Crostyx 7 Folkstone 2

Playing their final league game on Saturday at home against Folkestone, Crostyx ladies 1st XI were keen to finish the season on a high and to secure third place. As the 2nd team had already finished their league campaign Crostyx took the opportunity to put out a mixed squad of 1st and 2nd team players. Eleanor Hopkins, Madeleine McLeod and Kat slotted into the defense and midfield contributing well to the team performance.

Crostyx started strongly, putting pressure on the visitors early in the game. Sue Mouat showed her class with some excellent skills in the D allowing her to get off an early shot. The ball was arguably already on its way into the goal but Sarah Belsham didn’t take any chances as she tapped it home at the right post.

The early lead allowed Crostyx to settle into the game, building attacks and creating chances. Vicki Berrill, Kat and Jo Ward linked up nicely down the right on a number of occasions, one of which resulted in a quick cross from Ward that Belsham swept first time into the goal.

Although Crostyx were dominating the game the visitors showed some fight on the counter attack and managed to score a goal with some quick passing and a close range shot. The home side went into the break with a 2-1 lead.

Determined to extend that lead in the second half Crostyx stepped up the pace and took the game to the visitors. They were rewarded with a third goal when Madeleine McLeod was quick to react to a loose ball in the D, firing the ball over the keeper and into the net.

Crostyx knew there were more goals in the game and continued to press. Donna Blockley dominated the midfield and when she won possession with a strong tackle she released Captain Keeley Pratt with a perfect pass. Pratt took no hesitation in attacking the D, getting off a powerful strike that left the advancing keeper with no chance.

Minutes later another excellent pass from Blockley found Belsham in the D. A bad stick tackle by the Folkestone defender as Belsham was about to take a shot resulted in a penalty flick. Blockley stepped up confidently for the flick and fired the ball hard and low into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

With a 5-1 lead Crostyx were enjoying themselves and playing some of their best hockey of the season. Winning a free hit just inside the Folkestone half Mouat was quick to take advantage of the new self pass rule, running at the defense and then releasing the ball down the right to Belsham. Belsham’s cross found Ward on the penalty spot where she was able to fire home for the 6th.

Folkestone never gave up and were rewarded with a short corner which they converted with a deflected shot. However, that just fired Crostyx further, attacking quickly from the push back and winning a number of short corners. The final goal came from a short corner when the ball was slipped right to Ward who took an early shot across the goal. An instinctive reaction by Belsham on the penalty spot placing her stick flat for the deflection saw the ball fly into the top left corner of the goal.

An outstanding result for Crostyx who finished the season on an excellent high with this 7-2 victory.

Southend 3 Crostyx 4

The last two games for Crostyx ladies 1st XI had not produced the results they had expected so they were determined to make amends when they travelled to Southend on Saturday.

With a strong squad, Crostyx came out fighting. From the push back they began to build a series of attacks quickly putting Southend on the back foot. The visitors were rewarded with an early goal through an attack down the right resulting in a pass to Thea Hitchcock who controlled the ball and fired home at full stretch.

Crostyx continued to attack, dominating the game through the midfield where Keeley Pratt, Donna Blockley, Laura Beaton and player of the match Kirsty Breeze combined well pushing forwards to strengthen the attack. They were soon rewarded with a string of short corners, the first of which was converted with a straight strike from Sarah Belsham to give Crostyx a two goal lead.

Having controlled the majority of the half Crostyx were caught on the back foot when Southend counter attacked, managing to score at close range. The home side grew in confidence from the goal, enjoying a period of possession and winning a short corner that they converted with a shot straight down the middle of the goal.

Having dominated the half and created numerous chances Crostyx were surprised not to be in the lead at the break.

The second half saw a similar pattern of Crostyx dominating possession and passing the ball around crisply. Jo Hill contributed well to the attack, adding another dimension to the Crostyx forward line.

The visitors finally regained the lead when Donna Blockley, pushing up from the centre back position, was first to react to a loose ball in the D, calmly sweeping the ball into the goal.

Southend responded again, catching Crostyx on the break and scoring from short range to level the score once more.

With 10 minutes left to play Crostyx stepped up a gear, increasing the pressure on the Southend defense. They were rewarded with a series of short corners. A straight strike that rebounded back to the top of the D was controlled by Belsham who slipped the ball right to Jo Ward. Ward’s shot was blocked but only as far as Breeze who passed the ball back across the goal for Blockley to score her second of the game with an easy tap in at the left post.

With the lead again Crostyx were determined not to let it slip in the last minutes of the game. The defense held strong, led by Lisa Dennett at sweeper who ensured that the last ditch attempts of the home side did not come to anything.

A good victory for Crostyx who are keen to finish the season on a high note. They play their final game at home on Saturday against an already relegated Folkestone side.

Crostyx 4 Havering 0

Scorers: Ciara (2) Gill (1) Edith (1)
Man of the Match: Ciara Newell

The Ladies 2s welcomed Havering 2s to Peter May in the hope of taking the 3 points based on both previous encounters and league form. This was especially important as Crostyx were keen to make amends for below par performances in recent weeks and to maintain their 2nd position in the league.

The match started well for Crostyx with some excellent link up play between the defence, midfield and forwards – something that had been lacking in recent weeks. This culminated in some good attacking opportunities for the home side who were soon rewarded with a flurry of short corners. Crostyx were unlucky not to take the lead when one of these corners was executed with a thunderous dipping strike by Eleanor Hopkins which missed by only inches.

This period of early pressure was soon to pay off for the Ladies 2s after a neat interchange between Madeleine McLeod, Edith Galliers and Carrie Curtis set Ciara Newell free to drive past the oncoming Havering defence and score with a now trademark accurate strike.

