Foxy - clubman, Women’s 3s coach, vets stalwart, 2s left winger, junior coach….he’s pretty much done it all. But this weekend he took part in 3 matches that were goal fests! Most importantly his Women’s 3s took all 3 points in a 5-2 victory which saw huge sighs of relief across the club – well done. Foxy then played men’s 2s losing 5-8 and then on Sunday vets winning 8-1. Quite the weekend for Le Fox.

Elsewhere, the Women’s 1s and Women’s 2s went down valiantly with positives galore being taken from their reverses. The Women’s 4s lost against a top team, but do read Felix’s report, they did an amazing job. Whereas the Women’s 5s couldn’t find the net in a narrow reverse, the Men’s 3s once again had no such problem – is it a procession to the title now? The Men’s 4s lost narrowly, the 5s had a cracking 2-2 draw, a game I watched and absolutely loved. There is some serious talent (young and old) on show there! The

Men’s 2s are goal scoring bandits but their defence came up very short again and the Men’s 1s entertained in a 2-2 thriller against Surbiton with open play goals from, er, the defenders Southgate and Fry! They are fighting like a cornered tiger to preserve their EHL status, as to be fair is every team in a new league.

On Sunday the women’s vets went down 1-4 to Magpies and will go into the plate competition whereas the Men took apart Bury in an 8-1 victory…next rounds 3rd December.

Down south on Sunday, the boys U16 took on Surbiton and we’ll start with their match report, a thriller and one they will remember for years to come – shuffles!
Finally, the 9th December is our Christmas social. Your captains appointed social secretary will be touch this weekend! Prizes for the biggest team turnout. My money (a pint of ghost ship) is on the Men’s 2s – easy, hands down anyone wish to raise me on that one? No Men’s 1s or Women’s 1s match on the Sunday – will there be an appearance?

9 pages of match reports below – tasty!

Boys U16

In a marathon journey to Surbiton on a damp and dreary day, 14 resilient boys from Ipswich U16 faced off in a fiercely contested match. The feisty start was marked by intense stick tackles as Surbiton showcased their speed, making interceptions their specialty.
Ipswich earned their first penalty corner at the 17th minute, delivering a direct shot that was skillfully saved by the Surbiton keeper. The relentless attack by Ipswich led to a second short, with a slick maneuver from Austin to Fred, resulting in a left-post goal and a 1-0 lead.
Surbiton's physical midfield retaliated, leveling the score ten minutes later. The second half witnessed a strategic play, as a long pass to Dan Ingram saw him maneuver around the keeper, executing a reverse for a 1-2 advantage.

Surbiton had a short opportunity, expertly cut out by Aidan, maintaining Ipswich's narrow lead. Surbiton's well-drilled second goal during open play evened the score again. Aidan's block on a Surbiton short kept the game in suspense.

In an end-to-end battle, Surbiton earned a third short, thwarted by Charlie, only for the umpire to award another. This time, Callum's save kept Ipswich in contention.

A drive from Jakob to Dan nearly resulted in an Ipswich goal, but Surbiton anticipated Dan's moves and intercepted early. With five minutes left, the game paused as both captains urged their teams to calm down.

The climax unfolded in the shuffles, with Surbiton prevailing 3-2. Ipswich claimed a point for the 2-2 draw in the game, while Surbiton secured an additional point for the shuffle win. A rollercoaster of skill, strategy, and resilience defined this memorable U16 encounter.

Women’s 5s

Very bright sunshine made us all in a great mood for a match. We had a great match against Colchester 4s. We had a great deal of the possession in the first half and played some really neat hockey - I was particularly impressed with the precision and pace of our passes. Right at the start of the second half Colchester scored and whilst we played so well unfortunately we conceded another goal. Our new young goalie Clara played brilliantly but the player of the match, agreed by all was Jess Lawlor!!

