Neither men’s team had games on Saturday due to teams withdrawing from their respective leagues.

Sunday games were re-arranged fixtures when games where called off due to frozen and snow covered pitches in January.

Saturday games

Whitchurch ladies 1s 7 Alderley Edge ladies 4s 1

Whitchurch ladies 1s sat back and let the very young Alderley Edge team take control of the early stages of the game letting them move around the ball well but without really troubling the Whitchurch defence of Chloe Lloyd and Gayle Ladd.

Whitchurch started to settle and assert themselves and some solid play from Whitchurch picked out Valerie Fabery De Jonge to score.

Alderley Edge fought back and equalised from a quick run up the middle. Whitchurch continued to stretch Edge with wide play from Holly Edwards and Mollie Bell resulting in another reverse shot goal from Fabery De Jonge before half time.

A strong waking up from the coach’s team talk and Whitchurch took much more control and a well-rehearsed penalty corner saw Molly Fry passing to Captain Cath Gresty to slot home. Soon after Georgia Munro cut through the Edge defence and round the keeper to score a fourth.

Whitchurch were working well together now but Alderley Edge kept up the pressure and closed them down quickly, this made Whitchurch speed up their play and Lisa Sullivan picked out Gresty to score another. Alderley edge continued to create chances but Caz Wynne made some great saves when called upon to stifle the Edge attacks.

Whitchurch continued to apply pressure looking to capitalise on any opportunity and Fabery De Jonge scored another reverse shot to give her a hattrick.  With time nearly up Munro ran up the pitch and picked out Gresty on the post to make her a hattrick and a 7-1 win for Whitchurch.

Sandbach ladies 1s 4 Whitchurch ladies 2s 3

Whitchurch ladies 2 team were expecting a tough match facing top of the league, unbeaten Sandbach.
With a strong start from both sides Sandbach found themselves with a goal giving them the front foot. This inspired Whitchurch to work even harder and after receiving a short corner, took full advantage of the situation using Hayley Killnett to slip a pass back to injector Sophie Jones who slapped the ball through the keeper’s legs securing Whitchurch’s well fought goal. Poppy Huxley then found a pass to Bella Morris who was able to make a quick drive down the line, finding another pass to Poppy Gilbert who was able to fire a cross across the dee allowing Heidi Groom to score an Ariel goal.
As a Sandbach player entered the Dee with the ball goalkeeper Megan Nicholson attempted the save but unfortunately miss timed and tripped the player over leading to a yellow card. Without a goalkeeper for 5 minutes Lydia Jones volunteered to go in goal and saved the resulting penalty flick. However, due to the lack of goalkeeper Sandbach were able to level the scores.

With the score as 2-2, the half time talk consisted of compliments given to the team for their hard work during the first half and to keep it up in the second half. And that is what Whitchurch continued to do. With captain Emma Stubbs standing her ground in defence and skilful possession from Heidi Carr, Whitchurch stayed optimistic. Jasmine Williams found wide passes allowing multiple runs into the dee leading to attempts on goal. Another short corner gave Whitchurch the advantage using Hayley Kellett to strike a goal changing the score to 3-3. With 10 minutes to go despite Whitchurch’s strong defending from Hermione Ball, super saves from Megan Nicholson and clinical interceptions from the whole team, Sandbach were able to secure themselves a win with a final goal. Hayley Kellett was awarded a much deserved player of the match.

Sunday games

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 3 – Manchester Men’s 1s 2

Whitchurch played a Sunday catch-up game against Manchester 1s this week in what was a hotly anticipated match on both sides. Whitchurch were unable to field a team for the away game earlier in the season, so this was the first time the two sides had met since a tough and heated game last season when the Reds could and should have won, but unfortunately came away losing by a goal in the last minute.

