Macclesfield Ladies 4s 3 Whitchurch Ladies 2s 3

Whitchurch went on to the pitch looking for goals this week. Despite several usual players missing Whitchurch were ready and enthusiastic. Quickly, Whitchurch pushed forward with inners Hayleigh Busby and Ellie Pearson driving the ball up the pitch with determination to find Jess Kimberly at centre forward. However, Macclesfield were also working hard and made a break up the pitch and scored the first goal of the match. Whitchurch fought back and continued to make strong attacks. Martha Teggin and Edina Jones pushed the ball up the pitch and set up numerous opportunities for Whitchurch attacks and Caitlin Edwards fought hard and made numerous passes into the dee.  Jasmin Williams, who was making her ladies 2s debut, played brilliantly in centre half and a string of interlinking passes between Williams and Busby allowed Whitchurch to advance into the Macclesfield dee and gain a short corner. Busby injected to Kimberly who returned it to Busby who effortlessly slotted the ball past the keeper. Whitchurch maintained possession of the ball but Macclesfield managed to get another goal before the end of the first half leaving the score 2-1 at half time.

Whitchurch were ready to go after Captain Emma’s team talk and immediately made their way up the pitch. Phoebe Jones, who had stepped in as goal keeper at last minute, stopped several Macclesfield shots on goal but the home team were able to get another goal making the score 3-1. Holly Gilbert ran the ball down the wing passing into Kimberly, but Macclesfield had a strong keeper and still Whitchurch couldn’t get another goal. Catherine Reece-Gresty battled hard and her and Emma Clarke ensured no more Macclesfield attacks came into the Whitchurch dee. A strong hit from Reece-Gresty to Kimberly allowed Kimberly to drive round the Macclesfield defenders and score a well-deserved goal. A string of lovely passes between Williams, Jones and Tolhurst allowed Tolhurst to charge into the dee and with an impressive strike secured Whitchurch a draw with two minutes to spare.

Player of the match was awarded to Holly Gilbert. Next week the ladies 2s are Brooklands at home.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 1 Bowden ladies 4s 3

Whitchurch ladies 1s played top team Bowden this Saturday at home and they were worked hard from the whistle. Bowden attacked through the middle of the pitch pulling Whitchurch in. Midfield players Millie Edwards, Hebe Dixon and captain Catherine Winter-Gresty played well together getting the ball out and up to forwards Ellie Windsor and Izzy Huxley.

Sarah Field managed to get a touch on an incoming ball to open the scoring. Bowden needed this win to stay top and secure promotion and they certainly played for it.

It was a tiring game as the ball was passed from one end to the other and three subs were very welcome. Defence Emma Harper and Chloe Lloyd had their work cut out as Bowden played around and scored to equalise. Just before half time Bowden scored again despite amazing efforts from keeper Maddy Sugden.

After half time Whitchurch played the ball around Bowden players but they were not for letting any more goals in, saving shots from Winter-Gresty, Kezzie Hutching and Dixon.

Whitchurch were beginning to tire again, Molly Fry and Sophie ward worked together on the right stopping Bowden attacking there.

Anna Latham made some strong efforts supported by Jessica Carruthers but Bowdon were after another and succeeded in the last 5 minutes.

Amazing efforts from Whitchurch but they resolute defending from Bowden meant they couldn’t capitalise on their chances. Sophie Ward received players player.

They play away at Wilmslow next week.

Whitchurch Ladies 3’s 0  Cheshire Blues 16

After losing players through illness the Whitchurch 11 stepped out onto the pitch for one of their hardest games of the season against run away league leaders who have scored 200+ goals so far this season.  Whitchurch won first push back and started the game with a strong attack. Libby Fox and Annie Buckeridge and Emma Stubbs worked the ball up the left to the opponents dee but their defence proved too strong and the ball was returned down the pitch for Whitchurch to defend. Midfielders Jan Teggin, Annie Leigh and Wendy Cooper worked hard moving the ball away from the Whitchurch defence and keeper up the wing to Poppy Huxley and Nina Hodges who made some excellent tackles and runs up to the dee but were unable to find the goal. During the first half the visitors managed to get the ball past Whitchurch eight times leaving Whitchurch 8-0 down at half time.