Women’s 4s

East Women’s Division 3 North East Table is fairly instructive as it shows this is 2 leagues in 1; The leaders (Colchester 2) have 19 points and the team in 7th (Fram 1) have 15 points. We are in 8th on 8 points and the team in last (Sudbury 3) are yet to register. For the 4th week running we played one of the big 7 and despite what looks like a resounding defeat we actually played some of our best hockey all season. No rest for the wicked though as we play Felixstowe (2nd) on Saturday on their sandpit.

We knew Colchester would be a tough opposition and for the first quarter of the game we were able to match them tackle for tackle albeit with the game mainly played outside our D. It didn’t need the Coach’s tactical genius to spot the opposition’s greatest threat came from the best player on the pitch operating between midfield and attack; she either drove hard from the right (using the under-rated 90 degree underarm) or drifted wide and passed inside the channel releasing the winger. Eventually the pressure told with a simple move freeing the right winger on the inside channel to lay the ball back to the top of the circle leaving Helena helpless. A penalty Corner goal followed as the striker drifted outside the defensive press to shoot across into the RH post and not long after Colchester had their third goal as the young and rapid left winger attacked the base line allowing a simple tap in at the near post. Despite these setbacks the defence of Chele, Charlotte, Frankie and the excellent Ellie battled hard and actually worked the ball outside the forward press well, linking with Stens and Phoebe who were able to distribute the ball into the wide channels for Emily and Anna (easily her best game of the season) to take the ball forward. The effort from the central midfielders (Vicky, Min) helped by the forwards (Polly and Mel) meant that Colchester had to work hard to retain possession despite the score line and at half time there was actually a lot for the coach to be happy with.

A couple of tactical tweaks (keeping one forward high and dropping the other back into the midfield press) meant that the star player became peripheral. The work rate from the girls doubled led by the midfield with Anna, Emily and Izzy (on debut) consistently breaking up attacks and taking the ball forward. Stens and Phoebe began to take control of the ball, moving it around to the runners like Allie O (not in goal this week) and Vicky while Polly and Mel hassled the Colchester defence like demented rats. A couple of PCs came our way with the Colchester GK denying Phoebe with an excellent stop from the second of these. Having run themselves into the ground the team eventually conceded a 4th in the last play of the game after Helena had hurt her shoulder having earlier made a good save.

So lots for the coach to be happy with; the fight the team put up to get back into the game was outstanding and the effort from all has once again set the standard. The aim of the team now is to be the best of the rest and to hunt down Framlingham and IES 2 who we know we can compete with.

Women’s 3s

The sun was shining at Tuddenham Road and the Ladies 3s squad was looking very strong. A positive team talk from Foxy and decent warn up, set the Ladies up for a very confident start to the game. Ipswich conceded early, but this was answered by Lily Dobbs scoring our first goal off a short corner. Norwich Dragons gave away another short, and Ipswich took the lead with a straight strike hitting the back board from Jane Noordhuis leaving us with a 1 goal lead going into half time.

The half time talk was led by a very happy coach, who was finding it hard to fault our hockey (!). Ipswich were ready to pull away the with lead, but Norwich Dragons had other ideas, and equalised from a short corner. This seemed to spur the team on and some intricate passing moving up the pitch gave Millie Palmer the opportunity to put the ball past the keeper with an excellent touch on the deflection from Ro's reverse hit cross. Cue Foxy jumping for joy in the dug out. Another great passage of play between Becki and Millie resulted in Millie's second goal and a bang to the head for the Norwich keeper forcing them to play the rest of the match with 11 outfield players. Norwich came back out fighting and defending very effectively without their keeper and only let in one more goal, Becki Taliku scoring with a huge grin on her face.

So there we have it, our first win of the season!! The whole team played absolutely fantastically and everyone should be very happy with there performance. Roll one UEA 1s next week!

Final score: 5-2
MoM - Lauren Selby

Women’s 2s

This week saw the ladies 2s play top of the league Bury 1st team away.

