Mens 1s v Wilmslow 1s – 7 – 2 – WIN

This week the men’s 1st XI travelled to Wilmslow hoping to build on last weeks impressive win. Crewe started slowly and were soon defending a number of short corners. The Crewe defence weathered the storm and from then on it was one way traffic. Tom Davies put the visitors in front from close range and Jack Townsend doubled the lead from a short corner. 2 was soon 3 through another short corner but this time from Chris Regan’s stick. Just before half time Tom Davies doubled his tally for the day to make it 4-0 at the break. Wilmslow hit back early in the 2nd half before normal service resumed through Keelan Sherwani at the back post. Chris Regan then scored another short corner before Keelan Sherwani helped himself to his 2nd 9 of the day. Wilmslow finished with another sloppy goal but the final score was Wilmslow 2 Crewe 7

Ladies 3s v Oswestry 1s – 5-0 WIN

Crewe Ladies 3s arrived at their home windy cold pitch to play Oswestry 1st team. Only to find that Oswestry, needing to fullfill the fixture, had travelled with only 8 players. Crewe, however, were under no illusion that the game would be a walkover.
With the game soon underway, Crewe’s mid field had to absorb pressure from Oswestry’s quick and skilful forwards. Settling into the game Crewe’s players were able to use the space available to generate pressure which eventually paid off with the ball hitting the back of the net more than once. Defiant defending by Oswestry prevented Crewe scoring on numerous attempts. Half time team talk was aimed at moving to expose the space, accurate passing, score more goals and anticipate that Oswestry would tire. Crewe continued to apply pressure to the Oswestry goal with shots on goal. Oswestry did not tire and finally had a shot on goal but it wasn’t enough to get back into the game. Crewe goals for Chelsea Hall (2) El Snelson (2) and Amy Williams (1).

Mens 3s v Golborne 2s – 3 – 3 DRAW

The Men’s 3s continued their strong start to 2023 by breaking league leaders Golborne’s 100% record. Having soaked up early pressure from the visitors, Crewe took the lead with a sweeping move, emphatically finished by Brett Howarth at the far post. Crewe then doubled their lead with an unstoppable strike from Nick Marshall. This stung Golborne into action and a period of pressure paid off to leave the score 2-1 at half time. The second half started evenly with both defences dominating, but with 15 to go, Crewe restored their 2 goal advantage with Ben Jarvis finishing another well worked team goal. That should have been the 3 points to Crewe but Golborne weren’t finished and managed to snatch a draw in the last few minutes with 2 short corner goals. 3-3 at the end with Crewe rueing a missed opportunity to take all 3 points.

Ladies 2s v Macclesfield 3s – 2-1 LOSS
Crewe started well with attacking play from the off with lots of great passing through the midfield to get the ball upfront. There were several goal scoring opportunities with balls passed perfectly into the D from Poppy Harrington, Leanne Read and Nic Shrubb but Crewe couldn’t capitalise on them. Unfortunately Macclesfield caught a break through the midfield and converted that to a goal. Crewe kept their heads up and despite defensive pressure Katie Gibbs-Blythe, Erin Wray, Abi Axon and Nova Wallace had a strong game defending and distributing the ball around the back very well. This in turn got the ball back up the field with some lovely passing to Katie Gibbs-Blythe and Leanne Read who in turn distributed the balls to mid line of Jaiying Lin, Jennie Hewett and Nic Shrubb. This added pressure from Crewe led to 2 short corners. A strike first from Katie Gibbs-Blythe unfortunately did not hit the mark but in the second corner the ball was slipped to Nic Shrubb on the left who swept the ball into the goal with ease. Crewe were back and continued efforts from Grace Leonard, Meg Sherratt, Poppy Harringtonand Trish Boffey to score were saved by the Macclesfield defence and keeper. First half ended 1:1 draw but a determined Macclesfield came back with several breaks, testing the Crewe defence, but several amazing saves from Becca Jackson frustrated Macclesfield. Crewe continued to attack with great passing but goals were getting hard to come by and Crewe tired in the last 15 minutes of the game. This gave Macclesfield the opportunity to break through in numbers which led to their second goal. A deflated Crewe struggled to get their mojo back and the game ended 2:1 to Macclesfield. Macclesfield were blown away by Becca Jackson’s saves and were keen to relay what a great game she had, awarding her player of the match.