This, then, was to be a rematch with added interest – and the Reds had the advantage of playing at home with a full complement of strong players, and not having had to play the day before as their opposition had pulled out of the league. The game started well enough, and Whitchurch scored first with captain Jack Barnes drawing first blood with a fine shot from a short corner. However, second blood was to come from Barnes’ own face – after some strong work by Manchester to get a goal back, taking advantage of some indecision at a short corner by the Reds’ defence, they won a second short corner and the follow-through from the strike accidentally caught Barnes in the face, and that was his game over as he went to get medical treatment.

Going in at 2-1 at half-time didn’t really tell the story of the half, as Whitchurch were lucky not to have had Manchester score several more. Paul “Sturge” Leigh in goal was solid as ever, and blocked a number of shots and was unlucky with a deflection on the second goal, and the Reds’ defence dug in and made some last minute tackles. However, the wider story was one of poor discipline and pass-selection, not keeping hold of the ball well (which immediately put the Reds on the back foot as Manchester surged forward on the break while the Reds were still in the opposition’s half) and then being less than supportive of team mates who’d perhaps not done their finest work. It was dragging the standards down, and Manchester are too good a team to play against and have that happen.

The half-time team talk included Sturge finding the words to say to remind Whitchurch that that isn’t the team they are, and it is not the game they play. Alex Fry and Danny Foulkes helped focus the team and point the way forward and, as has happened a few times before for the Reds, it was the key to unlock the real team in the second half. It’s hard to imagine that the two halves were from the same team in the same game. Suddenly, Whitchurch found lots of time on the ball, and switched it from left to right to left again, possibly going all the way back to go forward. They had time on the ball; they stopped giving it away cheaply; they stopped trying to run through players; their passes found their targets and there were some passages of play that would stand out on a highlights reel for the season. As the Reds’ confidence grew, Manchester found themselves struggling to have the time on the ball they were used to in the first half, and they were getting more desperate in their challenges and appeals. Some cards were shown, which were deserved but raised some tensions even more.

Whitchurch, though, found balance and calm and continued to move the ball well, and won a short-corner which Martin Beecher put away with a smashed first-strike low and hard to the left. As the game built to a conclusion, another short-corner was initially blocked by the keeper and the ball went out wide but was fired back across the goal and Beecher got his second and the Reds’ third with smart strike. Whitchurch held on until the final whistle to take the game 3-2, at which point frustrations boiled over and some calming was required. It was a shame for the game to end on a slightly sour note, but overall Manchester had been excellent like last year, showing great individual skill and ball-carrying control and completely over-ran Whitchurch in the first half, but it was the manner of the recovery and the effort put in in the second half to recover and take the game that was the real takeaway for the Reds. Much to consider from both halves, but the guts and determination shown to take the win against such strong opposition is something the team can be deservedly proud of.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 4 Cheshire Blues ladies 1

After a tiring Saturday game, both teams put in all their effort to play this match. Whitchurch had first pushback where centre forward Hayley Kellet passed to Lisa Sullivan who drove down the pitch towards the oppositions dee. However, Cheshire blues defence was strong and cleared the ball up the pitch. They gained a short corner where their goal was fortunately disallowed.

Chloe Lloyd and Hermione Ball fought hard in defence and passed the ball up the line to Poppy Huxley on the wing where Lisa Sullivan and Molly Fry continued to get into the dee and gained a short corner but couldn’t convert. However, Whitchurch continued to hassle in the opponents dee and gained multiple shorts from which they unfortunately didn’t score from. Tilly James passed to Cath Gresty who drove the base line into the dee and attempted to score but got deflected by the goalie.

Whitchurch went to the half time break level but having dominated large parts of the game and created many chances carried on as they finished the first half.

Whitchurch took the lead as Molly Fry worked her way through the defence and did an amazing hit from top of the dee into the corner of the Cheshire goal.

Cheshire Blues were soon level as the ball deflected around the midfield and fell the their centre forward who beat the Whitchurch keeper with a diving shot.

Undeterred Whitchurch came back stronger as Mollie Bell made many runs up the pitch into the opponents dee. Sarah Kay ran tirelessly upfront and but for some excellent keeping and defending would have converted.

