Whitchurch Men’s 1s 7 Runcorn Mens 3s 0

Whitchurch completed their first season in the North West league with a win over fellow promotion chasers Runcorn. The team secured promotion following an unbeaten season scoring 133 goals and only conceding 16 goals

Runcorn came with a strong team hoping to secure points and gain a valuable promotion place. From the start Runcorn defended resolutely from the start and frustrated the Whitchurch team who had the majority of the possession. Whilst Whitchurch dominated possession Runcorn were restricted to attacking on the break and almost snatched an early goal but for the quick reactions of Paul Leigh in goal.

Whitchurch finally took the lead and scored a second before the interval.

The second half saw Whitchurch step up their game and as Runcorn started to tire Whitchurch took fall advantage to score at will and in the end saw out another comfortable victory.

 

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

Whitchurch 2s travelled to Denbigh for their last fixture of the season. When the fixture was originally scheduled the 2s were unable to field a team and suffered a three-point deduction, but now with a squad of twelve travelling the 2s were looking to finish the season on a high.

Whitchurch pushed forward towards the Denbigh goal straight from the pushback and immediately started to create chances. Within a few minutes, Phil Tranter did really well to keep the ball in play and his pass was finished off with a fine piece of dribbling and shot by captain-for-the-day Sy Briceno.

With Iain Bones playing in midfield, Whitchurch were able to pin Denbigh back in their own half and any counter attacks were well dealt with by the 3-man defence of Mark Sugden, Doug Buckeridge and Jake Wood.

Whitchurch continued to dominate the half with Bones and Richard Leigh strong in the centre of midfield and the attacks assisted by good wing play from Josh Parry. But the 2s had to wait for their second goal. Eventually the ball ricocheted to Jack Barnes, who fired past the Denbigh keeper.

Despite their dominance and the deserved 2-0 lead, the rolling substitutions seemed to cause Whitchurch to lose a bit of shape and Denbigh forced a flurry of short corners towards the end of the half. Neil Jones in goal and Iain Bones both made excellent stops to prevent Denbigh from scoring. But eventually a bit of sustained Denbigh pressure resulted in a well-taken goal.

Whitchurch looked to continue their dominance in the second half, but Denbigh’s goal had galvanised the team and their more experienced players started to take control of midfield.

As Iain Bones dropped back into defence, Whitchurch relinquished territory in favour of long balls looking for the front two and the strong running of Aaron Shackleton and Aaron Swain.

The 2s had a number of promising counter attacks, but they struggled to make the Denbigh keeper work, with attacks floundering on the edge of the D.

Midway through the second half the game changed dramatically with Jack Barnes red carded for a dangerous tackle. Denbigh took advantage of the extra man and forced Whitchurch back. But the defence stood firm, with some great tackles and interceptions by Mark Sugden and Iain Bones. When Denbigh did get their shots away Neil Jones made some excellent stops.

Eventually the pressure told and Denbigh won a short corner, which was smashed home from the edge of the D. Things got worse for the 2s in the last 10 minutes of the game. Jack’s failure to leave the playing area in a timely manner resulted in another Whitchurch player being asked to leave the field of play, forcing Whitchurch to hang on with only 9 men.

Despite a valiant effort, Denbigh won another short corner in the dying seconds of the match. The shot from the edge of the D was deflected into the Whitchurch goal from very close range, leaving the defender on the post and Neil Jones with no chance to react.

This was a deeply disappointing and frustrating result for the 2’s. They played well throughout the match and Denbigh struggled to really threaten the Whitchurch goal even with their numerical advantage in the second half. Ultimately indiscipline cost the team at least one point. It’s safe to say that this away fixture has not been kind to the 2s this season.

The defeat means Whitchurch 2s finish in 7th place in the league table in their first season in the league

There are lots of positives to take from the 2s very first competitive hockey season.

Certainly when the team are able to field a full complement of players they are competitive with most of the teams in this division, as proven by the wins against Runcorn and Winnington Park, both of whom were competing for promotion on the last day of the season.

The young players have grown and blossomed in the team. Aaron Swain has worked extremely hard as an outfield player and both Josh Parry and Jake Wood, who was exceptional against Denbigh, have very bright futures.

The older players who are new, or have returned to hockey after a long absence from the game have also grown as the season has gone on, and the experienced heads of Alex Fry, Craig Hockenhull and Iain Bones have been a constant source of support and encouragement to the inexperienced players.

There is great camaraderie within the group who have played for the 2s, making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience through the highs and the lows of the season.

Roll on next season!

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 1 vs Neston ladies 4s 1

On Saturday 5th March Whitchurch ladies 2s entertained Neston 4s and Whitchurch and had a point to prove after lasts week result against their 3^rd team.

From the first whistle Whitchurch attacked and within five minutes Whitchurch were ahead as Charlotte Lawder burst into the dee and slipped the ball past the advancing keeper. Goalkeeper Shola Bailey kept Whitchurch in the game with a penalty flick save on the stroke of halftime to keep Whitchurch’s advantage.

The second half saw more action with another penalty stoke awarded to Neston but this time Shola couldn’t prevent Neston equalising.

The team continued to work hard with runs and tackles from Martha Teggin, Emily Vernon and Sami Ives down the left side of the pitch resulting Ashleigh Heath almost giving Whitchurch the lead but for a good save from the Neston keeper.

Whitchurch played their hearts out through out this game as they were aiming to keep getting the points. Bringing the total to 5 points in the last four games and the feeling that the season has ended to soon.

Whitchurch will be ending the season at home vs Brooklands Poynton at 12:30 this Saturday.

 

The ladies 1s travel away to Chester next following the cancellation of the game this weekend against Alderley Edge this weekend due to snow lying on the pitch Alderley pitch.

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.