The cold has descended once more, training last night was more akin to skating but beats staying indoors any day. Training tonight has been cancelled already. Saturday was not warm either – a cold wind hit Tuddenham all day and it was not a day for free flowing hockey for every team. Grit was the order of the day and the day was bookended by a fantastic win for the Ladies 5s and a splendid last second equaliser in the dark by the Men’s 4s.

It’s fitting that we start this report talking about these teams – the top teams usually get the kudos and coverage but you can't have top teams playing at a high level without all the teams in the club performing and being part of the set up. The Ladies 5s have had some tough results this year but they were ecstatic after Saturday, and so they should be. Elsewhere, the Men’s 2s slipped up in their promotion push with a turgid loss to Bury, the ladies 2s took revenge on Cambridge in a corker of a match (and a very good report I might add) and the Men’s and Ladies 3s pushed on again with wins.

This weekend, weather permitting (damn that climate change) we’ll see the Men’s and Ladies 1s finally take to the field again with some exciting matches, especially the Men’s 1s local derby away to Harleston. At Tuddenham, spare a thought for Foxy and Felix – bedfellows at the best of the times but this weekend their mighty Ladies 4s and Ladies 3s are taking each other on; the touchline may need it’s own umpire. Finally the Men’s 3s travel away to play top of the table Norwich on Saturday – only goal difference separates the two!

Men’s 2s L1-2
The men’s 2’s came up against a much improved and motivated bury team. The first 20 minutes looked very much like a post-Christmas malaise with the calming influence of JC at the back missing and replaced by the dribbling of Windy & Pete! Two swift breakaways saw Bury shoot into an early 2-0 lead and they continued to dominate the possession for the rest of the half.
After an honest team chat at halftime, Ipswich then camped in the Bury half for the rest of the game aside from a view threatening breakaways by the home side. Ollie Pearson-Smith had a terrific game, driving forward attacks supported by Max, Tom PF & Tommy. Sam G, Foxy, Greg & Crystal launched forward and eventually a well worked short left Sam G with a close range deflection to score. Ipswich had 15 minutes to recover the situation but a strong rearguard action & goal line clearances from Bury saw them hang on for all three points.

Ladies 5’s W3-2
It was an inclement morning at Tuddenham road yet the 5s brought home their first victory of 2023. 3-2 vs Framingham 2s. Everybody’s spirits were high and they played brilliantly. The passes were accurate and they marked well, in particular, Rosie kept an eye on their strongest player, which was very effective. Jock scored first and then Catherine put 2 more in, to give us a 3-2 score line. A special mention must go to Helena who stopped a goal mid-air with her stick - it was very impressive and prevented the draw. Well done all - it was a great match!

Men’s 3s W5-2
Ipswich had a tough game against Pelicans 3, with both sides putting in a good effort in the first half.

The first half was full of goals for both sides with Pelicans scoring 2 goals from defensive errors but Ipswich game back strong and equalised with two goals from Robin Sampson and Mark Stackpole returning to the club.

The half-time talk was intense, with the senior heads getting into the players how every goal is important and to keep your cool.

The 2nd half heated up with both teams pushing hard and boiling over at times to result in cards being shown for both sides, but Ipswich held their nerve to score 3 more from Adam El-Mahrout, Fred Weller and Jasper Mayhew to make it 5-2 at full time.
Ipswich now have a difficult trip to Norwich City 5 next week with goal difference, the only thing separating the top 3 in an exciting division of local hockey.

Men’s 4s D1-1
Ipswich M4 had a tough game against local rivals Felixstowe who were trying to prevent a large gap appearing at the top of the league table.

Ipswich had most possession in the first half but only had a few half chances. Felixstowe made the most of a rare shot on goal with a blinder from the edge of the D from their youngster. The ball was hit so sweetly and rocketed past all players straight into the top left corner giving the unsighted Fraser absolutely no chance to do anything about it. 1-0 to the opposition and half time.

A passionate half time talk from Wrinchy who was watching from the sidelines and Ipswich went out with a little more gusto and voice - they were not going to let Felixstowe win this game.

