Whitchurch Men’s 1s 3 Keele University Men’s 1s 1

Whitchurch were looking to return to winning ways this week after last week’s away draw, playing a Keele University team who had given them two tough games last season. The Reds also had a large squad this week with their stronger players all available to play, so were hoping to put on a good performance – but it wasn’t that straightforward. Having so many substitutes to roll on and off actually caused quite a bit of disruption to play, with the initial solid start to the game then interrupted with players not settling quickly enough as they came on, and not always in the right positions.

As it was though, Whitchurch did make the stronger side against a youthful university team and Danny Foulkes’ pass through to Chris Ruscoe, playing his first game for several years, was rifled into the back of the goal. Nick Cooper and Jon Chappell caused problems for the Keele defence, and were helped by Ben Kimberley and Craig Hockenhull who provided width and options. Dale Seymour and Jack Barnes held the middle of the pitch, and Joel Leese and Marcus Conway drove the wings from midfield. Foulkes provided strength at the back, with Tom Forster moving well in front of him, and Ruscoe and James Partington gave width at the back, to try to implement Foulkes’ game plan of better use of the whole pitch this match.

The first set of substitutions unfortunately unbalanced things, as the team as a whole failed to cope well enough with the fluidity required to maintain good pressure and, instead of providing impact, it gave interruption. It was hard to put a finger on why things didn’t work, but it will be something the team needs to work out quickly. Communication wasn’t great, passes weren’t strong enough, and people didn’t move off the ball as well as they have done in previous matches. There were still moments of good work, with a quick break by Seymour ending with a pass across to Chappell who scored well into the Keele goal.

This was balanced by trouble at the other end of the pitch, with Keele making a number of successful breaks, and player-of-the-match Paul “Sturge” Leigh making a number of critical saves, including a full-stretch diving block to keep Keele out. They did finally grab a goal, with questions over the taking of a free hit causing delays in the Whitchurch team responding to a quick attack and Sturge was unable to block the overload.

The game settled and, with players taking on Foulkes’ half-time words about how the subs needed to work, the second half was much better. Fred Egerton did well at left back, and Sam Conway worked well in midfield to spread the ball out wide. Alex Fry held the pitch in front of the defenders, and the team started to work better for each other again. This resulted in some decent play with much of the last few minutes being played in the Keele twenty-three metre area, and a good drive into the dee by Forster was followed by his strike on goal with Cooper popping up to tap it in from a few inches away.

Whitchurch remain top of the league and have an away game at Bowden next week where they will hope to have ironed out things and continue to play the good hockey they know they can.

Deeside Ramblers 7s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 5

For the first time in a long time, the men’s section of the hockey club was over-subscribed for players for the weekend’s fixtures. Once again, the 2s fielded a full squad of 16 and despite the youthful make-up of the squad, the Men’s 2s produced an excellent performance to emphatically beat Deeside at Malpas.

The Reds immediately took control of the game, passing the ball neatly through the midfield trio of Joe Coburn, Airan Jones and Luke Beddow. With Deeside struggling to get out of their own half, Whitchurch pressed their opponents back towards their own goal and forced a succession of short corners. But despite varying the routines, the Reds couldn’t find their way past the resolute Deeside defenders and keeper.

Throughout the first half Whitchurch created opportunities but repeatedly they chose the wrong options when well placed. Will Gilbert was unlucky with a lofted flick that went wide, Dave Mitchell-Lane almost got on the end of an excellent cross-field pass from Euan Morris and Airan Jones flashed shots wide with players in support.

The Reds’ defence of Brendan Coburn, Wyn Morris, Will Snaith and Alex Leigh were excellent throughout. Whenever the home looked to make progress up the pitch they were well stopped by the defenders. Will and Alex both worked hard to provide support to the forward players.

Given the number of opportunities created in the first half, it was surprising and slightly disappointing to go into the half-time interval level at 0-0. The only criticism of the Whitchurch side was the lack of width … a familiar failing this season … so the challenge for the second half was for the wingers to stretch the pitch and the Deeside defence … and they must have been listening!

