The rest of the weekends games!

20 Nov 2018 by Crewe Vagrants Hockey Club

Ladies 1s v Deeside 1s – 3-2 Loss
Crewe faced local rivals Deeside Ramblers 1s in Saturdays match. From the whistle Crewe were a different team from previous weeks & were fired up to take on the team sitting in 2nd place. Crewe worked well with some fantastic passages of play from the defence & midfield, with everyone supporting each other both offensively and defensively. Perseverance paid off after a solid clearance from the defensive trio of Georgie Brown, Emma Bostock & Helen Glanville who linked up well for Lisa Holland to work her magic on the left wing and fire the ball in to Marianne Hunter who drove the ball passed several Deeside defenders & sweetly put the ball in the goal for Crewe to take the lead. Deeside came back hard but Crewe’s defensive line held strong despite a barrage of attacks and multiple short corners. Unfortunately, with only 30seconds to go Deeside were awarded another short corner and Crewe conceded just before the half time whistle blew. After a positive half time talk from captain Zoe Franklin, Crewe were determined to take back the lead. Some great interlinking play again from the defence saw the ball get to Jen Zwijnen who was formidable in midfield & passed the ball to Hunter who slipped the ball to Franklin who sweetly lifted the ball and found the back of the net after taking a deflection off the keeper. Deeside came straight back again at Crewe with an annoying goal which seemed to travel in slow motion over the goal line making it 2-2. Crewe fought hard the whole match against a very drilled Deeside squad, however with 5 minutes to go Deeside bagged the winning goal with a well hit reverse strike. If Crewe play like they did today against next weekends opponents Didsbury Greys. hopefully they can get back to their winning ways.

Ladies 2s v Deeside 2s 3-0 loss
The Ladies’ opponents on Saturday were Deeside 2nd team who were very drilled on all set plays and surrounded the ball making it difficult to break through. Vagrants absorbed a lot of pressure from the start and were dealt a cruel blow 10 mins before half time when a shot hit a Vagrants stick & went high in the air, over the GK’s flailing hand. Early on in the second half the same thing happened, a high ball was about to go in only for one of Vagrants defenders to prevent it going on…unfortunately it was an illegal manoeuvre!! The ensuing penalty flick was converted. Deeside made it 3-0 with a well worked goal gaining possession just after half way. Vagrants worked really hard as a unit & can be pleased with the amount of attacks that were thwarted. GK, Grace Leonard was awarded the Vagrants’ player of match. Kate Humphrey made her centre back debut too.

Ladies 3s v Chester 4s – 4-1 Win
Away to Chester this week, could the L3s make it 3 wins on the trot?! Hopeful to make their captain proud who unfortunately missed the game due to injury, a confident Crewe team stepped onto the pitch with the first push back. We were extremely vocal the entire game with strong possession to see Crewe go up 1-0 in the 1st quarter of the game from a great hit from Tricia Boffey who put it to the side of the keeper into the goal. It gave Crewe the confidence needed & Molly Pheasey, Daniek MacCauley & Melodie Wilson fought hard in the middle winning lots of 50/50 tackles to keep Chester on their toes. Erin Wray, Nova Wallace & Cat Whittaker were a clean precise defensive unit, communicating well stopping Chester having many attempts at goal. Whittaker made a fantastic right post clearance from the 1st penalty corners conceded but unfortunately near the end of the first half, Chester got a lucky strike from their only other short corner to draw level. A positive talk at half time we gelled well into the 2nd half, we learnt from last week not to go down to Chester’s level & play the hockey we truly know. April Roome & Rachel Fairfield both had great runs down the wings constantly leaving the Chester defence in their wake. Anna Bates was a well-deserved MOM; pressing the opposition in midfield holding & distributing the ball out to the wings and forwards. Boffey got on the end of a ball from Penny Jones to get her 2nd of the game. Amanda Kimber in goal didn’t need to touch the ball in the 2nd half due to consistent pressure & strong defending. The attacking trio of Jones, Boffey & Lily Gorman worked tirelessly making runs into the D & pressuring the Chester defence into conceding penalty corners which led to Crewe’s 3rd goal, taking the short from a different side to confuse the opposition, Boffey passed to Wallace to hit it straight into the top corner of the goal, great execution for Crewe’s 6th penalty corner of the game! With Crewe now leading 3-1 a pass from Bates to Gorman up high provided time to execute a strike into the goal of which the keeper didn’t see coming! Everyone certainly played to their strengths. Next week, a tough but competitive game at home against top of the league!

