Our ever popular Friendly Mixed Summer League is well underway and attracting more teams, so now playing over three nights to cope with demand.  Great to see so many players keen to play all year round!!

Many congratulations to all our Adult Team Award winners this season.  An excellent night spent at Carrow Road celebrating being Norwich Dragons!!

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v IES 1s:  3-1

Goalscorers:   Liv Thomas, Issy Wolfe, Maddy Reynolds
MOM:  Carmel Windsor Waite

Dragons Ladies 1s finish off the season in style with a 3-1 win over IES.

Following a frustrating away performance against IES before the Christmas break, Dragons were looking for redemption on home turf, and to put a stamp on the end of the season. The team went out hard from the opening whistle and soon began to dominate the play, transferring the ball well round the back, and staying strong on the ball in the attack, despite some physical tackles from the opposition. The team’s perseverance was soon rewarded when – capitalising on some loose work from the opposition defence – the ball fell kindly to Maddy Reynolds in the circle, and she calmly slipped the ball into back of the net. IES had a few attacking chances throughout the first half, but some solid tackles from Sophie Barrow and player of the match Carmel Windsor-Waite, alongside some tight defensive work from the midfield line, kept the visitors at bay.  A disallowed IES goal kept the Dragons ahead at half time.

The second half saw the hosts quickly put themselves in a more comfortable position, where two goals were scored in relatively quick succession. The first came from a real team passage of play. Sophie Barrow picked up the ball on the left hand side of the pitch, and as she did, Lucy Morton made a baseline run to draw the defender, creating the space for Barrow to thread a beautiful ball straight into the circle, where Issy Wolfe was posting up. She picked up the ball and cracked out a classic Wolfe reverse stick shot into the bottom corner. Only minutes later, Liv Thomas added her own slick reverse stick goal to the tally as Holly Setchell found her on the top of the D, and Thomas found the sweet spot on the stick to smash the ball into the back corner. IES upped the intensity of their game for the final stages of the game, trying to stretch the defence and create some more chances. After a goal mouth scramble, IES were able to pull back a conciliatory goal, but it was not enough to shake the Dragons, who finish their season in 4^th place.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Bury St Edmonds 1s:  2-5

Goalscorers:  Jess Bennett x2
MOM:   Saskia Williams

Once again Norwich Dragons Ladies 2’s faced Bury St Edmunds 1’s away on the last game of the season – this seemingly a regular occurrence! With North Norfolk deservedly securing the title, this game between 3rd and 4th would decide the 2nd promotion place in the league. A very late 3.15pm start saw Bury with a large squad and a vocal and lively sideline, for this winner takes all game.

Dragons were quickly on the back foot – with numerous short corners being awarded against them. They found themselves 2-0 down early in the game, but were not downhearted. Jess Bennett scored a great individual goal stealing a wayward pass across the back, driving into the D, rounding the keeper and firing home. Then not long afterwards, following great work by Mia Bartram and Saskia Williams down the right, the ball found its way to Jess Bennett again who calmly slotted home to make it 2-2. Just before the break, through yet another short corner, Bury took the lead once again.

Dragons were playing well and were still very much in the game – the sideline support were getting more vocal with every attack and Dragons knew they had to be totally on their game, given Bury seemed to have so many pairs of fresh legs! The early part of the 2nd half saw some strong attacks down the flanks with Sam Franklin and Haz Green down the left and Dragons PoM Saskia Williams and Mia Bartram down the right, creating threats. Unfortunately the visitors didn’t seem to get the breaks, earning just one short corner in the half, which they were unable to convert. Midway through the half, Bury settled the nerves, scoring after a period of pressure to make it 4-2. This effectively sealed the win and relaxed the home team and meant Dragons needed to try and force the game, leaving gaps and eventually conceding a 5th.

Congratulations to North Norfolk and Bury for their promotion to Div 1. For the Dragons Ladies 2’s, another thoroughly enjoyable season, with many close competitive matches and some good hockey played. Special thanks go to all who have played in the 2’s squad, to our coaches for all their help and dedication (especially Pete, Richard, Jason and Rob), to our umpires, to our sideline manager on many occasions this season Ollie King who has been excellent for the team (good luck with your return from injury) and finally to our Captain Karen O’Neill Simpson for all her hard work, dedication and for all the energy she has put in to drive the team week after week. We sign off, rest up and look forward to going again – bring on pre season fitness!!!

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

Goalscorer:  Laura Van den Berg
MOM:  Esme Potter

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

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v v Broadland 3s:  3-0

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee x2, Paige Fisher
MOM:  Briony Johnstone

Dragons were keen to finish on a high and couldn’t have been happier with the result.

Dragons had the majority of control from the off, pushing Broadland and having plenty of shots on goal. Broadland defended well, thwarting Dragons attacks. Dragons persistence paid off when Mia McGhee ran into the D and hit a good firm shot into the goal. Broadland kept on fighting although Mia and the other forwards of Adelice Kraemer and Claire Fairhurst kept up the attack in the D. The solid central midfield of Brittany Hopkins and POM Briony Johnstone stopped Broadland’s attacks up the pitch, distributing the ball out to Paige Fisher and Maisie Dearmer on the wings. When Broadland did manage to break through, the defence of Bethan Greaves, Emma Fielding, Emma Dyer and Lizzie Costello were there to assist keeper Emma North in stopping them in their tracks.

