This Week’s Results

Team	Opposition	H/A	Score	Scorers	Player of Match
L1s	Cam Uni 2	H	4-0 (W)	Issy Wolfe x3 Liv Thomas	Issy Wolfe
L2s	Magpies 3	A	4-0 (L)		Sarah Borrett Shelly Seaman
L3s	Watton 1	H	0-3 (L)		Beth Prakash
L4s	Broadland 2	H	1-1 (D)	Caroline Wolfe	Chloe Mikronis
L5s	Diss	A	2-1 (L)	Charlotte Dowson	Hannah Edwards
L6s	Watton 2	H	1-4 (L)	Kelly Mills	Joanna Jennings
L7s	Magpies 6	H	4-2 (W)	Adelice Kraemer Mia McGhee x2 Paige Fisher	Briony Johnstone Emma Dyer
L8s	Magpies 7	A	9-0 (L)		Mia Somers
M1s	Long Sutton 1	A	4-2 (L)	Rupert Snelling x2	Mark Flatman
M2s	Newmarket 1	H	0-8 (L)		Isaac Diver Hall
M3s	Sudbury 2	A	1-1 (D)	Jon Goodson	Jon Goodson
M4s	Magpies	A	7-1 (L)	Bobby Sheppard	Joel Lawrence
M5s	Pelicans 4	H	7-0 (W)	Charlie Creasy x3 Dan Orsborne x2 Josh Bingham Will Bloom	Charlie Creasy
M6s	Nflk Nomads 1	A	5-1 (L)	Tommy Chambers	Tommy Chambers Christian Cornell
BD A	N City	H	1-3 (L)	Harry Fuller
BD B	Magpies	H	4-1 (W)	Hector McNeill x4	Hector McNeill
GD	Magpies	A	9-3 (L)	Mia x2 Rosie	Harriet Pymm

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Cambridge Uni 2s:  4-0

Goalscorers:   Issy Wolfe x3, Liv Thomas
MOM:  Issy Wolfe

The Ladies 1s continue to consolidate the experience they have gained this season, beating Cambridge Uni 2s 4-0 on home turf.

The Dragons came out hard from the opening whistle, determined to work on areas of weakness following a sub-par performance the previous week. The game was relatively evenly matched for the opening stages, with both sides having a number of chances from open play and from short corners. The Dragons defence looked much tighter than in previous weeks; supported by a midfield line that is coming into its own defensively as well as in attack, the defensive unit of Sophie Barrow, Sarah Jenkins, Holly Setchell and Carmel Windsor-Waite managed to keep the students at bay. After these early stages, the Dragons went on the offensive, with some superb work from the forwards. After breaking through the midfield, Maddy Reynolds used her pace to eliminate two players and create a 3 on 1 situation. Threading the ball through to Katy Hands in the D, Hands drew the keeper, and then unselfishly slipped the ball to player of the match Issy Wolfe who was waiting on the post to finish and put the hosts a goal ahead. The team maintained their pressure for the remainder of the half, and a silky piece of skill from Liv Thomas in the left hand corner of the pitch saw her find Wolfe on the baseline, for her to once again flummox the keeper and put the Dragons 2-0 up at half time.

The second half saw much of the same, with some opportunities coming from both sides. However, with some fantastic saves from Gina Hunt and with the midfield grafting through the high winds, the students never really looked particularly dangerous. It was to be the day of the Dragon, as two slick short corner routines sealed the game for the hosts. The first was a slip out to the right to Liv Thomas who shot across the circle to a waiting Issy Wolfe to deflect into the goal for a hattrick. The final goal saw Thomas get a deflection of her own, as Kiera Goymour set her up perfectly with a slap across the face of goal. This game showed a marked improvement on recent performances, and demonstrated how far we have come as a team this season. Tight in defence, aggressive in attack, with some slick short corner routines, the Dragons are ready to finish the season strong!

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Magpies 3s:  0-4

MOM:  Sarah Borrett, Shelly Seaman

Somewhat inclement weather conditions at the Nest, with strong winds blowing in the rain for the start of the game. Dragons continued with a largely unchanged squad, coming up against a very different looking Magpies Team from the one they had played previously.

