Mens 1s v Preston 3-1 win
Crewe Vagrants Men’s 1s travelled to Preston to finish 2023 with a top of the table clash. Crewe got out of the traps early to apply pressure to Preston. Preston precariously defended, and somehow managed to withstand Crewe’s hard work. It felt like the things weren’t going to go Crewe’s way – almost as if Preston had Mary and Joseph on their side! All until Chris Regan stepped up for Crewe to slot the ball home from a short corner! Christ Regan’s cameo didn’t stop there, as he entered nose bleed territory once again in the oppositions D. He twisted and turned leaving defenders for dead, to put the ball on a plate for Dan Budden to see Crewe into the break at 2-0. Crewe started the second half as they finished, hoping to put themselves out of sight. However, against the run of play Preston emerged with the ball in the Crewe D and hit it home for a tidy finish past Matt Greasby. Greasby didn’t let that get the better of him, as he made some crucial saves to keep Crewe ahead. The welcome return of Adam Robertson was made even sweeter as he pounced on a loose ball in the Preston D. A thunderous backhand saw Crewe resurrect their 2 goal cushion to put them 3-1 to the good. Crewe held strong for the remainder of the game to increase their lead at the top of the table. They now have an 8 point lead at the top of the ladder going into 2024. Final score Preston 1 – 3 Crewe Vagrants

Men’s 3s vs Winnington 3s – 2-1 win

A lovely winters day today with a 2-1 win to Crewe after a tight competition from Winnington. There were no goals in the first half, both teams doing all they could to try and score. Brilliant play from Keith Jackson and Ryan Spurrier in centre back keeping the opposition from getting a chance to score. The use of Roy Smith and Fin Douglas helped to distribute the ball and relieve Crewe of the pressure. However, this tense half led to Ryan Spurrier getting a green card from a hard tackle. All goals came midway through the second half within 20 minutes, the first from Crewe getting a short corner scorer by Dave Freeman with a drag flick. Not long later Winnington created a counter attack and broke through Crewe’s defence to get an equalising goal. Crewe fought back keeping more possession in the second half with great movement from Ben Jarvis, Gareth Pask, Roye Pattison, Harry Price and Harvey Taylor controlling the centre. This allowed many chances, for strikers Brett Howarth, Paul Fowler and Dave Freeman to help to win another short corner, after a close chance at goal. A perfect injection from Ben Jarvis and a routine stop by Harry Price allowed Dave Freeman to pass back to Ben Jarvis for an accurate slap shot to put Crewe ahead 2-1. Tactical play towards the end, from Crewe stopped any attacks from the opposition and the game ended 2-1 to Crewe. Ben Jarvis received man of the match for his outstanding performance in the centre playing brilliant passes and making crucial tackles to prevent Crewe from conceding.

Ladies 2s v Triton 2s – 3-0 win
Saturday saw Crewe Vagrants Ladies 2s play their rearranged game against Triton Ladies 2s. With Christmas just around the corner, the Crewe Ladies were in high spirits with both the dugout and themselves adorned with tinsel and candy canes. Crewe started well and were straight into Triton’s D with many shots on goal but unfortunately none of them came to fruition. As the first half continued, play moved up and down the pitch but Triton rarely made their way into the opposing D. Shortly after, Louisa Naylor received the ball just inside the right post and deftly dodged the keeper sweeping the ball out of the air and into the goal, 1-0 to Crewe. Play continued with Crewe keeping the ball in the opposing half for the majority of the time. The ball was passed out to the backs, down the right-hand side, through countless small passes, into the D where Meg Sherratt and Louisa Naylor both took shots on goal. The resulting rebound deflected to the left-hand side of the goal where Mel Brooks lie in wait. A quick finish secured Crewe’s second goal, 2-0 to Crewe. In the second half, Triton looked a lot more threatening, making a number of interceptions and using their youth and speed to accelerate off up the pitch. On a number of occasions, they were chased down by Jiaying Lin, Gemma Rigby and Louisa Naylor who pressured the players, to stop them getting a clean shot on goal. Goalkeeper Rusty was on the ball and made several key clearances and saves. One such counter attack was stopped by the partnership between Rusty and Kate (Brian) Humphrey. With Rusty saving the initial shot and Kate making a mid-air deflection to push the second shot wide. In the second half, a short corner was awarded to Crewe and the Ladies came together. An injection from Nic Shrubb was stopped by Katherine Smith, Katie Gibbs-Blythe passed across the D to Jiaying Lin who got low and delivered it with gusto into the far side of the goal bringing the score up to 3-0 to Crewe. Crewe Ladies demonstrated their skill throughout the game and showed the benefits of working hard both on and off the ball. There was fantastic sportsmanship shown on both sides and an enjoyable game was had by all. The ladies 2s are next in action on Saturday 16th January against Macclesfield 3s.

Ladies s v Runcorn – 12-0 win
The ladies 1s travelled to sunny Runcorn to play their final game of 2023 for a top vs bottom of the league clash. Quick off the mark, it wasn’t long before Georgie Holloway found the back of the net and Crewe took an early lead. A second quickly followed when Suzi Lawrence made a great strike from the top of the D. There was no shortage of goals, as we ended the first half 6-0 with Zoe Franklin & Emily Critchley scoring, as well as Gilly Gibbs-Blythe scoring a penalty flick, and Grace Carter lobbing the goal keeper on her debut for the ladies 1s! In the second half, Crewe continued to step up, and find the back of the net with another 6 goals (Zoe x 3, Caitlin Oates, Becky Burndred & Georgie). Despite Runcorn playing 50 minutes with 10 players, they continued to battle throughout the game, not letting their heads go down. A great way to finish the first half of the season on a 12-0 win!

Mens2 2s v Triton 2s 4-0 win – England Hockey Championships
Squaring up against Triton in the 2nd round of the National Cup, Crewe Vagrants felt confident having beaten them earlier in the league. The Game started off well with Stephen Bourne making himself as effective a player as he could, offering to umpire as he was carrying a back injury. Crewe were down to 13 players due to a delayed Rob “the Cowboy” Featherstone, busy Lassoing horses. Following some positive build-up of play, and for the most part controlling the game, the boys finally realised the simplest way to score a short was to slip it and shoot, and so 2 goals were quickly fizzed passed the Triton Keeper. Nathan Watson flicking it into the roof of the net. Swiftly followed by Harvey Briggs-Malkin threading the ball through a crowded D into the backboard. Andrew Howard on his debut with a reverse forehand strike, buried the ball in the back of the goal for a 3rd. Ben Jenkins scored an incredibly unremarkable miss-hit reverse that may have floated over the helmet of the Triton Keeper. Defensively a solid performance from; Chris Gibson, throwing aerials into different postcodes. Stu Raw making a double goal line save. Ben Jenkins successfully picking aerials. Chris Sorenson running his little legs off. And eventually Rob Featherstone doing some hockey. Some important saves made by the goalkeeper to help earn his 2nd clean sheet of the season, seemingly only able to do so away at Alsager. The screens guild were out in full force, keeping their heads down and quietly getting on with their jobs. Supporting the defence and letting the glory boys get their goals. A really positive performance to lead the 2s into the Christmas Break, MoM was Andrew for scoring and an assist on his debut