NDHC League Match Reports: 09/01/2016

Women’s East Hockey League East Prem
Norwich Dragons 1s 3-3 Bedford 1

The first game after the festive break saw Norwich Dragons host Bedford 1s, who had beaten the dragons in their opening fixture 2-1. With both teams in the top 4 of the league at the start of the day, it promised to be a close encounter. Dragons were missing 5 of their regular first team players, but welcomed Shelly Seaman, Nat Beal, Sophie Thomas and Pollyanna Watson (on her debut) to the team.

Bedford started the game the more positively of the two teams, encountering lots of possession, but the Dragons newly formed defensive line up (Maddie Denman, Shelly Seaman and Sophie Thomas) kept the chances to a minimum. At times when the home side had the ball, their passing looked phenomenal, easily beating the Bedford defence but unfortunately not creating any clear cut chances. It was the away side who broke the deadlock first, scoring 2 quick goals after Dragons failed to clear the ball and were caught on the back foot too often. Dragons were not deterred and one of their fine passing moves down the left hand side saw Marie James pick out Nat Beal in the circle who calmly slotted home to halve the deficit. The home side were buoyed by the goal and by the fantastic home support but unfortunately found themselves down by 3 -1 at half time after Bedford clinically finished to score just before the break.

The second half, in contrast from the first, saw Dragons on the front foot and playing some great hockey. Coach Pete Tomas called for dragons to be more positive and on the front foot and players responded accordingly. Rachel King driving forward with the ball at every opportunity caused the Bedford defence major problems. It was one of her amazing runs that led to Dragons second goal. King took the ball down the left and round on the baseline to cut the ball back, past the outrushing goalkeeper, to find Nat Beal who was perfectly placed to score hers and Dragons second of the match.  Bedford still kept pressing forward themselves and earnt themselves many short corners but were unable to convert any of these thanks to some great work from Player of the Match Siobhan Cleeve and the defensive line. Dragons were patient and disciplined, keeping their shape and moving the ball round the pitch effectively and were soon rewarded with their third and equalising goal. Once again King attacked the Bedford defence but this time she was rewarded when her cleverly driven shot from the top of the circle went into the corner of the goal giving the Bedford GK no chance.  Both teams continued to push forward looking for a winner but the match ended in a highly entertaining draw, which on reflection the home side were more than happy with.

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Women’s East Hockey League Division 1N
Norwich Dragons 2s 2-2 Bedford 2

After the extended Christmas break, Dragons Ladies 2’s were keen to get going again and made the trip down to a much improved Bedford 2’s team. Due to unavailability issues, there were a few changes to the squad,  which saw the return of Ally Windsor-Waite from injury and welcomed back Laura Goodbun and gave a deserved 2nd team debut for Lauren Lawrie.

Despite a decent warm-up, things didn’t start well for Dragons, with Bedford scoring on their first attack of the game within the first 2 minutes, a break down Bedford’s left, saw the ball fired into the D and the forwards were quickest to react. Dragons knew they had to settle and respond, which they did with a good spell of possession and a number of quick breaks, getting in behind the home team’s defence. From one such spell, Laura Goodbun managed to steal the ball from the home team and find Laura Shreeve who broke at speed, drawing the defender and the goalkeeper before slipping a perfect ball to Hannah Hardy to slot home for the equaliser.

The remainder of the half saw Bedford continue to threaten, as Dragons weren’t quite on their game, but were working hard together to get into their flow. The midfield needed to dig deep and work hard defensively as a unit – Gail Thomas on the left was breaking down a number of the Bedford attacks, whilst the defensive line of Rowan York-Smith, Ally Windsor-Waite, Angela Murgatroyd and Amy Forse needed to be extremely well organised, to nullify the Bedford overload. Unfortunately a second goal came before the break, meaning the home team took a 2-1 lead into halftime.

