With the Mens 1s game cancelled due to the opposition not being able to raise a side and all other sides not having fixtures the ladies 2s played a friendly.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 12 Runcorn ladies 2s 2

On the 29th of October 2016 Whitchurch Ladies 2’s played a friendly against Runcorn Ladies 2’s who are in the above league. Whitchurch expected a hard game and fielded a strong team but due to availability Runcorn brought a young team with several debutants and Whitchurch provided a number of players to support the them.

The game started with both teams evenly matched, but Whitchurch got the lead with a goal from Ashleigh Heath. The game was close as Runcorn then scored. Another two goals from Grace Berry and Lisa Sullivan secured Whitchurchs’ win, but just before half time Runcorn scored again, making the half time score 3-2 win to Whitchurch.

During the second half Whitchurch got into their attacking stride scoring nine goals, new girl Aisla Cairns with 5 goals, Mel Reid (her first ever for Whitchurch) Amy Fry, Grace with a second and finished as Ashleigh Heath scored her second. Whitchurch played well defensively with Mel Reid, Emma Clarke, Emily Hilton, Catherine Reece-Gresty and Katie Goodwin. Thanks must go to Phoebe Jones, Molly Goodwin and Vicky Corlet who played well for Runcorn, particularly to Phoebe who scored!

The 2’s have a break next week before their next league game against Bebington Ladies 2s at home.

Northop Hall Mens 2s 2 Whitchurch Mens 1s 2

Whitchurch played Northop Hall this week in a top-of-the-table clash in a tightly contested game at Northop. On a pitch that offered less bounce and more bobble, Whitchurch struggled to find their control, and passes, stops and tackles weren’t to the expected standard for the first half, allowing Northop to attack more freely. Aaron Swain in goal made some superb saves to keep Whitchurch in the game, but ultimately the Northop pressure paid off and they converted a short corner with a hard strike from the top of the dee.

Whitchurch then settled into a better rhythm, defending more consistently against the Northop attacks, with Matt Brooks, Ryan Murtagh and Ben Fry combining well across the back to clear the ball and Alex Fry and Joel Leese working well in the centre to move the ball up the pitch. Jake Wood, Marcus Conway and Ben Kimberley gave Whitchurch width allowing attacks to build down the wings, and good balls into the centre finally led to a goalmouth scramble that Martin Beecher got the last touch on to get Whitchurch back on level terms.

Northop regrouped, and as the game got more intense were able to drive down the right wing, getting a cross past the defence’s attempts to block and giving their striker a straightforward chance on goal. 2-1 to Northop at half time was a reflection of the difference in performance between the teams. Captain Alex Fry gave the team another half-time talk to focus their minds, and the second half started much better for Whitchurch: the passing was better, the control sharper and the marking tighter. For a long time, the game was evenly balanced with both sides having chances, but as the half progressed, Whitchurch were stronger with a number of very close chances – shots across the goal, shots inches wide of the post. With only a couple of minutes left on the clock, Whitchurch moved the ball through the centre of the pitch at pace, with Leese picking out Tom Leonard who buried the ball in the back of the Northop goal.

A draw was a fair result for a game played at pace and with intensity, and it leaves Whitchurch top of the table ahead of Northop on goal difference. Whitchurch play at home next week against Colwyn Bay 3s.

 

Sandbach Ladies 2 Whitchurch Ladies 0

This week Whitchurch Ladies 2’s travelled to play Sandbach Ladies 1’s. Whitchurch knew it would be a difficult match from the start as Sandbach were only 2^nd below them in the division. The game started and both teams were pretty equally matched so Whitchurch fought even harder, attacking strong up the wing and defending the middle of the pitch. Ashleigh Heath and Emily Vernon worked hard to try and get that much needed goal, but unfortunately couldn’t finish it off. Throughout the first half defence was strong from Emma Clarke and Jess Kimberley and Whitchurch didn’t concede any goals. Whitchurch went into the second half with spirits still high, as the score line was 0-0.

Whitchurch went into the second half fighting for a goal, but unfortunately early on in the second half a Sandbach player ran through the Whitchurch defence and fired the ball into the goal past keeper Phoebe Jones who made numerous saves and played a fantastic match. Although Whitchurch’s spirits were dampened they still kept fighting and didn’t give up at all throughout the match. Whitchurch had many opportunities to score their much-needed goal and fantastic play from Tracy Tolhurst, Hayleigh Busby and Beth Sykes nearly secured it but they were unlucky. About half way through the second half Sandbach scored another lucky goal. Despite Whitchurch’s fantastic play they were unable to keep their winning streak. Ashleigh Heath was awarded player of the match and next week Whitchurch Ladies 2’s will play a friendly match against Runcorn Ladies 3’s at home.

