31st March  2006

1's aim to end best ever season with a win, as 2's eye place history.

The Men's 1's play struggling Oxford Hawks at home on Sat, 14.00 start at Tuddenham Road, in their last league game of the season and will want to end it on a high. It has been a great year for the team and they should be very proud of their first season back in the national league.  There is no doubt this side can go onto bigger and better things.

The Men's 2's face probably the biggest game of their history when they travel to West Herts. A win or a draw would see Ipswich promoted to the Top East League for the first time in club history. The  Men's 4s play Harleston 7's in their last league game and again will want to end the season with a win . The Men's Vets play Chelmsford away.

The Women's 4's finish their season with a game against Grasshopper 2's and the big question is can they finish with a win? The Women's Vet's travel to Holcombe Hockey Club in Kent to represent Suffolk in the East Tournament. The winners will go through to the National Final. Ipswich have won the National title 3 times and have a strong side this year so will be looking for a good result.

31st March  2006

Curry and Quiz Night-sat 1st April

Come along and prove you are not an April Fool. Curry at 7pm, Quiz at 8pm. Tickets £5 pp. Contact James Wrinch for details.

29th March  2006

Ellis talks about her Commonwealth experience

If you want to hear all about Jo's time in Melbourne then tune into Suffolk Radio on Friday 31st March between 6.15 and 6.30pm.  Jo will be one of the athletes talking about their time in Australia.

BBC Suffolk Radio can be found at 95.5, 95.9, 103.9 & 106.4 FM or you can listen online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/radiosuffolk/

The girls enjoying the win.

28th March  2006

Ellis grabs bronze

In a nail biting finish to the bronze medal play-off game England defeated New Zealand on penalty strokes.  With the game 0-0 after extra time it was down to the nerve racking strokes. England's goal keeper Carolyn Reid was the heroine as she saved 2 strokes to see England take the bronze medal.

England Women 2006 Commonwealth Bronze Medal Winners

copyright-England Hockey

Jo played a large part in the final game and could have won it but her great diving deflection just missed the top corner of the goal with 2 minutes to go.

Well done Jo you did yourself your country and your Club proud.

Watch this space for pictures of Jo and her second Commonwealth medal.

28th March  2006

1's go down fighting but 2's win moves them so close.

The Men's 1's lost to promotion chasing Indian Gymkhana on Sunday 3-2. Ipswich could and probably should have won but it was not to be. The Men play their last game on Saturday 1st April v Oxford Hawks.

The Men's 2's beat Colchester 3-2 and now now that a win or draw against West Herts would take them into Premier A for the first time in their history. The Men's 3's beat  6th placed Lowestoft railway 6-1 to finish their season on a high in 3rd place. The  Men's 4s lost their  league game v Cranes but will have one more chance to end the season on a high as they play their last re-arranged fixture next weekend. . The Men's Vets game v Bishop Stortford was cancelled.

The Women's 2's beat  Cambridge University 2's 4-1 and finished in 4th place. A great end to the season for a team re-building with several youngsters.  The Women's 3's lost their local derby game against Bury St Edmunds 2's 3-2.The 4's drew 0-0with 2nd placed team Castaways but will be happy with the result as they only had 8 players!!

A review of the season will appear next weekend.

23rd March  2006

1's face tough game, as 2's turn up the pressure.

The Men's 1's face 3rd placed Indian Gymkhana on Sunday at 13.30 @ Tuddenham Road.  Even though Ipswich beat their visitors 6-3 away from home last time, the team know this will be a real test as their visitors are still in line for a play-off spot.

The Men's 2's face a tough game against 6th placed Colchester but they would be very happy with a repeat of their 4-0 win early on in the season. Should Ipswich win and Pelicans lose Ipswich would be prompted to the East's highest league. The Men's 3's play their last league game against 6th placed Lowestoft railway, whom they beat 6-1 earlier on in the season and the team would like to end the season with a good win. The  Men's 4s also play their last game and again would like to win against opponents Cranes. The Men's Vets play Bishop Stortford away.

The Women's 2's also wrap up their league fixtures and they face relegation threaten Cambridge University 2's. Ipswich will want to win to try and grab a 3rd place finish.  The Women's 3's will be sorry to see the season end as they look to continue their winning run. They face a local derby game against Bury St Edmunds 2's. The 4's finish their fixtures with a tough game against the 2nd placed team Castaways, a win would be a fitting finale to the best season for the 4's for 3 years.

23rd March  2006

England Women lose to Australia & must turn attention to Bronze

Ipswich star Jo Ellis and her England teammates lost 3-0 to Australia and missed out on a chance to claim the gold medal. England started better than their hosts but were again undone by a lack of clinical finishing, while Australia took their chances.

