Whitchurch Mens 1s   6   Barlaston Mens 1s       0

The Whitchurch Mens 1s are three games into the season and after securing this big win now have a record of two wins and one loss.

Whitchurch started the game strong showing the opposition what they can bring this season and anyone watching would agree that this very young side is looking one of the strongest in the league. Our first goal came from a penalty flick which was converted by our inside forward Ben Lea, the keeper got a pad to it but could do nothing but deflect it in. Ben Lea went on to score two more from sweetly converted drag flicks from short corners scoring his fifth of the season.

The three other goals of the game in which the opposition soon turned to aggression, knowing that they could not come back from such a strong side on the counter attack came from our left winger Joe Nicholson, our inside forward Joel Leese and our midfielder and captain Lee Davies. Joe Nicholson’s goal was well worked which he skilfully beat two of the Barlaston defenders and the keeper resulting in him claiming his first goal of the season. Unfortunately he picked up an injury landing badly on his foot meaning he had to go off and may miss some games this season. Joel Leese’s goal came from change of tactics on a short corner and the captain Lee Davies decided to slip the ball left to him and Leesel went on to flick the ball from the top of the dee into the backboard, again scoring his first goal of the season. Our final goal from Lee Davies was another change of tactics from a short corner in which he struck the ball perfectly hitting the back board which really wrapped the game up.

Whitchurch’s defence Luke Davies, James Partington, Alex Fry and Jamie Williamson all did an excellent job resulting in us not conceding any goals. However our keeper Paul Leigh played a big part in stopping shots when it came to the last ten minutes of the game and the team started to fatigue. But as the team walked off the pitch knowing they had played excellently and had won 6-0 this certainly wasn’t something to dwell on.

Whitchurch Men Fathom 11        Ludlow Men Fathom 0

Whitchurch Men’s fathom team had an overwhelming victory against a young Ludlow side, who had no answer to Whitchurch’s  strength  & experience but several of the Ludlow youngsters showed promise, For Whitchurch Ben Fry and Mark Sugden dominated the mid field, While Simon Bricento and Ben Kimberley had good games on the forward line. Goal scorers Simon Bricento (4), Jack Barnes (2), Steve Lloyd (2), Ben Kimberley (2) and Ellis Hickson.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 3 Warrington ladies 2s 4

Whitchurch ladies 1^st fought against their toughest opponents of this season, it was a first defeat for our ladies with the final score 3-4 to Warrington.

Warrington ladies fought hard from the get go and were hungry for victory as they pushed through our defence to bring a score of 2 – 0. But Whitchurch ladies weren’t giving up that easily. We fought back at our opposition, and managed to equalise with goals scored by Lisa Sullivan and Nicola Workman.

There was plenty of work for our great defence team of Catherine Reece-Gresty, Claire Roberts and Jane ‘Crow’ Williamson and our wonderful goalkeeper Gwyneth Thomas-Rees, with debutant Keeley Hathaway seeing plenty of action too. Warrington pulled ahead with their third goal, which Lisa then matched. Sue Reed, Chloe Crump and Catherine Gresty fought to keep that ball in Warrington’s half, with Jess Kimberley and Julia Neale feeding the ball forward, with fatigue setting in some opportunities where missed for our Whitchurch ladies and although Warrington ladies lost a player due to injury they managed to secure their victory with the final goal taking the score to 3-4.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 0 Alderley Edge ladies 6ths 0

It showed how far the ladies 2s has come in a short space of time, many of the younger members having played their first senior matches this season.

The combination of Rachel Garnett, Gayle Ladd, Sally Pearce and Helen Apperley, Sharon English and centre half Katie Goodwin provided the cool heads and experience and the junior members of the team ran the Alderley Edge defence ragged for long periods of the game. Emily Vernon, Phoebe Jones, Ellie Windsor, Emily Hilton, Becky Brookfield, Ellie Windsor, Shola Bailey, Hayley Busby and Laura Workman worked until they could run no more but despite the team creating some good chances they couldn’t convert their opportunities.

