Ladies Section, Match Reports, Men's Section

Hockey returns – match reports 5/12/20

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 7 – Deeside Ramblers Men’s 5s 0

Whitchurch returned to competitive hockey, and to winning ways, this week playing Deeside Ramblers Men’s 5s in the newly formed, pandemic-enforced Cheshire West 2 league. After some persistent rain in the morning, the sun came out and provided a perfect setting for a resumption of the interrupted season. Whitchurch were able to field a full-strength team with the Wales-based players available again, and did so – for the first two minutes before Sam Budd picked up a game-ending injury after rolling his ankle during an early attack.

Thankfully they had a sub, and so the game began again without the option of using rested impact-players coming on from the bench, and captain Danny Foulkes reiterated the need to make the ball do the work rather than players running themselves ragged. The key was to take the good work put in before the last lockdown and repeat that – with the added need to make the most of the opportunities in the opposition dee.

Whitchurch applied themselves well, against a Deeside team that was a mixture of youth and speed up front, and experience and control at the back. The Deeside keeper had another excellent game making a number of superb saves, but today was going to be the Reds’ day, and it started with good control, keeping the ball and driving down the right time and again. Eventually a short corner was won, and was slipped left and right before it returned to the top of the dee where Jack Barnes belted it in.

This was followed shortly by another short corner, and Barnes was on hand again to receive the injection and flick it under the keeper. Deeside started to recover, and were able to make some incisive runs with high players receiving the ball well and driving to the dee, but Paul “Sturge” Leigh was again fantastic in the Whitchurch goal, sliding out to block incoming passes when the defence were still on their way back, and diving well to block the shots that Deeside could get away. Overall, the defence was solid, with Foulkes, Sam Conway and James Partington working well together to get the ball out. In front of them, Steve Kay had an impressive game holding the centre of the pitch and providing an outlet time and again before considering options and getting a good pass away up the pitch. Equally, the midfield – with Joel Leese, Barnes, Joe Coburn and Ben Kimberley – worked well going forward as a unit, but weren’t afraid to recycle it all the way back to Foulkes if that was the right option.

Up front, Tom Forster and Chris Ruscoe – in a change from his usual defensive duties – caused Deeside’s defence plenty of trouble, and it was Ruscoe who scored next, with a darting run down the right hand side of the pitch before getting into the dee and drilling it into the bottom corner of the goal.

In the second half, it was more of the same, as Kimberley and Forster worked the left-hand side of the pitch with some one-two passes, before Kimberley got his shot away in style. The game then took a turn as Conway picked up an injury and shortly after a green card took the Reds down to nine players, but Kay dropped back into defence so Foulkes could cover Conway, and Whitchurch then went into keep-ball mode, running down the clock before both players could make their way back onto the pitch. Deeside had made a number of attacks during this time, but Sturge was solid and the tackling in the defence was effective, and with eleven players finally back on the pitch the Reds could turn up the wick again.

The commitment was brilliantly shown with the next goal, as Coburn fought his way into the dee and rode six or seven stick-tackles that could each have led to a short corner, as the advantage was played well by the umpires, until he was able to flick the ball over the Deeside keeper for an excellent goal to add to his impressive tally. Ruscoe then went on another run down the right wing before getting into the dee and firing the ball into the centre of the net. The game was wrapped up with a seventh as Leese’s shot bounced off the keeper and Forster was on-hand to clean up and put the ball away.

There could have been more goals, but this was an impressive return to hockey for Whitchurch, again thanks to the depth and strength of the squad, and putting into games the routines and skills learned during training sessions. Player of the match was, again, Joe Coburn – his goal was typical of his play throughout the game, consistently working hard, never giving up and using sublime skills to beat the opposition.

Chester Men’s 6s 0 – 6 Whitchurch Men’s 2s

After lockdown, new tier regulations, a revised league structure for the rest of the season and a struggle to get enough players, the Men’s 2s returned to competitive hockey with a trip to Chester 6s.

The home side started positively but Whitchurch quickly settled into the game and assumed a control that they never relinquished. Chester found themselves penned in their own half, and anytime they did make progress into the Whitchurch half, Brendan Coburn, Wyn Morris and Gareth Teggin were quick to tidy up and set the 2s back on the attack.

Chances came and went. Good work down the right saw Fred Egerton smash a shot against the crossbar, and both Luke Beddow and Euan Morris fired wide when we’ll placed. The excellent Chester keeper made a succession of smart saves to frustrate Whitchurch, but eventually the pressure paid dividends. Midway through the first half, with Chester trying to move forward, Whitchurch won the ball in midfield and set 3 players clear of the home defence. Luke Beddow calmly rounded the onrushing keeper and swept the ball into the unguarded goal.

Despite losing Doug Buckeridge to a nasty ankle injury, Whitchurch continued to push forward and the Chester keeper made more good saves, and final passes between the Whitchurch players weren’t quite finding their intended targets, which Jake Buckeridge just unable to steer home a vicious cross from the right. But as half time approached, Euan Morris deservedly doubled the Whitchurch lead.

The 2s completely controlled the second half with keeper Neil Jones a virtual spectator. Richard Leigh orchestrated the Whitchurch play, organising the younger players from the centre of midfield.

Much of the game was now being played in and around the Chester dee and Ethan Gresty, Fred Egerton, Joe Faithfull, and Alex Leigh were all heavily involved in the action; all of them getting shots at goal, or being close to scoring. Further goals were added in the second half by Luke Beddow, Euan Morris (who completed his hat trick) and Jacob Buckeridge.

Although Whitchurch thoroughly deserved the 6-0 victory, the score line could have been much bigger. The Chester keeper had a fantastic game, making several excellent saves. But Whitchurch were incredibly wasteful in the second half. Too many players were intent on adding to their personal goal tally, taking on extravagant shots, when there were simple passes to better-placed teammates available.

