Monster report below…11 teams to report on!

Ladies 1st (4-2 win)
An exceptional start for the Ladies 1st against Wrexham going 2-0 within the first 15 mins. The first goal being a lovely set of passes between Agata Uchronska and Marianne Hunter for Shami Ahmed to slot home her 3rd goal of the season. That goal was shortly followed by another team goal this time Hannah Thornhill crossing the ball into the D for captain, Zoe Franklin to find the back of the net. Vagrants’ third goal started at the very back and within 10 seconds Hannah Thornhill guided the ball into the goal from Agata’s cross. Lovely. The last 15 minutes of the game resulted in 3 goals…2 for Wrexham and another for Zoe Franklin. Ali Smith and Gilly Blythe having strong games making some great saves and crucial tackles respectively. The win puts the Ladies 1st team in 2nd place level on points with Deeside. Didsbury Greys 2nd team next weekend.

Men’s 1st (3-2 loss)
Against an undefeated Wilmslow side Crewe went 1-0 up with Tom Bolton winning the ball in the middle of the park, slipping it to Jack Townsend to break away with the ball and send the ball to the waiting Pete Cornell to finished off a great counter-attacking move. Wilmslow then scored from a well worked penalty corner to equalise. Crewe went into the break 2-1, Nat Cain brilliantly beating several Wilmslow players, giving the ball to Cornell deep in the opposition’s half to set Townsend up for the second goal. Wilmslow came out hard after half-time scoring from another penalty corner to level things again. The game then opened up with both teams having plenty of chances to secure 3 points, Wilmslow missing a penalty stroke. Vagrants working hard to the very end of the game but unfortunately a loose ball broke kindly to a Wilmslow player in the Crewe D who calmly finished in the final seconds of the game. A cruel blow to finish an exciting game. Colwyn Bay away next weekend.

Ladies 2nd (5-4 win)
Vagrants Ladies 2nd team took to the pitch at Macclesfield eager to come away with three points after 2 disappointing results. Macclesfield were also keen to take as many points as possibly which made the game end to end. Putting Vagrants under some persistent pressure, the ball was smartly cleared out and up to the forwards with Abbie Iddenden capitalising from the counter attack slotting the ball in the back of the net. An equaliser from Macclesfield followed, however Vagrants in the form of Lisa Holland struck again making 2-1 at the break. The second half turned into a 6 goal thriller with Vagrants scoring through penalty corner specialist, Lucy Pearson, another goal from a solo effort by Becky Crowther-Green and Abbie Iddenden grabbing her second making it 5. Macclesfield pushed Vagrants right to the end but Vagrants held out and take all 3 points. Next weekend is Chester Ladies 3rd team at home.

Men’s 2nd (4-2 loss)
Another frustrating and ultimately disappointing afternoon for the Men’s 2nd team. After going behind to an early goal from a reverse stick hit from the top of the D, Crewe dragged themselves back into the game with a smart finish, after a bit of scramble in the D, from Nick Marshall. Bangor then unfortunately scored from a penalty corner and with a scrappy goal to take a 3-1 lead. As Vagrants attempted to make amends, they got caught out on the break and trailed 4-1. In the final 10 minutes Crewe dominated play and Nick Marshall scored again to make it 4-2. With nothing to lose, Vagrants attacked and attacked, and had a number of chances but unfortunately could not get a goal. Prescot at home next weekend.

Ladies 3rd (2-1 win)
From the off Vagrants pressurised Runcorn with several chances to open the scoring. Against the run of play Runcorn took the lead. Vagrants didn’t panic and equalised with some excellent skills in the midfield which led to Beth Robaszek scoring her first of the season. Vagrants continue to attack and were rewarded just before half-time with Isabella Escott slotting home. Taking the lead gave Vagrants good momentum starting the second half winning several penalty corners. Runcorn’s GK making some great saves to keep her team in with a shout. It wasn’t to be and Vagrants maintain their 100% record and are 3 points clear at the top of their League. Mel Brooks was awarded the player of the match dominating the midfield. Cate Whitehouse also showed great composure as centre back. No game next weekend for the Ladies 3rds.

Men’s 3rd (6-0 win)
A real Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Men’s 3rd team against local rivals, Sandbach. The first half score line flattered a very disjointed team but that said, Vagrants took what chances they – Jamie Escott scoring 2 and a goal from Dave Watson. 3-0 at half time. In the second half Vagrants stepped up the pressure and took the sting out of any possible come back with Jamie Escott completing his hat-trick, Russ Gibbons getting in on the act before another for Dave Watson. Who has the most goals in the Escott household???!! Alderley Edge 7th team are the visitors to the Vagrants next weekend.

Ladies 4th (2-1 loss)
A depleted team of 11 travelled away to play Neston at Birkenhead School and started well pressing high and hard with plenty of attacking opportunities for Molly Pheasey and Rachel Fairfield. Unfortunately Neston took the lead with a powerful shot beating GK Grace Leonard. Determined to keep Vagrants in the game Grace pulled off a number of saves from one-on-one efforts. Looking for an equaliser, Vagrants came unstuck giving away a penalty corner which Neston converted from to lead 2-0. Vagrants fought back and despite multiple penalty corners, including one in the last minute Lucy Morriss, Daniek MaCauley, Kate Woods and Emily Ford were unable to penetrate the goal. A strong performance by the defence of Katie Gibbs (awarded player of the match), Lucy Jenkins, Kirsty Aaron and Eleanor Saignes which will be taken into next week’s game against Wilmslow.

Ladies O35’s (3-0 win)
Now in the 3rd year of competing in this national competition and reaching the quarter-finals in the previous 2 years, the Ladies O35’s started the ‘Road to Lee Valley’ off with a 3-0 victory over Prescot. With the score at 0-0 and the half-time break looming, the deadlock was eventually broken with Blythe-Brooks-Bourne combination setting Lisa Holland up to smash the ball past the keeper. The second soon came from a regular 2nd team manoeuvre – Pearson’s shot being saved only for Dionne Johnson to pounce and score with a reverse stick shot. The third and final goal came from left-hand side play – Cate Whitehouse to Holland to Bourne to force the ball over the line. Learning from previous games against Prescot the scooped penalty corner routine was superbly deflected over the crossbar by Tracey Brookfield for Vagrants to keep a clean sheet. There will be some tired and achy bodies for the early part of this coming week!! Next round is on November 6th.

Juniors
Mixed U12’s & U13’s
A group of 14 juniors had a really good run out today against teams from Deeside and Triton. Playing some really good hockey and having a go at penalty shuttles was the order of the day. Katie, Freya, Keeley, Harry, Ben, Isabella, Dominic, Chanelle, Dan, Efke, Jacob, Will, Toby and Nathan demonstrated that the club has a bright future. Thanks to Chris Habesch for umpiring for 6 games and overseeing 2 penalty shuttle competitions. Another U12/13 festival awaits in November.

Girls’ U14
A small squad of 6 players travelled to Sir John Deans College in Northwich today to play in the England Hockey U14 Development League. A punishing schedule of 3 games of 40 minutes was really hard work being one player light and having no GK…but that didn’t stop our girls from having a good time and competing well. Molly Pheasey (3 goals) & Daniek MaCauley scoring against Deeside and Winnington Park. Rachel Fairfield and Eleanor Saignes held the defence tight, putting their bodies on the line to stop the attacking team scoring several times. Making her debut April Roome displayed skill and speed on the wing, and Morgan Zwijnen showed impressive stick and ball skill proving she will be one to watch when she starts playing for the 4th team later this season. The next round is at Triton on the 6th November.