With just a brief warm up on the pitch, the game got underway with Dragons immediately on the back foot, with Magpies youthful midfield spraying the ball around well and using the width of the pitch, to get in round the back of the defence and find their forwards in strong positions. The visitors quickly found themselves a couple of goals down.

A slight tactical switch by Coach Ollie King saw Dragons tighten things up a little in the middle, seeing them come into the game a little more towards the end of the half, forcing some short corners and having a couple of half efforts on goal, however the score remained 2-0 at half time.

The second half followed a similar theme, with Magpies looking strong and threatening in front of goal. Through some strong work from Sarah Borrett, Gail Thomas and Shelly Seaman, Dragons tried to relieve the pressure and once again had opportunities to break, but unfortunately the forwards too often found themselves isolated and outnumbered in the final third of the pitch.

Ultimately 2 more goals for the home side sealed the points, for a team who belied their league position. Dragons weren’t quite at the races again today and will need to pick themselves up and dust themselves down for the final 2 games of the season. Joint Players of the Match go to Sarah Borrett and Shelly Seaman both of whom gave their all with tenacious tackles and their attempts to pass their way out from the back, to build the attacks.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Watton 1s:  0-3

MOM:  Beth Prakash

This Saturday the Ladies 3 rd Team welcomed Watton 1 st Team to the den anticipating a tough match as Watton are battling for promotion. Watton put the pressure on Dragons right from the start and managed to score their first goal from open play after about 10 minutes of the match.

The wind and Watton were getting stronger and to add to the storm for Dragons the rain began to fall, which lead to play being abandoned for 5 minutes. Dragons regrouped and the defensive combination of Kat Speirs, Ally Windsor Waite, Angela Murgatroyd, Esme Potter and Grace Brown dealt with the attacking pressure being put on them. The midfield of Katie Hale, Laura Van Den Berg, Katie Lister, Beth Prakrash and Hannah Ellis worked hard to protect the defence and support the forwards but unfortunately, Watton managed to score a second goal just before half time again from open play.

The second half saw Dragons forwards, consisting of Catherine Matthews, Elsa Scott, Jenna Mills and Vicky Earley begin to get create some chances as Dragons began to gain confidence. The play was more even in the second half with Dragons having the wind behind them, however it was Watton who sealed the three points by scoring their third goal from a well worked short corner. Player of the match was awarded to Beth Prakrash.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Broadland 2s:  1-2

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Magpies 6s:  4-2

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee x2, Adelice Kraemer, Paige Fisher
MOM:  Briony Johnstone, Emma Dyer

On a blustery day, Dragons faced Magpies with enthusiasm, determined not to be intimidated by the division leaders.

Dragons were on fine form, engaged from the start, making Magpies work hard. Dragons were first to score, with a scrappy goal from Paige Fisher, her first for the club. Magpies battled on and soon equalised, but Dragons kept on fighting and Mia McGhee slotted the ball past the keeper from a lovely assist by Adelice Kraemer. Everyone worked hard, a great step-up from last week. The defence of Emma Dyer (joint POM), Jessie Young, Erin Aldous and Emma Fielding worked solidly in thwarting Magpies and getting the ball out to the midfield of Paige, Brittany Hopkins, Maisie Dearmer, Briony Johnstone (joint POM) and Lara King. The forwards of Mia, Adelice and Claire Fairhurst were ever ready to put in full on attacks at goal. Dragons were pleased to go into the half-time break in the lead but were determined to keep their cool and hang on to it in the second half.

Play resumed as it had in the first, with lovely hockey from both teams. Dragons welcomed Nat Crisp into midfield, putting in her usual solid performance. Adelice got her name on the score sheet and Magpies battled on, getting their second goal, but Mia wasn’t finished, slotting another ball past the keeper to make the final score 4:2 to Dragons. Dragons are buoyed up by the win determined to carry on playing the same in the final two games of the season. Well done ladies!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Magpies 7s:  0-9

MOM:   Mia Somers

If we are totally honest, the young Magpies 7s team ran absolute rings round the Dragons, with only a phenomenal performance from the POM Mia Somers in goal keeping the score to reasonable levels.  Mia blocked, kicked, dived, leapt and twisted as the Magpies fired bullets at her from every angle – energised as they were by the injection of fresh blood from more ‘just 13s’ out of their development squad. Frighteningly good with their speed, tomahawks, reverse sweeps, slams and the full range of strokes.

