Surbiton 2 Hampstead & Westminster 1

Leaders Surbiton overcame the elements, the absence of three England internationals and the loss of a key player to injury to grind out a narrow win on Sunday and stay two points clear of Reading in the England Hockey League’s elite 10-team National Premier Division ahead of the two-month winter break.

As in the previous weekend’s Saturday evening crucial 1-1 home draw with their Berkshire rivals, this fixture was badly affected by atrocious weather conditions.

The game had to be delayed for 30 minutes to allow the water-based based pitch to recover from the vast additional amounts of the stuff dumped on it by a lunchtime storm.

When it did start, although the visitors forced the first penalty corner as early as the third minute, well gloved out by keeper Chris Bristow, it was Surbiton, attacking the less-sodden bank end, who were in the ascendancy, forcing four penalty corners in five minutes.

But the normally lethal Tim Pinnock found his dragflicks blunted by the slow surface and his first two attempts were saved, though the third hit the left-hand post with the goalie beaten.

A worked move from the fourth proved no more successful.

But then in the 21st minute, with the pitch drying out, Surbiton co-captain Ben Hawes, rested from England’s Champions’ Trophy squad out in Australia, who was in outstanding form throughout, swept up in attack yet again from centre-half and pulled the ball back from the right byeline of the circle for Sam Middleton to open the scoring from close range.

But, within a minute, in a rare counter-attack, a Hampstead hit into the circle was turned in at the far post by captain-for-the-day Will Naylor.

Surbiton had to survive their visitors’ second penalty corner on 30 minutes but, three minutes later, just when they looked as though they would regret a host of missed open-play chances in the half, they put together the best passing move of the match as the ball went from Hawes to Pinnock to Mike Houlihan to the team’s other released England international, Matt Daly, to hit it crisply into the backboards.

The rain that had fallen spasmodically before the interval came down in earnest during it and, five minutes after the game restarted, it had to be halted because the conditions had become too dangerous.

There ensued an anxious 50-minute wait in the pavilion for players and spectators alike, before the pitch was deemed fit for resumption.

Even then, it was almost impossible to move the ball at any speed for any length over it and both teams resorted to aerial passes to make progress.

Surbiton were already playing into the more difficult end and, when centre-back Brett Garrard had to be taken to hospital after being hit in the eye by one of his own player’s sticks while acting as stopper at a penalty corner, their task for the remaining 22 was made even more difficult.

But the ubiquitous Hawes was moved to replace him and held the defence together until the final whistle.

Surbiton did have three more unsuccessful penalty corner attempts on 51, 59 and 67 minutes, but their nerves were tested as Hampstead forced four in four minutes after the 60th.

The first was charged out, Hawes pulled off an amazing high stick save from the second and Bristow made a vital diving stop from a follow-up to the third.

Before the game’s second-half hold-up, news had come through that Reading had just managed to beat bottom team University of Exeter 4-3 at home, having trailed 0-2 at one stage, and that third-placed East Grinstead lost 1-2 at second-bottom Brooklands MU to drop another three points on the leaders.

SURBITON: Bristow (GK); Tibble, Iglesias Bilbao, Garrard, Sheridan; Wallis, Hawes, Houlihan; Middleton, Daly, Esteban Velazquez. Rolling subs (time first on): Middleton (13), Ashcroft (51).

Subs not used: Alexander (GK), Cooper, Stagno.