Whitchurch Men’s 1s 3 Stockport Bramhall Men’s 2s 0

The Reds faced third-placed team Stockport Bramhall this week in a match that would help confirm the top of the league positions going into the last few games of the season.

Both teams started well, with Whitchurch again finding some excellent form with passing moves working well to accelerate the ball up the pitch and putting pressure on the Stockport defence. Time and again, Stockport had to spend extra time working out where to pass from a free-hit as the Reds’ marking was excellent in all areas of the pitch. Rob Chappell, Dale Seymour and Ben Kimberley were each able to make incisive runs through the middle, and Jack Barnes and Tom Forster drove down the wings causing trouble for the Stockport defence.

The pressure paid off, as Whitchurch started to win penalty corners, and all three goals came from these. None were the first-strike shots that they might originally have seemed, but all were calm composure in the dee, with the ball being moved well and at pace leaving Stockport no chance. The first was Seymour receiving the injection, laying the ball off before making his run and getting it back again to put it into the net. The second was Barnes’ flick not quite the skyrocket he’d intended, but the rebound off the keeper’s pads fell nicely for a second attempt that he was never going to miss. The third was Nick Cooper, whose drilled shot deflected off a defender’s stick, giving the keeper no time to react. A fourth might have been scored, but unfortunately clipped Forster’s foot on the Stockport goal line.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic in the first half, with Stockport never quite having the luck: their striker got one-on-one with Paul “Sturge” Leigh in goal but pulled his shot left. A few minutes later, a goalmouth scramble ended with looping shot that just floated over the Whitchurch crossbar. Sturge was called upon to come out and prevent other one-on-ones, as Stockport used the break well, but the half ended 3-0.

The second half was a more balanced affair: Stockport went on the attack, leaving players higher up the pitch similar to Keele last week and Whitchurch had to sit back more to defend. Alex Fry and Chris Ruscoe each made critical last minute interceptions when it looked certain Stockport were going to score. Sturge held the goal area and provided the base for Danny Foulkes, Ruscoe and James Partington to move it around the back. Fred Egerton and Jon Chappell added options up front and were unlucky not to score. Stockport won a number of short corners in the dying minutes, but the defence held.

All in all, it was another strong game from Whitchurch, with Chris Ruscoe picking up the player of the match award, but everyone had put in a shift to get the fifth clean-sheet of the weekend, leaving them ranked second for home game performances across the whole North West Hockey League. They play Neston 5s at home next week.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 3 Deeside Ramblers 3s 1

Ladies 1s played at home against Deeside 3s this Saturday and saw a definite improvement to the Deeside side from last time they played.

Whitchurch ladies controlled the ball well passing back to Chloe Lloyd and Kezzie Hutching who were holding the defence line, passing back out wide to Anna Latham and Molly Fry. Continuing to attack hard mid players Millie Edwards, Hebe Dixon and captain Catherine Winter-Gresty were making Deeside’s game difficult and it payed off as their first goal was from open play passing within the dee from Sarah Field to Ellie Windsor to score. The sides seemed quite equal at this point and keeper Maddy Sugden made some great sliding tackles but unfortunately Deeside scored before half time.

A good team talk and Whitchurch needed this win and continued to take control and put plenty of pressure on the Deeside defence. A run of short corners for Whitchurch and their persistence payed off, Hebe Dixon receiving the ball to shoot and a rebound from a Deeside stick was quickly picked up by captain Winter-Gresty to slot through Deeside defence into the left corner. A moment of excited celebration for Whitchurch as that was their 100th goal of the season and this really changed their play.

In the lead again now and Whitchurch seemed to pick up the pace and worked so well together, picking off any advance from Deeside. Hayleigh Busby kept Deeside from making any headway on the left supported by Latham. Several shots on goal from Sarah Field, but the Deeside keeper was not for letting her score today. With 5 minutes to go some amazing play from Ellie Windsor and Molly Fry on the right won another short. Edwards pushed out to Field to pick out Izzy Huxley on the post to score their 3rd.

Now it was for Whitchurch ladies 1s to keep possession until the final whistle, which they did for most of that time, not allowing Deeside any time in their dee.

A great game and final score 3-1 for the ladies 1s.

