The Men’s 1s had a week off as they had no league game.

 

Neston ladies 3s 1 Whitchurch ladies 1s 0

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelled away to play Neston 3’s this week.

Whitchurch seemed to have a slow start not expecting Neston to come out with so much pressure. The game sped up as Neston pushed up to the Whitchurch goal and managed to take the lead pushing the ball through the keeper’s legs.

Whitchurch woke up and with rolling subs at the front started to play with much more speed. They had plenty of chances but the Neston defence kept picking up every ball. Grace Berry and Holy Jepson had great runs passing the ball up to Laura Workman and Ellie Windsor, with Sue Read waiting at the top but couldn’t find the goal to equalise before half time.

A strong team talk and Whitchurch came back stronger in the second half having some great runs and passes. Neston kept defence Catherine Reece-Gresty and Gayle Ladd on their guard as they had a couple of young fast players ready to take them on. Keeper Shola Bailey had a great save from a lifted ball into the left top corner.

Whitchurch kept the pressure on as Hebe Dixon and Helen Machin pushed up to help over run Neston, but time was running out for Whitchurch and had to settle for a 1-0 loss.

Ladies 1s play their last home game next week before the Christmas break against Triton.

Denbigh Men’s 2s 3 Whitchurch Men’s 2’s 1

Whitchurch Men’s 2s travelled to a damp, grey North Wales for an early start against Denbigh 2s. With half-a-dozen teams all within a few points of each other in mid-table, this was an opportunity for Whitchurch to move up the table and Denbigh to pull away from the teams below them.

The Welsh side started brightly, moving the back quickly and accurately, and Whitchurch struggled to get a foothold in the game. When the ball was won, the forward passes struggled to find team mates and the ball immediately came back towards the Whitchurch goal.

The Whitchurch defence stood firm with Airan Jones and Doug Buckeridge restricting the wide player’s, Ryan Murtagh sweeping in front of the dee, and Matt Brooks (who had an excellent game) clearing anything that came into the Whitchurch dee.

Ultimately however, the half followed a familiar pattern for Whitchurch. Their inability to clear their lines and retain possession higher up the pitch, and the constant pressure from the opposition could only be withstood for so long. As in other games this season, midway through the half their opponents scored two quick goals.

On both occasions, balls played into the dee were swept clear by Whitchurch, but Denbigh players were quick to pick up the loose balls and drive straight back into the dee and get shots away. The first goal came from a clever flick right in front of keeper Neil Jones from a well struck shot from the edge of the dee. The second goal was a bit of a soft, bobbley effort, which everyone should have done better with.

In familiar fashion, conceding two quick goals seemed to galvanise the Whitchurch side. They started to get more of a grip in midfield and started to get the ball into the Denbigh dee. Iain Bones playing in an unfamiliar centre forward position fashioned a good chance which was saved at point-blank range by the on-rushing Denbigh keeper. Fred Egerton, Tom Forster and Craig Hockenhull also had chances, but Whitchurch were unable to find a goal before half-time.

Following a few home truths at half time, Whitchurch started the second half with much more purpose. Euan Morris and Joe Coburn saw more possession on the Whitchurch right and continually opened up space near to the Denbigh dee. Craig Hockenhull, Wyn Morris and Tom Forster became much more of a threat from midfield and Fred Egerton and Joe Faithful combined well on the left.

After a number of short corners were well defended by Denbigh, the Welsh side misjudged a long punt up field which rather than going dead hit the post and stayed in play. The follow up from Iain Bones and Fred Egerton was kept out of the goal by the bodies of the Denbigh defenders and a penalty flick was duly awarded and dispatched by Craig Hockenhull.

Denbigh were always a threat on the counter attack but the Whitchurch defence played well to limit the threats to their goal. From a short corner Neil Jones made an excellent stop and, later, did really well to narrow the angle and make the save when a Denbigh forward escaped the defence and found himself alone in the Whitchurch dee.

Whitchurch continued to attack and thought they’d equalised when Craig Hockenhull flicked the ball goal-ward and the ball deflected off a Welsh stick into the goal. After initially being awarded, the umpires consulted and decided the shot had originated from outside of the dee and a long corner was the result.

