Whitchurch Men’s 1s 2 Oxton Men’s 4s 1

Whitchurch travelled away for their last game before Christmas to play the team currently at the bottom of the league, but knew not to take anything for granted. Oxton were far stronger than their league position would suggest and that, combined with a sluggish start from the Reds, made the game quite even for most of the first half. Whitchurch struggled to put together good hockey, with passes occasionally being wide or weak, and composure just a little off, so were on the back foot. Having said that, they were commanding several parts of the field and put the Oxton defence under a decent amount of pressure. Craig Hockenhull and Nick Cooper moved well in the Oxton dee to keep them from settling, and Fred Egerton rolled on and off with them to keep the intensity high. The Oxton keeper made a number of good saves, and their defensive unit worked well to keep out Whitchurch short corners, so the Reds had to work hard for control.

Oxton’s centre-back was the core strength in their team, good at clearances along the ground and via the aerial route, and it gave them a platform to build on. Their forward play was confident and assured and they moved the ball well, giving Danny Foulkes, Chris Ruscoe and James Partington plenty to do in defence. Whitchurch continued to develop the strength at the back that has given them the best defensive record in the league and worked the ball across the rear third of the pitch time and again to find the best routes out. Joel Leese was back on the left for another strong game, with Dale Seymour and Sam Conway across the middle, and Tom Forster settled well into the sweeper role behind them. Ben Kimberley put in a solid performance moving the ball well through the middle and it was from the central area that the first goal came: Hockenhull collected the ball and ran it to the dee before putting it through to Cooper who put his first-time strike past the Oxton keeper.

The second half was more of the same, but as the game progressed Whitchurch found their rhythm. Once again they put together pass after pass after pass to move the ball from their own dee across the pitch twice before being unlucky with the shot at goal. Reminded of how they can play, they went on to drive the ball forward collecting a number of free hits and short corners along the way as they were clever with the ball and drew fouls well. A short corner routine finally paid off, with Seymour’s powerful strike only being partially blocked by the defender before going over their stick and in.
Oxton came back with renewed vigour, and Paul “Sturge” Leigh was again great in goal, making a number of important blocks and running out to deal with oncoming attackers. In the final minute of the game, a simple stick block by Foulkes was adjudged to have touched his foot instead by the far umpire, and the resulting short corner routine was put away well by Oxton to give them a well-deserved goal.

Whitchurch ground out a win on a day when things didn’t quite click, but the team is strong enough to have a middling day and still pull through. Joel Leese was awarded player of the match for another commanding performance on the left, and the team can be satisfied with a decent performance. They stay top of the league over the Christmas break and can look forward for a good second half of the season in the new year, having already played the top teams away from home.

Bowden ladies 4s 3 Whitchurch ladies 1s 2
Whitchurch played away this week against Bowdon 4s. The top two teams came head to head to play an equally battled game. Bowdon took control for the first few minutes until Whitchurch found their feet and turned the game around, with Sarah Field scoring the first goal from a flick over the keeper. 1-0 up, Bowdon came back fighting to score off a short corner no more than 2 minutes later. Then managed to score another just before half time. Bowdon were 2-1 up with Maddy Sugden saving a plethora of goals.

Whitchurch came out strong in the second half with defence Kezzie Hutchings, Anna Latham and Sophie Ward bringing the ball up to Hebe Dixon who scored a cracking reverse stick goal into the bottom corner. Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty and Lisa Sullivan worked very hard in the centre to filter the ball through and winning a run of short corners. Unfortunately, not being able to convert as Bowdon defence were on the ball. Whitchurch held their own then for the majority of the second half, but unlucky for the defence, a Bowdon striker managed to divert the ball into the goal. Whitchurch played their hearts out, but couldn’t equalise before the final whistle. After an amazing game, Maddy Sugden was awarded a well-deserved player of the match. The final score 3-2 win for Bowdon. As said by the Bowdon coach, this game really was one of the best and hardest of our season so far. Ladies 1s break for Christmas now and are back on the 4th January.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 3 Oxton Men’s 5s 1
After last weekend’s heavy defeat to the runaway league leaders the 2s welcomed second-placed Oxton 5s to Whitchurch for the final fixture before the Christmas break. Oxton had already inflicted a 5-0 defeat on the young Reds earlier in the season and had won both of last season’s fixtures by big score lines.

