Whitchurch Men’s 2s 7 Lymm Men’s 4s 2

Once again Whitchurch were able to field a full complement of players and immediately took control of the game, but despite creating a number of chances Whitchurch were caught out by a Lymm breakaway with the ball fired into the net off the crossbar. Whitchurch responded immediately through excellent play from Craig Hockenhull leading an equaliser.

Whitchurch continued to create chances and duly took the lead with a fierce shot from Alex Fry. Lymm however continued to cause problems on the break by leaving a number of players high up the pitch. Iain Bones and Ryan Murtagh broke up a number of counter attacks, but Whitchurch were eventually undone by a well struck shot from a short corner.

Whitchurch continued to push forward and were ultimately rewarded when Ryan Murtagh fired Whitchurch in front on the stroke of half time. On the balance of play Whitchurch could consider themselves unfortunate to only be 3-2 ahead at the break.

Mindful of Lymm’s first half tactics, Whitchurch played a more controlled game of hockey in the second half and successfully restricted Lymm’s second half chances. However they were still grateful for some excellent goalkeeping from Paul Leigh – especially one excellent high save from a short corner – and a brilliant goal line clearance from Ryan Murtagh.

Going forward Whitchurch were always threatening with excellent interplay from Craig Hockenhull and Alex Fry, both of whom added second half goals. Further goals were added by Ellis Hickson and Iain Bones (who according to the umpire scored the best goal of the game).

Although Whitchurch ran out 7-2 victors, the margin of victory could have been greater, with the Lymm goalkeeper making some excellent second half saves, including a triple save from Ellis Hickson and Aaron Swain and a brilliant interception that sent Aaron Shackleton flying.

Whitchurch’s young players, Josh Parry, Aaron Swain and Jake Wood all had excellent games, guided by the experience of Alex Fry, Craig Hockenhull and Iain Bones. Ellis Hickson ran tirelessly up front, as did Aaron Shackleton on the left wing. Richard Leigh and Doug Buckeridge both worked hard to repel Lymm’s attacks and assist in Whitchurch’s attacking play.

Due to Wrexham and Liverpool Sefton dropping out of the league and the subsequent removal of their 9-1 and 10-0 victories against these sides, the result leaves Whitchurch in 8^th place in the table with 9 points from 9 games.

The 2nds are at home to Winnington Park 4s next week.

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 1 Golborne ladies 2s

Whitchurch Ladies 2s entertained Golborne this weekend in an unfortunate loss. From the start both sides knew it was going to be a long game, with the rain lashing down.

Golborne picked up two early goals but Whitchurch bounced back and debutant Meg Oldham who had returned after a break, scored Whitchurch’s one and only goal.

Whitchurch went into half time 2-1 down. Despite the weather conditions they had a very uplifting talk.

The second half saw the best efforts from Wendy Cooper, Emma Clarke and Mel Reid who fought to keep the ball out of Whitchurch’s goal. Golborne kept on coming strong scoring 5  more goals. Keeper Shola Bailey saved some good attempts from Golborne’s side.

There were many attempts on goal from Whitchurch who used the width of the pitch to get the ball up to the attack to the the ball into Golborne’s dee but could not convert

Whitchurch thought that they had another chance when centre forward, Ashleigh Heath who ran the ball into the dee and was just shy of the goal when she was taken out of the game by the keeper, although the ball was already out of play.

Jess Kimberley was awarded player of the match.

Whitchurch 2s will be travelling to play against Runcorn ladies 2 away next week at 12:30.

Lymm ladies 5s  2   Whitchurch ladies 1s  8

Whitchurch ladies travelled to Lymm for the game on Saturday for what turned out to be a very eventful day. The weather conditions played a big part in the match as the rain became heavier through the game.

Whitchurch started strong and within ten minutes Emma Harper opened the scoring with a strike from the edge of the dee, this was quickly followed by another by Harper from a short corner.

Whitchurch kept the pressure on and Sue read scored twice, after captain Catherine Winter- Gresty provide two great passes.Catherine then scored herself tapping in a raised ball passed in from Harper taking the score to five. Just before half time Lymm got one back, the rain was by then having a big affect with a lot of water of the pitch and the ball not running as fast as normal causing players from both teams to slip over.

After a quick half time break under umbrellas, Lymm came out and keeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees had a couple of great saves, then defender Gayle Ladd cleared two from the goal line. Whitchurch pushed forward and Jane Williamson passed a short ball to Sue Read for the next goal, and Emma Harper quickly scored again to complete her hatrick.

