A Warm & Sunny October Match Day

21 Oct 2018 by Crewe Vagrants Hockey Club

Ladies 2s v Alderley Edge 3s – 2-2 Draw

The ladies 2s were at home to a very young Alderley Edge team on a surprisingly sunny Saturday in October. Knowing that Edge are usually organised and skilful, Crewe put them under pressure from the beginning and looked dangerous from the off, which seemed to worry the Edge team on and off the pitch.

Amongst the great plays being made by Crewe there were some dubious actions from Alderley Edge and their umpire with big swings and even more misses! With one finally connecting with Captain Laura MacLeod’s knee! Despite this, and Nat Stevenson taking a ball to the chest or Grace Newman stopping a short corner with her body, Crewe’s play looked promising with plenty of chances in the first half.

There was a great atmosphere amongst the ladies 2s, positive and driven the whole team worked as a unit with some great instructions from GK Grace Leonard. Play was end to end, but unfortunately for Crewe a scrap in the goal let Alderley go 1-0 up.
With a positive half time break and a growing crowd on the side lines the ladies 2s were ready to level the score. The break finally came from the infamous Bev Jackson, even after being hit in the chin by the keeper’s stick!

Debutant Lucy Morriss soon settled into her stride seamlessly linking play with MoM Morgan Zwijnen in the middle.

With time ticking down Crewe grabbed a late short corner again trying to even the score. A quick slip left from Laura MacLeod for Nat Stevenson to slap the ball towards goal and Bev Jackson to put the ball easily over the line put the score at 2-2.

Ladies 4s v Brooklands 4s – 0-0 Draw

From the start, Lily Gorman was on fire and goal-hungry, making many a solo run into the attacking zone. Daniek MacCauley made her debut in the team and was instrumental in intercepting and moving the ball up the pitch. Numerous balls were intercepted, and play was broken down in the midfield by Tanya Downes who was trying out her new position away from defence. It seems that our strategic planning had paid off further backed up by a much-deserved MOM for Tanya. As practised at training, short sharp passes were executed which involved all players and ensured a confident offence.

In the latter part of the game, Brooklands got a second wind and were unwelcome guests in our danger zone. However, they were kept at bay by our strong defensive line and domineering goalkeeper, Jayne Sharpe. At one point, Jayne won a game of ping-pong against a young attacker. A particular mention must go to Dawn Price, our captain, who had her best match this season. Brooklands were awarded two short corners, of which we quelled confidently. For the majority of the match, our defence had company, in the form of a goal-hanger.

At the eleventh hour, a short corner in our favour was awarded and the final whistle blew causing a tense end to the match and luck did not go our way. However, we were happy with the draw and that we had conceded no goals.

A break next week but our next match is away to Wilmslow.

Mens 1s v Liverpool 1s – 4-2 Win

Crewe hosted Liverpool University this week. Liverpool started the stronger but Crewe weathered the storm well, winning a rare short corner managing to finish it with Chris Regan firing home low and in to the corner. Liverpool struck back on the stroke of half time with a short corner of their own. 1-1 at half time soon became 2-1 to Liverpool from another short corner routine. This brought Crewe to life as Ben Read, Jack Townsend and Dave Holland all helped themselves to well worked goals through short corners. Crewe 4 Liverpool 2

Ladies 3s v Buckley 1s – 2-0 Loss

Crewe approached another away game on a sunny beach in Flintshire; this week was a trip against Buckley 1s who are just above us in the league so we were expecting a well even match ahead! We started off with first push back and we were intercepting the balls well and pushing hard on the press to gain control of the game. We were playing well as a team passing some lovely balls around the pitch showing Buckley the strength of our hockey skills. Cat Whittaker made a heroic goal line clearance after Buckey slipped one underneath a diving Amanda Kimber but unfortunately another attacker was perfectly poised to slot in the rebound for their first goal. It didn’t stop us working hard though and Crewe gave 100% commitment to the game and made lots of good runs into the D. We were unlucky not to score from a penalty corner, on the stroke of half time, with a cracking hit on goal from Anna Bates’ debut to the 3s but a solid goaline clearance from the opposition prevented a draw at the break. From a positive team talk from captain Paula, at half time we gained confidence and tried to win the balls back going into the second half. However, the opposition were pressing hard during the second half in which Crewe had to respond to keep the possession. Some dubious umpiring from the away side unfortunately led to Buckley’s 2nd goal from a short corner. Crewe were unfortunate not to get the touches in the D from some great balls in from the midfielders including player of the match Nova Wallace. The defensive Crewe side were on top form, blocking the balls and encouraging the team with supportive vocals throughout the game! It was an unfortunate result and certainly lots to work on the break and pressing back on the attack in training but we will take all the positives from the game to move forward after a week off, to feel refreshed for our home game on the 3rd November against Golbourne.

Mens 3s v Sandbach 3s 1-1 Draw

Crewe hosted a friendly with Sandbach 3s today. Sandbach came in hard with a much younger and quicker side putting Crewe under pressure from the get go. Crewe adapted and soon enough started to match the pressure making it a very balanced game with neither side able to find many opportunities, and those that were found were met with fierce defence and goal keeping. The backs and forth continued until Sandbach were able to convert a short corner through a quick play around the back post. Not to take this laying down Crewe very quickly turned the heat up and with a quick play were able to get the ball to Jimmy Farshahi who sent it cleanly into the goal before Sandbach could react. Now one all both teams were fighting to pull ahead and find the next goal, but it just didn’t come. A very strong game from Crewe with excellent midfield work. MotM goes to Richard Jarvis, who made his debut at Crewe today, for excellent midfield performance.

Ladies 1s v Bolton 1s – 2-1 Win

It was a rocky start for the first team who were playing against Bolton away. Bolton came out strong and hard and Crewe struggled to break down their play before half time Crewe went 1-0 down. In the second half we realised that organisation was the key to success, so, the communication from Vicki Lee who was supported by Georgie Brown and Helen Grenville spurred on the team from the back. A lovely pass from Marianne Hunter allowed Zoe Franklin to run down the left and make a pass to Shez Marsden who was strategically placed on the back post to tap it in to the goal. 1-1 and players were instantly lifted, and a lot of positivity was spread across the pitch. The middle of the pitch was out of bounds for Bolton as Jenny Zwijnen and Emily Ford dominated their territory. Crewe had to defend a plethora of short corners, but this was no problem for the defence and Ali smith who made some crucial saves. Towards the end of the second half Izzy Escott had the opportunity to run, at speed, down the right and place a fantastic pass to Marianne Hunter who had made a run to the penalty spot allowing her to knock the ball passed the keeper. Crewe as a collective worked amazingly hard, holding on to the lead until the final whistle. Bolton awarded Ali Smith man of the match.

Mens 2s v Sandbach 2s – 1-1 Draw

Crewe faced a young and skillful Sandbach team this week in a closely fought game. Both teams traded attacks in the first half and created several great opportunities. Jon Minshall in goal made several great saves however Sandbach found a way to punish Crewe before half time with a clinical counter attack. Crewe came out in the second half with a clear game plan and with ten minutes left on the clock Bruce Forster and Greg Marshall combined to create an opportunity for James Fernie to finish from close range. Crewe continued to apply the pressure but some outstanding goalkeeping from the Sandbach keeper kept the scoreline level. Man of the Match: James Fernie for his work rate and goal.

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