Whitchurch ladies 1s 1 Oxton ladies 2s 1

It was a clash of the leagues top two as Whitchurch ladies 1s played Oxton ladies 2s this week. After the last few games of a slow start Whitchurch were determined to take the game to Oxton.

For the start of the game it was very equal with the ball being passed around between both teams and it was obvious that both sides wanted to gain the advantage and the win.

Oxton finally took the advantage against the run of play as they broke through the Whitchurch defence Catherine Reece-Gresty and Katie Fowles and scored first.

Whitchurch pushed up and seemed to take more control of the game in the second half earning a few short corners. Plenty of shots on goal from Emma Harper and Lisa Sullivan helped put pressure on the Oxton defence but they continued to stand strong.

Whitchurch captain Catherine Gresty scored pushing the ball past the keeper. Ellie Windsor and Nikki Workman worked hard in the Oxton dee to score another but couldn’t make it as time was running out.

At the end Whitchurch were disappointed not to have come away with the three points but the valuable point for the draw still keeps them in the promotion places with two games to go.

Player of the match went to keeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees.

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 1 Neston ladies 3s 11

Whitchurch travelled to play top of the league Neston knowing that this would be a tough match and Whitchurch knew that they couldn’t give up trying to keep the strong Neston team at bay.

Whitchurch fought hard to keep the tactical Neston team away from the Whitchurch dee and with a strong defence of Jess Kimberley, Wendy Cooper and Emma Clarke and keeper Shola Bailey were unable to keep the Neston team away as they were just really strong.

During the first half Whitchurch suffered a major hit back as defender Wendy Cooper was unable to play on due to injury and this left Whitchurch fighting throughout and the Neston team came back stronger and faster.

At halftime Whitchurch had a strong positive talk from Captain Julia Neale and gave Whitchurch a boost even though we were down 7-0 at half time and gave everyone a calming down as it was getting a bit stressful.

In the second half Whitchurch had turned around and became a lot more defensive and got back and helped to keep Neston at bay. With 5 minutes to the end the Neston team began to tire and Whitchurch saw a break and Jess Kimberley ran the ball past the Neston team and past the kicking back and scored the one and only goal for Whitchurch.

This game did not reflect on how well the Whitchurch team had been playing.

Next week Whitchurch will be entertaining Neston 4s at home at 12:30 push back.

 

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3 Deeside Men’s 7s 0

Whitchurch 2s entertained Deeside Ramblers 7s in their penultimate game of the season, looking to avenge their unfortunate defeat in the return fixture earlier in the season.

Whitchurch started brightly and took control of the early stages of the match but good chances were hard to come by as Deeside defended resolutely. However as the first half wore on, so Whitchurch’s formation became more ragged allowing Deeside to get a foothold in the game.

As Whitchurch pushed forward to create chances, Deeside resorted to leaving 2 players high up the pitch and breaking quickly past the Whitchurch midfield. The quick breaks enabled Deeside to outnumber the Whitchurch defence on a number of occasions, but the defence of Iain Bones, Mark Sugden, Ryan Murtagh and Doug Buckeridge repelled most of the attacks and limited any clear cut chances. When Deeside did get shots at goal, goalkeeper Aaron Swain made some good saves.

At the other end, Whitchurch were starting to create chances of their own and forced the Deeside keeper into a number of good saves. A succession of short corners were won and eventually Ben Fry scored with a slow shot from the edge of the D.

Despite the 1-0 lead at half-time Whitchurch made some adjustments to their formation to prevent Deeside bypassing the Whitchurch midfield. Ryan Murtagh switched to sweeper behind the defence and Richard Leigh dropped into a deeper midfield position.

The changes worked and blunted the Deeside attacking threat in the second half with Richard effectively taking Deeside’s strongest midfield player out of the game. Other than a flurry of short corners midway through the half, one of which was well defended by Iain Bones and one well saved by Aaron Swain, the Whitchurch goal was relatively untroubled.

Whitchurch’s attacking threat was much more dangerous in the second half. Simon Valiente-Briceno and Jack Barnes caused Deeside all sorts of problems, ably assisted by Craig Hockenhull in centre midfield and Jake Wood and Josh Parry in the wide positions. A number of chances were created most of which fell to Simon, who just couldn’t manage to get the ball in the Deeside goal. Jack Barnes, Craig Hockenhull and Iain Bones all had attempts from short corners flash narrowly wide or well saved by the Deeside keeper.

Eventually Whitchurch doubled their lead thanks to a brilliant run by Phil Tranter. Cutting in from the left and beating three Deeside defenders he unselfishly squared for Jack Barnes to fire through the keeper’s legs.

Further good chances came and went for Whitchurch until Ben Fry found Simon Valiente-Briceno in the D and he got the goal he deserved on the reverse stick.

