EHL Premier 1 

Sat 2nd October 2004

BTexact Ipswich v Slough

Lost 4-2 (K Spencer, T Barnard)

Ipswich started the game at speed, with the team showing composure and confidence in their attacking play. Cathy Gilliat-Smith created chances in front of goal and King and Ellis moved the ball well down the right. Slough however opened the scoring when a break through the middle resulted with the ball sliding through to put the visitors ahead. Though against the run of play, it was an indication of the flow of the game; Slough converted their chances whilst Ipswich squandered them.

Ipswich still played the ball around with much better speed and accuracy than the previous weeks game, and the scored was quickly leveled when Kirsten Spencer struck from a penalty corner. Slough seemed to be able to get the ball transferred quickly through the middle of the pitch that enabled them to go from defence to attack in two or three passes. Ipswich needed to react more effectively to force the opposition to take a wider route. Slough again took the lead as keeper Becky Duggan was left with little cover and the ball was deflected over the diving keeper.

Under the guidance of Nick Thompson Ipswich have the ability to create attacks down either side yet Slough prevented them from switching the play and so Ipswich appeared to loose options in the final third of the pitch.

After half time Slough extended their lead with an excellently taken short corner, Ipswich again responded through Tanya Barnard. Increasingly it looked as if Ipswich were going to level the score and the home side showed their flare. However, in the final moment it was Slough, through another short corner who put the game to rest. The final score of 4-2 does not reflect the number of chances the home team created but it highlights the need to capitalise on them.

East League Premier 

Sat 2nd October 2004

Chelmsford 2's v Ipswich 2's

Lost 5-1 (J Gray)

Ipswich Ladies 2nd team traveled to Chelmsford 2's for their first East League Premier Division away match of the season.

An injury to goal keeper Hannah Robinson meant that defender Sam Bennett had to stand in, there were also 2nd team debut's for Vicky Hemphill and Beth Carly.

Ipswich were under attack right from the start of the game Chelmsford proving to be a confident and energetic side, Bennett playing very well and being able to stop most of the initial shots. The defence however took quite a long time to settle into the positional changes and Ipswich went in at half time 3-0 down.

The start of the second half saw Ipswich with a much better outlook and they were unlucky not to score when Beth Golding, Lucy Philp and Vicky Hemphill combined well, only to see several shots go agonizingly wide.

Chelmsford however made the most of their chances and were able to add a further
2 goals. Ipswich were able to score a consilation goal right at the end of match when Jo Gray converted a short corner.

Suffolk Division 1 League

Sat 2nd October 2004

Haverhill 2's v Ipswich 2's

Lost 1-0 

Ipswich Ladies IV's had a great start to the season even though they lost!  Their first match pitted them against recently relegated Haverhill 2's. 

Ipswich started well and for the first 10 minutes of the game the ball was kept deep in the Haverhill half, putting Haverhill on the back foot. However, it didn't take them long to pull together and push Ipswich back into their own half, Ipswich defended well and kept the score 0-0 going into the second half.

The goal was conceded 10 minutes into the second half, although by this stage Nareen Fenton (GK) and Sarah Ray (Sweeper) had done an excellent job of keeping the Haverhill forwards at bay.

The Ipswich team had 5 new players and had not had the opportunity to play a match as a team.  The Ladies worked extremely well together and held their own against a stronger team only losing 1-0.  The entire team deserves a pat on the back for turning out such a good game and it looks like the IV's are going to have a strong team this year. 

East League Premier A

Sat 2nd October 2004

 Ipswich v Blueharts

Won 8-2 (A Cook (2), C Palmer, I Smith (3), W Turner (2))

Blueharts visited Ipswich on Saturday having won their league game the previous week 6-5 against Chelmsford 2^nd eleven. Ipswich started well and were disciplined throughout the pitch having learnt a lot from their first  game against Harleston who had put Ipswich defence under a lot of pressure.

Although Blueharts were comfortable switching the ball around the back Ipswich stepped up and continuously stole the ball off either the defenders or intercepted passes in midfield. Andy Cooke opened the scoring from a well planned long corner with Chris Palmer for a second week stepping up to slot home a penalty stoke after Will Faulkner was illegally muscled off the ball in front of goal. 

Ipswich turned up the heat with Ivan smith getting the first of what was to be his hat trick and Will Turner putting a lovely effort just over the cross bar. Blueharts unchanged team from last season scored a soft goal and thoughts of Harleston’s courageous fight back the week before against Ipswich came flooding back. However Ipswich did very little wrong on Saturday with the defence solid in the way they played. With George Pinner absent the goal keeping was more than proficiently done by “old Timer” John Stewart who was most impressive. Will turner scored from a short corner just before half time.

Ipswich came out in the second half just as determined and it seemed that every attack ended in a goal. Richard Fox Ipswich’s captain failed to get on the score sheet but was instrumental in setting up goals for Ivan and Andy as well as key in the defensive structure. Will turner scored a sweet goal and Ivan got his third in a day when the only criticism that you could make about the Ipswich performance was that they should have won the game by 12 not the final 8 –2.

EHL Cup Round 2

Sun 3rd October 2004

Old Whitgiftians v  Ipswich 

Lost 5-4 Golden Goal (M Walker, W Faulkner (2), I Smith)

A depleted squad of just the bare 11 players with key personnel out due to family commitments or junior regional squad commitments travelled down to Croydon for their first cup game. 

The day was a wet start, which soon dried out but the change in the weather did not seem to lift a tired Ipswich team. Old Mid started better than the visitors and found gaps for passes down the centre of the park. After each goal they scored Ipswich some how found the energy and thought process to string a few passes together, but it was very patchy with most passes finding oppositions shirts (hard to believe when Ipswich had to wear a shocking orange second strip). Goals in the first half came from Matt Walker from a shot at the top of the D and Will Faulkner at a short corner on the stroke of half time. 2-2 at half time.

Extra time and golden goal saw a controversial penalty stroke given against Will Faulkner that was well taken to knock Ipswich out the cup. This game was the wake up call needed to keep Ipswich’s feet on the ground and sights firmly fixed on the need for consistent performances in the league.

Sat 2nd October 2004

Harleston  v  Ipswich 

Lost 6-3  (Glading (2), Langton)

Once again the vets lost to Harleston, a team they seem to find difficult to beat. On the day the opposition's unsporting hard tackling approach unsettled the visitors, and as is often the way when under pressure the decisions seemed to go against us.

Harleston took the lead converting a hotly disputed short corner, Glading pulled it back with a deft touch from Langton's shot/pass. Harleston took the lead from another short corner when they had hoped for a penalty flick and further increased the lead before Langton swept home from a short corner to reduce the arrears.

The second half continued as the first but fortunately without the ill tempered exchanges; Glading equalised after a goal mouth scramble but whilst Ipswich continued to press forward they did look rusty at times and conceded at regular intervals to see the game move beyond their reach although Gough was unlucky not to tap home from Langton's pass.
Ipswich now look forward to an historic game next week against Chelmsford, the first ever league fixture.