Macclesfield Men’s 2s 4 Whitchurch Mens 1s 0

It was another frustrating loss this week for Whitchurch, despite playing some excellent hockey throughout the game against a decent, similarly-ranked team from Macclesfield. The scoreline didn’t reflect how close the game was, and the Reds were only a touch, tap or chance away from scoring several goals themselves, including some champagne hockey with an aerial ball being collected out of the air and bounced on a stick all the way into the dee, only to go agonisingly wide.

Whitchurch did everything but score this week: Martin Beecher had several opportunities, having done all the hard yards, but the Macclesfield keeper was on good form; Tom Edwards had another fantastic game and shows the promise and skills that Whitchurch are looking for in their younger players. Paul ‘Sturge’ Leigh had another great game in goal, despite carrying injuries – his diving save drawing applause from both teams. Alex Fry and Sam Conway were solid at the back, making crucial interceptions and tackles, as well as moving the ball all around the back with confidence. Everyone put in a decent shift, and some of the play was reminiscent of the best games from this season, with only the last touch or pass just not going to plan to leave the Reds goalless despite some really excellent play.

Knowing they played far, far better than the scoreline would suggest let Whitchurch leave the field with heads held high, but Macclesfield were just that bit stronger on the day and deserved the win. Whitchurch have their final game of the season at home next week against Alderley Edge, and will finish mid-table after another decent season.

Warrington Ladies 1s 0 Whitchurch ladies 1s 2

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelled to play Warrington 1s this Saturday,

Taking their regular team, they were confident but relaxed as they controlled the game, passing strongly up the pitch playing mostly in the Warrington half.

Any breaks were quickly picked up by defence Chloe Lloyd and Hayleigh Busby, using the width of Tilly James and Holly Edwards. Mid players Molly Fry and Mollie Bell were holding strong, making great runs up the middle of the pitch. Lots of pressure on Warrington as they packed out their dee with defence keeping Whitchurch from scoring in the the first half.

After a break and plan of action to get around the Warrington players, Whitchurch had a run of short corners  and eventually managed to convert with Captain Cath Gresty’s straight strike and Lisa Sullivan catching the rebound and making it 1-0.

Relieved to be on the score sheet, Whitchurch moved the ball confidently round the pitch, but were quickly singled out when attacking the Warrington goal, a fast run up the wing by Gresty fired the ball into the dee where Sullivan picked out Jasmin Williams and Poppy Huxley who passed between them for Williams to slot past the keeper.

Warrington kept trying to move up the pitch, had a break but was stopped in their tracks by Keeper Phoebe Gregory kicking out to Sarah Kay, Whitchurch kept attacking until the final whistle, quite happy with the 2-0 end result.

Saturday – Whitchurch Men’s 2s 1 Golborne Men’s 8

Whitchurch took on both of the top two runaway teams in the league competing for top spot both teams brought full strength teams and showed Whitchurch no mercy.

Whitchurch defended well for large parts of the game and denied Golborne a string of opportunities in front of goal, but Golborne’s well-disciplined attacking line-up punished any mistakes with their goals coming from well executed penalty corner routines.

Airan Jones grabbed a consultation goal for Whitchurch driving into the dee and unleashing an unstoppable shot past the Golborne keeper.

Sunday – Whitchurch Men’s 2s Deeside Men’s 5s 8

Still hurting from the previous day’s efforts Whitchurch entertained the league leaders in a re-arranged fixture.

Whitchurch started the game with only 10 players due to the clocks moving forward and were punished by two quick goals before they had their full complement of players.

As with the previous day Whitchurch worked hard to create chances but a well drilled forward line kept the score ticking over.

Joe Chester’s grabbed the consolation with a strike almost identical to Jones the previous day.

Despite the scoreline Whitchurch came away from both game playing some of their best hockey of the season with most looking forward to a well-deserved rest.

The ladies 2s also played two matches over the weekend and continued their excellent run of form with two big wins. Saturday 9-0 vs Warrington ladies 2s and Sunday 11-2 vs Macclesfield 3s guaranteeing them a top 5 finish in their first season since promotion.

Whitchurch Ladies 1s 5 Macclesfield Ladies 2s 0

Whitchurch ladies 1s played against Macclesfield 2s this weekend, coming onto the pitch with the hot weather they knew it was going to be a hard game.