Chloe Lloyd took a 16 and passed to Tilly James who drove up the line and transferred it to Lisa Sullivan, She passed the ball into the dee to Poppy Huxley who was unmarked on the back post.

Blues then had the opportunity to draw level and goalie Phoebe Gregory made an amazing save tipping the ball around the post from a penalty corner strike. Here

Despite Whitchurch’s attempt to pass into the dee, Blues kept hitting the ball up the pitch and clearing the Whitchurch advances.

Even though Blues hits were strong, Whitchurch made many interceptions and from one of these Mollie Bell intercepted the opponents pass and drove down the pitch slipping it to Poppy Huxley in the dee who deflected into the goal

Whitchurch didn’t stop fighting and from a short corner Cath Gresty hit the ball at top dee which saw Lisa Sullivan get the deftest of touches deflected in Whitchurch’s final goal.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 5 Deeside Men’s 6s 3

Whitchurch started the game at electric pace and should have been ahead in the first minute as Jon Gilbert found Will Edwards in the dee with the resulting shot falling just wide of the post.

With both teams evenly matched they cancelled out each other for the next ten minutes until Pip Jones gave Whitchurch the lead from a penalty corner.

Whitchurch continued to push down both wings through both Olivier and Charlie Edwards but despite maintaining large amounts of the play Deeside broke twice through the midfield and punished Whitchurch with two goals.

Whitchurch seemed undeterred by these setbacks and carried on with their original game plan with solid defending from Thomas Wyndham-Lewis, Sam Conway, Lucas Hill and Archie Phews as the basis to build and go forward.

Just before halftime Will Edwards shot rebounded off the keeper and following Craig Hockenhull hit the crossbar and then tapped the dropping ball into the goal to bring the scorers level.

A positive team talk by captain and goalkeeper Neil Jones encouraged the team to keep going and do the same as the first half.

The second half started well as a neatly worked short corner routine saw Will Edwards score his second defecting in on the back post.

Whitchurch made good use of their substitutes with Nik Moga and Oliver Hayward rolling on to maintain the intensity and pressure in the midfield.

A blistering run down the right wing by Alex Leigh saw Will Edwards again shoot and Joe Chesters get on the scoresheet as the rebound dropped to his feet and he calmly lobbed the Deeside keeper.

Whitchurch were on top at this point and it was Pip Jones driving down the right who turned provider for Leigh to fire into the bottom corner.

Deeside pressured in the final minutes of the game and managed to pull another goal back but Whitchurch managed the end of the game for a well deserved victory.

Deeside ladies 3s 0 Whitchurch ladies 1s 12

A nearer away game this week for Whitchurch ladies 1s, but a late 4.30pm  slot, playing Deeside 3s at their home pitch.

Whitchurch started well with strong control of the game. Great accurate triangular passes gave them pace up the pitch, and within 10 minutes they had their first two goals on the sheet from Valérie Fabery-de-Jonge.

Lisa Sullivan, Mollie Bell and Captain Cath Gresty held a strong centre pushing high up into the Deeside dee to win a run of short corners, where Lisa Sullivan received it on the post and calmly tapping it in.

A lot of play was in the Deeside half, but only a few breaks occurred and the defence of Chloe Lloyd and Hayleigh Busby calmly dealt with these.

Tilly James and Holly Edwards used the width to pass up the side lines to Jasmin Williams and Molly Fry, this resulted in Mollie Bell battling into the dee and finishing in top left corner.

Just before half time Georgia Munro got in on the scoring beating the keeper to make it 5-0.

Whitchurch started the second half in high spirits with great passing and fantastic team work resulting in Deeside being left rocking as Munro scored three goals in quick succession.

Deeside were now slowing and their heads dropping leaving more space for Sullivan to pass to Captain Cath Gresty to strike past the keeper.

A lucky break for Deeside as Whitchurch relaxed while rotating their sub brought keeper Caroline Wynne into the action with a beautiful sliding save, keeping Deeside off the score sheet.