Ipswich were missing some key players, the duracell bunny juniors had already competed challenging school fixtures and some senior players were carrying injuries, so this was always going to be a tough fixture. This proved evident when Ipswich found themselves under heavy pressure from the first whistle and quickly found themselves 1 then 2-0 down.
Coach Daley proved her worth by making some key tactical and positional changes, which allowed Ipswich to find their way into the game.

Ipswich started to create strong attacking opportunities through midfielders Izzy and Kat that led to a string of short corners. Unfortunately, these could not find the back of the net. Even a Sophie power house shot on to the post couldn't find its way in.

Kat's distribution through midfield continued to work Ipswich's attack up the pitch and collected her a couple of MOM votes. The team also saw the return of law enforcing Allie Olding as keeper and she enforced her presence on the game by making numerous key saves. But even her skill wasn't enough to get on the end of a well executed Bury short corner. 3-0.

As half-time approached, Ellie Scott fearlessly (most would say stupidly or recklessly) got her foot in the way of a flying shot and her toes took most of the clattering. She made sure to make an appropriate fuss and gave herself a moment off the pitch. 5 minutes into the second half, she made her return and put in a deserved man of the match performance.
The second half saw mounting pressure from the forward line, with Chloe W, Chloe M and Emily all creating goal scoring opportunities. On any other day these would have found their way into the goal, but alas today was not to be.

The defence and midfield soaked up significant physical pressure for the remainder of the game, with MOM runner up Beth Scott doing her best impression of an impassable brick wall. Bury broke down Ipswich's quick play, this saw Bury rack up their fair share of cards. Chloe M showed that she can get just a physical and found herself joining them on the naughty step and proud owner of today's DOD award. As the final whistle neared and Ipswich found themselves very tired, Bury finished off their goal tally with a reserve stick strike anyone would have been proud of.

The game proved to be a good learning experience for the team and there are plenty of positives to take away, with key areas to be worked on in training going forwards. The 4-0 score line flattered the opposition and doesn't reflect the battle Ipswich put in to the game.
Hopefully fortunes will change next week at home to Norwich City.

Women’s 1s

Ipswich Ladies 1s faced the unknown London team of Teddington, arguably the oldest hockey club in the world…

The first quarter was very busy. Ipswich knew the game plan and found their groove very quickly. Ipswich making small unit play between Emma Logan, Taylor Ball and Georgia Harrold a short corner was won. A fantastically executed shot from Captain Lucy Dunnett put Ipswich ahead at 6 minutes. 1-0. 6 minutes later, Teddington find a goal to equalise. 2 minutes later, Teddington sneak another through at a penalty corner. 2-1. 2 minutes later… Ipswich win their second penalty corner… and execute another well drilled corner; this time from Lizzy Wheelhouse finding the backboard. 2-2. An exciting first quarter over!

Second quarter welcomed more goals to the match on both sides. Ipswich scoring another penalty corner from the powerful Lucy Dunnett. 3-2 up. Teddington weren’t letting Ipswich get away with that lead for long… equalised 3 minutes later on penalty corners.

Half time comes around and Ipswich feeling good and in a very strong position. Moral high and game plan remains top priority. Ipswich kept the ball doing the work, passing was going well and players were staying calm under pressure, specifically POTM, Charlotte Satchwell. Unfortunately Teddington got the 7th goal of the game in half way through the third quarter. Ipswich were caught on the back foot and needed to regather to stay in contention of taking the 3 points.

Unfortunately a few forced errors in Ipswich’s defensive half took Teddington 5-3 ahead at 3/4 time. Ipswich needed to dig deep and find ways to penetrate their opposition’s circle in the final quarter. Final quarter, lungs started to struggle amongst the team and a few more errors started to emerge from mental fatigue. 3 minutes before the final whistle, Teddington countered on Ipswich error and took their final goal.