 

Whitchurch ladies 1s 8 Alderley Edge Ladies 4s 1

Whitchurch continued where they left off from last weeks game, working hard and defending in numbers, they frustrated Alderley Edge throughout the match but this week were ruthless in turning chances into goals.

Sue Read opened the scoring for Whitchurch 10 minutes into the game and scored her second minutes later. Ellie Windsor scored a third before the break to give Whitchurch a comfortable lead.

After the break Alderley pushed players forward and forced the best out of Maddy Sudgen in goal and Claire Fitzgerald in the heart of the Whitchurch defence. But after the initial pressure Catherine Reece-Gresty steadied the team and started the team controlling possession and moving the ball through the midfield of Lisa Sullivan and Emma Harper.

As Alderley tired Whitchurch took their chances in front of goal as Grace Berry scored the first of the half and Lucy Ratcliffe dispatched a five-minute hatrick striking three unstoppable shots from the top of the dee. Whitchurch finished the game with Sue Read scoring her third poaching another goal as it bounced off the keeper’s pads.

Llandudno Mens 2s 3 Whitchurch Mens 2s 1

Following 2 straight defeats, Whitchurch 2s travelled to North Wales to face a Llandudno 2s team also struggling to find some form this season.

The Welsh team started the game brightly and immediately forced Whitchurch back towards their own goal. The defence of Iain Bones, Ryan Murtagh, James Nicholson and Richard Leigh repelled the early Llandudno attacks with no particular alarms within the Whitchurch dee. There were opportunities for Whitchurch to hit Llandudno on the counter-attack, but a well marshalled Welsh defence was able to overwhelm the Whitchurch midfield and curtail any opportunities high up the pitch.

As the half wore on Llandudno’s attacking passes managed to find their targets more often and the Whitchurch goal came under increasing threat. The Whitchurch defending became more “last-ditch” with some excellent tackles from Murtagh and Bones in the dee and some good stops from keeper, Neil Jones.

Ultimately the pressure told and Llandudno worked some space on the right-hand side of the Whitchurch dee and were able to fire past Jones.

Despite the pressure on their own goal, Whitchurch were becoming more of a threat at the other end of the pitch, although they struggled to create any clear-cut chances. However on one break Ben Fry showed great speed and skill as he burst into the Llandudno dee, but unfortunately his ferocious shot was straight at the Welsh keeper.

As Whitchurch looked to push forward in search of an equaliser, Llandudno hit back on the counter-attack and just before half-time they fashioned a shooting chance on the edge of the dee which was blasted past Jones for 2-0.

The second-half followed a similar pattern to the end of the first half. Llandudno dominated possession and territory, forcing Whitchurch into more desperate defending and goalkeeping, but Whitchurch continued to look to counter-attack fast through the strong running of Airan Jones, Euan Stant, Alex Fry and Doug Buckeridge in their attempts to support Tom Forster up front.

Llandudno, however, duly made it 3-0 from a short corner midway through the second half, which prompted Whitchurch to swap Tom Forster into defence and Ryan Murtagh to centre-forward. This paid immediate dividends with the Whitchurch counter-attacks now pivoting around Murtagh, who was able to bring the supporting players into the game closer to the Llandudno dee and more chances were created.

Stant, Ben Fry, Buckeridge and Murtagh all had shots at goal and a number of long and short corners were won in the final quarter of the game. Eventually a nice pass from Ben Fry found Murtagh in the Llandudno dee, and his switch to the reverse stick saw him fire in to make the score 3-1. But despite their hard work, Whitchurch were unable to reduce the deficit further and the game finished 3-1 to Llandudno.

This was a tough game for Whitchurch against an experienced Llandudno side and travelling without any substitutes for this match meant the Whitchurch players had to work very hard for the full 70 minutes. Although Llandudno had a greater number, and better quality chances, this inexperienced Whitchurch side finished the game very strongly and put the Welsh team under a bit of pressure at the end of the game.

The Whitchurch 2s now have a 2-week break before they entertain Chester 6s on November 5th.

 

Whitchurch Mens 1s 6 Neston Mens 6s 0

Whitchurch played at home this week against a young Neston 6s team, and experience proved the deciding factor. Despite some changes in personnel, Whitchurch were able to field a strong team, with Craig Hockenhull coming into the centre with Joel Leese, providing stability and passing options, while Martin Beecher, Tom Leonard, Ben Kimberley and Jack Barnes rotated well around the front to keep the pressure on Neston. An early Whitchurch goal from Martin Beecher helped settle the game into a pattern, and Whitchurch were then able to start moving the ball around confidently, launching attacks up both wings, as well as through the centre.

In response, Neston tried to use a high man to break the Whitchurch defence, but he was excellently marked out of the game by Matt Brooks, leaving Neston with the harder task of having to drive the ball up through players instead. Strong defensive work, cutting out clearing passes, and a high press from Whitchurch meant the game was played predominantly in the Neston half, and two more goals from Tom Leonard and Ben Kimberley duly followed before the break.

