National men’s hockey player Teague Marcano continued his goal-scoring start to the English Hockey League Open Men’s Premier Division Phase Two ‘Top Six’ competition when he netted in Holcombe's 5-3 win over Old Georgians at Epsom College last Saturday.
Marcano, who was on target in his team's 4-3 defeat of Oxted to flick off the second part of the Outdoor season last week, made it 2-0 in the fourth minute from a penalty-corner set play with his 16th goal of the campaign, after Rohan Bhuhi had opened the scoring inside the first minute.
Things got even better for Holcombe in the 16th when Matthew Ramshaw made it 3-0 to the delight of his teammates and coaching staff, led by former T&T international Kwandwane Browne, and his assistant Dillet Gilkes, another ex-T&T player.
However, Old Georgians, who came into the match winners of their past six, mounted a fightback with Alan Forsyth scoring in the 17th minute, while Sam Ward then cut the margin to one goal with their second item in the 27th for a 2-3 half-time score.
Two minutes after the restart, Michael Royden-Turner restored Holcombe's two-goal cushion at 4-2, but Phillip Roper then kept Old Georgians in the contest with their third of the clash in the 44th.
With Old Georgians pushing for an equaliser, Ramshaw then pounced on the counter-attack for Holcombe with his second of the match to push the lead to 4-2 in the 62nd minute after which they held on for the win, their eighth in 13 matches for 25 points and the fourth spot on the table, 17 points adrift of leaders Surbiton who have played a match more.
On Sunday, Marcano was also on target for Holcombe as they fell to a shock 1-4 loss to his previous club Hampstead & Westminster (H&W) to slip to fifth spot, two behind their opponents.
Surbiton had back-to-back wins on the weekend, 4-1 over Hampstead & Westminster and 5-2 over Oxted to make it 14 wins from as many matches, to stay 12 points clear of second-placed Wimbledon, who spanked Oxted 6-1 and drew 1-1 with Old Georgians in their two matches, with the latter staying third with 29 points.
Next up for Holcombe is a meeting with Wimbledon on March 28, followed by their final day encounter versus Surbiton on April 11.
In the first phase of the Outdoor Premier Division League, which ran from September 2025 to November 2025, Holcombe occupied the fifth spot with six wins, one draw and four defeats for 19 points from 11 matches to qualify for the Phase II 'Top Six' series.
Finishing top of the table was unbeaten leaders Surbiton (11-0) with a maximum of 33 points, followed by Wimbledon with 26 points from an 8-2-1 record, Old Georgians (8-1-2) with 25 points and Hampstead & Westminster (7-3-1) with 24 points.
Last month, Marcano and Holcombe missed out on qualification to the EHL Indoor Super 6s Men’s Premier Division Finals at Derby Arena.
Marcano netted seven goals as Holcombe finished with four wins and four defeats for 12 points in the sixth spot, three adrift of Oxted, who secured the fourth and final spot ahead of the semifinals and finals.
Defending champions Old Georgians topped the table with a maximum of 24 points after winning all eight of their matches, while Surbiton was second with a 6-1-1 record and 19 points, one more than Wimbledon (6-0-2).
The other participating clubs were East Grinstead (2-1-5) with seven points, Hampstead & Westminster, and Sevenoaks, both with 1-1-6 records and four points each, with Southgate, bottom of the table with a 1-07 mark and a mere three points.
Current standings
Pos*Teams*P*W*D*L*F*A*Pts
1. Surbiton*14*14*0*0**71*16*42
2. Wimbledon*14*9*3*2*43*24*30
3. Old Georgians*14*9*2*3*59*15*29
4. H&W*14*8*3*3*50*28*27
5. Holcombe*14*8*1*5*52*34*25
6. Oxted*14*3*4*7*34*54*13
