The English qualifiers for European competition next season have been finalised in the past few weeks with Hampstead & Westminster’s women and Old Georgians men set for Euro debuts.
Wimbledon’s men and Surbiton’s women will also be involved following the conclusion of the English national leagues.
Old Georgians and Surbiton were the first of them to qualify as league winners earlier this month with Hampstead & Westminster landing the second women’s place.
They did so with a 3-1 win over East Grinstead on the final day of the campaign. They were among three teams in the mix with Hampstead needing a favour from elsewhere which duly came as Wimbledon drew with Surbiton 1-1, allowing their London rivals to move above them in the table.
It is quite the rise as this was just Hampstead & Westminster’s second full season in the top tier in England since promotion.
On the men’s side, the last remaining issue was confirmed last Saturday when Wimbledon sealed second place with a 3-2 victory over champions Old Georgians.
David Condon, Liam Ansell and Ben Arnold – in his final match for the club – struck for Wimbledon to see them remain ahead of Surbiton in the Top 6, with two goals from Sam Ward not enough for Old Georgians to finish the season with a victory.
Though Wimbledon’s win denied them second place in the table, Surbiton ended their season on a high with a 4-2 win over Hampstead & Westminster.
Strikes from James Gall, Alex Williams, Ben Boon and Luke Taylor saw Surbiton seal victory in their final match of the season, Hampstead & Westminster on the scoresheet through Rhodri Furlong and Sam French.