Wisbech Town Hockey Club 1st team beat Bourne Deeping 7-3
After two wins from two the Wisbech Town Hockey Club men’s first team were keen to continue their winning run against Bourne Deeping.
The early start seemed to hinder them as they got off to a slow, error strewn start. They did, however take the lead through Sam Markillie with a close range finish. The errors continued though, and Bourne soon found themselves back in the game.
This was the theme of the match as it was back and forth, with Markillie scoring again before the home side equalised once more. Markillie completed his hat-trick on the stroke of half-time and Wisbech eventually ran away with a 7-3 victory thanks to further goals from Danny Haynes, Dom Stannard, an excellent drag flick from Lewis Jackson and a fourth for Markillie.
The team look to make it four from four under the lights on Friday against local rivals Long Sutton at 7pm.
The ladies first team began the match with a strong passing game, utilising the width of the field effectively.
Despite creating numerous scoring opportunities, they struggled to find the target with shots flying past the posts. However, their persistence paid off as they earned a short corner, which was expertly converted by captain Laura Bell on the rebound.
In the second half, Kettering intensified their pressure, disrupting Wisbech’s passing game and cutting out the transfer. Wisbech’s defensive lapses and loose marking allowed Kettering too much space and time on the ball, and they soon took a 2-1 win.
The stand-out performer of the match was, however, Bell.
The Men’s 2nd XI were away to Cambs Uni 3s. They dominated the first ten minutes, but Cambs Uni were able to score a breakaway goal against the run of play.
Wisbech were persistent in attack, with selfless play from Matt Esser in midfield and the front two of Mallett and Belding creating chances. Their efforts were rewarded with a well-worked deflected goal from Bradley Burton to level the match.
Uni’s spirits didn’t drop. They continued pushing the Wisbech defence and went 2-1 up with a well taken one touch goal.
Wisbech piled on the pressure once again, and Jason Mallett slotted a signature reverse stick shot to level the game at 2-2.
Wisbech came out hungry for the win in the second half, and Brad Burton was able skilfully to penetrate the opposition D, slapping home a top solo goal to give his side the lead for the first time in the game.
Cambs continued pressing, but strength and level heads in defence led by captain and man of the match Jonathan Shippey saw big tackles keep them out until the final whistle blew.
This was another good win for Wisbech, securing a flawless nine points from three games.
The ladies 2s travelled to Northstowe to take on Huntingdon 1s hoping to continue their winning streak. The team started strong and went ahead after only nine minutes, Claire B crossing the ball for Lily Cooper to score. Unfortunately for Wisbech, Huntington managed to equalise before the half-time whistle blew.
Frustration grew in the second half as Wisbech struggle to find the back of the net., but some great saves from Ali helped them hold the draw.
Wisbech Men’s 3s travelled across to face Peterborough 6s in an end-to-end match. It was Wisbech who took the lead after Ollie Melton calmly pushed the ball past the keeper and into the bottom corner.
With Peterborough pushing strongly, Wisbech caught them on a counter attack which resulted in a short corner, and after a powerful strike from Ryan Parker, Wisbech went into half-time with a 2-0 lead.
Within five minutes of the restart, Peterborough pulled a goal back. However, Wisbech pushed hard and Melton scored his second of the game. Peterborough were able again to put the ball into the back of the net again, and with the scoreline remaining close it was Wisbech who scored the next goal.
A quick counter attack lead to Ciaran Lowe sliding the ball past the keeper for Eliott Peck to tap into the empty goal. Peterborough scored a consolation to make the final scoreline 4-3.
Next week the 3s face Cambridge Nomads 3s at Harecroft Road.
The Ladies 3s were the only home team at the weekend as they faced Long Sutton 2s.
The first goal came from an excellent strike by Rachel Rivers, and this seemed to settle the whole team.
The second half saw Wisbech dominate the play, and with a great effort from every player they saw four more goals from Steph Leeks, Rachael Bateman and two from Rivers as she sealed her first hat-trick for the club.
Long Sutton managed a consolation goal on the break, with the final score an impressive 5-1 win.
The Ladies 4s were also away this week at Northstowe, coming up against Huntingdon’s Development team.
Ali Mason took on the role of captain to support the younger girls as well as guide the existing players who are also new to hockey. Tina Forder kindly stepped up to play in goal and did an excellent job of shutting down the players, and some acrobatic saves resulted in her being awarded player of the match.
In the first half, Wisbech did find themselves 3-0 down – but this did not stop them battling hard and closing down play to stop some very hard passes making their way into the D.
After some changes in formation and a regroup at half-time, the team worked incredibly hard to stop a strong attack from breaking through. The forwards had several good runs towards the D with some nice passing and they were unlucky not to find the back of the net.
Huntington were unable to increase their lead in the second half after some very strong and determined defending from Wisbech.