Minutes after that disappointment Whitchurch were caught out on the counter and a Denbigh player danced into the dee and struck a hard, low shot into the far corner to restore Denbigh’s two-goal lead.

Whitchurch continued to attack, but even a flurry of short corners after the final whistle couldn’t yield a goal.

The 3-1 score line was probably a fair reflection of the game. Once again Whitchurch were slow to start and allowed their opponents to take the lead, which was then compounded by conceding a swift second goal. Although they played well in the second half, again they left themselves too much to do.

Next Saturday the 2s entertain Golborne 3s.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 0 Runcorn ladies 2s 0

Whitchurch ladies 2s entertained Runcorn ladies 2s at home this weekend to start of the return games. Whitchurch knew this was going to be a tough game. Whitchurch started off strong off with runs from Stephanie Stanton, Emily Vernon and Tracy Tolhurst but they were stopped in their tracks by the Runcorn defence and goal keeper.

Whitchurch did not want to stop there and kept on the pressure with from Becky Brookfield, Helen Hocknell and Hayleigh Busby pushing up on the right with support from Natasha Foster.

Runcorn were determined that they wanted to score some points but Maddie Sugden prevented that happening with some fantastic slides and saves which kept Whitchurch in the game. Defenders Emma Clarke, Jess Kimberley, Martha Teggin and Natasha Foster were kept very busy as Runcorn stepped up the play and began putting runs together but they were not able to convert any goals.

Whitchurch had a positive half time team talk as the score was stayed 0-0 with both sides having chances but being unable to convert. Whitchurch regrouped and started passing the ball around. Phoebe Jones had an excellent run down the right hand side with Busby on the inside and Stanton on the post ready to deflect the ball but the Runcorn defenders blocked every chance of getting the ball through, Whitchurch never gave up trying and securing a goal.

When Runcorn had a break Whitchurch were back on their heels fighting for the ball to go back into the other direction when this happened Beth Sykes stepped up and stopped the Runcorn midfielder and picked out Tolhurst unmarked in the middle who then passed to Vernon who pushed the ball just wide of the goal.

Whitchurch player’s player went to goal keeper Maddie Sugden for her fantastic saves.

 

Whitchurch ladies 3s 2 Oxton ladies 4s 4

Even with the weather against us, Whitchurch Ladies 3s were undeterred and determined to try to beat the young Oxton 4s team.  The match started off very evenly and play remained that way for the whole game.

All of the Whitchurch team worked extremely hard together to keep out some fast set play pieces by the youthful Oxton team.  Our Forwards, Victoria  Corlett, Amy Fry, Evie Whatmough and Amelie Morris making some great runs to try and break down the Oxton defence.

Maddy Sugden our outstanding young goal keeper, as usual made some fantastic agile saves, with Mel Reid, Jan Teggin, Chloe Lloyd and Emily Lister defending magnificently. However, sadly Oxton managed to score two goals in the first half. Although, Evie Whatmough in her forward position, managed to score a great consolation goal.

In the second half again, both teams came back on strongly and the ball flew furiously up and down the pitch. Midfielders and wingers, Edina Jones, Ellie McEvoy, Holly Gilbert, Kate and Molly Goodwin all working very hard to try and combat Oxton’s effective passing.

Then Whitchurch won a short corner! Kate Goodwin ejected it to Amy Fry who struck it perfectly to make it 2-2. We were so excited, as we thought we were maybe able to win or get at least a draw! Unfortunately though, despite Whitchurch’s best efforts, Oxton scored again twice, making it a final score of 4 – 2 to them. Both sides agreed it had been a great game and our player of the match went to Maddy Sugden. Our next match is next Saturday, against Bebington at home.

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

Following their excellent win last weekend away to Runcorn, Whitchurch Men’s 2s faced a tough challenge when entertaining Winnington Park 4s on a cold afternoon at SJT.

 

Winnington started the match on the front foot, immediately dominating possession and territory. They’re quick movement off the ball and strong running was overpowering the Whitchurch midfield and the defence struggled to clear the ball out of the Whitchurch half.

