Cannock M1s 2 -3 Leeds M1s
   

Cannock Men's 1s travelled to Leeds for their opening NL fixture of the season with a young squad with an average age of 20.75 years. A partisan home crowd cheered on Leeds in their first ever National League fixture & the home side had the early pressure.

Once the initial onslaught was seen off the game settled down with both teams playing some good hockey.
Cannock got into their rhythm and scored two team goals thanks to Matt Wilson and Will Fleet to open up a 2-0 lead. Just before the interval Leeds pulled a goal back to take the momentum going into half time.

The second half was again a good battle with chances going to both teams but it was Leeds next to draw blood when they turned over Cannock deep in their own half and a speedy counter attack saw them snatch an equaliser.

This pushed the home side forward and a harsh umpiring decision saw a penalty corner awarded for Leeds inside the Cannock 23 metre zone for knocking the ball away. This proved costly as Leeds dispatched the PC into the right hand side of the net.

This set back drove the young Cannock Stags forward and a frantic last five minutes saw the Leeds goalkeeper make two fine saves and deny the travelling Stags a draw.

MoM - Mitch Blakemore

 

Cannock M2s 4 – 1 Streetly M1s

Cannock continued their preseason with a fine 4-1 victory over Streetly 1s.
A fast competitive game played in a warm conditions was a great work out for Cannock who were stretched with a bare 11 right from the off.

Sitting on the half court Cannock frustrated the visitors and created several opportunities and soon they were ahead. Callum Warren and Ed Martin combining for the latter to find the net on his first appearance of the season. As the half came to a close Streetly equalised after poor marking from the hosts. Half Time 1-1

Second half Cannock continued to play the better hockey and soon were ahead Callum Warren setting up Alex Hill who scored from the P spot. Cannocks third came quickly with Danny Swinnerton finding the corner. Three became four with Warren scoring a deserved goal from top D to match his performance.

There was time for Martin to see green for a stickle tackle in the middle of the pitch and debutant keeper Ted Haywood was solid between the sticks. A good day for men in maroon

 

Cannock M3s/4s/5s 12 – 1 Sutton Coldfield 5s

Cannock travelled to Sutton to take on their 5th team. The side saw a mix of faces from the around club with an overseas addition for the day (New Zealand).

The first game for the returning Captain voiced a message to play a simple and straightforward game, pass and move & keep possession. From the off we stuck to that message. Cannock overwhelmed the opposition from the first min with an average of 85% possession (unofficial stat). Some good passing moves cut through the Sutton defence with ease and the barrage of attacks on the Sutton goalkeeper started. Good interlinking moves between James Griffiths, Luke Davis, Lewis Micheal & Nick saw the score at 2-0 within 10 minutes. More short corners and attempts on goal found us 4-0 up at half time.

The half time team talk focused on keep the form and intensity going (knowing the normal Cannock way in one sided games is to take the foot off the gas). With another another 4 goals within 15 mins the opposition soon broke mentally and physicall, the game was over for them.

A number of impressive performances from new faces in defence from Matt Whealdon, Cam Horn & Nathan Lofthouse put their case forward for future selection. With 5 goals from James Griffiths, 4 goals from Lewis Micheal, 2 from Nick and a deflected goal from Andrew Hodgetts saw the final score at 12-1.

The only single down point for the day was not allowing Tony Blower to receive his first ever clean sheet. Apologies from Tom Widdowson & James Hudson for making unapproved changes in defence leading to the goal. Sorry Tony!!
MoM: Lewis Micheal for his goals and multiple assists.

Cannock M5s 7 – 0 Sutton Coldfield 6s

Cannock's #properhockeyplayers made the trip to Sutton to face what was a young but skillful side. The umpires requested that Cannock "go easy" on them, a request which was followed by the men from Stadio El Nock. However, the umpires seemed intent on giving the home side much more protection than was necessary. Cannock's abrasive 14 year old Evan Alcock was soon singled out by the officials for special attention and found himself on the bench following a green card for a seemingly innocuous challenge.

Cannock were frustrated at every turn. Whenever they threatened the opponent's D, an infringement was blown and it was some twenty five minutes before the deadlock was broken by James Griffiths. Lewis Michael added a second soon after.

At half time Cannock resolved to put Sutton defence under more and more pressure. However, virtually from the restart, Alcock was again targeted by the umpires for a seemingly perfectly good tackle for which he was rewarded with a second green card. Somehow Cannock managed to find the net a further 5 times, again through Griffiths, 2 for Karl Bayliss and Lewis Michael completing his hat trick. The 7-0 scoreline didn't reflect the dominance of Cannock - Keeper Horn was called into action on only one occasion to keep out a penalty corner.

Although a frustrating game to play in, Nockers 5ths demonstrated their indefatigable team spirit. Returning players Joe Handley and Oli Callow slotted in as though they'd never been away. Debutante Matt Edwards had a solid game and clearly enjoyed the camaraderie.

Special mention should go to Harry Michael for his work rate, earning him a well deserved Man of the Match nomination.

 

Cannock M6s 1 - 4 Sutton Coldfield

 

Cannock L1s 0 – 1 Gloucester L1

It was a well fought out game where the home side gave it there all. Gloucester were a very well established side, they struggled to break down a defiant Cannock side who gave them very little space and time. However 12 minutes to go before full time saw Gloucester convert a short corner leaving the home side frustrated but not disheartened at a very solid team performance.

 

Cannock L2 0-0 Stourport

Cannock ladies welcomed Stourport to Chase Park, a tough start to the season. Cannock came out of the blocks hard pressing Stourport into their half for the first 20 minutes but none of the efforts in the D came out with a goal. Stourport were quick in the break but were thwarted by the Cannock defence who held strong all game to prevent Stourport getting on the score board. For the last 10 minutes    Cannock absorbed all the pressure to come out with a well earned draw against a tough opposition. Man of the match was Victoria Dennison for her excellent defensive duties.

 

Cannock L3s 5 – 0 Dudley L1s

Cannock ladies 3s travelled away to play Dudley at the Royal Wolverhampton School. Cannock quickly took control of the game and scored after 3mins. This caused Dudley's heads to go down and Cannock began to capitalise on that scoring a further goal before half time. After the second half Dudley came back fighting but a strong defensive performance ensured nothing got past the Cannock goal. Excellent performance with some good saves from Tiegan Cooke. Cannock then worked well together to convert a further 3 goals, going on to win the game 5-0. Scorers: Lucy 2, Sammi D, Amelia, Vicky Wilkes. POM Vicky Wilkes
A great start to the season and the whole team is excited to see what we can achieve in Staffs Div 1 this year.

 

Cannock L4s 3 – 0 Stone

Han Ingis the hatrick hero

 

Cannock L5s 2 – 0 Leek  *Cannock HC Team of the week*

Cannock Ladies 5's have begun the season exceptionally with a win of 2-0 against Leek. We began the game exceedingly well and as we all settled in as a new team together with three new players, our left attack, Alison Dowding, scored our first goal in the later time of the first half. Our defence continued to work fantastically throughout the second half to prevent our opposition scoring and within ten minutes the team captain, Mandy McColl scored our second and final goal. We finished the game with a worthy win of 2-0 and congratulated Sam Watts and Alison Dowding in their joint position as our player of the match.