Dragons had to sharpen up a little, take more care of the ball to retain possession better and look to become more compact when they didn’t have the ball. This they did right from the start of the half, with Pip Howes in the centre mid position working with Karen O’Neill Simpson, managing to quell the main Bedford threat in the centre. Marcy Windsor-Waite threatened going forward on the right and was well supported by some good running from both Geo Beckwith and Lauren Lawrie, who was having a strong debut.

Midway through the half Dragons deservedly found an equaliser; Marcy Windsor-Waite cleverly intercepted a ball across the D and did not hesitate to make a pass into Hannah Hardy who’s first time shot was saved by the keeper, only for Laura Shreeve to react quickly by picking up the rebound and placing the ball under the keeper.

From here on both teams had chances, with Bedford probably having the better opportunities, but Dragons were defending much better as a team and managed to prevent any further goals, despite needing to defend a number of short corners. The visitors always threatened on the break but never really had clear cut opportunities.

Dragons know they can play better, but a point away from home, against much improved opposition was not a bad start to the New Year. Player of the Match was split amongst the team (notably the defenders). The team will continue to work hard in training with a tough run of fixtures coming up.

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Empresa Norfolk Women’s Premier Division
Norwich Dragons 3s 8-0 Loddon 1

Dragons came back from the Christmas break invigorated, and quickly stole possession from the Loddon push back. Passing was sharper from the off, with players finding space to utilise the whole of the pitch, creating triangles and using the weighted pass into the corners for forwards to run on to.

Play was dominated by the Dragons, who pressed high and took every opportunity to attack the goal. The breakthrough came after just five minutes when a second short corner awarded to Dragons was converted with a change from the usual straight strike to start, opting for a short ball to Sian Lawrie. Catching the Loddon runners of guard Lawrie expertly returned the ball to a waiting Issy wolfe to tuck it in on the post.

With the pressure maintained, the second goal soon followed in free play with a back foot squeeze from the top right of the D by Caroline Wolfe. The bobbling ball bounced over the keeper’s foot into the left post of the goal.

Play was recycled well through the midfield and around the back, with the Dragons defence soaking up the odd Loddon break through. Bottom of the diamond Natasha Falzon, along with left and right defenders Laura Bruce and Carmel Windsor-Waite all met the loose balls which came through to them, and they distributed out wide with ease to the midfielders. Any threat that did break through was well covered by Sarah Wagstaff, smothering any opportunity early on.

The third goal was another well-worked short corner: the injection being slipped right to Natasha Blyth, who then wall-passed back to Caroline Wolfe on the p-spot to tuck the ball clear of the keeper into the net.

Number four was another short corner, following text-book recycling around the D (practiced at Tuesday’s training session), where Hazel Sumner struck from the top of the D with immense force, injector Issy Wolfe waiting to deflect the ball just over the line on the left hand post.

Half time Score Loddon 0, Dragons 4

Dragons remained consistent in the second half with their attacking play, and use of the whole of the pitch, transferring the ball right around the back through Sarah Wagstaff. Issy Wolfe claimed her hat trick with an open play goal scored from the left with a tomahawk, supported by POM Lara Taylor.

Issy’s fourth, again in free play, came when she took the ball across the top of the D to space on the right and struck it home.

Tireless work from Natasha Blyth, Sam Franklin and Hazel Sumner opened up further opportunities, and another short corner was awarded. This time, the simple straight strike from the top of the D by Caroline Wolfe straight down the middle to hit the backboard for her hat trick.

Loddon should be commended for their effort, which never dropped. They gave our defence a wake up call where keeper Kristina Smyth was, at last, called into action, kicking the ball wide and clear to avert any embarrassing slip up.

The Dragons’ final goal, initiated by a Caroline Wolfe strike from the top was almost seen clear by the Loddon keeper. However, waiting on the right hand post Sian Lawrie swiftly retrieved the clearance and tapped in.

Full time score Loddon 0, Dragons 8

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More photos here.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s Division 1
Norwich Dragons 4s 3-1 Lowestoft Railway 1

This was a very good start to the New Year. Lowestoft Railway were one place below Dragons in the league and with the top of the table exceptionally tight every point matters.