Millie Edwards was awarded players player; their next game is away against Oxton.

Ladies 1s after their win. Thanks to Louis Tinsley for the photo.

Golborne Men’s 3s 3 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3

Whitchurch were looking to build on their excellent win from the previous weekend when they travelled up to Warrington to face a Golborne side whom they’d narrowly beaten earlier in the season.

In windy conditions, the game followed a similar pattern to that previous encounter. Golborne started much the better and Whitchurch were lacklustre and sloppy. The home side were quick to capitalise and took an early.

The Reds stirred themselves and responded well. Joe Coburn and Luke Beddow began to get more possession in midfield and twice Doug Buckeridge found good positions on the left of the dee, forcing a save and a short corner. The Reds came close to equalising from a short corner, but a fantastic save and block on the line saw the fly high over the crossbar.

However, as the subs rolled on, Whitchurch found themselves further behind. A sloppy pass out of defence was collected by Golborne and a long ball found their centre-forward all alone in the Whitchurch dee. Despite keeper Neil Jones’ best efforts, he was unable to prevent the forward scoring.

With Golborne happy to pack their own dee and prevent Whitchurch finding space to pass around their opponents, the away side’s attacks continually broke down without much threat to the goal. Golborne were content to counterattack by either carrying the ball from the edge of their own dee or firing long balls forward to their high attacking players. The latter being a tactic that seemed to unsettle the Whitchurch defence.

All through this season, Whitchurch have proved to be adept at finding solutions to problems during the game and in this match, they started to stretch the pitch in all directions, giving Golborne more to do to close up the spaces. As the gaps appeared, the Reds started to get into more threatening positions and a neat through ball put Euan Morris into space in the dee and his reverse hit flew past the Golborne keeper to halve the deficit.

The away team scored again soon after as Will Gilbert escaped his marker and found space on the left. Will drove diagonally into the dee and flicked a pass towards the back post where Jacob Buckeridge had made a superb run from the other flank. He steered the ball through the narrow gap between post and keeper for the equaliser.

Whitchurch started to dominate the game. Wyn Morris and Pip Jones were cleaning up Golborne’s attacks and Richard Leigh and Airan Jones were tidy in possession in the middle of the pitch. The wingers were a constant threat to Golborne, and the home keeper was forced to make a couple of handy saves. A flurry of short corners at the end of the half were well defended by Golborne although there might have been the hint of a foot in one of the goal-line stops ….

Despite the 2-2 half-time score line, Whitchurch felt that they were in the ascendancy. However, the break galvanised Golborne. Whitchurch were again sluggish from the pushback and the home side quickly retook the lead from a scramble after a short corner.

Again, Whitchurch had to find their way back into the game. Progressively their passing became crisper and they started to find dangerous positions with Luke, Joe and Ethan Gresty prominent. Chances came and went from open play and short corners, but eventually the Reds worked the ball well around the edge of the dee and Alex Leigh fired a pass across the face of the goal and Euan was on hand to score his second goal of the match.

Golborne continued to be a threat on the counterattack. Neil Jones made some good stops and Wyn and Pip continued to battle away against the high attackers, helped by Gareth Teggin and Will Snaith.

The final minutes of the game became a bit tetchy as both teams felt hard-done-by as umpiring decisions went against them. Ultimately, however, the 3-3 draw was a fair result in an entertaining game. Both teams had chances to win the match, but good defending and goalkeeping thwarted both sides.

This wasn’t Whitchurch’s best performance of the season by a long way. They were lethargic at the start of both halves and struggled to get their game going. The defence had a tough afternoon and both Gareth and Will Snaith found it tough going at times. But once again the team dug-in and battled to a reasonable result. The importance of width and stretching the pitch was being bellowed from the side-lines and implementing that strategy paid dividends as chances and goals were created. Jacob Buckeridge had a strong first half, rewarded with an excellent goal, and Alex Leigh continued his good form.

The 2s travel to the Wirral to face Neston in their next game, on Saturday 15th February.