Half time saw the arrival of Nathalie Crisp to help out in midfield, and Dragons were raring to go again after an encouraging pep talk from Mike Hardy. The second half continued to see Dragons dominating. Paige Fisher got her second goal of the season with a great decisive shot. Mia soon followed up with her second goal of the match, making it her 14^th league goal of the season and top scorer for Dragons 7s. Dragons continued to press Broadland but they were defending well. Right at the end Broadland were awarded a short corner just as the whistle blew. Broadland all pushed up and as the ball was injected, so did all of the Dragons, with Adelice hitting the ball out of play to end the game.

Great game to end the season, with Dragons working hard and well together. Now for a short break before summer hockey starts up! #supersevens

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Watton 3s:  1-4

Goalscorer:  Lois Metcalfe
MOM:   Lois Metcalfe, Anna Chapman

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Magpies 3s:  0-4

Development Leagues

Dev Boys A v  Watton :  8-2

Goalscorers:  Harry Fuller x3, Raul Wigglesworth x3, Vithu Baskaran x2
MOM:  Finn Pond

Dev Boys B v  Dereham :  1-5

Goalscorer:  Hector McNeill
MOM:  Connor Kerrigan

Dev Girls v Norwich City :  2-2
Goalscorers:  Nellie Ong, Mia Rutterford
MOM:  Freya Dolding, Hattie Stuart

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Cambridge City 3s:  1-1

Goalscorer:   Liv Thomas
MOM:  Issy Wolfe, Mima Watson

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

Goalscorers:  Donna Vaughan, Harriet Green, Jess Bennett
MOM:   Shelly Seaman

The penultimate game of the season with the Ladies 2’s playing their last game of the season at the Den on the red pitch!  A strong squad took to the pitch, determined to improve on the last 2 weeks performances.

The home team started brightly with some great runs down the wings by Saskia Williams, Sam Franklin, Harriett Green and Mia Bartram putting pressure on the visitors goal, but not creating any clear cut chances. With Gail Thomas and Donna Vaughan having a lot of space in the centre of the pitch to dictate play, Dragons were on top in the half. Finally they took the lead with a textbook short corner straight of the training field – Sarah Borrett dragged out with pace and accuracy, the stop from Karen O’Neill Simpson and finished with a bullet strike from Donna Vaughan.

The second quickly followed following good work from Jess Bennett, beating a couple of players and finding Harriett Green at the top of the D, whose firm shot nestled in the corner. More opportunities came and went, with the score at 2-0 at half time, with Amy Forse in the Dragons goal having hardly been called into action, largely thanks to some good defensive work from Stella Windsor-Waite, Sarah Borrett, Karen O’Neill Simpson and Donna Vaughan.

Ollie King asked for the team to up their levels a bit and to look to use the space / width a bit better. This the home team did but unfortunately despite some good efforts it just wasn’t Dragons day in front of goal, with the Christchurch GK having a good day. Eventually the third came following good work from Jess Bennett unleashing a fine reverse stick strike into the corner.

More opportunities came and went during the half, with Dragons passing the ball much better. Dragons scored a fourth through Mia Bartram, only for it to be reversed due to an earlier obstruction in the build up, seen by the umpire at the far end. The vote for Player of the Match went to Shelly Seaman for her usual high work-rate, tenacity in the tackle and general positive play. Last game of the season next week sees a late fixture against Bury St Edmunds.

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

Goalscorer:  Elsa Scott
MOM:  Angela Murgatroyd

This week saw Dragons Ladies 3^rd team travel to Yarmouth to face an undefeated in 2019 Yarmouth team. Dragons started sluggish and let Yarmouth put pressure on them from the start which quickly resulted in Yarmouth scoring their first goal from a short corner.

Dragons soon began to play some strong attacking hockey all over the field and secured a short corner for themselves which was scored reverse stick into the bottom left hand corner by Elsa Scott to level the scores.

Next it was Yarmouth’s turn to convert another well struck short corner into the bottom left hand corner and the first half finished 2 1 to Yarmouth.

Both teams continued to play attacking hockey and Dragons had opportunities to equal the score line again but unfortunately the score remained 2 1 to Yarmouth on the final whistle. Player of the match was Spike (Angela Murgatroyd).

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Norwich City 3s:  1-6

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v UEA 3s:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Brittany Hopkins
MOM:  Nathalie Crisp

After their win last week, Dragons were confident they could have another successful match but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

Dragons started well, on the attack from the off and having plenty of shots at goal. These kept hitting the keeper and no one was ready to receive the deflection or weren’t sitting on the post to knock the ball in, allowing UEA to clear it away. UEA soon rallied and ended the first half 1:0 up.

The half time talk saw the team being told to maintain their shape, be first to the ball, stop hiding behind the opposition and to mark up, with the defence reminded to take the hit outs wide.

UEA soon got their second goal and Dragons battled on, with their efforts being rewarded with a short corner. The injection went to Brittany Hopkins who gave the ball a strong strike that flew past UEA defence and into the back of the goal. Dragons were buoyed by the goal but UEA didn’t let up and got goal number 3. Play was stopped as POM Nathalie Crisp received a ball to
the nose, ending her time on the pitch. Play resumed with 6 minutes left, Dragons fighting hard but couldn’t find the goal again.