After a half time breather and talk, Whitchurch were re-inspired and re-energised. They started the second half with a strong attack and made some positive runs to the goal but again the Blues defence were too strong and the play changed direction with attacks from the Blues towards the Whitchurch defence of Mel Reid and Hermione Ball.  Whitchurch managed to turn the play around on many occasions during the match but Cheshire Blues always managed to prevent the Whitchurch attack from reaching the goal. After a series of short corners Cheshire Blues managed to continue their scoring leaving the final score with a win to the visitors of 16-0.

Every Whitchurch player gave 100% for the entire match and kept fighting and attacking to the final whistle. Despite the loss, it was a challenging game but Whitchurch came away exhausted and smiling.

Players player was awarded to a well-deserved Poppy Huxley.

Next week Whitchurch ladies 3‘s travel away to play Triton in the penultimate match of the season.

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 4 Chester Men’s 5s 2

Off the back of a successful run of form, and with only a draw required from the game to ensure finishing top of the league, Whitchurch went into Saturday’s game against Chester full of confidence. With captain Danny Foulkes still away, Dale Seymour stepped up again to lead the team and chase down the final point required.

With Foulkes and Alex Fry away this week, Sam Conway dropped to left back, with James Partington covering the centre and Chris Ruscoe continuing to shine at right back. Seymour’s game plan was to use the back well like last week, to move the ball around and keep possession without risky passes or trying to run through the opposition, and it worked well; Whitchurch had decent amounts of time on the ball and weren’t afraid to go backwards before going forwards again. In return, Chester had a number of strong, experienced players mixing with some talented younger ones, and were able to play some really good hockey. They went with the approach of leaving one player high up the pitch, which always gave them options on the break, and Paul “Sturge” Leigh made his usual selection of saves and blocks to keep the scoreboard quiet.

It was Chester who went ahead first, though, as they broke down the right wing and into the dee, and the striker’s shot wasn’t the cleanest, but the resulting bobble took it over Sturge’s stick. With Seymour’s encouragement, the Reds knew they would get their chances and didn’t let their heads drop. Taking more time on the ball, they started to control it a little better, and used that to increase the pressure on the Chester defence. This ended up with a short corner, which fell to Nick Cooper to add yet another to his list for the season with a decent smash into the net from the resulting melee.

Whitchurch doubled their lead as Will Gilbert picked up his second goal in two games for the 1s, collecting a ball from Tom Forster before surprising the Chester keeper with the deftness of touch and control to put it under the goalkeeper’s moving foot. Chester then applied more pressure themselves, winning a short corner which was fortuitously blocked on the line by Partington. Whitchurch went back up the other end of the pitch with Ruscoe driving hard down the right wing and into the dee before firing at goal. The keeper managed to stop the initial shot but the ball fell at his feet, and Ruscoe – who had continued his run – was the first to respond and reversed it into the goal before anyone else appeared to react.

The half-time talk focused on keeping the ball and not giving it away too easily, and this worked well as Whitchurch piled the pressure on, moving the ball around well at the back as well as up front, with Craig Hockenhull and Jack Barnes working the right wing to cause problems, and Rob Chappell and Joe Leese controlling the middle of the pitch. Whitchurch’s efforts won a short corner, and the initial shot was blocked on the line before Ben Kimberley collected the ball at the edge of the dee and unleashed a rocket into the top of the net.

The game then got more tense as both sides looked to take control, with green and yellow cards being shown as tempers flared, and Chester took the opportunity to put more players forward. Ruscoe was again crucial in defence with another interception that diverted the ball inches to the left of the post, but as Whitchurch struggled to clear, Chester got a short corner. The initial one was interrupted by the umpire just as it was finally taken, for taking too long, and the retake was taken so quickly the Reds weren’t quite set up and Sturge’s initial block of the shot went back out and was taken well in the air and drilled past the keeper for Chester’s second.

With the final whistle, Whitchurch confirmed their place at the top of the table and, with Neston losing at Sale, were 9 points clear with one game left. Will Gilbert deservedly won player of the match for another outstanding performance, and shows the future for Whitchurch – in division 3 next season – is looking good.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 11 – 1 Winnington Park 4s

The Men’s 2s welcomed Winnington Park to SJT for their re-arranged match on Sunday morning. Results the previous day and with Winnington only being able to field nine players, there was an opportunity for the Reds to jump up to third in the table with a big win.

The early stages of the game were a bit disappointing for the home side. A combination of Whitchurch’s over-eagerness and Winnington’s experience and ball retention skills meant the Reds struggled to make any real impact going forward, although Winnington themselves were unable to make much progress up the pitch due to the excellent covering at the back by Pip Jones, Gareth Teggin and Wyn Morris. When Whitchurch did have the ball, they constantly ran themselves into trouble or played poor passes to give the ball away.