With ten minutes to go Valérie Fabery-de-Jonge showed no mercy with a rapid three more goals for Whitchurch, first a pass in from Gresty then the final two from one on one with the keeper.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 3 Oswestry ladies 1s 0

Whitchurch welcomed Oswestry ladies who were one place beneath them in the table at the start of the game.

Whitchurch started strong, putting lots of pressure on the Oswestry defence, with Heidi Groom scoring a brilliant goal with a strong strike. Towards the end of the first half, Oswestry tried their hardest to fight back, however strong defence from Cath Reece-Gresty and Hermione Ball, along with great goalkeeping from Megan Nicholson kept them at bay until half time.

At the start of the second half, it took Whitchurch a little longer to break through the Oswestry defence, however after multiple passes between Bella Morris and Poppy Huxley, a gap in the Oswestry defence was found leading to Heidi Groom having a shot on goal which finished off by Poppy Gilbert .

After multiple failed shots on goal for Oswestry, Whitchurch reclaimed possession of the ball with lots of superb midfield play by Hayley Kellet and Lydia Jones among others. With the ball back in the Oswestry dee a skilful battle with the defence from Heidi Groom saw the ball was released towards Poppy Gilbert who slotted it past the Oswestry keeper.

Players player was Hermione Ball

After a great performance, Whitchurch will face Sandbach next week with renewed confidence.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 5 Alderley Edge 6s 1

Alderley Edge started the game with first pushback. It took a little while for Whitchurch to get its formation and shape.  There was some good passing across the front with Poppy Gilbert switching the ball to Freya Gresty on the left who then fed it into the dee where Hayley Kellett picked it up and nicely slotted it past Alderley Edge goalkeeper.

Edge made some attacks towards the goal but were stopped by a strong defence of Gayle Ladd and Hermonie Ball. On the odd occasion Edge managed to get past the defence goalkeeper Megan Nicholson was ready to prevent any goals hitting the backboard.

Whitchurch had most of the possession and kept a strong centre midfield of Bella Morris, Lucy Hearn and Rachel Chester’s. This led to runs up the wing by Eleanor Beecher and Sophie Jones meaning Whitchurch was able to break through Alderley Edge defence leading to the second goal scored by Freya Gresty.

After a team talk by captain Emma Stubbs Whitchurch started the second half strongly attacking the goal on many occasions. Lucy Chadwick and Lydia Jones made some good tackles to win the ball who then passed it between themselves before switching it to Sophie Jones who nicely popped it past Edges keeper.

From Edges pushback, Bella Morris managed to intercept the ball passing it out to Poppy Gilbert who made a great run passed the defenders leading to another goal.

Alderley Edge attacks towards the goal were quickly shut down and turned around by Whitchurch who passed across the middle out to the wing leading to another goal scored by Hayley Kellett. Unfortunately, Alderley Edge was able to break through in the last few minutes catching Whitchurch off guard allowing Edge to score a goal. The final score was 5-1 to Whitchurch. A much-needed win and a great start to the second half of the season

Players player was given to Bella Morris

Wilmslow Ladies 3s 1  Whitchurch Ladies 1s 6

Whitchurch travelled away in an unusual early fixture against Wilmslow. Despite the earlier start time Whitchurch took control gaining a short corner within the first eight minutes and Molly Fry slipped the ball towards the goal and Hayleigh Busby deflected in. Whitchurch took advantage of this lead with a bobbling pass from Mollie Bell which allowed captain Cath Gresty to fire home and double the lead

The defence of Chloe Lloyd, Catherine Reece-Gresty and Tilly James brilliantly stopped Wilmslow’s attack. Quick passing from Holly Edwards and Lisa Sullivan found Mollie Bell at the top of the dee who slotted home for Whitchurch’s third. Again, Whitchurch came and won their second short corner of the game, with Busby deflecting home for her second. Whitchurch went into the half time break 4-0.

