Neston Beavers   1      -         1   Southport  16^th February 2008

Team playing – Sophie Bezant, Connor Boothroyd, Oliver George, Tyron Freeman, Alex Greenhalf, Nick Hall, Pete Harrison, Tom Markham, Tom McIver, Jack Mellor, Ben Pearson, Syd Roberts, Matt Rigby, Jack Hopper.

We looked forward to this game as we lost the away fixture 5-0. Right from the start of the first half Neston beavers took control and possession of the game. A strong and experienced backline of Pete, Tyron, Jack and Tom looked solid and made some great block tackles leaving Sophie little to do in the early stages of the game and passed upto the midfielders, Oli, Matt, Tom and Alex who made strides into the Southport half giving Syd and Connor chances to run at their defence. Good defending from Southport prevented us scoring from several penalty corners and then five minutes from the break, one of the few attacks from the visitors saw their striker slip through and behind the back four, ball passed through to him, one on one against Sophie and scored.

The second half started with Nick and Jack H coming on in as striker and in midfield, and Ben came on in defence.

We continued to keep possession, play to the wingers, the defenders looked strong and wary for their drifting players. Our strikers and central midfielders had several shooting chances only to be saved by a some good goalkeeping. After more short corners and shots from open play it felt like on a matter of time before we would equalise, which we did with Oliver George scoring of a shot from Syd that came back of their keeper. We had fifteen minutes or so left to get the winner, however we did not manage to score again and Southport attacked us several times in the closing minutes having some short corners but were also unable to score.

Goal scored by Oliver George.

Neston Beavers  1     -           1  Bowden    9^th February 2008

Team playing – Charles McCulloch, Nick Connolly, Ben Crane, Oliver George, Alex Greenhalf, Nick Hall, Pete Harrison ,  Johnny Lord, Tom Markham, Tom McIvor, Matt Rigby, Syd Roberts, Laura Hammond, Beth Thorne, Natasha Williamson

This was Neston Beavers first match on water based astro turf this season away to Bowden.

With just a few minutes to get used to the surface, the whole team soon got to grips with the extra pace and bounce of the ball extremely well. The first half was end to end with both teams having good spells of possession. Charles made some great saves, Pete, Tom, Nick and Beth protecting their goal and making great passes to the wide players in Johnny and Matt Rigby, with Alex and Nick Hall as centre midfielders, defending and attacking as required, giving opportunities to Ben and Syd to push up in the first half.

The Bowden keeper made some great saves from Ben attacking on balls played from all over the pitch for him and the first half ended with no goals being scored and was very even in all aspects and enjoyable to watch as the team showed so much effort.

The second half started like the first with the game being very even, with end to end play again with both teams having good spells but no team dominating. Tom joined the team in midfield, Oli played left mid, Tasha right mid and Laura as defender and all played vital roles when the came on. A goal from one team was coming as both teams pushed and Bowden scored first from a free hit outside the D that must have hit 3-4 stick before getting past Charlie with 10 minutes remaining. Great encouragement from the travelling parents from the sidelines and positive words from myself paid dividends, when Johnny played a pass through their defence to Ben who tucked the ball away past their keeper for the equaliser.

The game ended soon after and remained tense and end to end until the final whistle and a draw was seen as a fair score from both sides.

Scorer – Ben Crane.

Match report - Neston Beavers 9 V Chester 2 Home        5^th Jan 2008

 

Team as follows – Nick Connolly, Johnny Crick, Ashley Davis, Ollie Eastwood, Ollie George, Tyron Freeman, Alex Greenhalf, Nick Hall, Jess Lightfoot, Tom Markham, Tom McIvor, Charles McCulloch, Ben Pearson, Shaun Rowntree, Laura Hammond, Beth Thorne, Tasha Williamson. Will Robinson

 

Right from the pushback Neston played wide down both wings with great attacking play from both Laura and Shaun passing to both  Johnny and Ashley, we quickly went two up from open play one from Johnny and Ashley. Stout defending was required from our keeper Charlie with Nick C, Tyron, Tom and Ben able to clear the ball from the D from open play and short corners and set up our midfielders Alex and Nick H to keep the Chester midfield and defence busy. Chester scored a goal from open play however by half time we had scored another two goals giving us a great lead thru both a short corner and open play.

 

The second half saw our some subs come on to help the team, with Tom Markham and Jess Lightfoot both scoring from attacking open play with great help from both Ollie George and Ollie Eastwood in the midfield chasing down and making great passes to our wingers. Once again with great possession and attacking from wide positions Neston had the lions share of the half, however Chester still came at us and scored again despite the efforts of our defenders Beth and Will defending well from attacking spells, Three late goals from open play and a short corner from Neston made sure of our first victory this season and a great start to the New year.

