Whitchurch Ladies 2s 7  Deeside ladies 4s 3

At the start of the match, Whitchurch started out strong with Amelie Morris, Bella Morris, Louise Whitley, Heidi Carr and Phoebe Jones controlling the attacking field and getting many scoring opportunities in the dee.

Within the first 10 minutes of play Whitchurch got their first goal scored through Amelie Morris. Deeside’s defence was strong, but the Whitchurch attack worked together to pass around them leading Morris to score her second goal. Hermione Ball, Chloe Lloyd and Emma Stubbs transferred the ball around the back and up the line to Bella Morris who ran into the dee to score. Deeside made many attempts to score but goalie Gwyn Thomas-Rees made some excellent saves to frustrate the away side. A decisive tackle by Poppy Huxley in the midfield and subsequent pass set Bella Morris into the dee to score her second

In the second half, both teams came out strong. Huxley, Bella Morris and Jones all worked together pushing the ball into the dee and winning an attacking short. Captain Stubbs injects the ball which was transferred to Jasmine Williams to score. Despite Lloyd and Balls strong defensive tackles, Deeside managed to slot in their first goal. Whitchurch fought straight back with Amelie Morris and Jones scoring a joint goal. Shortly after this time, Deeside staged a comeback scoring to quick goals. Towards the end of the match, Whitley and Heidi Carr worked together on left wing and passed into the dee for Jones to slot home.

Whitchurch ladies 3s 0 Alderley Edge ladies 7s 11

Whitchurch ladies 3s travelled to Macclesfield to play Alderley Edge 7s.

Edge started off as the stronger of the two teams by scoring in the first few minutes. But Whitchurch kept their heads held high and struck back with Evie Hall and Eleanor Beecher running the ball up the right hand side of the pitch to which Hall drove the ball into the opposing dee. Tracy Tolhurst shot at goal which narrowly missed the post.

Despite Alderley Edge slotting the ball past our experienced injured keeper  Louise Cottrell, Whitchurch continued to work hard in defence with Emma Clarke and Rachel Chesters keeping edge at bay.  Elsie May Cotterell on the Left and Freya Gresty on the right drove the ball down the side of the pitch who picked out Lucy Hearn who drove into the opposing dee for a shot on goal.

After a positive and enthusiastic half time talk by our captain Jess Kimberley, Whitchurch went out stronger and more determined, with Tolhurst leading from the front by smashing the ball in front of her from the whistle, which was chased by Harriet Slater who drove the ball into space heading towards the dee which was stopped by the edge defence.

Edge then proceeded to attack the Whitchurch Dee but with the defence of Jan Teggin, Chesters and Clarke edge had a tough time getting through.

The final whistle ended with the result of 11-0 to Alderley Edge.

Next week Whitchurch ladies 3s are home against Deeside ladies 4s.

 

Whitchurch ladies 1s 5 Macclesfield ladies 2s 1

After a disappointing start to the new year, Whitchurch ladies were determined to come back fighting. However, after a mistake that led to a short corner Macclesfield were 1-0 up. The team were determined to not let this deter them. With 2 disallowed goals Whitchurch still kept strong. With a drive through the centre by Lisa Sullivan who passed to Cath Gresty who crossed into an open Dee , Hayleigh Busby drove from the back to claim the equaliser.

Whitchurch then earned a short corner we’re Busby slotted it home for her second. Strong driving on the wing meant that Caitlin Edwards passed to Holly Gilbert who drove round the keeper and added to Whitchurch’s third. Strong defending from Chloe Lloyd and Eleanor Hervieu allowed Whitchurch to keep it 3-1 at half time.

Whitchurch we’re caught out by Macclesfield’s strong start in the second half however amazing saves from Holly Edwards denied Macclesfield anymore chances. A Macclesfield foot on the line lead to a penalty flick, allowed Molly Fry to confidently shoot right corner for Whitchurch’s fourth.

Great team work continued; Mollie Belle slapped the ball to Izzie Huxley who won another short corner allowing Lisa Sullivan to fire home Whitchurch’s fifth.

Whitchurch stayed strong until the end and the final winning score ended 5-1.

 

Lymm Men’s 2s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 0

Whitchurch travelled away to Lymm on a windy day hoping to get their first points of the year.

The game started at a fast pace with a very disciplined Lymm team stretching the Whitchurch team and looking to capitalise on any advantage. Whitchurch knew from the start what to expect and maintained their discipline and shape absorbing the Lymm pressure and looking to break quickly.

Whitchurch were unlucky not take the lead as Craig Hockenhull touch went agonisingly wide of the post. The game continued in much the same form but when captain Alex Fry was forced from the field through injury Lymm took the lead as Whitchurch re-organised.

The second half continued much as the first with Fry returning to the defence alongside Sam Conway and Will Snaith they continued to frustrate the Lymm forwards. In the midfield Dale Seymour, Joe Coburn and Joel Leese put in amazing levels of effort breaking down attacks and leading the Whitchurch counters. Whitchurch created chances using the speed down their wings with Luke Beddow, Jack Barnes and Alex Leigh flying forward at every chance but despite the endless runs of Tom Forster up front they just couldn’t get the break through goal they needed.

Whitchurch at times rode their luck as they were saved by the post and some amazing reflex saves from goalkeeper Neil Jones stepping up from the 2s.