Far more drive and intent from Ipswich and a decent amount of continued possession and pressure but those final balls were still just not there on Saturday. A change was needed and they needed a target man up front, so we bought on Pete Glading. It made a difference and a few mins later Ipswich had a short corner which came to nothing despite a decent strike from Tom Offord. A few mins later and another short, which ricocheted around the box with the keeper making another decent save, but this time another shot came back in quickly. It was rising and deflected off another defender, was just about to go wide of the far post but Ant reacted quickly and smashed the ball into the net before it went off the pitch. The crowd went wild, and it was well deserved by the home team. 1-1 and full time. Felixstowe were clearly disappointed at such a late equaliser but a draw was a fair result all round. Colchester away next Saturday and another tough game.

Ladies 2’s W2-1
A potential league admin error meant that Ipswich ladies 2s faced Cambridge City 3s for the second weekend in a row. The blues welcomed the reds to Tuddenham Road for the return leg of a hard-fought battle. Having played Cambridge last weekend and losing 2-1 in a very tight game, Ipswich were keen to correct the score line.

Ipswich started brilliantly, using their central midfielders to dominate and distribute. Within 20 minutes, the build up of Ipswich pressure resulted in a shot hitting a foot on the line. Umpire Mark Wrinch blew his shiny whistle for a stroke and up stepped co-captain Beth Scott to take it.
The flick-taking was as dubious as Wrinch’s Saturday night antics. The oldest Scott sister fumbled and rolled the ball into the bottom of the goal, to the confusion of all, including the Cambridge goalkeeper.

During the next 15 minutes, Ipswich found themselves under more pressure as Cambridge used their fast wing players to counter attack. A good piece of play down the right hand side for Cambridge resulted in a crossed ball being tapped in at the far most by an unmarked player, 1-1.

Half time blew and with it came a fiery team talk from an unlikely managing duo standing in for Pete - the youngest Scott sister and the baldest Fry. Ellie and Nick were passionate, sharing their in-depth tactical knowledge and wisdom (plus a few swear words - it is Nick, after all).

The second half saw Ipswich absorb more pressure, with MOM Allie Olding making some fantastic saves and keeping Ipswich in the game. A mazy run from Emma Logan down the right hand side, coupled with some nice link up play with Chloe Williams who crossed the ball into the D, led to co-captain Katie Rowe slotting the ball home with a reverse stick dive. The crowd went wild.

Cambridge pressed high and hard in the last 10 minutes, forcing errors from the Ipswich defence. But even when the away team took off their keeper to play with 11 outfield players, the blues stayed calm and saw out the win.

Thanks to Ellie Scott for managing the bench, Nick for his help and support, plus all the parents and other teams who stood in the pouring rain to cheer the ladies 2s on. The 2s certainly felt the Ipswich club spirit. The 2s now sit one point behind Cambridge in second place and will have fingers crossed that promotion is still on the cards.

Ladies 3’s W7-0
The Ladies 3s produced an emphatic display against Felixstowe to take all three points and a tremendous amount of confidence following the 7-0 win. A slow start, testing out the very young Felixstowe team, then ramped up as 3 goals were scored in the first half by Lauren Selby and two from none other than Minal Patel. As the rain grew heavier in the second half, there was no dampening of spirits taking place on pitch as crisp passing, solid defending and goals from 3 different scorers were the Ipswich reaction to the poor weather. Lauren completed a hattrick despite only having half a lung, and Bea Noordhuis and Caitlyn Wright got in on the scoring action too. A great performance by all on the pitch and sets us up nicely for a big clash against our very own club L4s next weekend.

MoM Lauren Selby
DoD Phoebe Pinnell

Ladies 4’s L3-4
Away loss to Colchester however drip fed reports told me 3 things: 1) the team were buoyed by a pre match ride on Claire's electric fun bus 2) the match itself was a hard fought affair and although the ladies finished on the losing side they enjoyed it 10x more than last weekend's victory 3) Claire won DoD.

Stats
• Fred Weller has now stormed up the charts to becomes equal top scorer on the Men’s side
• Min Patel is closing in on the top spot for the ladies with a brace at the weekend.
• With the Men’s 2s losing, the Men’s 1s now goal ratios scoring an average of 4.6 a game and conceding 0.8 a game (scored 46 conceded 8 in 10 matches)
• The form team is the Men’s 3s with 4 wins on the bounce

Golden Stick
Men’s: Will Chrystal / Craig Wiid / Fred Weller x11, Wardy x10, Foxy x6, Pete Glading x6

Ladies: Chloe Williams x13, Min Patel x10, Emily Calver x8, Eloise Ward x7, Mariette Rix x6, Chloe Macmillan / Nicky Miller x5