Whitchurch Men’s 1s 2 Evesham Men’s 1s 3

Whitchurch played hosts to Evesham, who beat the reds 3-0 in the reverse fixture, however were 5 points behind the reds in the league before the match.

The match started very sloppy for the reds, with a number of missed placed passes and missed tackles allowed the visitors to take the initiative and went 2-0 up early in the match.  After the second Evesham goal went in, the reds started to improve and started to put more pressure on the Evesham defence. The reds got a goal back before half time, with a Ben Lea drag flick from a penalty corner; the match was 2-1 at half time.

In truth it was a disappointing first half for the reds and the visitors were deserved to be ahead at that point.

The second half started well for the home side, with them keeping good possession and putting pressure on the Evesham defence, however the next goal in the game went to Evesham and put them 3-1 up.  The reds then started to push more men forward in chase of the next goal with both teams creating good chances.  About 10 minutes from the end the home team scored there second goal again from Ben Lea drag flick.  Then for the remaining time in the match the reds went chasing an equaliser and went close with the last hit of the game hit against the post.

In truth the reds didn’t really deserve anything from the match and Evesham deserved the 3 points, but the reds were left frustrated, as they knew they can play a lot better than they did.  They have two tough away matches at the weekend against Oswestry and Barlaston.

Whitchurch Men’s Fathoms 1            Aldridge & Walsall Fathoms 1

In what was one of the toughest games the Fathom have played this season they entertained the experienced Aldridge & Walsall team.

Aldridge started the quicker off the two teams as Whitchurch struggled to settle and get up to speed with the visitors passing and movement off the ball.

Whitchurch however stuck to the task off defending and disciplined marking and some luck restricted Aldridge to only a couple of opportunities in the first half which they failed to convert. Whitchurch had sporadic attacks but attacking as individuals enabled the Aldridge defence to easily stop any clear scoring opportunities.

The interval gave Whitchurch the opportunity to discuss their tactics for the second half and from the whistle they took the game to Aldridge. A Whitchurch error saw Aldridge awarded a penalty corner which they converted to give them the lead. Whitchurch stepped up their game and within minutes Craig Hockenhull drove into heart of the Aldridge defence to pick out Ellis Hickson to equalise. Whitchurch continued to pressure for the winner but in a complete reverse to the first half good defending and some luck meant Whitchurch couldn’t get the vital touch required for the win.

At the end both sides were happy with a draw in a hard fought and highly competitive match.

Warrington ladies 2s  0  Whitchurch  ladies 1s  1

It was the rematch against the team to which we suffered a 4-3 defeat earlier in the season. The strong line up was in positive spirits and a super team performance ensued. The game was end to end with both teams making good runs and taking advantage of any breaks in play. Whitchurch did look the stronger of the teams and had greater possession. Kate Goodwin bravely played on after a close range hit to her elbow (ouch!). Whitchurch’s hard work was rewarded half way through the first half when Lisa Sullivan’s penalty corner strike was deflected.

Warrington was a strong team and as a result Whitchurch couldn’t rest on their laurels in the second half. Solid defending from Gayle Ladd, Jane Williamson and Captain Catherine Reece-Gresty, good runs by Ellie Windsor down the left wing and confident keeping by Phoebe Jones (with one crucial save) meant Whitchurch held on to their lead until full time.

A Warrington short corner awarded with 9 seconds to go was tense to say the least. However Gayle coolly cleared the challenge, which led to a deserved victory for Whitchurch Ladies.

Next week the ladies 1s entertain Macclesfield 4s at home starting 12.30 and the 2s entertaining Neston 4s starting at 14.00.

Whitchurch Men’s 1s  0  Old Wulfrunians 1s   4

Whitchurch took on top of the league in their fixture. In what turned out to be a very competitive game the result went with the inform team.

Whitchurch travel to Barlaston next week.

Tamworth Fathoms 1 Whitchurch Fathoms 2

Whitchurch travelled to their furthest away game of the season expecting a nice easy game.

Whitchurch travelled with 10 players but were still confident against a young Tamworth team and they took the lead within a couple of minutes of the start with a Jack Barnes goal. Tamworth had strengthened their team with experienced players to assist the youngsters and it was not long before they equalised.

Whitchurch re-grouped at half-time and began to play the ball around faster and this led to Barnes receiving the ball in the Dee only to blaze his shot over the bar. It was midway through the half that the ball fell to Craig Hockenhull who skilfully beat the Tamworth defender and slipped the ball pas the keeper. Tamworth came back until the final whistle but Whitchurch defended valiantly with Mark Sugden leading the backline to earn a well-deserved win.

The Fathoms entertain Ludlow at home next week.
Alderley Edge ladies 6s 0 Whitchurch ladies 1s 3

Whitchurch ladies continued their good run of form and kept themselves in the promotion hunt with this win.

Two goals from Catherine Gresty and one from Katie Plant ensured another three vital points.
Warrington ladies 2s 6 Whitchurch ladies 2s 0

Whitchurch travelled away and played against one of the teams competing for promotion in the league.

