Whitchurch ladies 1s 2 Neston ladies 3s 1
Whitchurch entertained Neston in this top of the table clash, in what turned out to be one of the most competitive games of the season.
Whitchurch struck first winning an early penalty corner which Katie Plant converted to give Whitchurch the lead. Neston then settled and moved the ball around pressuring the Whitchurch players into making mistakes and giving away the ball. From one of these many attacks Neston were awarded a penalty corner and slotted the ball past debutant keeper Phoebe Jones for the equaliser.
The half-time break gave Whitchurch the opportunity to discuss their tactics and they went out in the second half to turn the tables on Neston playing simple quick passes and giving them no time on the ball.
Whitchurch again got the early break with another penalty corner and Sue Read poached the rebound off the keeper’s pads to give them the lead again. This time Whitchurch showed no signs off letting their lead slip and continued to apply pressure throughout the half but failed to extend their lead despite some excellent chances but enough for another well-earned 3 points.
Whitchurch ladies 2s 0 Macclesfield ladies 4s 3
The frustration for Whitchurch 2s continues, the score line in no way reflecting how well they played and competed for long periods of the game.
Whitchurch started the slower of the two teams and within a couple of minutes let in a soft goal as the defence switched off for a moment. The heads of the Whitchurch team however did not drop and they took the game to Macclesfield through captain Helen Apperley returning from her head injury a number of weeks ago. Whitchurch were awarded a number of penalty corners but couldn’t get the elusive touch.
The second half saw much off the same as Whitchurch continued to attack but couldn’t capitalise on the chances they created. Macclesfield took two chances well in the later stages off the game as the Whitchurch team had run to a stop.
The 1s travel away to Warrington 2s next week for another tough fixture whilst the 2s travel away to Alderley Edge 6s.
Whitchurch Mens Fathoms 8 Ludlow Mens Fathoms 2
In the spirit of the Fathoms league Ludlow couldn’t raise a full team so Whitchurch offered them two of the first team who didn’t have a fixture this week.
The added incentive spurred on the Fathoms team from the off to push for the win. In the opening minutes Ben Kimberley scored the first off his goals to give Whitchurch the lead. Ludlow re-grouped and scored an equaliser but Whitchurch took control up to the interval as Ben Kimberley completed his hattrick and Simon Brinceno dived full length to turn in a cross from Ben Fry.
The start of the second half saw Ludlow bounce back and some quick quality passing from their juniors picked out Ben Lea to slot the ball past the Whitchurch keeper.
Whitchurch again were spurred on and Ben Kimberley scored his fourth goal and Ellis Hickson scored from another cross from Fry. Craig Hockenhull slotted the ball past the Ludlow keeper later in the match after Kimberley turned provider. The final goal came as Ryan Murtagh picked the ball up and drove through the centre of the Ludlow defence and round the stranded Ludlow keeper for the final goal of the match.