Women’s Hockey 2nds 1

Manchester 5ths 3

A game that was described as ‘Manchester dominated’ by captain Sian Holland, ended in another home defeat for the UCLan Women’s Hockey 2nds, this time going down 3-1 to Manchester 5ths.

Despite the loss, captain Holland was convinced that they played a better game on Wednesday compared to the other matches so far. She added: “In comparison to previous weeks, it was a massive improvement, the defence played really well this week.”

An impressive display from goalkeeper Hannah Shore and the rest of the defence helped the score stay to a minimum, however UCLan still lie bottom of the Northern 4A league.

UCLan were on the back foot from the minute the whistle blew, with a great save coming in the second minute, as Manchester had a short corner which was kept out by Shore’s feet.

The home side only managed to get the ball in the opposition’s half three times during the first period, which shows the control that Manchester had on the game. Saves just kept coming from Shore as she rightfully kept a clean sheet for her fine efforts.

The second half started as it had ended, with Shore keeping Manchester out again with another great save. A minute later the post denied the away side the lead, but they were rewarded shortly after, as an easy tap in from a cross gave the game its first goal.

In a hectic 15 minutes after the goal, UCLan’s defence stood firm and denied a second goal for the visitors with two diving saves, a clearance off the line from Jemma McCleery and a shot that rebounded off the crossbar.

Just as Manchester looked like they would finally score another, UCLan stormed down the pitch in only their second attack of the half. Jess Woodhouse received the ball on the far side, crossing it in for Gemma Yates who tapped it in at the far post to tie the score.

A lucky second for Manchester minutes later gave them back their lead. The ball was played into UCLan’s D and a poor piece of control from the forward wrong-footed Shore and the home side had it all to do once again.

As UCLan pushed forward in the last moments of the game the result was wrapped up, as Manchester orchestrated a great one two move and finished it into the corner for their deserved victory.

By Chris Kynoch

A single strike from Ashley Cranston was enough for Women’s Hockey 1sts to defeat Lancaster 2nds 1-0 and progress to the second round of the BUCS Cup.

In truth, the final score line rather flattered the Lancaster second string as UCLan dominated the contest throughout against a team three divisions below them.

They could already have been comfortably ahead by the time Cranston scored in the ninth minute, but the anticipated opening of the floodgates never materialised.

Instead UCLan’s finishing left a lot to be desired as they, despite having a total of 20 attempts on the Lancaster net, could not find a second goal, an inspired performance from the visiting goalkeeper pulling off a number of cracking saves.

With such a slender lead, there was always the chance of Lancaster grabbing an equaliser.

But despite late pressure and a couple of penalty corner’s in the final few minutes, they held on comfortably enough, while an anxious captain Stacey Bell watching from the sidelines as she continues her recovery from injury.

“It was a bit nerve-racking, especially against Lancaster 2nds, but we held it together,” She said afterwards.

Cranston could have opening the scoring inside the first minute, but scuffed her shot when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Georgina Ivens had scored twice in the 2-1 league win over Manchester Met 1sts the previous week and saw a shot blocked.

Siobhan Docksey also had two chances and the second brought the decisive strike.  Her effort was cleared only as far as Ivens, with Cranston was on-hand to flick her pass into the net.

Ivens continued to use her pace and power to get through the defence, only to be denied another five times before the break alone; first by a great block on the goal line, and then by the keeper on four separate occasions.

UCLan keeper Katie Radford had almost been a spectator for the first half, with just a single save to make from a rare Lancaster break.

The pattern of play continued in the second period as Gabrielle Gaynor and Ivens forced an outstanding treble save from the visitors’ keeper and Gaynor also shot wide from a penalty corner.

As the match entered the last quarter, the visitors sensed a chance to take advantage of UCLan’s inability to extend the lead and grab a goal of their own that would have taken the tie into extra time.

They forced a couple of penalty corners, but the home defence held firm with Radford dealing comfortably with the two attempts she had to deal with.

A final chance came and went, with a shot blocked in the final seconds as UCLan secured their place in round two.

