Seconds crush opposition despite slow start to game

Winnington Park 4ths 1

The Mens seconds welcomed Winnington Park to SJT for their rearranged match on Sunday morning.

Results the previous day and with Winnington only being able to field nine players, there was an opportunity for the Reds to jump up to third in the table with a big win.

The early stages of the game were a bit disappointing for the home side.

A combination of Whitchurch’s over-eagerness and Winnington’s experience and ball retention skills meant the Reds struggled to make any real impact going forward, although Winnington themselves were unable to make much progress up the pitch because of the excellent covering at the back by Pip Jones, Gareth Teggin and Wyn Morris.

When Whitchurch did have the ball, they constantly ran themselves into trouble or played poor passes to give the ball away.

Despite not playing well, Whitchurch did open the scoring through Euan Morris but, out of the blue, Winnington responded immediately by forcing several short corners and equalising with a flick past keeper Neil Jones.

The equalising goal stunned Whitchurch out of their complacency and the team started to press with more aggression and string together some sharper and more incisive passes.

The home team restored their lead as Morris fired home a well worked short corner and as the team became more confident in their own game, the chances started to flow.

With Doug Buckeridge stepping forward from defence to join Richard Leigh in midfield, Winnington were struggling to get out of their own half.

Alex Leigh and Will Snaith were pushing high on the flanks to support the wingers and prevent Winnington making any progress up the pitch.

Joe Faithfull and Ethan Gresty were a constant threat on the right and Jacob Buckeridge and Owen Pearce were driving forward at every opportunity on the left.

Joe Coburn added a fantastic third goal when he smashed a shot from the edge of the dee into the top corner.

Morris finished off his hat-trick and Snaith and Owen Pearce combined well down the left, with Pearce scoring the goal at the second attempt.

But the best goal of the half was finished off by Luke Beddow as a sweeping move through the middle of the pitch, involving four players, had Winnington chasing shadows.

Although 6-1 up at half-time, the Whitchurch players were reminded about complacency and the need to exploit their numerical advantage, but, as with the start of the first half, the team were sluggish out of the blocks and struggled to move the ball quickly or accurately enough to make any inroads into a disciplined Winnington defence.

The away side were struggling to fully clear their lines and the ball kept coming back at them and as Whitchurch grew into the half their passing became more accurate and more incisive and chances started to come.

With the Winnington players working incredibly hard, legs started to tire, and the Reds exploited their numerical advantage ruthlessly.

Euan Morris added another goal to his tally, as did Joe Coburn, and Will Snaith scored his first senior goal with a lovely strike from the edge of the dee.

Jacob Buckeridge sneaked the ball past the Winnington keeper on the reverse and Luke Beddow added the final goal of the game.

In among the avalanche of goals, Airan Jones, Joe Coburn and Alex Leigh were all a little unfortunate to have goals ruled out.

The 11-1 win was thoroughly deserved, with the home side harshly exploiting Winnington’s lack of players.

Euan Morris continued his amazing goal scoring run and Joe Coburn got his rewards for an amazing season and scored one of the goals of the campaign.

Apart from one aberration, the defence was faultless and keeper Neil Jones was largely unemployed during this game.

The whole team, once again, demonstrated some wonderful hockey as they attacked in numbers and with real menace.

Some of the interplay was a joy to behold, with everyone contributing during their time on the pitch.

The seconds have now moved into third place in the table, ahead of Oxton on goal difference.

With their final match of the season at home to bottom of the table Runcorn on Saturday, the team have a real opportunity to finish the season in third – that would be an exceptional achievement for the side.