Ladies 4s v Macclesfield 3s – 6-0 loss
On arrival at Macclesfield, we were met with glorious Autumnal sun and balmy weather; great conditions for a hockey match! From the off, we were keen to experiment & put into practise the sound advice we had received from our more experienced club members the previous week. We set the press high & worked our way up the pitch. However, Macclesfield capitalised on this &, in quick succession, scored easily their first three goals. Georgie Mascarenhas stood out, with confident & skilled runs up the pitch. She is really coming into her own in what is her first season playing for a ladies’ team.

A most positive half time team talk from our captain Dawn Price spurred us on to continue in our quest to push high up the pitch & execute the pendulum when we need to defend. This was extremely successful in the second half & we kept Macclesfield out of our area for a considerable amount of time. Making her debut, fast-paced Aoife Purcell impressed in the attacking D, backed up by Bex Eaves & our midfielder Alison Kellet who, as usual, was all over the pitch!

As the match progressed, we shone and made some great connections between players with positive & encouraging communication. We conceded no goals in the second half of the game & kept a clean sheet with short corners; this is something at which we excel, week in week out. However, a foul on a short corner led to a nail-biting penalty which Jayne Sharpe confidently saved. A short corner awarded to us was well worked & almost a goal.

Lots to think about & to experiment with at both training & in games. Bring on next week, a home game to Whitchurch. MOM Alison Kellet (with no injuries to boot!)

Mens 1s v Brooklands 2s – 4-1 loss
After an intense warm up, Crewe were up for the game against an unfamiliar Brooklands side. Unfortunately, the water cannons delayed the start of the game meaning Crewe started the game without that intensity. Brooklands went 1-0 up early on & this became 2 shortly after. After the game had settle down, both teams saw a lot of the ball without creating much in either D. Half time came & went which was promptly followed by a Brooklands third. Despite a much-improved performance from previous weeks, Crewe ended the game losing 4-1. Ben Read scored his weekly drag flick to ensure Brooklands didn’t finish the game with a clean sheet. Liverpool Sefton at home next week.

Mens 2s v Bowdon 7s – 3-1 win
A greatly changed Crewe 2s faced off against Bowdon this week needing to continue their positive start to the season. Several players from the unbeaten mens 3rd team stepped up to the mark this week in the 2s & it was one of these, Jimmy Farschi, who opened the scoring with a well struck shot from a short corner leaving the keeper stranded. Bowdon equalised before half time also from a short corner to set up a showdown in the second half. Crewe came out looking energised and put pressure on Bowdon from the outset. Steve Bourne found space at the top of the D to smash home the ball but harshly got carded for his dramatic celebrations. Crewe continued battling & eventually Bourne found space again to put Crewe firmly in control heading into the last 10 minutes. The Crewe defence weathered a late Bowdon storm to close out the game 3:1. MOM: Nathan Lawley for work rate and creativity.

Mens 3s v Didsbury Northern 7s – 2-1 Win
Men’s 3s hosted Didsbury 7s this week, with a difficult game ahead without the usual squad Crewe knew they were going to have to work hard & come together to keep the undefeated roll going. The start was hard fought with Didsbury making hard pushes and exploiting the weaker sections of the team. 10 minutes in Didsbury won a long corner which they were able to slip past the keeper pushing them ahead. Crewe took this to light and pushing hard back and spent the next 20 minutes inside their half winning plenty of short and long corners but unable to convert anything. With less than a minute left in the first half Didsbury decided to argue with the umpire resulting in giving Crewe a free hit just outside the D which Dave Watson hit strongly in and Jonathan Callwood tapped in from back post. At half time Crewe had a hard look at the plays & came back with renewed energy and a plan. Crewe dominated the second half turning over balls and making the now tiring Didsbury side’s life difficult. Once again Crewe struggled to convert many opportunities with Didsbury’s keeper being strong. Crewe won a short with Andy Gadsby pushing to Gibbons, who was able to hit back to Gadsby who flicked it straight over the keeper to put Crewe ahead. Crewe then played a very controlling game not allowing Didsbury any opportunity to equalise. Another win at 2-1 putting Crewe firmly at the top of the division. MOM goes to Russ Gibbons for excellent midfield effort.

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