UCLan team: Katie Radford, Taya Milman, Gabrielle Gaynor, Natasha Hale, Natasha Hynes, Georgina Ivens, Anna Mcintosh, Ashley Cranston, Laura Bury, Kate Gregory.

By Ciaran Thomas

Women’s Hockey 1sts managed to get their first win of the season, at the same time breaking their winless run after losing their two opening games. UCLan saw off Manchester Metropolitan 2-1 thanks to two goals from Georgina Ivens despite being without their captain Stacey Bell, who was missing through injury.

Even though UCLan had a good opportunity to open the score in the first minute, it was the visitors who scored the opening goal. In the third minute they got a penalty corner which got scored by Manchester’s Anne-Fleur van der Vloet.

But after the early disappointment, UCLan started to press more which caused a lot of trouble for the opposition’s defence and the hosts were unlucky that the Manchester goalie was in the way more often than not.

Chances were scarce in the first half, as Manchester tried to sit back and let UCLan force the issue whilst the home side tried to fashion chances by showing some good field play.

A lot of the UCLan danger came from Georgina Ivens who was much faster than her direct opponent and some inspiration from her almost caused and equalizer in the 23rd minute but Ashley Cranston missed the tap-in.

In the 26^th minute, it was Ivens who missed a chance after she couldn’t keep control on a pass by Laura Bury. Bury showed great vision to set up the opportunity as she passed the ball through two Manchester defenders.

UCLan had put in a pretty good display during the first half but it got even better in the second. Manchester couldn’t really cope with the UCLan dominance but came close to a goal themselves when the ball went past keeper Katie Redford but she got assisted by Natasha Hale who managed to get the ball off the line.

In the 55^th minute UCLan finally got the goal they had been looking for. In the end it was Ivens who managed to find her way past the Manchester goalkeeper and just six minutes later it was Ivens again who put the gloss on her individual display by putting UCLan in front.

It was a lead UCLan managed to maintain thanks to Redford. The UCLan keeper was in the right place at the right time when Manchester got three penalty corners in a row and managed to confirm their first win of the season.

Top-scorer Georgina Ivens was happy with her display but also praised the team effort.

Injured captain Stacey Bell was really happy with the first win even though she didn’t play.

“I was really anxious because I couldn’t play myself, but it was a really good effort and the only way is up now.  We still have some key players injured but when they come back we will be even better.”

By Derk Lucas

IT was a disappointing start to the year for the Men’s Hockey 1sts as they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat against Chester 1sts in the first competitive match of the new season.

“It was typical for the first game of the season and one that we lacked composure in”, claimed captain Adam Dixon after the game.
Indeed, a lack of composure may be derived from the fact nine first team players from last year’s squad no longer play for UCLan.

Both sides started the game tentatively in a tense affair, but it was the away side who had the better chances as Dixon was called into action a number of times to keep the score goalless.

It couldn’t last however, and the breakthrough finally came on 17 minutes as a mistake from the hosts at the back gave Chester’s striker time to turn and drive a low fierce shot into the bottom corner of Dixon’s goal.

Despite being a goal down, UCLan began to press and had their fair share of chances with Will Lacey testing Chester’s goal-keeper on a number of occasions before the break, but the score remained 1-0.

The second-half began in much the same manner as the first, as both sides looked to find an edge as the ball was worked around the pitch, until Dixon brought down Chester’s forward in the box on 37 minutes.

After much deliberation between the officials, a penalty corner was given as Chester made UCLan pay for sloppy defending as the ball was lifted into the top of the net and with it, give the away side a 2-0 lead.

UCLan by this stage were beginning to struggle, and found themselves 3-0 down only eight minutes later as once again they were punished for poor defending from a penalty corner.

The hosts persevered and good link-up play between Mike Holmes and Lacey almost paid off, but Laceys shot was dragged wide.
Frustration by now was building up and a number of silly mistakes meant Chester compounded misery on the hosts with a goal five minutes from time to make the final score 4-0 in Chester’s favour.

As Dixon believes though, there is still more to come from the team, “We simply were not strong enough and there is a lot we can still improve on over the coming games”.

Men’s Hockey 1sts next fixture will be away to Manchester 2nds next week.

