Ladies 1s v Deeside – 2-1 Loss

Crewe and Deeside’s past encounters have often been closely fought contests, with very little between the sides and this match proved to be no different. Both sides started positively in the first half, with Crewe’s close link up play between defence, midfield and attack giving them opportunities to break through the high pressing lines of Deeside. This led to success when some nice play from the Crewe attack put pressure in the Deeside D and they were rewarded with a goal. Scrappy play saw a reflex deflection off Claire Terry’s stick cross the line with the Deeside defender unable to clear. Link up play from Zoe Franklin and positive runs from Ola Jama down the line saw Crewe almost get a second, but Deeside managed to clear. Deeside threatened with a few strong counters, but Gilly Gibbs-Blythe and the rest of the defence managed this calmly and Crewe kept the score line to 1-0 at half time. As expected, Deeside came out fighting in the second half, putting pressure on Crewe right from the start. Crewe managed this for a while, but the relentless pressure saw Deeside win a penalty corner where they were able to take the game to 1-1. As the match came to a close, momentum swung in Deeside’s favour seeing them score a second through open play. Crewe couldn’t seem to find their excellent form from the first half and so were unable to equalise. A closely and well fought contest from both teams, but the final score ended 2-1 to Deeside.

Mens 4s v Triton – 3-0 WIN

Away at Triton facing top of the league and our biggest rival,you might call it a local Derby! The plan was to give them a battle they weren’t counting on and in that we did;marshalling ourselves like warriors of Crewe, we restricted the opposition to few chances and defended short corners with class. Crewe worked harder than ever, having made it into half time and twenty-seven minutes into the second half without conceding, we stood fast and there were even moments that we could have stolen the game. Unfortunately,the day was not to be ours and one goal brought two, and by the end three goals for the opposition but, as unfair as life can be, we walked away proud. For over sixty minutes we matched Triton and nearly stole it from under them, this Men’s 4th team continues to grow each week with top efforts from everyone.

Ladies 4’s v Deeside 5’s – 6-1 loss

We played the majority of the first half with 10 players but, like an army, we swarmed Deeside! Thanks to Lucy Howard and Meg Swain who joined us later and made a huge impact. It was great to welcome Gemma Rigby whose first game was impressive and she slotted in as if she’d always been there; so much so she was voted player of the match. Libby Rayne had a brilliant game on the left wing, she consistently attacked and was quick at moving back to get in the press. Valiantly, Hannah Horsley was glued to Deeside’s hatrick lady, stopping her from getting in the D on numerous occasions. The defensive unit worked together, with Paula Bourne who was instrumental in communicating to ensure tight marking at all times. Wendy Howard was committed to the cause and boldly saved a goal off the line. Adele White sprung quickly out of the goal on numerous occasions to stop the Deeside attack in their tracks. Great balls out from defence gave the Crewe midfielders, particularly Becky Holman the ammunition to threaten the Deeside defence. Georgina Gwinn worked hard keeping our shape on the right with the help of Nerine Davies making some impressive moves from defence up the wing on her first game back after injury. Such a great team effort, passion and enthusiasm from everyone. We played like it was 0-0 for the entire match. Effective passing up the field from defence and midfielders utilising the width of the pitch enabled some great opportunities for the attackers to pile on pressure with some shots on target. Amanda Woolley’s goal was much welcomed after 60 minutes of hard labour. Very well done, girls!