The opening exchanges took on a familiar pattern. Oxton’s experience and power threatened to overwhelm the 2s in the first few minutes. They moved the ball well and looked to drive forward but the Whitchurch midfield of Joe Coburn and Richard Leigh were diligently restricting space in the middle of the pitch and the defence of Brendan Coburn, Wyn Morris, Will Snaith and Gareth Teggin mopped up behind the midfield and prevented Oxton getting into any threatening positions.

Whitchurch quickly got themselves into the game and started to play some excellent hockey. The quick one and two-touch hockey that has become the teams trademark this season was soon in evidence. Luke Beddow was linking up well with Richard and Joe in midfield and Joe Faithfull and Jacob Buckeridge were providing excellent passing options in the wide areas. Shooting chances, however, were at a premium for both sides. Defences were solid in the tackle and whilst Oxton were more direct with their attacking play, Whitchurch were patiently probing and recycling possession.
Whitchurch opened the scoring with a superb team goal. Winning the ball in midfield, Richard Leigh fed a neat pass to Joe Coburn who in turn picked out Joe Faithfull’s excellent run from right wing. Joe drove into the dee and squared the ball for Will Gilbert to fire home his first goal in senior hockey. The speed and precision of their play was a joy to behold.

The 2s played out the rest of the first half in the ascendancy. Oxton were always a threat but the Reds defence was quite superb in keeping the ball away from their own dee and Oxton were unable to win any short corners, from which they had punished Whitchurch in the past. The midfield took care of the ball when in possession and every player worked hard to provide a passing option for their teammate.

Whitchurch thoroughly deserved to score the second goal of the half. The ball was fed into the dee from the right and Luke Beddow saw his first shot hacked off the line but followed in to drive the ball into the goal.

Despite being 2-0 up at half-time, Oxton were always going to try and force their way back into the game in the second period and the Whitchurch team-talk focused on being calm and continuing to play the hockey that was serving them so well up to that point.

As expected, Oxton came out hard and fast, but Whitchurch met the challenge head-on. The away side still couldn’t make much progress towards the Whitchurch goal, whilst a change in formation seemed to leave them more susceptible to fast counterattacks by the 2s.
Oxton pulled a goal back 15 minutes into the second half from a penalty flick and for a few moments looked to have seized the initiative. They quickly won a short corner which was brilliantly kicked away by keeper Neil Jones.

But the Whitchurch wobble was brief. They regrouped and Oxton attacks continued to break down before reaching the dee, but as Oxton pushed forward looking for an equaliser they became even more exposed on the counterattack. Will Gilbert went close to another goal. The young Oxton keeper had an exceptional afternoon and made several good saves from Luke Beddow, Alex Leigh and Ethan Gresty. Eventually Whitchurch extended their lead when a good break from Alex Leigh fed Luke Beddow, who slipped the ball under the advancing keeper.

Tempers frayed and Oxton were reduced to 10 men for a succession of green cards. This hampered their efforts to get back into the game, although Whitchurch refused to give them any glimmers of hope and duly saw out the remaining minutes to register a well-deserved 3-1 victory.

This was easily the most impressive result and performance from this young squad of players. Oxton 5s are a very good side and are highly likely to win one of the two promotion spots this season but to a man (and boy) the Whitchurch players worked hard to block up the spaces in the centre of the pitch and prevent Oxton from having any space to play their own hockey. When in possession the 2s were both careful and dynamic with the ball.

Will Gilbert, who turned 14 the previous weekend, had a fantastic game standing in as striker for top-scorer Euan Morris, who missed the game through illness. Luke Beddow continues to impress in midfield and drew deserved plaudits from the Oxton players. His goals have been an asset for the team all season. But it was the old guard who provided the platform for this performance. Richard Leigh and Dave Brunyard prevented Oxton having any space in midfield and ably supported by Brendan Coburn and Wyn Morris at the back, the Wirral side struggled to get into the Whitchurch dee and certainly didn’t fashion any real shooting chances in open play.
A great way to go into the Christmas break!
The Men’s 2s return to action on 11th January 2020 with a trip to North Wales.