Right from the start of the second half Jacob Buckeridge and Joe Faithful worked hard to maintain the team’s width right across the attacking areas of the pitch. As the home side’s defence stretched to meet the wingers, more space opened up through the middle of the pitch and the Whitchurch attacks became much more dangerous.

The midfield, including Ethan Gresty and Dave Brunyard, were driving through the centre of the pitch and causing havoc for the Deeside defenders. The home keeper was again performing heroics, with some fine stops but eventually Whitchurch got the goal they deserved. Joe Faithful did well to pull the ball away from the prone keeper during a scramble and then smack the ball high into the net via the keeper’s outstretched arm.

This opened the floodgates. As Deeside looked to push forward in search of an equaliser, they left large spaces in behind their midfield. Whitchurch’s speed on the counterattack was devastating. Airan Jones scored a neat reverse stick finish after another fine save from the Deeside keeper. Euan Morris continued his scoring run with an excellent run and finish into the far corner and then doubled his tally with a mishit shot from the edge of the dee at a short corner. Joe Coburn rounded off an excellent all-round performance with the fifth goal from the edge of the dee.

Further chances came and went. Will Gilbert and Fred Delf-Rowlandson were creating width on the wings and fired in several dangerous crosses which were blocked or hacked clear.

Deeside had one or two chances, but by that stage the game had escaped their control. Keeper Gareth Teggin made a couple of handy stops but was eventually beaten for a consolation goal towards the end of the game.

This was an excellent performance by the young 2s. They were always on top in the first half and their willingness to stretch the pitch in the second half made them difficult for Deeside to handle. The passing was crisp and incisive, and the winning margin was well deserved.

Will Snaith had an excellent game in defence; strong in the tackle; intercepting and cutting out passes; and intelligently supporting the play going forward; this was by far his best game for the 2s. The wingers all played well in the second half, but Joe Faithful was the stand-out with his clever opening goal paving the way for the final score line.

Next weekend the 2s entertain Birkenhead 2s. The Wirral-based side are expected to be in the mix for promotion, so this will be a tough test for Whitchurch. Pushback will be 1:30pm at SJT.

Whitchurch Ladies 3s 1 Bowden Ladies 7s 0

After some great gameplay last week, Whitchurch were ready to go as they arrived in Bowden. With Jan Teggin as acting captain Whitchurch started extremely well with quick passes between Jasmin Williams, Kate Buckeridge and Louise Whitely, Whitchurch quickly took control of the game. Hermione Ball and Jan Teggin worked well in defence, stopping all of the Bowden attacks. Holly Gilbert and Caitlin Edwards managed to get the ball into the Bowden dee several times with but with Edina Jones working hard in the middle of the pitch further attacks were prevented.

Whitchurch immediately put pressure on the Bowden defence with Hayley Busby making some excellent runs up the pitch supported by Jones. Samantha Parkhurst made her Whitchurch debut, brilliantly covering the right wing from the oncoming attacks. Emma Stubbs worked hard in defence stopping Bowden with some excellent. After a string of interlinking passes made by Williams and Whitely, saw Whitely manage to get the ball past the goalie making the score 1-0. Whitchurch continued to work well together with Louise Cottrell ensuring Bowden didn’t get a last minute goal. The match ended with a well-deserved win for Whitchurch.

Whitchurch Ladies 1s 4 Warrington Ladies 1s 0

This week Whitchurch 1s played Warrington 1s at home. After a strong start to the game, Whitchurch were awarded a short corner. Lisa Sullivan injected a great ball to Sarah Field who took a shot and scored the teams first goal. From a 16 yard hit, Emma Harper, Anna Latham and Kezzie Hutchings worked the ball down the pitch with some lovely interlinking passes to get a pass to Hebe Dixon who smashed it bottom corner. After Warrington unexpectedly broke through, Beth Wright made a strong save before Sophie Ward then dove across the goal to make a terrific save.

Millie Edwards, Catherine  Winter-Gresty and Lisa Sullivan worked together down the right hand side before passing it across the goal to Izzy Huxley who after battling with the keeper, scored the team’s 3rd goal. The teams last goal came from Ellie Windsor who passed the ball selflessly to Field who slotted it past the keeper. Lisa Sullivan sadly got hit and had to come off, but returned like a trooper for the second half.