Whitchurch started off strong but with Macclesfield’s strong defence in the dee it was hard to find the gaps and score the first goal. The midfield players Molly Fry, Lisa Sullivan and Mollie Bell worked their way up to the dee and with a shot on goal bouncing off the goalie Valerie Fabery de Jonge pushed the ball into the goal.

With the first goal scored Whitchurch had their confidence back. Macclesfield fought back with counter attacks from the back, hitting the balls to their fast midfield players.

Chloe Lloyd and Hayleigh busby in defence picked up the balls through the middle and it was hard for them to get into Whitchurch’s dee. There were some great passes from Jasmine Williams down the line to Mollie Bell who would then pass multiple players with her skills and pass it on to Poppy Huxley who made some great lead runs.

The second goal followed shortly after the first with a great pass from Lisa Sullivan in midfield to Valerie Fabery who was on the top of the dee and shot it in with her reverse in the bottom right corner.

Before the end of the first half Whitchurch started another attack, Cath Gresty running into the dee along the baseline and passing it to Molly Bell who was positioned perfectly and scored the third goal of the game.

During half time Whitchurch got their energy back and started the second half with the drive to keep going.

With Hermione Ball in the back stopping Macclesfield’s attackers, Whitchurch started to attack again. The ball got intercepted by Macclesfield’s defence, but Valerie Fabery got the ball back and ran past the other defenders and scored the fourth goal.

Out of nowhere the sun disappeared and it started raining and Whitchurch lost their vision for a little bit and Macclesfield tried to make their way through the pitch with some counter attacks, but when the rain stopped Whitchurch got back on track and in the last 10 minutes of the game had a great attack starting in the back with Hayleigh Busby, passing it onto Molly Bell who ran into the dee and by passing it through the legs of the defender Valerie Fabery received it and shot it into the goal which made the 5^th goal of the game.

Until the last-minute Whitchurch had everyone on the team fighting for the ball and everyone in the team especially Chloe Lloyd, Cath Gresty and Lisa Sullivan had some great interceptions stopping Macclesfield entering the Whitchurch dee.

A fantastic game for Whitchurch overall.

 

Whitchurch Mens 1s 0 – Crewe Vagrants 2s 4

Whitchurch lost this week to league leaders – and now champions – Crewe Vagrants 2s in a game that Crewe had been preparing for three weeks, and that preparation paid off with a goal in the first couple of minutes to put the Reds on the back foot. Whitchurch regrouped and the game levelled off with both sides having good chances to score – the Reds had a number of opportunities which were either blocked by the Crewe keeper or defence at the last second, despite some excellent work up the pitch from dee to dee, or just lacked that final touch.

Crewe picked up their second with a penalty stroke, and a third before the break as Whitchurch’s marking – which had been good for long periods of the match – faded and Crewe players were able to get free and break away. At half-time, the talk was about playing their game, improving the marking, and having better ball control despite the heavens opening, and the second half was again an even affair with both sides having chances. As play went on, more and more umpiring decisions were getting questioned by both teams until cards were shown to try to regain control. This shifted the balance of play again, and each side took advantage where they could until Crewe got to the top of the dee and unleashed a fine reverse hit that went through the crowd and past the keeper to claim their fourth.

The game continued to ebb and flow until the final whistle – both sides could have found more goals – but Crewe ended worthy winners, and celebrated winning the league in what has been a challenging season.

 

Whitchurch ladies 3s 1 Triton ladies 2s 8

In a league with such a range of abilities Whitchurch entertained on strong Triton team.

For much of the game Triton controlled the game and took their chances well in the Whitchurch dee to keep the score ticking over.

Whitchurch showed glimpses of their future potential, when Wendy Cooper cut out a Triton pass and passed it to Mabel Hazelhurst who dribbled the ball and passed it to Erin Harden in the dee. Sue Read made an amazing run and won a short corner from which she picked out Arabella Clarke on the post to slot it past the keeper to bring the score to 2-1.

After a strong first half, Whitchurch carried on with a positive attitude chasing and pressuring Triton at every opportunity. Jan Teggin picked out Abi Ashley on the right who then slipped it to Maisie Bennett who made an amazing pass to Grace Haynes who was upfront ready for the ball. Despite all their efforts Triton were the stronger team on the day and despite many tackles from Mel Reid in defence and brilliant saves from keeper Phoebe Gregory Triton ended the match with a 9:1 finish.

