Lymm Hockey Club > Teams Report > Men's Second Team

Men's Second Team Match Reports

DATE	SCORE	REPORT
31st Oct 2009	Bowdon VII 1 vs Lymm II 6	Lymm 2nd team returned to winning ways with an excellent away victory, keeping their promotion hopes alive. The goals were spread amongst the team with Richard Cook, Matt Shallcross, Si Wee, James Gibbons, Chris Ashcroft  finding the net and Mike Jones, normally the team keeper, playing outfield and converting a penalty stroke.
6th September	Lost 4-1 Knutsford 2	On paper, playing a team a division above our first team, this should of been a rugby score.  However, if anything the scoreline flattered Knutsford.  It was a very competitive game with only fitness making the difference in the scoreline in the last 20 minutes. What Lymm lacked in fitness and speed, we again certainly made up for in determination.  Determination is a word used a lot to describe Lymm.  This was yet another perfomance of pure determination. Every man on the pitch put 100% into their perfomance.  The defence was composed and structured with Chris Hunt and Jim Davey keeping the formation under control.  Going forward Dave Phillips, Hoppy and Rick Chung all provided valuable outlets and drove the ball forward into Knutsfords defence time and time again.  Surprise player of the day was Christian Freeman, with his first ever game of hockey he didnt look out of place and at one point put himself in a position to be one on one with Knutsford keeper to make the score 2-1 Lymm. However it was a good save rather than poor shot that saved Knutsford. It was overall a very good competitive game to watch, and something that will surely bode well when playing Division 9 teams in the league as opposed to this Div 5 opposition.
18th Oct. 2008	2-2 V Triton 3's	A cool Saturday morning at the Padgate complex spelled the meeting of currently 3rd placed Triton and joint 1st place, yet leading on goal difference Lymm 2s. The game was always going to be a tense and awkward affair. And the opening 20 minutes proved just that. Stray passes, erratic tackling and a general lack of structure were attributes of the Lymm side. The deadlock was broken by a series of slick passes resulting in a goal from George Allman. After the goal, Lymm began to settle and the ball was passed a little more fluently. The Triton side progressively became more and more aggravated and began to feel the pressure. They gradually lost their structure and started to lose concentration. Harsh stick tackles and 'accidental on purpose' fouls were constantly stopping the Lymm side from moving up the pitch. Some great individual skills and running from the experienced John Sodhi were the key to Lymm's attacks on the the Triton defence. The Lymm defence held tight and managed to hold the angry, goal hungry Triton side off for half time. Captain Jim Davy diagnosed the lack of structure and the lack of midfield existence. However the team were infact 1-0 up so it wasn't all bad news. As the second half began, Triton burst out of the blocks after their push back and made a frantic attempt to break the first line of defence, which was unsuccessful. After this burst, the Lymm forwards returned one of their own breaking into the oppositions 25. This instantly forced the Triton side back to their frantic and desperate style of hockey mirrored from the 1st half. The strong challenges continued from the physical Triton side, yet Lymm kept to their sophisticated style of hockey resulting in a string of breaks from the forwards. Several short corners followed with no goals. A lack of experience and a fast line of defence breaking from the Triton goal line made it tough. A flick from George Allman was denied for being outside the D much to Triton's relief. A mid second half goal from Rick Chung was then added to Lymm's tally, a sense of complacency crept into the Lymm side, and then, typically; a goal from Triton. This lifted the Triton sides morale and caused them to erupt into a new side. They seemed to concentrate and pass the ball with more certainty. A lack of fitness from the Lymm side caused them to concede yet another light goal. Making the score 2-2. a result not deserved by the Lymm side. Full time was signalled and the Lymm side felt gutted to say the least. The two goal lead was wasted by complacency which the Triton side capitalised upon. However, reflecting on the game, Lymm throughout most of the match were strong at the back and looked dangerous on the attack. Richard Armishaw yet again put in a tremendous amount of work and was a huge impact in the break away attacks of the Lymm side. Both Lymm umpires also put in a good performance with little infringements missed. Even when the Triton side became aggressive they regained contol and allowed the game to continue swiftly. Scorers: George Allman OP, Rick Chung OP
