Mens 2s v Bowdon 6s – 5-0 WIN
The mens 2s faced Bowdon 6s in an early home game. Crewe started strongly and a defensive error presented Vlad with the ball at the top of the D for the first goal. Some crisp work from Bruce Forster along the baseline found Vlad at the back post for the second. In the second half Crewe wound up the pressure resulting in several short corners. A goal line scramble found a calm Bruce to secure a 3 0 lead. Another short corner spread wide to Dan Read who found the corner of the goal. A counter attack from Crewe found Vlad some space in the D to finish off his hat trick and a solid win for the 2s. Man of the match: Dan Read for composure and creativity on the right side.

Mens 1s v Alderley Edge 2s – 5-5 DRAW Crewe hosted Alderley Edge this week. Alderley started the stronger of the two sides and soon took the lead. Crewe fought back and grabbed a goal through a short corner from Chris Regan. Alderley hit back with 2 goals before half time leaving the score 3-1 at half time. 3 became 4 before Crewe hit back through James Holt for Regan to then score another short corner. Alderley looked to have put the game beyond doubt scoring a fifth before Ben Holt and Adam Fall scored late on to make it 5-5 at full time.

Ladies 2s v Chester 2s – 4-0 LOSS
After watching the closing stages of an epic Mens 1s game, the ladies 2 faced a strong Chester side. With the weather conditions completely different to last week the new team worked hard to pull together and work the new formation. This week’s match saw a debut for the 2s for Rachel Fairfield who played a brilliant game. It was lovely to welcome back Sarah Williamson and Laura MacLeod, who were huge assets to the team, hopefully we’ll see more of you! Thank you also to our goalie Amanda Kimber who played a confident and determined game!
Chester looked strong and had the advantage of numbers but Crewe did not give up. Crewe are starting their feet with this new formation which forced Chester to play back and re think their game.
1st goal to Chester unfortunately came from well played short corner deflection into the top of the net despite a really strong defence from Crewe ladies, which was maintained throughout the game thanks to the hard working defensive back line of Laura MacLeod, Rachel Miller, Abi Axon and Grace Newman. The mid fielders also played strong attacking Chester through the middle of the pitch.
Crewe won an attacking short which unfortunately didn’t quite go to plan but remained focused on turning it around and setting the press.
Unfortunately for Crewe, Chester had a number of short corners with one being blocked by Abi Axon’s shin on the line, leading to a converted penalty flick.
The second half saw another goals from Chester, but Crewe showed some strong defence work from the whole team and with some great running out and blocking on the short corners only for Abi Axon to stop another ball (with her stick this time!) “on” the line. Unfortunately this turned out to be just over the line and Chester were now 4-0 up.
It’s clear that Crewe 2’s are coming together as a team now and considering this was only our 2nd game of the season it was very well played.
The future is looking bright for ladies 2nd’s, no doubt there’s some more great hockey to come!

Ladies 1s v Bowdon 3s – 3-1 LOSS
Crewe went into the game wanting to improve on last week’s performance. In the first half Bowdon put Crewe under a lot of pressure, whilst they were adjusting to the water based pitch. Missing Gilly Gibbs-Blythe, Emily Ford stepped out of her usual midfield position and played well in defence. Despite great defensive play by Emily Ford, Kate Humphries, Steph Thompson, Georgie Brown and some cracking saves and clearances by goal keeper Ali Smith, Bowdon managed to find the back of the net leading Crewe 2-0 at half time. This did not phase Crewe and in the 2nd half Crewe came out fighting and through some great running by Freya Diamond and Zoe Franklin, Bev Jackson got a touch to make the score 2-1. The play was end to end with some great runs by Bailey Colman making her debut for the team linking up well with April Roome and Molly Pheasey. Despite Crewe improving massively in the 2nd half, Bowdon scored off a short corner to finish the game 3-1. There are lots of positives to take from today’s game and improvements on last weeks performance. No doubt things will keep getting better for Crewe 1s as the team get used to playing together.

Mens 4s v Timperley 6s – 9-0 LOSS
With only 9 players available to the Men’s 4th team today for an away game at Timperley due to injury and illness, it was always going to be a tough game. For our 4 teenage players taking on their first full adult game it would be a challenging introduction to the adult league. All credit to the four of them. They played with enthusiasm and skill and never gave up, so many thanks to Ben, Sam, Dan and Aaron for their efforts today, they did the club proud. A 9-0 loss was not ideal but there were many positives to take away from the game!

Mens 3s v Knutsford 3s – 3-1 LOSS
Men’s 3s game at Knutsford was played on a very sandy, slow pitch which hindered most attempts at fluent hockey. Crewe took too long to adapt and found themselves 2 goals behind after 15 minutes. Slowly they started to play their normal game and closed out the first half stronger side without looking dangerous in front of goal. In the second half Crewe enjoyed more of the possession and the central defensive pairing of Graham Stewart and Martin Walford looked solid. It was therefore disappointing when Knutsford scored a third from a short corner but the team continued to press and were finally rewarded when a good flowing move was finished by Russ Gibbons. Another encouraging performance without the required result, but some optimism for the coming weeks.

Ladies 3s v Bowdon 5s – 6-0 LOSS
It was Crewe 3s first away game of the season and we were playing some lovely hockey and pressing hard from Bowdons first push back! Becca Jackson made some quality saves to her debut but unfortunately the home side got two quick goals to go ahead. Crewe certainly soaked up the pressure but with a new side Crewe took time to settle. The defensive back were solid making some great stops and controlling the game well. Going into the second half 3-0 down Crewe gained a little confidence showing some excellent passing and great runs up the pitch. Becca Jackson who won player of the match was fully committed in goal executing saves and sliding at every angle. Bowdon were very strong in defence and took their opportunities to their advantage and got another two goals from short corners. The game finished 6-0 but Crewe came away knowing every effort went into the game and worked hard as a team!