Fylde 2 4-0 Alderley Edge 2
North West Women's Division 1 | England Hockey
On Saturday Fylde Ladies 2s played Alderley Edge 2s. Alderley Edge started off the game with an instant high press and quick play. We responded and came out fighting, working well as a team moving the ball beautifully around the pitch winning a short corner. Emma Dunkerley lined up ready to take the strike and it rebounded off the post . Not to worry because another short corner was awarded with Emma Dunkerley placing it perfectly to put Fylde 1-0 up.
Fylde remained calm and play continued but an unfortunate injury to the knee for Sally Livesey meant she had to leave the pitch for a short while. She returned shortly after battling along the right side with Olivia John-Haslam. The game was intense and an unlucky foot in our defensive circle meant Alderley Edge were awarded a short corner. However nothing was getting passed Fylde’s defence today with an excellent block from Jayne Wilson.
Fylde moved up the pitch squeezing their defence with strong interceptions made from Lisa Perry. Olivia John-Haslam received the ball in the circle and passed it to Chelsea Atkinson who scored bringing Fylde 2-0 up. Fylde didn’t stop there continuing to strongly attack. Chelsea Atkinson received the ball and carried it down the right side. With a slip to Emma Savidge she placed it in making it 3-0 for Fylde. Despite the cold January chill we battled against the wind, pushing forwards until half.
We took shelter behind the dugouts for an encouraging team talk from Lisa. We then came out stronger with the wind behind us and the passes looking confident. Linking up between the mids and forwards meant we had many great shots on goal from Frankie Margerison and Hannah Callagher. Beth Ridsdale played the ball into space every time pulling the defence out. A strong hit from Beth was received by Chelsea Atkinson who scored again making it 4-0. The defence was being held strong by Emma Dunkerley who helped navigate strong passes around the back with a triple transfer between Olivia Merrick, and Abigail Johnson.
However in the last 10 minutes Alderley Edge were awarded a short corner. Katie Barker saved the day with an excellent save from a top corner drag flick. Nothing was getting passed her today! Towards the end we started getting tired letting some passes slip to Alderley Edge but we didn’t stop pushing until the final whistle. We finished in a mighty 4-0 win.
South Lakes 1 9-2 Fylde 3
After a long break over Christmas and into our first match of 2023, the game began unpromisingly. Within the first 5 minutes of the match, South Lakes had been awarded 4 penalty corners - some perhaps unjustifiably. We did not concede as a result of Eva Earnshaw’s impeccable keeping. However, we didn’t let this put us off, we fought for the counterattack and used our speed against them. Once in their 23’ we were unstoppable. In a fantastic reverse stick hit goal by Grace Tomlinson that dropped both players and spectators' jaws, we raised the score to 1:0.
We momentarily let being ahead drop our intensity, leading to them equalising. After their goal we dominated possession and showed great teamwork through our tactical plays. They had some very skilful players, but we managed to work around them, this resulted in Megan Coar scoring our second goal in the 12th minute.
Already a tense yet exciting match South Lakes were awarded another short corner after a foul by one of our players resulting in a green card. We adjusted our playing style and moved more calmly with the ball trying to maintain possession. Thankfully, we didn’t allow this to come to anything, at this dangerous time.
By the end of the first half many of our players appeared lethargic, this may have been due to the fact that the pitch was slow and waterlogged. We still drove forwards and pushed back against their attacks however the opposition managed to make it through our strong defence, they equalised again in the 30th minute...
Sadly in the last few seconds of the half South Lakes scored again, however we remained confident in our abilities to win. 3:2 at the end of the first half.
While in the first half we played skilfully and had numerous successful attacks, in the second half we weren’t able to replicate our prior play. South Lakes scored 6 goals in the second half, for no concession. By the end, our spirits had understandably dropped, especially as the hail battered us whilst we attacked against it.
With 4 minutes left to go, in her first match for Fylde Ladie’s 3’s after having a wonderful game and proving her immense talent, Sophia Murray obtained an injury, we wish her the quickest recovery!
Final score 9:2
Player of the Match goes to Eva Earnshaw who saved some incredibly impressive strikes by the opposition. The scoreline does not reflect her level of play, she as well as the rest of the defence showed great resilience and determination as we neared the end of the match.
Fylde 4 0-1 Lancaster Nomads 1
Fylde Ladies 4's were unlucky to lose against Lancaster Nomads, conceding a second half goal and unable to find the net themselves.
Chorley Phoenix 2 2-1 Fylde 5
North West Women's Division 4 North (Central) | England Hockey It was an early start for the first match of 2023 for Fylde Ladies 5. We headed south of the river to play Chorley Phoenix 2s. The first half showed the opposition were strong, intercepting the ball and making some good plays on goal, all denied the back of the net by keeper Dani Howarth, and the strong defence of Tiana Mosley, Megan Eccles and Lauren Perkins, who was playing her debut match for 5s. Fylde made some strong breaks but couldn’t flood the D with attackers in time to make any big threats on goal.
Fylde needed to move up a gear and the mid game chat talk a lot of “Fire in bellies”. The team came out stronger meeting the balls and the match was end to end, literally for captain Debbie McClelland, who seemed to go from injecting attacking shorts one minute to putting on a mask to defend short the next.