25th Oct	won 4-0 Deeside 7s	Todays game at Padgate saw Lymm 2s with a tougher opponent than last week. Crewe were top 4 before todays game and looked more of a challenge to Lymm. Lymm were so confident they decided to start with 9 players on the pitch, Due to certain players not seeming to know what time push back was.   With Players missing due to unavailability or promotion to the firsts, this was a different team to last week.   This didn’t affect Lymm as we soon combined and absorbed the pressure put on by Crewe for 5-10 minutes. That’s when Mike Chung broke through from the right, rounded the keeper with ease and reverse flicked it back across the goal into the far right corner. Talk about showing off but good goal though!!! Then as the half progressed Crewe looked more and more dangerous and threatened the goal  numerous times, with saves from Mike Jones and some crafty defending, stopping the scoring. Then some shakey umpiring from Hawthorne led to 3 consecutive short corners for Crewe which were cleared by the defence.   Half time, good positive comments made, allthough no golden nuggets from Jim this week, Lymm were set a target by keeper Mike Jones of 3 goals in the 2nd to kill the game.   As the second started with a full 11 players, Army looked to turn up the heat on Crewe with an early goal. Army picked up the ball in the D from Pete, turned and shot, 2-0. Army then turned provider, he rounded the defender on the left and put it on a plate at the back post for Hoppy who put himself into the net with the ball, just to make sure! 3-0. Then after 5 minutes of continued pressure from Lymm, ‘Shaky’ umpire Hawthorne gave a short corner for a foot in the D. Hoppy pushers to Army, 1 touch and………..4-0. Crewe then decided enough is enough and tried to turn the game with numerous counter attacks on the Lymm goal. But the continued pressure high up the pitch from Crewe meant they were left short at the back and Lymm exposed this for the last goal of the game. Down the left by Jim to Pete, Pete to Army on the 25, Army to John on the base line, John back to army on the spot, bottom left, 5-0, thank you Crewe.   An altogether better performance than last week, with Crewe being tougher opponents. Who says you cant improve on perfection?   Colwyn bay next week who will be the biggest test yet for the 2s. This game needs to be won ………………..
1st Nov 08	Won 5-0 V Crewe	Todays game at Padgate saw Lymm 2s with a tougher opponent than last week. Crewe were top 4 before todays game and looked more of a challenge to Lymm. Lymm were so confident they decided to start with 9 players on the pitch, Due to certain players not seeming to know what time push back was.   With Players missing due to unavailability or promotion to the firsts, this was a different team to last week.   This didn’t affect Lymm as we soon combined and absorbed the pressure put on by Crewe for 5-10 minutes. That’s when Mike Chung broke through from the right, rounded the keeper with ease and reverse flicked it back across the goal into the far right corner. Talk about showing off but good goal though!!! Then as the half progressed Crewe looked more and more dangerous and threatened the goal  numerous times, with saves from Mike Jones and some crafty defending, stopping the scoring. Then some shakey umpiring from Hawthorne led to 3 consecutive short corners for Crewe which were cleared by the defence.   Half time, good positive comments made, allthough no golden nuggets from Jim this week, Lymm were set a target by keeper Mike Jones of 3 goals in the 2nd to kill the game.   As the second started with a full 11 players, Army looked to turn up the heat on Crewe with an early goal. Army picked up the ball in the D from Pete, turned and shot, 2-0. Army then turned provider, he rounded the defender on the left and put it on a plate at the back post for Hoppy who put himself into the net with the ball, just to make sure! 3-0. Then after 5 minutes of continued pressure from Lymm, ‘Shaky’ umpire Hawthorne gave a short corner for a foot in the D. Hoppy pushers to Army, 1 touch and………..4-0. Crewe then decided enough is enough and tried to turn the game with numerous counter attacks on the Lymm goal. But the continued pressure high up the pitch from Crewe meant they were left short at the back and Lymm exposed this for the last goal of the game. Down the left by Jim to Pete, Pete to Army on the 25, Army to John on the base line, John back to army on the spot, bottom left, 5-0, thank you Crewe.   An altogether better performance than last week, with Crewe being tougher opponents. Who says you cant improve on perfection?   Colwyn bay next week who will be the biggest test yet for the 2s. This game needs to be won ………………..