At the other end of the pitch Lymm forced keeper Gwyneth  to do another great save, but in the process badly injuring her ankle, forcing her to go off. Gayle Ladd quickly stepped forward to act as kicking back and the defence did a sterling job. Lymm did manage to score one more, but then towards the end of the game Lisa Sullivan took the ball into the Dee and took the ball around several defenders to score the final goal leaving Whitchurch with a happy 8-3 winning score. Both teams I think we’re glad to hear the final whistle as the rain kept pouring down.

The drama continued after the final whistle with keeper Gwyneth in considerable pain and shock an ambulance was called to take her to A&E accompanied by captain Cath, thanks to Vicky Price and Jane Williamson for following them to bring Cath home. Luckily after X- Ray’s the result was a badly sprained ankle not a break which was at first feared.
Whitchurch play Triton 3s at home next week.

Mossley Hill Mens 3s  1  Whitchurch Mens 1s 7

Whitchurch travelled to Liverpool for another well deserved win against a promotion contenders Mossley. A hard fought game saw Whitchurch run out winners with goals from Tom Leonard (4), Joe Nicholson, Ben Kimberley and Tom Forester.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 1 Chester ladies 4s 1

Whitchurch ladies started the stronger of the two teams and pressed from the start. Some good attacking play down the right hand side between Phoebe Jones and Emily Hilton saw Nicola Workman causing problems for the Chester defence.

After ten minutes Chester scored against the run of play with a fabulous goal that struck the underside of the crossbar leaving the Whitchurch defence with no opportunity.

Whitchurch were unphased by the setback and continued with the same game plan which had worked so effectively and were rewarded when Nicola Workman defected home an equaliser to make it all level at the break.

After a good team talk Whitchurch came back stronger having a lot more control over the play. Defenders Catherine Reece-Gresty and Gayle Ladd constantly pushing up the ball to Ellie Windsor and Laura Workman to give Whitchurch plenty of chances but Sue Read and captain Catherine Winter-Gresty just couldn’t make them count.

Whitchurch frustration started to show as they pushed more players forward aiming for the win and they were lucky not to lose when the Chester centre forward was picked out unmarked in the Whitchurch dee and only an excellent save by keeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees saved the day.

At the final whistle a draw was the correct result. Whitchurch captain Catherine Winter-Gresty got player of the match

Whitchurch ladies 1s travel away next week to play Lymm ladies 5s.

 

Brooklands Poynton ladies 4s 4 Whitchurch ladies 2s 3

Whitchurch travelled to play against Brooklyn 4s on Saturday in freezing conditions. As with so many of the games in recent weeks Whitchurch pressured from the start but were unable to convert their opportunities.

Brooklyn’s managed to break free and scored from the top of the dee with a shot that skimmed past the Whitchurch keeper Maddy Sugden. The Whitchurch defence of Wendy Cooper, Mel Reed and Becky Brookfield and the returning Helen Apperley continued to stand firm saving loads of passes into the dee.

Whitchurch managed to equalise when Hebe Dixon drove down the right hand side picked out Charlotte Lawder who then past the ball to Emily Vernon who slotted it into the back of the goal.

Whitchurch then took the lead as Hebe Dixon scored her first for the club but it was only short lived as Brooklands equalised just before the break.

From the break Brooklands came back fighting and scored a further two but Whitchurch were determined that they were going to fight back and a run from Masie Owen free on the left saw her pick out to Dixon for her second.

Despite the cold conditions Whitchurch kept up their efforts to the final whistle but couldn’t manage to get the equalising goals. Charlotte Lawder was awarded player of the match.

Next week Whitchurch will be entertaining Golborne 2s at home next week at 12:30.

 

Whitchurch Mens 1s 4 Denbigh Mens 2s 0

Whitchurch Mens 1s kept their hunt for promotion continued with another win over Denbigh 2s. Goals from captain Joel Leese, Ben Lea, Martin Beecher and Steve Lloyd scored another three points to keep them top of the league.

 

Chester Mens 6s 1  Whitchurch Mens 2s 6

Whitchurch 2s travelled to Chester 6s with the teams only separated in the table by goal difference.

For only the second time this season Whitchurch 2s travelled with a full team AND substitutes and immediately took control of the game. Most of the first half was spent camped in Chester’s half and the interplay and movement of Jack Barnes, Simon Valiente-Briceno and Craig Hockenhull caused Chester no end of problems.

Whitchurch’s dominance was rewarded with Craig Hockenhull’s excellent first half hat-trick. Two solo efforts were capped with a fine passing move involving Alex Fry, Simon Valiente-Briceno and Craig himself.

Despite Whitchurch’s dominance Chester always posed a threat on the counter-attack and despite excellent defending from Mark Sugden and Iain Bones and good goalkeeping from Neil Jones, Chester got a lucky break to pull a goal back from close range to make the score 3-1 at the break.

