All posts by Craig Hockenhull

Match Reports, Men's Section

28/10/17 Match reports

With the ladies not playing this weekend it was left to the men.

Neston Men’s 5s 0 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 3

Whitchurch travelled away looking to return to winning form. Neston pressured from the start of the match forcing Whitchurch to defend in numbers, against the run of play Ben Kimberley broke down the right wing and into the Neston dee and slipped the ball to Craig Hockenhull who flicked in the opener.

Neston continued to push forward but the Whitchurch defence remained solid with the back three of Ryan Murtagh, Danny Foulkes and Steve Kay breaking down Neston’s attacks. With ten minutes to go in the half a collision between Steve Kay and the Neston forward saw him side-lined for the remainder of the match and Whitchurch playing with only 10 men.

Whitchurch faced a storm of pressure from the Neston forwards for the final ten minutes of the half but manged to retain the lead due to the work rate and tackling of Rob Chappell, Jake Wood and Airan Jones in the midfield.

The half time talk focussed around maintaining possession and making best use of the ball as all feared with 10 players the game was going to be one sided in the second half.

Neston again came on the attack and again Whitchurch defended in numbers and frustrated the Neston attackers. An interception in midfield saw Alex Fry break into the Neston dee and shoot, the rebound off the keeper’s pads bounced to Hockenhull to fire in his second with a reverse stick shot.

Neston began to get frustrated and as they pushed forward Kimberley began to create havoc with his pacey runs and this continued to give Whitchurch opportunities with Tom Leonard firing just past the post and Airan Jones deflecting just wide of the goal.

As the game went on Neston’s frustration began to affect their play and from a penalty corner Alex Fry fired in an unstoppable shot to give Whitchurch a three-goal lead.

Whitchurch rode their luck in the remaining minutes as the players struggled with fatigue and a superb save from goalkeeper Paul Leigh topped a strong performance giving Whitchurch a clean sheet and a well-deserved three points.

 

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 4 Neston Men’s 8s 4

Whitchurch Men’s 2s faced Neston Men’s 8s, with Whitchurch keen to bounce back from their defeat of the previous weekend.  The game started with Neston coming out all guns blazing and dominating the game for the first 10 minutes, but Whitchurch rode out the pressure with a strong back four of Richard Leigh, Ian Bones, Thomas Molenaar and Rupert Yeoward shutting down any of Neston’s efforts that got into their D.

As Neston’s initial momentum tired, Whitchurch moved from the defensive strategy they’d been forced to adopt, and the midfield line of Matt Brooks supported by father and son Wyn and Euan Morris were able to push further up the pitch and take the game back to Neston.  Although Whitchurch were now controlling the tempo of the play, Neston were still very much in the game and play rapidly alternated between one end of the pitch and the other, with an attack from Neston seeing a cross fed to one of their players on the back post who placed it into the goal to open the scoring.

Whitchurch continued to push hard, with Joseph Coburn and Fred Egerton on the wings taking the ball around Neston and feeding it into Whitchurch’s strikers, Martin Beecher and Josh Parry.  Before long, Beecher responded to Neston’s lead with a powerful shot from the edge of the D that brought the scores to 1-1.

Play continued in the same vein, with both teams quickly moving from attacking to defending, Neston scoring a second goal but Beecher adding to his tally to bring the score back to 2-2.  A short corner awarded to Whitchurch saw the reds skilfully playing the ball around the Neston D and drawing the Neston defence, with Ian Bones taking the opportunity to hammer it home to give Whitchurch a 3-2 lead at half time.

Neston came out strong for the second half, and despite possession still being balanced, Whitchurch were at times unable to meet Neston’s attacks man-for-man allowing Neston freedom within the Whitchurch D that allowed them to convert two more crosses into goals, snatching the lead to go 4-3 up.  Whitchurch refused to let their spirits drop, and their commitment was rewarded as Beecher scored his hat trick, bringing the score up to 4-4.

Unwilling to settle for a draw and despite tiring, both teams continued to push hard with Neston continuing to test Whitchurch keeper Neil Jones, and Whitchurch also racing into counter attacks, one of which saw Beecher rocket a shot into the Neston crossbar, but with neither team unable to secure victory, the final whistle of what had been a thrilling game ending in a 4-4 final score.