17th Jan 09	Lymm Won 3-1	Lymm 2’s started the game against 9 men sale, with an early goal from a penalty corner. Cookie hit an absolute laser beam into the bottom right, keeper- no chance. 1-0. Almost from the restart, sale hit a long hard ball straight through the middle of the park to their waiting striker, who deliberately put it onto  Aidens shin to get a penalty corner. Corner pushed out, strike from the top, J.K. almost in slow motion gets the deftest of touches with his reverse stick to ensure the ball bounced over my foot and into the goal. 1-1.   Sale then retreated into their half of the pitch for the remainder of the half. With countless attempts on the Sale D they simply smashed the ball away down the pitch or off to the sidelines. A very lack lustre performance in the first half from lymm it has to be said. Some just tried to run through and  were tackled, others just stood watching.   Halftime.   Jim was incensed and was not happy during his half time team talk. His rollocking, even Sale could hear at the other end of the pitch. There was talk of ‘pulling off’ and giving them every inch of width we had. Stretching and exploiting gaps were also mentioned. (If you have no idea what im talking about, please continue living a simple life.) Ha!!   Second Half   In no time at all Lymm are back to their very best, clean crisp passing, pulling Sale all over the place, right to left, up and down, fast and slow, it was nice to watch. All this good play produced Mike Chungs first goal in 7 games. With Sales defence all over the place and the wingers using every inch of width at their disposal the ball was played in to Mike around the spot, who took one touch, turned and slapped the ball over the keeper into the far side netting. 2-0.   Sale’s tactic then was ‘as soon as we get the ball we make JK and Aiden run to get the ball for a lymm 16.’ every time sale got the ball, it was hit through everyone and out over the back line. I think JK and Aiden got more exercise than 3 weeks of training in one half. They just cleared their lines, until we got bored of that and Army decided to score.   We picked the ball up around our 25, and spread the balls all over the park, completely tore Sale a new one. Army’s goal was quite similar to Mikes, the build up was great as was the movement and link play. Ball comes to Army, right side of the goal about 6ft from the line, 3-1. Thank you very much, and good night. All in all a better performance second half, you could tell it was the first game back though!!!!   We are now top of Div 9 south, Colwyn Bay have been deducted 6 points and we are ahead of them by 1 point, which means we can afford to lose any more games this season. Now although they have a game in hand, they could slip up and we could win the league.   Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!!