6-3 Teddington was the final score. Obviously not the result Ipswich wanted but the performance that they left on the pitch was brilliant. A very light squad and 2 debutants for the team; 13 year old and now the youngest NL player, Emilia Noordhuis and new member to IHC, Maddie Wagland. The girls built on last weeks grounding and have a strong foothold in their individual beliefs to score goals, deliver the game plan set and work hard for each other. Coach Mariette Rix couldn’t be prouder of the team’s positive performance.

Stat from this weekend comes from the highest percentage of penalty corner attacks converted; 100% success rate in the first half.

Next weekend, Ladies 1s host top of the table Guildford; coming off the back of their first loss of the season… let’s see what happens.

Men’s 5s

With a bare 11, Ipswich 5’s entertained I.ES 3’s at Tuddenham Road in the Humber Doucy Lane derby.

IES fielded a very experienced team, just relegated from the division above and one of the front runners for promotion. The match started end to end with good saves from both keepers. Ipswich opened the scoring in the 20th minute with an excellent attacking move between Ben Naylor, Peter Glading finishing with an excellence reverse tomahawk finish from Thomas Rawlings landing in in the top right hand corner.

Ipswich held on to their lead at half time and thoroughly deserved it with the best performance of the season by far. IES equalised early into the second half and soon after scoring Ipswich where reduced to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
Midfield dynamo Mike Cura went off with suspected concussion, when an IES attacker smashed the ball into the D deflecting off Neil’s stick and hitting Mike on the forehead. For once, Mike’s omission wasn’t a green card!!

For the remaining 25 minutes, Ipswich played with 10 men with one “holding” defensive midfielder in front of the back 4 and the more “youthful” players counter attacking.
This tactic appeared to work when yet another great fast attacking move between Stretch, Ben and Thomas ended up with a very well taken goal by Ben Naylor, his first for the club.
Ipswich could have gone 3-1 up with a similar move between Stretch, Peter, and Ben ended with Thomas putting another reverse tomahawk, inches wide of the post.
IES as expected piled on the pressure and great credit to goalkeeper Gavin pulling off many saves and one of the IES shots hitting the post and rolling along the goal line with no red shirts around to poke it in.

IES finally secured a leveller when a loose ball gave their strikers a chance to make it 2-2.
Their match was very end to end despite Ipswich having 10 players and finished with an IES penalty corner and the umpires whistling for full time. IES piled their men forward for the opportunity to win the game.

To compound the tension Ian Taylor was then sent to the halfway line for running too soon, leaving Gavin and his 3 remaining defenders.

IES decided to smash the ball and who other than Roger Girling was in the right place to deflect the shot away to end the match.

A great match with plenty of drama and an excellent team performance all round. The team all played and defended as a team great shape and took their chances and nearly won the match with 10 men.

Good shout to Gavin who was excellent in goal, Roger with so many defensive blocks, including the last penalty corner save. Man of the match Thomas Rawlings who put in a great shift and scored an excellent goal and was a handful in attack when running with the ball.

Men’s 4s

M4 match report - M4 not easy to beat! UEA 3s were probably expecting a walk in the park when Ips M4 visited Norwich. However thats not what they got. With another scratch team this season we set our stall out early and passed the ball really well to create the first real chances. The second attempt was a slight scramble in the D ready for Johnny Hughes to slide the ball under the keeper for it to trickle over the line!! 1-0. UEA were not pleased. 1-0.

Within 5 minutes Ipswich really should have been 3-0 up with both Will S & Will J working well in midfield, passing the ball quickly to Ant whos first time flick toward the keeper wasnt quite good enough, and then a second which hit the keeper and just got stuck between his pads only for the defense to clear. Shame.

UEA had to work hard though, and a few mins later got a really lucky goal on the break, Callum not really having much chance to save it.