And yet… there wasn’t a single Dragon who did not enjoy this match with its fast tempo and its opportunity for every player to work her hardest and make a contribution which drew a cheer from her team mates – when they could catch a breath. Initially, there was some confusion in the defence which allowed Magpies to nip in with an early goal, but then Jo Baker in central defence and captain Lois Metcalfe playing a strong central midfield role got their units working and were very pleased that the Dragons never allowed their heads to drop. Amongst the first to make an impression was Anna Chapman at left defence and Jessica Lockwood who played on the right and also shared bottom of the diamond duties with Karen Davidson. These three tackled with great determination and made some strong clearances out wide. Jessica and Nic Harrison were very unlucky to pick up strains that curtailed their pitch time, particularly frustrating for Nic who was making speedy inroads down the left wing.

Dragons midfield held up play nicely for long periods, but then had to experience the Magpies cutting their way through – using their excellent stick skills and then clever use of the drag past the Dragons ‘weak’ side. Katy Cole, newcomer Ariadne Miquel and the much-improved Sadie Jacobs all showed determination to block and take the ball from the marauders. The mids also managed to get the ball through to the forwards, where Katie  Davidson, Johanne Steward and Ceris Burgues were just longing to force the ball upfield, with Katie Cole and Lois in good support. But unfortunately for Dragons, the Magpies were fast upfront, and solid at the back so the attacks petered out.

The goals somehow seemed to arrive in bursts of three, but Ariadne, Bridget Le Good, Jo and Alice improved their understanding and managed to build something of a wall round the edge of their circle. Mia continued to roar on her encouragement, Bridget threw the odd aerial to add some variety to the hit outs, and Katy Cole and Sadie were full of running to the end.

So Dragons did not have to look far to see signs of the improvement they are working hard for in training. There’s still a fair bit more to do that can be done even at this late stage of the season. What’s more, the 8s are showing every sign of enjoying marking, getting first to the ball, and making quicker decisions all over the pitch. Go Dragons!

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Sudbury 2s:  1-1

Development Leagues

Dev Boys A v Norwich City:  1-3

It was a cold day and we took the field against a very experienced looking City side. The opposition got into their stride very quickly with slick passing along  their left and through the middle which forced our goalkeeper to make a succession of good saves. They went 1-0 up with a move again down the wing. This was the very least they deserved for all their pressure. Their goalkeeper made a fantastic save from a short corner following one of our rare attacks.

In the second half,  having ridden our luck to be only 1-0 down, the sides, unfortunately, carried on as they had started. they quickly went  a second and third goal ahead. At that point the home team started to show their confidence and composure and played more like they can and after some good defensive, midfield and wing play got the ball into their D forcing the goalkeeper to juggle a save which allowed a goal to be scored with Harry Fuller hitting the ball that was above his head down into the goal.  We carried on from there with some threatening genuinely creative hockey but it just wouldn’t click in the final third of the pitch. City scored their final goal with a very slick movement from front to back leaving the final score as 3-1.

Dev Boys B v Magpies:  4-1

Goalscorers:  Hector McNeil x4
MOM:  Hector McNeil

Dev boys got off to a fine start with their enthusiasm and hard work, and it wasn’t too long before they scored their first goal by Hector McNeill.

Unfortunately Magpies followed suit and made the score 1-1.
After some strong play by both sides no more goals came and the first half ended 1-1.

Dragons kept their strong passing going within the midfield with some awesome teamwork and skills from Blade Earley, Vithu Baskaran, Archie Griegg, Aytron Rant, and Josh Cormack, with Zak McEwan darting between midfield and the forward position thus creating some wonderful hockey play enabling Hector to score a further 3 goals.

Tom Irvine and Sam Reynolds in defence made sure that Magpies didn’t get a look in when it came to scoring goals, although it was quite close at times they made sure they kept the dragons winning scoreline in tact. With Connr Kerrigan in goal doing some amazing saves the game came to a close with Dev B team winning 4-1.

It’s a big thank you to Tom Heiffer and Dan Osborne, the adult helpers, to guide and support the boys with their hockey knowledge.

Chris Sexton did a great job managing the team and he had some fab words to say about the boys

 

Dev Girls v Magpies :  3-9
Goalscorers:  Amy x2, Rosie
MOM:  Harriet Pymm