Sunday 18th April 2010

Lutterworth Ladies 24 – 0 Witney Angels

After another long wait in between games the Angels were determined to play the away fixture at Lutterworth this weekend, even if they only had 12 players. It was a glorious but warm day as both teams took to the pitch, it looked clear that the opposition had the advantage putting out a full team and plenty of subs eager to play on the sideline. The first 20 minutes were very much in the Angels favor with some solid defending despite the huge overlap. The forwards committing well to the rucks and mauls and Jess and Jen spoiling a lot of ball, not allowing the Lutterworth pack to distribute to the backs. Lutterworth realized their best chance of scoring would come from getting the ball out and taking advantage of the large overlap they had in the back line, which they managed to do 3 times in the first half. At half time it was a positive atmosphere, the Angels knowing they were playing a good game. Kelly was fantastic in the lineouts spoiling alot of Lutterworth ball along with Mother clearing up any mess. The secondhalf was full of good and bad points, the lowest being the Angels dropping to ten players at one point and the plus being they didn't let any tries past them until the final play of the game. Overall the defense was fantastic, mauling was faultless on the denfense and the attack. Claire, Cath and Lori did a fantastic job of covering the centre positions as well as full back and wing! As the final whislte went a spectator from the sidelines summed up the game when he said the Angels may not of got the overall victory but they certainly got a moral one, having no more than 12 players, most of them out of position, then even dropping to 10 at one point and only allowing 4 tries past. Fantastic defending and a great all round effort and a great way to end the season and every one of the girls who played in that match should be very proud of themselves. If the girls can take that grit and determination into next season they will be finishing much higher in the league.

 Angels Team – Elaine, No Money, Jess, Megan, Mother, Kelly, Jen Jen (c), Feisty, Emma, Claire, Cath and Lori.

 
Forward of the match - Jen
Back of the match - Emma

Sunday 7th March 2010

Witney Angels 19 – 12 Oxford Ladies

This season hasn’t been going so well for the Angels, injuries, losing players and not traveling well have pushed them to the bottom of the table recently, despite some great performances, there has unfortunately been no luck. The local derby against Oxford is always the most eagerly anticipated game of the year and bragging rights slipped through the Angels fingers back in November when they lost 8-5 in hard fought game and today it was time for the re match.It was a gorgeous day at the Hailey Road ground and the Witney support was out in force as both teams took to the field. Oxford got off to a good start making the most of a fumbled Witney ball and almost scoring from the kick off, luckily Cath was on the line to defend and prevent a try. For the start of the game Oxford had the Angels pushed back into their own 22 with some quick running, luckily the Angels defense was sturdy and some good clearance kicks from Emma gave the Witney girls some more ground. Halfway through the first half a well set maul saw No Money have a fantastic break and crash over the line to score the first try of the game, unfortunately the try was not converted. The backs had a great runaround with Jess storming her way through the opposite back line with some thundering runs, also Smorley having some great breaks and it wasn’t long before Witney gained possession and Smorley covered almost the entire pitch with her phenomenal pace to score right under the posts with Emma converting. As the half time whistle went the Angels had managed to not concede and were also 12 points up.The second half stared well for the Angels with some fantastic hands down the backline ensuring Cath the third Angels try of the game with Emma converting once again. Unfortunately the rest of the half did not get much better for them and Oxford came back at them and managed to get a couple of tries, once being converted. For the final 10 minutes of the game the atmosphere was tense as Witney gave it all they had to hold back the sparky and determined Oxford side, luckily they did and as the final whistle was blown cheers were heard from all around as the girls had finally picked up the win they had wanted all season.

Overall it wasn’t the teams best performance of the season but a win none the less and they thoroughly deserved the (many) winners beers after the match. Forward of the match went to Kelly for her relentless defense and back row play throughout the entire game and back of the match went to our outstanding Smorley for a great performance and also celebrated her 100th game for the Angels with a try and a win, well done to them both J The girls have a few games coming up before the end of the season and a couple of games in hand over their opposing teams, this win has now moved them from the bottom place in the league and hopefully the team will keep the hard work up for the rest of the season and run in a lot more points and climb back up the table. The other teams in the league will hopefully see this result and think twice about being so confident when playing The Angels as they most defiantly do have the taste for winning now.

Angels Team – Abi, Elaine, Lizzi, Ginney, Mother, Kelly, Cath, No Money, Feisty, Emma, Jess, Deb Lamb, Julie, Claire and Smorley.

Forward of the match-Kelly
Back of the match-Smorley

Sunday 14th February 2010

Buckingham swans 61-0 Witney

TEAM

ELAINE,MARIA,ABI,CATHERINE,DEBBIE,KELLY,NAOMI,HEIDI,EMMA(v.c),SARAH,CLAIRE,LIZZY,JULIE,JINNY(new)

Forward of the match-Elaine
Back of the match-Smorley

Sunday 22nd November 2009

Witney Angels 5-8 Oxford

Played a great game against the 'feisty' Oxford away on sunday but lost 5-8 after a penalty close to the end.Due to numbers dropping before the game the girls played with 14 and put in one of their best games so far this season.We were just very unlucky not to have a win.Well done to the girls for your efforts :)