Dragons Ladies 4s have a reputation for being a slow starting team, and yet again they conceded an easy early goal. Lowestoft Railway didn’t have many chances to score, but they took their opportunity when a player was left unmarked to slot the ball past the keeper Laura Tuck.

Dragons tried a number of different approaches to get the ball in the Railway net. They tried hitting from the edge of the D, unfortunately the opposing defence were too good at blocking the shot.  Short corners were again not clinical enough, and the home side were beginning to get frustrated.

Two goals came in fairly close succession, the first from a well worked short corner that saw Debs Smith pass to Sophie Wood, who’s shot came off the keeper and looped in, the second created by the young forwards moving the ball quickly around the D, dragging the keeper out of position before a well placed Anja Finegan slotted the ball in at the far post.

The last five minutes saw an impressive attacking display with player of the match Claire Canning hitting the post, and a number of shots just drifting wide.

Debs Smith was instrumental in midfield controlling the play, and scoring the third goal.  Bella Capps made some very important tackles at the back. Megan Williams and Sophie Farrow worked very hard.

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Empresa Norfolk Women’s Division 2
Norwich Dragons 5s 4-0 Norwich City 6

This was the Ladies 5’s first game in 3 weeks, so the first 10 minutes looked rather slow as bodies were getting used to moving at speed.  After this the flow and pace was back to normal and the ball was doing the work pinging between the opposition players.

The Dragons defence of Jess Tye-Leech, Freya Clogan and Jemima Williams were a force and prevented many of the opposition balls passing them by.  City were playing long balls through to their forwards which were being read and intercepted by the defence.  Communication was coming loud and clear through from Alice Smith in Goal, guiding players.

Once the Dragons found their flow, the play ran smooth from Vicky Earley tenacious at the bottom of the diamond passing the ball out wide to Mel Widdows or Helen Marsh who both had lovely runs up the pitch.  Megan Farrant was playing centre forward waiting for those balls to be passes through and shaking off the opposition who were packing the D.

Chiara Bond is able to use her speed and skills to shake off the opposition and find space at top of the diamond and support the midfield.  On one of these passes from a run up the D, Chiara passes the ball round the opposition to Lisa Harwood waiting in the D, who slapped the ball into the left corner of the goal.

The Dragons were fired up and ready for more.  At this point the defence were pushing high, passing up the line to Laura Hansell, who showed her skill at picking the ball up at speed, passing to Rachel Bruce who has become a calm and collected goal scorer.  Weaving the ball into the D and across the goalie who tried to kick it clear but didn’t bargain on a waiting Lisa who pushed it behind the line. The third goal is a blur from too much excitement at scoring a third time for Lisa.  Half time score 3-0 to the Dragons.

The Dragons knew that the opposition were becoming frustrated at the score line and would be coming out determined to score or hold us back. We needed to continue playing in the same style, supporting each other.

With Holly Bailey having a run at bottom of the diamond and Lucy Morton adding her skills to the forward line both had the speed to outrun the opposition, Lucy running the ball into the D.  At this point even the defensive players were nearly in the opposition D, the Dragons were ready for the next goal and it came from Rachel slipping past the opposition and passing across the goalie to a waiting Holly, sweeping it in!

City tried a few long hits past the Dragons midfield, one slipped though and was chased down, the City forward hit a lifted shot and Alice testing out her new body armour gave it a chest bump and it was hit away.  Final score 4-0 and the Ladies 5’s are back to top of the table.  Great work!!

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Empresa Norfolk Women’s Division 2
Norwich Dragons 6s 3-0 Watton 3

All credit to Watton for making a good game of it with only 10 players. But the Dragons came away with the biggest grins  because they overcame their traditional problems of starting slowly and failing to find the net to record a handsome win. In fact, in the first half it was more a case of Carrow Road than Hall Road as first Catherine Matthews ‘scored’ a brilliant rebound off her shin which eagle-eyed umpire Jess Tye-Leech refused to allow, and then nearly everyone on the pitch booted, heeled, shot over the bar, nearly hit the corner flag and generally got the Christmas break out of their system. However, Dragons began to put their passing game together, and when POM Gill Walker (who can claim assists on all the goals) fired a pass across the goal, Beth Elgood swooped and slid from the left first on one foot then on no feet at all to crash the ball home.