Johnny Crick 5, Ashley Davis 2, Tom Markham 1 and Jess Lightfoot 1.

 

Neston Beavers 1 V Northern 1 Away –                              12.1.08

Ben Crane scorer

 

Neston Beavers 1 V Deeside Ramblers 2 Away                 19.01.08

Ben Crane scorer – game stopped early due to injury to keeper Charles McCulloch

 

Neston Beavers 2 V Oxton 6  Home                                    26.01.08

Ben Crane and Syd Roberts scorers

 

 

 

Neston Beavers  0-9 V Urmston  8 Dec 2007

It was a cold, windy, wet day at Stanney when we faced Urmston Beavers at home.

The first half started with immediate pressure from Urmston, however great defending from Nick, Jack, Beth and Natasha along with a keen midfield including Shaun, Nick, Alex and Oliver were able to track back and help to reduce the pressure. We had spells of our own pressure in their half with Johnny and Syd linking up well with the ball passed from the midfield team. Charlie in keeps also made some stops however we only lost two goals in the first half against a team with several very skilled players who were kept at bay by our efforts and commitment to tackle and clear the ball.

The second half we were playing against the increased cold wind and rain. We utilized all our subs, playing Ben and Will in defence, and Jack moved to the midfield. Once again the away team came attacking from the start and we lost several more goals quickly after the restart. We had a number of opportunities with some short corners and from open play, but with a strong defence and excellent keeper, Urmston were able to keep a clean sheet. Towards the end of the game there was a steady stream of goals for Urmston from well rehearsed short corners and tactical open play and keen attacking in the D and the final score was 0-9, kept at this by some great saves by our own keeper and determination from all players.

Thanks to the cold and wet parents giving support on the sidelines to the team and Andy again for umpiring.

This was our last game of 2007 and the team will have a well deserved break over Xmas. We will continue to coach you on Sunday’s in 2008 and hope that the New Year will see our squad really begin to bring the skills and experience they have had in future matches in 2008.

Hope you all have a great Xmas and New Year.

Team: Nick Connolly, Johnny Crick, Oliver George, Alex Greenhalf, Nick Hall, Charles McCulloch, Jack Mellor, Ben Pearson, Syd Roberts, Shaun Rowntree, William Robinson, Beth Thorne, Natasha Williamson.

Neston SW  1-7 Preston 1 Dec 2007

 

The team had traveled and arrived after the long journey to Preston with a late pushback time of 3.30 so it was just going dark at the start of the game.

The start of the game appeared to be quite evenly matched with all the players making good contributions whether in defence, midfield or up front and after 10 minutes we went ahead with a goal that started with a long pass to Syd from Alex, who then played Ben in the D to face the keeper and scored.

Preston then went on a charge and we lost 5 goals in the first half to a mixture of open play and short corners, suddenly Neston appeared to forget how to pass to each other, clear our lines and use the width of the pitch!

 

During the half time team talk the team were encouraged to lift their game and to start playing like I know they can,

1 keeping possession,

2 clear our lines

3 pass and move

4 make ourselves available

5 use the width for attacking.

These are skills we practice on Sunday training in our sessions

 

The second half was a different half altogether, we had great spells of possession all over the pitch from the defence passing to the midfield passing up to our stikers and had several short corners but were unable to convert due to their excellent defending and keeper skills of Preston. We also had great attacks from open play (Ben and Syd) utilizing the width, our midfielders (Tyron, Johnny, Tasha, Peter, Beth, Alex, Shaun), worked tirelessly up and down to support the defence and striker, our defence became dominant, (Nick, Tyron, Tom, Charlie GK, Laura, Beth)  guarding our lines and clearing giving away few free hits or short corners from the very experienced couple of players they had, one in particular had great speed and skills but was held many times by a determined defence.

We were breached twice late on in the second half from a short corner and one from open play. 

 

The team really showed their determination in that second half and demonstrated the skills to play really great hockey and I am sure they will recreate that in future matches.

All the parents and myself were extremely proud of all of you and we hope to get the win over Preston on the return at our home venue in Feb 2008.

Thanks to the parents support on such a long journey and to Andy for umpiring.

 

Team playing were – Nick Connolly, Ben Crane, Tyron Freeman, Alex Greenhalf, Pete Harrison, Johnny Lord, Tom McIvor, Charles McCullogh, Syd Roberts, Shaun Rowntree, Laura Hammond, Beth Thorne, Natasha Williamson.

