IT was a winning start for Warrington Hockey Club’s women with both sides picking up impressive victories.
The Women’s Development team started proceedings with a dominant 3-0 win against Crewe Vagrants with first half goals coming from a Shelley Bain deflection, Daniella Sutton tap-in, and Avril Platt who, on debut, scored an amazing goal carrying the ball from one end of the pitch to the other.
Another debutant, Kara Doyle, secured the player of the match award with an excellent all-round performance but every Warrington player on the pitch excelled.
This was arguably the best performance from the development side in five years and all signs point to an exciting season ahead.
With the bar set high the Women’s 1s took to the pitch without substitutes against a strong squad from Winnington Park. They rose to the challenge and secured a 1-0 victory thanks to a Katherine Parker tap-in following some excellent team play through midfield.
Warrington had to withstand severe pressure and some excellent defensive performances from Olivia Mason, Steph Quayle, Gloria Roden-Lui and top draw goalkeeping from player of the match Tracy Jackson secured the result.
Special mentions go to Bella Thornton and Emma Thelwell who stepped up to the 1s from the development squad and did not look out of place.
Warrington’s Men had mixed results
The first team put the rest of their league on notice with an eye-catching 5-1 victory away against newly promoted City of Manchester. The hosts looked to make life difficult with their robust and physical style of play, but Warrington retained their composure and control, allowing their hockey to do the talking.
Sam Pinion capped off an all-action midfield performance with a brace of goals. Adopted Warringtonian James Warburton scored an impressive solo goal, James Molden found a cool finish following a great team move and captain Richard Cook dispatched an unstoppable drag flick into the roof of the Manchester net.
The Men’s 2s were unfortunate to come away from their game with Crewe Vagrants empty handed after Crewe scored a last-minute goal to secure a 2-1 win.
A lot of positives were to be taken despite the result. Warrington’s goal came through a well-rehearsed short corner with Rob Powell slotting a tidy finish after being slipped the ball by Chris Ashworth.
Warrington controlled large portions of the game with Noal Phillpotts dominant in midfield and runs from Powell, Iain Richards, and Douglas Samuels causing constant problems.
The team left the pitch with their heads held high knowing that despite the result they have built great foundations for the season ahead.