In this half, both teams had chances but neither could convert. Whitchurch will be playing away next week against Macclesfield. Players player was once again awarded to Sullivan for her outstanding play.

Rhyl ladies 1s 2 Whitchurch ladies 1s 10

The ladies 1s this week travelled away to Llandudno to take on Rhyl 1s. Their first goal came from Jessica Carruthers after a battle with the keeper on the goal line. Lisa Sullivan worked her way quickly up the pitch, showing off many skills before selflessly passing it on the Izzy Huxley, who scored the team’s second goal. Shortly afterwards, Sarah Field worked hard to get two back to back goals, pushing the score to 4-0.

After the half time break, Rhyl broke through the defence to score a lucky goal. In response to this, Chloe Lloyd and Millie Edwards worked together down the line to get the ball to Ellie Windsor who scored a nifty goal off a deflection.

Captain Catherine Winter-Gresty fought her way through to pick out Carruthers on the back post to score another goal. Rhyl again stepped up and drove down the pitch very quickly, counter-attacking off a mistake. Maddy Sugden, the teams goal keeper, made some amazing saves, but unluckily one of Rhyl players was left unmarked and scored their final goal. 6-2 up, Emma Harper played some superb balls into the dee, allowing Field to score another amazing goal. Soon afterwards, Whitchurch were awarded a short corner, which Field yet again scored off.

Amazing play from captain Catherine Winter-Gresty was sadly curtailed after she was hit from a lifted side line ball. Down to 10 players, Whitchurch had to step up their game… and they did! With only 4 minutes left, Sullivan made a slick pass into the dee allowing Field to score her final (and 5th) goal! Windsor won Whitchurch a short corner in the final few minutes, allowing Field to cross the ball to Hebe Dixon, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Players player was awarded to Lisa Sullivan, which was well deserved.

Next week the team will be playing Warrington 1s at home.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 1 Clwb Hoci Eirias 3s 1

After the heavy defeat away at Oxton, the Men’s 2s were looking to get their promising start to the season back on track with the visit of Eirias 3s to SJT. The Welsh side themselves had started the season reasonably well and proved to be a tough side to score against, having conceded only twice in their preceding games.

Whitchurch started the game well. Luke Beddow, Joe Coburn, Ethan Gresty and David Brunyard gained some control in midfield and drove the team towards the Welsh goal, but Eirias demonstrated why they’d been so difficult to score against by defending well on the edge of the dee. The 2s won several free hits around the edge of the dee but couldn’t get any meaningful possession closer to the goal and couldn’t turn the free hits into short corners.

The game evened out as the half wore on. Both sides had moments of control, forcing their opponent back towards their own dee. Eirias won a series of short corners, but resolute defending by Wyn Morris, Brendan Coburn, Will Snaith and Alex Leigh, plus some excellent stops from stand-in keeper Gareth Teggin kept the Welsh side at bay.

As the game opened out, Whitchurch also found good positions within the dee and eventually opened the scoring from a short corner. Euan Morris received the ball at the top of the dee, jinked left and swept the ball into the goal on the reverse stick.

The 2s saw out the rest of the half to go into the interval with a slender 1-0 lead and started the second half in the ascendancy. Pip Jones added power and experience into midfield, and the team were looking after the ball much better. Coupled with James Page, Owen Pearce, Jacob Buckeridge and Will Gilbert rotating onto the wings to provide energy and width, Whitchurch threatened to extend their lead.

Unfortunately, the rotation of subs to bring on fresh legs and to ensure every member of the squad got good playing time, seemed to knock Whitchurch out of their stride. Familiar mistakes of running the ball into trouble rather than passing the ball quickly handed the initiative to Eirias. For a spell the home side seemed be repelling attack after attack. The defending was excellent, and Gareth Teggin made several more good saves. The help from the midfield was also vital, with Dave Brunyard making an incredible goal line clearance whilst running towards his own goal.