Bella Clarke got Whitchurch’s players player.

Whitchurch will be at home again this week against Sandbach 2s.

 

Knutsford Men’s 2s 11 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3

Knutsford have become a boggy team for Whitchurch in recent years and this match was no exception. In a game which saw to evenly match teams Knutsford took their chances in front of goal and Whitchurch didn’t.

Knutsford took the lead in the first minute of the game as they pushed forward from the whistle into the Whitchurch dee, won a penalty corner and scored.

Whitchurch were left reeling and Knutsford took full advantage to score another two goals and go three up after 10 minutes.

Whitchurch then began to settle and string together some possession and won a penalty corner, a Joe Chester’s shot bounced off the keepers pads to the feet of Will Edwards who tapped into the goal.

The game continued to be very open with both teams having opportunities, Knutsford scoring another before Will Edwards latched onto a pass from Tom Edwards to get Whitchurch a second goal. Knutsford then scored another before the break.

Whitchurch’s team talk focussed around keeping up the effort and cutting out the unforced errors.

Whitchurch started the stronger team in the second half and soon pulled another goal back as Danny Foulkes scored from a well worked short corner routine. Joe Chesters’s then forced the Knutsford keeper into an excellent save with a reverse stick shot.

Knutsford continued to press forward and despite Whitchurch’s best efforts every mistake or misplaced pass seem to end up back in their dee with nothing keeper Neil Jones could do to prevent the inevitable.

 

Crewe ladies 2s 0 Whitchurch ladies 2s 1

Whitchurch 2s team played Crewe 2s. The game started with a lot of good passing around the pitch. Which lead to Eleanor Beecher passing the ball across the pitch to Sophie Jones who passed it back out onto the wing to Heidi Groom who took a shot on goal. However, it was deflected from a Crewe players foot and back to Sophie Jones who hit it into the goal leading to a 1:0 advantage to Whitchurch.

Throughout the rest of the game there was strong a defence from Emma Stubbs, Lucy Hearn and Cath Reece-Gresty which lead to most of Crewe attempts on goal being unsuccessful as well as a lot of amazing saves from Holly Edwards.

There was also great passes around the pitch from Bella Morris as well as Heidi Carr. Freya Gresty and Poppy Gilbert both made good runs down the wings stopping Crewe players and bringing the ball to our attacking end. All together we managed to stop any other attempts on goal from Crewe securing the win

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winnington Park Men’s 2s 5 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 2

Whitchurch lost this week to a team hunting promotion, and who were better on the day, but they still showed some of the improvements from recent weeks. The game was played in grim conditions, with persistent cold rain making ball control difficult on a pitch that offered spin and bounce, and this may have formed the basis for the Winnington Park gameplan: their play was based in large part around aerial balls. On other days, this could have seemed one-dimensional, but it was done well by players with strong skills, and almost every sixteen clearance was through the air and the conditions made interceptions difficult – but the pressure was immediately on, with the ball having bypassed the Reds’ midfield already.

It would have been yet more effective, had Winnington Park not been their own worst enemies: much of the first half was marred by their poor discipline and arguing with the officials, and that gave Whitchurch opportunities. A foul on the line gave the Reds a penalty stroke, which captain Jack Barnes put away with aplomb, and Will Edwards scored a second by sheer force of will, driving through defenders before putting the ball away. A second stroke was awarded, but the keeper made an excellent save to deny Barnes another.

However, Winnington Park found their discipline enough to score two goals before the break, despite Paul ‘Sturge’ Leighs continued excellence in goal, with short corner routines being particularly effective. Going in a two-all at half time gave Whitchurch hope that a second half would see more of the same, and allow them to take advantage of any further cards, but it wasn’t to be. Winnington came out in the second half with much-improved discipline and put it to good use. Continued aerial balls, especially on the right wing to lift it over James Partington at left back to give them multiple opportunities to get into the dee, and eventually the dam broke with several short corners piling the pressure up, as well as a breakaway goal which Sturge originally stopped well, but the rebound was dinked over his diving block.

A frustrating day for the Reds, despite many good performances throughout the team, but a few small mistakes against a stronger team on the day were punished. A home game next week against top-of-the-table Crewe will provide another good challenge.