Watton threatened, and although the plan had been to bring Jo Eke up to create a more attacking formation, her speed was needed  to track back as the opposition occasionally managed to overrun our defence, who were a little bit too keen on pressing up. But the defence steadied, and for the first time proved that Katy Saide, Katie Franks, Alice McNeile and Ginny Simkin could rotate through all the positions, which gives the 6s a new element of flexibility. ‘Frank’ even had a very creditable spell at left mid, and we’ll be using her there again. The end result was that Laura Tuck kept a nice clean sheet.

In the second half, Dragons really began to use their passing game. The mids looked particularly strong with the addition of Rachel Matthews and Jade Blanchflower who both have plenty of speed and excellent tackling skills. Jade combined well with Beth down the left, and when Rachel moved to the right to back up Catherine or Jess Vernon, Dragons began to threaten down both channels. This created more space in the middle, where Gill Walker had her strongest game to date at the top of the diamond. A penetrating pass through the middle found Sarah Norman poised and ready to sweep the ball across the face of the goal to finish beautifully in the corner. Well into the second half the move was repeated and though we originally credited Sarah with the goal, the umpires gave Catherine the last touch from her poacher’s position.

This was an excellent start to the second half of the season. Go 6s!

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Empresa Norfolk Women’s Division 3
Norwich Dragons 7s 5-0 Carrow 3

Norwich Dragons 7 were eager to play their first match for 6 weeks, and welcomed Carrow 3 to the Den.Dragons dominated from the start, passing the ball on and around the Carrow players. The Arabella Sabberton in midfield made great interceptions, dodging around the tackles and passing up to waiting forward Mia McGhee. Dragons persistence was awarded with a short corner that resulted in a goal by Mia. Buoyed up by the first goal Dragons kept on attacking, making numerous attempts to score. One of Dragons attacks resulted in injury for the Carrow goalkeeper, causing a short stop to the match while she received first aid.
Dragons had been awarded a short corner before the stoppage, so when play resumed Dragons had another attempt. After 2 false starts, one due to the keenness of the Dragons injector before play had restarted and one due to a Carrow defender running early and therefore having to go to the halfway line, Dragons succeeded in being awarded another short corner. This time Dragons scored their second goal and the second goal by Mia. Dragons went into half-time being 2:0 up.

The second half got under way with Dragons eager to continue with their great play. Beth Coates (POM) was in great positions in midfield, making great tackles and stopping Carrows attacks. When Carrow did get through, the defenders of Emily Roper, Emma Cadley, Frankie Paul or Jo Baker aided goalkeeper Alessandra Pelligrini in denying them to score. Emma North at bottom of the diamond was a great asset in getting the ball up the pitch, passing forward to the midfield or top of the diamond Amy Hunter or Becky Gallagher. The forwards of Jasmine Mansfield, Katrina Speirs and Claire Fairhurst were always in the right position, running ahead for the ball to be passed to them, making shots at goal or passing around the D. Dragons persistence was awarded with goals by Arabella, Jasmine and Katrina.The match ended with Dragons winning with a score of 5:0, simply the best score for them to date. Hallelujah! Dragons now look forward to their next match against Norwich City.

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Mens East League Division 2N
Norwich Dragons 1s 0-3 Cambridge Nomads 1

It was a disappointing start to the year for Dragons mens 1’s. Despite having the majority of the possession in the first half and very much dictating play, dragons failed to convert, struggling against a well organised and experienced Nomad defence. As expected Nomads employed a very direct approach, bypassing the midfield with long balls straight to the forwards on the break. If not for some great saves from Robbie Bell Dragons could have easily seen themselves behind at the break.
The second half was very much a similar story. Weary legs and a lack of composure from the Dragons attack resulted in a high number of turnover balls. Nomad continued to break well eventually converting their efforts through two break away goals and a short corner. A lot of hard work will be required across the coming months to ensure Dragons avoid the drop.