The team is still in a development phase with a number of juniors playing their first season at senior level guided by some wise heads in the club.

This again was another strong performance against a good team as the team continues to grow in experience and confidence.

Droitwich Mens 1s 1   Whitchurch Mens 1s 3

The Reds first match of 2015 was a tough away match against Droitwich, the Reds won the home fixture 2-1, but knew this was going to be a close match.

The Reds started the match well, and were controlling the early play.  The first goal of the match came within the first 10 minutes when a quick sixteen hit was taken to Captain Lee Davies who beat his defender and chucked an ariel over the Droitwich defence for Ben Lea to run onto and win a penalty corner, which he dispatched with a clinical drag flick.

After the goal the match became an even and close encounter but the Reds were defending well as a team and Droitwich were finding it difficult to make any clear chances.  The next big chance in the game came to Whitchurch’s Joe Nicholson who picked the ball up around the half way line with a 1v1 against the goal keeper, Joe rounded the goalkeeper and hit his shot against the post.  About 10 minutes before half time Droitwich did equalise through a penalty corner which was hit into the bottom corner.

At half time the result was 1-1, The Reds were the better team in the first half and were unlucky not to be leading at half time.

The second half started with Droitwich having a lot more of the ball and making it difficult for the Reds to get any control in the match.  However with all the pressure Droitwich were putting onto the Reds in the second half the Reds defended well as a team and limited Droitwich to a only a few chances.  The next clear chance again came to Whitchurch’s Joe Nicholson who picked the ball up on the half way line and beat his defender to again have a 1v1 against the goalkeeper, he again rounded the keeper and his shot hit the post again.  The next goal came shortly after, when again another counterattack saw Whitchurch win a penalty corner and again Ben Lea dispatched with another drag flick.

Droitwich piled more men forward to find the equaliser, the Reds defended well and Droitwich were finding it hard to create any clear chances.  About 5 minutes before the end Whitchurch made it 3-1 with another counterattack found Adam Peate on his own in the opposition D and clinically hit a well-struck shot into the bottom corner to ensure the Reds will be taking all 3 points.

Overall the 3 points were well deserved and as predicted it was a close match however the Reds defended well and limited the chances Droitwich could create and scored 3 good goals and it could have been a couple more if Joe Nicholson’s shots had gone in, instead of hitting the post, which was very unlucky.

Whitchurch have a tough home match next weekend against Old Wulfrunians who are currently top of the league.

Stone Mens Fathoms  3  Whitchurch Mens Fathoms  1

After a period of two months, Whitchurch Hockey Club’s fathom team played their first game following the Christmas break and a series of cancelled games caused by the winter weather.

On the morning of Saturday 17th, it looked like the game away to Stone may have been cancelled due to the host’s pitch being hard, however, the only thing which transpired to be hard was that Whitchurch arrived with only eight players, whereas the home team had a full compliment of eleven.

The game commenced and Whitchurch shortly conceded a goal realising that both the midfield and defence lacked enough players to cope with the attacking presence from Stone. Despite the constant pressure throughout the game, Ben Kimberley scored Whitchurch’s only goal which was consolation for the three goals which were conceded.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 6 Neston ladies 4s 0

Whitchurch 1s continued their fine run of form with the win over Neston 4s. The early stages of the game saw the two teams very evenly matched, however debutant Phoebe Jones steered the ball just wide of the goal with her first touch but it was well into the first half before Katie Plant scored from a penalty corner deflection to give Whitchurch a half time lead.

The second half saw the Neston team tire as Whitchurch continued to apply pressure but Whitchurch were lucky when Neston broke and keeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees pulled off a crucial save. Whitchurch were rewarded for their efforts when over a five minute spell Katie Plant deflected home her second and Catherine Gresty scored from two well-worked penalty corners.

Whitchurch settled and began to move the ball around and from this Sue Read scored deflecting a cross from Nicola Workman. Lisa Sullivan’s mazy run through the midfield saw the ball fall to Katie Plant at the top of the Dee to fire the ball into the corner for her hat trick.

In the final minutes Chloe Crump was rewarded for all her running down the right when the ball came through a crowded Dee and she tapped it past the Neston keeper.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 0  Crewe ladies 3s 2

Whitchurch rode their luck throughout the first half as Crewe attacked and Whitchurch defended solidly through Gayle Ladd, Mel Reid, Claire Roberts and Sally Pearce. Shola Bailey in goal made numerous saves to keep Whitchurch in the match.

The second half saw Whitchurch start to settle and begin to create chances with Laura Workman, Natalie Hollins and Monique Higgs battling hard in the midfield to deprive Crewe of possession. Whitchurch continued to press forward and were rewarded a penalty stroke which they failed to convert.

Whitchurch pressured and were rewarded with a number of penalty corners; a well-worked routine saw Ellie Windsor deflect just past the Crewe post. Crewe however took full advantage of their chances and scored two goals to give them the three points.