Ladies Section, Match Reports, Men's Section

Match reports 21/10/17

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 0 – 3 Liverpool Sefton 3s

The Men’s 1s were hoping to bounce back from last week’s heavy defeat, facing a Sefton team promoted along with Whitchurch last season and previously offering very competitive fixtures.
Whitchurch started brightly and were beginning to dominate the midfield when Sefton broke quickly and scored ten minutes into the game, catching the Red’s defence by surprise.  The home side picked themselves up and continued playing as they had been, controlling most of the pitch and creating chances from open play and a series of short corners, but weren’t able to convert, despite Martin Beecher, Tom Leonard and Jack Barnes all coming close.  To add insult to injury, another Sefton break forced a second goal before half-time.
The second half was almost a repeat of the first, with the Whitchurch midfield controlling the play through Ben Fry, Rob Chappell and Jake Wood, and the defence looking comfortable with only the occasional challenge.  But again, Whitchurch were unable to turn possession into goals, despite Leonard and Ben Kimberley coming close several times.  Five minutes from the end, Sefton scored a final counter-attacking goal to give a result which did not reflect the balance of the game, but certainly tells the story of Whitchurch’s need to convert their chances and put the pressure on the opposition, which will be the main focus of their visit to Neston next weekend.

Wrexham Mens 2s 14 Whitchurch Mens 2s 0

Storm Brian was the least of their worries as Whitchurch 2s were blown away by a rampant Wrexham 3s side in North Wales.

Whilst the 2s fielded another young and inexperienced side, Wrexham, fresh from four impressive wins at the start of the season, lined up with a full complement of experienced hockey players. Right from the start their quick movement and one-touch passing was causing the 2s no end of problems.

Penned back on the edge of their own dee, the 2s defence of Luke Davies, Danny Foulkes, Iain Bones and Doug Buckeridge did well to weather the Wrexham storm for the first 10 minutes of the game. They were eventually undone by a slick passing move that left keeper Neil Jones exposed and helpless for the opening goal.

With Sam Conway and Craig Hockenhull swamped in midfield and the younger players struggling to get involved in the game, Whitchurch were finding it hard to make any progress higher up the pitch. When they did gain territory it was quickly won back by Wrexham and the 2s were exposed on the counter-attack.

Despite a number of good saves by Neil Jones and the best efforts of the defence, Whitchurch found themselves 6-0 down at half time.

The second half played out in a similar fashion. Whitchurch tried to block up the large spaces that Wrexham were exploiting and defend in greater numbers, whilst the Wrexham players seemed keen to add to their own personal goal tallies.

With Fred Egerton sidelined during the first half after a stray stick to the face, Joe Coburn and James Page took turns down the left-hand side in the second half and both worked extremely hard at both ends of the pitch.

Locki Price had a brilliant second-half on the right constantly offering himself as the out-ball for the defenders, he showed great maturity in knowing when to drive with the ball and when to pick an attacking or conservative pass. His performance again drew praise from the opposition after the game.

Josh Parry worked tirelessly up front. Badly isolated in the first half, he dropped a little deeper in the second-half and was involved in all of the 2s most promising attacking moments.

Craig Hockenhull, Airan Jones and Sam Conway worked hard to supplement the defensive efforts and drive Whitchurch forward when the opportunities presented themselves. Ultimately, however, the 2s were up against a very fit, capable and experienced Wrexham side and despite their best defensive efforts they struggled to repel the attacks from the Welsh side.

Wrexham ran out 14-0 winners in the end, but there were still positives to take for the 2s. It was also an eye-opening lesson for the younger players in how to move the ball quickly and play one and two-touch hockey.

Next weekend the 2s look to bounce back when they entertain Neston 8s.

 

Buckley Ladies 1s 5 Whitchurch Ladies 1s 0

Whitchurch ladies 1s played their first away game of the season at windy and rainy Buckley.

From the first whistle Buckley put pressure on the Whitchurch defence with some very big hits into the dee. Whitchurch fought hard but Buckley scored their first goal within 5 minutes. Mid players Grace Berry and Millie Edwards pushed the ball up the pitch to centre forward Becks Morrissey but Buckley defence were very strong.