Oxton 7-0 Neston SW 27 November 2007 

Team: Johnny Crick, Nick Hall, Johnny Lord, Tom McIvor, Charles McCulloch, Matt Rigby, Syd Roberts, Shaun Rowntree, Will Robinson, Laura Hammond, Ellie Newall, Beth Thorne and Natasha Williamson.

This was always going to be a tough match for us as we lost 6-0 at home in our first game of the season even though we have made massive improvements.

Oxton came out the blocks and with constant pressure in our D forced several short corners for us to defend and we quickly conceded two early goals. Despite this we had some good spells of possession but could not really trouble their keeper in the first half despite the efforts of our hardworking midfield and keen strikers.

The second half began with us under pressure and several more short corners and goals from open play meant we ended the game letting seven goals in total. Once again we had short spells of good possession but against this experienced team we did not manage to make the break through we deserved.

Well played to all of you, their score was not reflective of the overall game, and I am sure that with more possession and slicker passing we will make the difference in future games

Thanks again to parents for support and Andy for umpiring

Pete

Alderley Edge 5 – 5 Neston Beavers – 10^th November 07

This was our best game of the season so far, not only because we drew with Alderley, but we also scored five goals and it was clear that the Sunday morning training and coaching was playing its part in how the team are now playing.

We conceded two early goals in the first half but we look menacing when we broke into their half and scored two fine goals, one from Johnny C and one from Ben. All over the pitch we looked strong. In defence clearing our lines, and with Charlie making some vital saves also. We has good spells and began to keep possession of the ball with great passing moves and quick thinking giving us those opportunities in their D for our strikers from the midfield players.

The second half was a roller coaster ride with Neston taking a two goal lead from Pete H and Ben, they then came back with a goal, making it 3-4 then Syd scored our fifth. At this stage I thought we were on for our first win, but Alderley players pressed and scored two more goals to draw level from short corners. This half was very evenly matched with both teams attacking and defending well.

When the final whistle blew a draw was deemed to be a fair result by both managers who agreed along with the parents to have witnessed a very enjoyable and entertaining match.

Well done to all our defenders, Nick, both Tom’s, Jack, Will, Tyron who tackled bravely and to Charlie for some fine stops. Our midfielders ran and ran throughout closing down their midfield, well played to Syd, Johnny, Matt, Shaun and Pete H who scored his first goal for Beavers today in a competitive match. Thanks to Johnny C who played as striker but came deep to receive the ball and Ben for working hard chasing up front.

Thanks again for fantastic support from the traveling parents and Andy for umpiring.

Thanks must be given to the Sunday morning coaches who pass on their experience and expertise in a manner the kids understand and then bring and demonstrate in the matches.

Team: Nick Connolly, Ben Crane, Johnny Crick, Tyron Freeman, Pete Harrison, Johnny Lord, Tom Markham, Tom McIver, Charles McCulloch, Jack Mellor, Matt Rigby, Syd Roberts, Shaun Rowntree, Will Robinson,

Neston Beavers 1 Chester 5 20 Oct 2007

The Neston team traveled the short distance down the A41 to Chester on a pleasant sunny afternoon knowing that the improvements being made to skills and the experience from previous games would stand us in good stead for this fixture.

From the start the game was fairly even, with our defense of Tom, Nick, Tyron and Ben working hard and defending against some Chester attacks. Our keeper for the first half was Charles making some good important stops also. Our midfield of Johnny, Alex Syd  and Matt made some great runs and passes to our strikers Megan and Johnny C who had some possession in the Chester D running at the Chester defence.

At half time we were one all after Johnny C scored a goal from a good spell of attacking hockey from Neston after Chester had scored first. The half time team talk was optimistic, as we all believed we could go on and win.

All the subs were used so Sophie played the second half in goal, Charles then came out of goal to play in midfield, Matt Labdon and Tom Markham played in the midfield to give a breather to a some hard working midfield players. The new midfielders continue to chase the ball and press up the field in the second half.

Chester then started to really pressurize us and scored several goals in the second half to win through both open play and short corners, the eventual score 1-5 despite defending several short corners and strong block tackles. Neston had some opportunities in the second half with good spells in the Chester half but their goalie managed to stop any more goals for our strikers despite short corners and further pressure on their goal.

This was a really exciting game for the traveling parents to watch and the team really gelled well together all starting to play well in their role on the pitch.

Well done to you all, making great progress and I am sure that the return will be close.

Thanks again to Andy for umpiring and the traveling parents for their support.

Team: Megan Coppack, Sophie Bezant, Nick Connoly, Johnny Crick, Tyron Freeman, Alex Greenhalf, Matt Labdon, Johnny Lord, Tom Markham, Tom McIver, Charles McCulloch, Jack Mellor, Ben Pearson, Matt Rigby, Syd Roberts, Shaun Rowntree