Despite not playing well, Whitchurch did open the scoring through Euan Morris but, out of the blue, Winnington responded immediately by forcing several short corners and equalising with a flick past keeper Neil Jones.

The equalising goal stunned Whitchurch out of their complacency and the team started to press with more aggression and string together some sharper and more incisive passes. The home team restored their lead as Euan Morris fired home a well worked short corner and as the team became more confident in their own game, the chances started to flow.

With Doug Buckeridge stepping forward from defence to join Richard Leigh in midfield, Winnington were struggling to get out of their own half. Alex Leigh and Will Snaith were pushing high on the flanks to support the wingers and prevent Winnington making any progress up the pitch. Joe Faithfull and Ethan Gresty were a constant threat on the right and Jacob Buckeridge and Owen Pearce were driving forward at every opportunity on the left.

Joe Coburn added a fantastic third goal when he smashed a shot from the edge of the dee into the top corner; Euan Morris finished off his hat-trick; and Will Snaith and Owen Pearce combined well down the left, with Owen scoring the goal at the second attempt. But the best goal of the half was finished off by Luke Beddow as a sweeping move through the middle of the pitch, involving four players, had Winnington chasing shadows.

Although 6-1 up at half-time, the Whitchurch players were reminded about complacency and the need to exploit their numerical advantage, but, as with the start of the first half, the team were sluggish out of the blocks and struggled to move the ball quickly or accurately enough to make any inroads into a disciplined Winnington defence.

The away side were struggling to fully clear their lines and the ball kept coming back at them and as Whitchurch grew into the half their passing became more accurate and more incisive and chances started to come. With the Winnington players working incredibly hard, legs started to tire, and the Reds exploited their numerical advantage ruthlessly.

Euan Morris added another goal to his tally, as did Joe Coburn, and Will Snaith scored his first senior goal with a lovely strike from the edge of the dee. Jacob Buckeridge sneaked the ball past the Winnington keeper on the reverse and Luke Beddow added the final goal of the game. In amongst the avalanche of goals, Airan Jones, Joe Coburn and Alex Leigh were all a little unfortunate to have goals ruled out.

The 11-1 win was thoroughly deserved, with the home side harshly exploiting Winnington’s lack of players. Euan Morris continued his amazing goal scoring run and Joe Coburn got his rewards for an amazing season and scored one of the goals of the campaign. Apart from one aberration, the defence was faultless and keeper Neil Jones was largely unemployed during this game. The whole team, once again, demonstrated some wonderful hockey as they attacked in numbers and with real menace. Some of the interplay was a joy to behold, with everyone contributing during their time on the pitch.

The 2s have now moved into third place in the table, ahead of Oxton on goal difference. With their final match of the season at home to bottom-of-the-table Runcorn on Saturday 14th March, the team have a real opportunity to finish the season in third – that would be an exceptional achievement for the side!

Bowden Vixens 2 Whitchurch ladies 3s 1

Whitchurch ladies 3rds played a friendly away against Bowden Vixens on their spare weekend from the league. The first half saw goalkeeper Louise Cottrell and the defence of Mel Reid, Emma Stubbs and Hermione Ball come under pressure from the Bowden attacks but they calmly retrieved the ball and set up Whitchurch attacks through the midfield of Poppy Huxley, Annie Leigh and Alice Page.

With the inners of Jasmin Williams and Emily Lister a constant thorn in the side of opposition as they worked tirelessly to break down the opposition possession. In the centre of the pitch, Jan Teggin and captain Wendy Cooper worked together with forwards Jess Kimberly, Kate Buckeridge, Caitlin Edwards and Libby Fox to create Whitchurch chances in the Bowden dee. The first goal was scored by Bowden as they broke quickly and finished clinically giving them a lead into the break.

Whitchurch soon were back on equal terms in the second half as Page drove through the Bowden midfield and slipped the ball to Kimberley to score. Bowden again took the lead breaking quickly and catching Whitchurch with a counterattack.

Whitchurch pushed hard for the equalising goal and despite creating many good chances their luck wasn’t there as they failed to make that last elusive touch in the dee.

Player of the match was Hermione Ball. Next week Whitchurch ladies 3’s are at home to Cheshire Blues.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 7 Neston ladies 3s 2

Ladies 1s entertained Neston 3s at home this week and what a mix of weather they had. As soon as they set up on the pitch the skies darkened and snow began to fall.