Deeside Ramblers ladies 4s 5 Whitchurch ladies 2s 3

Whitchurch ladies 2’s headed off to Deeside for an away match they knew would be challenging. The match started in Deeside’s favour with them gaining push back and putting pressure on Whitchurch’s dee. Catherine Reece-Gresty and Emma Clarke worked brilliantly in defence working the ball up the left side of the pitch to Martha Teggin. A cross from Amelie Morris to Ellie Pearson on post secured Whitchurch their first goal. Towards the end of the first half, a quick break from Deeside made the score line 1-1.

In the second half, Whitchurch were forced to push back and work hard in defence and were unlucky to concede a second goal. Holly Gilbert and Jess Kimberly worked well as half’s and pushed the ball up to Phoebe Jones, who sent the ball to Caitlin Edwards who scored Whitchurch’s second goal. Deeside once again put pressure on Whitchurch’s dee to secure two more goals. Beth Wright made some brilliant saves preventing Deeside from scoring further. Towards the end of the match, Deeside made one final push and managed to score their final goal. However, Whitchurch fought back harder, a ball from Holly Edwards allowed Nicola Forster to pass to Tracey Tolhurst, securing Whitchurch their third goal.

Player of the match awarded to Holly Edwards

Neston ladies 5s 0 Whitchurch ladies 3’s 1

Whitchurch ladies 3’s travelled to the Wirral determined to show how much their game has improved after a heavy home defeat to Neston Ladies 5’s way back in September last year. With one sub, an injured captain Whitchurch knew it was going to be tough but they didn’t let it dampen their spirits!

Whitchurch won first pushback and had to make a quick turnaround as Neston choose to play the first half against the wind. Thanks to a superb training session last week (Thanks go to Emma Clarke!), we kept our width due to some excellent play from right half Meg Bruynard and Emily Lister on the left.

This week, Whitchurch choose to play with three defensive players along the back, Emma Stubbs, Jan Teggin and Mel Reid who tackled superbly spraying shots wide to Bruynard and Lister which forced Neston to play everything down the middle, allowing our two inners Jaz Williams and Annie Buckeridge to pick up and run with the ball.

Several shots were fired into the Neston dee by Kate Buckeridge on the left wing and Louise Whitely on the right wing to our waiting centre forward Libby Fox, who narrowly missed the goal at the left hand post and was unfortunate not to win a short corner just before the half time whistle.

A rousing half time talk by captain Cooper, helped Whitchurch to keep their cool and continue with our determined tackles and superb passing. The Whitchurch defence stifled out most of the Neston attack and prevented them from scoring despite a multitude of successive short corners.

Cottrell defended her goal like a Trojan despite getting stuck against the right hand post and Stubbs was cool and calm with her passes out of the dee to Williams and Annie Buckeridge who were waiting in exactly the right places.

A harsh green card reduced Whitchurch to ten players about ten minutes into the 2nd half but this didn’t deter the Whitchurch defence with Reid clearing some hard shots from the 16 yard line and Teggin making some excellent passes to Brunyard and Williams on the right. The Buckeridge’s also frustrated Neston with some long runs down the left wing.

Finally, the last 10 minutes saw Whitchurch rewarded with some short corners of their own due to the sheer driving determination of the Whitchurch attacking players and 60 seconds from the final whistle a hard hit from Fox was deflected in by Whitely giving Whitchurch a hard fought win.

Emily Lister was voted by Neston as players player!

Whitchurch Ladies 3’s 0 Bowden ladies 7’s 0

Whitchurch ladies 3’s started the game with a strong side who were eager to replicate last weeks away win. After winning first push back, Whitchurch put up a strong attack and chased the ball up towards the goal. Some quick passing between Caitlin Edwards and Jasmin Williams saw a pass to Sue Read in the dee but Whitchurch were unlucky and just missed the post. Bowden came back strong but Whitchurch’s midfield of Annie Leigh, Alice Page and Sammy Parkhurst fought hard to get the ball back up to the forwards with Annie Buckeridge driving the ball towards the dee.

The visitors managed to get a break and chased the ball towards Whitchurch’s defence of Mel Reid and Jan Teggin who managed to hold the opponents away from the goal. Whitchurch brought on fresh legs with Emma Stubbs and Louise Whitley being put into defence and attack positions. This fuelled a fresh attack which resulted in a short corner for Whitchurch.

