Oxton ladies 4s 2  Whitchurch ladies 2s  5

Whitchurch started off the stronger of the two teams passing the ball left and right between Millie Edwards, Tracy Tolhurst, Hayleigh Busby and Ashleigh Heath. Busby spotted Tolhurst on the goal line and passed it through to give Whitchurch the lead.

Whitchurch had lost concentration and Oxton ran down the left and passed to an unmarked play who equalised the score. Whitchurch then found their feet and applied the pressure and with a strong run from Edwards picking out Amy Fry and then back to Edwards who slapped the ball home.

Whitchurch had found their pace and started to play their game as they kept on pressuring the Oxton dee. Emily Vernon and Mel Reid passed the ball down the left hand side and picked out Tolhurst for Whitchurch’s third before the break.

In the second half Oxton fought back and despite some tremendous saves from keeper Shola Bailey Oxton scored their second. Whitchurch again took the game to Oxton and were rewarded a short corner which Busby deflected home.  Tolhurst then completed her hattrick after a quick interchange of passing between Olivia Edgerton and Beth Sykes found her unmarked in the dee.

Whitchurch will be playing their rearranged match against Neston 5s next Saturday. Tracy Tolhurst was awarded player of the match.

 

Whitchurch Mens 1s 4 Northop Hall Mens 2s 0

Whitchurch took the game to Northop from the whistle and within minutes took the lead as Steve Lloyd fired past the Northop keeper. Within minutes Whitchurch were awarded a penalty corner and from the rebound Joel Leese flicked the ball into the roof of the Northop goal.

Whitchurch continued to pressure the Northop defence and a quick break down the left saw Jack Barnes pick out Tom Leonard at the top of the dee who then fired an unstoppable shot high into the Northop goal.

The second half saw Whitchurch continuing to create lots of opportunities but failing to convert until Tom Leonard picked up the ball and fired home his second of the game to give Whitchurch another three points.

 

Whitchurch ladies 1s 9 Northop Hall ladies 2s 1

Whitchurch ladies 1s entertained Northop Hall 2s this Saturday and after last week’s defeat they came out fighting.

Within a few minutes Lucy Ratcliffe had scored and got the ball rolling for Whitchurch. From then on goals were coming thick and fast for Lucy completing a hattrick within 10 minutes. As Northop Hall struggled to defend the Whitchurch attacks Whitchurch pushed forward and produced a number of powerful strikes towards the goal allowing Sue Read to tap past the Northop keeper.  Whitchurch earned several short corners and Phoebe Jones slapped home the rebound to give Whitchurch a comfortable lead.

At half time Whitchurch re-energized and came back out for more goals. Northop Hall began to mark out the attacking players and made a few breaks but defenders Gayle Ladd and Catherine Reece-Gresty stopped the ball and sent the ball to wings Charlotte Lawder and Ellie Windsor who had some great runs, by this time Northop ladies had all dropped to protect their goal.

Emily Hilton and Emma Harper kept pushing up allowing Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty a shot from the top of the dee to make it number 6. Lucy Ratcliffe had 3 more great goals from strikes just within the dee. As Whitchurch began to relax Northop Hall broke and scored their one and only goal. Whitchurch kept attacking until the end and we’re very happy with the 9-1 win.

Next week Ladies 1s play away at a rearranged game against Buckley.

 

Whitchurch Men’s 2s – 3, Neston Men’s 8s – 4

The Men’s 2s set off for the Wirral hoping to repeat their win against Neston Mens 8s at the opening of the season and claim a much-needed 3 points

It was clear from the off that Whitchurch would have to fight hard for these points, but a confident start saw Whitchurch take the action to the Neston goalmouth, eventually ensuing in a short corner that was deftly fired home by Danny Foulkes.

However, going a goal down so early in the game catalysed Neston, and they responded strongly, shutting down many of Whitchurch’s ubsequent attacks before they could develop and as the Whitchurch team continued to play an attacking game to build on their lead, Neston managed a break down the middle and finished by putting a shot past the Whitchurch keeper.

Whitchurch continued to control the play through the first half, but Neston were able to use their more limited possession to better advantage and scored a second goal before the end of the half.

With a one goal lead, Neston approached the second half with a more aggressive strategy and formation and the play was much more evenly balanced, forcing Whitchurch to re-focus on defending Neston’s attacks.  Nevertheless, Neston were able to take advantage of their substitutes to bring fresh legs to the field and their speed saw them break through Whitchurch’s centre once again to go 3-1 up.

Whitchurch continued to push hard up front but tight defending by the Neston backs limited their scoring opportunities.  Their tenacity was eventually rewarded by a short corner which was put away by Foulkes, raising the Team’s spirits as the deficit reduced and they felt back in the game.  Unfortunately, tiredness and a lack of substitutes began to take its toll and Whitchurch found themselves being outpaced by the fresher team, quickly conceding a fourth goal.

Whitchurch retaliated and after a spell of pressure on the Neston goal, were awarded another short corner which Foulkes hammered home for his hat trick, bringing the scoreline to 4-3.  Whitchurch worked desperately hard to salvage a point from the remaining minutes of the game, but ultimately were unable to do so and left the field disappointed at the result, but with every player having committed himself fully to the game.