Whitchurch continued to dominate and control the second half and added three further goals without reply in the second half. An excellent passing move was rounded off at the far post by Aaron Shackleton, Ben Fry showed some nifty close control in the D to add the 5^th goal and Craig Hockenhull rounded off an all-action display with the sixth goal of the afternoon.

The 6-1 win leaves Whitchurch in 7^th place in the table after 10 games.

Whitchurch 2s played some excellent, controlled hockey in this match. Alex Fry marshalled the team from central midfield and with good use of rolling substitutions all 13 members of the squad made significant contributions to the team performance.

 

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 7   Liverpool Sefton 4s 0

Whitchurch men’s 1^st entertained Liverpool Sefton 4s and despite a number of the regular players being unavailable and the weather Whitchurch men’s 1s were determined to win.

Tom Leonard and Tom Forrester both returned to the team after absences and contributed to Whitchurch winning the game. Joe Nicholson opened the scoring with the first of his goals and Tom Leonard scored a second from a well-worked short corner to give Whitchurch a 2-0 lead at the break.

Whitchurch continued to pressure in the second half and Joe Nicolson scored another well-worked short corner Liverpool lacked the speed of the Whitchurch midfield and when Tom Forrester picked out Joe Nicholson in the dee he fired the ball into the top of the net.

Some nice passing between Aaron Swain and Jake Woods provided the pass for Joe Nicholson to score his fourth of the game. Tom Leonard scored two goals in quick succession in the dying stages of the game to complete his hattrick.

 

Deeside Mens 7ths 2 Whitchurch Mens 2s 1

If ever there was a game of two halves this was it. Whitchurch started the stronger of the two teams and despite having chance after chance from both short corners and open play they couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities presented throughout the first half. Eventually an Ellis Hickson shot was deflected home by Jack Barnes to give Whitchurch a slim lead going into the break.

The second half saw Whitchurch forced back as Deeside re-arranged and attacked on the break from which they scored from a penalty corner. Whitchurch lost their discipline as more players pushed forward looking for a winning goal, this left space for Deeside who took fall advantage to take the lead from another penalty corner.

Whitchurch continued to apply pressure the Deeside defence and chances came and went and the Whitchurch team started to show its frustration and with ten minutes left Whitchurch were reduced to ten men and their efforts to equalise were gone.

 

Oxton ladies 2s 2 Whitchurch ladies 1s 4

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelled away this week to play Oxton 2s for a top two place in the league. From the start Whitchurch took the game to Oxton, with majority of the play around their dee.

First goal came from a short corner with a straight strike from Lisa Sullivan and followed minutes later with a pass into the dee from captain Catherine Gresty and Sue Read tapping in her first goal of the match. Just before half time a well-executed short corner saw Sue Read once again tap in for her second.

Oxton seemed a bit shell shocked with how hard Whitchurch were attacking as the ladies kept the pressure on with several more shots at goal from Nicola Workman, Ellie Windsor and Lisa Sullivan.

Oxton came back hard and keeper Gwyn Thomas- Rees and defenders Katie Plant, Gayle Ladd, Emily Hilton and Catherine Reece-Gresty had to work hard to keep Oxton at bay but after a number of hard strikes on goal Oxton scored.

Whitchurch worked hard and bounced back to get the ball back into the opposition half and as a result captain Catherine Gresty pushed through the defence and scored through the keepers legs.

With five minutes to go Whitchurch just needed to hold onto the ball but Oxton were determined to get another which they managed with nearly all their players in the Whitchurch dee at the final whistle their were smiles on Whitchurch 1s faces to have beaten top of the league 4-2.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 0 Neston ladies 3s 9

The score in no way reflected the majority of the game. Whitchurch started the match ready and willing but Neston took advantage of the gaps that Whitchurch left them to score past goalkeeper Phoebe Jones. Neston didn’t stop there and scored a further three goals before half time.

Whitchurch managed from the break to get the ball up into the Neston dee but were unable to convert. Masie Owen and Ashleigh Heath worked tirelessly down the middle and the right hand side getting the ball high for Charlotte Lawder to run the Oxton defence.

Whitchurch defence of Emma Clarke, Becky Brookfield, Mel Reid and Sami Ives worked tirelessly until the end hitting the ball clear of the goal with Phoebe making numerous saves.

Helen Hocknell, Captain Julia Neale, Emily Vernon worked tirelessly with the ball to get it up to the Neston dee but Neston just had the speed and the strength on the ball.

During half time Whitchurch had a very tactical talk that helped the team to work more as a unit and keep the ball more in the centre of the pitch. Neston grew stronger on the second half went on and Whitchurch tired and they applied more pressure than they did in the first half resulting in a further five goals.

Mel Reid was awarded player of the match. Whitchurch will be travelling to play against Brooklands Poynton.