Half time came and the score was 0-0 and both teams were fighting hard for a goal. Bowden intercepted a pass and drove the ball down the pitch catching Whitchurch out, but after a scrabble at the goal mouth Whitchurch’s keeper Louise Cottrell worked her magic and cleared multiple shots from the opposition, which earned her players player. Whitchurch managed to break the ongoing attack and the ball was skilfully passed from the defence to Wendy Cooper in the midfield who then sent it up the pitch to Kate Buckeridge and Emily Lister who pushed if forward into the dee where Sue Read sent the ball over the line but was unfortunately disallowed as a short corner had been blown for by the umpire.

At the end of the 70 minutes Whitchurch had given everything they had to keep the score line 0-0.

Louise Cottrell, Whitchurch’s goalie was awarded players player.

Keele University Men’s 1s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 4

Whitchurch travelled to Keele University for a late push-back game against a youthful university team who had a full complement of substitutes, so knew fitness would play a part in the latter stages of the match.

It started well for the Reds, who also had a number of regular players unavailable this week, so Airan Jones returned to the 1s and was joined by Will Gilbert stepping from the 2s, and they integrated smoothly, helping move the ball up front and providing good attacking options. It was Jones who got the first goal on the board, with a high shot bouncing off the crossbar before he controlled it in the air, brought it down and put it away. It was followed by Chris Ruscoe’s ball through to Alex Fry who turned and passed it to Fred Egerton who managed to force the ball over the line for the second, showing again the skill and strength of the younger players within the club.

Keele made their numbers count though, rotating players to keep them fresh and putting pressure on up front. Paul “Sturge” Leigh was his usual tireless self in goal, coming out on a couple of occasions to clear the ball when Keele did break, and Danny Foulkes was back to underpin the defence, with Ruscoe and James Partington combining well to use the full width of the pitch. This gave the Reds a number of opportunities up both wings, and this width stretched Keele and also then gave chances up the middle. Dale Seymour and Joel Leese controlled that centre with some good movement, runs and passing, and were helped by Ben Kimberley and Tom Forster providing width in attack as well as support in defence.

The third Whitchurch goal came from a penalty stroke awarded for a foot on the line stopping a shot, and Seymour stepped up and put the ball into the right side of the net with confidence. He then followed it up with a second coming from some excellent control at a short corner after the injection was slipped right, driven and then returned to the penalty spot where Seymour was on hand to bury it.

The second half was a different kind of game, as two things happened: first, Keele put a plan in place and kept to that plan, which involved leaving at least one – if not two – strikers high up the pitch (at times between Sturge and the Whitchurch goal) which impacted on the Reds’ defence and meant that Keele on the break had some really effective attacking options. Secondly, they cunningly used youth and fitness to wear down the Whitchurch team, continuing to run hard for the entire second half as the Reds tired. They got their reward with a scramble in the dee being only partly controlled and cleared before the Keele attacker got a rebound shot over a diving Sturge.

They continued to go for long through-balls, with the Whitchurch defence spread and the Reds, as a team, starting to give the ball away a little too easily. In a repeat of the game at Keele last year, the last few minutes were frenetic, with the Reds under constant pressure and giving away a few short corners, but this year they were able to keep them out and to control the ball enough until the final whistle was warmly welcomed! They had worked hard for their result, and the score line didn’t necessarily reflect all the good work by Keele, but it was another fine win from Whitchurch who remain top with six games to go.

Warrington ladies 1s 3 Whitchurch ladies 2s 5

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelled away to play Warrington 1s this windy Saturday with a few missing regular players.

Whitchurch were strong from the start, using midfield players Millie Edwards and Hebe Dixon, quickly reaching captain Catherine Winter-Gresty to fire the ball into Sarah Field to score their first. Warrington fought back, but everything was picked up by defence Chloe Lloyd and Catherine Reece-Gresty and keeper Maddy Sugden cleared several shots on goal. Play was back and to, but Whitchurch scored again with Sarah Field’s skilful play.

Warrington scored from a fast break and then were awarded a penalty flick that keeper Maddy Sugden was so close to saving.

The game started moving faster with Whitchurch passing well and keeping possession, having a lot more play in the Warrington dee. Hebe Dixon reverse shot and Steph Stanton deflected up into the net. Spirits were high and Whitchurch kept attacking allowing Ellie Windsor to score their 4th by lifting the ball over the lying keeper.