Mens 4s Golborne 3s – 4- 1 – WIN

The mens 4s travelled to Golborne in search of an away win to start the second half of the season how we mean to go on!As favourites for the game we controlled it from the start, limiting the opposition to only a few chances and pressing the opponent back after the break. We launched an attacking spell culminating in a Vladimir worldy hatrick before the opposition scored late on. The bad boy of hockey Fernieadded a fourth and in all it was a good team effort and looked a comfortable win but the few chances created by Golborne were good and a big part of the game was the mature and assured performance of Charlie in goal.

Ladies 1s v. Winnington Park Ladies 1s – 3-1 – LOSS

Playing top of the table and undefeated Winnington Park, the Ladies 1s knew they had to be organised and operate as a team right from the first minute. A strong defensive performance meant that Winnington were limited to a couple of penalty corners in the first half, that were relatively easily dealt with. At the opposite end Crewe carved out chances of their own and were unlucky not to go ahead when a Gilly Gibbo’s-Blythe shot from a penalty corner grazed the post. 0-0 at half time. The second half proved to be a slightly more challenging proposition as Crewe faced the lowering sun. Winnington having learnt from their earlier penalty corners, adapted to play them to the left slip. And it was from this approach that the first two goals came. Crewe continued to play as a team and defended well. In particular, Suzi Lawrence frustrated the Winnington forwards with a series of well timed tackles earning her the player of the match award. Winnington managed to sneak a third goal, before Crewe’s pressure at the opposing end resulted in a goal for Emma Buckley. Final score 1-3, but a strong team performance from the Crewe ladies.

L4’s v Alderley Edge Development 7-0 loss.

A baptism of fire playing with only ten ladies against a very young team with subs. The defensive line of Wendy Howard, Paula Bourne, Jess Fleet and making her debut, Karen Gooch had their work cut out from the off. Constantly under pressure, captain and goalkeeper Adele White thwarted a good number of Alderley’s plethora of strikes on goal.
Despite the lack of the eleventh lady, it was not obvious as everyone gave of their best and battled on showing grit and determination. It is great to see the ladies supporting one another by linking up and working as a unit.
Emma Salter and Jackie Jones worked tirelessly in midfield to get the ball up the pitch to Amanda Woolley and putting the pressure on the Alderley defenders. Becky Holman and Hannah Horsley were work horses and covered the majority of the pitch, making themselves available, attacking and defending as required. Good effort ladies; onwards and upwards.

Sunday 15th January 2023

Crewe U16 Boys v Chester U16 Boys – 7-0 – LOSS

Crewe Vagrants and Whitchurch combined U16 boys teams to host a strong Chester side in the North West Tier 2 competition and were under pressure from the beginning. Excellent keeping from goalie Chaz Podmore and determined defence throughout kept the score to 2 nil at half time. Teamwork from Harry Foulkes and Harry Price in the centre and Brett Howarth up front created a few opportunities on goal alongside strong runs from Reece Bradley on the right. Chester however were able to exploit gaps in the Vagrants / Whitchurch marking and dominate the midfield to great effect, resulting in some fantastic goals and to see a final score of 7 – 0 to Chester. Next weekend sees the combined team travel to the Wirral to face Bebington.

U12 Tournament

Under 12s Crewe vagrants hosted the 3rd Cheshire and greater Manchester under 12s Sunday tournament on 15th January; welcoming teams from Macclesfield and Alderley edge. Crewe entered a boys team and a girls team. There was a mix of experience, and it took a while for the players to settle into their positions, but by the end of the tournament, there was some lovely linked play and some goals scored. Well done to everyone who took part and worked hard all afternoon.

Our next under 12s tournament is 29th January.