Eventually however the Welsh side’s momentum brought them a deserved equaliser. For a period Eirias looked like they would go on and snatch the lead, but Whitchurch dug deep, defended deep and looked to threaten on the counterattack.

Neither side was able to find the winning goal, and whilst both teams will think they could or should have won the game, a draw was probably a fair result.

The Whitchurch defence and keeper were excellent all game and the midfield and attack had moments of good play, but too often fell into familiar failings … running the ball rather than passing and becoming too narrow when attacking. However, this game featured a very young squad, with three of the regular adults missing or injured for the game, resulting in 11 under-16s making up the 16-man squad.

Special mention to Gareth Teggin who stepped in as keeper for the first time this season in the absence of captain Neil Jones. Gareth had an excellent game making several important saves. Will Gilbert provided some fantastic energy in the second half, both on the wing and in his short stint up front. And a big thanks to Pip Jones for stepping in at the last minute to add some experience to the side and significantly increase the average age of the team!

Next up for the Men’s 2s is a trip to Malpas to face Deeside Ramblers 7s on Saturday 19^th October.

Whitchurch ladies 3’s 1 Alderley Edge 8’s 3

After a tough week of getting a team together, Whitchurch went into action with a full team.

Following the push back Alderley Edge produced a strong attack catching Whitchurch off guard and resulted in an early goal for the visitors. Whitchurch’s heads came up and they began to attack back. A strong attack from Alice Page and Louise Whitley on the left supported by Caitlin Edwards, Ellie McEvoy and Hermione Ball got the ball into the opponents dee where Beth Wright took a shot which was saved by the keeper and Alice Page caught the rebound and had another shot which was also deflected.

Alderley Edge then pushed on with their attack and pressured Whitchurch’s defence of Mel Reid and Emma Stubbs who held strong. Keeper Louise Cottrell made some excellent saves from the visitors attacks. The first half was almost over when Whitchurch pushed hard up the pitch with some excellent passing and teamwork in the dee gained a short corner. After a couple of attempts from the Whitchurch attack, Jasmin Williams managed to score her first goal for the club bring the score to 3-1 at half time.

After a positive team talk at half time from captain Wendy Cooper, Whitchurch went back onto the field with a positive outlook. Whitchurch dominated the second half with some superb passing from Annie Leigh and Jan Teggin resulting in Beth Wright having a shot which beat the keeper but scrambled off the goal line. Alderley Edge pushed again and thought they had scored from a penalty corner but a foot ruled out the effort. Jasmin Williams earned a well-deserved players player.

Next week Whitchurch 3’s travel away to play Bowden 7’s.

Whitchurch Men’s 1s 5 – Oxton Men’s 4s 0

Whitchurch’s second home game of the season was a chance for them to consolidate their early successes and start to make their positive, selfless play the bedrock for the rest of the year. They came up against an Oxton side who had a number of younger players which gave the Reds a chance to let their greater experience show. Too many Oxton attacks tried to go through players instead of around, and Rob Chappell and Dale Seymour were able to block attack after attack before they got anywhere near to the Reds’ goal.

Given the confidence on the ball, Whitchurch were able to put together some lovely passages of play, starting with width across the defence from Danny Foulkes at sixteens to move the ball out wide to Pip Jones and James Partington, or back across for an attack up the other side of the pitch, as well as coming back with the ball time and again instead of always driving forward. This gave the team a solid platform to work from, with options on both sides from Joel Leese and Marcus Conway who could then drive the ball up, but they had options in all directions.

Seymour and Chappell in the midfield, with Tom Forster just behind, were able to control the centre of the field and lay the ball off to each other, as well as going through the young Oxton players if needed. Up front Nick Cooper and Jack Barnes, playing higher up the pitch this week, attacked the Oxton dee with good stick skills and sharp passing to keep the pressure on.

The first goal came from a short corner routine; the first few short corners hadn’t quite got the rewards they deserved, so a switch in plan had the pass out returned as a sharp satellite beam pass through players to injector Foulkes who was able to crack it past the keeper at the near post.