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Mens East League Division 3NE
Norwich Dragons 2s 4-1 Sudbury 2

Dragons travelled away to Sudbury with a squad of 12 and average average age of over 40 and Matt Jenkins being the only under 30. This means bags of experience and Christmas turkey. The 2nd XI were keen to claw their way into a solid mid-table position against a Sudbury side with 2 wins to their name this season and are currently 11th in 3NE.

Dragons started well and for the first 15 minutes dominated possession and played some nice passing hockey. Graeme Smith, sweeping in front of the defence, distributed well assisting Rich Gill at defensive midfield. Good play up the wings from Chris Simmonds and Rich Moulson and cutting along the baseline saw Dragons threaten early on but a good goalkeeping from Sudbury kept these goals out. Dragons earned some short corners early on but struggled to convert these until an improvised routine saw Rupert Snelling opening the scoring up. 1-0. Sudbury didn’t sit back though and capitalised on some loose, long passes from Dragons which saw Giles Brooks called into action on a number of occasions and making some very good saves. Piers Gordon-Brown made a couple of last man and goal line clearances from incomplete Sudbury moves. Sudbury soon equalised though having seen one of their long balls up the pitch find their right winger and Dragons seemed to find themselves a short of defenders for some reason. Piers Gordon-Brown moved over from right back to meet the winger and caught a deflection from the pass which found a Sudbury player in the middle of the D whose deflected shot was recycling to their left winger who managed to evade Andy Hipper and Glenn Masterson to find the backboard. 1-1. Some untidy defending perhaps and possibly playing the high press for a period of time. Dragons worked well back into the game and again saw the lion’s share of possession and executed some very tidy passing plays. Piers Gordon-Brown, Glenn Masterson and Andy Hipper picked out balls aimed at Sudbury forwards in the Dragons D efficiently and looked tight at the back. Matt Jenkins and Jason Wolfe worked well at the top continuing to test the Sudbury GK and found more feet in the Sudbury D, winning more short corners but no goals came. HT, 1-1.

The second half started and Dragons pushed hard from the off with Dragons working hard to increase short and accurate passing. This paid off and Dragons spent a good portion of the second half threatening the Sudbury goal. Rupert Snelling picked up and deflected in a ‘spinny thing’ from Jason Wolfe to make it 2-1. Graeme Smith worked tirelessly and picked balls from Sudbury players and made some incredible long passes up the field to Rich Moulson who had set up camp in the top right corner of the pitch. Rich Gill had also found the middle of the 25 metre line to be a good place to set up shop and work the ball around most of the Sudbury team who were in the final quarter. Chris Simmonds threatened the D, Matt Jenkins worked the baseline and caused conern for the Sudbury GK and Rupert Snelling didn’t have to wait too long to complete his hattrick. Picking up the ball outside the left post Rupert Snelling rode a couple of Sudbury challenges and went round the Sudbury keeper to find the net. 3-1. Sudbury appeared to pick up injuries but this didn’t stop them from making inroads into the Dragons D on a few occasions. An Andy Hipper moment occurred, having displaced a Sudbury player and looking to calmly pass the ball out of the D decided that he’d test out the back of his stick on the ball. 2 short corners followed and the second allowed Dragons to counter attack. Play slowed down and Dragons were happy to pass around. Piers Gordon-Brown dispossessed a Sudbury player and worked up the right to find Rich Moulson who pulled across the Sudbury D to Ali Smyth who safely tapped in from about 6 inches. 4-1 and not long after full time. MOM was awarded to Piers Gordon-Brown.

