WARRINGTON Hockey Men’s 1st Team clinched a place in the semi-finals of the England Hockey National Cup after defeating Crewe Vagrants on penalty flicks after a closely fought game on Sunday.
Warrington came into the game on a high having defeated Bowdon 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a Sam Pinion strike but soon found themselves on the backfoot against the visiting Crewe.
The visitors sporting a side with players from a higher league settled into the game well and made Warrington chase the ball through a slick passing game. Crewe’s deadlock-breaking goal came more from good luck than skill however, an optimistic lifted pass evaded multiple players to find their striker with a simple tap-in at the far post.
Crewe looked to add a second but were denied by resilient defending from the entire Warrington side as well as some excellent saves by goalkeeper Tom Lloyd.
Warrington found an equaliser midway through the second half from a short corner. Laurence Ankers drag-flick was acrobatically saved by the goalkeeper who could then do nothing to stop Andrew Gould shovelling in the rebound.
With the game tied at fulltime, the match went straight to a penalty shootout – with Warrington coming out on top. Pinion, Harvey Mason, and Richard Cook all converted whilE Tom Lloyd added to his heroics with three excellent saves.
Warrington Men’s 2nd Team earned a vital 3-2 away win at Triton. The game got off to the worst possible start for Warrington, a loose ball in midfield saw Triton through on goal with a couple of clumsy tackles leading to a penalty flick being awarded and dispatched by the hosts. Warrington found the equaliser shortly after, Iain Richards burst into the right hand side of the dee before unleashing an unstoppable shot that flew past the goalkeeper.
The visitors took the lead just before halftime, Douglas Samuels’ cross found the returning Scott Reed who applied a cool finish.
Rob Powell added a third with a strike from a short corner before Triton got a consolation on the
Counter attack. The hosts rallied but were unable to peg back Warrington who took the crucial three points.
Warrington Women’s 1st Team picked up a 1-0 home win against Alderley Edge.The hosts who came into the game on a four-game undefeated streak played out a composed and controlled victory, with a scoreline that flattered the visitors. The only goal came in the first half, Louise Unsworth played a great one-two in midfield before dribbling into the dee and beating the goalkeeper with a clinical strike.
Warrington pushed for more goals but were denied by an Alderley Edge goalkeeper in top form. Helen Fairhurst and Jenny Fox were unlucky not to score while Lauren Hayes and Sally McKay dominated midfield. Warrington now go into back-to-back games against top-of-the-table teams full of confidence.
Warrington Women’s Development Team continued their unbeaten streak with a 3-0 victory over
Sandbach. In a tightly fought encounter the goals didn’t come until the second half. Both defences had performed admirably until a mistake in the Sandbach dee saw Warrington awarded a penalty flick and a chance to take the lead. Katherine Parker took responsibility and gave her side the lead having found the bottom corner. Warrington then moved to kill the game, a brace from Jo Jakey, assisted onboth occasions by Kara Doyle took Warrington out of sight and prolonged their run of excellent results