Dragons have lots to learn from this match. Not our finest performance but lots of positives too. Onwards to the last match of the season.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v UEA 4s:  0-0

MOM:   Issy Gale

Wow! Whoohoo! Hooray! The 8s have at last taken a league point, and arguably deserved to win for their determined attacking game and all-round team effort. Although there were absentees through illness and injury (with captain Lois Metcalfe passing herself fit after being unwell all week) there were 21 players pressing for a game and 15 selected.

So step forward Krystyna Smyth, back from maternity ‘leave’ who put on the goalkeeping kit and proved she has lost nothing. She kept a smart clean sheet, dominating the circle and belting the ball away when she had to. Jo Baker had another defensive lineup to manage, and did it with her usual authority, linking particularly well with Karen Davidson who made some excellent tackles at bottom of the diamond. Rosie Tarleton earns a regular place in defence now for her tackling and clearing skills, while the Shammy sisters opened up new possibilities for the Dragons defence. Mehnaz stopped a speedy left wing from getting crosses into the circle, while Neha also blocked well and also proved she could link defence to forwards as well.

UEA had the best of the early exchanges, with Dragons starting a little tentatively as the new combinations needed time to find each other with their triangular passes. But when it became clear that the defence could smother the UEA attack and get away some nice wide clearances, the 8s midfield began to exert their influence. Nobody gets the ball off Sadie Jacobs at right mid, and her holding play was invaluable. The more the game went on, the more Issy Gale grew in confidence, and on a day when seven players got POM votes, she was the pick. Her defence was good, but the way she managed to smuggle the ball upfield was even better. Katy Cole set a great example for being ‘first to the ball’ and never gave up on a chase. This has been an 8s weakness in the past – but in this game Katy, Neha, Issy and Sadie gave the Dragons most of the possession. Katie Davidson plays a slightly different game, and she used her speed and stick skills to drive the ball forward where Shaniece Claxton, Johanne Steward and Lois were eagerly moving to pounce.

So Dragons created a solid base in defence and midfield for their draw, and for once they created shots and penalties as their attack began to threaten. It took some good UEA goalkeeping to keep them out. Johanne got the first shot on target, ghosting in as she often does in good positions which are not always spotted. Johanne also did some excellent injecting for the penalty corners. Bridget Le Good slipped twice to Sadie, who got in some nice first time sweeps. Then Bridget got in a thumper near the end which the keeper stretched to save, which she had done earlier to thwart Lois’s clean strike from the top of the D. With 6 shots on target out of 9, the 8s showed they have something to offer in all departments.

Towards the end of each half of the season, the 8s have built up their game and looked likely to win. Now they are raring to go for their last match, unfortunately not at home where injured players like Jess Lockwood can manage the subs and Mike Hardy can dispense words of wisdom and encouragement. The draw against UEA wasn’t their prettiest, but for sheer cussed determination, and a willingness to get every team member onto the ball, this was the game to give the 8s pride, pleasure and confidence.

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

Development Leagues

Dev Boys B v Magpies:  4-4

Goalscorers:  Josh Cormack x2, Ben Panter, Freddie Royall
MOM:  Ed Cross

Dev Girls v Dereham:  5-4
Goalscorers:  Mia Rutherford, Evie Marlee, Freya Dolding, Lucy Courtier
MOM:  Freya Dolding

This Week’s Results

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

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Sudbury:  2-4

Goalscorers:   Issy Wolfe, Katy Hands
MOM:  Gina Hunt

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v North Norfolk:  0-3

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Pelicans 2s:  0-3

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Breckland:  1-6

Goalscorer:  Mia McGhee
MOM:  Lizzie Costello

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v North Norfolk:  0-12

MOM:   Rosie Tarleton

Ladies 8’s took on North Norfolk at home. Despite some of our best hockey yet we were unable to end victorious and lost 7-0.

Emma North doubled up in goal to play for us and was later on playing for the 7’s. As always she did us proud and made some spectacular saves.

We were privy to some great pre-match advice from Mike and our captain Lois Metcalfe. I am sure Mike can say he had witnessed much of what he advised brought onto the pitch and utilised to the best of our advantage.

Bridget Le Good was in defence as one of two sweepers and played magnificently. On numerous occasions the loud crack that was heard as she executed the ball out wide made any opposition in her wake jump out of the way for fear of contact to their feet. Jess Lockwood also in defence very nearly made her second ‘on the goal line’ save but today that was not for her, but definitely there will be a next time Jess, just keep doing what you are doing!!!

Karen Davidson was a forward sweeper and although new to that role, made an admirable debut.

We welcomed three of our newcomers to the match with Ceris Burgues playing the Dragons shirt for the first time. She played a speedy game on the wing and we all benefitted from her presence. Ari Miquel-Clopes also made some great tackles and was often seen finding space exactly where she could intercept the ball. Rosie Tarleton played another great match and deservedly took home Brian and the hockey stick for being awarded POM.

Katy Cole played as a midfielder and displayed all her usual energy and enthusiasm and one can only get drawn into her excitement and optimism. Sadie ‘speedy’ Jacobs was another midfielder to be reckoned with and more often than not was first to the ball when it came her way.