Then with the game still really being 50/50, UEA got another goal to make it 2-1 at half time.Some real positive talking at half time, and Ipswich wanted to get an equalizer. Some brilliant play, some good running and plenty of passing and there were a few chances but none ever that landed quite right. UEA were very fit, very young and hunted in packs. This eventually wore Ipswich out and slowly we ran out of legs and options. Lack of substitutes didn't help as we had no time for recovery for those running their socks off in midfield (namely, Archie, Will S, Will J) all of whom had excellent games.

UEAs pressure paid off and they got their 3rd which effectively closed the game out.
That said, one more sub, and one more younger/fitter midfield and it would've been a different result. This M4 team is so close to winning more games and are only narrowly defeated by such small margins its quite frustrating for all, especially as everyone is putting in such a shift each game. We also need a bit more consistency in names on the team sheet as a scratch team each week also makes it difficult to properly gel.

No excuses, Ips were beat but leave the pitch with their heads held high after a really good game, some decent umpiring from UEA, and an opposition that were competitive but friendly. A far better result than our previous trip to UEA. Congrats to the whole team for brilliant effort, and a call out to two players this week - Will S and Jack C - both played excellently this week. Well done.

Men’s 3s

Ipswich 3s v Sudbury 3s 9-0

With the sun below the club house and the temperature dropping Ipswich were slow to start against a Sudbury team keen to put us under pressure. Early play was frantic and a bit disjointed but slowly but surely it started to come together.
Jakob demonstrated his skill causing the opposition lots of problems. Although it was Fred who opened the scoring with another reverse stick goal. Ant followed with a tasty drag flick into the top corner from a penalty corner. Paddy returning from injury even popped up in the D to bag one from left back. With two from Jakob and one from Sam B it was 6-0 at half-time.

The second half continued the territorial domination with structure being thrown to the lions with, it seemed, six up front pressing as well as an industrial iron! The ball was turned over again and again. But with 20 players in the opposition quarter finding the goal was proving frustratingly difficult. Fred managed another brace to secure his hat-trick and Oscar scored one to round out the scoring.

Possibly not our finest performance as a team with everyone trying to get on the score sheet - at one short corner I looked back to see no-one on the half way line. Contributing to this was the temperature with the backs at risk from hypothermia if they didn't run forward to warm up!

To make sure we could justify a match fee for Tom in goal the defence started using him as the back pivot to give him a handful of touches in the game passing round the back. MOM to Jakob for outstanding skill, well done while the less salubrious award goes to Fred for stopping a penalty corner with his hand #thatrulechangedyearsago!

Men’s 2s

As the team warmed up so did the weather with many players realising it wasn’t quite yet base layer weather. The game started off well for Ipswich, an early break past the defence for Josh followed by a lovely pass across goal met Aiden’s over lapping run and sliding deflection to start of the 1st of 13 goals that day.

Their first goal then came from a lapse in concentration by a certain RB. A slow bobbly ball across the D which seemed to take 30 seconds slipped through the hole in his stick and as Jez tried to clear the first one it fell to their forward to make it 1-1.
From this point the goals started coming thick and fast. This ultimately led to this particular reporter having a very lacking memory of much of the match.

One of Ipswich’s goals came from an aerial to the top of the D for foxy who controlled it smoothly, over to Wardy who crossed to Windy to finish of back post making it 2-1. Wardy cracked in a corner but the half time score was 3-4 with their goals coming mostly from some handy individual skill along with a powerful top corner strike by their player coach formerly of Cambridge (had some time to chit chat).

The game ended 8-5 with a somewhat deflated Ipswich letting in a few easy chances. 12 goals conceded in 2 weeks is certainly not a stat line that needs repeating but one positive is the team’s ability to score 5 goals past a top of the table team in the league. We go again next week with Tuesdays session promising lots of defensive work hopefully.

Men’s 1s

Match Report: Ipswich vs. Surbiton 2's

This Sunday clash between Ipswich and Surbiton 2's at the Tuddenham Road venue promised to be a thrilling encounter between two competitive hockey teams. The chilly November weather didn't deter the players' enthusiasm as they took to the field, ready to display their skills and determination, after a few of the Ipswich 1st team players helped out with coaching Ipswich’s Junior session prior to the match.