Half time and 4-2 up, Whitchurch came back just as strong, Warrington were not for sitting back on their heels as they were attacking hard down the wings, they had a lucky break and scored a 3rd.

This didn’t upset Whitchurch and as Warrington began to tire Whitchurch controlled the game. Great supportive play came from Anna Latham and Izzy Huxley down the left side constantly putting on pressure. On the right side some amazing play from Molly Fry, beating many of the Warrington players got the ball to Dixon to power the ball into the net making it 5-3 at the final whistle.

Another good win for Whitchurch, they play at home next week against Deeside. Players player was awarded to Millie Edwards.

Replayed game on Sunday

Whitchurch Ladies 3’s 0 Golborne ladies 4’s 1

Whitchurch 3’s stepped onto the pitch less than 24 hours after their last match with an almost identical line-up.

Golborne started strong with the first push back and took Whitchurch by surprise. The Whitchurch midfield soon woke up with Alice Page, Sammy Parkhurst and Wendy Cooper creating a defence and turning the play round into an attack for Whitchurch.  The ball was driven forward by a strong drive from Jasmin Williams and Louise Whitley on the right. Libby Fox supported well and was ready in the dee but Golborne intercepted and turned the play around.

The opponents attack  drove through to the Whitchurch defenders Mel Reid and Hermione Ball who stayed strong and sent the ball up the left of the pitch to Kate Buckeridge who fired the ball up to an exhausted Annie Buckeridge in the dee but Whitchurch’s lack of support showed and Annie was unable to finish the shot. Whitchurch got taken by surprise by a fast drive from Golborne which resulted in a 1-0 lead for the visitors at half time.

After half time, Whitchurch had a change of line up bringing on Jan Teggin in defence and Emma Stubbs in midfield. Whitchurch remained strong and keeper Louise Cottrell saved all the shots sent towards her in the second half. Whitchurch kept dominating the game but were unable to equalise by the final whistle leaving the visitors with a 1-0 win.

Whitchurch ladies 3’s have had some outstanding play this weekend from Annie Buckeridge, Alice Page and Sammy Parkhurst.

Libby Fox was awarded players player.

With the home games postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Winnington Park Men’s 3s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 6

Whitchurch travelled away this week to play the team they played in the first match of the season, hoping to get another good win under their belt and stay top of the table for a ninth week. They started with both Rob and Jon Chappell on the pitch providing experience in the middle and up front, and the two combined well for the Reds’ first goal as Rob drove the ball down the right and along the by-line towards the goal before unselfishly passing it to Jon to put it away.

Winnington responded well, and put the pressure on Whitchurch throughout the game with runs down both sides of the pitch that were lacking only the last bit of pace or a final touch to be turned into a goal. Paul “Sturge” Leigh was again a rock in the Reds’ net, making his signature diving saves and giving the defence the confidence they needed when moving the ball around at the back. Danny Foulkes again built play well, supported by Chris Ruscoe and James Partington, with Ruscoe making a number of incisive runs down the right causing all sorts of trouble at the back for Winnington.

Rob Chappell controlled the centre of the pitch, with Tom Forster just behind, and they moved the ball well wide in both directions – but knew when a straight run could cause trouble – and the pressure told as Nick Cooper received a sharp pass, ran into the dee on the left and unleashed a bullet that hit the keeper’s pads, but with enough force to keep going and make its way into the back of the goal.

At the other end of the pitch, Winnington started winning the 50:50 calls, and were awarded a number of short corners, and they finally put one away despite Sturge’s best efforts on the line. Again, rather than letting their heads drop, Whitchurch focused their efforts and went up the other end of the pitch looking for another, and Rob Chappell dribbled the ball around the dee before getting a reverse flick into the net.

Being 3-1 up at half time meant the game was still in the balance, but substitutes were starting to make a difference with fresh legs playing their part. Alex Fry lent experience in the centre of the pitch and gave options for distribution; Ben Kimberley gave another strong performance making a number of runs into the dee and being very unlucky on a couple of occasions not to score, with shots going just across the face of the goal or being saved well. Luke Davies, on his return after a few years away, gave 100% with great runs, tackles and commitment. Fred Egerton ran well and provided options in attack, as well as covering when Winnington were coming forward. Jack Barnes was powerful but controlled on both sides of the pitch, with some excellent tackles, runs and passes. The team were building up more good phases, but over a sustained period unlike last week’s five-minute-show.