Chorley made good on some good play and scored their first goal. Fylde were still in it and came straight back into the game with Amelia Sharpe assisting Jessica Jennings as she pulled off an amazing tomahawk and put the ball high into the back of the net.
Mood was lifted and the game continued to go end to end. Liz Johnson and Aimee Peruzza held a solid line in midfield and the defence connected well with Liddy Eccles, Louise Eastham, Summer Holroyd and Melisa Johnson-Parker communicating and passing fluidly up the wings to create more opportunities. Sadly Chorley were able to defeat the defence on a second occasion and brought the final score to 2 -1.
Debbie didn’t get a birthday win but she did get a cake in the pub and got spend the morning with her favourite people.
As always we win as a team lose as a team.
Fylde 6 1-8 Brookfield 2
North West Women's Division 5 North (Central) | England Hockey
It was a cold and windy afternoon game for Fylde 6ths. We started with 10 players and were overjoyed when Heather Appleyard arrived and put on the goalie kit to give us a full eleven. Brookfield fielded a very strong, experienced side as expected so we knew this would be a challenge. Two goals made it over the line in the first ten minutes as we were without a keeper and had underestimated just how strong Brookfield would be.
Brookfield continued a heavy attack with Fylde doing their best to defend in pretty miserable conditions! A further 4 goals went in before half time putting us at a disadvantage!
The change in ends was welcome as we had the wind with us. Some excellent play from Issy Gut, Tilly Tomlinson, Evie Finnegan and Soraya Rigby in the middle, meant that Fylde continued to fight to gain inches up the pitch. Despite being awarded a number of short corners, Fylde couldn’t convert any to goals. Mid way through the second half, Evie Finnegan found the backboard and we were delighted with our only goal of the game. Brookfield scored a further 2 to bring the final score to an 8-1 loss. Fylde put in a good performance, and maintained a good attitude and work rate right up to the end despite a strong opposition and terrible weather!
Keswick 2 1-2 Fylde 1
North West Men's Division 3 North | England Hockey
After much confusion around a possible postponement of the game due to bad weather, Fylde Men’s 1’st team made the long trip north to face Keswick 2’s in Cockermouth.
Things started badly before even leaving the Fylde Coast with midfielder Jack Boniface managing to be 20 minutes late to be collected from his own front door, and Ben Mortimer forgetting half his kit. However, a pit stop at Greggs would soon rectify the situation.
Changes in personnel and a few late dropouts meant that Fylde had only travelled with 12 men, however this did not get in the way of a solid performance. Fylde started much the better side with a back line of Atherton, Mortimer and Brandwood keeping things solid, giving Mr. Sheen nothing much to do in the Fylde goal. Some great play down the right-hand side unlocked the Keswick defence allowing Phil Hope to score at the back post. Fylde then smelt blood and Keswick were visibly worried by the pace of Harry Marsh running through the back line. This allowed Steve Whitley to find another goal in quick succession.
On the stroke of half time, Keswick did manage to grab a lifeline after a mix up at the back after Ben Mortimer lost his stick and allowed the Keswick attackers a free run at goal.
A rallying call from captain Jay Currey at half time ensured that things were tightened up again with Fylde still having the majority of the chances and desperately trying to repay the travelling away support of 1 with another goal to sure things up, however Hope could not convert the golden chance presented at the back post. Fylde then dug in and ground out a much needed win in a strange weekend of results in the league. Hopefully this is a positive step in the right direction and Fylde can start to climb the table.
Man of the Match – Harry Marsh
Busy Fool – Ben Mortimer – For putting in the wrong postcode and taking us to the clubhouse rather than the pitch, forgetting his clothes, and not kicking the ball away.
Fylde 2 1-2 Lytham St Annes 2
North West Men's Division 4 North | England Hockey It was Fylde’s turn to host the local derby, and a good game was expected given the similarities of the teams, comprising of a mixture of older experienced players and youngsters still developing. Lytham took an early lead with a strong direct strike at their first short corner. Both teams took turns at attacking, with similar levels of possession, however Fylde struggled to make proper inroads, with attacks being extinguished before any shots could be taken in the opposition D. Whilst the Fylde defence held firm against standard attacks, they were exposed to a counter-attack when pushing up the field, and Lytham were able to extend their lead to two goals. Lytham almost scored with the last play of the half, as they'd won a short corner, and another direct strike found the goal, but it was deemed to have gone in above the backboard so no goal was awarded. The second half saw Fylde in the ascendancy, having more possession and attacks. However it took until late in the half before they scored. Coming into the D from the left wing, Oli Adewale had an initial shot that was saved and looked to be going off the backline, until James Dobson ran to keep it in play, and squeezed it back into the centre of the D, where Phil Weir was lurking to slot away into the goal. Fylde continued to press and looked on course to equalise, but couldn't quite find the killer touch. In the last minute James Dobson got a goal-bound strike away but the Lytham keeper was able to kick it away to safety. A 2-1 defeat for Fylde, but some positives to take away. Man of the match was awarded to James Dobson for his energy in the midfield both attacking and defending.