Nicola Harrison was ‘on fire’ and played some excellent hockey down the wing, and although she was on the receiving end of a fast ball to her knee and the obligatory ice pack as a result just before halftime was not to be thwarted and came back stronger than ever in the second half. There was some awesome and very welcome ball clearance in defence from Jo Baker who received the ball quickly and even more quickly was able to whack it out to the side.

Myself (Emma Young) and Johanne Steward played as forwards, we had one or two chances in the D but were not able to execute a goal at this point. I for one learn so much from Johanne every time I play with her and she has patiently and kindly given me continuous advice and encouragement and I am eternally grateful to learn from her experience and knowledge.

Awesome 8’s have come a long way this season and with three games to go we may have to accept we will not finish at the top end of the table, but we can say we we have come a long way this season and we always come on to the pitch fighting, we hold our heads high, look out for our team mates and have a great time.

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Ipswich 2s:  1-4

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norfolk Nomads 2s:  3-2

Development Leagues

Dev Boys B v Watton:  7-3
Goalscorers:  Monty Patel, Sam Reynolds, Ayrton Rant x2, Will Sexton x3
MOM:  Monty Patel

The morning sun was blocked out by the dark clouds but other wise it was a perfect day for hockey. The game was played in quarters (4 quarters of 15 minutes). Watton were on the front foot for the first quarter. Within the first 2 minutes Watton had scored 2 goals but about 8 minutes through, the tables turned and Dragons were on a charge. At the end on the first quarter, despite dragons fight back, it ended 2-1 to Watton.

Dragons continued their charge in the second quarter. There were constant barrage of attacks but no shot would go in because of the valiant Watton defending. On one attack though, we got a short corner which went to Sam Reynolds who struck but just missed. Thankfully it went to Monty Patel who then stopped it and swept it past the goalkeeper. The second quarter, or first half, ended 2-2.

The third quarter started with high confidence as the dragons were on the attack. With some amazing plays and passes. Ayrton Rant managed to put 2 goals on the scoresheet, Sam Reynolds put 1 on and Will Sexton put 3 on. The final quarter ended 7-2 to Dragons.

For the final quarter Watton came back fighting with multiple attacks, not being able to pierce the Dragon’s defence.However Watton got one goal back and the game ended 7-3 to Dragons.

Man Of The Match went to Monty Patel with 3 votes but was closely followed by Will Panter and Will Sexton who both secured 2 votes each.

Dev Girls v Dereham:  6-1
Goalscorers:  Hattie Stuart x3, Lucy Courtier, Hannah Shepperson, Nellie Ong
MOM:  Rowan Hewitt

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v St Neots 1s:  7-2

Goalscorers:  Issy Wolfe x2, Maddy Reynolds x3, Olivia Thomas, Katy Hands
MOM:  Issy Wolfe

Norwich Dragons ladies 1s found their form this week, winning 7-2 at home against league
strugglers St Neots.  Determined to put an end to the last few weeks of lacklustre performances, the ladies 1s came out hard from the opening whistle, dominating possession for much of the first half.  The opening 10 minutes saw some lovely linking play between the midfield and forward lines, and some good early chances. Against the run of play, however, St Neots won a short corner, and found the back of the net through a deflection on the left post, putting them 1-0 up.

The Dragons kept their heads, however, and countered within a few minutes with a goal of their
own as Maddy Reynolds took the ball past one defender and slipped the ball to Lucy Morton,
only to receive it back on the p-spot and deflect it reverse side into the goal. Player of the match
Issy Wolfe added her own just before half time, receiving the ball at the top of the D, and taking
a reverse stick strike to find the back of the net and to put the Dragons up by 1 goal at half time.

St Neots came out hard in the opening minutes of the second half, and having won another
short corner, they converted in a carbon copy of their first goal, drawing things level. It was at
this point that the Dragons really hit their stride, however, and the next 35 minutes saw a feast of goals from the hosts. Maddy Reynolds found the goal twice more, setting up her hat trick for the day;  Issy Wolfe scored another reverse sweep after a foray down the baseline; Katy Hands got in on the action receiving the ball from Holly Setchell and sweeping it into the goal; and Liv
Thomas finished the day with a lovely piece of skill during a short corner play, eliminating two
players and slipping it past the keeper’s right foot. The forward line’s feast of goals was well-
supported by a hardworking midfield, and by some patient play round the back to open up the
spaces on the pitch. Overall, this was a much better performance from the team, and we’ll be
looking to take that into the last few games of the season.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s – no fixture

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s –  no fixture

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s – no fixture 

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s – no fixture

DEVELOPMENT LEAGUES

no fixtures

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Lowestoft Ladies 1s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Issy Wolfe
MOM:  Mima Watson

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s put in a much improved performance on home turf to draw
1-1 with Lowestoft Ladies.

Despite struggling in recent weeks, and suffering a dip in confidence levels, the Ladies 1s
came out on Saturday determined to play to their potential. The game started well, with
the Dragons dominating possession and creating some early chances. The Lowestoft
goalkeeper did a good job of keeping her team in the game in the early stages, making
some great saves from the attempts by the forward line of Issy Wolfe, Maddy Reynolds,
Katy Hands and Lucy Morton. As the first half went on, Lowestoft did manage to break
through the lines on a number of occasions. Seeking the long ball through the middle,
their defence managed to find their high forwards on a couple of occasions, leaving them
with an overload situation. However, player of the match, Mima Watson, and the rest of
the defensive line up managed to clear their lines, along with some excellent keeping
from Gina Hunt. The first half ended with the Dragons narrowly missing the net after a
slick short corner routine found Kiera Goymour on the left castle, who struck in for a
neat deflection from Katy Hands.

