League title secured with games to spare
IT was a cold and wet weekend for Macclesfield Hockey Club who saw all 8 senior teams out in action while the Beavers saw the opposition unable to get a team and the U8s wrapped up war for their tournament on Sunday.
In the news of the day, the Men’s 1s victory secured them the league title for the second year in a row, with four games still to play, their league standing is now unreachable – a fantastic achievement and well done to all!
First to push back were the Ladies 3s who took on top of the table Deeside Ramblers 4s in a 1-0 loss.
It was always going to be a tough game as Deeside have remained strong throughout the season, but it was a credit to Macclesfield as the Ladies 3s held well, particularly in defence with Player of the Match Liz Thomas having a great game and denying the visitors any further conversions.
It was wave after wave of attack from the league number ones, but the home side did extremely well to clear the many shots on goal and stop the short corner routines.
The Ladies 3s held off Deeside until the goal came in the final 10 minutes but it was a battle to be proud of.
Also playing Deeside Ramblers 7s, the Men’s 4s travelled home with a 4-0 loss. Deeside started off strong with good transfers around the back while Macclesfield’s bare 11 looked to conserve energy as they fended off the home side attempts into the D. Managing to get a tap in from a rebounded shot, followed by a second goal in quick succession, Deeside took a 2-0 lead.
With the Men’s 4s looking to redeem themselves, they looked to attack down the left but were unable to convert from this. A right slip short corner routine took the home team 3-0 up, with the fourth goal slotted in before half time. It was a positive team time talk for Macclesfield as they went out to enjoy the second half and the score line remained unchanged for the remainer of the game as Player of the Match
Sam Ashton had a great game in midfield, making some great tackles and recovery runs. Despite Deeside pushing to increase their goal tally, Macclesfield held off their advances with one such attempt deflected off the line by Kevin Baggs and Will Needham saving a head shot in goals to leave the match 4-0.
The Men’s 3s made the short trip over to Wilmslow 3s to gain all the points in a 2-1 win. Buoyed by the last three results, the hosts moved the ball well and recycled with incisive, fast attacks and superb vision from Pete Theaker. They came close to an early lead as Paul Gleave’s slap hit brilliantly saved, with the follow up shot being taken out by the cross bar. Macclesfield were looking strong, as Jeremy Allmand-Smith (2) and Max Ainscough held the midfield well. Wilmslow started to gain a greater control as they absorbed the Men’s 3s style of play and started to trouble the home back line. As the half wore on, superb link up plays from the whole team saw multiple attacks down the wings but the scoreline sat at 0-0 moving into half time.
A blow was dealt to the hosts as the second half restarted, with a deflected own goal putting the Men’s 3s behind but heads were high as they knew that the game could be theirs if the hard work continued and it wasn’t long before AllmandSmith levelled the score with a well-worked team play paying off.
Fast attacks continued, with Cam Tebay picking up the ball on the 23 to fire in a difficult ball to Allmand-Smith who once again pulled off a lovely finish and Macclesfield finally took a welldeserved lead. With fatigue kicking in for both sides in the closing 10 minutes, keeper Phil Holder was called into action a number of times as the team hung onto their advantage.
The Men’s 3s weren’t quite done, gaining a number of chances to keep Wilmslow on their toes until the final whistle which saw the match end 2-1 in their favour.
Over at Oldham 1s, the Ladies 1s took a 4-3- loss
as they struggled to convert. Play started wholly in Macclesfield’s favour, as chances were created from the beginning, but they found themselves on the back foot as a breakaway run led to a home short corner that left the game 1-0.
Remaining motivated, the Ladies 1s continued to press and two goals from Ella Kenworthy (2) meant that it was 2-1 at half time. Oldham drew level as they capitalised on their forward pressure and skill to convert a bobbling ball. It was level, but the possession sat firmly with Macclesfield as they continually pressed the D and gained short corners, finally converting one with Player of the Match Liv Richardson (1) tapping it home.
Miscommunication saw Oldham draw level once more and despite the numerous chances that the visitors created, it was Oldham who edged the win with their high conversion rate while Macclesfield returned without the points.
Oxton 2s hosted the Men’s 1s who defeated them 4-1 in their titlegaining match. The Men’s 1s caused havoc from the start without managing to take the lead. Missed chances saw the tide turn as Oxton retained the ball well and a quick free hit saw the home side bury the opening goal in the bottom corner to take a 1-0 lead.
Bolstered, Oxton grew into the game and with a fantastic goal line save by a defender, the first half ended with the men in white trailing behind. Taking to the pitch for the second half Macclesfield went out re-energised, refocused
and with a plan.
