WH&E M1 7 : 1 Richmond Griffins

The Men’s 1s got off to a flyer with a fine 7-1 victory over Richmond at Southbury Leisure Centre. The home side quickly took control of the game with an early goal from Colin Foad, followed up with a tipped in deflection from a penalty corner from Dom Smith. A second goal from Smith pouncing on a loose ball in the D, was followed by a well struck goal from the top of the D from Joe Turmaine to make it 4-0 at half time.

After the break, Winchmore continued where they left off with Foad calmly finding the bottom corner for his second goal and then Luke Trevill putting away on the far post from a switched penalty corner. The goal of the game then came from Jack Wilson racing in on the far post to beat the keeper with a chest high volley after a well worked move started by Jake Tasker at the back.

The only blemish coming in the final 3 minutes with a penalty stroke awarded to Richmond after a penalty corner hit a Winchmore player on the line. Our captain’s bruised / broken finger confirming the ball had actually hit hand on stick not leg as thought by the umpires.

A great performance to start the season and lots of momentum to take into next week’s game.

MOTM: Jake Tasker for a first-class display of playmaking from the back.

WH&E M2 1 : 2 PHC Chiswick M5

An exciting first game of the season for the Men’s 2s as we travelled away to PHC Chiswick. Guy had named a youthful side which included a full debut for Krrish. Luke and Calum also stepped in to help out following some selection issues.

The first 10 or so minutes was fairly even with both teams cancelling each other out with not too many chances for either team – arguably Winchmore Hill & Enfield having the better chances early on, however it was PHC Chiswick who capitalised with a counter attack. From then on, we saw more opportunities arise for us for an equaliser, but we just could not make it count in the final third. We had a golden opportunity from Johnny who quickly found himself in a 2vs1 opportunity vs the goalkeeper, however he could not convert the chance to put Winchmore Hill back in the game. Near the end of the half, another counter attack by PHC Chiswick saw an opening on the left-hand side which allowed them to slot home to go 2-0 up.

It was much the same in the second half, with end-to-end plays, however PHC Chiswick decided to be more dangerous and found themselves on the cusp on many opportunities – however Wayne decided that they weren’t going to score anymore. The defensive unit held up well with goal line clearances from Guy and Wayne (and I believe Calum too?) with John putting in many decent saves too. Winchmore Hill & Enfield managed to grab a goal back after a free hit near the 23-yard line, quickly played by Tom to John Lappin who hit the ball into the D, for Luke to slot it between the keeper and the post to make it 2-1.

It was a tense finish as the end of the match saw us have more of the opportunities but it was the consistent elbowing of the PHC Chiswick right-back that saved the day for them as the game ended 2-1 to Chiswick.

MOTM: Wayne; a solid performance at left back who shut down everything that came near him, including a goal line clearance..

WH&E L2 0 : 4 West Hampstead L5

We turned up, eager for the first game back after a long summer. A bare 11, we knew it would be tough but our fighting spirit was going to carry us through.

With the sun in our eyes, the starting whistle blew. We held strong, blocking every one of West Hampstead’s attacks and great movement of the ball up the pitch – small quick passes becoming a staple.

A West Hampstead attack caused Lorna to become closely acquainted with the ground using her face – a nice red nose for her too early to be of use as a Christmas costume.

We soldiered on, West Hampstead getting one by the wall of Freya, but we entered half time with our heads held high and looking forward to our inevitable come-back in the second half.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

West Hampstead’s use of subs gave them energy over us that we weren’t able to keep up with. We had great moments – Kate and Kylie worked well together in the middle – and even got it in their D a couple times! Alice managed to run through about 5 of their players while keeping the ball glued to her stick, a brilliant play in her debut with the Ladies.

However, tiredness took over, and despite some amazing saves from Chris, West Hampstead got another 3 goals past us.

A disappointing outcome from a game that had some fantastic play, but with a whole season ahead there’s plenty to look forward to.

WH&E L1 1 : 5 Spencer W5

The Ladies 1s made the trip to South West London for a tough first game of the season in London Women’s Division 3 North (go figure?!). A 5-1 defeat, but no shame in that against a strong Spencer side.