Sorry for the delay in getting the match reports out : they are all published in the Crewe Chronicle weekly

Ladies 2s v Alderley Edge 5s – 2-0 win
The ladies 2s played Alderley edge 5s and won 2-0. First goal by Meg Sherratt from the ack post off a brilliant strike from Kate Humphrey who jingled her way past 3 players. Second goal from Jenny Hewitt which was a straight ball that rolled in like a Christmas pudding through the legs of a defender leaving the keeper blindsided. The defence were great only conceding one short corner the whole game, awesome runs from the midfield and forwards especially Katherine Smith. Solid distribution of play from Abi Axon and Leanne Read in the middle, overall a really good performance.

Mens 3s vs Knutsford 2s – 3-3 draw
After two weeks of postponed games due to frozen pitches, both teams were eager to get a win and cement their place at the top of the table. Knutsford pushed early, winning a couple of short corners which were well-handled by the Crewe defence, including a great save by Evan Bowyer with his right boot. Crewe soon settled in to the game and Harry Price won a short corner which was expertly converted by Dave Freeman with a flick. Knutsford, however, almost immediately bounced back and equalised from a short corner of their own. Crewe were on top for the rest of the first half: Keith Jackson with his trademark take-no-prisoners tackles and some full-length-of-the-pitch drives by Ben Jarvis and Ryan Spurrier, one of which led to a potential goal of the season as Ryan found the side netting from close to the baseline (earning him Man of the Match). Crewe continued to pile on the pressure as James Molesworth slid one past the keeper to secure Crewe’s third on the brink of half time. In the second half, Crewe continued well with some useful linking passes between Greg Marshall (Vlad), George Leake, Andrew Howard and the forwards. A Knutsford attack led to another short corner which they converted with a straight strike. Shortly after, Knutsford won yet another short corner which was again converted. With the score line reading 3-3, both teams locked in. One Knutsford effort in particular was soon ended by Finn Douglas with a strong tackle at the top of the D. As the game drew to a close, Crewe were again in the driving seat with all 22 players in Crewe’s attacking half, but to no avail. The score line stayed 3-3 as the final whistle blew – a hard fought game from both sides.

Ladies 3s v Macclesfield 3s – 4- 2 loss
The ladies 3s we’re up against middle of the league Macclesfield 3s. Previous meetings have been hard fought battles and this match did not disappoint. Crewe started strong with early chances being created but to the credit of the Macclesfield defence none were converted. Persistence paid off and Crewe were awarded a penalty corner, Heather Patterson did a tremendous strike which was saved by the keeper only to be converted into a goal by Rachel Evans who pushed the rebounded ball into the goal. Macclesfield pulled rank and managed to score just before half time. Macclesfield were solid and managed to score an early second half goal, Crewe’s heads didn’t drop and straight from the pushback a pass from Rachel Evans to Louisa Naylor allowed her to drive towards the D, then with a fantastic pass cross goal the ball was put into the goal by a disgruntled Macclesfield defender. Crewe played strong with good link up play from Meg Swain to the left and right mids Emma Doughty and Jackie Jones who did plenty of runs up the wings. Unfortunately, Macclesfield proved too strong in the final quarter resulting in a 4-2 win.

Mens 2s v Sale 1s -3-1 loss
Saturday saw the return of hockey for Crewe mens 2’s who entertained Sale 1’s at home. Sale started the game strongly forcing Crewe onto the back foot in the early stages. Resilient defending from Crewe and some excellent saves by man of the match Harry ‘the cuddler’ Guest stemmed the tide but inevitably Sale found a way through slotting the ball home for a 1 nil lead. The make-shift CB pairing of Nathan ‘slim Jim’ Watson and Raw steadied the ship with some solid tackling and calm heads helping the home team play themselves back into the game. Piercing runs from Harvey ‘Usain’ Briggs-Malkin and great running play from Oli ‘dad’ Nixon pushed the game back into a more level contest with Crewe winning a succession of short and long corners. Hard work paid dividends when Crewe forwards Ashworth and Forster linked up allowing Ashworth to slot the ball over the Sale keeper making it 1-1. The rest of the first half ebbed and flowed with mounting pressure from the strong Sale team eventually rewarding them with a deflected goal. Strong words from Nathan ‘pies’ Watson at half time sent Crewe back into the fray with renewed determination. Great phases of play from both teams set up a tense final quarter of the game with further ‘for the camera’ saves from Guest and solid covering play from Sorensen and Holloway holding off a determined opposition. Ultimately pressure told and Sale grabbed a third and final goal. Late Crewe pressure was to no avail and the visiting team ran out 3-1 winners. A special mention to the two juniors Taylor and Pattinson who despite a difficult afternoon at the office kept their heads up and pushed till the end.

Ladies 4s v Deeside 5s – 5-0 loss
Crewe Ladies 4s play a home again against Deeside 5s this week end ending in a 0-5 loss. The score did not reflect the play, as lots of fantastic decisions were made by the ladies on the pitch allowing a lot of play in Deeside’s half. The weather was however not on our side which lead to us getting drenched and blinded by the sun. This week lots of ladies were nominated as POM due to the equal success of every player on the pitch. The players who got POM were Wendy Howard, Rachel Conroy and Emma Stewart.

Mens 1s v Urmston -3-1 win
Crewe Vagrants Men’s 1s travelled to Urmston where they were pleasantly surprised about the pitches facelift from previous visits. Crewe started slow, putting it down to them having the past 2 games called off. Crewe missed a handful of chances, of which you’d expect them to score. However, their constant pressure paid off after a Graeme Wolfenden put the ball into the top corner of the net, actually breaking the netting! Which caused confusion for the umpires. Crewe held out to go into half time with a 1-0 lead. A shakey start to the second half saw Urmston equalise. This set Crewe back a little, until Wolfenden stepped up to the mark to slot home his second from a short corner. Wolfenden didn’t stop there as he struck the ball like a rocket, to thunder against the backboard. Aiming to confirm his self-proclaimed accolade of being the “hardest hitter” at the club. Crewe carry on their unbeaten run as they head into a top of the table clash next week. Final score Crewe Vagrants 3 – 1 Urmston.

Ladies 1s v Lymm 2s – 4-0 win
On a wet, blustery afternoon Crewe L1s welcomed Lymm 2s to the Vagrants. Crewe went ahead quickly following a short corner and a scramble in front of goal with Ola Jama bagging the opener. Before the break Georgie Holloway scored the second, with an assist from Emily Critchley, receiving the ball on the right shoulder and smashing it across the D into the back of the net. Heading into the second half it wasn’t long before Grace Leonard was first to pounce on a hit into the circle from Lauren McGurk, slotting it past the keeper at the left post. The final short corner of the game was a Christmas treat… injected by Critchley, stopped by Gilly Gibbs-Blythe, slipped right to Jenny Evans who returned back to Gibbs-Blythe to net the ball past the right foot of the keeper. Final score 4-0 Next week away to Runcorn 1s.