England now take on the New Zealand side that beat them 4-0 in the group stage, for the bronze medal. The game is at 23.30 GMT on Friday 24th March.

20th March  2006

England Women slip to defeat against New Zealand

Ipswich star Jo Ellis and her England teammates were undone by a well drilled New Zealand side. England lost 4-0 after making the better start but a mistake by defender Lisa Wooding let in the Kiwis and England seemed to lose heart after they converted their short corner.

England now take on Australia in the first semi final on Thursday (00.00 GMT-weds night into Thursday morning).

20th March  2006

England Women destroy Barbados and face New Zealand to top pool.

Ipswich star Jo Ellis and her England teammates destroyed Barbados 10-0 early this morning to lead their pool on goal difference from New Zealand They face the Kiwis at 0.500 GMT tomorrow and know that a win or a draw would be enough to see them win the pool.

20th March  2006

1's grab a point and 2's move to within 2 games of promotion.

The Men's 1's made the long journey to Wales and came home happy with a well deserved point. 2-0 up with 10 mins left to play Ipswich could have had the win but they can take heart form the fact that they are the first team in the league to take points form the Welsh team at home.

The Men's 2's had a good 5-2 win over St Neots and when then even happier to hear that 3rd placed Pelicans lost. That leaves Ipswich 1 point behind them with a game in hand and with only Pelicans only having 1 more game to play. Ipswich know 2 wins out of 2 would see them promoted into Premier A. The Men's 3's kept up the unbeaten run with a 6-1 win against Pelicans 2's. Unfortunately the third placed  Men's 4s lost 5-4 in a great game against Felixstowe 2's . The Men's Vets though beat Waveney 6-0 to keep them in fine form as they approach their cup semi-final.

The Women's 2's played some great hockey against a temperamental Sudbury side and will be happy with taking a point of the league winners. The  Women's 3's continued with their winning ways, beating Harleston 3's 3-1. The 4's grabbed a point against Sudbury 4's and are still on course for a 5th place finish.

On Sunday the Women's vets beat Christchurch 7-0 and IES 5-0 to retain their Suffolk Title. The team now go into the east round to be played at Rochester on Sunday 2nd April. You can view photos from the games here. 

The Mixed side got a walk over as Long Sutton could not raise a side in Mixed plate competition.

Finally the U18 boys lost 6-2 to Cannock in the Quarter Finals of the National Cup. The score line dies not reflect how close this game was and it was only in the last 5 minutes that Cannock made the tie safe.

17th March  2006

England Women open with good win.

Ipswich star Jo Ellis played a large part in England's 5-0 win over Canada. Ellis was full of invention and skill and along with her fellow teammates was just too good for the plucky Canadians.

The girls only have 1 night off as the face Scotland on Saturday Morning. You can watch this game live at 23.30 TONIGHT on BBC Interactive.

Jo is in good spirits and is looking forward to the game.

17th March  2006

1's head to Wales as 2's must win against St Neots.

The Men's 1's make the long journey to Whitchurch for a tough game against the leagues 3rd placed side. The teams drew 4-4 in their last meeting but Ipswich know that a win is a must , with only 3 games to go,  if they want to push for 4th spot.

The promotion chasing Men's 2's are fully aware of the need for the win against bottom team St Neots. the 2's ran out 6-1 winners in the last meeting and another win like that would be the perfect result. The Men's 3's will be hoping to repeat last weeks good win with  a win over mi-table Pelicans 2's. Third placed  Men's 4s undefeated in 2006 face 2nd place Felixstowe 2's and ironically it was Felixstowe that was the last team to defeat the Ipswich team. revenge would be sweet. The Men's Vets face Waveney and will want another win.

The Women's 2's face a tough challenge as they play unbeaten leaders Sudbury but the 2's will be keen to  get the points  in their last home league game of the season. The  Women's 3's on a high after beating IES last weekend, face 2nd bottom side Harleston 3's and will want all 3 points. The 4's also looking for thier second consecutive win, play Sudbury 4's, who are only 3 points behind the Suffolk team.

On Sunday the Women's vets play in the Suffolk round of the Veterans Tournament and will face IES and Christchurch. The winners ill earn the right to represent the County in the East Tournament.  The Mixed side play Long Sutton in the 2nd round of the Mixed plate competition.

Finally the U18 boys play Cannock in the Quarter Finals of the National Cup. This is the first time that an Ipswich boys team has reached this stage and with the winners going through to the round robin finals on 29th and 30th April, this is a very important game. The match starts at 11.30am at Henley Road please come along and support our historic Boys side.

13th March  2006

Ipswich star Jo Ellis counts down to Commonwealth start.

Having been out in Melbourne for almost a week, Ipswich's England star Jo Ellis has finally shaken off any effects of jet lag and is just about adjusted to the heat.