The second half started much more calmly, with Neston defending well and Whitchurch missing a number of chances. Aaron Swain in goal came out strongly to deny the few chances Neston were able to make, and Peter Scales and Jake Wood were able to clear the ball quickly up the lines. Tom Leonard was able to score two more from some very hard strikes and Steve Lloyd scored after a goal-mouth scramble. It was another strong performance from Whitchurch, who are away next week to Northop Hall.

 

Whitchurch Ladies 1s 0 Oxton Ladies 2s 1

Whitchurch Ladies 1s welcomed Oxton 2s to their home ground on Saturday. Both teams knew the game would be tough, having moved up together from the division below last season.

From the start both teams were evenly matched. Whitchurch fought hard to find opportunities to get in Oxton’s dee and despite having possession were denied any shots on goal. Oxton sat back and soaked up the Whitchurch pressure waiting to capitalise on any Whitchurch mistakes. Oxton finally got their first opportunity late on in the half when they were rewarded a penalty corner and threatened to take the lead but failed to find the final touch.

The halftime talk for Whitchurch emphasised to keep things simple and stay disciplined and positive and continue as they had in the first half.

Whitchurch again took the game to Oxton and as chances were scrambled away from the Oxton goal from Laura Workman and Grace Berry the ladies heads never dropped and neither did the work rate.

The game was eventually settled as Whitchurch clearance was miss hit and fell to the Oxton centre forward to tap into the Whitchurch goal.

As Whitchurch pushed for the equaliser the game became more open and an excellent save by 1^st team debutant Maddy Sugden in goal kept Whitchurch in the game. The final five minutes saw Whitchurch camped at the Oxton end of the pitch desperately trying to get back in the game. The final whistle saw a dejected Whitchurch team who played one of their strongest performances of the season but failed to come away with any points.

The ladies 1s entertain Alderley Edge next weekend starting at 12.30 at the Whitchurch Leisure Centre.

 

In the absence of a fixture this week the Whitchurch 2s took the opportunity to mix with the new senior and junior players and play a 2s v 3s (see attached photo).

Wilmslow ladies 3s 4 Whitchurch ladies 1s 8

On a surprisingly warm October day in the salubrious surroundings of Cheadle Hulme School, Whitchurch Ladies 1s came out comfortably on top against Wilmslow Ladies 3s, in an end-to-end game featuring some very sharp and impressive goals.

Laura Workman opened the scoring within the first ten minutes, followed quickly by Emma Harper and Ellie Windsor. Lucy Ratcliffe continued her dynamic scoring run with a hat trick, including a clinical finish at the end to kill off the game. Mention must also go to Grace Berry, making her first team debut and delivering a brace of goals.

Despite a late rally by Wilmslow, Whitchurch saw it home to end with the impressive score line of 8-4. Next Saturday’s game is at home against Oxton Ladies 2s at 12.30pm.

 

Runcorn Mens 2s 3 Whitchurch Mens 1s 5

Whitchurch Men’s 1s travelled away to Runcorn for their third match of the season, and had a hard game against strong opposition. Runcorn came out of the blocks quickly and applied pressure across the width of the pitch. Whitchurch rallied, and a strong move up the right hand side of the pitch with Tom Leonard pushing up and getting a crisp pass across the dee allowed Ben Kimberley to flick home.

This inspired Runcorn to reset and come back stronger with some good movement and sharp passing allowing them to get a goal back a few minutes later. Further pressure was resisted with goalkeeper Aaron Swain coming out strongly to force mistakes from their striker. Despite Runcorn losing a player to the sin bin for two minutes, Whitchurch were unable to convert continued pressure, and on his return the Runcorn player was able to drive into the dee twice and score fine goals on the reverse past a diving keeper to bring the score to 3-1 by half time – which could have been more but for a sublime toe-end save by Aaron from a strong hit across the face of the goal.

At half time, captain Alex Fry settled the team, giving them the areas to work on and the mistakes to avoid, and the results were immediate and impressive, passing in triangles at speed took Whitchurch quickly up the pitch passing players with ease compared to the first half, and after a scramble and enthusiastic tackling in the Runcorn dee, a stick went round a leg and brought Joel Leese down. He stepped up to take the resulting penalty stroke and put it away superbly. 3-2 gave us something to work with, and Alex got the ball moving round from the centre down the right via Jake Wood who drove well down the line to get it to Tom Leonard who won a short corner. The injection came in to Alex, across to Joel, to Tom, and back to Joel who buried it in the Runcorn net.

Determination to win from this point led to more fine movement around the pitch: Ryan Murtagh and Matt Brooks combined well at the back to get the ball up to Jack Barnes who drove forward to get the ball into the dee, and a short corner followed.