The second half started the same as the first with Molly Fry, Poppy Huxley and Cath Gresty working tirelessly at the front to keep Whitchurch’s attack strong. Goalkeeper Caz Wynne who saw little action in the first half was called into action to make a diving save, however, Wilmslow got lucky with a reverse shot.

Whitchurch worked hard, and another short corner was won and Cath Gresty fired home for her second and Whitchurch’s fifth. With ten minutes to go Whitchurch kept the intensity high, Lisa Sullivan drove the ball into the dee and squared to Hayleigh Busby who converted her third goal of the game and Whitchurch’s sixth.

Whitchurch look to next week’s game where they play Cheshire Blues at home.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 6 Lymm Men’s 3s 0

It has been a while coming but everything finally fell into place for the Men’s 2s this weekend with a comprehensive win for the home team.

Whitchurch started to move the ball around at speed and soon won a number of short corners but failed to convert. Martin Beecher finally gave Whitchurch the lead latching onto a pass from Will Edwards and firing a thunderbolt of a shot on the reverse into the bottom corner.

Whitchurch continued to push forward and won a penalty corner, from a rebound off the keeper’s pads and Jacob Buckeridge scored. The game was then stopped as a physical challenge from a Lymm defender and following discussions saw both teams reduced to ten players following yellow cards.

This played into Whitchurch’s hands as Charlie Edwards set free Joe Chester’s down the right wing who accelerated past the Lymm defence and calmly slotted past the keeper.

The half time break was a chance to reflect and receive encouragement from Captain Neil Jones to continue the same way as the previous half.

Lymm pushed from the start of the second half but Thomas Wyndham-Lewis and Lucas Hill stood firm with strong tackles and distribution down the left side of the pitch to Olivier Edwards who setup Joe Chester’s for Whitchurch’s fourth.

Whitchurch again had a string of short corners and again were thwarted by the excellent Lymm keeper playing his first game in goal with Danny Foulkes and Will Edwards both seeing deflections tipped around the post.

Craig Hockenhull in midfield continued to drive the team forward and from his penalty corner strike Jacob Buckeridge picked up the rebound to score his second of the game.

With both teams back up to fall strength Whitchurch pressed and Lymm defended and held firm and it wasn’t until the final minutes that Joe Chesters completed the scoring with his third of the game.

 

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

Whitchurch started the new year in a winning fashion with a hard-fought game against Alderley Edge on a good pitch in some surprisingly fine weather and were made to work for the victory by a young and talented team. Alderley Edge applied pressure well from the start, using both wings confidently and testing the Reds’ defence. An even start to the game tipped in Alderley Edge’s favour, with the ball moving around the Whitchurch dee a number of times, being saved twice before the last block fell kindly to their attacker who did well to put the ball into the net.

Whitchurch didn’t let their heads drop and led by captain Jack Barnes, launched a counterattack immediately. They won a short corner which Barnes put away with style into the top-left corner of the goal past the diving keeper’s glove. Barnes was on hand again shortly after, driving the ball to the edge of the dee and unleashing a shot that the keeper got pads to, but was still strong enough to roll over the line for the Reds’ second.

At half time the talk was about keeping good possession and moving up the pitch as a team, and this was done well with Ethan Gresty going on an excellent run round the back of the defence, squaring the ball to the supporting teammates who’d worked up the pitch with him, for Martin Beecher to tap it in.

The rest of the game was Whitchurch defending hard as Alderley Edge used their substitutes well and trying to launch counter attacks. There were chances at both ends, but Paul ‘Sturge’ Leigh was solid as ever in the Whitchurch goal and helped ensure the game ended with a good result for the Reds going into the second half of the season and look to extend their run with an early start away next week at Lymm.

Knutsford ladies 1s 2 Whitchurch ladies 1s 4

Ladies 1s travelled away to play their rearranged game against Knutsford this weekend.

From the start Whitchurch took control, passing strongly to each other, making it look easy for Lisa Sullivan to pick out Georgia Munro to score their first goal 5 minutes into the game.

