Weekend Report No 21 

1s 1 V 1 Sheffield Hallum University 

Cannock entertained the Sheffield Students this weekend at Chase Park. In a free flowing games opportunities came at both ends from both open play and short corners. Sheffield won the first half with a flighted ball over the top that was played back to the centre forward to slot past the Cannock goalkeeper. The second half started at the same relentless pace with further chances falling to both sides. Then Kyle Gladwin popped up in the Sheffield D to score a deflection past an outstretched goalkeeper and his first goal for Cannock. Sheffield went down to nine players after a couple of rash challenges but Cannock couldn't take advantage and the game finished one-onel. 
 
DoD Nav forgot shirt 
 
MoM Kyle Gladwin goal 
 

2s 9 V 1 Khalsa 

Cannock 2s were rampant against lowly Khalsa, finding the net nine times. Lewis round completed his hat trick and there were two goals apiece for Willars and Callum Swinnerton-Ions, with Hibbert and Greenwood also adding to the score. 
MoM CSI 
DOD Wilkes not scoring an open goal after beating the keeper 

3s 4 V 3 Leek 

Cannock Men's 3s travelled to Leek on a bright Saturday morning hoping to continue their push for 4th place in the 3rd Team Midlands Premier Division.  
 
A good start from Cannock soon saw them ahead with a goal from Ben Hampton after a great assist from Callum Warren. Bizarrely the goal saw Cannock stop playing and the hosts come into the game, equalising soon after Cannock lost possession in their own quarter. The remainder of the half was a scrappy affair with Ed Martin seeing green for an interesting stick tackle.  
 
In the second half Cannock slightly altered their press and took a 3-1 lead, thanks to Martin and Warren scoring a goal each.  
 
As the game entered the final ten minutes Cannock were caught out trying to slow the game down and see out the match. Leek took advantage of some fortunate decisions and scored two quick goals to level at 3-3 with five minutes left the play. 
 
It looked as though the hosts may win the game, but with 90 seconds left Luke Davis burst into the 'D' and squared the ball to Ollie Southall who gave Cannock a dramatic 4-3 win. 

4s 4 V 1 West Bridgford 

Cannock 4's welcomed West Bridgford to Chase Park who were just above them in the table.  Cannock started well and should have been ahead early on in the game, but for poor pass selection and shooting wide it stayed even. Cannock's stalwart in the heart of defence, James Daniels, came off after 20 mins with a pulled hamstring, putting him out for the next few weeks. 
The deadlock was finally broken early in the second half when Cannock won a short corner and Chris Mayer (returning from injury) calmly finished. That goal seemed to spur the 4's on and they finally found more form gaining another short corner and again Chris Mayer finished. However he wasn't finished there and Mayer got his hat trick after another short corner.  
West Bridgford kept on battling and scored a well taken goal from a short corner. Cannock had a few minutes of panic but James Griffiths ran into the D and lobbed the keeper to make it 4-1 to Cannock and a well needed 3 points. Cannock showed some great form today with young Lewis Michael making several good runs down the right wing. 

4s 1 V 5 Nottingham University 

Cannock Men's 4th team travelled to Nottingham University to play a rearranged league game from early January.  
 
Cannock, who brought a mixed side full of talent, ability and a mix of #properhockeyplayers fought hard early on and took the lead from Luke Davis after a good play from Welsh wizard James Griffths.   
 
Sadly for Cannock that's where the fun ended. Goalkeeper Tony Blower was superb in goal as the unorganised students came back into the game and levelled the score by half time.  
 
The second half saw the students begin to take control as they applied their youthful legs and added motivation. Despite another great show from keeper Blower the goals kept coming. The final score was 5-1, and although the students weren't very graceful in their victory the points remained theirs to keep. Cannock still remain in a relegation position with five games to play. 

5s 3 V 1 Telford 4s 
 
Cannock had a tough start to the game with both teams fighting hard for the ball. Telford struck first so Cannock had to fight to get back in the game. There followed a period of confusion and temper as  Johnny Machin was yellow carded, only to be followed by Bruce Alcock who debated the merits of having his leg severed at the knee.  Keeping it in the family, Evan Alcock then managed to gain a green card which was upgraded to a yellow while off the pitch! Then, as the game drew to a close, up stepped Gary Stacey to fire the ball into the bottom hand corner to level the score. At the start of the second half Stacey gave a repeated performance and scored his second corner.  Machin then scored one of his signature reverse strikes to give Cannock a 3-1 win. 
 