A special mention for Will Snaith, who despite playing on the left side of defence, spent most of the game as a second left winger. He continually made himself available for passes forward and was an excellent support for the players in front of him, whilst never neglecting his defensive duties.

Many thanks for Chester in getting the fixture sorted out after the recent lockdown. The game was played and umpired in an excellent spirit and the Chester players were very supportive in a physical and medical capacity with Doug’s injury.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s will be playing their final game before the Christmas break at SJT on Saturday 12th December against Winnington Park 4s.

General News

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Entries close 20/12/2020 – Terms and Conditions apply.

By entering this competition you will be automatically added to the Brabo UK mailing list to receive communications from the Hockey Factory Shop about this sponsorship, future sponsorship opportunities and exclusive offers & promotions from Brabo Hockey UK – you can unsubscribe at any time.

Match Reports, Men's Section

With the ladies without matches over the half term break it was left to the men this weekend.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3 Neston Men’s 7s 3

In what has turned out to be the last hockey match for at least a month, the Men’s 2s welcomed Neston 7s to a bright and sunny Whitchurch on Saturday. Once again coronavirus had impacted squad selection, so a number of players were drafted in from the 1s game earlier in the afternoon.

A familiar pattern emerged as the older and more powerful Neston team took control of midfield and forced Whitchurch back towards their own dee. But with the home side working hard, Neston found it difficult to threaten the Whitchurch goal. Brendan Coburn, Danny Foulkes, Joel Leese, Sturge and Gareth Teggin put in a succession of blocks and tackles to keep Neston at bay.

Whitchurch were quick to counterattack when the away side lost possession.

Joe Coburn, Ethan Gresty and Luke Beddow combined well in midfield, but couldn’t quite find striker Will Gilbert, or the willing runs of Jacob and Doug Buckeridge on the wings.

Eventually one of Whitchurch’s attacks was rewarded with a short corner. Doug Buckeridge exchanged passes with Joe Coburn and Buckeridge swept home from close range to open the scoring.

The pattern of play continued for much of the half, with Neston enjoying territory and possession, but Whitchurch posing threat on the counter. Ultimately, and despite the best efforts of the Whitchurch defence and keeper Neil Jones, the pressure from the away side brought an equaliser.

With the game level at half time, Whitchurch were looking to retain more of the ball in the second half, but Neston had other ideas. The away side injected more pace into their passing and Whitchurch struggled to get to grips with the change. Neston deservedly took the lead and looked to press home their advantage, but Neil Jones made several excellent stops to thwart the Wirral side.

Whitchurch eventually settled and with Tom Forster and Jack Barnes adding more power in midfield, they worked their way back into the game. Once again Joe Coburn was instrumental in Whitchurch’s best attacking moments, and as his ball into the dee flicked off a defender’s stick and looped up over the keeper, Luke Beddow raced through to get a vital touch and equalise.

Soon after another defence splitting pass found Fred Egerton, who rounded the Neston keeper and fired home from an acute angle to give Whitchurch the lead. The home side continued to create chances but were unable to add to their advantage.

Buoyed by their lead, Whitchurch began to commit more players forward and Neston were forced to play on the counterattack. With only a few minutes left, a Whitchurch move broke down and as the away side drove forward the Reds defence found themselves outnumbered and Neston took full advantage to equalise.

The 3-3 draw was probably a fair result. Both sides enjoyed good spells during the game, and both sides were grateful for good goalkeeping and poor finishing. At times Whitchurch were a little disjointed, with a number of new players on the pitch, but those players also added some much-needed physical presence.

With the national lockdown imminent, the Men’s 2s next game will hopefully be in early December.

 

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 2 – Chester Men’s 4/5s 2

With another scheduled game lost to local restrictions, Whitchurch played a friendly against a Chester team made up of a mixture of their two teams in the Division 3 South league. With heavy rain having soaked the pitch in the morning, there were questions about whether the game would go ahead, but the rain stopped, the sun came out and the match was played in glorious sunshine.

It was an evenly matched game, played in good spirit and with some excellent play by both teams. A shortage of senior players gave a number of the younger 2s players an opportunity to step up, with Alex Leigh, Luke Beddow, Ethan Gresty and Will Gilbert joining Joe Coburn and Fred Egerton as the next generation of 1s players, and all represented themselves well, showing pace and skill against an equally youthful opposition.

With some decent end-to-end hockey, the game always felt like it had goals in it, and Whitchurch broke the deadlock with a well-worked short corner, fired in by Danny Foulkes to Jack Barnes at the top of the dee, whose powerful flick went through the keeper. A few minutes later, the scores were level as a Chester drive broke through the Reds’ defence and managed to get the ball past a diving Sturge in goal.

As with last week’s game, Whitchurch settled well to their task, and maintained their efforts through both halves, which is the step up they needed to make from previous seasons where games could tail off in the second half. There was some great use of width, starting at the back with the defenders happy to go across the pitch multiple times before finding their pass out. The midfield were equally happy dropping the ball back to the defence rather than running into trouble and it set the game up well. Some great running down both wings put pressure on the Chester defence, and there was strength in the middle of the pitch at all times.

Chester went 2-1 up with an unlucky deflection after they’d made a good run down the middle of the pitch on the break, but Whitchurch got the scores level again with another short corner routine out to the right which was crossed in before Chris Ruscoe got the last touch.

It was another good game, with Whitchurch showing a promising future as their strong youth structure provides the rewards the coaching staff have been working on. Another home game against Chester 4s is scheduled for next weekend, when Whitchurch will go all out for the win.