Weekend Match Report Round Up: Saturday 8th October 2022

Redditch Men’s 2s vs Barford Tigers 4s

Redditch 2nd XI hosted Barford Tigers 4th XI in an exciting and uplifting game for the hosts. Having gone 1-0 down to the visitors in the first minute, Redditch reacted and collectively took the game to Barford in an end-to-end first half. The second half saw the hosts stretch ahead and start to show dominance in their play which was reflected in the final score of 8-2 to the home side.

Goal scorers were Josh Checkley (1), Richard Sellors (2), Pete Dawson (2) and a wonderful hat-trick from youngster Harrison Young. Plenty of positives after a staggered start!

Final score: Redditch 8 – 2 Barford Tigers

Redditch Women’s 2s vs Bournville 2s

Redditch women’s 2nd team were keen to get underway against Bournville 2nds this week, after a disappointing late withdrawal by their opposition the previous week meant they went without a game. In the early stages, the ladies quickly dominated, making sure they were constantly camped out in Bournville’s half. They were rewarded with a penalty corner in the first 10 minutes, which Becki Clarke pushed out smoothly for captain Louise Jennings to coolly strike straight into the bottom left corner. Alice Wright managed to slot in a reverse shot to claim the team’s 2nd goal, and this was quickly followed up by a clever sweep in from youngster Elsie Simpson. They went in at half-time 3-0 up, thinking potentially they could pull ahead even further.

Bournville managed to get back into the game in the 2nd half, scoring 2 goals themselves to make the tie a much closer affair than anyone had anticipated at the break. Redditch conceded a penalty corner in the dying stages which meant all team members had to race back to prevent an equaliser. They stuck together and were able to clear the ball, saved by the whistle!

Joint players of the match were awarded to Ava Goodman for her dependability and for always being calm under pressure and ever-present on the pitch, and to Louise Jennings for her pivotal role in getting the scoring underway and attacking presence throughout the game.

Final score: Redditch 3 – 2 Bournville

Worcester Potters vs Redditch Badgers

With the opposition fielding a young Badgers team with two adults, it was unclear how strong Worcester Potters would be, and early doors both teams were playing very compact, but once the team recovered their shape the opportunities came and a hat trick of goals were scored within a five minute spell by Theo Cook. With such a commanding lead it allowed the Badgers side to move players into unfamiliar positions and the game became a little more competitive and shortly before half time, the Potters were able to pull back a goal.

Going into the 2nd half a few more positional changes were made and the Redditch attack was led by 10- and 9-year olds Ethan Cook and Harry Brookes, who relished the chance to be up front. A good battle commenced, but the pressure was firmly on the Worcester team, with Millie Smith finding more opportunities playing the unfamiliar role wide on the left.

It seemed to take several missed shots for the boys upfront to get their aim, but Ethan Cook stuck the backboard with an excellent shot just inside the shooting circle, which was followed up with two more goals just three minutes apart from Harry Brookes.

Final score: Worcester 1 – 6 Redditch

Other results saw defeats for both Redditch Men’s 1s, losing 0 – 3 to Bloxwich and Redditch Men’s 3s, losing 0-3 to Barford Tigers 5’s. Redditch Women’s 1s had a commanding 5-0 victory against Bournville Women’s 1s.