Straight away Whitchurch put plenty of pressure on Neston, using the width of Kezzie Hutching and Hebe Dixon. Forwards Izzy Huxley and Ellie Windsor battled in the dee and won a short corner allowing Emma Harper to use her powerful shot to slot their first past the keeper.

With the snow coming down so thick the game was stopped until it was safe to play again.

Neston fought well, but defence Chloe Lloyd and Harper cleared from the dee. With some fast play up the pitch from captain Catherine Winter-Gresty and Millie Edwards, Anna Latham stormed from nowhere onto the back post to score their second. Neston got on the score sheet from a powerful strike off a short corner. Sarah Field received a ball in the dee from Edwards and scored a 3rd for Whitchurch. Just before half time Neston made a break and scored a second.

A quick team talk and the ladies 1s came out battling against Neston defence.

Some lovely passing around Neston and Field returned the assist to Millie Edwards for a 4th.

Great play through the centre of the pitch through Molly Fry and out to Nina Hodges who set up Field for another two great goals. With only minutes to go Sarah Field managed to get a 7th for Whitchurch from open play. A great 7-2 win for the ladies 1s.

Whitchurch currently sit third in the league with the top two one point ahead, but as they play against top team Bowden at home next week promotion is still a real possibility!

Chester University Men’s 1s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 6

On a blustery Saturday afternoon Whitchurch men’s 1st’s travelled to Chester Uni campus to play their men’s first team, missing two key defenders in captain Danny Foulkes and James Partington. The latter definitely big shoes to fill for Luke Davies stepping in to cover the left back role.

The opposition could only field a team of 10 players; however, this wasn’t evident in the opening spell as they pressed high onto the Whitchurch back line of Alex Fry, Chris Ruscoe and Luke Davies, with Paul ‘Sturge’ Leigh being called into early action in the Whitchurch goal to prevent the hosts taking an early lead.  Whitchurch took the lead soon after as they exploited the space left at the Chester back from the high press. A quick move up field started by Tom Forster found Jon Chappell in the opposition dee, who drew the keeper off his line to slip the ball to his younger brother Rob Chappell, who slapped the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 to the away team.

Whitchurch continued to soak up the pressure of the young Chester squad who had a series of short corners looking to find the equaliser, but the away team defence along with Sturge in goal kept them at bay.  At the other end Whitchurch won a short corner after some neat build up, resulting in a slick pass from stand in captain Dale “Stavros” Seymour finding Chris Ruscoe to slot the ball home under the Chester keeper making it 2-0 to the visitors.

Chester’s high press and quick ball movement eventually paid off just before half time when a shot on goal found a Whitchurch foot on the line and a penalty flick was awarded. Sturge managed to get a good hand onto the resulting flick but it somehow trickled in under his body to give the home side a sniff of getting back into the game, however, on the stroke of half time Jack Barnes’ pin point pass across field found Ben Kimberley at the top of the opposition D, who’s powerful shot found the bottom right corner to maintain Whitchurch’s two goal lead at half time.

Chester pressed once more at the start of the 2nd half but the extra man advantage of the away side started to take its toll on a now tiring home team. Gaps were left open and some quick ball movement through the Whitchurch midfield lead to the fourth goal being scored, as Nick Cooper rounded the Chester keeper and smashed the ball low and hard into the bottom left corner.

Great support play from Airan Jones, Sam Conway and Will Gilbert fresh from the bench meant Whitchurch always had fresh legs on the pitch and this began to take its toll on the home team. Reduced to nine players due to injury, Whitchurch took advantage and made it 5-1 when Jon Chappell pounced on a loose ball from a short corner routine and blasted it into the Chester goal.

The icing on the cake came in the last ten minutes as Captain Seymour’s neat pass set up young Will Gilbert running into the dee one on one with the Chester keeper he nonchalantly slipped the ball under him, ran around and thumped home the ball to pick up his first senior 1st team goal and Whitchurch’s 6th, mirroring the score line from the previous meeting earlier in the season, and maintaining Whitchurch’s push to be league champions with two matches left to go.

Next week Whitchurch welcome Chester 5th’s for their final home match of the 2019/2020 season, with only a single point required to confirm their position as league winners.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3 Bangor University Men’s 1s 4

The Men’s 2s welcomed runaway league-leaders Bangor University to a cold and blustery Whitchurch on Saturday. With the Welsh side boasting a 100% win-rate this season, it was no real surprise that Bangor started the game on the front foot. Their pace and power were difficult for the home team to get to grips with, and Whitchurch were unable to string their passes together and found it difficult to dispossess their opponents. Wyn Morris and Doug Buckeridge were doing their best to clear the danger, but Bangor won a series of early short corners that were well dealt with by Whitchurch.