By Stefan Mackley

Mens Hockey 2nds captain Sean Barrett defiantly vowed that his team will avoid relegation, despite having not won all season.

Speaking after his side’s latest defeat, 7-1 against Bangor 1sts, Barrett was still upbeat: “We had some good players out there and can take confidence from the way we played today.

“We’ve not won a game yet, but there is a few coming up that we could easily win if we play like we did today.

“We won’t go down.”

The Welsh side looked a class above throughout the match, showing why they are challenging at the top of the table. Only some wayward finishing preventing Bangor from reaching double figures against the hapless hosts’ defence.

Straight from the start, UCLan were on the back foot, and could hold out for only nine minutes before the deadlock was broken, a second coming three minutes later.

Despite having been under pressure for most of the opening exchanges, the hosts halved the deficit after 16 minutes. A penalty corner was teed up for Tom Hughes, whose shot deflected up off the keeper, but just had enough power to bounce in.

It was as good as it got for the home side, as Bangor’s two goal cushion was restored five minutes later, although a great save from the UCLan goalkeeper Lindsay Beck, from a penalty flick after Michael Vernon had blocked a goal-bound shot with his body, prevented the visitors from extending their lead.

A fourth did follow before half time, and when Bangor added another two goals within the first six minutes of the second half, UCLan thoughts could have been turning to the previous week’s twenty-goal thrashing by Keele 1sts.

However, instead of crumbling, UCLan had their best period of the game, Vernon unfortunate to see his shot blocked on the line after the keeper had been drawn out.

Despite putting the Bangor defence under pressure, the hosts failed to find another goal, and instead the visitors completed the scoring, with a seventh goal ten minutes from time.

The team are still looking for a first point of the season, with only four games remaining. But with two games against Liverpool 2nds and a trip to Manchester 2nds, the two teams directly above UCLan in the table, still to come, there is still hope that they can turn things around and escape the drop.

By Ciaran Thomas

Men’s Hockey 1st’s remarkable cup form continued as they ran riot with an impressive 11-0 win against University of Manchester’s 4th’s at USA.

After high-scoring wins in the last two rounds of the competition, winning 10-0 and 10-2 respectively, UCLan produced another virtuoso performance against a disorientated Manchester, that sees them progress to the quarter-finals of the BUCS North Cup.

“It’s nice to progress to the quarter-finals, and to score so many,” John Edwards said after the game. “Hopefully, our Cup form can continue”.

Despite an hours’ delay to the game, UCLan were ahead in a flash after the kick-off, courtesy of Will Lacey, and were soon two up after Edwards’ deflection from the top of the ‘D’.

Two goals in two minutes by Tom Davidson, the first after a run by Rob Taylor, put UCLan in cruising mode before Manchester even had time to settle into the game.  Their lack of control and organisation was antithetical to UCLan’s own performance as the home side dominated all areas of the pitch.

After twenty minutes, Mike Holmes scored the fifth goal with a near post finish, and Lacey scored his second fifteen minutes later, coolly rounding the keeper after a penetrating pass through the defence by Preet Rayat. 

Seconds later and Sam Ross scored UCLan’s seventh, also rounding a beleaguered keeper to close out the first half.

The second half was now a case of saving face for a sorry looking Manchester side, and they did start to look like posing some threat to a confident home side. However, with just over ten minutes gone into the half, Tom Kendall put pay to any resistance from the visitors, hammering home a close range finish. Seconds later, Ross scored his second to add to UCLan’s flurry of goal-scoring action.

Taylor got a well-deserved goal towards the end of the game with a powerful shot from the top of the ‘D’, and Holmes scored his second of the game with an exquisite reverse shot from a close angle to round out an impressive win for UCLan, albeit against poor opposition.

 By Edward Connolly

A brave effort by the women’s hockey seconds wasn’t enough to prevent them going out of the BUCS cup with a 4-2 defeat against Manchester thirds.

The visitors from the division above showed their class by dominating possession, but UCLan never gave up and two goals from Vicky Melling were just reward for their efforts.

“Seen as they’re a league above us, to get two goals against them is brilliant effort.” Captain Kate O’Neill said afterwards.

