L2s v Winnington Park 1s – 1-1 DRAW

The ladies 2s faced 2nd in the league Winnington park today in what was expected to be a tough game. The weather was not looking favourable but as luck had it the rain and clouds cleared just before push back. Winnington had first push back and right from the off Crewe applied pressure winning possession of the ball. Some great passing and communication allowed Crewe several chances on goal and this continued pressure created a short corner opportunity. A cheeky left slip from Katie Gibbs-Blythe to Poppy Harrington was successful and won Crewe the first goal of the match. Winnington tried to come back but Crewe’s strong press made it difficult to break through. Winnington did manage to get a few long corners but the superb defending of Abi Axon, Erin Wray, Katie GB and Katie Bell did not allow them to convert these into a goal. Some great team work in the middle by Leanne Read and Nova Wallace created passing opportunities out to the wings and Poppy Harrington and Louisa Naylor drove the line brilliantly to get the ball into the D. Moving on to the second half Crewe were determined to keep up the momentum and further opportunities came with great passing creating opportunities for forwards Meg Sherratt, Maddie Lycett, Chelsea Hall and Trish Boffey. Winnington fought back and a missed foot allowed Winnington to pass into the D to win a short corner. First attempt was not successful but they won another short where they won a goal. Crewe continued to battle on and won a couple of shorts which we were unable to convert. The match ended in a draw and Crewe were elated with a strong passionate performance.

M4s v Northern 2 – 4-2 LOSS
It was to be a big game and a chance to finish third in the league up against Northern currently sitting in second. Could we do it on this spring morning? We were fired up and took the lead through a well worked Paul North goal but after the break they showed why they’re second, scoring four second half goals, our only consolation, a second goal for Tom Gould. We lost four-two sad we were but in the last day of the season we all walked away proud of our endeavour.

L1s v Runcorn Ladies 1s WIN 3-0

The following work of fiction is based upon the real-life events of Crewe Vagrants Ladies 1s’ final home game of the season against Runcorn Ladies 1s. Possession from the push-back led to an early opportunity for Crewe with a penalty corner award. Despite failing to convert, Crewe continued to press and the second phase of another penalty corner two minutes later allowed Zoe Franklin to slot home the opening goal. Further chances came and went, but despite some good play, Crewe went into half time with just a one goal lead as they failed to avoid the Runcorn goalkeeper. A swift start to the second half saw Crewe double their lead as Abbie Richolddeflected in from a Franklin pass. Crewe’s third goal came when Emily Critchley recycled the ball and her pass to Claire Terry was slapped home. Good use of the press ensured Crewe continued to create chances throughout the game, but it finished 3 nil.

M3s v Deeside 5s – 2-0 LOSS

hosted top of the table Deeside Ramblers 5th team in their penultimate match of the season. Whilst Crewe went into the match with some confidence after last week’s victory, they knew it was going to be a difficult match. Throughout the first half both sides had their chances, but Deeside took the lead with a well struck short corner and so Crewe came in at half time 1-0 down. The team were in the wars with Martin Walford bowing out in the first half through injury and Ryan Spurrier needing a break to have treatment on his foot, having taken a hard strike with the ball. The game was equally balanced in the second half but Deeside once again managed to be the better of the two sides converting a second goal. The match finished 2-0 to Deeside but Crewe came away happy with their performance and on another day things could have gone their way. Now looking forward to a final match next week away to Knutsford 2s.

L4s v Runcorn 2s 0-0 draw

The Ladies 4s travelled to Runcorn for the last league game of the season, hoping to end on a high. The first half was quite an even affair with chances at both ends. Crewe conceded a couple of short corners which were well defended. The overall effort from the team was rewarded with a short corner which was very nearly converted to a goal.
Crewe followed this with further pressure; creating more chances, however the match remained goalless at half time. The second half started with an overload from Runcorn which took the Crewe defence by surprise, but despite a few short corners and some close calls Crewe’s great teamwork ensured they didn’t concede. Several good passages of play from both sides carried on throughout the half however neither side could get the elusive goal and the match finished all square at 0-0. Special mention must be made of Jayne Sharpe who played in goal and pulled off some fine saves. Player of the match went to Elizabeth Rayne who despite receiving a lifted ball to the knee in the first half continued to battle on and had a great match. Although not getting the win hoped for, it must be said it was enjoyable to have such a close match against a friendly opposition.

M2s v Deeside 4s – 3-1 WIN

League champions Crewe Vagrants men’s 2nd XI continued their winning streak with a 3-1 victory against Deeside Ramblers 4s. A poor performance from the Vagrants didn’t stop Andrew Ashworth scoring the first goal. After some stern words in the half time team talk, Crewe began playing much better hockey in the second half. With Ben Jenkins commanding the back lines and Sam Holloway scoring two superb goals. Unfortunately, Vagrants goalkeeper clearly wasn’t paying attention in the half time admonishment, conceding a straight strike through his legs, costing the team another clean sheet.

L3s v Golbourne – 1-0 WIN

The team was keen to get the job done in this match. We needed a win, but history told us Golbourne are a hard team to score against. We started quiet but withstood an early attack from the opposition. We soon found our flow and our more attacking style which has worked well for us of late. Despite some great work through the pitch and lots of long and short corners the score was 0-0 at half time. In the second half we knew they would come at us looking for a quick break. Sophie McGowan did well to prevent an attack up the right wing and Jayne Sharpe our stand in keeper was cool and confident keeping us in it. Eventually we got our break and a great ball in from Meg Swain was slotted away by Jackie Jones. A further goal for captain Rachel Evans was disallowed. We always looked like the winning team and 1-0 did not reflect how we dominated possession against a good side. We are looking forwards to finishing strong next week!