Surbiton hot shot Matt Daly admitted his side was not at its best, despite maintaining a 100 per cent winning start to the new season at Southgate on Saturday.

Beijing and London Olympian Daly, last season’s leading scorer in the MHL Premier Division, struck twice to help secure a 3-1 triumph in north London, where Alan Forsytth made the game safe in the dying moments of the match.

It backed up an opening day triumph by the same score over Reading last week and Kingston Grammar School assistant director of sport Daly reckoned head coach Todd Williams’ men had done it the hard way.

“That was certainly not the free-flowing attacking performance we were aiming for,” said the former Team GB international.

“But we improved our momentum to dig out the victory in the final 10 minutes for a second weekend running.”

Surbiton’s men, fourth in the fledgling table, face the defending champions and league leaders Beeston – who the women also entertain (kick-off noon) – in a Premier Division double header at Sugden Road on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).

Meanwhile, New Zealand international Julia King got her Surbiton career off to the best possible start with a goal in Saturday’s 4-0 triumph at the University of Birmingham.

King, who claimed a league winners medal in New Zealand with Auckland seven days earlier, smashed the ball home in the 24th minute to put Surbiton two goals up after Georgie Twigg had opened the scoring.

Twigg added a third and Jo Hunter, with her first goal for the club since her summer switch, the fourth.