“We played really well compared to our last couple of games, so I’m really happy.”

Manchester thirds came into the game with just one win in their four games, but took control of the game from the outset against a home side who had been beaten 6-0 by MMU Cheshire the week before.

A penalty corner in the first minute was blocked on the line, and another in the tenth minute drew a save out of UCLan keeper Lydia Browne.

Marie Stuart made another goal line clearance before the visitors took the lead two minutes later, from another penalty corner.

Browne got a leg to the shot, after some good passing from the short corner, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball trickling over the line.

It took UCLan 20 minutes to force the Manchester keeper into action, Laura Pitts in plenty of space on the right hand side of the area, but the keeper smothered her attempted cross.

An equaliser should have followed five minutes later. Melling ran through the defence, rounded the keeper, but with the goal gaping slipped and failed to make contact with the shot.

After the interval the visitors doubled their lead, Browne again getting a touch as the ball went past her into the goal.

When Manchester scored a third ten minutes into the second half, the attacker given plenty of room to fire past Browne at the near post, they were threatening to overrun their hosts.

However, with one of UCLan’s first attacks of the half, Melling was put through clear down the left and made up for her previous miss with a good finish pass the dive of the visiting keeper.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed ten minutes later though, as Manchester made it 4-1 with a shot from the middle of the box into the bottom corner of the goal.

With their three goal cushion restored, the visitors were awarded a penalty after a shot hit the knee of Rachael Cobain, who was guarding the near post.

Browne managed to keep out the attempt, blocking with her leg.

With time up there was an uplifting finish for the hosts as Pitts broke down the right and crossed for Melling at the back post to grab her second goal with the last hit of the game.

By Ciaran Thomas

It was a well deserved win for Men’s Hockey 1sts as they beat Liverpool 2nds 10-2 at UCLan Sports Arena in the BUCS Northern Conference Cup.

With UCLan a league above their opposition, hopes were high of a comfortable victory and so it proved to be as the hosts went 1-0 up inside 3 minutes through Will Lacey who slotted in at the near-post.

It was 2-0 five minutes later after captain Tom Dutoy crossed in from the edge of the area, for Tom Kendall to tap in at the far post.

The home side were in control by this stage and soon looked to have put the game out of sight as less than a minute after their second; the ball was in the net again to make it 3-0.

 A lone effort from Lacey gave Liverpool’s goalkeeper no chance; a dismal start to a torrid afternoon for the away custodian.

The visitors put up a brief resurgence and neat play by the two forwards sliced through the UCLan defence, allowing the visitors to grab a goal back with their first attack of the game.

The home side were not to be outdone and put up a strong reply straight from the restart.

Two goals in quick succession put UCLan firmly in command after only 18 minutes of the game gone.  

The haul became six on the 23^rd minute; a great through ball by John Edwards played Mike Holmes through one-on-one with the keeper, which was coolly dispatched by the UCLan forward.

It was 7-1 seconds later after Tom Davidson claimed the ball at the restart and put another past the ailing Liverpool goal-keeper.

Holmes then had a chance to make it eight goals, but he was unable to notch as his effort ricocheted off the upright. UCLan were not be denied an eighth goal though as Dutoy worked the ball well on the edge of the area to allow Tom Hughes to smash home for his second of the game.

The half ended 8-1 and with the momentum firmly in UCLan’s favour.

The second period started much the same as Lacey was brought down in the area after great pressure on the Liverpool defence, and were rewarded with a penalty flick.

Edward’s stepped up to take, and despite his solid performance throughout the afternoon, failed to convert the flick.

Two minutes later and UCLan made up for the miss with a terrific effort from Richard Wood on the edge of the ‘D’, beating Liverpool’s keeper at the near-post.

Careless defending on UCLan’s part again provided Liverpool with the chance to counter, and the score-line was narrowed somewhat to 9-2.

Despite becoming sloppy in possession, the home side did manage to grab another; Lacey once again hit the target as he tapped the tenth in from the near-post following a penalty corner.

After the terrific display, Dutoy was full of praise for his team:

“I really hope we can take this form into the league. We’ve been playing well as a team and have won the last two league matches so confidence is really high in the team”.