A second followed soon after, with more selfless play in front of goal: Cooper’s run into the dee drew the keeper, but rather than take the shot, he slipped it to Barnes who went for goal and, despite a tackle on the goal line, forced it in. A third was a goalmouth scramble, with Cooper tapping in just in front of Airan Jones who would otherwise have taken the prize for the shortest time ever between coming on as a substitute and scoring!

The second half came with a scare for Whitchurch as an Oxton attack into the dee was awarded a penalty stroke. Thankfully the right post dealt with it, although keeper Paul “Sturge” Leigh was on hand. Sturge also made a number of significant blocks as the Oxton attack started to make more of their high player who spent most of his time now in the Reds’ dee. At the other end though Whitchurch were putting together some lovely hockey. Attacks started from the sixteens were moving from player to player as they let the ball do the work – but only because players were running for their teammates, making sure they were in the right places to make it easy for the passes to get through.

Cooper picked up his second goal as Barnes put in a strong drive into the Oxton dee followed by more unselfish play in front of goal to lay it off for Cooper to slap it into the open goal. Several more goals could have come, but the Oxton keeper was their best player and made a number of significant saves. One final goal was scored though, this time by Leese whose strike was initially blocked but came straight back out to him, and there was no chance the second shot would miss.

It was another solid performance by a developing team, which leaves them top of the league for another week. Player of the match was Joel Leese for his consistently solid performance. Whitchurch are away next week to Alderley Edge 5s.

Whitchurch Ladies 1s 2 Timperley Ladies 3s 3

Whitchurch ladies 1s entertained an unbeaten Timperley 3s this Saturday. For the first five minutes Whitchurch ladies took control, but Timperley had a strong defence, powering the ball back giving Emma Harper and Catherine Reece-Gresty a hard time in defence. Tiring quickly as the game was fast and back and forth Timperley scored two goals in the first half.

Midfielders Lisa Sullivan, captain Catherine Winter-Gresty and Anna Latham worked together giving Whitchurch a few shots on goal but couldn’t they could not find the gap. Millie Edwards and Sophie Ward made some strong runs up the lines but Timperley were holding tight.

Whitchurch had a firm team talk and came out fighting. Whitchurch raised their work rate and started to ask questions of Timperley. Kessie Hutching’s and Izzy Huxley passed well up the wing and Whitchurch started having more shots on goal with Sarah Field and Stephanie Stanton finding more space in the dee.

A goal came when Lisa Sullivan set free captain Catherine Winter-Gresty who used her speed to run the ball up the pitch and fire into the dee where Anna Latham touched in on the back post.

Heads went up for the Whitchurch ladies and the play improved, with time ticking Whitchurch had to score again and shortly after Anna Latham got her second from an Ellie Windsor cross.

Timperley quickly pulled themselves back in the game with a great shot from a short corner.

Despite numerous chances Whitchurch unfortunately could not get the much deserved equaliser. Whitchurch played the last 5 mins with everything they had to try and get a draw but time ran out.

Players player was awarded to Lisa Sullivan.

Sale Ladies 3s 1 Whitchurch Ladies 2s 7

Whitchurch ladies 2s travelled away to a late game against Sale ladies 3s.

Whitchurch started out the stronger of the two teams as they pressured the Sale defence. After some amazing runs from Grace Berry, Jessica Carruthers and Amelie Morris Whitchurch passed the ball around the Sale defence for Morris to slot the ball home. After fighting hard Sale earnt a short corner but from all the strong defending Sale slotted the ball past the advancing Whitchurch keeper Meghan Nicholson.

The reds regrouped and went on fighting with some interlinking play between Edina Jones, Berry and Molly Fry. Berry then completed her hattrick with two goals in quick succession.

Whitchurch were then awarded with a flick which Jess Kimberley slotted past the Sale keeper. Before the halftime whistle a quick interchange of passing between Holly Gilbert, Molly Fry and Jessica Carruthers resulted in Phoebe Jones tapping in a fifth goal.

