All posts by Craig Hockenhull

General News, Match Reports, Men's Section

Whitchurch hockey Match reports 08/11/14

Whitchurch Mens 1s  1  Leamington Mens 1s  0

Whitchurch bounced back from with a win over Leamington in a close and tightly fought contest. In the end it came down to two crucial moments that allowed Whitchurch to take the points and move up to fourth in the league.

There was very little between the two teams and for large parts of the game both teams cancelled each other out with excellent defending from Alex Fry and Luke Davies and attacking at pace through Joe Nicholson and Michael Lawledge-Evans.

Halfway through the period Leamington were awarded a penalty stroke after a goal mouth scramble and an excellent save from goalkeeper Tom Vaughan kept Whitchurch in the match. This seemed to motivate the Whitchurch team and they managed to apply a sustained period of pressure but couldn’t manage to convert their chances.

The deadlock was broken midway through the second half when Whitchurch were awarded a penalty flick after a penalty corner was stopped on the line by defenders body. Whitchurch however made no mistake as Ben Lea fired the ball into the roof of the net giving Whitchurch the crucial lead they required.

Leamington had opportunities in the dying minutes of the game to take a point but strong and disciplined defending gave Whitchurch a well-deserved three points.

 

Whitchurch Men’s Fathoms  3                     Bloxwich Men’s Fathoms  0  (game abandoned at half time)

The game was meant to be away but was re-arranged late in the week so Whitchurch entertained Bloxwich at home.

Whitchurch raced into an early lead as Jack Barnes and Ellis Hickson scored in quick succession and then within minutes Ian Bones went on a individual run straight through the heart of the Bloxwich defence and neatly finished for the Whitchurch third.

During the half time interval the Bloxwich keeper was taken unwell and an ambulance called to the pitch, in the subsequent delay the game was abandoned. All at Whitchurch hockey club wish him a speedy recovery.

 

Golborne ladies 2s   0 Whitchurch ladies 1s  7

Whitchurch Ladies 1s travelled to Golborne, near Wigan on Saturday for a late fixture against this mid-table team.

The first 20 minutes saw Whitchurch frustrated by many missed opportunities to score. The Golborne goalkeeper made some excellent saves and despite the continuing pressure from the strong Whitchurch attack led by Lisa Sullivan and supported by Catherine Gresty, Chloe Crump, Keeley Hathaway and Vicky Price, Whitchurch only managed to go two goals up with a brace Nina Hodges by half time.

The second half saw the strong Whitchurch side come back with determination to get around the talented Golborne ‘keeper.

Whitchurch defenders Jayne ‘Crow’ Williamson and captain Catherine Reece-Gresty stepped up to support the attack whilst Gayle Ladd, Claire Roberts and Goalie Gwyneth Thomas-Rees held off every single break that Golborne attempted.

Solid team work meant that the Whitchurch girls kept the ball for 90% in the second half.  Resulting in a further five goals, Nina Hodges (2), Keeley Hathaway and Lisa Sullivan with the last being scored on the final whistle from an amazingly accurate short corner shot from Jayne Williamson that pounded through Golborne’s defensive line.

Final score Whitchurch 7 Golborne 0, with Whitchurch keeping its position at the top of the division

 

Wrexham ladies 2s   7                          Whitchurch ladies 2s    1

Whitchurch 2s knew that it would be a difficult game as Wrexham are currently second in the league. Whitchurch fielded a much-changed team due to the unavailability of regular players and as Whitchurch adjusted to the changes Wrexham took full advantage to race into a four goal lead in the first ten minutes of the match.

Whitchurch were not giving up easily and continued to work hard and this resulted in an amazing pass from Monique Higgs to Jess Kimberley who found Phoebe Jones in the opposition Dee defecting the ball into the path of the advancing Ellie Windsor to beat the Wrexham keeper.

The second half saw much the same as the first half Whitchurch continued to work hard but failed to capitalise on their opportunities where Wrexham were clinical in front of goal converting another three chances.

General News, Match Reports

Whitchurch hockey match reports 01/11/14

Whitchurch Men’s 1s  0   Oswestry Men’s  1s  9

It was always going to be a challenging local derby for the Whitchurch team as they took on their local rivals with both teams knowing each other so well.

It was always going to come down to which team managed to get the early advantage and whether the speed and youth of the Whitchurch side or the experience and guile of the Oswestry team would come out on top.

The first ten minutes were equally balanced as both teams attacked and defended looking for the early advantage and this came to Oswestry. Whitchurch seemed to deflate and Oswestry turned on the continuous pressure for the remainder of the match giving Whitchurch no time or opportunity.

Oswestry won the tactical battle knowing the Whitchurch team and thus managed to subdue the key players in the Whitchurch team. It was a credit to the Whitchurch side that they kept their heads and discipline and managed to keep working until the end of the match although it was of little consolation.

The next game will be a big test for the young Whitchurch team as they aim to put behind this result and take the lessons learn’t from the game into their next home game against Leamington next week.

 

Whitchurch Men’s Fathom  3   Stafford Men’s Fathom  2

Whitchurch men’s fathom side returned to winning ways on Saturday against Stafford. The start of the match saw the sides very evenly matched as both sides countered each other and it was not until midway through the first half that Whitchurch opened the scoring when Craig Hockenhull played a well weighted aerial ball through to Aaron Shackleton who beat the keeper with a good shot. However Whitchurch sat back on their lead and were punished as Stafford seized the initiative to take a 2-1 lead into the half time break.

In the second half Whitchurch settled as both sides tired and started to move the ball catching Stafford on the break and defending solidly at the back with through Ben Fry, Mark Sugden and Ian Bones. A Ben Kimberly, brace over a five minute period reduced the arrears and gave Whitchurch the winner shortly before the end of the match.

For Whitchurch three notable performances from our junior ladies Jess Kimberley, Phoebe Jones and Emily Hilton who didn’t have matches this weekend so stepped in to make up the numbers.

Whitchurch fathom travel away next week to Bloxwich.

 

The ladies teams had a break from league action this weekend but return again next week with the 1s away to Golbourne 2s and the 2s away to Wrexham 2s.

General News, Match Reports

25/10/14 Ladies 1s match report

Neston South Wirral ladies 3s  0    Whitchurch ladies 1s  1

The top of the table clash was a tense one as the girls really had to fight for their 1-0 victory over Neston 3rds, breaking Neston’s winning streak.

Claire Roberts attacked the opposition with fierceness in her tackles, and with Gayle Ladd and Jayne ‘Crow’ Williamson clearing the ball, they kept it in the oppositions half.

Catherine Reece-Gresty made a fantastic clear from the goal line when the opposition had a short corner, then with Catherine Gresty’s amazing interception along with Julia Neale; we managed to push the ball forward again. Sue Read and Nicola Workman received the balls from our team brilliantly and helped keep possession to our team.

Lisa Sullivan, with incredible shot from the top of the D enabled Whitchurch to secure their one and only goal. Jess Kimberley had some great runs which yet again helped us keep possession and keep the ball away from our half. Whitchurch had plenty of short corner opportunities but failed to convert.

Vicki Price, Sue Read and Chloe Crump made a great runs on the opposition’s goal and were only unable to score a goal because of the force of the Neston defence. We had a great save from Gwyn Thomas-Rees after a fantastic shot from Neston, but not good enough to beat our amazing goal keeper.

This win saw Whitchurch move back to the top of the league before next week’s break.