31st Jan 2009	Won 6-0 V Runcorn	Today Lymm 2s turned up at the Heath, to take on Runcorn 3s. They arrived to a biting Easterly wind. Although temps were above freezing on the pitch the wind chill could be felt by all. Feeling like -3C, Lymm started the game slowly, good movement around the back by Aiden, Cookie and Bradders, but Lymm struggled to make an impact against 9 men Runcorn, who all game had no keeper!!!!!   After numerous breaks by Davy and Ellison down the left finishing was lacking, time after time the ball was put on a plate for the forwards but they kept missing an open goal!!! (maybe some finishing practice at training methinks) The half progressed like this until near half time when Jim scored. The ball was played in to Jim who put it into the goal. Nothing spectacular, he showed us all how easy it was to score in an open goal!!!!   Half time. Jim and army swapped umpiring duties for the second half, so without Jims legendary team talk, each player lacked focus during the team talk, laughing and talking amongst themselves. Something which needs to be addressed!!!!!   Second half.   Lymm woke up and started scoring, with a break down the left after some good interplay from the defence and midfield, Chris Cross put the ball across the D, To Chungy who sells the defender on E-bay, step’s over the ball and leaves it for George on the far side of the D who calmly puts it in unmarked. 2-0.   After 5 minutes of aggressive hockey and some ‘dodgy’ tackles, the umpires had some stern words for both sides. When we re-started the ball broke down the right to Si Ellison who played a one, two, with Chungy, received the ball on the top right side of the D and with the best miss hit/bobble of the season managed to loop the ball over 3 Runcorn defenders and into the top corner. 3-0.   After numerous passes Lymm got up to speed again, threatening the Runcorn goal time and time again, which led to a Lymm short corner. Si Ellison’s push bobbled and was not going to reach the edge of the D, so Army rushes to claim the ball, brings it out and back in to slap it into the goal for 4-0.   Si Ellison scored the next goal but no one after the game could remember how!!!!!! So 5-0 Yay!!!!   After the re-start, some aggressive tackles were flying in from Runcorn and Chris Cross decided  that he felt left out and threw one of his own in. The umpire called him over and almost immediately Chris started complaining. The umpire was trying to tell chris to just calm down and watch his tackles, but Chris  continued complaining and the umpire blew his whistle again and said ‘’When I asked you to come over here it wasn’t so you could talk to me!!!’’ Which is fair enough!! So a green card was issued and that was that……… or so we thought! Chris was still complaining and said something as he walked away,so the umpire had no choice but to send him off with a yellow card. ‘How to talk yourself off a hockey pitch’ by Chris Cross will be available in all good bookshops  at the end of February.   So after that, I shouted to Chungy to stand in their D and wait because they were defending on the 25. Not a minute passed and the ball was hit through Runcorns defence from our half to rick who deflected the ball into the goal. 6-0.   Runcorn didn’t give us much trouble all game, but we made it hard for ourselves again, to grind out the win. Colwyn bay have drawn their game today. Had we of beaten Brooklands last week we would be 4 points clear of them, but as it stands they have a game in hand and we are 1 point ahead. We can only now win every game and hope they slip up.
21st Feb 09	Won 3-0 V Wilmslow	Today Lymm faced a tough opponent, 4th in the league Wilmslow were visitors to the Warrington/Chester/Padgate campus  with high ish spirits about the game ahead. The Game started with Lymm in control moving the ball around crisply, dominating the possession for a good 20 minutes without success, due to a shaky bit of umpiring from the Wilmslow official, meant an early goal being disallowed for Mr Fashion AKA: Si Ellison. For what ever reason, we will never know why it was, it just was! After numerous attempts in the closing seconds of the first half Lymm managed a break through goal from George who calmly tapped it in from 2 foot after some scrappy play in the D, where numerous short corners may have been called if the Wilmslow umpire knew what he was doing. But he didn’t so 1-0 to the boys!! A well defended first half from the back 5 (myself included in that 5 BTW!!!)   Half time team talk was a quite subdued one with no one really taking the lead just every one talking, with no god-like quotes from Jim this week, we just felt in control of the game and the only thing to give us the edge second half would be playing to the whistle and not shouting at the umpire that there was a blatant foul, with arms in the air and crying from grown men thrown it too!!!   So as the second half began, Lymm took control from the off, Spartan-like defence, a vigilant midfield and the forwards full of running. It wasn’t long before jim pops up to score goal numero dos on the spot. Then after 5-10 minutes of attacking play  the ball breaks for Wilmslow down the right which is dealt with by Cookie, Aiden and Becks, immediately switched right to JK and on up the wing to George who plays some 1 touch hockey with Mr Fashion in the right channel, Jim meanwhile is screaming Back D!!! Back D!!! as he is passing the 25 yard line  George hears this and without looking delivers a near super sonic ball on a plate to the back D…………….Jim at this point is top D……maybe a few years ago Jim…………HA HA HA.   