Men’s Hockey 1sts now play Chester 1sts at home, in their last game before Christmas.

By Stefan Mackley

Women’s Hockey 1sts came away with a well deserved victory in tough conditions, finishing 1-0 against Lancaster 1sts at UCLan Sports Arena.

The first half did not get going from start to finish, with wet and windy conditions taking over the quality of possession throughout.

It was Lancaster who made the early attack from a short corner, which was defended well by UClan.

The home side began to amass possession in the middle of the pitch, with coach Emma Noakes driving her team forward from the sidelines, but UClan failed to make any attack pay dividends.

A few minutes later, a Lancaster attack was broken down by Sarah Leyshon who passed the ball forward to win a penalty corner, which was converted by to put the home side into the lead.

Lancaster were looking to equalise straight away but it was the final ball for the away side that was lacking in the attacking third. UClan’s Sarah Leyshon had a fine opening to the match creating space for team mates with clever play.

As the end of the first half approached, UClan defended extremely well which had proved costly in previous matches this season.

The second half began very much like the first, with neither side taking a foothold in the early stages with the conditions playing a part.

 UClan once again showed their improvements in defence with some great interceptions and effective goalkeeping from Katie Radford.

A controversial decision regarding a Lancaster equaliser followed, after the attacker smashed the ball into the goal from a short corner, but it was ruled out as it failed to hit the back board.

As full time approached, a break in play for an injury saw time for a team talk and a substitute, midfielder Gabs Gaynor, who threatened throughout the remainder of the half.

UClan began to pressure with the introduction of Gaynor, who passed the ball into Kerry Madock-Jones to shoot wide.

Having lost the last two games heavily to tougher opposition, coach Emma Noakes was happy with the performance, especially defensively;

 “This was a must win game for us. Lancaster are a lower team in this league so it was important that we worked well and communicated on the pitch. We did that today.”

 By Laura Howard

Women’s Hockey 1sts faced a tough test as they fell to a 5-0 defeat against former division 1A side Liverpool John Moore University at USA.

The majority of the first half saw UCLan on the back foot, as Liverpool dominated and took the lead through a penalty corner.

After a series of stoppages in play, UClan’s Gabs Gaynor began to make inroads down the right-hand side causing the Liverpool defence problems with her pace.  Unfortunately for the home side, it was not enough as Liverpool went 2-0 up against the run of play.

UCLan won their first penalty corner moments before the half-time whistle, which saw another break by Gaynor, flicking the ball to Kerry Madock-Jones who saw her shot saved by the goalkeeper.

In the second period, the home side regained possession more effectively, but failed to create many chances. However, UClan began to lack confidence as Liverpool stole the ball in midfield, and won two penalty corners in quick succession, which was defiantly defended with a save from goalkeeper Katie Radford.

The 3^rd goal was inevitable after Liverpool continued to sustain the pressure and won another penalty corner, which was struck into the UClan defence and followed up by the Liverpool attacker.

A lack of defensive pressure and failure to defend set pieces was starting to prove costly for the home side as they conceded another penalty moments after which was converted  in style from just inside the area for 4-0.

Another shot saw Keeper Radford caught by the stick of the attacker causing a break in play for a much needed team talk.

UClan began to tire in the closing minutes, but they summoned a new lease of life after further encouragement from coach Emma Noakes. The home side quickly regaining possession and won a penalty corner, but succeeded only in hitting the post as their wait to open their duck continued.

But it was Liverpool who rubbed salt into the wounds of the home side as they converted a re-bounded effort 30 seconds from time to finish the match five goals to the good.

Noakes believes the team are still building and it was a lack of self-belief that saw the team slumber to a 5-0 defeat.

“It was a disappointing result for us, but I’m not too disappointed with our performance,” said the coach.

“It’s likely to be the hardest game we play all season, so I will look to focus on quicker passing and more commitment in the middle of the park for next week”

Team captain Anna Ramli also shared the coach’s view and focussed on picking the team up from the result;

“It’s disappointing but we can work on what went wrong today.

“I thought the girls played well and will look forward to playing University of Liverpool next week.”

By Laura Howard