Unfortunately from the flick at goal, a Runcorn defender took a ball to the face and required treatment. After the restart, Whitchurch continued to defend against an increasing Runcorn attack, and Aaron Swain continued to help the defence out with some strong saves and some last-ditch tackles from Ryan Murtagh and James Partington allowing them to get the ball away. With two minutes left on the clock, Whitchurch went on the attack again, and after a scramble in the dee, Ben Kimberley came out strongest, putting the ball into the net and giving Whitchurch the lead for the first time since the fifth minute. As Runcorn heads dropped, a quick counter attack with Steve Lloyd’s fast pass across the dee to Jack Barnes who switched it to Ben Kimberley who had an open goal to get his hat trick.

A much stronger second half and a positive attitude were the key to a fine result for the Men’s 1s, keeping them top of the table on goal difference. Whitchurch are at home next week against Neston 6s.

 

Whitchurch Mens 2s 0 Denbigh 2s 3

Coming off last week’s heavy defeat, Whitchurch 2s were looking to get back to winning ways when they entertained a Denbigh 2s side that had lost their first game of this season, but had beaten Whitchurch twice last year.

Whitchurch started well and immediately took control of the game with most of the hockey being played in Denbigh’s half of the pitch. But despite lots of possession and territory, Whitchurch struggled to make inroads into the Denbigh D. Attacks continually broke down on the edge of the D due to Denbigh’s resolute defending and poor final passes from Whitchurch.

As the half wore on Whitchurch managed to win a succession of short corners, but unusually poor execution meant the Denbigh goal was never threatened.

Despite defending very deep, Denbigh were always a threat on the counter-attack. As Whitchurch players pressed higher and higher up the pitch, long passes out of defence were by-passing the midfield and allowing Denbigh free runs towards the Whitchurch defence.

Mark Sugden, Iain Bones, Richard Leigh and Doug Buckeridge defended well, but Denbigh were still able to force some good saves from keeper Neil Jones.

Just before half-time Denbigh profited from lax Whitchurch marking and fire a long ball forward from which their unmarked striker was able to fire past the helpless Jones. Within moments Denbigh’s lead was doubled from a short corner. Although the shot from the edge of the D was mis-hit, the bouncing ball managed to find corner of the Whitchurch goal.

Frustrated to be 2-0 down at half time, Whitchurch flew out of the blocks in the second half, and immediately put together some good attacking moves. At last the Denbigh keeper was forced into action, and from a rebound, Craig Hockenhull was unlucky to see his flick over the keeper brilliantly stopped on the line and cleared by a Denbigh defender.

Whitchurch continued to pour forward in the second half, but the dribbling of Sy Briceno and Felix Jeffreys was constantly thwarted by good Denbigh tacking, and the attacking interplay of Tom Forster, Pete Scales, Rupert Yeoward, Ben Fry and Josh Parry couldn’t penetrate the massed ranks of the Denbigh defence.

Denbigh continued to be a sporadic threat on the counter attack, but any danger was quickly snuffed out by Bones and Sugden and Denbigh rarely succeeded in getting into the Whitchurch D. However, as Whitchurch became move ragged towards the end of the game, Denbigh produced a final, swift counter-attack which put the final nail in the Whitchurch coffin.

This was a frustrating game for Whitchurch – even the Denbigh players were a little surprised to have won the game 3-0. Ultimately a combination of the Whitchurch forwards having an off-day and the Denbigh defence playing very well contributed significantly to this result. Whitchurch will be disappointed that the Denbigh keeper only had to make one save and that 10 or 12 short corners didn’t yield a single worthwhile strike at goal.

The defeat leaves Whitchurch 2s in 6th place in the league. Next week the 2s travel to Llandudno 2s.

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 3 Crewe ladies 4s 1

Whitchurch entertained local rivals Crewe needing to keep up their chase of promotion with another three points.

Whitchurch attacked from the start forcing back the Crewe defence but couldn’t get the vital touch in the dee to give the much-needed lead. Whitchurch rode their luck as a route one ball straight through the midfield picked out the Crewe forward in the dee and forced the best out of keeper Shola Bailey.

As the ball bounced around the Crewe dee they could only clear as far as Tracy Tolhurst who shot into the bottom corner to give Whitchurch the lead. Within minutes a fine individual effort from Ashley Heath gave Whitchurch a comfort zone.

Whitchurch showed their naivety at times abandoning their defensive duties and pushing forward for more goals and this left a Crewe player free in the Whitchurch dee and resulted in Crewe scoring and back into the game before the halftime break.

Whitchurch continued to push for further goals in the second half and ride their luck as Crewe chances came and went. Finally Whitchurch Ashleigh Heath scored her second diving to meet a cross from Hayleigh Busby taking ball, keeper and defender into the back of the goal and another win.

The 2s now have a break for a couple of weeks in the league.