Whitchurch ladies 2s 8 Macclesfield ladies 4s 1
Enthusiastically, Whitchurch started the match with their sights set on a win. Quickly; powerfully; fiercely; Whitchurch scored within seconds with Amelie Morris making an amazing sweep on the back post, from a lovely cross from Phoebe Jones. Holly Edwards and Stephanie Stanton worked as inners moving the ball up the pitch with determination. Jones kept battling and with another cross into the Dee, Morris scored again!

Whitchurch defenders Catherine Reese-Gresty and Emma Clarke defended the Whitchurch dee brilliantly and left Megan Nicholson with little to do in goal. The goals kept coming for Whitchurch as Nicola Forster put two more past the Macclesfield goalkeeper. Whitchurch continued to work hard and Chloe Lloyd, Ellie McEvoy and Molly Fry set up numerous fast attacks. As the half time whistle neared Fry managed to score an excellent goal making the score 5-0 at half time.

Reenergised and full of jelly babies, Whitchurch went back onto the pitch looking for more goals. They quickly got back into the game and Fry scored another amazing goal. Lloyd ran the ball up the wing and after a lovely cross into the dee, Stanton scored an impressive goal. However, Macclesfield continued to fight and managed to score a well-deserved goal. Fry carried on setting up numerous attacks and Jones and Holly Gilbert made several strong inter-linking passes. This strong attack resulted in Morris scoring her third goal. Clarke and Reese-Gresty carried on defending amazingly and prevented any further Macclesfield attacks and as the final whistle blew the score was 8-1.

Another weekend of disruption with the ladies 2s early home game and the ladies 3s away game both falling foul of frozen pitches.

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 6  Chester University Men’s 1s 1

Whitchurch’s last home game before Christmas was at risk of not being played at all, with frost covering the pitch in the morning but the cautious wait paid off as the sun came out for a glorious – if chilly – afternoon. The Reds started brilliantly, continuing their recent fine run of form, and were two-nil up within 5 minutes, with Tom Forster grabbing a brace. The first came from an excellent drive down the right wing by Jack Barnes who crossed it to the top of the dee where Forster took his shot well. The second was a short corner where Nick Cooper worked the ball in well before squaring it to Forster who fired it in.

The intensity settled a little as Whitchurch looked to use their time on the ball carefully, passing around at the back between Alex Fry, Chris Ruscoe and James Partington before building up through the midfield. Rob Chappell and Tom Forster controlled the centre well, with Dale Seymour again strong in the tackle and distributing well. Barnes continued to have a strong game, driving down the right wing almost unchallenged, and he fired a number of powerful shots in from the edge of the dee, with the Chester keeper doing well to block them. Finally such a shot rebounded up into the air off the keeper and Fred Egerton was on hand to do a tennis-smash style volley into the net.

Still the pressure was kept on the Chester, with Seymour driving into the dee looking to offload before just spinning round and placing the ball into the left side of the goal with a lovely reverse stick strike. Cooper then grabbed his first from a pass by Ben Kimberley which he put past the diving keeper. Cooper, Jon Chappell and Craig Hockenhull continued to cause the Chester defence problems, with good runs and a number of close shots.

At 5-0 up at half-time, one could be forgiven for thinking the game was now a foregone conclusion, but Chester came out of the blocks impressively after the break and it was a much more even affair. They put two players up front and started to make better runs, with a number of close chances and Paul “Sturge” Leigh was again impressive in goal, coming out on a number of occasions to block attackers and give the Reds’ defence time to get back and regroup. However, Chester started to make use of their right wing, which they’d hardly used in the first half, and managed to get a free hit just outside the Whitchurch dee which they got fired in and they had three players on hand to put it over a diving Sturge. Sturge was then involved in the game’s injury worry: one of his rushing blocks coincided with Ruscoe coming swiftly across the dee shadowing the attacking player, and Sturge was left feeling the effects of a blow to the head. The game restarted, but Whitchurch were now keen to keep the ball well away from Sturge as he recovered, and looked to find the form from the first half with more emphasis on strong passing than running with the ball. It paid off as a passing move got the ball into the dee and Cooper’s powerful shot was partly stopped, but it still had enough momentum to roll over the line despite the Chester keeper’s diving attempt to stop it.

Given that the second half was 1-1, Whitchurch know they will have a strong challenge in return fixture, but they had their third good win in a row. They remain top of the league with one more game against Oxton Men’s 4s next week before the Christmas break.

