The weekend saw the start of the 2018-2019 season for the majority of the ladies team. The weekend was highlighted by club pizza and HockeyFest – proudly sponsored by Ryman’s Stationery.

Ladies 1s v Deeside 1s – 3-1 loss (Friendly)

The ladies 1st team were away against Deeside in a pre-season friendly. Crewe went out hard and put considerable pressure on Deeside with some good passing. Deeside were very drilled and scored their first goal from a deflection on the back post. Crewe fought back and an excellent pass from Gilly Gibbs- Blythe to Marianne Hunter who scored an excellent goal. Deeside’s second goal was a sneaky curved ball round the post. The second half led to some good passing and runs from Crewe which will bode well for when the season starts. Deeside scores in the second half which led to a 3-1 loss. Crewe face Shrewsbury at home next week in their last pre season friendly.

Ladies 2s v Deeside 2s – 3-0 loss

The opening game of the season saw a new look Ladies’ 2nd team travel the short distance to Deeside. The team’s objective for the first half was to pass the ball around and get to know how one another plays as quickly as possible. The defensive unit consisting of Grace Leonard (GK), Grace Newman, Helen Glanville and Katie Gibbs-Blythe supported by Vic Lee playing as sweeper, they were kept busy with Deeside’s tactic to drive the wings. The first half ended 2-0 with one very well worked goal. GK, Grace Leonard making some good saves and decisive kicks. Debutant, Emily Ford, was moved to play in the centre for the 2nd half and what a half she had. She played like she’d been occupying this position and at this level for a long time. It was a much better second half for the Vagrants, with the team moving the ball around and feeling confident enough to pass the ball backwards when in trouble or crowded. The heavens did open in the second half creating puddles on the pitch, the team adapted well coming shorter for passes. In a cruel blow 2 minutes before the end, Deeside scored to make it 3-0. The team didn’t deserve to concede and played a more positive second half. Grace Leonard received player of the match. Next week is Oxton at home.

Ladies 3s v Chester 4s – 3-2 win

Crewe 3s first game of the season was against Chester at home! They beat us last season 2-1 so we were even more determined to prevent a defeat this time round! We showed great commitment and determination from the whistle winning the balls off the opposition well but unfortunately after some chances from Crewe, Chester got the better of us and got the first goal of the game to go 1-0 from an unfortunate opportunity in the D. It didn’t faze Crewe; in fact we were pressing harder and taking every opportunity we could. The shots just weren’t going past the strong defence or the keeper, but, with 2 minutes to go Kate made an excellent pass to Jen who dribbled it down the line into the D, deflected from Penny for Trish to get the final touch, a great team effort to make it 1-1 by half time.
Following discussions at the break we tweaked the formation ever so slightly to retain better possession of the ball and use the advantage of great skills for opportunities in the d. Beth had the first opportunity on goal in the second half, but it was Jen who got the second goal for Crewe with an excellent wide strike passed the keeper! We were growing in confidence as a team and proved that the fitness in training is paying off, putting pressure on Chester and winning the ball back in play. Crewe seemed the stronger side and the third goal came from the skills of the team for Trish to create the chance and slip it into the goal. Chester were still challenging hard and took their second goal of the game. Going into the last 15 winning 3-2 pushed Crewe to the end to play strong as a team and making us more determined than ever to chase that win home. It worked and the commitment from each player on the pitch showed it was well deserved. Player of the match went to Tricia Boffey – well done and Amazing team effort from everyone with lots to learn and take with us away to Alderley edge next week!

Ladies 4s v Macclesfield 3s – 5-1 loss

The first match of the season for Crewe Ladies 4’s was against Macclesfield 3’s, a team who had dropped from the division above and definitely had something to prove. We emerged ready for a fight; a vast and varied mix of ages and abilities and, though never having played together as a team before, we were fired up and ready after the team talk from our captain Dawn.
The first half saw Macclesfield score first and to slot in two more goals. We were keen to get on the score sheet and capitalised quickly with our opportunities to drive up the pitch, only to be broken down by their solid defence.

In the second half and goal-hungry, we were victorious, thanks to a short corner injected by Lily, struck by Tanya and then slotted in by Lily! The half time team talk and some changes to the formation had created a much more confident and focused Crewe with more runs up the pitch and opportunities for the forwards in the circle. Despite the very best efforts of our defensive line and a multitude of interceptions, Macclesfield managed to score another two goals. Having Nathan, our coach on the sideline managing our subs and giving encouragement was very welcomed. We got on well as a team and anybody watching would not have guessed that we were a new side, particularly with some returning players after many years away from the sport.

Despite the score line, we continued to fight until the final whistle. We got on well as a team and developed some strong links between players in order to move the ball up the pitch. This bodes very well for the season and hopefully leads to lots of wins under our belt. It was refreshing to play against a friendly and polite set of ladies and look forward to the return fixture in Macclesfield.
MOM: Rachael Fairfield

Mens 1s v Deeside 2s – 6-2 win

On Saturday the men’s 1st XI hosted Deeside at The Vagrants. Both teams exchanged chances with Crewe making the most of theirs with Ben Read finding the net 4 times along with Jack Townsend and Nathan Watson chipping in with one each. Matt Greasby and the Crewe defence stood strong only conceding 2 goals. Full time Crewe 6 Deeside 2

Mens 2s – No Game

Mens 3s v Whitchurch 2s – 1-0 win (friendly)

Men’s 3’s away at Whitchurch (friendly), Crewe won with 1-0. Despite the weather Crewe travelled to Whitchurch to kick start the season with a friendly while sporting a line up with several new players. Crewe started strong, with a lot of pressure being applied in the opposing half, a few attempts at goal and nothing was to be found with a quick break from Whitchurch putting Crewe on the back foot but the defence were strong and resilient to all attempts. Crewe were able to make an extended play that resulted in a deflection goal from Keith J that gave Crewe the momentum to keep pressure applied. In the second half Whitchurch turned up the intensity and Crewe found themselves defending several assaults on goal but the defence held and several breaks at Whitchurch goal were made but the final stages were just not connecting. A strong game from both sides with Crewe coming out on top, a brilliant warm up for the season