Weekend Match Report Round Up: Saturday 28th January 2023

REDDITCH Hockey Club’s various teams continued their respective seasons last weekend which included two games for the men’s third team.

The third team recorded two shutouts with a win and a draw whilst the women’s first team secured an impressive victory.

Elsewhere, the men’s first team battled to a draw at home to Bloxwich, who had previously taken maximum points from their fixtures.

The men’s second team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat on the road at Barford Tigers 4ths.

Redditch Men’s 3rds 11-0 Barford Tigers 5s (Development)

The men’s third team continued their good form since the start of the year with a huge 11-0 win against Barford Tigers.

Barford started the game with 11 outfield players and were unable to deal with the speed of Redditch’s attack as Marshall Glen opened the scoring from close range.

And Hadley Kilkenny was next to chip in as he moved onto seven goals in his last three games before Miller Glen, Tim Gibbs and Martyn Strong all found the net as Redditch led 9-0 at the break.

Redditch changed tactics at half time and asked their keeper to step in and help out Barford to make the game a more even contest.

The Glen brothers were both on target in the second period as Redditch cruised to an 11-0 win.

Redditch Women’s 1sts 1-0 Bournville Women’s 1sts

The women’s first team battled to a 1-0 win against Bournville to come away with a deserved three points.

Redditch dominated the game for large periods and were finally rewarded when Phoebe Kershaw converted a well worked team goal in the final few minutes.

Bournville Women’s 2nds 2-1 Redditch Women’s 2nds

A depleted women’s second side were unable to replicate the first team’s success as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Bournville 2nds.

Redditch were without a goalkeeper and any substitutes but battled bravely and were unlucky not to be ahead at the break as they failed to convert a string of penalty corners and saw several shots saved.

And Bournville scored twice in the second half as Redditch tried to change formation to deal with two injuries.

Redditch eventually halved the deficit via two short corners, that were taken after the final whistle had been blown, as Louise Jennings’s deflected strike through the goalkeeper’s legs found the net after good work from Alice Wright.

Harborne Men’s 6ths (Development) 4-1 Redditch Men’s 4ths (Development)

Redditch’s men’s fourth team played were beaten 4-1 at Harborne 6ths under the floodlights and fell behind within the first minute of the game.

The visitors struggled to create any clear openings in the first half and were indebted to returning goalkeeper Dan Harper who produced a fine display to restrict Harborne to a two-goal lead at the break.

Redditch started strongly in the second period and reduced the deficit when William Wright tapped in from close range after Russ Baldwin’s initial flick shot was saved following good work from midfield trio Theo Cook, Christian Durban and Arran Smith.

However, Harborne scored against the run of play, as Redditch searched for a leveller, before striking again in the final minute as the visitors began to tire with no substitutes available.

Stourport Men’s 6ths 0-0 Redditch Men’s 3rds

The men’s third team were back on the pitch the following day and played out a stalemate with Stourport 6ths as they caught up on a previously postponed fixture.

Redditch travelled with a young squad as some of the fourth team players stepped up a level to feature in what proved to be an end-to-end contest.

Chances came and went for both teams as Aryn Welsh made a string of fine saves, along with his Stourport counterpart, to keep the scores level at the break and at the final whistle.

Despite the goalless draw, Redditch’s Chris Young made a great impression on the match, having only started playing the sport last season, as the defender prevented Stourport from a having a shot on goal on his side.