Following two defeats away from home against the top two, Holcombe will want to kick start their Phase Two campaign with two home clashes against Hampstead & Westminster (Saturday, 18:00) and Wimbledon (Sunday, 15:00) this weekend.

In the Phase One fixture against Hampstead & Westminster, Holcombe took all three points with a narrow 3-2 victory at the Paddington Recreation Ground.

The goals on that day were scored by captain Rob Field, Teague Marcano and Tim Neild.

In the recent head-to-head between these rivals, Holcombe have dominated with six wins from the last seven meetings, scoring 17 goals compared to seven for the visitors.

Hampstead & Westminster have also lost their first two Phase Two games.

In the first, they suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to Wimbledon and last time out, they suffered a 4-2 home defeat to league leaders Old Georgians with former Holc Sam Ward netting four times for the visitors.

A positive weekend for Holcombe could see them move back up the table with a lot of points on the line across this double-header weekend.

Elsewhere in the Top Six, Surbiton begin with an away fixture against Wimbledon at Raynes Park High School.

Surbiton have been in great goal-scoring form netting nine times in Phase Two with Stuart Rushmere and Straun Walker netting three times each.

The head-to-head shows that the Sugden Road team have more wins of late, but this fixture has thrown up three draws including the most recent showdown when a 69th-minute equaliser by Wimbledon’s Connor Greentree gave the hosts a share of the points.

Runaway leaders Old Georgians would secure a Euro Hockey League spot for next season by beating sixth-placed Oxted.

Goal machine Sam Ward will be keen to add to his tally of five goals in two fixtures and extend his lead at the top of the scoring charts.

Oxted will want to build on the positives from their first Phase Two match against Surbiton, where the Surrey-based team netted three times.

They will also be keen to take their first points and move closer to fifth place Hampstead and Westminster.

In the Lower Six, seventh-placed Beeston will look to make it three wins from three and a maximum nine-point return when they travel to Southgate Hockey Centre.

This fixture ended 2-2 in Phase One.

Great Britain and England international Henry Croft will be looking to add to his tally of four goals in two games in Phase Two.

Southgate will be keen to get their first win to move further away from the bottom two following a 3-3 draw against Sussex-based East Grinstead and a 1-1 draw against Richmond last week.

Richmond face Welsh team of Cardiff & Met at Quinton Hogg Memorial Ground on Saturday.

For the visitors, this will be their fourth Phase Two match, with their record showing a win and two losses.

The Welsh side’s win came against Manchester-based Bowdon.

In the Phase One fixture held at the Welsh Institute of Sport, the hosts produced a comprehensive display winning 7-0 with both Owain Dolan Gray and Scott Rawlings netting a brace.

Richmond will be keen to avenge that loss and earn themselves their first win of Phase two following a draw and a loss in their two outings so far.

East Grinstead host Bowdon looking to build on their unbeaten start to Phase Two, where they have picked up four points.

A win could see East Grinstead jump up two places if results were to go in their favour.

Holcombe welcome Wimbledon to Holcombe Park on Sunday (15:00) and will be hoping for a repeat of the 5-3 win on the opening day.

This contest shared the goals out between five different incredible Holcs players and included a remarkable strike from ex-Pakistan captain Ali Shan on debut.

Wimbledon head coach Karl Stagno will be hoping to get that exact same start that he got in September where his charges took a two-goal lead in the first quarter, but he will want this form to continue throughout the 70 minutes.

Wimbledon have gained six points from two Phase Two matches and are in fine goal-scoring form going into this weekend’s fixtures having scored four against Hampstead & Westminster and three against Oxted.

A win for the Wombles could apply real pressure to Surbiton, who they face the previous day and who then face the daunting task of matching up against Old Georgians, who are top with 13 wins from 13 matches.

Surbiton face the league leaders at Sugden Road with pushback at 16:00.

Both teams are in excellent form going into this weekend and both would expect to have picked up maximum points on Saturday.

The form guide shows that the Weybridge side have the upper hand with five wins out of the last six, Surbiton’s only victory coming in September 2023.

In the fixture earlier in the season, it was the Carson brothers that showed their worth scoring three of the four goals for Ashley Jackson’s side.

In the final Top Six match, Hampstead & Westminster host Oxted at the Paddington Recreation Ground.

This result could be vital as we move into the final week of Phase Two.

The home side have the advantage of being unbeaten in the previous two seasons in this fixture.

Last time they met, Hampstead came away with a 5-0 victory with Josh Kelly scoring a brace in the game.

In the Lower Six matches, Beeston host East Grinstead.

East Grinstead will look to do one better than the last time they met in an eight-goal thriller where it took a last-minute equaliser from Croft to break the hearts of the Sussex sides.

In the other fixture, the bottom two Richmond and Bowdon meet with the London team making the long journey to Manchester.

Richmond will be the more confident side having won their Phase One meeting 3-1 at Quinton Hogg Memorial Ground back in October.

Southgate and Cardiff & Met sit out on Sunday having already played four Phase Two games but they will both be keeping an eye on the results going into the final week.

Entry is free at Holcombe Park for all first-team matches this weekend while updates will be provided across our social media channels.

Image courtesy of Eva Gilbert