Dragons 2nd XI moved up to 7th place with 18 points, 3 points behind Lowestoft Railway 1st XI. Next week Dragons take on Felixstowe 2nd XI who are currently 9th with 14 points.

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Men’s East Hockey League Division 3NE
Norwich Dragons 3s 3-2 Magpies 3

With the first half of the season finished and having found themselves slightly lower in the league than they would have liked, the Mens 3s were determined to start the second half of the season with a bang.  They welcomed the return of Will MAIN and Matt KNIGHTS to the side, and with only a few mutterings of Christmas overindulgence, the 3s faced Harleston Magpies 3s, who were sitting top of the league.

Straightaway Magpies pressed Dragons hard, and it took a few minutes for Dragons to break the ring of white shirts.  Get it together they did, and Dragons went on the attack.  Swift passing amongst the midfield, fed balls through to the forwards, with Adam SAYER and Will KIRBY linking up well.  It wasn’t long until Dragons took the lead through a Lloyd SAYER short corner strike, who slotted the ball away into the corner.

Magpies kept up the attack and Dragons worked hard in defence to deny the attackers.  Dim IVES made some fingertip saves to keep Dragons in the lead.  Jon GOODSON had some brilliant distribution down the right flank and linked up well with Stu KELLY and Will MAIN in midfield.  Despite their defensive efforts, Magpies did equalise through a short corner, which only served to galvanise Dragons, who kept their heads up.  The work started at the back, with Peter DAVISON and James GOODSON feeding the ball out from the centre of defence into Stu KELLY and Rob GOODSON, who spread the ball out wide.  Lloyd SAYER picked it up and fed to his brother Adam SAYER, who in turn slipped it through to Will KIRBY, to take Dragons into the lead again.

The half ended and Dragons knew they would have to fight hard to maintain their lead.  Skippers John IVES and SAYER praised their team and after devouring some chewy sweets to keep energy levels up, Dragons started the second half.

The game continued in the same pace as the first half where both teams were looking to score.  Dragons again continued to play their passing game and this paid dividends again when they were awarded another short corner.  Lloyd SAYER slipped the ball left to Matt KNIGHTS  who swept the ball into the Magpies goal, extending Dragon’s lead.

Magpies upped their game and put Dragons under a lot of pressure.  It is testament to the hard work of the Defence that Magpies were denied as long as they were, before they snatched a goal back.  The game became very end-to-end, and Dragons pushed well down the flanks, with John IVES on the left and Rich PHILLIS pushing down the right.  A tense last 10 minutes saw Magpies try to get an equaliser, but Dragons counter attacked and came close to taking their lead further a few times.  The time ticked away and the game ended.  3-2 to Dragons!

Another challenge for Dragons next week who face North Norfolk, again a team near the top of the table.  A strict pre-game diet of turkey for the 3s, who hope to continue their good form next week.

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Men’s East League Division 4NE
Norwich Dragons 4s 2-2 Ipswich Cranes 1

Dragons travelled with a bare eleven to a cold and wintery Ipswich School to do battle with Cranes 1st team who were looking to close the gap on the top 3 in the league.

It was the home team who settled quickest in to the match and created several half chances but found a solid defence of Dave Pentin, Paul Keating, Andy Carver and Matt Armstrong holding firm. The new pitch surface was causing problems for the Dragons not being able to play their usual passing game, but Cranes’ experience with the bounce was showing.

Despite controlling the possession and using aerials to break the Dragons defensive wall, Cranes were becoming frustrated at the lack of clear cut chances coming their way and started the throw more players forward. This created space for Razzaq Fazail and Rob Chaney-Baxter to break forward down the wings, and it was the latter who had the best chance of the half for the away side. In truth, Dragons should have taken the lead when a deflected effort on goal from Adie Kemp fell to Rob Chaney-Baxter, only for his shot to roll harmlessly wide of the goal.

Within 30 seconds of this attempt on goal, Cranes charged down the other end of the field and scored the opener. The lead soon doubled in controversial fashion when a bouncing ball in the area was defended by Andy Carver, only to have two Cranes players swinging sticks preventing him from clearing the ball. The ball popped up and one of the two attackers then volleyed the ball in to the goal, via the head of keeper Chris Millar.