The 3-0 win leaves Whitchurch 2s in 7th place in the league, just behind Llandudno 2s who have now played all of their fixtures this season. Whitchurch travel to Denbigh next weekend for their final game of the season. A win would see the 2s finish 6th in the table.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 3  Deeside ladies 3s 4

Whitchurch ladies 1s played a reorganised match this weekend against Deeside ladies 3s.  Deeside were playing with 11 players outfield players and with Whitchurch missing a few of their regular players they found it hard from the start to make an impression.

Deeside took control of the first half and scored 4 goals, leaving Whitchurch shocked at half time. A positive talk at half time saw Whitchurch ladies come back fighting. Captain, Catherine Gresty scored their first goal battling through the Deeside defence and slotting the ball into the goal.

Short corners were coming quickly for Whitchurch and Lisa Sullivan fired one into the bottom corner goal. Heads were starting to raise but with time running out Whitchurch had to work hard to keep the ball up towards Deeside goal.

Passes from Nicola Workman and Emily Hilton allowed Sue Read to slot the ball into the goal, making it 4-3 to Deeside. With minutes to go Whitchurch kept the ball in the Deeside dee needing to score another but were thoroughly frustrated when the final whistle came. Player of the match was awarded to Sue Read.

Ladies 1s are at home again next week playing top of the league Oxton 2s.

Whitchurch Mens 2s 3 Chester Mens 6s 2

Chester started the game the faster of the two teams and took an early lead with a well-taken goal. The game remained even throughout the first half with no team managing to take advantage. Whitchurch finally broke through the Chester defence as Steve Lloyd tapped in at the back post to equalise before the break.

The second half saw Whitchurch take the advantage with a thunderous short corner strike from Iain Bones. Much as with the first half the game remained even for large portions and again Chester battled back to bring the scores level.

Whitchurch secured the win as Steve Lloyd was picked out in the dee to turn in his second of the match and claim a hard fought three points.

Denbigh Mens 2s 2 Whitchurch Mens 1s 5

This was not as comfortable a victory as the score line suggests for Whitchurch, Denbigh had the better of the first half taking a 2-0 lead and had enough chances to put the score beyond the Whitchurch side by the half time break.

Whitchurch realised they had a hard game on their hand and upped their work rate in the second half and took the game to the home side. Goals from Martin Beecher (2), Tom Leonard (2) and Joe Nicholson gave Whitchurch another three points by the final whistle.

Macclesfield ladies 4s 0 Whitchurch ladies 2s 0

This week Whitchurch travelled away to play Macclesfield 4s. Whitchurch started the stronger of the teams straight from push back with teamwork from Helen Hocknell and Hayleigh Busby who drove down the right wing and picked out Ashleigh Heath at the top of the dee but was unfortunate not to score. Despite the harsh conditions Whitchurch gave their best efforts. The defending from Wendy Cooper, Emma Clarke, Mel Reid, Jess Kimberly and Becky Brookfield meant that the ball could be passed up to the wingers who had shots on goal were saved by the Macclesfield keeper.

At half time the weather began to become heavier and the temperature became colder, however with a talk from captain Julia Neale the team were raring to give the tiring team Macclesfield round two.
Whitchurch came out the stronger of the two teams again with Tracey Tolhurst driving the ball up the right wing and using the undefended middle of the pitch to get the ball into the Macclesfield dee but again were unfortunate to score. The team were unsuccessful in gaining a short corner, which had been practiced in training, and felt confident with. At the full time whistle the score was tied at 0-0 and the seconds had gone 3 weeks without loosing a game.
Keeper Shola Bailey was awarded player of the match. Whitchurch 2s will travel away to play top of the league Neston 3s next week at a 4:30 push back

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.

Whitchurch Mens 2s 2 Llandudno Mens 2s 2

Whitchurch 2s entertained Llandudno 2s looking to bounce back from the disappointment of being unable to fulfil last week’s fixture and the subsequent deduction of 3 points. Despite the rain and very wet pitch, Whitchurch started the match well and dominated possession and territory in the first 10 minutes of the game. The team created a number of good chances and Richard Leigh was very unfortunate to divert an excellent through ball from Simon Valiente-Briceno just wide of the post.

However Llandudno managed to get a grip of the game and pressed Whitchurch harder and faster in midfield. The Whitchurch passes started to go astray and Llandudno were able to maintain possession of their own. Llandudno pushed more players forward and created a number of good chances.

The defence of Iain Bones, Mark Sugden and Doug Buckeridge found themselves outnumbered on a number of occasions. The Whitchurch goal led a charmed life, but largely thanks to some excellent goalkeeping from Neil Jones, Llandudno struggled to apply the final touch to open the scoring.

Ultimately, after a succession of short corners, Llandudno opened the scoring with a powerful strike form the edge of the D just before halftime.

Whitchurch switched to a 4-man defence for the second half, with Ryan Murtagh moving to left back. With Alex Fry patrolling in front of the defence Whitchurch were able to nullify a lot of the Llandudno attacks before they reached the Whitchurch D. Aaron Shackleton and Richard Leigh were able to get forward in the wide areas and provide support to Josh Parry and Simon Valiente-Briceno up front.

