Venue: Francos

Time: 7-10pm (then into Preston for the over 18s)

Date: 11th December

Prices: Childrens Menu-£4.50, 2courses-£8.95, 3 courses-11.95

Please let your coach/captain know if you will be coming by the 6th December.

Longridge 2nds: 1 Blackpool 1st: 2

A double pitch booking at Bispham College meant that the Blackpool 1sts fixture against Longridge 2nds had to be played as a shortened game. Unfortunately, in the first half it was Blackpool who took the advantage and made Longridge chase the ball. On a number of occasions, Blackpool exposed weaknesses in the Longridge game, requiring goalkeeper, Anna Grant, to come to Longridge’s rescue to keep them in the game.

It was inevitable however that 2 attackers left to run at the Longridge keeper would result in a goal, and Blackpool were able to take an early lead.

Longridge did begin to fight their way back into the game towards the end of the first half, but found themselves 2-0 down at half time, having conceded a successfully converted short corner.

The team talk identified a tactical change. Kate Oliver moved to centre defence to help strengthen the back line and Anna Sutcliffe moved to left midfield to support the forwards. These changes proved successful and Longridge began to stretch the Blackpool defence.

With the end of the match approaching, Longridge really started to take the game to Blackpool. The goal for Longridge eventually came from a long ball played up the pitch. Phil Crompton, demonstrating her athleticism, kept the ball in play, feeding it back to Julie Nightingale who was able to push the ball into the “D”. Phil, now goalside, was able to connect with the ball to find the backboard.

Longridge were now aware that they had a possibility of drawing the game, something Blackpool were determined not to give away lightly. The last five minutes were played out at quite a pace and certainly demonstrated that Longridge would not finish the game quietly. Testing the Blackpool defence to the end, Longridge had an outside chance of equalising, but it was not to be. With the full time whistle having been blown, Longridge were left to ponder what might have been had the game been played out to the full length of time.

Longridge Hockey Club would like to say a huge thank you to local business Travel Circle who have kindly sponsored the new 2nd team shirts. Next week the 2nd team play at home at 2pm when they take on Blackburn and Darwen.

Longridge 3rd team wearing their new kit sponsored by Riverside Recoveries

Blackburn Northern 3rds 2 Longridge 3rds 4

Round 1 of the Lishman Plate tournament, saw Blackburn 3rds take on Longridge 3rds. The game was played out in glorious sunshine throughout and Longridge, playing in their new team shirts certainly did justice to their team, club and team sponsors, Riverside Recoveries. Despite conceding an early goal in the opening minutes, it was clear that Longridge were going to be the more dominant team on the pitch, picking out their players with ease and only allowing Blackburn an occasional push forward. A penalty corner provided Longridge with an early opportunity to equalise from a well placed strike from Bronte Edgar. The team was working well together, holding their positions whilst generating and displaying excellent passing and movement across the pitch. The work rate and performance of Georgia Parker, Harriet Jones and Lucy Thompson in midfield was outstanding, enabling the forward attack of Williams, Edgar and Watson to run free at the Blackburn defence. This culminated in a period of attacking play that led to a further 3 goals for Longridge before half time, 2 for Edgar and one for Watson.

The second half provided an opportunity for the defence to make their contribution to the game. Again, as in the first half, Longridge allowed Blackburn to run at them and conceded an early goal. Thereafter, Longridge upped the tempo of the match, matching Blackburn’s refreshed efforts to get back in the game. The defensive work of Catherine Dickinson, Denise Cowell and Jess Hale, combined with the determination of Georgia Parker in midfield ensured that Blackburn would have to work extremely hard to break Longridge again. Katy Blezard was once again a key figure in goal, ensuring that the scoreline remained unchanged for the remainder of the match. Lucy Thompson was named Player of the Match by the opposition, just rewards for her effots throughout the game.

Longridge 3rds were well deserving of this win, playing their best hockey of the season so far. This great performance will stand them in good stead for their next league fixture against Lytham, who remain unbeaten this season.

Longridge 3rd Team is sponsered by Riverside Recoveries

Other results for the weekend

Longridge 1st team no game
Longridge 2nds v Garstang 1st – Caley Trophy game. Garstang 1st 3 – Longridge 2nds 1

Longridge were unlucky to concede a second goal from a re-taken short corner, however they did not let their heads drop - all the more impressive for the torrential rain that fell throughout the match - when the third goal for Chorley and Leyland sealed the win. 3-1 was the final score, but Longridge will take this match as another opportunity to learn and develop their matchplay skills. Team Sponsor: Riverside Recovery.

Training for both Juniors and Seniors restarts at Longridge Sports Centre this Tuesday 28th October.

Juniors 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Seniors 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Longridge 5 Preston 0
Longridge played their second game of the under 15 league against Preston. After a slow start, the team soon found their feet and started to pass the ball around, pressuring Preston defenders. Phoebe Watson scored the opening goal, closely following by a second which settled the team ready for the second half.

The half time team talk identified that Right Forward, Rachel Williamson was being left unmarked and Longridge needed to take advantage of this. The start of the second half saw some good passing play between Bronte Edgar and Rachel, which ended in a great goal from Rachel. Preston now started to put pressure on the defence, winning a couple of short corners back to back. The defence held together and kept the ball out.

The fourth goal was a ball pushed from the top of the D towards the goal. The Preston defender in an attempt to clear the ball, deflected it into the goal. There being no such thing as an own goal in hockey, this gave Bronte Edgar her first goal of the game. The final game came from some fantastic running and passing. Rachel Williamson dribbled the ball down the right hand side of the pitch, playing in a good cross to Bronte Edgar who swept in the ball to leave the final score 5-0.

Overall, a good team performance, doing credit to the team’s new sponsors “McInerney Homes”.

Longridge 3s were up against Springfields UCLAN 4s in their third match of this new season. With one win and one loss behind them, it was time to see if this young Longridge side could continue to build on their skills to put up a good challenge against the more experienced Springfields team. After a slow first half, Longridge definitely took the advantage from their half time team talk and came out much more aggressively in the second.

Excellent defensive work from Sally Monks saw the ball being pushed further back up the pitch where the Longridge midfield and forwards started to make an impact on the game. The winning goal came from a short corner. A solid strike from Bronte Edgar was successfully cleared by the Springfields goalkeeper, but the ball fell beautifully to midfielder Antonia Evans who swept the ball into goal to mark her scoring debut for the club. Another outstanding game from Katie Bleazard in goal ensured that Springfields were not able to equalize.