At the end of the game Whitchurch were disappointed not to have got something from the game but could take a lot of positives from the game for the rest of the season.

Whitchurch entertain Macclesfield 2s at home starting at 13.30 next week.

England Hockey has announced their Game Management System (GMS) is now up and running again and players can begin to register.

Any player who is playing senior hockey will need to register on the system.

For Under 18’s players parents need to register an account and add the Under 18 as a dependent.

All information on completing can be found on the below links.

Link to latest update

https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/media/news/game-management-system-gms-update-25-november

Link to GMS player information

https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/play/gms-player

Congratulations Whitchurch (Shropshire) HC on retaining England Hockey Clubmark accreditation.

It is my great pleasure to inform you that you are one of a select number of hockey clubs across England to achieve England Hockey Clubmark accreditation.

Achieving England Hockey Clubmark is an important step in ensuring your club operates to a set of core criteria and has good practices in place to ensure that you can deliver quality hockey in a sustainable and vibrant club environment.

 

With a week off for all the teams for half term the ladies 2s and 3s caught up on previously postponed fixtures.

Whitchurch Ladies 2s 1 Wilmslow Ladies 5s 0

Whitchurch L2s got off to a good start in their game with a series of early attacks on the Wilmslow goal, the closest being saved off the line.

Whitchurch had almost all the possession in the first half with some lovely passing play around the middle between Molly Fry, Bella Morris and Lydia Jones and some good runs down the wings by Caitlin Edwards and Rachel Chesters.

Hermione Ball and Chloe Lloyd were very strong at the back and effectively swept up all of Wilmslow’s attempts to press forward

After half time the game really was in Whitchurch’s hands. With a lot of attacks on the Wilmslow goal. Jasmine Williams commanded the right and was consistently able to stop Wilmslow from clearing the ball past her and was able to feed some beautiful passes to Molly Fry, Caitlin Edwards and Tracy Tolhurst, but unfortunately a goal was still to come. Louise Whitley was unlucky not to score at the back post from a pass across the dee despite her amazing dive!

Wilmslow gave Whitchurch a scare with a counter attack that saw four attackers against just Ball who put in some amazing tackles but was unable to completely stop their advance. Goalkeeper Gwyn Thomas-Rees came off her line though and intimidated the forward managing to stop an initial shot and then saved the second attempt with her stick from the ground which enabled Ball to sweep the ball away to safety.

The resulting short corner was a further concern for Whitchurch to deal with, fortunately Captain Emma Stubbs took one for the team and got her shoulder in the way of what would have been a very strong shot on goal.

This brief run against play seemed to rally Whitchurch and some great teamwork led to Molly Fry hitting a very determined shot that struck the back board with some venom three minutes before the final whistle. Molly Fry was awarded players player and Whitchurch earned themselves a very well deserved win.

Runcorn ladies 2s 6 Whitchurch ladies 3s 0

Whitchurch 3s travels away to Runcorn with over half the team very new to senior hockey, the remaining four players carried plenty of experience with them.

Whitchurch won the toss and Lucy Chadwick took the first push back. Driving the ball into the oppositions half with speed and accuracy to Poppy Gilbert on the left.

For the first quarter of the match, Whitchurch’s inexperienced team held an extremely strong Runcorn attack. However, Runcorn broke through and whipped a fantastic ball in the air scoring in the top left hand corner, it was a seriously fantastic goal. But Whitchurch were not down heartened and kept the pressure on.

In the dying 10 minutes of the first half Runcorn were awarded a succession of short corners, forcing Whitchurch to bring Mable Hazelhurst in to defend her first ever shorts, which she did with great determination and speed.  In fact as a defensive team we were proud to not concede a single goal from short corner all match.

Despite our success rate being great for short corners, Runcorn attack allowed them to score a further four goals past Louise Cottrell in the first half.

After a rousing team talk by captain Cooper at half time and a box of jaffa cakes kindly donated by the opposition.  Whitchurch attacked Runcorn’s pushback with renewed enthusiasm.

From the off, sisters Lucy and Robyn Hearn fought hard on opposites sides of the pitch, to keep Whitchurch’s attack alive, with Heidi Carr being a nuisance to Runcorn’s attacking half, taking Runcorn by surprise. They well supported by Jess Hunt in mid-field.

Once Runcorn had regrouped they attacked with a vengeance, the halves of Jessica and Mabel valiantly protecting Whitchurch’s golden girls in Whitchurch last defence, Wendy Copper, Mel Reid and Emma Clarke.

Most of the play was in Whitchurch’s half of the pitch, Runcorn had shot upon shot at goal, which Whitchurch valiantly defended again and again over and over.  All the team just upped their game in the second half, marking players and supporting each other. Because the team gelled well and began to feel their positions Runcorn only managed to smash one goal in the second half.

Despite Whitchurch being defeated by Runcorn they played an extremely strong game even though the majority were very young and inexperienced, captain Cooper came away very proud of her team. Even the umpires and the Runcorn team commented on the strength and abilities of such young players.

Player of the match was given to Emma Clarke who totally deserved it, over GK Louise who didn’t get it as Emma is amazing and can’t understand why she has never been awarded this accolade before.

Next week Whitchurch 3s host Crewe Vagrants at home.