Jo in action for England v Spain

The girls have been training hard, with only 1 day off and have now moved into the athletes village, which sounds like food heaven. Supposedly everything is free and you can get just about any food or drink you want! 

The BBC will be showing all the action form the games and you can download  the schedule here.

The girls kick off with their first game v Canada on  Friday Morning (GMT 02.30)

13th March  2006

1's  5 star performance , as 2's cling onto promotion hopes.

The Men's 1's outplayed Birmingham University on Sunday to record a good 5-1 win. Richard Evans scored his second hat-trick of the season to take his goal tally to 18. Photos from the game can be viewed here.

Hat-trick hero Richard Evans

The Men's 2's won 6-3 at Cambridge University 2's and despite Bury winning, Ipswich are still able to catch 3rd placed Pelicans. The Men's 3's  destroyed  bottom side Watton 6-1 to remain in 3rd place. The Men's 4s beat Norwich City 4's, 2-0 to continue with winning ways. The Men's Vets completed a very successful weekend for the men with a 3-2 win over  Norwich Exiles.

The Women's 2's fought hard against Bourne but left it to late to grab a point , losing 3-2.   The  Women's 3's turned in their best performance of the season with a 3-1 win against local rivals IES. The 4's also completed a good day by beating Haverhill 2's 2-1.

9th March  2006

Crunch time for Men's 2's, while the 1's look to recapture home form

The Men's 1's face Birmingham University on Sunday and after a poor result last weekend will be keen to teat the Tuddenham road crowd to a good display. The game starts at 13.30.  The Men's 2's face second from bottom Cambridge University 2's and know that if 3rd placed Bury lose to 2nd placed Pelicans then a win for Ipswich would close the gap to Bury to a mere 3 points. Ipswich also have a game in hand against 3rd from bottom West Herts.

The Men's 3's  who no longer can gain promotion face bottom side Watton and will want a high scoring win. The Men's 4s are enjoying their best season for a while and play Norwich City 4's, who lie in mid-table.  The Men's Vets face Norwich Exiles in what is normally a well contested game.

The Women's 2's will be looking to continue their winning run with 3 points against Bourne, while the Women's 3's have a local derby game against IES. The 4's play Haverhill 2's who are 6 points head of them.

6th March  2006

Promotion and Relegation issues.

With only 4 games left in the men's EHL South Division the Men's 1's will be looking for a clean sweep of wins to try and secure a great 4th place finish.  IN their first season back in the EHL the Men will be pleased with securing a place for next season but will probably rue their lack of consistency, which if mastered could have seen them pushing for a promotion spot. 

With only 3 weeks of the East Hockey left it is pleasing to note that no sides from either the Women's or the Men's sections are facing relegation. The Men's 2's are the only team left chasing a promotion spot but they will need to re-discover some early form if they want to make it up to Prem A. With 3 teams going up Ipswich lie in 4th place 6 points behind 3rd place Bury but with a game in hand.  Ipswich's last games see them face 4  teams  that in the bottom 4 while Bury play 2nd placed Pelicans, mid-table Redbridge and lowly St Neots. It could go all the way!

The Women's 2's, Men's 3's and Men's 4s have all had very good seasons that should see them record top 4 spots and bodes well for some promotion chasing next season.

The Women's 3's have had a bit of an up and down season but are finishing strongly and look likely to register a mid-table finish. The 4's too have had some ups and downs but could still finish in 4th place if result go their way.

The Men's Vets have had a superb season, not quite conquering all in the east league  but they have made the Vintage Cup semi-finals, a first for them.

The Women's 1's still have 5 league games to play but will not resume their games until 13th May. At present they lie in 6th place 1 point of second place and still very much in the hunt for a Super Cup place (top 3)

6th March  2006

Men's 1's mauled by tigers as Women dumped out of Cup by Donny.

The Women's 1's lost their Cup Quarter Final away against Doncaster 3-2 and will be hugely disappointed. The team were the best side for the majority of the game but could not find the killer touch in front of goal and let in two sloppy goals. The  Women's 2's though moved into 3rd place in the East League Div1 North with a 2-0 win away at Braintree.  The  Women's  3's also recorded a fine 3-2 win over Old Buckingham .The 4's could not find the winning feeling though losing 3-1 to Grasshoppers.

The Men's 1's found the going hard against Barford Tigers and slumped to a 4-1 loss to leave them in 5th place in the league. The Men's 2's run of bad luck continued as they lost 3-2 to Redbridge and Ilford to see their promotion hopes fading. The 3's also lost 4-3  to local rivals Felixstowe. The 4'sthough remain unbeaten in 2006 with a 1-1 draw with Harleston 6's. The Vets also drew with Pelicans 4-4.