With all the other games cancelled due to flooded pitches only the men’s 1s game went head.

Bowdon Men’s 5s 1 Whitchurch Men’s 1s 10

Whitchurch had an excellent away game this week against Bowdon, and it was the perfect tonic to last week’s frustrating home outing. Anything that was poor last week was solid this; anything that was too narrow last week was full-width this; anything that was sloppy last week was tight and focussed. It was some of the best hockey played by Whitchurch for a long time. The movement off the ball was as good as play when with it. Passes made it to their targets across the full width of the pitch. The defence was happy to play the ball around the back, before launching up the wings. The runs into the dee and the crosses to those runs were spot-on. This week, Whitchurch properly implemented captain Danny Foulkes’ pre-game plan, and put into practice the training exercises prepared by the coaching team, and did it well enough to draw praise from spectators who noted how well the squad played together.

The game started evenly enough, with early pressure from Bowdon, who were able to get some good triangles going down the wings. Whitchurch were also putting together some good passing moves and a fine run down the right ended up with right-back Chris Ruscoe bagging his first of the game with some excellent work in the dee. A few minutes later, Bowdon were awarded an unexpected free hit and were able to take it quickly enough to get the ball past the diving Paul “Sturge” Leigh in goal. From there on, though, Whitchurch took control: from strength at the back, with Foulkes flanked by Ruscoe and James Partington to move the ball around before getting out to the midfield, with Alex Fry and Rob Chappell controlling the middle of the pitch, well-supported by Tom Forster on the left and Jack Barnes on the right. Up front, Craig Hockenhull and Nick Cooper were a constant threat in the dee, with Fred Egerton and Ben Kimberley rotating well out wide allowing the Reds to stretch the play in a way they were unable to do last week. Two more goals came before the break, including a short corner that was initially blocked with a high clearing kick by the keeper, which Kimberley brought down with a tennis smash back in before the goal was put away.

The second half was the opening of the flood gates as Whitchurch began to create some borderline-perfect hockey. As Bowdon tired, or lost focus, Whitchurch excelled. Moves started from clearances at sixteens through to the midfield, and across the pitch to the other wing, back into the centre and banged into the goal. Barnes drove an excellent run down the wing and along the byline before slipping it to the penalty spot for a shot. Egerton played an excellent game swapping both at left back and left wing, but was critical in collecting the ball and holding it while players arrived before getting a great pass away, but also scored a good close-range goal of his own. Hockenhull made strong runs that put the Bowdon defence on the back foot; Cooper was a constant threat. The centre of the pitch was a goldmine for pinpoint, crisp passes. The goals started to flow, with end-to-end moves ending in powerful strikes, and included a stroke scored by Ruscoe after a shot on goal hit a Bowdon defender. By the time the final whistle went, Cooper had scored four, Ruscoe three, and Kimberley, Hockenhull and Egerton each got one. Sturge in goal made a great save in the second half, but that was the only time he was really called on. From goalkeeper to centre-forward, the entire team put in a vastly-improved performance. They played for each other, and as a single unit. It was hard to pick a player of the match, but it went to Egerton for his tireless performance. Whitchurch are home next week to Chester Men’s 5s when they hope to build on this good work.

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.