The quality started to show with Kimberley finally getting his reward as a shot across goal was unfortunately put into the net by a defender running into it. Then Cooper was the receiver at a short corner, and the rest of the Whitchurch team drew their players to the sides leaving him a big empty net to aim at, and his flick was never going to miss. He was on hand again as Jon Chappell’s high flick at goal was just going to be saved by the keeper’s outstretched hand before Cooper stuck a stick up and knocked it past the frustrated goalie.

At the other end, Sturge was making his saves count, including an impressive leaping block with his right hand to knock the ball away even as the Winnington attacker was starting to celebrate! It rounded off another good performance where Whitchurch made their talent count, but without ever getting complacent. Ruscoe was awarded the player of the match for his endless running and impact on all parts of the pitch, but it was a good team effort with everyone putting in a shift. Whitchurch are at home next week against Bowden Men’s 5, looking to continue their winning run.

Timperley ladies 3s 5 Whitchurch ladies 1s 2

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelling away to Timperley this week. Whitchurch attacked from the off and took Timperley off guard in the first few minutes as Millie Edwards shot from the top of the dee to hit the back board.

Timperley attacked aggressively after this and equalised minutes later. The game was fast and tiring as the play was end to end. Whitchurch ladies played well passing the ball wide to Sophie Ward and Kezzie Hutching. Timperley were taking the ball fast from side line and free hits and scored three more before half time.

After a break Whitchurch came back out hard attacking at every opportunity with strikes on goal from Hebe Dixon, Catherine Winter-Gresty and Sarah Field, but the Timperley keeper had every angle covered. A run of short corners allowed Whitchurch to score their second goal as Sarah Field picked out Ellie Windsor on the post.

More well practiced sequences we broken down quickly by the Timperley defence and kept Whitchurch from scoring. Keeper Maddy Sugden made some amazing slide saves clearing to the defence Emma Harper and Chloe Lloyd who kept pushing the ball up towards Jessica Carruthers and Izzy Huxley.

A lucky break after a short corner allowed Timperley to score their 5th goal. At 5-2 Whitchurch heads had lowered knowing it was a too bigger gap to catch but fought on till the end.

Whitchurch came away with only their 3rd loss of the season but unfortunately dropping them to 4th place and further away from a possible promotion.

Ladies 1s play Macclesfield at home next week.

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 3 Alderley Edge Men’s 5’s 0

Whitchurch started the second half of the season with a good win at home against a ten-man Alderley Edge side. With the opposition only being able to field ten players, and Whitchurch having a couple of substitutes of their own the Reds knew they had a good chance to make numbers count, but Alderley Edge brought some strong players and more than held their own.

The game started evenly enough, with both teams trying to keep the ball and build play carefully, but first-game-back syndrome kicked in and passes weren’t what they could have been and everything just lacked the spark that normally defines a Whitchurch game. Alderley Edge suffered less from this as they were already trying to accommodate being a player down so were taking extra care, but Whitchurch were trying to make things happen that just didn’t quite work and it meant frustrations built up. Some good runs were made, some great tackles were won, and Craig Hockenhull was unlucky on a couple of occasions trying to get the last touch on some quick hits into the dee after making excellent runs, but Whitchurch just couldn’t quite put the finishing touches on that would normally happen for them.

They did finally go ahead in the first half as they’d built up pressure in the opposition half, and won a long corner that Dale Seymour took quickly and drove into the dee mostly unchallenged before getting a shot away with a deceiving pace on it that beat the keeper. At the other end, Paul “Sturge” Leigh made another signature diving save to prevent the equaliser, and the Reds went into the break one-up.

Captain Danny Foulkes’ half-time talk reflected on the general rustiness, but encouraged the team to play how they knew they could and the effect was immediate: the first five minutes of the second half was a reminder to all just how well the team can play. Some great work up the length of the pitch won a short corner, and Foulkes injected to the first castle who sent it straight back to him and he tucked it away for the Reds’ second. Two minutes later and Whitchurch had a third, with a clearance from the back going from player to player across the width of the pitch and up the right before being fired into the dee for a simple tap-in by Nick Cooper.