All that said Hoppy scored the 3rd with a great finish from the right side of the D, to effectively kill the game with 7 minutes to go. The Wilmslow umpire gave a few short corners against us but we were defending with no way in. Then comes the final whistle……………….   The title race is now open for Lymm 2nd team, as ive just found out that Colwyn bay, our closest rivals have lost their fixture today. So with Lymm 4 points clear and the bay having only a game in hand, no more points can be dropped. We have a re-arranged game after the season has finished V Deeside which will be an interesting game to say the least. But it is the up coming game this Saturday against Triton which will determine weather we have what it takes to stay the course and win our league this season, Nothing but total annihilation of triton  will do, we must beat them on their home pitch, in their back yard.   We can and will beat them.   Thanks for reading
28th Feb. 09	Drew 2-2 V Triton	On a warm, late February afternoon, Lymm 2s arrived at triton carrying the knowledge that this was a must win game and it could win them the league if Colwyn Bay loose.   Spirits were high prior to push back, with the strategy laid down by Jim in the minutes before the start, this looked to be an epic game.   From the off Triton took control of the game, dominating the midfield and forcing Lymm to play in their own half. This continued pressure started to un-ease the defence and mistake after mistake crept in, with some excellent saves from Mike Jones keeping the game at 0-0. One such mistake led to a short corner being given to Triton. Once taken, the shot was drilled to the keepers left and taking a deflection of his leg guards raised the ball into the path of the striker who deflected it goal wards. Luckily Cookie monster was on the line to clear the ball and did so to the sideline. Triton ball……….or so we thought. The Umpire had signalled a penalty stroke for a foot on the line.   Player steps up and flicks the ball straight down the middle, not a great goal but a goal none the less. (I actually felt robbed by that, he could of at least tried to beat me properly!!!!!) The game restarts, Lymm had the wake up call they needed, albeit 1-0 down. After a brace of missed short corners, Triton clear their lines and Lymm pick the ball up in defence. The ball played around the back to the right wing where George played a great pass to Hoppy who beats 2 into the D, shapes to cross which moves the keeper from his near post, he flicks the ball at the keepers leg guard which hit’s the post and  goes in 1-1!!! This goal was a game breaker, the continued Triton pressure had paid off for them with the penalty stroke, but it was the speed and timing of the Lymm goal which put Triton on the back foot. Lymm wasted no time in scoring a second with Mr Fashion selling 2 Triton players on E-bay down the left with pace and power reverse hit’s a cross to Chungy who deflects the ball across his body into the far right corner, the Triton defence stood like statues. 2-1!! The end of the half came just at the wrong time as we looked to continue the scoring .   Half time, Jim’s well thought team talk had us all ready for the second with good positive comments from all, we looked to continue the scoring .   Second half Lymm looked in control for the first 5-6 minutes with chances for Mr Fashion and george going wide. Then our missed chances came back to haunt us as a series of mistakes and unfortunate umpiring decisions from the Triton umpire, led to a free hit being awarded just outside the D. Their striker stood marked, about 1 yard behind the spot with 3 Lymm players in front of him, Ball is leathered into the D, straight onto his stick which deflects into the roof of the net. How we can let the ball go past 3 of our sticks in a straight line, also the markers stick, to an attackers stick is beyond me!!! 2-2   With some shaky defensive hitting giving the ball away, Lymm put themselves under the kosh time and time again, with fine saves from Mike again stopping Triton. Cookie was the only one to put his stick through the ball and get it away every time it needed to be. Rick Chung’s chance was the only clear cut opportunity after a dodgy 15 minutes. George plays a 1-2 with Mr Fashion on the right wing and puts the ball across the top of the D to Rick who is unmarked but with defenders bearing down on him, creams the ball goal wards at a spralling keeper, but misses the top right corner by 5 or so inches. Oh how that would of changed things for us, but it was not to be.   The final whistle.   Todays game was like the type of game you want to be playing every week. End to end and high paced, it was truly a great game. We are still promoted into Div 8 and are still 2 points clear of colwyn bay, but as they have a game in hand it now looks as if they will be champions if they win all of their remaining fixtuers. It is paramount that we continue to play our best for the remaining 4 games and continue to show the other clubs how good this club is becoming. See you next week. Thanks for reading.