Man of the match - Noah Hutchins. 
Dick of the day- Evan Alcock -  for getting two card while not even on the pitch 

Mixed 5 V 1 Deeside Ramblers 

Cannock's Mixed side moved into Round 3 of the EH Mixed Trophy with a 5-1 win over Deeside Ramblers. With the match even to begin with, it was the finishing of Jodie Beddow, on her debut, that made the difference. A first half hat trick inside 20 minutes gave Cannock a cushion from which to control the game. Deeside were forced to abandon their defensive strategy and Cannock added two more goals in the second half through Beddow and Chris Beck, while the visitors claimed a late consolation. 

6s 0 V 4 Bloxwich 

Cannock 6ths travelled to Bloxwich to play a match 45 minutes after the Badgers match against Lichfield. With a side of only 9 Cannock players, three of whom were young Badgers players and Connor Lloyd-Smith volunteering to play in goal, this match was going to be a tall order for Cannock. 
 
Under the experienced stewardship of Nick Colclough Cannock went about their task of playing a contained game, seeing plenty of the early posession. Callum McGarrie made a number of darting runs in midfield andplayed the younger players of Henry Jones and Nathanael Yerbury into the game, allowing them to create mayhem in the Bloxwich 'D'. 
 
 Cannock enjoyed much of the first half, however just before half time Bloxwich were able to get behind the resolute defending of Bob Pursehouse and Geoff Thomas to score a goal against the run of play and take a 1-0 lead. 
 
 In the second half Cannock looked to repeat the success of the first and played a contained game, looking to exploit the pace of the youngsters. However, as the half progressed the work rate started to take its toll on the Cannock players and their legs, leaving more gaps for Bloxwich to exploit. Bloxwich managed to score a further 3 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, and at a very welcome final whistle for the Cannock players the final score was 4-0 to Bloxwich. 
 
Far from being disappointed with the result Cannock were very happy with the performance and felt if they had just another player then the result would have been very different. A huge thank-you and well done to the young Badger players who supported the 6ths team 
 
U18s 3 V 0 Telford 

Cannock U18s won 3-0 against Telford in the U18s EH Plate Competition to move into the semi finals. With this fixture being 'away' but quite local, this cup quarter final match probably added even more spice to the occasion - especially as the teams are well known to each other both in terms of personnel and club rivalry. 
Cannock made the brighter start and played with structure and tempo in the first few exchanges. Sensibly playing their way into a unfamiliar sand based surface,  a slightly amended line up started the game solidly passing the ball and playing their way into the match. Cannock dictated the pace  - particularly through the lines of Joe Norwood and Duncan Gladwin through the half backs and midfield up to a roving Jamie Greenwood. 
With Conrad Willars doing a drilled marking job on a known threat and Chris Gardner working the channels the structure in the first half was good and varied. Passing and interplay was the order of the day with the occasional bursts from all lines to create space and switch play - mostly facilitated through Captain for the day, Hamish McKittrick and Jordan Joiner at Centre Midfield. 
The confident ball carries from Ben Hampton and Hamish McKittrick allowed and strong leads to develop by Luke Stacey and Lewis Michael. This created space behind for the team to focus on potential outcomes in and around the D. A number of drives created short corners, 2 of which were coolly dispatched by Chris Gardner rounding runners 1 and 2 twice on 24 and 34 minutes. 
At half time the request was for much of the same.  However, Cannock allowed a revitalised Telford to come onto them and challenge in all areas of the pitch. Gaps did open up and chances created - but when called upon Connor Beardmore stood up and solidly cleared Cannocks lines. Solid defending by Joe Norwwod and Duncan Gladwin limited a number of attacks and the control and confidence set Cannock up well for quick counter attacking. 
Telford controlled for a solid 15 minutes without a real threat - other than a couple of short corners dubiously awarded but deserved through effort alone. One was despatched but disallowed due to its height. Little reward for their effort throughout the match. 
Cannock gradually picked their game up to control the remainder of the match. A great flowing move in the 50 minute transferred the ball from right defense through the half back and inside right channel to centre midfield for a switch of play from right to left to find Jordan Joiner  in acres of space. After jockeying for position with his back to goal, he struck a strong reverse hit  hard and airborne into the net. A deserved third goal which allowed the team to play within themselves for the time remaining to close the match out. 
Telford continued to press, as they had done all game. It was a good cup tie, both sides worked hard and had their moments - both sides should and could have delivered more goals from open play - but also credit to both defences who did close down and compete well with one another. 
Cannock will now face either Bowdon U18 or Norwich City HC U18s in the Semi Final. The fixture will be away and I'm sure the boys will want to follow that with an appearance in the Final!