The second half saw much of the same with both teams cancelling each other out, Eleanor Evans made one fine save in goal but had little else to do. Both teams were satisfied with the point they earned on the final whistle.

Macclesfield ladies 4s    0      Whitchurch Ladies 1s    4

The Whitchurch Ladies 1^st are really championing this season as they secure another win.

It was a slow start for Whitchurch, the opposition were placing a lot of pressure on us as we battled towards the goal. Our first goal came from a fabulously converted short corner by Lisa Sullivan with a cracking shot hitting the backboard of the opposition’s goal. Gwyneth Thomas-Rees saw her fair share of action and she made some fantastic saves and maintained a clean sheet with the great support from Catherine Reece-Gresty, Claire Roberts and Julia Neale. A short corner laid out to Jane Williamson, who then slipped Catherine Gresty the ball to score another goal taking us to 2-0 at half time.

Emily Vernon and Jess Kimberley worked tirelessly on the wings and helped push the game Whitchurch’s way. Jane Williamson was absolutely on fire this week sealing another goal with a straight strike from the top of the dee off of a short corner to earn a well-deserved Player of the Match. Midfield saw plenty of action with Vicki Price, Catherine Gresty and Lisa Sullivan putting the pressure on Macclesfield. In the final throws of the game, Sue Reed skilled round the opposition’s defence to perform a sleek pass to Chloe Crump who managed to score an astonishing last minute goal for Whitchurch resulting in a 4-0 victory for the away game.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 8 Crewe Vagrants ladies 3s 1

Yet another victory for the Whitchurch Ladies 1^st this weekend with a great 8-1 win against Crewe Vagrants.

The ball spent most of its time in opposition’s half this Saturday due to some fantastic defence from Jayne ‘Crow’ Williamson, Catherine Reece-Gresty and Julia Neale with some powerful push passes away from our goal, as a result of this brilliant clearance and defence, our goal keeper Gwyn Thomas-Rees didn’t see much action.

In the first half, we pushed forward fiercely, with our attacking ladies putting a lot of pressure on the opposition’s defence, especially Sue Read, who throughout the game had several attempts on goal. The deadlock was broken when Chloe Crump received a great pass from Jess Kimberley, pushed forward for the goal and scored twice for our team.

This week the ladies had several short corners, a greatly structured short corner with outstanding team play by the ladies allowed Catherine Gresty to convert the corner to bring the lead at half time to 3-0.

In the second half, the ladies didn’t show any sign of tiring, as they started to set up the foundations of their dramatic lead. Claire Roberts threw herself into the action as she cleared the ball with great tackles.

Vicki Price snatched the ball from the opposition and ran up the pitch to set up a great goal by Sue Read, resulting in a 4-0 lead, but Whitchurch Ladies weren’t stopping there. In a great mix up of Crewe and Whitchurch players, Sue Read, who had possession of the ball was knocked to the floor, however with a sweeping shot whilst lounged on the pitch secured Whitchurch another well deserved goal!

Some great play by Emily Vernon enabled the ball to stay in oppositions half of the pitch. Another example of wonderful teamwork by the Ladies saw Jane Williamson convert two highly strategized short corners.

Unfortunately, a fantastic run from a Crewe player, they were able to infiltrate our defence and slide past our goalkeeper to score their one and only goal.

In a literal last second, Lisa Sullivan was able to perform an epic push shot that glided into the opposition’s goal, leaving the final score at an outstanding 8-1 to our talented Whitchurch Ladies 1^st.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 0 Neston South Wirral 3s 6

The result didn’t reflect the effort put in by the team against one of the top teams in the league. Whitchurch fielded a much-changed side and suffered in the early stages as Neston made all the running and Whitchurch struggled to settle. Clinical finishing of their opportunities and solid defending from Neston saw them race into a 4-0 lead at the half time break.

The second half saw another inspired performance by Emily Hilton in goal to keep Whitchurch in the game and the tireless work of Nina Hodges, Monique Higgs and Natalie Hollins in the midfield held Neston at bay for long periods. In the closing stages Neston took advantage as the Whitchurch side tired to score two quick goals on the break.