The Dragons went into the second half with much more confidence, and dominated
possession for the majority of the game. After a flurry of short corners, Issy Wolfe
managed to get the conversion after an initial strike from Liv Leary was saved on the
post, and Wolfe cleared up. However, after taking the lead, the Dragons were put under
some pressure from a reinvigorated Lowestoft side, as they immediately went on the
counter attack and won a short corner. The hosts managed to clear this, but a few
minutes later, after a break down of play in the middle of the pitch, the Dragons found
themselves on the back foot. Lowestoft drove along the back line, pulling the ball back
to the P-spot. Despite getting a touch on it, the Dragons defence were unable to clear,
and the opposition tapped the ball in at the back post. Despite having all the possession
in the remaining 10 minutes, and a number of short corners, Dragons were unable to
find the winner, leaving the score 1-1 at full time. While a win would have been a better
reflection of the game, the Dragons can take heart from a much improved performance,
which they will be looking to build upon next week.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v UEA 1s:  4-2

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s –  no fixture

Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Pelicans 3s:  2-1

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee, Lois Metcalfe
MOM:  Emma Fielding

Ladies 7s saw a difference to the team sheet this week due to some of
the regular players being unavailable. However, this was not going to
stop the grit and determination as we  thrived for the game ahead of us
against Pelicans.

We started the game with the majority of possession of the ball, using
all members of the team to get it round the nippy Pelis players, with a
strong mid-field line of Maisie Dearmer, Briony Johnstone, Nat Crisp and
Brittany Hopkins we were able to work the ball around them and pass it
nicely to our forward line of Mia McGhee, Lois Metcalfe and Lara King
who worked together well. After having many shots at goal during the
first half, Mia scored the first goal of the match which came from a
lovely pass from Lara, which the goalie managed to get a touch on but
Mia got the rebound and scored making us 1 nil up. Pelis also had a few
shots at goal but our keeper Emma North was on form and was saving them.
However, shortly after we scored our goal Pelis were quick to fight
back, and managed to work the ball round us and our defensive line of Bethan
Greaves, Emma Fielding (Mouse) and Anna Chapman and got it past Emma
making it a 1-1 draw just before the half time whistle went.

After a quick team talk, some sweets and a drink of water Dragons were
ready for round 2. Like in the first half we had most possession but
even more so in the second half. Our second goal came very early in
the second half after another lovely cross from Lara which again
deflected off of the keeper as she dived to save the ball and Lois
managed to get a reverse stick on it with enough power to whack it home
scoring her first goal of the season! Throughout the second half Dragons
absorbed a lot of pressure from Pelis as they were trying to level with
or beat us. This meant they also began to show determination as they
were awarded 3 consecutive short corners and were really pushing and
hoping to level the score but were unsuccessful as our defensive line
and a few midfielders were able to put the pressure on and clear the
balls. After a bit more play Sophie James was getting stuck in and was
working tirelessly to tackle Pelis and win the ball back into our
possession in both the first and second half of the game. She was a
flexible player who started in defence in the first half and moved to
left mid in the second. Shortly after the full time whistle went and we
cheered and shook the hands of the young Pelis team.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Norwich City 7s:  0-2

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Lowestoft Railway 1s:  4-5

Dragons travelled to Ipswich with a team or youth and experience. Starting brightly Dragons matched IES in the opening exchanges with Garnet Jones rolling back the years and slamming home a rocket past the IES keeper. This woke IES up and the game became more entertaining with Ipswich poaching the lead before half time to make it 2-1, despite Charlie Creasy excellent reverse stick shot clipping the post. Undeterred and Dragons up to a full complement with Tommy Chapman back on up front Dragons continued to threaten. Unfortunately, Dragons couldn’t get in front and IES pounced on two rare mistakes to the end score to 5-3. Garnet Jones continued to poach goals with a well taken finish as did Tommy Chapman from a good short corner variation. But despite tireless running and positive play from Will Plank , Will Mares and Isaac Diver-Hall Dragons failed to get another in the last 10 mins despite penning IES in their own half. Excellent play from the Dragons young guns still left us with a smile on our faces as did the nice teas and good company from IES (many thanks). Also hats off to the netball mum and the clubhouse steward who looked after our patient for the first half enabling us to play a full and competitive game. Man of the match very hard to split between Isaac Diver-Hall and Charlie Creasy who both had fantastic games.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norwich City 7s:  6-0

DEVELOPMENT LEAGUES

Dev Boys A v Watton:  3-2

Goalscorers:  Ben Panter x2, Jake Reynolds
MOM:  Jake Reynolds

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Bedford 2s:  0-7

MOM:  Mia Bartram

Ladies 1s struggle on the road to a well-organised Bedford 2s side, losing 7-0. A difficult day but lots to learn and we’ll come back stronger next week. Pom Mia for some great tenacity and work.

