2nd team

Top Scorers 11-12 Season

Match Reports

Whitchurch Saints 2nd XI v UWIC 1's Saturday 22nd October 2011

Score 3 - 2 Win

With both teams having similar results in the league and with only 1 point on the board the 2s went into this game with a must-win attitude. Both teams started with pace, but UWIC had the early chances, with the defence working well to prevent them from shooting at goal. UWIC pressed the defence well and with short passing between Ruth Hodge and Jo Pople in midfield, Saints were able to release the midfield for some attacking play. The attack allowed the UWIC defence to transfer the ball around on the back but were able to capitalise on some mistakes to get the ball into the D. Former Saints Erin Gough, in goal for UWIC, was able to clear the ball comfortably to the sidelines in the frist ten minutes. 

UWIC looked like the team most likely to score in the first half, and were awarded short corners. However, the defence were up for the challenge and smothered any shots that resulted. There was confusion in the defence due to necessary changes from Becca Daniels' injury but UWIC could not take advantage of this. The deadlock was finally broken midway through the first half thanks to good work by Hayley and Lemos in attack. The UWIC defence were unable to clear the ball in the D which landed in Emma Clayton's path, and she confidently swept the ball into goal, much to the delight of the strong Saints crowd. 

UWIC managed to equalise before the half ended with a short corner swept in from the right post, despite efforts to keep it out. Saints went close again when a counterattack led to Hayley being one-on-one with Erin, only to be thwarted when she was charged down by the keeper. 
With the score at 1-1, Saints went into the break with confidence and clear objectives for the remaining half. Knowing that their short corner routines were strong, Saints pressed for upgrades in the D. One short corner led to more confusion in the UWIC defence and the ball landed to captain Hayley. An unusual looping reverse sweep angled itself towards goal, and Cat ensured it went over the line to make it 2-1. 

This is how the score remained for 15 minutes, with good teamwork between centre back Kate Nicholson and the new face in midfield Ruth Hodge to keep the ball despite UWIC's best effort to steal possession. Hammo kept the width well which led to some counterattacking moves down the flanks. UWIC then piled on the pressure to create chances for the equaliser, and solid tackling by Cat and Kate made this difficult for the home team. Newcomers to the team - youth players Nia Davies and Anna Lawson - held their own in attack against the more experienced students, and linked up well with midfield. 

The pressure the defence were under eventually led to a half chance for UWIC. While it looked like Saints were going to be able to clear the ball, a couple of nasty deflections led to the ball scraping past the left foot of Gez to make it 2-2 with 2 minutes to go. Saints were not going to rest on a draw and continued to play as if there was a whole half left to play. They were able to intercept the ball from a confident UWIC side to launch a final attack (with the aim of winning a short corner). This was not needed. Nia penetrated their D to shoot on goal and Lemos was in a position to put the rebound into the back of the net. The Saints players and supporters went wild, although they kept their cool to play out the final seconds of the game. 

The game ended 3-2 to the Saints - their first win in Premier 1 - and the result showed that the seconds are able to compete in the top division. Special mention must go to the youngsters, Nia and Anna, who played with confidence despite being new to the team, and to Ruth, Fi and Emma Clayton, who all played well in the difficult position of bottom of the diamond. Kate Nicholson was given man of the match by the UWIC girls, for her usual sterling defensive work, and Cat got Saints' players player - for the amount of tackles and channeling she did throughout the game, and for the goal she sneaked off Hayley!! 

The 2s now go into a home game against Cardiff Athletic with confidence of a second win on the trot. 

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Whitchurch Saints 2nd XI v Cardiff Uni 1's Saturday 15th October 2011

Score 0 - 5 Loss

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Whitchurch Saints 2nd XI v Penarth 2's Saturday 8th October 2011

Score 0 - 0 Draw

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Whitchurch Saints 2nd XI v Howardian 1's Friday 30th September 2011

Score 0 - 5 Loss

Saints 2s entertained Howardians at the National Hockey Centre on Friday evening in their first ever game in Premier 1. With a good turn out of the rest of the club to support the team were keen to take the game to Howards, and show that even with a new squad that they belong in the top division.

Howards started as the brighter team, being used to playing at pace. They were able to penetrate the defence but good tackling by defensive pair Liz and Kate kept them at bay. Saints had some good attacking play up the right by debutant Hannah Davies but good defending by Howards kept Saints away from the D. The experience of Howards started to show within the first 15 minutes as they were able to find players within the D. Playing onto feet started a sequence of short corners that the girls kept out with good running from Emma Clayton, however Howards managed to sneak in the ball past Gez in goal to make the score 1-0. It seemed that Howards made the score 2-0 but on appeal the goal was disallowed due to a foot in the D. Positives from the first half included good short passing play between the defence and stand in captain Cat Thomas in midfield, and Vikki Stroud was able to relieve pressure on the defence with some strong line balls.

Saints were glad to go into the half time interval 1-0 down and were geared up for a tough 35 minutes. The heat of the evening affected the Saints players more and Howards started to capitalise on this in the second half. They finally made the game 2-0 when a dubious overhead tap into goal by an unmarked forward was allowed by the umpire. Despite protests from the team and the supporters the goal stood. While Howards' confidence was high they also allowed Saints more space to move the ball. Good link up play between Jo Page and Becca Woods enabled Saints to launch some counterattacks. They were rewarded with 2 short corners, and Becca Woods went wide with a strong strike at goal. Howards were also given some opportunity to counterattack and in one quick move their forward was able to launch a reverse stick shot past the wrongfooted Gez.

The game was drawing to a close and Saints were using their subs more in order to preserve energy. Howards created opportunities to score further with another run of short corners. Despite Saints' determination to keep these out, Howards scored 2 corners late on with strong strikes, making the final score 5-0. This was not reflective of the game and Saints should be proud of how they played in their first prem 1 game. There were positives that came out of this game, and Gez was awarded man of the match with some stunning saves. Saints will be keen to work on this experience and will go into their next game against Penarth 2s hopefully with confidence.

Player of the match : Gez Charles

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