 

 

 

Whitchurch Ladies 1s 12  Alderley Edge ladies 0

The game started off with Whitchurch passing the ball around the Alderley edge players. After the five minutes Whitchurch got their first short corner of the match and Emma Harper scored from a drag flick. A second penalty corner saw Katie Plant score the second goal of the match from another penalty corner.

Whitchurch continued to pressure and a ball fired into the dee by Jane Williamson saw Sue Read score from a deft first touch past the Alderley Edge keeper and within minutes Sue Read scored a second after a goal scramble. A defence spitting pass from Laura to Nicola Workman saw her round the keeper to get on the score sheet.

Minutes into the second half Whitchurch took control as Sue Read scored three times in quick succession. Alderley Edge took their free hits quickly leaving the defence of Gayle Ladd , Katie Plant, Emily Hilton and Catherine Reece-Gresty to provide some crucial tackles to keep Alderley Edge’s from scoring.

Nikki Workman then had another excellent bit of play giving her a second goal quickly followed by a goal from Ellie Windsor pushing the ball past the inside post into the goal.

The eleventh goal came from captain Catherine Gresty running into the dee and taking a shot which traveled through a crowd of players into the goal. The last goal came from Sue Read deflecting the ball into the near corner of the goal to take her tally to six in the match.

Neston ladies 4s 3  Whitchurch ladies 2s 0

Despite not arriving at Neston until three minutes before push back Whitchurch rushed into action and were on the ball straight from the whistle applying pressure onto the Neston team. Neston took the lead unexpectedly scoring from a rebound of keeper Shola Bailey.

Whitchurch had several attempts on the Neston goal but we were unable to turn their opportunities into goals. Ashleigh Heath and Charlotte Lawder worked tirelessly passing the ball past the Neston defence but just shy of the goal, Whitchurch kept their heads and kept on pressuring the goal but Neston had the pace to create problems for the Whitchurch midfield.

At half time the score was 1-0 to Neston but Whitchurch had a very brief but detailed talk which boosted the confidence of the team.

The second half saw Whitchurch more of the same with Whitchurch attacking down the left and the right wings with runs from Masie Owen, Emily Vernon, Martha Teggin, Hayleigh Busby and Jess Kimberley working endlessly and creating chances on the goal but unable to convert.

Whitchurch’s best chance of the half came as Hayleigh Busby received a pass from Tracy Tolhurst and ran round several of the Neston midfield then picked out Jess Kimberley who ran into the dee but was unfortunately unable to convert.

Whitchurch never gave up and never let their heads drop and they kept up the pressure from the start to finish.

A special mention to Gwyneth Thomas-Rees for umpiring. Jess Kimberley was awarded player of the match.

Whitchurch Mens 2s 9 Wrexham Mens 3s 1

Whitchurch Mens 2’s finally returned to winning ways with a well-deserved victory over Wrexham 3s.

Whitchurch fielded a full strength team for the first time in a number of games and controlled the game from start to finish. Whitchurch opened the scoring as Aaron Shackleton scored his first goal for the club running at pace through the Wrexham defence and slipping the ball under the advancing keeper. The second came as a shot the was stopped by the defenders body on the goal line and Craig Hockenhull stepped up to convert the penalty flick awarded.

Hockenhull scored his second of the game driving into the dee and shooting past the keeper on the near post quickly followed as Jack Barnes got his first of the game as he was picked out in the dee and beat the Wrexham keeper

Despite going into the break with a 4-0 lead captain Phil Tranter had some harsh words for the team as they failed to take their opportunities. The second half saw Whitchurch start at a higher pace moving the ball around rather than running with the ball. Jack Barnes scored his second deflecting the ball past the keeper.

Wrexham through everything at Whitchurch to minimise the score line but the defence of Mark Sugden, Richard Leigh, Doug Buckeridge and Ryan Murtagh stood firm and soaked up the Wrexham attacks.

Craig Hockenhull completed his hattrick as Barnes turned provider deflecting the ball across the top of dee allowing him to run onto and strike the ball past the Wrexham keeper. Simon Briceno scored number seven as he ran onto a cross and swept the ball into the net. As Whitchurch pushed for more goals Wrexham took advantage to exploit the space available and pull back a well worked goal.

This only spurred on Whitchurch and Jack Barnes completed his hattrick when he was picked out unmarked in the dee and swept past the keeper. In the final minutes Iain Bones ran into the Wrexham dee and was brought down resulting in a penalty stroke which he subsequently converted.

Runcorn Men’s 3s 0 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 9

The men’s 1s travelled to Runcorn and continued their progress to promotion with another comprehensive win.

Goals from Joel Leese, Ben Lea, Ben Kimberley, Steve Lloyd, Tom Forrester, Felix Jeffreys and a hattrick for another junior who have come through the clubs Academy Aaron Swain playing his first outfield game for the 1st team.