 

With Whitchurch struggling to get any ball to their forwards, the constant Winnington pressure soon brought a couple of goals. First a well worked move on the Winnington right led to a cross into the dee, where the Park forward took an early shot past keeper Neil Jones.

 

This was quickly followed by a flicked short corner that was saved by keeper Jones, but with Tom Forster blocked by the keeper, the Winnington forward reacted quickest to poke the ball in for a 2-0 lead.

 

Winnington thought they’d scored a third after another short corner. The ball was well saved by keeper Jones and got trapped under his body. With a melee of defending and attacking sticks hacking to get the ball out, eventually the ball was poked into the goal. With a very difficult decision to make, umpire Jess Kimberley called a retake of the short corner, much to Winnington’s disapproval and Whitchurch’s relief.

 

This moment seemed to derail Winnington a bit and galvanise Whitchurch. The 2s started to gain more possession of the ball in midfield through Tom Forster and Craig Hockenhull, and the ball started to find the young wide players in more advanced positions.

 

Martin Beecher started to find space in the Winnington dee, but unfortunately succumbed to injury midway through the half when trying to get in a shot.

 

Locki Price had a fine strike touched over the bar by the Winnington keeper after good work on the right by Fred Egerton and Josh Parry.

 

Despite being 2-0 down at halftime the 2s felt they were still in the game and needed to continue the good work from the end of the first half.

 

Whitchurch started the second half brilliantly and immediately took the game to Winnington. A superb driving run from the excellent Craig Hockenhull led to a cut-back to the top of the dee where Tom Forster fired home into the bottom corner of the Winnington goal.

 

Whitchurch continued to push forward looking for an equaliser. Joe Coburn and Locki Price combined well on the left and Euan Morris and Fred Egerton worked well together on the right. Josh Parry worked had in his new position of forward and did well to hold the ball up and bring teammates into play.

 

Winnington always posed a threat on the counter-attack, however. With Tom Molenaar struggling with a knee injury, James Page stepped into the right side of defence and worked hard to stop any threats on that side of the pitch.

 

Matt Brooks and Airan Jones had excellent games in the centre of defence with Matt’s tackling and Airan’s interceptions stopping most of the Winnington attacks and Doug Buckeridge worked hard to limit the threats on the Winnington right, with the help of Locki, Joe Coburn and Joe Faithfull, making his debut for the 2s.

 

On the few occasions that the Whitchurch defence was breached, keeper Jones came up with some smart saves to keep Winnington out.

 

Unfortunately Whitchurch were unable to find their equaliser, but the team can be proud of their efforts, particularly in a fine second half display against a very capable Winnington side. The slow start ultimately proved costly, but everyone in the match day squad worked very hard to get back into the game, restrict the Winnington chances and drive forward looking for goals.

 

Once again Craig Hockenhull was excellent in midfield, as was Tom Forster. Martin Beecher and Thomas Molenaar both shrugged off injury to help the second half efforts and Matt Brooks had a great game at the centre of defence. Special mentions though to Joe Faithfull making his debut with a good solid game in a multitude of positions and Airan Jones who had an excellent game alongside Matt at the heart of the Whitchurch defence.

 

Next week the 2s travel to Denbigh 2s.

 

Neston ladies 5s 4 Whitchurch ladies 3s 6

 

Whitchurch Ladies 3s had an apprehensive journey to Birkenhead on Saturday, to play Neston. The weather was abysmal and their captain Kate Goodwin was feeling anxious, as she knew they only had ten players! However, little did she know how her new team could pull together! What a match it turned out to be!

 

It was absolutely freezing cold, with wind lashing sideways across the pitch, as we took the first push-back.  We went out strong from the start, with Evie Whatmough making a fast run up front from the off, ably supported by Becky Brookfield. However, Neston fought back fiercely with some really slick set moves, slotting in two goals in quick succession. We were 2-0 down, until Annie Buckeridge, one of our new young players, scored her very first goal, from an excellent ball from Holly Gilbert. Feeling happier, we went off at half time, 2-1 to them.

