Cannock L1s 1 – 4 Stourport
   Cannock ladies 1s travelled to Stourport for a late game against a team striving for the top spot. Cannock found themselves 2-0 down early doors from two well taken deflected short corners. Cannock didn’t lose their spirit and continued to fight on looking for a goal. Stourport however capitalised on Cannock giving the ball away with a break away goal. Shortly after Cannock found themselves in the stacking D and gained a short corner, a straight strike from Jodie Beddow’s was deflected off a Stourport stick into the top corner of the goal to give Cannock some hope of a come back.
   Second half and Cannock fought hard sticking to their game plan and working together. They managed to keep Stourport from scoring until 10 minutess from time when they were awarded a penalty stroke leaving the home side with a 4-1 victory
MOM Esme Gibson

 

Cannock L2s 2 – 1 Stourport
   Cannock ladies 2’s travelled to Stourport for the last game of the first half of the season. After last weeks must win fixture ending in a draw Cannock needed to take points from this tough game.
   The first half was end-to-end Hockey with each turnover ball resulting in a counterattack by each team. The umpires were not giving anything away and fouls and penalty corners were a rare win. The first half ended 0-0.
   The start of the second half started with a goal from the home side putting Cannock under pressure to respond, and respond they did, Tabitha Burroughs slotted home a fine finish from open play.
   Shortly after Cannock won a short corner and Lucy Spencer slotted home Cannocks second. It was a battle to the end for both teams with Cannock staying on top until the end resulting in Cannock ladies 2’s first win of the season!
   Now firmly off the bottom of the table, Cannock will take this momentum into the second half of the season. Man of the match went to goalkeeper Gemma Pryce for her incredible saves.

 

Cannock L3s 2 – 0 Burton
Cannock Ladies 3s travelled to Burton this week to take on bottom of the league Burton. A slow start to the match followed due to freezing conditions. Cannock struggled to put the final touch on a few amazing strikes from the forwards with an experienced goalkeeper from Burton.
   After reconvening at half time Cannock spoke of connecting passes and communication to solidify their teamwork for the next 35 minutes. Cannock acted on all their aims and scored a goal from Jenna Martin and a second goal later on from a great pass in from Alice Runton to the back corner where Vicky Wilkes made the assist to leave Cannock 2-0 at the end of the match.

 

Cannock L4s 0 – 10 Stafford L2s
   Bad day at the office for Cannock 4s against a strong Stafford 2s side, losing 10 nil due to a number of soft goals and controversial umpiring decisions.
   The score line doesn't reflect the effort Cannock put in with them threatening the Stafford goal on numerous occasions, on another day they would have converted the opportunities to goals. Player of the match was Courtney who put a sterling effort in.

 

Cannock L5s 1 – 8 Lichfield
   Cannock Ladies 5’s played exceptionally well today against Lichfield, each player supplied their full efforts and performed fantastically well, with the player of the match going to Steph Christensen . Our player Charlotte Bellamy.
   The game was defensive against Cannock but the team managed to have shots on goal, one been scored by Sam Watts. Despite the teams wondrous efforts, unfortunately,the result did not reflect the performance of each player and as a whole team during the game. 

 

Cannock M1s 4 – 4 Deeside

 