The game then took a bit of a turn as tempers frayed, and the Reds did their best to level the playing numbers by picking up yellow cards, but as things calmed down the team stepped up to ensure that Alderley Edge didn’t score, with Chris Ruscoe putting in a player-of-the-match performance at right back. The full-time whistle went with the score line at three-nil, and Whitchurch could be proud of their efforts. With the other teams just below them in the league also winning this week, they did what they needed to remain top of the league, and are at Winnington Park next week and will look to continue their much-improved away form.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 16 Rhyl ladies 1s 0

Whitchurch ladies 1s entertained Rhyl at home this week with a strong squad of 13.

From the start Whitchurch pushed up the pitch putting lots of pressure on Rhyl who only kept Whitchurch away for a few minutes until Sarah Field started off scoring two from open play within minutes of each other.

Rhyl were taken aback by how quick Whitchurch were playing, defensive players Kezzie Hutchings, Chloe Lloyd and Anna Latham picking up any break. With so much pressure from Whitchurch up front captain Catherine Winter-Gresty scored her first goal of the season from open play. Millie Edwards held the middle pushing the ball wide allowing Izzy Huxley and Ellie Windsor to work together and be awarded a short corner from which Emma Harper scored their 4th.

Just before half time Stephanie Stanton deflected a 5th giving Whitchurch a good lead.

After a good talk Whitchurch played in high spirits, playing fast and passing well around Rhyl taking majority of possession, Jessica Carruthers took on the keeper and scored the first of the second half. The couple of chances that Rhyl had were quickly cleared by keeper Maddy Sugden, but Rhyl couldn’t keep up with Whitchurch as Sarah Field was on fire and took advantage of the fact Rhyl were tiring and scored six goals from open play within the next 10 minutes, with great support from the team who kept sending in the ball.

A few short corners for Whitchurch and Catherine Winter-Gresty slotting the ball into the left corner of the goal from top dee, shortly followed by Hebe Dixon making 14.

Rhyl broke a couple of times but Whitchurch were determined to keep a clean sheet this week and held a strong defence. Carruthers and Dixon both scored another each from open play before the final whistle went.

An amazing final score, 16-0 for Whitchurch and players player was awarded to a well-deserved Sarah Field.

Ladies 1s play away at Timperley next week.

Oxton ladies 4s 0 Whitchurch ladies 2s 2

After the excitement of last week’s win, Whitchurch arrived at Oxton zealous for the game. The game began, with Whitchurch battling the wind as well as the opposition. Despite this, they stayed strong, with Emma Clarke and Catherine Reece-Gresty creating a strong defence. Ellie Pearson and Holly Edwards worked together as inners, making numerous attacks, which before long, Nichola Forster scored off, leaving the result as 1-0 by half time.

Oxton fought back in the second half, but Beth Wright made some incredible saves in goal to keep Whitchurch in the lead. Tracy Tolhurst made her debut for the season, leading some beautiful attacks down the left hand side of the pitch, assisted by Edina Jones. An attack down the right side by Martha Teggin and Holly Gilbert resulted in a short corner, which Phoebe Jones scored. Molly Fry was awarded player of the match.

Clwb Hoci Eirias 3s 2 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3

After the four-week Christmas break, the Men’s 2s first fixture of 2020 saw them presented with a tricky trip to Colwyn Bay to face Eirias 3s. Despite the wet and windy conditions, the two teams played out an entertaining, end-to-end game, with Whitchurch just hanging on to see out a valuable 3-2 win.

The early exchanges were quite even. The Welsh side enjoyed more possession but couldn’t create any clear shooting opportunities. The Whitchurch midfield of Luke Beddow, Joe Coburn and Richard Leigh were making life very uncomfortable for the Welsh midfield and giving them very little time and space to pick their passes. Anything that did go forward was neatly cleaned up by Brendan Coburn and Wyn Morris at the back.

