KO8: Surbiton HC (m) – KHC Dragons

Match report

Luke Taylor’s single goal powered Surbiton through to their first ever EHL FINAL4 game and a first for England since Wimbledon in 2017 as they got the best of KHC Dragons.

For Taylor, it was his third goal in two outings from corners as he fired home in the 39th minute before some brilliant goal-line defence got the Londoners the result.

The first half was a really tight battle, dominated by the midfield exchanges with precious few chances at either end. The first fell to Tim Nurse but Loic van Doren got down well to block it.

For Dragons then came when Lucas Martinez’s flick was read perfectly by Ore Ogunlana in the Surbiton goal, keeping it scoreless, while Max Lootens hit the underside of the bar.

The defining moment came toward the end of the third quarter when Alex Williams’ direct run saw him win his side’s first corner which Taylor on the right castle dragged in perfectly.

Williams was an important presence and his skills on the baseline almost nabbed a second, Felix Denayer to the rescue to clear off the goal line. He also stung van Doren’s boot with a shot on the run through.

Dragons came on strong after that but somehow Jamie Golden dove across goal to bat away Simon Gougnard’s flick from close quarters.

The Belgian side thought they had levelled with four minutes to go when Henri Raes cleaned up a penalty corner rebound but the initial shot, on video review, from Felix Denayer was deemed dangerous.

Surbiton held on and grabbed a famous win that puts them through to a FINAL4 fixture.