Ellie Windsor and Charlotte Lawder had some good runs up the right wing but Whitchurch just couldn’t make their opportunities count. Buckley were all over Whitchurch when they entered the dee leaving them with no time and space. Before the half time whistle Buckley fired their second into the Whitchurch goal.

After the half time talk Whitchurch came out with a little more fight, having a good run of chances at goal.

Buckley continued to defend strongly and Whitchurch’s spirits lowered. Buckley made a run into the Whitchurch dee to smash another shot but as captain Catherine Winter-Gresty got to the ball the shot rose into her hand putting her out for the remainder of the match.

Buckley kept the pressure on and had a run of short corners from which they scored another two goals. Whitchurch player Morrissey was carded leaving Whitchurch with ten players for the last 10 minutes; this gave Buckley time and space to score their 5th and final goal.

 

Sandbach ladies 2s 2 Whitchurch ladies 3s 1

The day started badly when we lost our sweeper and experienced defender during the warm up due to injury.

Whitchurch started well but Sandbach got a very early goal putting them one up. The remainder of the first half saw Whitchurch have the majority of possession. Ellie McEvoy and Izzy Huxley made fine runs on the wings creating lots of shots at goal but not able to convert. Wendy Cooper and Jan Teggin defended well along with keeper Phoebe Jones to keep the score the same at the end of the first half.

The second half saw Whitchurch start a little slow and again Sandbach took advantage scoring an early goal. This rallied the team and they got back on track with Annie Buckeridge and Milly Carruthers were excellent through the centre and left wing.

Not long before the end, a great shot in from Wendy Cooper picked out Izzy Huxley and her shot was tapped in by Ellie McEvoy for her first goal for the club, making it 2-1. Not enough of the game remained by the time Whitchurch had found their confidence and the game ended without any further goals.

The team were really pleased but tired after playing a full match without being subbed; they continue to grow in confidence the more games they play.

Annie Buckeridge was awarded player of the match.

 

Whitchurch ladies 2s 1 Golborne Ladies 2s 9

Whitchurch Ladies 2s played top of the division Golborne Ladies 2s this week.

It was evident from the first few minutes that Whitchurch were in for a tough match as Golborne started off strong, scoring, taking the lead by four goals. By the end of the first half however, Whitchurch managed to gain composure, and the resilience and determination from the defence and great goalkeeping by Shola Bailey meant Golborne were unable to add any more goals to their lead for the time being as Whitchurch gained possession.

After their half time talk, Whitchurch realised they needed to step up their game if they were going to score. Unfortunately, during the second half, Golborne took advantage of their tiring opposition, gaining another five goals. However, Whitchurch didn’t back down as great efforts from the mid-field and attack allowed Stephanie Stanton to get past Golborne’s defence and score, meaning Whitchurch were able to finish their difficult game on a high.

Player of the match went to Jess Kimberley.

The 2s have a break next week before their next league game against Neston Ladies 4s at home.

Academy News, Development News, Match Reports

Under 14 girls – 7th October – Match reports

On Saturday 7th October Whitchurch Under 14 girls took to the pitch for the first time with a mixed team of Under 14s and Under 12s and no goalie!

Shrewsbury

We started off with the older girls, Mia, Izzy and Mathilda in mid-field and Alice as sweeper supporting Holly and Hermionie in back. Suzie was up front.

We had the greater part of the possession for most of the match and considering many of the girls had never met before, they soon got used to calling for the ball and ably moved it around the pitch. We had some really solid shots on goal and were denied simply by the fact that they had a goalie. Holly had a fantastic match at left back and was really effective. Ellie came on in front to see if we could make some more of our chances, but their goalie was just too good and we finished the match 2:1 down. If we had had a goalie though, we would have almost certainly prevailed, as they were able to convert their only 2 shots on goal and we had had many shots on goal and had been denied.

Much Wenlock

Mathilda went up front for us in this match to see if she could generate a bit more “fire power”. This team was also without a goalie, so we were on an even playing field. Suzie went in a right half, Ellie at centre half. Again, our girls moved the ball around really effectively and what was very pleasing to see amongst the youngsters that although they were more tentative about going in for the tackles, when they did, they won the ball the vast majority of the time.