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

Ladies 3’s lost to dragons ladies 2’s, 4-0. Played in good spirit, 3rd team made the 2’s work hard for their points. POM goes to Katrina Speirs for some excellent saves!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Loddon 2s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Mia McGhee
MOM:  Briony Johnstone

Dragons started the match in good spirits, hoping to gain some much-needed points and were content with the draw. Loddon fought hard and the game was pretty evenly matched with plenty of end-to-end play. Dragons went 1:0 up halfway through the first half when some great linking play saw them break away from Loddon, allowing Mia McGhee to slot the ball past the keeper. Loddon kept up the pressure and equalized in the second half. 

Due to availability issues, Dragons had a different line-up, with some new faces making up the squad. Making her debut in the 7s, Emma Fielding had a great game, settling in and playing well with the other defenders of Jessie Young, Lizzie Costello and Issy Gale. Briony Johnstone had another stonking game, proving how invaluable she is at bottom of the diamond and deservedly earning POM. Lara King was welcomed back after illness and put in lots of great tackles at top of the diamond, confounding Loddon’s attempts through the middle. Paige Fisher and Brittany Hopkins worked hard on the wings, getting the ball up to the waiting forwards of Mia, Katy Cole, Katie Davidson and Claire Fairhurst. Keeper Emma North was kept busy and made several amazing saves, stopping Loddon from scoring. She was only defeated by a short corner when Loddon slotted in a neat, strong strike.

Although it wasn’t the win that Dragons are craving, it was a good result from a new formation, showing that regular attendance at training makes all the difference! Onwards and upwards, the next win is surely within grasp!

Another goal fest game for the neutral by the Mens 2s. Unfortunately we didn’t start well, going in 3-0 down at half time. After having a good word with ourselves at the break, we let another goal in before then stepping it up and pulling the game back to 3-4. Chasing a 4th, unfortunately we let in a 5th, losing 3-5. Another good game for the youth of the club. Goals by Ed Gould, Angus Blazer, and a penalty flick from Cley Hamilton. MoM votes went to just about everyone in the team, with Angus Blazer winning a 3 way tie on 2 votes by rock-paper-scissors. Sol Blazer just avoids DoD by turning up, unlike Chris Simmonds having the weekend off and hence being awarded it. Thanks to all those watching and supporting!

This was a big game for two teams who haven’t had much luck this season with results. But as the game started neither team was put off playing some nice hockey. Newmarket started well with structures approach play meaning Alex Wolfe was called into play a few times to keep things level. Always dangerous on the counter attack Dragons got the goal they wanted before half time mainly thanks to the pace and work of Jones , Gale and Diver-Hall. As the second half started Dragons broke away for another goal to make things more comfortable with Newmarket always threatening. Dragons managed to close out the game with two more goal despite Newmarket puling one back mainly thanks to man of the match Alex Wolfe in goal. Overall well played Newmarket for a good open game and to the Dragons goal scorers with Joel Lawrence denied by the post for his hattrick and Isaac Diver- Hall  also threatening his first hat trick but settling for a brace.

Men’s 6 lose 6-0 to Men’s 5. Some good play and much better than when we last met. MOM to Casper Lind. Congrats to the 5’s being champions

Dev Boys A v Dereham :   3-2

Goalscorers:  Lawry Williams, Vithu Baskaran, Raul Wigglesworth
MOM:  Lawry Williams

The game had a cold and windy start but that did not stop the teams from playing to their best. The first half was very even and very end to end. The first goal in the game was scored by Vithu Baskaran. It was ‘luck’ as some people would say but Dragons knew that it was Vithu’s pure skill. He had whipped it in to the goal from the base line, it was truly spectacular and a big surprise. The first half ended a fair 1:1.

The next half again started off very even once again. There were many chances and Dragons were the first to put one away. There was a barrage of attacks on Dereham, which were very well defended, and multiple crosses. Eventually a ball arrived at the stick of Raul Wigglesworth who, with great composure, put it away. In response to this Dereham came fighting back and eventually scoring another leaving it 2:2. It was nearing the end of the game and both teams were looking for a goal to take the lead. In the last minute Dragons were awarded a short corner after an attack. Lawry Williams was the injector and Edward Cross was receiving it. When it reached Edward he took a shot and was saved by the keeper. The ball then came flying to Lawry who made a good stop and then an amazing shot. The ball shot in to the bottom right hand corner and the team celebrated. Dereham went back to the centre spot looking to get a goal in the last 30 seconds. They went straight on the attack but was defended and cleared by dragons. The whistle then blew and the Dragons team celebrated with a 3:2 win.

After the game man of the match was awarded to Lawry but closely followed by others with him winning only by 1 vote.

Dev Boys B v Norwich City :  0-2

MOM:  Theo Demitriou, Oli Rudling

The teams were eager to get cracking on this very cold and dimly lit day.  They were evenly matched, with both Dragons and City quick to get shots at goal, defended well by both Dragons and City GKs.

City kept on the pressure and were awarded by a series of short corners, Dragons went on the defensive and with some great saves by GK Adam Jones kept a clean sheet in Q1.

Dragons then went on the attack with George Wilson and Monty Patel passing well to get Dragons in to shooting distance, but City intercepted and quickly went on the counter attack and awarded another short corner!  Well defended again by Dragons, with some great tackling by Oli Rudling , Theo Demetriou and the boys to keep the score 0-0 in Q2.

Dragons started strong in Q3, Jake Reynolds managed to dribble the ball through City’s players and between him and Monty Patel looked like they could score, but to no avail.

More suspense with short corners for both Dragons and City and after what felt like the 10th short corner City scored to put them in the lead.

