Slazenger EHL

Premier Division

Bowdon Hightown v Ipswich

Drew 2-2 (E Van Poortvliet, J Ellis)

Ipswich returned from Manchester and their game against 3rd placed Bowdon Hightown with a well deserved 2-2 draw. Despite being happy at claiming their first point in 3 games in the Slazenger EHL Premier League, Ipswich know that they could and should have returned home to Suffolk with all 3 points.

With a squad hit by injuries and unavailability due to work commitments,  Ipswich travelled North with only 12 players but despite such a small team you could not fault the work rate and commitment shown by all the players.

Ipswich started the game in their usual slow style but unlike past weeks they managed to keep their hosts from scoring, Charlotte Lee-Smith in the Ipswich goal in particular turning in a great performance. With Ipswich now keeping better possession of the ball they started to create chances and seemed to penetrate the Bowdon circle at will. Despite the amount of times Ipswich threatened, some poor decision making the in the circle saw the hosts let of the hook and as in previous weeks Ipswich were soon punished.  Ashleigh Ball scoring for \Bowdon from a short corner in the 13th minute.  Ipswich looked to get back into the game but time and time again were frustrated by Bowdon's stick tackling that was breaking down play.  Finally Ipswich got the breakthrough they wanted ,when in the 33rd minute a great through ball from Kate Hector found Evie Van-Poortvliet unmarked  in the circle. Van-Poortvliet calmly deflected the ball past the Bowdon to keeper to score her 3rd goal pf the season.

Evie Van-Poortvliet

The second half saw Ipswich turn up the pressure and Vic Sandall went closest to giving the Suffolk team the lead but her first time shot sailed over the bar. As Bowdon continued to stick tackle it was inevitable that a yellow card would be the outcome and sure enough in the 56th minute a Bowdon player was sent off and Ipswich had a one man advantage. Ironically this seemed to inspire Bowdon and in the 59th minute they again took the lead, Lindsay French scoring after a breakaway. Despite the setback Ipswich continued to work hard and were rewarded instantly with a short corner. A slick routine saw Jo Ellis score her 2nd goal of the season and Ipswich were now looking for the winner.  Despite some good attacking play and another Bowdon player getting sent off, Ipswich could not find the killer goal and had to settle for the point.

The Suffolk side remain in 6th place and face local rivals Chelmsford at Home on Saturday, in their final game before the Christmas and Indoor break. With both teams level on 11 points this as usual will be a passionate and hard fought game that neither side can really afford to lose if they want to keep within in sight of the leaders.

East League

Div 1 North

Lowestoft v Ipswich

Won 4-3 (L King (3), Fiona Lane)

Ipswich started strongly, controlling the game with simple passing hockey. Lowestoft rarely ventured over the halfway line during the first 10 minutes. Hannah Godfrey, Hannah Tallent and Lisa Jones stepped up to close down the initial attacks from the home side, working the ball round the back via Kat Wrinch, and using Leisa King successfully as a central pivot to launch the next Ipswich attacking move. Godfrey and Tallent combined very well with Jenny Ellis & Sarah Tallent in midfield to push forward down the left. And similar good work was taking place on the other side of the pitch with Jo Gray feeding some great balls forward to Amanda Little and Annie Broster.

However, despite the balance of possession, it was Lowestoft who opened the scoring on their first time into the D, exploiting narrow gaps between defenders to deflect the ball just inside Claire Gould’s left post. Ipswich reacted swiftly and a few minutes later pulled back level when Leisa King struck a perfect reverse hit from the edge of the circle.

Leisa King

Lowestoft, supported by a large & loud home crowd, were getting more into their stride now and succeeded in taking every opportunity to break down the attacking play from the Ipswich forwards and midfield. Some interesting umpiring added a further dimension to the proceedings and at one stage it might have been advisable for Leisa King to refrain from even looking at the ball. It was Lowestoft who were able to ride the luck of the umpire’s whistle and on only their second foray into the D, gained a penalty corner from which they scored their second. This time Ipswich took a bit longer to respond. Despite some great passing play into the D, and winning several penalty corners, it was the home team who took their advantage into half-time.

Ipswich had no intention of submitting and about 5 minutes into the second half King unleashed another cracking reverse strike leaving the Lowestoft goalkeeper completely stranded and drawing the score back level at 2-2. While Ipswich had regained the controlling share of possession, again Lowestoft fought back capitalising on any hesitation from Ipswich to create counter attacks. And again they went ahead when a well worked move round the D created the space to fire their third goal from as many opportunities. Fortunately Ipswich remained confident. The midfield gained numerous free hits from the edge of the D, but the Lowestoft defence were successful at blocking the final pass or shot on goal. Similarly, several short corners went agonisingly close but it was King who eventually levelled the scores when she picked up the rebound from her initial shot and firmly struck a second time to complete yet another hat-trick.

Aware of time running low, and with the home team temporarily having the wind knocked out their sails, Ipswich continued to push forward. Annie Broster was having a great game at right midfield and refused to allow attempted clearances from defence to get beyond the 25. With just a few minutes left to play, Leisa King hit a superb ball straight across the goal mouth for Fiona Lane to deflect into an open goal to clinch the winner.