Hermionie took a big hit to her knee in this match, so our only sub Mia had to go on for her, which meant that we had no capacity at all to rest any of our players. And although we led for much of the match, tired legs started to show and eventually the score evened up and that is how the match ended at 3:3.

However, at least 3 players were involved in all 3 of these goals, with one goal starting with Holly at left back, all the way across the pitch to Suzie at right half, who then fed the ball into Izzy, who was out of the left mid field and she thumped it in, in very satisfying style indeed! Great use of space and players.

Shrewsbury #2

By this time, our gang were run off their feet, not really having had the chance for any kind of rest, but they still worked very very hard and dominated the game in the first few minutes. Our defence was really spent by this point and Holly had nothing more to give, so we fell victim to a swift succession of goals towards the end. We were, however, outrun and not outclassed by any means!

In this match we had a series of short corners that worked really well. Our injector Izzy sent the ball into Mathilda who beat the main defender every single time, however, what we did not have up our sleeve was any ability to vary this set-piece. Some practice on some lays off so that someone else can take a shot on goal, would have no doubt delivered some fantastic chances for further goals. Final score 6:2 to Shrewsbury, but the majority of their goals came in our last very tired 5 minutes.

Ladies Section, Match Reports, Men's Section

Match Reports 14/10/17

Whitchurch ladies 1s 2 Lymm ladies 3s 2

Whitchurch went out strong, dominating the first 10 minutes, but unfortunately were unable to get a goal. Lymm 3s got a lucky break and made it through the Whitchurch players to score past Gwyn Thomas-Rees . Whitchurch were not impressed but were beginning to tire. A few good plays got the ball up to the Lymm dee with centre mid Catherine Winter-Gresty getting the ball to the edge of the Dee, passed in to Grace Berry, who slapped it into the goal, hitting the net and evening up the score.

This cheered the spirits of Whitchurch, and with some great Ariel plays, Whitchurch continued to fight but couldn’t quite get a goal. A spectacular play saw the ball passed to striker Sue Read, who stretched out but couldn’t quite reach it.

Whitchurch went out fighting again, eager for the win. They battled valiantly but to no avail. Finally, Whitchurch earn’t a short corner. This was injected by Laura Workman, received by Grace Berry, who passed to Becks Morrissey, who struck at goal, causing the Lymm keeper to make a save. Grace Berry caught the rebound and smashed the ball into the roof of the net, putting Whitchurch deservingly in the lead for the first time in the game. Both teams kept their heads up and continue to play some good hockey, although tough at times. Lymm responded with a scrappy goal, following several saves ten minutes before the end. Just two minutes before the end, Catherine Reese-Gresty got a green card leaving Whitchurch with ten players with minutes left they had to hold on for the whistle. Final score was 2-2. Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty received player of the match.

Whitchurch will regroup and go out fighting again next Saturday, away against Buckley 1s.

 

Whitchurch Mens 2s 1 Deeside Ramblers Mens 7s 0

Whitchurch took on local rivals in this closely fought contest. Whitchurch started the quicker of the two teams and took an early lead with a blistering shot from Craig Hockenhull into the bottom corner of the Deeside goal. Whitchurch failed to take advantage of their chances and but brought the best out of the Deeside keeper who pulled of a great save from a Fred Edgerton shot and just before the end of the half Josh Parry deflected just wide of the post.

The second half saw much of the same with both teams evenly matched, Deeside continued to pressure the Whitchurch defence with same excellent passing between their younger players but the back line of Danny Foulkes, Richard Leigh and Ian Bones quickly broke up their attacks.

At the end of the match both teams were exhausted but Whitchurch claimed their first win of the season and a valuable three points.

Whitchurch travel away to play Wrexham Mens 2s next weekend.

 

Whitchurch Mens 1s 0 – Bangor University Mens 2s 5

Whitchurch travelled to Bangor for a late-pushback game this week against a young and well-trained team, and suffered their first significant loss in a long while.

The first half started well, and Whitchurch had the majority of the play. Several chances were set up well, with Ben Kimberley’s crosses into the dee from the right wing passing just inches from the tap-ins that would have given the Reds at least two goals. Airan Jones, stepping up from the 2s well, had an excellent game on the left wing, making runs and getting behind the Bangor defence.

