Whitchurch Mens 1s  1  Leamington Mens 1s  0

Whitchurch bounced back from with a win over Leamington in a close and tightly fought contest. In the end it came down to two crucial moments that allowed Whitchurch to take the points and move up to fourth in the league.

There was very little between the two teams and for large parts of the game both teams cancelled each other out with excellent defending from Alex Fry and Luke Davies and attacking at pace through Joe Nicholson and Michael Lawledge-Evans.

Halfway through the period Leamington were awarded a penalty stroke after a goal mouth scramble and an excellent save from goalkeeper Tom Vaughan kept Whitchurch in the match. This seemed to motivate the Whitchurch team and they managed to apply a sustained period of pressure but couldn’t manage to convert their chances.

The deadlock was broken midway through the second half when Whitchurch were awarded a penalty flick after a penalty corner was stopped on the line by defenders body. Whitchurch however made no mistake as Ben Lea fired the ball into the roof of the net giving Whitchurch the crucial lead they required.

Leamington had opportunities in the dying minutes of the game to take a point but strong and disciplined defending gave Whitchurch a well-deserved three points.

 

Whitchurch Men’s Fathoms  3                     Bloxwich Men’s Fathoms  0  (game abandoned at half time)

The game was meant to be away but was re-arranged late in the week so Whitchurch entertained Bloxwich at home.

Whitchurch raced into an early lead as Jack Barnes and Ellis Hickson scored in quick succession and then within minutes Ian Bones went on a individual run straight through the heart of the Bloxwich defence and neatly finished for the Whitchurch third.

During the half time interval the Bloxwich keeper was taken unwell and an ambulance called to the pitch, in the subsequent delay the game was abandoned. All at Whitchurch hockey club wish him a speedy recovery.

 

Golborne ladies 2s   0 Whitchurch ladies 1s  7

Whitchurch Ladies 1s travelled to Golborne, near Wigan on Saturday for a late fixture against this mid-table team.

The first 20 minutes saw Whitchurch frustrated by many missed opportunities to score. The Golborne goalkeeper made some excellent saves and despite the continuing pressure from the strong Whitchurch attack led by Lisa Sullivan and supported by Catherine Gresty, Chloe Crump, Keeley Hathaway and Vicky Price, Whitchurch only managed to go two goals up with a brace Nina Hodges by half time.

The second half saw the strong Whitchurch side come back with determination to get around the talented Golborne ‘keeper.

Whitchurch defenders Jayne ‘Crow’ Williamson and captain Catherine Reece-Gresty stepped up to support the attack whilst Gayle Ladd, Claire Roberts and Goalie Gwyneth Thomas-Rees held off every single break that Golborne attempted.

Solid team work meant that the Whitchurch girls kept the ball for 90% in the second half.  Resulting in a further five goals, Nina Hodges (2), Keeley Hathaway and Lisa Sullivan with the last being scored on the final whistle from an amazingly accurate short corner shot from Jayne Williamson that pounded through Golborne’s defensive line.

Final score Whitchurch 7 Golborne 0, with Whitchurch keeping its position at the top of the division

 

Wrexham ladies 2s   7                          Whitchurch ladies 2s    1

Whitchurch 2s knew that it would be a difficult game as Wrexham are currently second in the league. Whitchurch fielded a much-changed team due to the unavailability of regular players and as Whitchurch adjusted to the changes Wrexham took full advantage to race into a four goal lead in the first ten minutes of the match.

Whitchurch were not giving up easily and continued to work hard and this resulted in an amazing pass from Monique Higgs to Jess Kimberley who found Phoebe Jones in the opposition Dee defecting the ball into the path of the advancing Ellie Windsor to beat the Wrexham keeper.

The second half saw much the same as the first half Whitchurch continued to work hard but failed to capitalise on their opportunities where Wrexham were clinical in front of goal converting another three chances.