Neston ladies 3s 0 Whitchurch ladies 1s 3

Whitchurch ladies 1s travelled to mid-table Neston with a young team, missing several of their regular players. As anticipated, Neston started strongly, but Millie Edwards and Chloe Lloyd created a solid defence, keeping them out. Despite injuries to Catherine Winter-Gresty and Lisa Sullivan, after 20 minutes, Whitchurch started to gain control. This came directly after Neston were awarded a penalty flick, which Maddy Sugden saved comfortably with her left foot. After this, Whitchurch took the initiative, with Anna Latham and Ellie Windsor creating opportunities down the right, which led to Jess Carruthers scoring two goals for Whitchurch by the time the half-time whistle blew.

The second half started out just as fiercely contested as the first. But Whitchurch’s confidence was growing, and they controlled the rest of the game through midfield efforts of Gresty, Molly Fry and Hebe Dixon. With 15 minutes to go, Whitchurch put the game beyond doubt, with Izzy Huxley and Sophie Ward combining to set up Dixon to score with a fine reverse stick strike. As the pitch started to freeze, Whitchurch ran out clear winners, with Sullivan named player of the match.

Bangor University Men’s 1s 9 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 1

A trip to west Wales to face the runaway league leaders was always going to be a tough game for the young Whitchurch Men’s 2s squad, but their battling performance against Bebington, in their previous game, at least suggested that they had the stomach for the challenge.

In the first half they met that challenge head on. The Welsh side were fast and powerful and threatened to run away with the game in the very early stages. The home side took the lead through a short corner, powerfully struck home from the edge of the dee. Further chances were created as the students powered through tackles and neatly dribbled around flailing sticks but a combination of good, last ditch defending by Doug Buckeridge, Brendan Coburn, Gareth Teggin and Will Snaith, some excellent goalkeeping from Neil Jones and a few slices of luck meant that the score remained at 1-0 until half-time.

Whitchurch got to grips with the game the longer first half progressed, and whilst Bangor were always dangerous when they came forward, the Whitchurch midfield started to make inroads toward the home goal. Richard Leigh and Pip Jones were coming to terms with the Bangor midfield and stifling the home sides attacks in the middle of the pitch.

With top scorer, Euan Morris missing through illness, Luke Beddow was pushed further forward and was a constant threat to the home defenders. Joe Coburn, Ethan Gresty and Alex Leigh started to exchange passes closer to the Bangor dee and with Airan Jones, Jacob Buckeridge and Fred Delf-Rowlandson making good runs from wide positions, the Reds had a couple of reasonable chances to get on the scoresheet.

At half-time, there was hope amongst the Whitchurch players that they might be able to sneak something against the odds in this game, but, as last week, their opponents had other ideas.

Throughout the second half Bangor dominated the game. They brought a power and intensity to their play that Whitchurch struggled to live with, but they battled hard and it took until midway through the half before Bangor scored their second goal, from another short corner. This opened the floodgates.

Whitchurch lost their composure and the battling qualities and the determined play prior to the second goal evaporated. Twice they lost possession directly from their own pushbacks and Bangor poured forward onto the Whitchurch backline, overpowering and outnumbering the defence, and adding to their goal tally. The more goals Bangor scored, the more they drove forward looking for goals and the score line just ran away from Whitchurch in the space of 10 disastrous minutes.

The team weren’t helped by a needless green card for a petulant foul, but when the full complement of players returned to the pitch, the Reds dug deep to finish the game with the final goal of the afternoon. Neat interplay down the right between Richard and Alex Leigh sent Joe Coburn forward at pace. He sold the defender an outrageous dummy and fed Luke Beddow, who fired low past the keeper.

The 9-1 score line was a little harsh on Whitchurch. Bangor thoroughly deserved their win, but once again the young Reds forced a very good team to work hard for 50 minutes or so. However, after making things difficult for their opponents for a long time, the subsequent 10-minute collapse, which allowed the score line to tick over at an alarming rate, has happened in each of their three defeats this season.

The team needs to dig deep when they go a couple of goals behind and try to keep the score line respectable. The players need to focus on doing the things that have served them well for two-thirds of the game, even when they go two or three goals down. This will come with experience, but with their final game before the Christmas recess against Oxton at SJT on 7th December, they may need to get to grips with this concept sooner rather than later.