Whitchurch, whilst seeing less of the ball, were perhaps more threatening when they did gain possession. Joe Faithfull and Jacob Buckeridge were providing some dynamism on the flanks and linking well with Joe and Luke as they moved the ball forward, through midfield, towards Euan Morris.

It was a swift Whitchurch counterattack that led to the first goal of the game. Will Snaith collected the ball on the left side of the defence and fired a pass down the line for Will Gilbert. His speed and control enabled him to make good progress towards the Eirias dee and his cross found Luke Beddow, who did well to swivel and get a shot on goal, but Joe Faithfull had drifted into the dee from the right and neatly deflected the shot past the stranded keeper.

Eirias continued to enjoy more of the possession and went close through a succession of short corners but Whitchurch continued to be a threat with their speed on the break. It was from another counterattack that the 2s doubled their lead. Once again, they created danger down the left and the cross across the face of goal was swept goalward, but a Welsh foot prevented the ball crossing the line. A penalty flick was awarded, and Euan Morris stepped forward to take responsibility. Euan dispatched the ball high into the top corner to give Whitchurch a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Eirias came out in the second half with a bit more intensity and aggression leading to them winning more of the 50:50 challenges and picking up most of the loose balls. But still they struggled to create any clear-cut chances. Gareth Teggin was defending well on the right and when he ran out of steam, Alex Leigh filled in to snuff out any danger on that side of the pitch.

As the second half wore on pressure continued to build on the Whitchurch dee and keeper Neil Jones was forced to kick away a couple of goal-bound efforts and then produced an outstanding diving save to a well-struck shot from a short corner.

Despite being under the cosh Whitchurch remained a threat on the counterattack. Ethan Gresty and Airan Jones were carrying the ball well through the centre of the pitch and the midfield continued to link up well with Euan Morris. With 15 minutes to go Whitchurch broke dangerously again and after good work by Airan and Euan, the ball found its way to Luke Beddow in the dee and he calmly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper to give Whitchurch a 3-0 lead.

Maybe at this point a little complacency set in to the Whitchurch play, or maybe Eirias manged to dial up the intensity even further but for the remainder of the game Whitchurch found it difficult to maintain any possession and found themselves pinned in their own dee. Keeper Jones made more good saves; Wyn, Brendan and Doug Buckeridge made some important blocks and clearances, but repeatedly Eirias players managed to find space and eventually the home side pulled a goal back. This was quickly followed by another goal which Jones was powerless to stop.

With Eirias sensing an unlikely draw, but time running out, Whitchurch were defending desperately. Every time the ball was cleared Eirias brought it straight back to the Whitchurch dee. There was genuine relief from the Whitchurch players as Euan Morris brilliantly killed time in the far corner of the pitch and the final whistle was blown.

This certainly wasn’t the 2s best performance of the season, but after a four-week lay-off that was probably no surprise. There was some excellent attacking play, leading to three goals, and the team defended well for much of the game with Eirias finding it difficult to create good shooting chances. But this was a “rusty” performance. The 2s lacked some of the control they demonstrated before the Christmas break and some of the passing was over-ambitious.

Once again, the superior physicality of their opponents has threatened to overwhelm the 2s, as it has on several occasions this season but once again the young players rose to the challenge and manged to see out a tight victory. As the lads get more experienced and physically stronger the team are less likely to be bullied but game management will be something to work on in the meantime.

The Men’s 2s next game is at home to Winnington Park 4s on Saturday 18th January.

Alderley Edge ladies 8s 2 Whitchurch ladies 3s 0

The Whitchurch ladies 3rds played their first match of the year. From the start of the first half the opponents managed to drive the ball down one side of the pitch and switch play quickly to the opposite side of the pitch and back to the top of the dee to the oncoming attackers, whilst the defence of Mel Reid, Hermione Ball and Jan Teggin held off multiple attacks Alderley managed to take the lead.

Whitchurch pushed for an equaliser with a number of strong runs but couldn’t make he most of their opportunities and went into the break one down.

In the second half Alderley managed to score another goal, the half took on much the same story as the first as Whitchurch pushed forward in numbers but failed to take their opportunities. Goalkeeper Louise Cotterell played brilliantly and managed to frustrate the Alderley strikers with a number of fine saves. Whitchurch were disappointed with the end result as they deserved many more goals from the performance as a whole.