7th March 09	Won 4-1 V Deeside	On a mild yet overcast Saturday afternoon, Lymm 2s were at home to Deeside 7s at Padgate. Spirits were high and a great game was to follow, although Lymm had a slightly changed team from last week due to unavailability that wasn’t going to stop them.   From the off Lymm took control of the game with a dominating performance seeing Deeside penned into their own half for 25 minutes, with chance after chance being dealt with by the Deeside keeper, producing some fine saves and keeping the scoreline 0-0. Lymm failed to capitalise on 5 short corners in that time, something that needs attention I feel!!   Then  after some great play in the right channel the ball was put into the Deeside D and after a melee of chopping and stick tackles the ball pops out to army on the back post who just about puts the ball in after it span up his stick. 1-0. After Lymm had opened the scoring a combination of  mistakes and contentment from the midfield saw Deeside gradually start to creep back into the game for the last 10 minutes of the half. With keeper Mike Jones producing yet again some clean saves and clearances from the Deeside attack.   Halftime. It was pointed out that we needed to put our chances away and that how important this game was. Some good communication from all, and Jim slipping in a peach of a comment, set the tone for the second half.   From the restart Lymm looked to keep the ball again and pushed higher and higher up the pitch, this proved a great move as Ollie stepped up to score his first of three for the afternoon with a slap to beat the diving Deeside keeper. 2-0 With Lymm pressing high meant that there was a big gap between defence and keeper and this was exploited by Deeside when a free hit was awarded to them on their own 25 and a rocket was hit through the middle of the park to the striker for a 1 on 1 with Mike………… Mike waited and waited, baiting the trap for the striker and not committing himself until the last moment, when he came out and produced a fine save with his right hand pad. Then after some more Mistakes by Lymm, Deeside were awarded with a succession of penalty corners with some good defensive clearances from the boys at the back, also Mike getting his toe to a stonking shot which he deflected up and wide and just missing his left backs face, grazing the side of his head. Some looks of relief between the two followed!!!! Then after a great move on the left, the ball was switched right and back into the left side of the D for Ollie to slap the second of his three into the goal. 3-0 Deeside took control from the restart and managed to push Lymm back and another succession of short corners for Deeside were given. On last of the 3 corners the ball was switched to the right and back across  the spot for a well taken deflection past Mike and Bradders into the goal. 3-1. As the game wore on it became like the Triton game last week. End to end with a ruck o’ chances  being wasted by both sides. Ollie then decided to make his hat-trick complete by popping up on the left side of the D again and scoring an identical goal to his last one. 4-1.   Final whistle.   Todays game was another step towards promotion, Brooklands lost so we are promoted to Div 8, but fixtures live isn’t working at the mo so im unsure if  Colwyn Bay won, drew or lost. Next week see’s us at south Cheshire…….. Should be an interesting game!!!   Thanks for reading.
