AEHC had a mixed weekend with some teams games falling victim to the weather (again!) while others bravely battling Siberian-esque conditions and the Men's 2s put 11 goals past Crewe.
Both the Mens 1s and Mens 3s games fell foul to frozen pitches. This was particularly frustrating for the 3s given that they had gamely made the trip to Crewe to take on Vagrants 2s only to be confronted with a clearly unplayable pitch partially covered in frost and snow and no communication from the opposition.
The Men's 2s took their revenge by dispatching Crewe Vagrant's 1s 11-3 at The Edge, optimising on Crewe having to resort to a kicking back 10 minutes from time. That said, Edge came out all guns blazing from the start and raced to a 4-0 lead within 20 minutes. The first goal turned out to be the goal of the match, started and finished by Man of the Match Billy Hedley. Crewe then pulled two goals back before half time and a third straight from the restart to temporarily put the pressure on Edge. However, a converted penalty stroke from Edge calmed the nerves and a sixth goal effectively clinched the game. Not finished yet, Edge then took full advantage of an injury to Crewe's keeper to score a further four goals in seven minutes. Edge's goal scorers were Ed Fluck (3), Greg Johnson (2) Jack Smith (2), Chris Hardy, Matt Hardy, Ben Badger and Billy Hedley.
The Ladies 1s had a disappointing day in the North Premier League, letting a 3-1 lead against Neston slip into a 3-4 loss in the final minutes of the game. Hopefully lessons will have been learned and the Ladies can collect all three available points next week when they face Sheffield Hallam University away. The 2's also had a mixed weekend, losing 1-3 to Deeside at home on Saturday before bouncing back on Sunday to beat Winnington 2-1 to stay top of Cheshire League division 1.
The Ladies 3s showed grit and determination against Bowdon but went down 0-1 despite some dogged defending. The 4s had an interesting day to say the least – their match against Whitchurch ended up being played in Malpas a couple of hours later than planned as both teams dodged blizzards and frozen pitches. Edge's efforts sadly resulted in a 1-2 loss but they certainly won the Team of the Week award for flexibility and commitment.
The 5s had a busy and lucrative weekend. Late push backs on both days resulted in a 4-0 win over Timperley 5s on Saturday and a 3-3 draw against Bowdon 5s on Sunday in Cheshire League division 5. The Ladies fought back from being 0-2 down against Bowdon to steal back a point with an in-form Chloe Richards scoring a hat trick. The 6s lost 1-3 to division 6 league-leaders Golborne while a frozen pitch at Kings Macc put paid to the 7s scheduled game.
The Mens 5s, 6s and 7s all faced Macclesfield opposition. The 5s and 6s lost against Macc 2s and 3s respectively while the 7s turned the tables, beating Macclesfield 4s 3 -0. Simon Hunt converted two short corners and Sam Billsborough scored from open play.
The Beavers A and B teams both maintained their January unbeaten playing records in extremely chilly conditions. Ollie Farrer and Reuben Frodsham scored for Edge in the A team's 2-0 away win against Northrop Hall, while Maryam Mahmood (2), Maddie Walker and Edie Brodster all found the back of the net in the B team's 4-0 victory over Chester. The C team defended like Trojans against an older and more experienced Bowdon B team and frustrated their opposition who were clearly hoping for more than the four goals they put past Edge.
Photo: The Ladies 5s had a great weekend despite two late push backs.
Match report by Sue Polley.