 

We started off the second half very strong, all determined to make our mark on this match.  Unfortunately though, they scored another excellent goal shortly after half time.  From the next push back, Kate Goodwin made a successful run up and passed it into the Dee, for Evie Whatmough to confidently score a great goal. This encouraged us immensely.  Disappointingly, though despite some outstanding defending from Wendy Cooper and Emily Lister, Neston managed to score another two goals past our incredible keeper Maddy Sugden, who had already made some amazing saves.  Pressure began to build for Whitchurch, we had to think quickly and play hard. Then we won another short corner, which Becky Brookfield confidently put away, making it 4 – 3.  We were all so delighted, with having only 10 players, we felt we could do this!

 

Some more excellent passing took place and Holly Gilbert made a great run up the wing and Annie Buckeridge managed to score from another great pass into the Dee. We soldiered on with Kate Buckeridge, Kate Goodwin and Victoria Corlett putting in some strong tackles and runs up the pitch, culminating in Victoria Corlett scoring another goal, making it 5 – 4. to us.

Tension was mounting, as the minutes ticked away towards the final whistle. Then from nowhere Becky scored a fantastic goal on a solo mission.  After a final nerve wracking Neston short corner, which Maddy defended magnificently, Whitchurch had won 6 – 4.  We were ecstatic! What a match! We had all pushed ourselves so hard and some outstanding hockey had been played. Player of the match went to Kate Goodwin.  Everybody is now looking forward to next week’s home match against Oxton.

 

 

Alderley Edge ladies 2s 2 Whitchurch ladies 2s 4

 

Facing a strong Alderley Edge side in tough conditions, Whitchurch 2’s started the match positively with Ellie Windsor, Amy Fry and Phoebe Jones providing a strong attack. They were rewarded with a number of chances and Ellie Windsor scored two in quick succession.

Emily Vernon, Holly Jepson, Emma Clarke and Martha Teggin proved to be a strong defensive combination, preventing a number of Alderley Edge attacks from making it up the pitch.

Whitchurch begun the second half positively with Amy Fry quickly scoring another fantastic goal followed swiftly by one from Phoebe Jones.

Whitchurch begun to tire towards the end of the second half after struggling through freezing conditions for some time. This left Alderley Edge able to score two quick goals. However, this wasn’t enough to close Whitchurch’s lead and the match ended at 4-2.

Player of the match was awarded to Shola Bailey.

 

 

Whitchurch ladies 1s 3 Timperley ladies 4s 2

 

Whitchurch ladies started their pre-match warm-up sweeping the water off the pitch. The freezing conditions seemed to favour the away team and despite Whitchurch having significant amount of possession the visitors took their chances in front of goal and scored two quick goals. Whitchurch were their own worst enemies with lapses in concentration and giving away possession to easily stopping them from competing in the game.

 

The Whitchurch halftime talk was positive and the team urged to keep playing at the same pace and work rate but to make sure the passes were accurate and quick.

 

It turned out to be a game of two halves, where Whitchurch struggled to combine a string of passes the second half saw them passing the ball quickly and to their own players. Hebe Dixon led the charge forward and interchanges between Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty and Millie Edwards saw Laura Workman shoot from the top of the dee and Sue Read deflect past the stranded keeper to give Whitchurch hope.

 

Timperley pressed to get back in the game but Catherine Reece-Gresty, Gayle Ladd and Helen Machin in defence cut out any opportunities and started wave after wave of attacks. Charlotte Lawder’s pace down the right hand side caused the Timperley defence problems and created space from which Grace Berry shot high into the top corner to level the scores.

 

Whitchurch rolled their squad and Hayley Busby and Vicki Price came on to maintain the pressure and momentum. Timperley started to get frustrated as they failed to clear the ball and finally resulted in Whitchurch being awarded a penalty corner.

 

Hebe Dixon neatly slotted away the corner to give Whitchurch the lead for the first time in the match. Timperley through everything at Whitchurch in the final minutes of the game this resulted in Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty leaving the field after taking a ball in the arm. Whitchurch rode out the pressure and a number of penalty corners excellently dealt with by keeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees to secure a well earned three points.