Week 19 - Match Reports

WOMEN'S 1'S:

Women's 1s travelled to Hailsham wanting to build on the win from last week. With a changed side, Crowborough started strong, pressuring the Hailsham defence, only thwarted by their 2 solid centre backs. The team worked together and passed well round the back, switching play well. The reward for their hardwork came with the team pushing, our forwards linked well for Kate B to open the scoring with a precise finish!

The team didn't let up and a move out from the back saw Amanda C (Captain) switching the play with a long pass out to the Alice W on the left wing who played a beautifully weighted pass into the centre for Jess J to expertly finish. Crowborough weren't done for the half and more good passing play and some brilliant closing down saw Jess J grab her 2nd, the half finishing 3:0. The team came out for the 2nd half determined to score more but the game became fragmented. The team dug deep, with some excellent "body on the line (and floor)" defending by Kate I and some solid keeping from Sandra "you shall not pass" Hepple, with Millie R-G controlling things from the back alongside solid work by Hannah W, Charlotte R, Sharon M and Emma C, with Nikki C and her usual determination, playjng multiple positions, saw the defence hold, supported by some lovely chase down play by Grace M. Another amazing effort from Kate B deserved a goal, beating the keeper for Hailsham only to be saved by the crossbar! The team held out for a deserved 3:0 victory. Player of the match went to Alice W with Jess J a close 2nd. Big thanks also to Caroline and Bethy for running subs.

WOMEN'S 2'S:

Crowborough Women's 2's played East Grinstead Women's 4's away last Saturday. East Grinstaed have remained at the top of the league through out the season, but that didn’t stop the ladies today, it was a fantastic game and every single one of them gave 110%. With special mention to Caroline C, who had an incredible game and was awarded Player of the match. The 1st goal came from Jess I, who managed to smash a defection in past the goalie after a strike at goal from Poppy C. Going into the 2nd half 1:1, the ladies knew East Grinstead weren’t going settle and with only 2 subs, it was going was going to be a tough 35 minutes. The opposition soon found more goals, bringing the score 4:1. Until Jess I managed to break from the defender, run the length of the pitch, at speed! To a cracking j-run, enabling Charlie O to score the 2nd goal of the game. The final score was 5:2 to East Grinstead, but despite this all ladies came off the pitch smiling and praising one another for the awesome game they had just played.

MEN'S 1'S:

Crowborough men's 1's hosted St Francis 1's for a 1 sided match. Coming to the end of the season, Crowborough is working for promotion which was evident when playing St Francis. Starting the game, St Francis tried to get an early goal and put Crowborough on the back foot however with the Crows defence and goalie keeping their heads, they were able to hold St Francis off and gain control. Olly Y scored the first of Crowborough's goals and shortly followed by Freddie K from a short corner. Unrelenting, Sam C was able to creep the ball over the line with a scrappy goal off of the St Francis keeper and fianlly Olly Y securing the first half with the 4th goal of the first half. Going into the 2nd half, St Francis continued to work hard throughout the 2nd half regardless of the score and changed their play by playing aerials along the pitch to  put quick pressure on Crowborough. This lead to several short corners throughout the second half which relied on moving the ball around the keeper however with Mikey Orchard making each save and Harry H, Charlie R, Mike L, and Finn A all finding their passes to the midfield, lead to a fast turn around which proved to be dangerous for St Francis. St Fancis' goalie did everything he could and made some amazing saved however couldn't stop the relentless shots on goal which lead to Jake F scoring his first goal of the season, Olly Y also scoring his hatric of the game, and Freddie L making up for his initial shot being saved with an epic final goal scored leaving the final score being Crowborough  7:0 St Francis. Joint Player of the match went to Olly Y and Mikey O.

MEN'S 2'S:

Crowborough Men's 2's secured a decisive victory over Worthing Men's 5's in an action-packed encounter that saw 10 goals fly in. Crowborough started slowly and found themselves 2 down within the first 12 minutes but then responded strongly with Phil N pulled 1 back for the home side in the 22nd minute and this was the beginning of their comeback. Momentum swung firmly in Crowborough's favour towards the half-time mark when captain Ian E levelled the score and Alex S put the hosts in the lead before the break. The 2nd half began with Crowborough continuing their dominant form and James L extended the lead before Alex S added his 2nd. James L scored again pushing Crowborough's lead to 6:2 before Worthing managed to pull a goal back on the hour mark and it was left to Player of the match Alex S to complete his hat trick in the final minute to give Crowborough a fantastic and well deserved 7:3 victory.

MEN'S 3'S:

The Men’s 3’s traveled to Crawley 4’s for a 3pm pushback. With Crawley sitting just 1 point behind Crowborough, an away win seemed very much achievable. The 1st half saw the Crows camped in the opponents half, dominating every bit of play. However the visitors just couldn’t find a cutting pass to beat their keeper. 0:0 at the break and it just seemed a matter of time before Crowborough would find a goal. However it was Crawley that broke 1st from a Penalty Flick. An inspired Crawley side then managed to bag themselves a 2nd leaving Crowborough chasing the game. Finally a composed Jude F lifted the ball up into the net, beating their experienced keeper. Crawley 4’s 2:1 Crowborough 3’s.

GIRL'S DEVELOPMENT:

Girls development took on Lewes at home today in a sunny spectacular! The crows were on fire this week with some of the best hockey they have played all season. We took the in the early part of the 1st half with some cracking playing polished off with a goal from Libby H. Despite a number of attempts at goal Isla B was unbreakable and ensured everything was blocked!  A couple of cracking runs and finishes by Matilda W saw us Going in at half time 3:0 up and the team were on a high! The 2nd half started strong again with a variety of width and speed to the game and Matilda W getting her hattrick. Lewes stole a goal back in the 2nd half but that didn’t dampen the girls spirits and with about 5 minutes to go, Libby H scored another goal for girls to finish on a real high with a 5:1 victory over Lewes!!