Wisbech Hockey Club first team win while third team lose unbeaten run
The Wisbech men’s first team travelled to Peterborough looking to make it five wins from five after a good start to the season.
However, they warmed up poorly and were rightly punished as the city side went a goal up thanks to a penalty stroke.
The first 15 minutes of the game were painful and there only seemed one likely winner, but Wisbech started to get a foothold – with Jack Bass equalising with a fine deflected finish.
The second half was a different story as Wisbech controlled it almost from start to finish, with Ryan Jackson sweeping home to make it 2-1.
Peterborough had very few chances but equalised against the run of play from a short corner. Nobody panicked, and the men in white pushed for the winner and got it thanks to a fabulous half volley from Drew Harvey to make it 3-2. They controlled possession and saw the game out effectively.
They travel to Cambridge City next week looking to keep the momentum going.
Meanwhile, the ladies 1st team had most of the attacking play for the first 15 minutes in their away game at Ipswich.
Against the run of play, Ipswich attacked down their right hand side, slipped the ball and took the lead. They then capitalised on their lead and their attacking hockey increased in momentum, creating numerous overload situations.
Wisbech withstood the pressure, however, and went into the second half with only one goal separating the sides. An unlucky decision led to an Ipswich short corner and the home side went two goals up.
A late chance from Wisbech nearly saw Georgie Dunn score, but she was denied by the Ipswich keeper.
Wisbech go again next Saturday in a bid to remain unbeaten at home this season when they face local rivals Peterborough at 11am.
Player of the match was Nat Ward.
The Wisbech men’s 2s were away to Bourne Deeping 2s.
True to recent form, Wisbech dominated the opening 15 minutes of the game, holding a high press and controlling the run of play. After seven minutes, Jason Mallett slotted the first goal of the game from a well worked short corner, putting them 1-0 up.
Bourne Deeping responded by switching their attacking formation and began to find gaps in the Wisbech defence. However, the Wisbech defence responded, with player of the match Josh Shippey making a number of key tackles to keep the opposition at bay. The match remained at 1-0 in to the half-time whistle.
Wisbech came out in the second half determined to extend their lead. Their determination was rewarded within ten minutes, with Jason Mallet bagging his second of the game from open play.
Wisbech continued to pile on the pressure for the remainder of the half, with some great passing hockey from Matt Boyall and Oli Overland in midfield. The away side were able to add a third goal through Boyall from another strong short corner routine.
The fourth goal of the match came from Matt Esser, penetrating the opposition D and smashing a scintillating strike in to the bottom corner.
The opposition created some chances, but Wisbech keeper Kev Shippey was up to the test, keeping a clean sheet for the day.
The match ended 4-0 to Wisbech, who are sitting at the top of the table unbeaten.
Hoping to bounce back after the ladies 2s suffered their first defeat of the season last week, Wisbech found themselves a goal down when home side Ely capitalised with an early breakaway.
Emma Baker soon got the team back level, netting at the second attempt following a rebound and then doubling her goal count before half-time when converting the best goal of the game.
The team moved the ball quickly from defence to attack, culminating in a fantastic through ball from Oliwiia Bolka.
Wisbech took a narrow 2-1 lead into the interval and had goalkeeper Lexie Klibencz to thank for string of fine saves to keep the the visitors ahead, but unfortunately succumbed again with Ely equalising early in the second half.
Thankfully Wisbech then settled and took greater control of the game, creating numerous chances before closing out as 4-2 winners.
Bolka capped a fine performance with two goals, the first from a short corner routine when Cooper’s shot rebounded, and the second created from Baker’s baseline run and pass.
Rachael Bateman was player of the match after some tenacious work at centre back.
The 2s are sitting fourth in division 3NW, and are on the road again next week playing second-placed St Ives 2s.
The men’s 3s travelled to Cambridge South for what was anticipated to be their toughest game in two seasons against a side that came down into the league from the division above.
Both sides had their chances in the first half through both short corners and open play, but after a tightly fought opening period there was nothing between the sides at 0-0.
Defensively, the back line held solid throughout and looked to be frustrating the young Cambridge side. A change to a more aggressive formation in the second half brought more chances to Wisbech, but the back of the net remained elusive.
Wisbech were caught on a fast break and after a goal-mouth scramble the Cambridge side put the ball away. At 1-0 down with 15 minutes to play, the Wisbech side flooded forward creating far more opportunities than the opposition – but sadly an equalizer was not to be.
A man of the match performance in goal from Rob McGregor kept several certain goals from going in throughout the game. This signalled the end of a long winning streak for the Fenland team, 24 on the bounce, but they will look to bounce back against Cambs Uni next week.
The ladies 3s faced their toughest opponents so far this season on a warm October afternoon against Cambs South 6s.
Wisbech spent much of the first half an hour under pressure from a strong opposition, but a reshuffle towards the end of the first half settled the team.
In the second half, Wisbech had the upper hand but were unable to score. A late goal mouth scramble saw player of the match Goalkeeper Kirstie H-B keep the opposition out and maintain a clean sheet, with the game finishing 0-0
The men’s 4s were at home to long Sutton 3s at the weekend.
After a great first half from Wisbech, conquering every part of the pitch, it was still goalless going into the break.
Not long into the second half, Pete Shippey put Wisbech in the lead with an amazing assist from Tyler Eggleton.
Wisbech then fought hard, completing simple easy passes to try and maintain their lead. However, it wasn’t long after until Sutton equalised after an amazing save from Ian Bell resulted in the rebound being slotted home.
Wisbech almost took the lead again with an unlucky miss, while chances from both sides kept coming – but both keepers were on top of their game not allowing any chances to be scored. The game ended 1-1 and Wisbech get their second draw of the season.
The ladies’ 4s faced a St. Neots development squad.
St. Neots put on the pressure from the off, but the Wisbech ladies responded well with some strong defensive work from the back line, and quickly found an extra gear with improved passing which allowed them to push the ball up into the oppostion’s D much more efficiently.
The first half yielded two goals to the opposition, however. Despite that, Wisbech never gave up, and St. Neots had to work hard in the second half to keep pushing their game forward.
Some very able defensive work from the back, particularly from Molly Hewitt and Tina Forder, helped to withstand the attacks, with Tina making some dramatic saves.
The match resulted in a 5-0 defeat for the Wisbech team, but there were many things to like about the way in which this new squad are starting to work together as a team and find their feet.