Mens 1s v Alderley Edge – 5 – 2 – LOSS

This week Crewe travelled to local rivals Alderley Edge. Crewe began the game sharply with an early short corner which unfortunately went wide of the goal, after this initial chance it was one way traffic for the home side. Ill disciplinewas the reason for 3 quick fire goals by Alderley. Crewe got themselves back in the game before half time with a well taken goal by Ian Cherry. 3-1 at half time. In the 2nd half Alderley continued to press on and managed to score a furthertwo goals to put the game out of sight for Crewe. However,Crewe were undeterred and Tom Davies worked hard to win the ball back and fire home into the corner of the goal. Final score Alderley Edge 5 Crewe 2

Ladies 3s vs Sandbach Ladies 1s – 3-0 – LOSS

The ladies 3s came out with a positive mindset facing top of the league team Sandbach. Crewe were out of the blocks with a powerful start that shocked the opposition. The play remained equal with both teams having shots on goal. Some great linked one-two play from the defensive line to the midfielders caused Sandbach to feel the pressure and retreat into their own half. Sandbach’s first goal came from a flick after a hard fought short corner. Despite Rusty’s heroic effortsin goal, the ball was hammered into the back net. Crewe didn’t take this lightly and came back fighting, demonstrating some excellent skills and teamwork to hold off the opposition from scoring again. Half time 0-1. A quick team talk and a few encouraging words, aided Crewe to come out strong to start the second half. Controversial decisions started to affect both teams however Crewe remained calm with excellent sportsmanship throughout! Sandbach managed to gain two more goals during the second half with the final score landing at 0-3. An excellent performance displayed throughout the game from Crewe and one that each member of the team should be proud of! Onwards and upwards as they face Warrington at home next week!

Ladies 2s v Warrington 2s – 7-0 WIN

The ladies 2s hosted Warrington for their first home game of 2023. Crewe started strong with a quick flurry of goals from Grace Leonard, Meg Sherratt and Trish Boffey leaving Crewe 3-0 up in the first 10 minutes. Crewe continued as they started with relentless pressure on the Warrington defence coming from Louisa Naylor, Jennie Hewett, Nic Shrubb, Leanne Read and Poppy Harrington in midfield. Firm pressure from Crewe’s defence of Abi Axon, Nova Wallace, Erin Wray and Katie Gibbs-Blythe shut down any potential counter attacks from Warrington early on. Through more great teamwork and linking through the pitch two more goals came from Poppy Harrington and Meg Sherratt leaving the score at 5-0 by half time. Crewe had a shaky start to the second half calling goal keeper Ali Smith into action to make some strong clearances from Crewe’s goal. Crewe quickly found their feet again, with a fantastic run up the pitch from Jiaying Lin finding Nic Shrubb in the D to score the first goal of the second half. Crewe kept the pressure up and another goal came from Trish Boffey off the back post to end the game 7-0. A great game to play, and fantastic to be hosting Warrington. Crewe look forward to next week where they face Wilmslow!

Mens 3s v Lymm 3s – 7 – 2 WIN

Mens 2s – No Game

Sunday 29th January 2023

Crewe Vagrants Ladies o35s v Ashbourne Ladies o35s – 11-0 LOSS

We expected a tough match against Ashbourne but the final score didn’t reflect the actual game. We had some great possession and executed some awesome passes. But Ashbourne had a lot of attacking chances and some good forwards. They were quick and used every opportunity to turn and attack us. Our defence and midfield battled hard to regain possession and should be proud of their efforts. Adele made her debut as the o35s Goal Keeper and made some spectacular saves. A real team effort with players from all of our ladies’ teams working together in our #hockeyfamily.

Crewe Vagrants Men’s O40 v Brooklands Men’s O40 – 5-1 LOSS

Crewe welcomed last season’s semi finalists for their 3rd round tie for what proved to be a really tough game. Crewe were under the cosh from the off and went behind quite early and 1-0 soon turned to 2 with the opposition threatening every time they went forward. Crewe dug in and a rare foray forward resulted in a goal for Cherry. 2-1 at half time and we were still in the game. The 2nd half started like the 1st as Crewe struggled to get out from the back. Brooklands scored again to make it 3-1 and this was followed by 4 and 5 as Crewe ran out of steam. There were chances but their keeper stood firm and the game finished 5-1 to Brooklands. A valiant effort from Crewe against a quality and more experienced team.