Havering then responded well to going a goal down by exerting pressure on the home defence. Strong tackling by Eileen Bruce and Juliet Drake kept the opposition at bay. However, in the run up to half time, Crostyx then conceded a short corner which Havering looked to have converted. However strong umpiring spotted the ball had not left the D. The resultant free hit to Crostyx was then quickly taken whilst the away team were too busy disputing the decision. This allowed Crostyx time and space to pass the ball around and for Carrie Curtis to set up her strike partner Ciara Newell for her second of the game. This gave the Ladies 2s a comfortable lead of 2-0 going into half time.

Crostyx then started the second half as they had finished the first. Madeleine McLeod worked tirelessly to curb any mounting attacks as she snuffed out one of Havering’s strongest players and Anna Feldman ran tirelessly to create options. This allowed Kat Hawes and Edith Galliers to provide some lovely through passes for the forward line to exploit. This good work by the home team was then rewarded when the ball broke loose in the Havering D and Gill Woods stepped up with a classy finish as her reverse stick flick found the top corner.

The Ladies 2s then continued to apply further pressure on the Havering defence with Anna Feldman and Carrie Curtis neatly working the ball around. This then allowed Ciara Newell to play a perfectly weighted ball to Edith Galliers who cut in front of the Havering defence and slotted coolly passed the keeper.

The 4th and final goal rounded off a good cool, calm and collected team performance by the Ladies 2s. This was especially notable given the at times aggressive nature of the match and the unnecessary brandishing of green cards.

The Ladies 2s now face Basildon away in the last league game of the campaign looking to finish the season with a strong performance and 3 points.

Crostyx 8 Phoenix 1

This was a comfortable win for a side well balanced between older heads and younger legs with 6 juniors and 5 over 35s against a Phoenix side with more extreme age differentials. Within 15 minutes Crostyx had opened up a 3-0 lead with the first strike from Luca following up a short corner and then a short corner strike from Nick Gillet and another short corner from Dave Fulton effectivelt sealed the win.  Further goals from Danny Robinson with a crisp shot from just inside the circle which the opposition defence instructed their goalkeeper to leave which he obligingly did and Crostyx were provided a 5-0 interval cushion. It could have been more, with the Hollymans creating many opportunities down the middle and right wing, Danny supporting well from right half, and Kevin Foot and NG and DF controlling the midfield.

Another goal within a minute of the re-start following a mix up in their defence suggested a hammering but Phoenix re-grouped and provided sterner opposition throughout the second period, with ex Crostyx stalwarts Frazer Croft up front and Tony Puddock at sweeper beginning to get some cohesion, but Frazer missed a few opportunities from their long ball strategy and Crostyx continued to threaten.

The goal of the day came from the Hollymans with Will  driving down the right and pulling back for Sam to convert. If we were confused, the opposition could not contain these two identical twins and they frequently lost their markers. The other goal was a clinical flick just inside the post from Kevin Foot clearing up a loose ball in the D.

Phoenix finally got on the score sheet to the delight of their goalkeeper and the final result was an 8-1 win to keep the 3rds in third place. The match was played in the best traditions of relaxed sporting endeavour with the opposition resigned but determined to play their part in a lost cause. Frazer huffed and puffed, and Tony Puddock kept their competitive edge to the fore in a display that showed he still had the skills but was outgunned by a fit and at time fast Crostyx outfit.

Crostyx 4 Letchworth 5

Crostyx had no time to sit back and feel sorry for themselves after Saturday's fixture, as Sunday saw them take the familiar trip to Letchworth. Letchworth had to win – anything less than 3 points would almost certainly see them relegated – so Crostyx knew they would be facing tough opponents.

It was clear this was going to be a fast-paced and highly charged game from the outset, despite both teams having played the day before. Emotions were running high and Letchworth had some strong and vocal home support, so it was a real boost to Crostyx when they opened the scoring early on. Sarah Belsham linked up well at the front with Player of the Match Ceri Milner.  A sneaky little through ball from Ceri at the top of the D to Sarah as she ran onto the penalty spot flummoxed the Letchworth defence, and Sarah B was able to push the ball past the keeper.

Crostyx continued in good form and went from strength to strength. It wasn’t long before they were awarded the first of a number of short corners and in a repeat of the previous day’s goal, Donna Blockley swept the ball in from the left hand side.

0-2 going in to the break and Crostyx were looking strong, albeit a little tired. Soon after the restart, Keeley Pratt led by example and her superb run down the left and into the D gave her enough space to fire an astonishing shot into the top right hand corner. 0-3 and the home support had suddenly gone very quiet.

But Letchworth showed unbelievable character and, with the threat of relegation looming over their heads, they staged an amazing comeback. They soon clawed a goal back, despite some excellent saves from Becks Clarke, as they exploited the fatigue that was setting in for Crostyx. 1-3 soon became 2-3 as they snuck in another goal and for the first time in the match, Crostyx were beginning to feel uncomfortable.

But they soon stretched their lead again, Sarah B scoring her 2nd of the game with a straight strike from a short corner. By now, both teams were giving everything they had and the work rate was unprecedented but Letchworth’s desire to win was simply greater than Crostyx’s. They scored 3 goals in quick succession during the last 15 minutes of the game to secure a 5-4 win and, more importantly, the hope that they will avoid the dreaded drop.

So Crostyx must go into the last 2 games of the season knowing that they are playing only to hold their 3rd spot in the table, but will first be concentrating on nursing some very tired limbs and recovering from two very hard fought and physically tough matches.