lots in the D, Hampstead pulled one back through new signing Joe Sharp with a strike that caught the Holcombe keeper off guard.

But Holcombe hit back almost immediately with a neat deflection from Tom O’Keefe and it was 3-1 going into the last quarter, before Sam French converted a penalty corner to make things interesting.

French and Hampstead thought they had an equaliser through another corner, only for the umpire to rule it out and the game finished 3-2 to Holcombe, ending Hampstead’s unbeaten start to the season and costing them the chance to go top of the league after Surbiton slipped up at Oxted.

With Great Britain back in Pro League action they have a week off as the Premier League takes a break.

Hampstead’s Harry Martin is in line to win his 100th Great Britain cap while Will Calnan and the deadly Welsh duo Jacob Draper and Rupert Shipperley will also be in action for GB in both Netherlands and Belgium in the upcoming games.