Although Ipswich had the greater share of possession, credit must go to Lowestoft who gave a fine demonstration of how to take your chances, scoring on 3 out of their 4 real opportunities.

Man of the match – Annie Broster

East League

Div2 Central

Ipswich v Sudbury 2's

Won 2-0 (R Moore, N Keely)

Ipswich entered the last game before Christmas aware of Sudbury’s poor form thus far this season, but equally wary that complacency never helped no-one (grammar schmammar).  Indeed, the first 5 minutes indicated that the game was going to be a good competitive match with Sudbury determined not to go down without a fight. 

The good news (which came early on) is that Ipswich have finally sorted out their short corners which were sharp, decisive and most importantly…successful!  The first goal came from one such short corner as Nicky Keely stepped in from injecting to tip Martine Butcher’s  excellent ball just inside the post.  A classic goal which proved to be an excellent confidence booster for the home team.  Ipswich continued to dominate as they played a passing game with excellent individual performances from Connie Bedingfield (who henceforth shall be known as ‘Stan’) and star guest Sarah Logan who dragged herself form her sickbed to come to our assistance!  The goal tally was soon doubled as Clare Firth put an excellent free hit straight onto the stick of Roisin Moore who turned and nutmegged the keeper with all her usual style and grace. 

The second half saw Sudbury forced to cope with the significant pressure supplied by an on-form Ipswich side who were working hard as a comprehensive unit for each other.  Also improved was Ipswich’s pressing in of Sudbury 16’s which forced the ball deep and wide every time.  Bizarrely the second half did not supply any more goals as the Sudbury defence managed somehow to contain the attack despite excellent running from both Alice Christian and Alex Daniels.  Nicky Keely also had an awesome second half which saw almost all the play down the right-hand side of the pitch which kept her running for pretty much 35 minutes solid.  Methinks she’ll be sorry in the morning!

The resident doctor broke her Hippocratic Oath by attempting to break the foot of a Sudbury player and proceeding to be outraged only because the Umpire failed to give a short corner!  This was presumably because he was feeling sorry for the abused Sudbury patient…eejit.  Clare Firth did get some kind of compensation later in game however as another Sudbury player was sin-binned for slapping her round the face!  Don’t worry boys, her devilishly good looks remain entirely intact!  The Umpiring was generally of a good standard however which really added to the playability of the game. (And yes. Playability is a word). 

The only team member who unfortunately didn’t pull their weight was the keeper Kate Collins who touched the ball only once throughout the entire match. Poor show really.  But this can only be a complement to the defence who were clearly able to soak up any serious attacking play and dispatch it accordingly!  The game really was a great team performance with everyone giving maximum effort and keeping up a first class work rate for the entirety of the match.

I feel a special mention has to go to the Sudbury defender who managed to talk incessantly for the entire game…someone really should mention that maybe if she didn’t shout so much she might be able to run faster!! 

The 3s therefore enter the Festive Season in most excellent spirits, having stormed through the first half of the season as the only team in the league not to have lost a game.

Slazenger EHL

South Division

 Ipswich  v Oxted

Lost 5-3 (K Dixon, I Smith, R Evans) 

Friendly

Southend 3's v Ipswich

Lost 7-0

 Ipswich 5s were a little disappointed at their first defeat of the season but can take heart that it was against a Southend side that used this friendly to exercise several first & second team players. The quality of the drag flicks from two short corners was unlike any finishing that is seen in this league.

Andy Mays’ side did not have the best of starts when two players were lost before the start due to sickness & confrontations with the products of the automotive industry. Owen Cook started his first game ever between the sticks, pulled off some great saves but did not deserve to concede seven goals.

Although Ipswich were always chasing the game, they created plenty of opportunities to score but could not find the final pass & shot that would finally beat the Southend keeper who had a great game.

Eat Veterans League

Ipswich v Shefford and Sandy

Won 4-0  (Curzon, Cutting, Bryce, Glading)

Ipswich maintained their 100% record and the lead at the top of the league against 2nd placed Shefford, a team that they had never played before. Shefford proved to be a difficult team to beat but also to lack discipline as they questioned the umpire's decisions throughout and had harsh words to their own team mates. The home team were solid in defense and Steward in goal was rarely called upon, Curzon opened the scoring however, sweeping home a right wing cross and then Glading swept wide after a superb run by Foster. Cutting increased the lead before half time but Ipswich were aware that a 2 goal cushion was not enough against the hard working visitors.

Mid way through the second half Ipswich were grateful when Bryce converted following a penalty corner, and Fletton provided some grit in midfield to thwart the Shefford attack, and when beaten Gray was also in commanding form. The usually dependable Shefford defense then shot themselves in the foot when a quick free hit was intercepted by Fletton who passed to Glading to slide the ball home to put the game beyond the reach of the visitors, in fact Glading should have scored again but his effort was well saved.

Next week Ipswich travel to take on Cambridge City.