TEAM

ABI,LIZZY,NOMONEY,DEBBIE.G,LOU LYON,CATHERINE,KELLY,JEN,MARE

EMMA,DEBBIE LAMB,HEIDI,JULIE,SMORLEY,CLAIRE

Forward of the Match – No Money
Back of the match - Julie

Sunday 1st November 2009

Witney Angels 5 – 10 Eccleshaw Ladies

It had been a long wait in-between matches for the Angels, after a disappointing week before with Lutterworth taking a walk over from them due to lack of numbers the Witney girls were eagerly awaiting their match against recently promoted Eccleshaw. After a lot of rain during the night the pitches were in fantastic rugby conditions as both teams took to the pitch.The beginning of the first half saw a great effort from Witney, with a good set up from the first kick off Emma made some valuable ground before being stopped by the defense. The beginning of the match was played in the Eccleshaw 22 and due to some good scrums and some fantastic pick and goes, Kelly went over the line to score her first ever try for the Angels and what was to be their only score of the game. Unfortunately for the Angels conceding a try seemed to spur on the opposition and the game really did become much more even. The Angels held off the strong Eccleshaw back line with some good tackles going in, the opposition had a very nippy fullback who was halted by Claire with a superb try saving tackle. The rest of the half carried on line this with the Angels fiercely defending their line. Unfortunately a gap was spotted and Eccleshaw went over the line to score their first of the game, leaving the score 5-5 at half time. The second half was very much the same, the Angels found themselves under a lot of pressure and they never really managed to get the ball away into open play. The elements were against them as they had a strong wind to play into which didn’t help. Despite some good efforts and some more good tackling Eccleshaw went over for another try leaving the final score as 10-5, another unfortunate loss for the Angels.

Looking back on the match there were a lot of positives, both teams were equally matched but the Angels have some work to do if they want to be recognized as serious competitors in this league and start defeating these teams that they are more than capable of beating.

 Angels Team – Elaine, Maria, Abi, Mother, No Money, Kelly, Jen Jen (c), Cath, Mare, Emma, Lizzy, Feisty, Julie, Claire, Smorley.

 
Forward of the Match – Kelly
Back of the Match – Emma

Sunday 4th October 2009

TEAM

ABI,MARIA,ELAINE,DEBBIE.G,CATHERINE,KELLY,JEN,NOMONEY,MRS P,

EMMA,DEBBIE LAMB,HEIDI,JULIE (new),LIZZY,SMORLEY

REP - MARE

Forward of the Match -Kelly
Back of the Match - Deb Lamb

Sunday 20th September 2009

Witney Angels 12 – 0 Hucclecote Ladies

It had been almost 5 months since the Angels last game of the season and after a summer of hard fitness training and having their first 2 games of the season cancelled the Angels were more than ready to face Hucclecote. The last encounter between the 2 teams wasn’t exactly pleasant and the girls understood how hard this game was going to be, especially with the weather being extremely hot and the ground not exactly being soft.The first half of the match was mostly spent in the Angels 22, with Hucclecote constantly putting on the pressure with some big runs, but the Angels defense was solid throughout and the only time the ball crossed the line it was held up by Elaine. In the first few minutes the Angels went down to 14 players when an injury forced Welsh Deb from the field and the scrums dropped to 7 in. Despite this the pack worked really well with the front row consisting of Abi, Maria Elaine who worked hard all afternoon, winning good ball and Kelly flying off the back row and nailing the number 9 and 10 with Jen. Hucclecote had many chances to score but never using a powerful No 8 for crash balls but she was stopped every time, and at one point they used a very quick full back who ran a lot of the pitch but was halted by Smorley. Unfortunately for the Angels they were trapped on that part of the pitch for the majority of the first half, with constant lineout’s and scrums, and despite some good clearance kicks by Emma, no space was really made and the score at half time was 0-0.Nothing could really be faulted during the half time talk, just to try and use the ball more and get it down the back line and to the wingers and to keep the great defense up! Both teams took back to the field, the opposition obviously getting frustrated that they had not managed to get any points even with the Angels only playing with 14 players. The second half was a much bigger improvement with the ball being moved around the pitch a lot more and the Angels defense was still fantastic, Heidi and Deb Lamb working well in the centers and getting stuck in with the breakdowns and Lizzy and Smorley outing in some great covering tackles out on the wing. After an unfortunate neck injury to a Hucclecote girl the match had a short intermission and the match was moved to another pitch. It was here that the Angels took their chances and played some fantastic rugby, the forwards dominating the rucks and mauls and after a lineout on the Hucclecote 5 meter line due to a penalty awarded to Witney, the forwards drove the ball over the line and Cath getting the score making it 5-0. This gave the Angels the confidence boost they needed and they dominated the rest of the game, for the first time in a while the atmosphere was so positive and it really reflected in their game. Unfortunately after hurting herself a number a times during the game No Money was sidelined after having a fantastic game. The Angels were now 2 players down and with 15 mins to go they all knew they had to keep the effort up or a win could slip through their fingers. A few minutes later after another stolen lineout by Cath the ball was unleashed to the backs to shipped it down the line and into the hands of Smorley who broke through several defenders, running over half the length of the pitch and scoring under the posts which Emma cooley converted.As the final whistle went a lot of cheers were heard and there were a lot of smiles on faces. Even with 2 players down and no subs the Angels secured a fantastic win, a great effort by all! A special mention to Claire who played her first ever game for Witney, she was only meant to start on the bench and come on during the 2nd half but due to a lack of subs on the Angels part Claire played the entire game and put in a fab effort! Even after being smacked in the nose she worked hard during the entire game having some great runs and fearless in her tackles….welcome to the team Claire J

Angels Squad – Abi, Maria, Elaine, Mother, Welsh Deb, Cath, Kelly, No Money, Jen Jen (c) Emma, Deb Lamb, Feisty, Claire, Lizzy, Smorley.

Forward of the Match – No Money
Back of the Match – Jen Jen