Nicholson strikes to secure a welcome win for Drayton

Joe Nicholson was the hero for Drayton as he netted the only goal of the game.

He rounded off some slick passing when he fired home into the bottom corner.

Drayton were on their travels today, away to bottom-of-the-table Solihull Blossomfield.

Drayton’s second team hit the goal trail for the second week running.

They hit form to beat Lichfield 7-1 at home.

Jesse Thompstone and Dan Venables shared top billing as they both bagged hat-tricks. James Parsons also netted while youngsters Harry Freeman and Jamie Batkin enjoyed impressive debuts.

Newport took a huge step towards promotion from Midland Hockey Division 7 North West with a resounding win at Old Wulfrunians.

Table-topping Newport left their third-placed hosts reeling as they ran out emphatic 7-1 winners.

Courtney Horner bagged a hat-trick, with Matt Sanders, Matt McNay, Hamish Leeds and Alex O’Keefe also scoring.

Ludlow were on the receiving end of a heavy defeat in their Shropshire showdown with Shrewsbury.

The visitors took the Midlands Hockey Division Four spoils thanks to a resounding 8-2 victory.

It proved to be ‘a game of two halves’ as a keenly-contested opening half saw Ludlow’s Luke Pinches net twice as his side went into the break 3-2 down.

But the visitors took charge in the second half and despite an outstanding display from Ludlow goalkeeper David Hughes they ran in five unanswered goals.

Ludlow make the trip to Stratford on Saturday (10.30am start).

The ladies, who cancelled their game at Keele last weekend, welcome Lichfield on Saturday (1.30pm).

Telford & Wrekin saw their six-game unbeaten run ended by Midlands Premier Division leaders Stourport.

The table-toppers proved too strong on the day as they eased to a 6-2 success.

Telford conceded two goals early on, before Tom Mallet hit back for the hosts following good work from striker Ollie Brannan and Sam Pratt.

The visitors quickly regained control of the game, scoring another four times before Telford skipper Tom Gough made the score 6-2. Gough brought down the ball from the air, hitting it on the half-volley, with Stourport’s keeper making a mess of his attempted save.

Telford were away to Rugby & East Warwickshire today.

The second team took on struggling Sutton Coldfield and secured a dominant 4-0 victory, with goals from Sammy Brazier, Sean Huffer, John Perry, and Lewis Moore.

The thirds suffered a heavy defeat, losing 5-0 at a strong Beacon side.

The fourth team hit the goal trail at North Staffs as they ran out 10-1 winners.

The goals came from Josh Sykes (three), Will Thompson (two), Conor Ashbridge (two), Richard Thompson, Roger Marsh and George Pittson.

The fifths lost 3-0 at home to Newport seconds.

The ladies’ firsts lost 2-1 away to Uni of Birmingham.

But the seconds triumphed, 4-3 in a top-of-the-table clash against Wolverhampton & Tettenhall.

Christine Keyser bagged a hat-trick while Logan McKinnon struck once.

Goals from Eliza Brannan and Katie Rushton earned the thirds a 2-1 win at Wolverhampton & Tettenhall.

Sunday saw the men’s fourths win 7-1 at Stone. Josh Sykes (three), Luis Parker (two) and Conor Ashbridge (two) were on target.

The ladies’ thirds oth travelling away. The 4ths faced mid-table Stone 5, running out comfortable 7-1 winners, with with 2, and with another 3 goals, taking his total to 19 for the season. The Ladies 3’s also pulled off a great win, with Katie Rushton set up by Eliza Brannan for the only goal in the 1-0 victory.

Valerie Fabery De Jonge and Cath Gresty shared top billing as Whitchurch ladies hammered Alderley Edge 7-1 in North West Division 4 South (Central).

They both bagged hat-tricks in the 7-1 success, with Georgia Munro adding the other goal.

Whitchurch men’s first edged out Manchester Men’s 3-2 in North West Division 5 South (Central).

WHITCHURCH

Whitchurch played a Sunday catch-up game against Manchester 1s this week in what was a hotly anticipated match on both sides. Whitchurch were unable to field a team for the away game earlier in the season, so this was the first time the two sides had met since a tough and heated game last season when the Reds could and should have won, but unfortunately came away losing by a goal in the last minute.

This, then, was to be a rematch with added interest - and the Reds had the advantage of playing at home with a full complement of strong players, and not having had to play the day before as their opposition had pulled out of the league. The game started well enough, and Whitchurch scored first with captain Jack Barnes helping draw first blood, with his initial shot from a short corner being deflected before Ethan Gresty picked up the rebound with a well-taken flick.. However, second blood was to come from Barnes’ own face - after some strong work by Manchester to get a goal back, taking advantage of some indecision at a short corner by the Reds’ defence, they won a second short corner and the follow-through from the strike accidentally caught Barnes in the face, and that was his game over as he went to get medical treatment.

Going in at 2-1 at half-time didn’t really tell the story of the half, as Whitchurch were lucky not to have had Manchester score several more. Paul “Sturge” Leigh in goal was solid as ever, and blocked a number of shots and was unlucky with a deflection on the second goal, and the Reds’ defence dug in and made some last minute tackles. However, the wider story was one of poor discipline and pass-selection, not keeping hold of the ball well (which immediately put the Reds on the back foot as Manchester surged forward on the break while the Reds were still in the opposition’s half) and then being less than supportive of team mates who’d perhaps not done their finest work. It was dragging the standards down, and Manchester are too good a team to play against and have that happen.

The half-time team talk included Sturge finding the words to say to remind Whitchurch that that isn’t the team they are, and it is not the game they play. Alex Fry and Danny Foulkes helped focus the team and point the way forward and, as has happened a few times before for the Reds, it was the key to unlock the real team in the second half. It’s hard to imagine that the two halves were from the same team in the same game. Suddenly, Whitchurch found lots of time on the ball, and switched it from left to right to left again, possibly going all the way back to go forward. They had time on the ball; they stopped giving it away cheaply; they stopped trying to run through players; their passes found their targets and there were some passages of play that would stand out on a highlights reel for the season. As the Reds’ confidence grew, Manchester found themselves struggling to have the time on the ball they were used to in the first half, and they were getting more desperate in their challenges and appeals. Some cards were shown, which were deserved but raised some tensions even more.

Whitchurch, though, found balance and calm and continued to move the ball well, and won a short-corner which Martin Beecher put away with a smashed first-strike low and hard to the left. As the game built to a conclusion, another short-corner was initially blocked by the keeper and the ball went out wide but was fired back across the goal and Beecher got his second and the Reds’ third with smart strike. Whitchurch held on until the final whistle to take the game 3-2, at which point frustrations boiled over and some calming was required. It was a shame for the game to end on a slightly sour note, but overall Manchester had been excellent like last year, showing great individual skill and ball-carrying control and completely over-ran Whitchurch in the first half, but it was the manner of the recovery and the effort put in in the second half to recover and take the game that was the real takeaway for the Reds. Much to consider from both halves, but the guts and determination shown to take the win against such strong opposition is something the team can be deservedly proud of.

Whitchurch ladies 1s 7 Alderley Edge ladies 4s 1