Ladies 4s v Oxton 4s – 0-0 DRAW

And they call football the
beautiful game!
What about these girls with
sticks and today’s acclaim
They took it in their stride
With Captain Dawn Price
beaming with pride

Slick, quick and unequivocal
drive
Defenders, midfielders and
forwards deserved a high five
The ball, frequently
unwelcome in Oxton’s danger
zone
Induced many a groan

Debutantes Jiaying Lin,
Megan Sherratt and Maria
Mignon
Their skill impressed everyone
Armed with our masks, we
were happy to proceed
For those short corners, we did not concede

One, two, three, four, five……..
The number of goals we were
deprived
The bare eleven gave of their
best
Fighting and driving without protest

Stopped in their tracks and
denied any goals
Oxton were disappointed to
meet our brick walls
With seven minutes to go, we
could not give in
Pressing high and finding
energy within

The much anticipated whistle
arrived
A well – earned point was our
prize
Skills and talents to hone;
time to prepare for the battle zone
Here’s to next week, a game
against Bowdon at home

MOM – Poppy Harrington

Mens 4s v Macc 4s – 6-1 LOSS

Crewe 4s were at home today against a young and quick Macclesfield side. The first half saw Macclesfield dominate possession with the majority of play being made in the Crewe half. Macclesfield got 4 past the keeper after drawn out attacks which put Crewe on the backfoot. Crewe responded with a series of opportunities between Ben Jarvis and Steve Douglas until a solid strike from Ben Jarvis at the top of the D sailed into the corner of the net. The second half saw Crewe up the intensity and found the game much more even. Ultimately Crewe failed to convert some solid plays and Macclesfield just edged ahead. Final score Crewe 1-6 Macclesfield, the score not reflecting the effort put in by all, but especially the Man of the Match, Ben Jarvis. Plenty of positives to take away and work on in the coming weeks.

Mens 1s v Keswick 1s – 2-2 DRAW

Crewe had an early start as they travelled Keswick, to which they discovered the pitch was also a beach. They started well with a great counter attacking move which was finished off by Jack Townsend to put Crewe 1-0 up. The lead was quickly doubled in similar fashion by Ian Ford slotting home for his first goal for the 1s. The half time whistle blew, 2-0 Crewe. Keswick started strong in the second half and pulled back two well worked goals. As the game opened up both teams had chances and battled till the final whistle. A Desmond 2-2, a well-earned point, with a couple of sand castles and a donkey ride thrown in. Man of the match: Dom Barker

Ladies 2s v Brooklands 3s – 4-0 LOSS
This weekend, Crewe 2’s travelled up to central Manchester to play a young and fit Brookland 3’s team. Crewe started out strong with the midfielders keeping Brooklands forwards at bay, with the two centre backs Abi Axon and Grace Newman directing players to mark and defend our goal. Little breaks were made up to our attacking half, and after an unlucky goal scored, Crewe were 1-0 down at half time. Into the second half, Crewe were desperate for a goal and with defensive short corner after defensive short corner our backs were busy. A debut for the 2’s saw midfielder Leanne Read dropping in nicely alongside left-back Erin Wray and Anna Bates to help Rachel Miller in right-back. In total, there were 12 defensive short corners for Crewe who successfully held Brooklands at bay for 11 of those and arguably 12 with there being some debate as to whether ball not travelled outside the D before it was slipped and struck home. The two kept their heads up fighting until the final whistle, despite some very tired legs and fresh legs that kept rotating on the other side, Crewe were unlucky to finish with a 4-0 loss. However the team is ready and rearing to go for next weekend at home vs Lymm.

Mens 3s v Triton 3s – 6-0 LOSS

Ladies 1s v Oxton 1s – 0-0 DRAW

The match began with Oxtons push back. Crewe pressed straight from the whistle with everyone quickly identifying their player to mark. Oxton were pushing from the get go and despite various attempts to attack from both wings and down the middle, only a few of their attacks made it into the D thanks to the diligence of the midfielders, Jen Zwijnen, Zoe Franklin and Mel Brooks. When they did break through Emily Ford, Georgie Brown, Steph Thompson and Kate Humphrey worked immensely hard and were solid in defence making numerous vital clearances. Despite having no subs, the midfield continued to work their socks off quickly counterattacking and performing some fantastic one touch hockey to catch Oxton off guard. Crewe continued to battle and maintain a high intensity and came out equally as strong in the second half. Crewe were the better team with the midfield working tirelessly to continue to break down attacks, providing strong options moving forward, making excellent lead runs. Mel gave Zoe a run for her money running round like the Duracel bunny making vital interceptions and having great link up play with Jen. With the midfield on form, balls continuously got through to our dynamic duo, Freya Diamond and Baily Colman upfront who showed great flare, attacking the D and providing nail biting entertainment, with various shots on target unfortunately met by good goalkeeping from Oxtons. Balls continued to be fired at their defence with Bev Jackson continuing to test the Keeper. At one point the entire Crewe team (bar Keeper Ali Smith) were in Oxtons 25. Things momentarily became heated, or so the umpire thought, when Jen was told off for staring down the umpire. The last 5 minutes saw Crewe’s defence comfortably absorb a bit of pressure and Ali made sure that she maintained her clean sheet making some solid saves. Steph picked up a nasty ankle injury with minutes to go but soldiered on. Fantastic game for Crewe’s firsts who are still a relatively new team.

Ladies 3s v Lymm 4s – 3-1 LOSS

Home game for ladies 3s this week against a Lymm 4s side. We built up the press well with great communication and strong interception to put pressure on the opposition. With interlinking balls between players we were unlucky not to take the lead. The defensive back made it hard for Lymm to get shots on goal with solid defending play; Amanda Kimber saved a great goal from a penalty flick to keep the game level. Lucy Armstrong created some great strong hits up the attacking end making her debut for the ladies 3s. The home side unfortunately went 1-0 down just before the first half whistle due to a messy touch from the opposition; however going into the second half Crewe gained great composure and running up the line well creating chances but Lymm reacted taking up the press with a straight strike to increase their lead followed by a short corner to go 3 goals up. Crewe held their heads and kept the attacking press for Amy Smallman to react with a strike and score to add excitement to the end of the game. Player of the match: Lucy Armstrong

Mens 2s v Triton 4s – 9-0 WIN

Crewe travelled to Tritons new pitch for the evening game. A tough first half ensued trying to adjust to the bounce and bobbles of the new surface. Andy Ewins read a crossfield ball from Keith Jackson to open the scoring but that was all the luck Crewe got from a scrappy first half. After the break Crewe came out looking far more clinical creating masses of opportunities. Bruce Forster scrapped away in front of the keeper’s pads and was rewarded with a hat trick. Andrew Ticehurst also took his opportunities to net 3. Lewis Ward was twice rewarded for gambling on the back post with 2 well taken goals. A 9-0 win for the 2s. MOTM: Lewis Ward