Lymm Mens 4s 1 Whitchurch Mens 2s 3

Whitchurch 2s travelled to bottom of the table Lymm 4s with a full squad of thirteen, including debutants Matt Brookes and Sam Eaton.

Sam made an immediate impact in Whitchurch’s first attack of the game. Ellis Hickson drove forward through midfield and fed the ball into the Lymm D where Sam was able to divert the ball past a flat footed Lymm goalkeeper.

Buoyed by their early success, Whitchurch pressed forward in search of more goals, and within 10 minutes good Whitchurch pressure led to Sam cutting the ball back for Simon Valiente-Briceno to fire into the bottom corner and double Whitchurch’s lead.

With a 2 goal lead Whitchurch’s attacking became more reckless as the first half went on, allowing Lymm’s more experienced players to take control of the midfield areas. Lymm were able to quickly turn defence into attack and outnumber the Whitchurch defenders, however the defence of Iain Bones, Mark Sugden, Richard Leigh and Matt Brookes were able to repel the Lymm attacks with relative ease.

At the other end of the pitch good wing play from Ellis and Aaron Shackleton, along with the skills and running of Sam and Simon created a number of chances that Whitchurch were unable to convert. Both Phil Tranter and Aaron Swain were unlucky not to take chances at the far post.

Eventually the Lymm possession and numbers afforded them a clear shot at goal.

Goalkeeper Neil Jones made an excellent save but a Lymm attacker was on hand to fire home the loose ball from close range. Undeterred, Whitchurch immediately swept forward and forced a short corner from which Iain Bones fired in to restore Whitchurch’s two goal advantage.

Despite their 3-1 lead at half time, Whitchurch needed to regain some control in midfield during the second half. The combinations of Doug Buckeridge, Jake Wood and Aaron Shackleton worked hard to nullify Lymm’s better players in the centre of the pitch whilst still support the Whitchurch attacks.

The Whitchurch midfield and defence restricted Lymm to a handful of half chances in the second half, but the more diligent defending also limited the number of clear-cut Whitchurch chances. Simon, Sam and Doug all had shots saved by the Lymm keeper, Aaron dribbled towards the Lymm goal but was unable to get his shot on target and right at the end of the game Jake Wood showed good close control in the D but had his shot blocked by good Lymm defending.

In the end Whitchurch 2s were good value for their 3-1 win. Without their experienced players in midfield the team struggled to maintain control of the middle of the pitch, but as the game wore on those players playing out of position grew into the game. Both Sam Eaton and Matt Brookes are welcome additions to the 2’s squad and both had excellent games.

Once again the defence were solid and the attacking threat was always evident.

The win leaves Whitchurch 2s in 7th place in the league, just ahead of Chester 6s who visit Whitchurch next weekend.

 

Whitchurch ladies 1s 8 Lymm ladies 5s 1

Whitchurch took on Lymm 5’s at home this week.  It really was a game of two half’s, with Whitchurch beginning strong and having much of the possession, which resulted in a goal for Katie Fowles from a short corner in the first few minutes.

Whitchurch seemed to lose a bit of pace for the rest of the half and although they had lots of opportunities to increase the lead with strong passes from Jane Williamson they could not convert their chances. Hebe Dixon and goalkeeper Phoebe Jones helped to keep Lymm at bay, but shortly before the end of the half, Lymm took advantage and scored on a break leaving it equal at half time.

After a half time talk about strategy for the second half Whitchurch came out strong from the off, passing more accurately and this soon paid off when Emma Harper played a strong cross into the box and Sue Read got the deflection. This gave an increase in confidence and Whitchurch continued to pile on the pressure, with Katie Fowles scoring her second from a short corner.

Captain Catherine Gresty then scored from a great move she started with a run into the box and after a pass back to her scored the fourth. This was followed by two goals in quick succession from Nicola Workman.  With strong work by Helen Machin, Emily Hilton and Ellie Windsor in midfield, Whitchurch were able to increase their lead with Lisa Sullivan dribbling into the box and scoring. Laura Workman finished the scoring with a final goal.

Whitchurch entertain Deeside 3s next week at home in a re-arranged fixture.

 

Golborne ladies 2s 1 Whitchurch ladies 2s 1

This week Whitchurch travelled away to play Golborne 2s. Whitchurch started the stronger of the teams when Emily Vernon drove down the left wing and had an attempted shot on goal. Just before half time Golborne had a cheeky shot past the keeper Shola Bailey on a short corner.

Whitchurch were going into the second half 1-0 down; however with a pep-talk from captain Julia Neale their spirits were kept high. Ten minutes into the second half Whitchurch were awarded a short corner followed by two more shorts.

Good tackling by Mel Reid and Charlotte Ridgway got the ball back into Golborne’s dee and Whitchurch were awarded another short corner. However, an early break from Golborne defence left them with 4 defenders on the line and another short for Whitchurch an injection from Hayleigh Busby to Jess Kimberley saw the finish into the bottom left corner of the Golborne  goal. Masie Owen, from the re-start won back the ball and drove down the right hand side. Some more tackles from Sami Ives and Wendy Cooper meant they could get the ball to Helen Hocknell and Charlotte Lawder who both had shots on goal but we’re unfortunate not to succeed.

Becky Brookfield deserved and was awarded player of the match.

Whitchurch 2s will travel away to play a rearranged game against Macclesfield 4s at 12:00 push back.