It was a hectic weekend for Chesterfield HC as all the senior teams took to the field on Saturday, and then regrouped in time to enjoy the Club Christmas party in the evening.

The Women's 1s continued their fine form of the first half of the season, winning 2-0 in a late away fixture against City of York 3s. Goals scored by Lindsay Gregory and Nic Wright. The 1st team squad go into the Christmas break knowing that it's all to play for in the second half of the season. They are currently 4th, but only 2 points behind the top team. In a very tight league, there is only 3 points between the top 5 teams.

It was a wet and windy early fixture for the Women's 2s , who lost out by 3-2 to Doncaster Independents. Captain Emma Chapman succombed to injury in the first half, and the opposition took advantage scoring 3 without reply by halftime. Chesterfield roused themselves in the second half, scoring two without reply and finished strongly, however it was a case of too little too late. The 2s will pick themselves up as they face Rotherham in a rearranged fixture on Saturday 13th December.

The 3s pulled off the performance of the day, despite the scoreline, and losing 5-0 to high-flying Phoenix. To be honest, the game was almost called off twice. During the week, selection headaches meant captain Emma Mycroft was struggling to name 11 players on the teamsheet (at various points there was 9 or 10 players and no GK). It felt like victory making it to Saturday morning with a full team of 11, but then the motorway traffic gods intervened and closed the M1 (hopefully everyone involved is okay). The game start was delayed as long as possible, but in the end Chesterfield played the first half with just 8 on the field of play. The cavalry arrived at half time and brought them back to a full team. The girls played through pouring rain, but were commended by both umpires who said they showed some real grit and never gave up. Brilliant!

There was plenty happening on the Men's side of the club too.
The 1s secured their first point of the season in a 2-2 draw against Durham University 4s, with goals from Dan Caron & Louis Johnson. The boys were pleased to finally see reward for their efforts and look forward to the restart in early January.

The Men's 2s faced runaway league leaders, Sheffield 4, and gave them a real scare in a feisty encounter at St Mary's. Sheffield were clearly not used to having things go against them and were 3-0 down thanks to goals from Chris Cowley, Sam Unwin and Christian Battye. The league leaders showed why they were top of the table as they got themselves back into the game in the final 20 minutes, snatching the victory and winning 4-3.

The 3s faced similar vehicular challenges to the women, sitting for 1.5 hours on the M1 before facing Barnsley 1s. Credit to Barnsely who waited and delayed the start beyond the league rules, in order to get a fixture on and game played. Unfortunately for Chesterfield, the home team were in the mood for goals and were eager to avenge their earlier loss to Chesterfield in September. Barnsley scored 2 goals in the first half, whilst Chesterfield had possession but created nothing clear cut. Barnsley scored 3 more in the second half, but player of the match, goal keeper Chris Hooper kept the score more respectable than perhaps Chesterfield deserved.

In a late game at Abbeydale, the Men's 4s lost 2-0 to Sheffield 6s. Sheffield were clearly on top and the better team, but Chesterfield will be pleased to have handed 4s debuts to youngsters Ali & Dan. Ali, in goal, made a string of vital saves and showed great composure in his first game in Men's hockey. Likewise, Dan McCollum, had a super debut and put himself around the pitch in a way we've not seen before! The team showed great morale, despite the scoreline - keep it up lads!

#evergreen