Week 18 - Match Reports

Women's 1's:

Crowborough Women's 1's came out fighting on Saturday after their feisty game last weekend. From the first whistle the Crows showed their intent. Solid from the start, the ladies played the game to their strengths - smart passing and using the width to attack wide was quickly shown to be working. The first goal came from a lovely connection on a straight strike from Kate B on a short corner and set Worthing surprised and on the back foot. Crowborough continued to capitalise on Worthing's centered structure. Transfers around the back and smooth work through midfield connecting with super runs out wide from Alice W and Grace M , saw a 3:0 lead at half time. The 2nd half saw much of the same, but Worthing showed they wanted to battle back. Tensions rising, the Crows conceded 2, but they kept there heads and responded to the waning Worthing temperament. The game finished 5:3, with the team ecstatic to retaliate to the previous away fixture which ended in a loss. The goalscorers where Kate B x2, Amanda C, Alice W and Grace M.

Women's 2's:

Women's 2s played South Saxons 2s at home on Saturday. South Saxons started strong, putting the Crows on the back foot and managed to find there 1st goal past goalie Tilly S pretty quick. However the Crows found their way in the 2nd half, but it wasn't enough against South Saxons who took every opportunity and managed to capitalise by finding 3 more goals over the course of the game. Caroline C managed to score the 1st & only goal for the Crows, after a powerful shot from a short corner. Player of the match went to Tilly S, for her incredible goal keeping skills and for being a fantastic team player. Her talent shines through every game and we are incredibly lucky to have her as our goalie.

Women's 3's:

Women’s 3’s made the long journey to Littlehampton for a 3.30pm pushback on Saturday.  The team started well but Phoenix were soon on the attack. The defense worked well with Hazel blocking and clearing each and every time. The Player of the match was shared between mother and daughter pairing of Amelia and Jenny T, they were always there to stop Phoenix getting through. As Crowborough made a strong attack Phoenix turned over and their speedy forwards went 1 on 1 with the goalie.  Despite the defense working back after Jane F's initial save they scored on the rebound. A re group at half time saw Crowborough come out with intent. Midfield pairing of Charlie O and Clare K-B produced some superb hockey skills to keep the Crowborough attack, and soon the Crows got what they had patiently waited for. A great run from Jess I saw a quick ball into the 3’s leading goal scorer Bethany B's path, where she calmly stuck the ball into the net. The play continued to run end to end and Bethany came so close to getting a 2nd goal. A short corner at the end of play saw Crowborough facing the entire Phoenix team. Jess I was superb running one but again and again a foot was called. 4 short corners later the Crows cleared the D to finish the game in a 1:1 draw.

Women's 4's:

The Women's 4's continued their hunt for promotion on Saturday with a 4:1 win over their main competition Lewes Legends. Lead goalscorer Fiona V-H got 2 more goals this weekend alongside one each for Libby H and Flo F. Player of the match went to Isla P who man marked the oppositions best player out of the game preventing her from getting involved. Well done ladies!

Men's 1's:

Men's 1's travelled to play top of the league Worthing 2's on Saturday. Going into the game, Crowborough had a smaller team due to injuries and illness but were still ready for the challenge knowing that Worthing has been dominating every team they have come up against. Starting off the game, both teams got some early shots off but both keepers were able to keep their heads. Worthing was a well drilled and fast paced team which eventually got a deflection off of a Crowborough stick leading to Worthings 1st goal. This didn't stop Crowborough pushing on and looking for a goal themselves but Worthing where able to get a penalty flick which they were able to score putting worthing 2:0 up. Going into the 2nd half, both teams were still playing their best and with Crowborough only having one sub, they put their all into the game. Worthing scored their 3rd and final goal of the game with a drag flick almost being saved by Crowborough's defense. Crowborough hit the posts and almost got the ball over the line a few times but couldn't quite score any ending the game in a 3:0 defeat.

Men's 2's:

A reassembled 2's side saw the Crows play the promotion seeking Mid Sussex 3's. A goal within 12 seconds from the visitors stunned the home side. They won pushback which James L chased down off the bat, quickly the defender saw a challenge that meant the ball deflected of right into Ted F path, he jumped onto the ball and deftly played a pass back to James L who was on the edge of the D. A majestic 1st touch from James L saw him past the defender in the D and dispatched a sublime shot into the left hand side of the goal about waist height. From then on it became quickly a 1 sided game by the home side who went on the rampage in terms of goals. The 1st half finished 5:1 with emotions running high from both sides. The 2nd half saw the Crows start with vigour, passion and desire not to concede a cricket score. Throughout the 2nd half the team played with what makes our club so unique. A well taken chance starting with Captain Ian E who passed it to James L on the edge of the D who took a great touch to then pass to a full speed running Sam A who drove the ball down to the line and then cut back to see Ted F making a fantastic run into the D. A fine pass and majestic first touch by Ted F saw him turn himself around the keeper, put the keeper on the floor and then lift the ball on his reverse and flick it into the goal, it was an outstanding goal and the highlight of the 2nd half. The home team looked stunned and came back with vigour themselves. A slightly lucky short corner saw the home side score their only goal of the 2nd half meaning the game ended 6:2.

Men's 3's:

The Men’s 3’s hosted Lewes 6’s who the Crows were tied on points with on Saturday. The 3’s set out strongly, defending well and creating chances. The break through came from a powerful Matt B short corner strike which meant the opposition where on the back foot. However, Lewes soon replied with a thunder strike from the edge of the area. The 2nd half was very much end to end with chances plentiful for both teams, Keeper Mark F did a great job defending each attempt on goal as well as he could. A wonderful Will H strike across the D was diverted into the goal by an unfortunate Lewes defender seeing the Crows take the lead again. The lead didn’t last long as Lewes set to equalise once more very soon after showing how well matched these 2 teams were. Player of the match Matt B thought he had sealed the win for Crowborough with another well worked short corner goal but the visitors once again quickly replied. The game finished in a 3:3 draw, but was a great game played by 2 very even teams.

Girl's Development:

Girl's Development played Eastbourne in the last game of the day in freezing conditions on Saturday. The girls were strong from the start scoring within the 1st few minutes. They won the game 5:0 with goals from Lottie C x2, Matilda W x2 and Hannah B x1. The score could have been much higher but in the spirit of hockey the girl's lent the opposition adult facilitator Meg B so they had two adults on to make our girls work harder.

Boy's Development:

Boy's Development lost 5:0 on Saturday but played very well. The score line did not reflect how well the boys competed throughout the game.