14th March 09	Won 6-1 V South Cheshire	How can I begin to describe this game?   Lymm were looking to continue their 8 game unbeaten run with another win against a South Cheshire team who have been poor on the road but better at home, so with that, Caution was needed.   The game started with all the possession going Lymm’s way, but again chance after chance being presented to the strikers and again we try to do to much in the D. We tried to score perfect goals, with fancy dribbling and p*ss taking, when really all we needed to do is put our stick through the ball every time we got into the D. The half progressed with chances becoming less and less due to the experience of the defenders and certain individuals trying to take the whole team on by themselves, with South Cheshire starting to creep back into the game with sporadic breaks down the wings, that eventually led to them scoring the opening goal. After the Lymm defence had failed to clear the ball, it was bounced around the D and with a weak shot being deflected off 2 sticks into the goal.1-0. After that, well……..we carried on playing individual hockey, no talking to each other, no accurate passing, no team work. Gibbo being the only one who kept us in the game all half and my man of the match.   Half time. Mike Jones and Gibbo had a reality check for everyone at half time. The outcome of which was to stop going onto the reverse side for shots all the time and as soon as were in the D…..SHOOT!!!!!! Work the keeper, do something!!!! No Jim this week so discipline was lacking.   Second half. With the half time wake up call, Lymm took control with an early goal. Rick aerial’s the ball over the defence and Mike picks it up far side of the D, shoots at the keeper who gives up a rebound straight to Pete who pushes the ball in.1-1 It seem’s playing simple hockey is easy!!!! With the wind in their sails, Lymm started playing the hockey that has put them top of the league this season, great passing, TEAM effort, moving for each other. This led to Rick scoring the second with a good shot. 2-1 After the restart Lymm looked to continue the scoring with a good move down the left from Army, Gibbo and Mr Fashion, the ball pinged around and ended up on the right where again the ball was shot at the keeper and again there was a rebound which was put in by Army at the back post. 3-1 Gibbo, having an even better half than the first, was moving the ball round the midfield and putting in some great tackles, which led to a free hit being awarded just outside South Cheshire’s D. Pete hit’s the ball at pace into Rick who deflects the ball into the top corner. A great goal. 4-1 After a minor attack by the opposition, the ball is put through the middle and after a melee of scrappy play, Army collects another rebound from the goalie and makes it 5-1         Then with 3 minutes to go and some great play, the ball comes to Rick on the spot who slaps it into the goal to cap off his hat trick.6-1   Final whistle   Lymm’s  first half attitude was poor, showing a lack of respect and thinking we were better than them, nearly cost us in the race for the Championship. Had we of been playing better opposition we may have lost the game.   The second half performance is how we need to finish the season, playing great hockey and dominating games. Colwyn bay drew their game today meaning we are 4 points clear at the top. We must find it in ourselves to put the work in for each other, to play as a team and to not let mistakes creep in through sloppy play for our last 2 games.   Thank you for reading.
21st March 09	Drew 0-0 V Northop Hall	As the season draw’s to a close, the games become more and more intense as clubs try their best to win and sometimes try a little too hard to put the ball in the goal. This was the case for today’s game at padgate, with Lymm 2s ahead of Colwyn Bay by 4 points after their draw last week, heard a rumour that they tried to bring on 2 players from higher teams in the second half who were not on the team sheet. Fortunately for them, Runcorn have not taken this up with the league as they would AGAIN be deducted points for fielding ineligible players. But sometimes the sun does not always shine on the righteous!   So all that said, Lymm 2s started the game with a dominating performance and again some over confidence crept in and we tried to do too much, with the Northop Hall defence clearing every attack and every ball into the D unfortunately went to there sticks not ours.   After 15 minutes a succession of short corners were awarded for Lymm and failure to switch the ball as the 1st runner kept getting to the hitter every time meant that they were ineffective. After the 5th corner, a ball was hit goal wards which looped up in the air and hit’s a foot on the line, where Alison had no choice but to give a flick. Rick steps up to take the ball and places it on the spot. A brave move? The ball didn’t even go in the football goal behind the hockey goal as it continued its journey to the sideline. After that miss I could tell it wasn’t going to be our day and after working so hard all season to get in front of  Colwyn bay we were falling at the final hurdle. After that we did play some good hockey but lack of width meant that we were down the middle all the time, which the Northop defence read and adjusted accordingly.   Half time. More width was needed and quicker ball speed around the park was the plan for the second half.   Second half The final 35 minutes were as the first but with more width and faster passing down the channels. Lymm tried and tried to put the ball in the net but, it was not meant to be. Lymm’s keeper was called upon in the second and produced some fine saves and showed good awareness in reading the play.   Final whistle Today’s game in summation, was like last week’s first half performance, to many turnovers of possession in key area’s, taking on the defence on their strong side and trying to score with fancy finishing. If we cant do the basics in a game, how can we even contemplate scoring fancy goals? We had a multitude of attempts on goal but finishing was lacking. If this report is a tad negative, I do apologise but goalkeepers get the best view of the game and this is what I saw. Again the title is in the hands of another team. We can only WIN our next game and hope they loose.   Thanks for reading.