Cannock M3s 2 – 2 Nottingham University
   Cannock Mens 3s travelled to Nottingham Uni to take on the side sitting just above Cannock in the table. With a few new faces making their league debuts it was going to be a tough afternoon facing yet another talented Uni side.
   The first half saw Cannock sit back and watch Notts Uni maintain most of the possession, the Cannock back four were under constant pressure from the start. Notts Uni started to find holes in the Cannock defence but were never able to find the goal. Cannock pressed on and soon started to find a few oppportunities to get into the opposition half, but were never able to make any real threat.
   Soon Notts Uni started to find chances and with the third short corner of the day, a chance came along. The initial flick was saved by the goalkeeper Tom Widdowson but the second phase ball fell to the top D and the second shot was fired into the bottom corner. 0-1.
   Cannock picked up their heads and pressed on but again the opposition were finding more chances, a breakdown in defence allowed two unmarked players to sit on the goal line, a miss hit shot allowed the ball to bounce on to the P spot and the Notts Uni striker from 3 yards out was never going to miss. 0-2.
   Half time came and a re-structure Cannock decided to press the Notts Uni defence from the off. The dynamic of the game changed and Cannock look more promising to find a goal. Some well worked movement from the middle three of James Griffiths, Danny Swinnerton and Callum Warren allowed chances to come. A breakdown after a Notts Uni free hit saw Cannock pounce on the ball, feeding Ed Martin at the back post lift the ball over the oncoming keeper. 2-1.
   With an opportunity in sight Cannock started to gain momentum. But Notts Uni weren’t going to lie down, numerous attempts saw the Cannock keeper kept busy and the Cannock back four clearing their lines. Cannock once again found another opportunity, and once agin Ed Martin was there to take advantage, Lewis Micheal found some space in the D and placed a ball to Ed at the back post, the keeper rushed out but Ed struck it high into the roof of the net. Cannock were back in the game 2-2.
   Two minutess remained on the clock and Cannock faced a barrage of pressure from the Uni side. A free hit on the edge of the D led to the ball finding its way into the D and onto a Cannock foot. The whistle blew for full time and Cannock faced one last attempt from Notts Uni, Tom Spencer and Nathan Lofthouse ran down the initial flick, the ball deflected to the right post, James Griffiths got low to stop the second attempt and scoop the ball out wide. Full time 2-2.
A great second half performance from an dogged Cannock side gained a positive point to take home.

 

Cannock M4s 1 – 4 Warwick
   Cannock men’s 4’s welcomed Warwick 4’s to chase park on a very cold Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately Cannock’s start to the game wasn’t what was asked for in the pre match team talk and they went 0-1 down. Cannock seemed to be struggling with the cold and took too long to get going with Warwick finding themselves 3 up after no time at all.

The half finished 0-4,

   Cannock realised they needed to start battling and in the second half they did a bit more if it then in the 1st half, it was a game of 2 halves and Cannock won the second half 1–0 with a well taken goal from Luke Stacey from a short corner. Cannock travel to Worcester 5’s next week and hope to bounce back.
MOM Matt Wheldon & Phil Heighway 

Cannock M5s 1 – 1 Bridgnorth
   Cannock Mens 5ths were in confident mood following their away victory at Bridgnorth last week. This week they welcomed yet another Bridgnorth side to Stadio El Nock but instead of the youthful and inexperienced side they expected, a tough and experienced team arrived. From the outset, it was clear that the visitors planned a fast paced attacking game which Cannock would have to be at their best to cope with.
   Injuries reduced Cannock's 15 man initial selection to 12 just before pushback, with both Liam Daffern and Bruce Alcock struggling on manfully despite carrying injuries of their own.
   Cannock exerted their influence early, forcing the first of 5 short corners in the half. However, despite getting the shots away, they failed to find the target. Bridgnorth's offensive tactic was to play through balls into the D for a target man to run on to and attempt to deflect goalwards. The defence dealt with this effectively until right on half time, when a Bridgnorth attacker slipped his marker and slid full length, just beating the Cannock keeper to the final touch by a matter of inches, giving them the lead.
   Cannock were positive at halftime, knowing that they didn't deserve to be behind. Not long after the break, Cannock forced another short corner. Bridgnorth were deceived by the arrival of sweeper Karl Owen and expected him to strike a fearsome shot. What they didn't expect was a 2 way switch and a deft finish from Owen who ghosted in to turn in the equaliser.
   Cannock grew in confidence, pushing for a goal to give them.the lead, but couldn't find a way past an in-form visitor's keeper. At the other end, Cannock were forced into their fair share of defending as Bridgnorth persevered with their through-ball tactic. Keeper Rufus Horn was forced into a series of saves using pads, gloves and stick. At one point, a Bridgnorth forward was comprehensively upended and forced to leave the field with the resulting injury.
   Cannock continued to press but couldn't find a way through. Near the end, Bridgnorth's main attacking threat was on the verge of being awarded a penalty corner, but he lost his temper and shoved young Scott Olsson into his back, earning himself a yellow card for his trouble.
   Neither side could find a winning goal and the game ended 1-1. While frustrated at not getting all 3 points, Cannock can be pleased at having the better of a fiercely contested game in which no quarter was asked or given.
   Man of the Match was hotly contested due to the exceptional team performance. À total of 7 players received nominations, with Phil Micklewright getting the nod, for his tireless work in just about every area of the pitch, demonstrating what modern defensive play is all about.
  Having played everybody above them, Cannock will complete this half of the season by facing 3 sides currently below them in the league.