In the final quarter Dragons started well and were tantalisingly close to scoring, first with the ball going just wide of the goal and then just off the goal line.  Dragons were awarded with a couple of short corners but unable to take advantage.  Pressure was mounting by Dragons and we felt a goal was coming, but City defended well.  In the final flurry Monty looked like he was going to score but City’s keeper made a cracking save, which then allowed City to dash up the pitch and were awarded with a final goal in the last minute, resulting in a 2 – 0 win to City.

It’s fair to say the final score did not really reflect the overall game, the play was evenly matched throughout with good attacking and defensive play by both teams and an abundance of short corners which kept us spectators on edge to the final whistle!

Dev Girls v Watton:  3-3

Goalscorers:  Nellie Ong, Hattie Stuart, Mia Rutherford
MOM:  Honey Wells

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Ipswich 2s:  2-1

Goalscorers:  Lucy Morton, Kiera Goymore
MOM:  Kiera Goymour

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Yarmouth:  1-2

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Pelicans 3s:  P-P

Dev Boys A v Dev Boys B:  4-2

Goalscorers:  Whites: Sam Leeming, Felix Bartram, Ed Cross,  Gabe Overton
Reds:  Will Panter, Ben Panter

The match started great, with players from both side making coordinated passes and moving to create space. Within a few minutes, some simple passing and a lovely cross gave the white team a brilliant first goal scored by Sam Leeming. Even though the reds were now feeling a bit down, they managed to push through and (using some amazing team work and great passes) score a good goal by Will Panter. This goal was quickly followed by another, in which Ben Panter skilfully dribbled the ball through the white’s defences and pushed it into the goal. However, the white’s weren’t pleased with the score so far and started to fight back stronger than ever, this luckily earned them a second and third goal, scored by Felix Bartram and Ed Cross.

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Cambridge University:  0-7

MOM:  Gina Hunt, Shelly Seaman, Olivia Thomas

The ladies 1s were dealt a hockey masterclass on the road by Cambridge University 1s.
The opening moments of the game set the tone for how things would progress, with the
students having the lion’s share of possession and moving the ball quickly around their
whole team, from the defence through to the forward line. Stretching the game both
high and wide, the university began to find holes in the Dragons’ defence and created a
number of opportunities. Despite absorbing a significant amount of pressure in the first
10 minutes, the hosts capitalised on their excellent passages of play, taking a
controversial long corner quickly and placing the ball hard and fast to the back right post,
for the incoming striker to deflect into the net for a textbook goal.

The rest of the half saw much of the same, with the students placing the visitors under a
lot of pressure, and winning several short corners. They managed to convert two of these
with some very slick routines to put them 3-0 up at half time. The Dragons came out
harder in the second half, and managed to create a few chances going forwards.
However, the Cambridge defence were strong and mopped up our attacks with relative
ease. Again and again, the students were patient, playing the ball around their team,
stretching the game, and then capitalising on the gaps that were emerging through the
middle and down the sides of the pitch. They extended their lead to 4 with a drive along
the base line, and despite tackles from both Holly Setchell and Sarah Jenkins, the ball was
slipped to the opposite post and tapped in by the waiting striker. The final three goals
came from another three textbook short corner routines leaving the final score 7-0. The

Dragons were outplayed by a classy team this week, and while a humbling experience, it
has given us a lot to aspire to and to think about as we move forward. Player of the
match was split between Shelly Seaman, Gina Hunt and Liv Thomas, with a number of
other votes being spread around the team.

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

Goalscorers:  Hannah Woods, Kelly Mills, Amy Beadman
MOM:  Hannah Woods

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v St Neots:  P-P

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Felixstowe 1s:  7-0

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Wisbech 1s:  0-3

MOM:  Olivia Thomas

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s struggle to maintain their pre-Christmas momentum in a 3-0 loss away to Wisbech.

The Dragons travelled to Wisbech hoping to build upon their excellent performance against league-leaders, Dereham, just before the break. The team started strongly, winning a short corner in the opening few minutes of the game. Over the next 10 minutes we looked the better of the two teams, threatening to score on several occasions, with some nice build up play through player of the match, Liv Thomas, in the middle of the pitch, and the forward line of Maddy Reynolds, Lucy Morton, Issy Wolfe, Katy Hands and Mia Bartrum stretching the game and making some good runs. However, Wisbech soon settled into the game and began to make some attacks of their own. The Dragons left too much open in the middle of the pitch, and the hosts capitalised upon this. Despite some excellent goalkeeping from Gina Hunt, Wisbech went ahead just before the end of the first half.

The second half saw a ropey performance from the visitors, with basics letting us down. Despite a number of chances, Wisbech utilised their skills and numbers up front, and after 10 minutes scored an excellent tap in goal, having drawn the defence out. The Dragons battled on, and had plenty of chances in the second half, but this was not our day, and a few minutes before the whistle, Wisbech sealed the game with a strike from the right hand side of the D. A disappointed Dragons team recognise that this was far from our best performance, and that we need to get back to basics in next week’s game.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Norwich City 2s:  2-1

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer: Jenna Mills
MOM: Victoria Early

Dragons 4s travelled to our old temporary home at Hobart High School for what was always going to be a tough game. Loddon have had a good season so far, and are currently 3rd in the table.