Eventually good Whitchurch play led to a cross from the right which was missed by everyone except Ben Fry who controlled the ball and drilled a shot past the Llandudno keeper for the equaliser.

Buoyed by this Whitchurch continued to push forward, but were undone by a swift counter attack from Llandudno. Their tactic of leaving a player high up the pitch paid dividends as they were able to by-pass the Whitchurch defence and midfield with one long pass and put their attacker clean through on goal. Neil Jones made an excellent save, but the Llandudno attacker was able to divert the ball goal ward at the second attempt and, despite a valiant effort to get back and clear off the line by Ryan Murtagh, Llandudno retook the lead.

Whitchurch were undeterred and pushed Llandudno further back and Alex Fry caused the Welsh defenders constant problems with his dribbling around their D. Whitchurch forced a number of short corners and eventually a shot for the edge of the D was deflected to Ben Fry to slam the ball into the goal to make the score 2-2.

Both teams pushed for a winning goal in the last moments of the game. But neither team could find a breakthrough, although Phil Tranter was unlucky to have a good effort well blocked by a Llandudno defender.

Whitchurch 2s battled well to come from behind twice in this game. The change in formation for the second half contained the Llandudno attacks and allowed Whitchurch to get more control in the midfield areas. Whitchurch carried the greater attacking threat in the second half, but ultimately the draw against a talented and youthful Llandudno side was probably a fair result for both sides.

The draw leaves Whitchurch 2s in 7th place in the league, ahead of Chester 6s on goal difference, but 4 points behind Llandudno.

The 2s are away to Lymm 4s next weekend.

 

Winnington Park Park Mens 4s 1 Whitchurch Mens 1s 10

It was a dominant performance over the second place team from start to finish for the Mens 1s securing promotion with four games left to play.

Within minutes of the start Whitchurch took the lead with Joe Nicholson firing in from close range. Whitchurch failed to respect the Winnington team and paid the price as Winnington took full advantage of lax marking to equalise.

This woke up the Whitchurch team and they stepped up a gear and soon raced into a lead with two goals from Steve Lloyd and two blistering shots from Tom Leonard to give Whitchurch a comfortable lead at the interval.

The second half was more the same way and despite all the efforts of Winnington Park they couldn’t break free of the strangle hold Whitchurch had on the game.

Whitchurch continued as they finished the first half with goals from Tom Leonard and Steve Lloyd before Joe Nicholson bagged a brace, the second another breathtaking shot from near the baseline. Whitchurch finished the game as Ben Lea was rewarded for his efforts in the game with the final goal.

Whitchurch 1s entertain Mossley Hill 1s at home next week.

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 1 Bowdon Ladies 6ths 0

Due to the heavy rain in the morning water lay in patches on the Whitchurch pitch delaying the start of the game, as the clouds cleared and the pitch dried the game started.

Whitchurch 2s over a number of weeks have been growing in confidence and from the off they took the game to the Bowdon team. As always Whitchurch rode their luck and some excellent saves from goalkeeper Shola Bailey and key tackles from the defensive line-up of Wendy Cooper, Sally Pearce, Mel Reid, Emma Clarke, Jess Kimberley and Martha Teggin kept Whitchurch in the game. On the break of halftime a swift interchange of passing between Kate Goodwin and Ashleigh Heath picked out Charlotte Lawder on the edge of the dee to scramble home and give Whitchurch the lead at the break.

Captain Julia Neale led the way into the second half encouraging the team to keep up their efforts and secure the much deserved three points. Becky Brookfield commanded the midfield cutting out the Bowdon attacks and setting off the team on the attack enabling the wings to attack at pace down the right and left side through Emily Veron and Hayleigh Busby. Whitchurch were unlucky not to score again when Busby’s shot was cleared off the line.

Bowdon fought back but the Whitchurch team were in no mood to let their precious lead slip and fought to the end to secure a much deserved and valuable win.

Whitchurch ladies travel away to Golborne 2s next week.

 

Wrexham ladies 2s 3 Whitchurch ladies 1s 1

Whitchurch Ladies 1s came back down to earth with a bump after going top of the table last week with a disappointingly 3-1 loss to Wrexham.

Wrexham were the more energetic of the two teams playing at speed throughout, whereas the usually excellent Whitchurch team failed to come out flying as usual. Wrexham went ahead early via a short corner set piece move; play then ebbed and flowed with Whitchurch failing to convert opportunities created during the rest of the first half, despite the efforts of wingers Ellie Windsor and Laura Workman.

Whitchurch then equalised via their own set piece penalty corner with Jane Williamson striking home with laser like accuracy. However, Wrexham were awarded a dubious penalty flick, which was converted allowing the Welsh team to take the lead, before a further goal put the game beyond the reach of the valiant but seemingly heavy legged Whitchurch team.

Whitchurch Ladies 1s will look towards next week and the visit of ladies Lymm 4s to put this behind them.