Team Lineups:
Ipswich: Ipswich fielded a strong lineup, with experienced players and promising youngsters in their squad.

Surbiton 2's: Surbiton 2's brought a mix of youth and experience, aiming to give a tough challenge to the home team.

The Match:
The National League encounter between Ipswich and Surbiton 2's kicked off with all the intensity that fans have come to expect from this level of competition. Both teams had their share of early chances, but it was Surbiton who broke through first with a well-executed short corner in the opening quarter. A precisely placed drag flick found its way to the bottom right corner of the Ipswich goal, leaving their goalkeeper with no chance.

At the end of the first quarter, the scoreline read Ipswich 0 - 1 Surbiton 2's, with Surbiton taking an early lead.

Ipswich emerged from the break with a newfound determination, launching a spirited fightback. A pivotal moment occurred when a long aerial pass from "Big Mitts" Wiid left Hatcher one-on-one with the Surbiton goalkeeper. Hatcher, attempting a daring one-tap shot over the keeper, showcased his ambition. However, physics didn't seem to be one of Hatcher's strong suits, as he narrowly missed the target, sending the ball off the pitch, resulting in a 16-yard hit or possibly a sideline hit – the velocity of the shot made it hard to discern.

In response to the missed opportunity, Nick "Allardyce" Fry, who is typically known for his passionate and intense presence on the field, displayed surprising calmness this week. His leadership and guidance from the sidelines encouraged Ipswich to maintain their focus and composure on the ball, retaining the ball to slowly build an attack.
Ipswich continued to apply pressure with a strong emphasis on tight defending across the entire field. This defensive solidity, particularly in the midfield, was upheld by the experienced "Washing machine" Johnson and Taylor. These seasoned Ipswich veterans showcased their ability to shadow their opponents, disrupt Surbiton's attacking plays, and regain possession.

However, amidst the intense defensive pressure, there was a brief lapse in discipline. With Ricoux, perhaps taking the defensive order too seriously, found himself in the umpire's spotlight. His actions provided the umpire enough reason to reach into his pocket and reveal the little green triangle, resulting in Ipswich playing with a numerical disadvantage for a short period. This turn of events challenged Ipswich to adapt to the new circumstances and remain resilient in the face of adversity. They continued to battle despite being down to 10 men, demonstrating their unwavering commitment and team spirit.

Half time Ipswich 0 – 1 Surbiton 2’s.

Undeterred by the early goal conceded, Ipswich exhibited unwavering determination as they continued to apply relentless pressure on the Surbiton side. The team's ability to maintain composure and execute their game plan was evident as they strung together short, sharp passes and demonstrated tactical awareness.

The defensive and midfield orchestration, led by Ipswich's playmakers, allowed them to access the short balls in to the midfield and the notorious "lazer balls" whenever available. This dynamic style of play not only created opportunities but also kept Surbiton's defence on edge, uncertain of where the next attack would originate.

One key element of Ipswich's tactical brilliance was the use of speed and agility, exemplified by Southgate down the right-hand side. With remarkable quickness and finesse, he navigated his way past two Surbiton players and found himself on the Surbiton baseline. Drawing upon his indoor experience, Southgate showcased his cleverness by executing a dummy cross, deceived the Surbiton goalkeeper with his eyes, and without hesitation, swiftly fired the ball in between the near post and the keeper's pads. The crowd erupted with cheers as the ball found the back of the net, and Ipswich drew level with Surbiton at 1-1.

The atmosphere was electric as both teams continued to battle fiercely, with the match now balanced on a knife's edge. Ipswich were once again filled with hope, and Surbiton found themselves facing an energized opponent. Some possibly let this get the better of them and Ipswich once again went down to 10 men, when Dykes received a familiar green triangle and enjoyed a short break on the sideline. Ipswich’s attacking force: Hatcher, Hunnable, Cannon and Mason continued to make leading runs and attack at speed attempting to dissect the Surbiton defence. But after a quick break away attack, Surbiton managed to win another short corner off the Ipswich defence and once again found the back of the net, taking the lead for the second time in the game.

