Surbiton men’s first XI played two useful practice games over the weekend ahead of this Sunday’s crucial National Championship semi-final away to East Grinstead.

Early on Saturday afternoon, the local third-placed National Premier Division side beat promotion play-off hopefuls, National Conference East champions Canterbury, by 5-2 at Sugden Road.

The hosts did suffer a slight blip after going 4-0 up on 50 minutes, a quarter of an hour into the second half, conceding two open-play goals in the next 60 seconds.

But a penalty corner conversion from Matt Daly seven minutes later put an end to the Canterbury revival and Surbiton were able to play out the rest of the game despite being reduced through yellow cards, first to ten men two minutes later for three minutes, then nine men for next four, before being back to ten men for the last four minutes.

Captain Tim Pinnock had opened Surbiton’s account from a 16th-minute penalty corner and Ben Hawes doubled the interval score from open play three minutes before half time.

Rob Moore scored from open play two minutes into the second half and Sam Middleton made it 4-0 on 50 minutes, also from open play.

Then on Sunday, with Sugden Road the venue for the annual Tony Smith Memorial Junior Tournament, Surbiton moved to Richmond Hockey Club’s ground at Chiswick for a 4.30pm start against Loughborough Students, who, having finished fifth in the elite ten-team Premier Division qualified to play fourth-placed Beeston this Saturday in the National Championship preliminary play-off.

The winners of that game travel to first-placed Reading for one semi-final the next day, with Surbiton away to third-placed East Grinstead in the other.

In the event Surbiton notched a comfortable 5-0 victory with penalty-corner goals from a Pinnock (19 minutes) and Daly (25 mins) and an open-play effort from Moore (28 mins) in the first half and a penalty corner goal from Hawes (39 mins) and open-play effort from Pinnock (67 mins) in the second.

Sunday’s clash with East Grinstead is vital for the Long-Ditton based Surbiton club since the winners of the two National semis are each guaranteed one of the three EuroLeague spots for next season and a place in the Championship Final the following Bank Holiday Monday (2 May).

If Reading (already guaranteed a Euro spot) win their semi, then the two semi-final losers play for the remaining Euro spot on Bank Holiday Sunday, both games taking place at Cannock Hockey Club.

Unfortunately, a coincidence of timing with their first X1’s semi-final means that both Surbiton’s second XI (who finished runners-up in the regional Higgins Group London League Premier Division and went straight through to their division’s Cup Final since third-placed East Grinstead pulled out of the two teams’ semi-final which was scheduled to take place at Sugden Road on Saturday morning) and third XI (who finished second in Division One and beat fifth-placed Hampstead & Westminster 3rd XI 5-4 at Sugden Road in their semi which was played on Saturday morning – have had to pull out of their respective Finals against Hampstead & Westminster 2nd XI (4pm) and Wimbledon 2nd XI (3.30pm) on the London League’s Finals’ Day being held at Southgate HC also this Sunday.