As in previous games this season, Whitchurch progressively grew into the game. Joe Coburn, Luke Beddow and Richard Leigh were linking well in midfield, whilst Alex Leigh was providing a useful outlet on the right-hand flank. With Euan Morris’s willing running upfront, the home side started to cause some problems to the Bangor rear-guard.

Whitchurch opened the scoring with a neat passing move involving Coburn and Beddow, that sent Alex Leigh free on the right side of the dee and his cross shot was knocked in by Morris at the back post. Bangor responded but still couldn’t conjure up a clear chance, although keeper Neil Jones kicked clear on a couple of occasions. As Bangor committed players forward, Whitchurch struck on the counterattack and doubled their lead as Euan Morris fired in his second from a narrow angle.

Bangor were a little shell-shocked but dug in and increased the intensity, putting more pressure on the Whitchurch backline. Several short corners came and went for the away side but eventually the away side pulled a goal back, as Whitchurch appealed for a foot as the goal-scorer picked up the ball in the dee.

The league-leaders continued to apply pressure, but still looked vulnerable on the counterattack. The Whitchurch passing through midfield was good and with Ethan Gresty driving down the right and Owen Pearce on the left, crosses whizzed across the Bangor dee, but no Whitchurch players could get the finishing touch. The home side were also unlucky when a shot came back off the post but fell to a Bangor stick.

At the other end, keeper Neil Jones produced a couple of handy stops to keep out the away side and Will Snaith did really well to deflect a chipped shot away from the goal-line. Eventually however, Bangor managed to find an equalising goal, taking advantage of a bit of confusion in the Whitchurch defence as substitutions were being called.

With the scores level at half-time and having lost a two-goal lead, it was important that Whitchurch girded themselves and put the same commitment into the second half of the game. Bangor flew out of the blocks and the pace and power of their players continued to cause problems for the Reds defence. Again, Neil Jones made some good stops, Gareth Teggin made some useful blocks, Wyn Morris made some robust tackles and Will Snaith provided excellent cover on the left.

The home side continued to work the ball well through midfield. Richard Leigh and Dave Brunyard were diligent in their defensive duties and supplied the ball to Coburn and Beddow to create some magic. Gresty and Jacob Buckeridge were providing width on the flanks, and although the team threatened around the dee, they couldn’t quite fashion a clear chance to shoot at goal.

Bangor took the lead midway through the half. Once again Whitchurch were distracted by what they thought was a foot in the build-up and failed to deal with a pass into the dee which was cleverly deflected over the diving Jones. The away side sensed a chance to take control of the game, but Whitchurch fought back and a cleverly worked short corner routine saw Euan Morris fire in his third goal of the game to equalise.

The game was now in the balance. Bangor looked a bit surprised to be pegged back and Whitchurch sensed an opportunity to pull off an unexpected victory. Bangor continued to drive with pace and power through the middle of the pitch, whilst Whitchurch moved the ball in short neat passes up to the Bangor dee. But with the game heading towards its conclusion it was Bangor that snatched the next goal. Good play down their left saw a diagonal ball played into the dee and a mishit shot crept under Jones’ pads to give the away side a decisive lead. Whitchurch responded well and drove forward in search of another equaliser, but despite having a short corner on the final whistle, they couldn’t quite grab the draw that they deserved.

Although they lost the game, Whitchurch should take a huge amount of pride and satisfaction from this game. Bangor have been the stand-out team in the division this season. There is a reason they have a 100%-win record and have despatched most teams with ease, including the 2s in the reverse fixture. They are a very good side. Once again Whitchurch showed they can compete with the best teams in the division, but unlike the previous occasions where a late capitulation has resulted in horrible defeats, this time they were in with a chance of getting a result with the very last play of the game.

Joe Coburn was superb in midfield and dictated most of Whitchurch’s good attacking play, Euan Morris was ruthless in front of goal and put in a great shift up front, and again Alex Leigh was excellent on the wing and at fullback. But all the players, young and old, should be proud of their efforts in the match. Similar application in their final two games of the season could see them finish the season in style.

The 2s next game is a re-arranged fixture at home to Winnington Park 4s, at 11am, on Sunday 8th March, at SJT.