At the other end of the pitch, the defence were hard-pushed by a strong Bangor attack, who were able to get a goal from a scramble in the dee. The Reds reset, and held out for the rest of the half, with Alex Fry stepping up in the central midfield role, and Steve Kay taking his place as sweeper, and they were able to control the centre of the pitch and get the ball out wide to Ben Fry and Jake Wood. They had very strong games and impressed with their strong runs down the wings, and they consistently pressured the Bangor players, fought for every ball and got through to the dee and released Tom Leonard to attack with his usual mix of top-of-the-dee strikes and movement through the defenders but, despite the pressure and getting a number of short corners, the final hits evaded them and the goals refused to come. Sturge in goal kept out a number of strikes including a diving save which involved a Bangor forward trying to get the ball over him, until James Partington was able to tap the ball onto the attacker’s foot.

The second half started with immense pressure from the Bangor team, who played with fluency and took control of the centre of the pitch more, passing the ball more freely amongst themselves and cheered on by some passionate supporters. The pressure took its toll on the Whitchurch defence who let their marking slip, and Bangor were able to score a couple of quick goals. Ryan Murtagh and Matt Brooks were worked hard at left and right back to keep a stream of attacks out, but eventually the pressure told and two more goals went in.

The game ended with Bangor deserved winners, but Whitchurch know the areas they need to improve on before they play Liverpool Sefton 3s next week at home – a known threat, as a team who came up with them last season – pushing back at 2pm at SJT.

 

Whitchurch ladies 3s 0 Wilmslow ladies 4s 8

Whitchurch Ladies 3s played Wilmslow Ladies 4s yesterday, with increasing bravery and determination! You can see the confidence growing in our younger, less experienced members of the team, match by match. Captain Kate Goodwin tried out her players in different positions this match, to try and find out where people are suited best to playing. Evie Whatmough did very well striding her way up front, as centre forward, ably supported by Izzy Huxley, Caitlin Shaw, Milly Carruthers and Amelie Morris. However, sadly Wilmslow were just too strong and despite our good defensive play scored two goals very quickly.

Maddy Sugden made some excellent saves, but this succession of goal scoring continued throughout the first half. Our defence team did work very hard trying to keep them out of our Dee, with Edina Jones, Mel Reid and Molly Goodwin demonstrating some brilliant defensive stick work.  Unfortunately Wilmslow were 6 – 0 up at half time.

This yet again did not dampen spirits however and after a very inspirational team talk at half time, Whitchurch went back on the pitch in a very positive mood.  After a change of players and positions, this was reflected in our play in the second half. What a turnaround! Nobody gave up and appeared to play a far stronger game.  Ellie McEvoy making some great moves up the pitch, with Victoria Corlett, Emily Lister and Annie Buckeridge really battling on.

Some very impressive and determined play by Kate Buckeridge, helping to keep the ball up at the Wilmslow end more, meant we had far more of a chance of scoring in the second half. Sadly, we had a goal disallowed but as a result of our improved playing.

Wilmslow only managed to get two goals past us in this half. What a great improvement by all players! The final score was 8 – 0 to Wilmslow, with Maddy Sugden, our formidable goalkeeper yet again getting Man of the Match! Next week we play away at Sandbach.

 

Macclesfield ladies 4s 0 Whitchurch ladies 2s 3

This week Whitchurch travelled away to Macclesfield ladies 4s. Whitchurch started the stronger of the two teams with Tracy Tolhurst scoring the first goal within 15 minutes.

Whitchurch pushed hard to increase their lead and were rewarded with Hayleigh Busby scoring the second goal off an attacking short corner. One final attempt in the first half saw need passing between forward Amy Fry, Hayleigh Busby and Tracy Tolhurst to setup Emily Vernon who slapped the ball past the Macclesfield keeper giving Whitchurch a 3-0 lead at the break.

The second half began with Macclesfield mounting strong attacks, the game for Whitchurch changed with Whitchurch defending their goal. Goalkeeper Shola Bailey produced some amazing saves to frustrate the Macclesfield forwards.

With their strong defence, Emma Clarke, Wendy Cooper and Martha Teggin and numerous saves from goal keeper Shola Bailey, Macclesfield were not able to gain an advantage and Whitchurch defended several short corners which were stopped by Hebe Dixon and Jess Kimberley.

Macclesfield voted Hebe Dixon player of the match