With only one quarter left, it was Ipswich 1 – 2 Surbiton, the match hung in the balance, and it was clear that it was all to play for. Ipswich, fuelled by their earlier equalizer, continued to probe the Surbiton defence, searching for the crucial go-ahead goal. They managed to earn a couple of short corners, but their attempts were either narrowly missed, deflected, or brilliantly saved by the vigilant Surbiton defence. As the clock ticked down with just 5 minutes left to play, Ipswich intensified their efforts. They began to stretch the pitch and push forward, determined to seize the momentum. There was a moment of surprise in the midfield when Fry Jnr., typically stationed at centre-back, embarked on a long leading run, charging from his position all the way to centre forward. After a couple of well-executed passes around the backline, a skilful 1-2 exchange between Taylor and Cutting unfolded in the middle of the park. This move left Taylor positioned at the top of the D with enough space to lift his head and pick out the infamous goal scorer, Fry Jnr. With remarkable composure, Fry Jnr. managed to lob the goalkeeper, albeit "kind of," as he got the ball into the back of the net, levelling the score at Ipswich 2 - 2 Surbiton.

The game had transformed into a nail-biting spectacle as the minutes dwindled. In a surprising turn of events, the final whistle coincided with a dubious umpiring decision that awarded Surbiton a penalty corner. With the entire Surbiton team poised around the circle, the pressure was palpable, both from the crowd and the Ipswich defence. However, the resilient Ipswich defenders, led by Southy, managed to react quickly after an injection error and thwarted Surbiton's last-ditch attempt to snatch victory. The final whistle blew, leaving the score tied at 2-2.

The outcome was undoubtedly a tough pill to swallow for both Surbiton and Ipswich. The match had been a rollercoaster of emotions, with both teams having multiple chances to secure a win. In the end, it was a well-fought draw, a testament to the skill and determination of both sides. The score truly could have gone either way, making it a memorable and thrilling National League encounter for all in attendance.

Women’s O35s – no report submitted

Men’s O40s

A glorious 8-1 victory away at Bury St Edmunds. What made it more glorious was the return of the Walkers, Wrinch and Wheelhouse to the squad and also that many of the O40s had a morning off coaching the juniors! The experience in the team made the game an absolute pleasure to play. On loan striker Dean the Viking bagged 4 goals and the Walkers marshalled the game delightfully from the back and the middle. Wheelhouse produced some sublime (and occasionally rusty) skills and it was a delight to have him playing again – the 2nd XI awaits! Likewise Mark Wrinch (2nd XI this weekend?) was on fine form bombing aerials to Wardy, Foxy and Ant who were all relentless up front. Wardy ran and ran and ran banging on about being the fittest person in the club and bagged a couple and Oli Pipe, midfield general along, scored the opener in an 8 goal spree. Sam Edwards played a lovely hand in midfield and brought the 3rd XI goal machine mentality along with him. The pub was good, these things are important, and will be added to the list of post pub hockey visits. Storm and Dave Cooper played left and right back, DC showing us all how to use your body in a tackle and Storm, despite being left out of the forward line for the 25th year running, had a splendid game. Jez had little to do but as ever played well when called upon generously deciding not to boot the ball into a prone opposition forward; the same cannot always be said of our leader JC, tough to the core, feisty, chatty, sliding around and narrowly avoiding cards! He’s a pleasure to play with! And finally, Pidge, our travelling support was impressive – thank you Pidge!

Stats

Stat man Dave is behind this week but there are really only 4 stats that matter this week:
1. Wellerman bags another hatrick
2. Southgate scores for the 1s
3. Fry scores for the 1s
4. Women’s 4s secure first win of the season