Whitchurch pushed high on the pitch, making every opportunity count to put pressure on Knutsford. Mid fielders Mollie Bell, Lisa Sullivan and Captain Cath Gresty worked tirelessly holding a strong press on every Knutsford sixteen hit out.

Pressing continued and Whitchurch won a short corner and a fast pass from Gresty to Sullivan scored a second goal.

Knutsford fought back and unfortunately despite all efforts from defence Chloe Lloyd, Hayleigh Busby and Hermione Ball, they managed to score from a powerful short corner strike.

Whitchurch didn’t let this deter them and more fantastic play up the pitch from Holly Edwards and Sarah Kay allowed Georgia Munro to collect the ball at top dee to take on the keeper to make it 3-1 before half time.

A quick break and Whitchurch were keen to get back to the game.

Knutsford came back a lot more aggressive and had several chances on goal, but Keeper Caroline Wynne was drawn out to save all attempts.

But some fast play and quick passing of the ball from Knutsford set them up for their second goal of the match.

Whitchurch worked together to get back the possession and settled back into their game. Jasmin Williams took the ball along the back line to pick out Munro to add to the score sheet, making it 4-2 at the final whistle.

Ladies 1s play away again next week at Wilmslow.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3 Warrington Men’s 2s 4

Whitchurch struggled to shake off the Christmas break and get into the game. Despite some neat interchanges between Craig Hockenhull and Joe Chester’s up-front Whitchurch failed to take their opportunities. Will Edwards fired a shot over the crossbar, but the remainder of the half was Warrington’s who took a three-goal lead into the break.

The Whitchurch team talk was positive and focussed on keeping it simple. Whitchurch went out in the second half and took the game to Warrington. Within minutes Joe Chester’s raced clear of the Warrington defenders and calmly beat the Warrington keeper.

This seemed to give Whitchurch the lift they needed, Alex Fry, Lucas Hill, Thomas Wyndam-Lewis, Pip Jones and goalkeeper Neil Jones thwarted Warrington every time they broke into the Whitchurch half and with the cover of midfield given by Rob Chappell, Charlie Edwards and Oliver Hayward they started to apply pressure.

Whitchurch were again rewarded when Tom Edwards mazy run through the midfield found Joe Chesters for his second of the game.

Whitchurch pushed for an equaliser and another skilful run down the wing by Oliver Edwards drew in the Warrington defence and created space for Will Edwards to drive into the dee and slip the ball to Alfie Edwards who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Warrington showed their experience and slowed down the game keeping the ball and frustrating Whitchurch and in the final minutes of the game snatched the winning goal much to the disappointment of the Whitchurch team.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 2 Wilmslow ladies 4s 3

Whitchurch started the slower of the two teams and would have been down within the first few minutes but for an excellent save from goalkeeper Megan Nicholson.

Wilmslow showed their experience controlling large parts of the game but Whitchurch caused problems throughout with their pace upfront and in the midfield. Wilmslow took the lead with a neat interchange and clinical shot on goal.

Whitchurch continued to attack on the break with pacey runs down the left of the pitch through Heidi Carr and Amelie Morris. Bella Morris controlled the midfield with her range of passing and found Sophie Jones on the right wing who drove into the dee and slipped to Heidi Groom to bring Whitchurch level at the break.

Halftime focussed on keeping the ball and Whitchurch gained greater possession in the second half taking the pressure of the defence of Gayle Ladd, Emma Stubbs, Poppy Huxley and Lydia Jones.

Wilmslow again took the lead but Whitchurch were in no mood to sit back and a driving run into the dee by Freya Gresty saw Poppy Gilbert draw Whitchurch level.

With 10 minutes to go the torrential rain started and despite the support of the crowd from the shelter of the dugouts the pace of the game slowed considerably, this suited Wilmslow rather than Whitchurch who attacked into the rain. Wilmslow kept their composure and in the final push of the game scored a winner.