28th March 09	Won 5-1	Lymm 2s opponents for today’s game were Deeside 6s. The pressure was off and an air of calm focus settled  over the team, this was to prove vital. Now although we knew before today’s game we were promoted, we didn’t count on Colwyn Bay throwing in the towel on 21 games. They have been sneaking players onto the pitch all season long and  it seems a tad ironic they could not fulfil two fixtures over the weekend, as all games had to be completed by the 29th which is Sunday. Oh well we will have to go up as CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   With nothing to gain from the game (promotion wise) Lymm took off from the start with some great movement from Gibbo, Army and Pete in the middle setting up numerous chances for the forwards. Goal 1 came from Si Wee as he stood unmarked 3 foot out from the right post. Ben receives the ball in the D and calmly plays a hard pass to the right post which Si deflects into the goal . 1-0 Now if you are any sort of good defender you would after the first goal say ‘’lets not let that happen again’’ Goal 2 came from exactly the same position. Again Si Wee stood 3 foot out, stick on the floor receives a ball from Gibbo and deflects it into the goal. 2-0 Goal 3 came from a penalty corner. Army injects the ball out to Si Wee for Ben to drag flick it, but the number 1 runner gets there first as Ben is following through and touches the ball. So Ben steps round him and hit’s a shot Andy Hunt would be proud of into the top left corner 3-0 Deeside complained but the umpire reassured them she was right!!!   Half time I didn’t actually hear the half time team talk as I was trying to find some paracetamol on the sideline, so we will say it was a great speech and it was the best morale boosting bit of the English language to every grace our ears.   Second half. From the off Lymm regained the ball and looked to continue the scoring with great width and quick passing Deeside were all over the place. This lead to a short corner being given for a stick tackle. Army again injects but the move breaks down and after a melee of chopping and shouting the ball comes to Rick Chung on the right of the D who makes sure from 10 foot. 4-0. Goal 5 came not long after, with a ball being deflected up into the air which produces a save from the keeper into the path of Si Wee, who inevitably ducks out the way and while Deeside were appealing Army slaps the ball in at the back post. 5-0.   Then out of character, a ball is played through the middle towards the Lymm goal!!!!! OMFG!!!!!!! Its my turn to do something. I’ve been on to martin all season for new kickers and still not got them, that said I proceeded to kick the ball no more than 5 yards straight to the forward. Luckily I was quick enough to save the shot and a few choice words were exchanged between defence and goalkeeper. Then the Deeside Center back though he would go for a run through the whole team and try and score……. He was doing well untill he got to the top of the D. Which is where he met me…………They don’t call me freight train for nothing people. As he hit the floor 3 yards back, he let out a, how can I put it… girl ish scream?? A penalty corner was given to Deeside which was a slow drag flick straight at me which I stopped. But with no defence around me to clear the ball, I again had to dive and sweep the ball away, but unfortunately for me it was straight to a Deeside player at the top of the D, who shot and scored. 5-1. Our 6th and not on fixtures live or the match card goal came from Pete Robinson, who received the ball on the right of the D after a great pass from hoppy and shot the ball off the far post and in. A great goal it has to be said.   Final whistle Todays game was a good game to watch, some of the play was mouth watering some of it wasn’t!!! But all in all if we continue to play like we have this season, next season Div 8 had better watch out!!!! A great team performance this season, from a group of players who deserve to be crowned champions. For a new player to the club, the games I played this season gave me an insight as to why Lymm has had such rapid expansion and why the club attracts so many players every year. It’s a great club to be in and anyone reading this who is an outsider, I would recommend you think about joining this ever growing club, even if it’s a lower division than you are in now. Don’t wait until we are in your league to join, come now!!!!!   On a final note      PL  W   D   L   DIFF  PTS 1 Lymm mens 2s   22  16   4    2     54      52 2 Colwyn bay 3s    21  we don’t care about the rest of their stats.     J J JJ J J J J J J J J J