21 September 2016
Saturday 17th September v Altrincham
Kirkham Grammar School 1st XI won 2 - 1 v Altrincham GS, scorers Lucie Ethell and Alex Harwood.
An extremely promising first performance for this brand new, young 1st Xl side. The girls were up against it in the first 10mins as they struggled to settle into their shape and pattern of play. However midway through the first half the girls started to gel and began to dominate. Lucie Ethell put us 1-0 up at half time with a strike from a short corner. In the second half the girls switched off and made mistakes - putting themselves under pressure. This cost them and Altrincham equalized, Kirkham bounced back and showed real strength of character. Captain Amelia Dalzell controlled it at the back, Vice-captain Freya Bennett was very solid in goal. Special mention must go to Hannah Mears who looked dangerous every time she had the ball. A piercing run by Hannah set Alex Harwood up to slot away the winner. A great victory in their first match together!
KGS 2nd XI drew 1 - 1 scorer Jade Yarwood
A good solid first performance by the girls. The game was end to end, Kirkham were very disciplined in defence and quick to counter attack. A good goal from Jade Yarwood put Kirkham 1-0 up at half time. Kirkham dominated for much of the second half, however, the girls got complacent in defence and one mistake cost them as Altrincham scored a late equaliser. Another promising start for the girls!
U15 XI lost 4-0
The Kirkham girls were up against it from the whistle against a very good Altrincham team, however the girls showed real grit and determination as they defended superbly. The Kirkham girls had to defend for 95% of the game and only conceded just before half time. The 2nd half was much the same as Kirkham defended like real troopers. Unfortunately they conceded 3 more in the last 7 minutes making the final score a 4-0 loss. Special mention must go to goalie Ella Kearsley who had a super game.
U14 vs Altrincham
The U14s were unlucky to lose 1-0 in a close game against a strong Altrincham side. The first half was close fought with much of the play in midfield and little to occupy either goalkeeper. KGS had probably the best chance of the half after good work between Caity Preddy and Hannah Wilson on the left created space for Lizzie Coulston on the right wing. Lizzie’s cross was well met by Lucy Treaddell who forced a good save out of the Altrincham goalkeeper.
In the second half, the KGS girls became sloppy in possession and this allowed Altrincham to dominate the play and put the KGS defence under intense pressure. Alesha Mansfield and Darcey Lonsdale marshalled the defence excellently and restricted Altrincham to half chances. The only goal of the game came from an Altrincham short corner; a well-executed straight strike from the top of the D found the bottom corner of the KGS net. To their credit, the KGS girls responded well; Caity Preddy missing a good chance to equalise late in the second half.
Against tough opposition this was a positive performance that gives the U14s plenty to build on for the rest of the season.
U13 X1 Hockey v Altrincham Drew 2-2
This was an exciting game with two evenly matched sides. It was a test of nerves, determination and focus and KGS didn’t disappoint! Kirkham’s U13 hockey squad played an exciting first 11-a-side game where they grew in confidence as the match progressed. Initially, nerves were evident. Altrincham were hungry for the ball and didn’t give Kirkham much time to make decisions before they were putting pressure on the ball carrier. This was compounded by Kirkham being very narrow in attack which meant there wasn’t a safe pass available to get them out of trouble. Altrincham were also quick to make attacking breaks, catching KGS unawares on a couple of occasions. The defence were left outnumbered by the Altrincham forwards resulting in two goals by the opposition in relatively quick succession. However, rather than accepting defeat, KGS stepped up a gear. All players defended well putting pressure back on Altrincham and forced them to make mistakes. KGS utilised this and made some great passes to their forward line through their midfield. They started to look dangerous and it wasn’t long before Beth Dowbiggin slotted the first goal away. This boosted morale in the KGS team and shortly afterwards Aggie Barker-Mills scored a second goal from open play. In the remaining minutes, both teams worked tirelessly and the ball was passed up and down the length of the pitch. KGS set up more attacking plays but could not get through the Altrincham defence. However, this was a really promising first match and bodes well for the rest of the season. Congratulations to all the players who gave 100% effort throughout.