A formation change saw an extra man in midfield, meaning Dan Ryan and Rob Jenkins had help in the middle to try to drag Dragons back in to the match. This change meant the travellers now had more firepower going forwards to aid the strike force of Adie Kemp and George Bowman who were isolated up to this point.

Dragons grew in to the game but failed to create any chances, and were kept in the match by some heroic goalkeeping from Chris Millar. Millar made a world class stick save from a drag flick short corner, and numerous other saves – including two with his face! Captain Rob Jenkins decided to take a two minute breather after a poorly timed tackle, but came back on to lead the revival with a reverse stick shot that took a deflection and looped over the keeper.

With time running out Dragons piled forward and after Adie Kemp saw his effort blocked, Dan Ryan was on hand to score with a ‘dambuster’ shot that expertly deceived the goalkeeper and the covering defender on the line. With the last touch of the game Adie saw a half volley fly over the bar, but the draw was a fair result and everyone needs to be praised for their fighting spirit, especially man of the match Chris Millar.
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More photos here.

Men’s East League Division 6NE
Norwich Dragons 5s 6-3 Ipswich Cranes 2

After going 1-0 down in the first 5 minutes of the game due to a sleepy start from the home side’s defence, the Dragons galvanised together to produce a fairly one sided affair for most of the game and dominate the travelling Ipswich Cranes side.

Within another 5 minutes the Dragons were awarded a flick to level the score which Andy Keys converted with such ease as if he had been practising all day for. From then on the game continued with attack after attack from the dragons resulting in a good 6-3 win but all credit to the Cranes goalie and defence as the score could easily of been in double figures.

The other scorers in the game were Tim Allen with a lovely scoop, Crossy also scored probably at the far post but I missed it, and the on form Josh the Bosh Bingham smashed in a fine Hatrick.

There were also some great performances from the two young dragons wingers, namely  George Wright who held his own against a man twice his height and four times his weight who played even harder as the game progressed and also Pedro Goss who seemed to have grown a foot over Christmas, had a faultless game and was awarded a well deserved MOTM. Sol Blazer also had a solid game in the middle for his first outing with the 5s and Ben made a couple of very useful saves in goal.

Great performance from everyone all round.

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Men’s East League Division 7NE
Norwich Dragons 6s 3-0 Felixstowe 4

The 2nd match of 3 against Felixstowe was a one-sided affair which should have ended with a more comprehensive win & sets up the chance of the treble in March. Freddie Dixon spent much of the game sat on his backboard , only having one dive to cover a shot which hit the post late in the 2nd half.

Dragons opened the scoring when skipper Mike Banham’s early short corner was blocked & Joel Lawrence converted the rebound. A slick move saw Club captain, Tom Vaughan make it 4 goals in 5 games & several good chances went begging. After the break it was massive Dragons pressure again as Dragons increased their lead with another Banham corner.

Owain Hall had great control of centre field which allowed Hamish Packham & Connor Adams to operate effective around him. Defensively James Hansell & MOM McCartney Aldous made telling probing runs from the back. Late in the game a magic long through ball from Adams almost found a diving Vaughan on the back post.

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Empresa Norfolk Boys Development League
Norwich Dragons: No Fixture

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Empresa Norfolk Girls Development League
Norwich Dragons 1-3 Norwich City

Dragons had some different levels of players this Saturday, some inexperienced and some experienced. The home side had played Norwich city in October away and won. In the first quarter Dragons were already losing 2-0 even though they did have some good chances with the ball. A few minutes into the second quarter Lilly Sore scored a reverse push past the keeper. Unfortunately after that the home side didn’t get any more goals. But all their players played fantastically and had some great clearances and runs. Sometimes our defenders got caught up in defending short corners and Norwich city in the attacking position anyway. The final score was 4-1 to Norwich City.