Whitchurch continued after the break with some strong runs and defending from Chloe Lloyd and Martha Teggin driving forward the Whitchurch attacks circle. As Whitchurch started to create space the ball came across to Louise Whitley who scored her first goal for the club

As Sale started to push themselves back into the game Captain Emma Clarke calmed the team and controlled play stepping into action to break down and clear the Sale attacks. The tireless efforts of Caitlin Edwards and Nicola Forster continued to frustrate the Sale side and setup Whitchurch with more goal scoring opportunities and when the ball fell to Berry in the dee she and slapped the ball into the net bringing the final score to 7-1.

Whitchurch ladies 2s will be entertaining Oxton Ladies 4s at home.

Oxton Men’s 5s 5 Whitchurch Men’s 2s 0

Whitchurch Men’s 2s’ good start to the season came to an abrupt halt when they came up against an excellent Oxton 5s side. The Wirral-based team were in with a promotion shout last season before a significant points deduction scuppered their chances, but they handed Whitchurch heavy defeats in both games something the Reds were keen to avoid this time out.

Oxton immediately took control of the game on Saturday and Whitchurch found themselves pinned in their own half for much of the first period. Oxton were moving the ball around quickly and confidently, and their powerful running through the middle of the pitch was too much for the young Whitchurch players to deal with.

Brendan Coburn and Wyn Morris were being forced to defend in their own dee and clearances were coming straight back at them as Whitchurch were unable to string their passing combinations together. Some rest bite was coming from Alex Leigh running the ball out of defence, but the 2s were finding it difficult to get the ball out of their own half and the front players were unable to get into the game.

With the Reds defending within their own dee it was inevitable that Oxton were going to win short corners. The Wirral side demonstrated in both games last season how ruthless they could be from shorts and early on the warning signs were there. Whitchurch defended the set-pieces well, with good defensive clearances and some excellent stops from keeper Neil Jones, and twice the home side had goals ruled out from short corners for the strike being too high. Eventually however the home side got it right, firing in from the edge of the dee.

Whitchurch could feel a little fortunate to get to half-time only one goal behind and the team talk at the break stressed the need to calm down and pass the ball with more care. The team took this on board and started the second half well. Richard Leigh, Doug Buckeridge and Joe Coburn were winning the ball higher up the pitch and the short passes were finding teammates, enabling the side to make progress towards the Oxton dee.

Ethan Gresty and Jacob Buckeridge were linking up well from the wings and Euan Morris started to see the ball in attacking positions. Doug Buckeridge had a good chance to equalise from a Euan Morris cut-back, but his shot was just too close to the Oxton keeper.

Oxton’s excellent second goal came completely against the run of play. One of the home side’s young players picked up the ball near the halfway line and drove straight down the pitch, into the dee, finishing on the back stick past keeper Jones. This knocked Whitchurch out of their stride and boosted the Wirral side. Oxton quickly raced into a 4-0 lead, with Whitchurch again struggling to hold onto possession and being unable to get out of their own half. It was manful defending by Gareth Teggin and Will Snaith supporting Wyn Morris and Brendan Coburn and some good stops from keeper Jones that kept the score respectable.

After their 10-minute wobble, Whitchurch finished the game strongly. Oxton were always a threat and did add a fifth goal from a short corner just before the end of the game, but Whitchurch threatened to get on the score sheet themselves. Joe Coburn, Luke Beddow and Dave Brunyard were driving forward through the centre of the pitch and linking well with Joe Faithfull and Will Gilbert on the wings. But the 2s were unable to fashion any clear-cut chances, although the Oxton keeper had to kick away several speculative efforts.

Oxton were well worth their 5-0 win. They have an excellent side, with several talented young players, ably supported by some experienced and equally talented adults. Their hitting power was always a threat at short corners, and they now sit top of the table with three wins from three games, with eighteen goals scored and none conceded.

For the Whitchurch 2s this was a learning experience. The team did well to recover from a chastening first half to dominate the early stages of the second period and almost fashion an equaliser, and then to recover from a wobble in the middle of the second half to come strong again at the end. Alex Leigh had another good game in defence and Ethan Gresty had an excellent second half, providing an important link between midfield and Euan Morris up front.

With a few things to work on in training, the Men’s 2s will entertain Clwb Hoci Eirias 3s at 1:30pm on Saturday 12^th October at SJT.