The effect was instant and Oxton were being forced back into their own half as the Men’s 1s created a few early chances and it was suddenly level after Ewan Campbell (2) converted a short corner and the game was on. Increasingly piling on pressure, Macclesfield were attacking hard and gaining another short corner, it was the turn of Morgan Jennings (1) to send it home and take the lead. Oxton started to threaten again, however, after a midfield turn over countered and Campbell gained the third goal for the visitors.
Gaps were opening across the pitch, but Macclesfield were holding firm with a great performance from Player of the Match Andy Miles seeing the pressure mounting once more on the Oxton defence. The final goal came from a beautifully weighted aerial ball reaching the unmarked Macclesfield player who was flattened by the keeper in an attempt to convert the chance. Awarded a penalty stroke, it was emphatically disposed by James AllmandSmith (1) and the victory, and the title, is Macclesfield Men’s 1s.
Playing a noticeably changed Lymm 2s side, the Men’s 2s were still dominant in their 2-1 victory. With the day starting in confusion as rumours reached of Lymm cancelling their Men’s 1s match due to the weather, Macclesfield were hopeful that their game would be on. Receiving the go ahead – they made the trip over to a mild Lymm to continue their recent confident run in their promotion push
as they chase Whitchurch who hold a game in hand. Macclesfield took to the pitch and only five minutes in reacted to the Lymm set-up with a reshuffling of personnel to prevent the home side taking an advantage as the visitors settled into the game and took control of the play and possession.
Calmness from the back line spread to the forwards and the continual pressure on the home side defence finally saw the deadlock broken as a quick transition saw Roland Alston (1) send a rocket into the goal. The remainder of the half continued in the same fashion, as Lymm tried to penetrate the 23 but were snuffed out by the solid Macclesfield defence. Half time talk was a call for more of the same, the Men’s 2s link up play continued as they looked for an opportunity to strike.
Continuing a great allround performance, Player of the Match Damian Axcell (1) stepped up to the plate and calmly despatched the winning goal after a pinball play inside the D to work around the Lymm defence. As the time wound down, the home side were trying crash balls through and long aerial balls to try and pull it back, but their awarded short corners were thwarted until the final whistle had gone and a final short corner conversion saw Macclesfield maintain their win.
Continuing their successful run, the Ladies 4s took a 5-2 win over Whitchurch 3s. Whitchurch were under pressure from the off, with Macclesfield’s early lead denied by the keeper.
Lovely ball distribution across the midfield and constant runs from Player of the Match Lucy Robey gave the Ladies 4s the breakthrough they needed as opposition Player of the Match Leila Stoneley (2) made a great cross to Jess Chadwick (1) who tapped in the first goal of the game. A minute later and the lead was doubled, as Louise Rogerson (1) converted a goal mouth scrabble. Shortly after, a long through ball was picked up by the speedy Whitchurch forward slotting the ball home to close the gap. The half time talk was a call for greater pressure in the Whitchurch D with the team holding their shape and man marking out the standout opposition player. Scoring twice in quick succession, Stoneley’s second goal was an amazing volley from Robey’s lifted attempt. Complacency crept in and Whitchurch doubled their score after winning a series of short corners, but any further tally was prevented as Sally Martin made a goal line save and Holly Jones pulled off a crucial interception. The closing minutes were tense, but a great run from Sophie Martin saw Megan Behan (1) tap in the final goal and it was a 5-2 win.
Last up were the Ladies 2s who kept the only clean sheet in a 4-0 win over Knutsford 1s. Going out full of energy, the Ladies 2s put on a fantastic performance as each player put in 110% to ensure the win. Putting practise into play, space was created by the relentless work on and off the ball which allowed for the great forward link up between Libby Allan (1), Mia Ullmer and Player of the Match Sarah Hinchliffe (3) who maintained a heavy pressure on the Knutsford defence throughout the game. With the visitors looking to break through, they were denied as Aoife Middlemass and Jen Johnson held the defence, with Leah Hanaghan keeping and stray balls out of the goal.
At 1-0 up at half time, the Ladies 2s looked to continue their good form in the second half which saw the midfield turnovers from Pippa Crook, Beth Cash and Emma Houghton give the opportunities for the play to move up field and the win was sealed with Hinchliffe’s hattrick as the Ladies 2s bag another three points in this 4-1 win.
Sunday morning was a frosty one, but the U8s Tigers were still able to participate in their final tournament of the season competing against local clubs and successfully arranged and hosted by Alderley Edge.
Over the course of the games played, the youngest Macclesfield side showed real resilience and an unwavering mentality against some strong teams, even scoring 5 goals in one of their matches. The Tigers teamwork displayed good teamwork with their short passes and working in triangles giving them opportunity to create their goal scoring chances.
With some very good transfers across the pitch and their increasingly confident tackling displaying their improvement throughout the year. Thank you to Alderley for putting on such an enjoyable tournament.