Dragons started with great confidence, and looked an even match for the opposition. It was end to end play for the duration of the first half, but it was the  Loddon forwards who eventually broke the stale mate with a well executed goal in free play.

The half time atmosphere was positive; the Dragons knowing that their standard of passing this week during the first half was vastly better than of previous weeks.

With heads held high, Dragons continued into the second half with high ball speed, work rate, and movement across the pitch. Following a neat string of passes around the midfield and forwards, the opportunity came for the Dragons when Jenna Mills received the ball, turned and hit it home to equalise from the top of the D.

Following several unsuccessful short corners and both ends, it was Loddon who, with 7 minutes remaining, perfected their routine to score the winner. 

Dragons’ MoM was Vicki Earley (winning the majority of the votes) for excellent distribution from midfield, and persistent harassment of the opposition – her new stick was worth every penny! 

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Lowestoft Railway:  11-0

Goalscorers:  Lizzy McDonnell, Gemma Ballard x3, Jane Wells x2, Amy Forse x4, Gill Walker
MOM:  Beth Elgood

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Norwich City 5s:  1-3

Goalscorer:   Kelly Mills
MOM:  Claire Stuart

Development Leagues

Norwich Dragons Development Girls v Magpies:  1-3  

Goalscorer: Ella Peart
MOM: Taylor Sisterson

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s – Indoor Tournament

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

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v IES 1s:  2-2

Goalscorers:  Olivia Thomas, Issy Wolfe
MOM:  Sarah Jenkins

The Ladies 1s, coming off the back of a couple of disappointing losses, were ready to
finish off the first half of the season in style as they travelled to the IES home ground.
The team started well, and had the lion’s share of possession in the first half. The
forward line of Lucy Morton, Issy Wolfe, Shelly Seaman and Piper Hempsall, continued
to create chances, but luck was not on their side, as the ball drifted wide, or was saved as
it veered towards goal – on one occasion by the opposition’s foot, but no stroke was
awarded. The midfield worked tirelesslessy up and down the pitch, and the team played
more as a unit than they have done in recent weeks. The hard work paid off when
Harriet Green played a long square ball from the left hand side of the pitch to Holly
Setchell on the edge of the D. Setchell drove the ball wide and to the base line before
pulling it back to an unmarked Liv Thomas waiting on the penalty spot. Thomas picked
her spot and put the ball away with confidence. While IES had a few chances in the first
half these were dealt with by the some excellent saves from Izzy Mumbray and a team
defence, leaving the score 1-0 at half time.

IES came out hard in the second half, creating more opportunities than before.
However, at least for the first phase the Dragons still seemed to be in control. After 10
minutes, Shelly Seaman found player of the match Sarah Jenkins just outside the D.
Driving into the D, Jenkins found herself in some space and placed a shot on target.
While the initial shot was saved, Issy Wolfe was there to clean up, putting the visitors 2-0
ahead. However, the Dragons’ fortunes changed with the arrival of the opposition’s fan
base, and a renewed energy from the host team. IES played with a desire that seemed to
be lacking in the Dragons unit, and were soon rewarded for their renewed vigour with a
short corner. The drag flicker got hold of the ball well and launched the ball at a tricky
height towards the right hand side of the goal, bringing the score back to 2-1. For the
rest of the game it was very much a question of whether the Dragons could hold on to
the 3 points, and while they had a number of chances to score, it was IES that looked the
stronger team. Minutes before time, the hosts manage to draw the game level, after a
loose ball in the middle of the pitch was picked off and played into an unmarked player
on the penalty spot, leaving the game at 2-2 at the final whistle.

This was a disappointing result for the Dragons, who really should have seen the game
off much earlier. Some tough lessons have been learned, and the team look towards the
business end of the season in their campaign to secure promotion.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Bury 1s:  1-2

On a rather cold wet start to December we took on Watton. We kept good possession in our first quarter and made the ball work for us spreading it out wide as well as going direct through the middle. On several occasions we had short corners in which Ed Cross beat his man and drilled it centrally into the goal.

The game was fairly even in the second quarter but a good attack turned into another goal when George Wilson pushed the ball across the D and ended up in the back of the goal. Dragons defence was very solid and it didn’t look as if Watton would score but one lucky defection saw the ball pop up to their player to pass the ball into the goal.

Dragons kept attacking showing great skill and team work which was rewarded with a brace of goals by Vithu Baskaran. Any Watton attack was soon extinguished and Dragons saw out a good but cold and wet end to the game.

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Cambridge City 3s:  0-3

MOM:  Carmel Windsor Waite

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s struggle for a second week running as they fall 3-0 to Cambridge City 3s.

The Ladies 1s started the game very positively, moving the ball well around the pitch and creating some lovely patterns of play. In fact, the hosts looked very much like the dominant side for much of the half, controlling the midfield through Liv Thomas, Tabba Tabbrett, Kiera Goymour and Mia Bartrum, and creating chances up front. A flurry of short corners, however, came to nothing, and just before half time Cambridge caught the team on the break. Driving down the right hand side of the pitch and onto the base line, they managed to pull the ball back past the defence to slot the ball into the far side of the goal. The first half ended 1-0, with the Dragons still very much in the game.

The opening period of the second half saw much the same story, with the Dragons creating a lot of chances, but not being able to convert. However, misplaced passes and lost possession were all too frequent, allowing the visitors to break in attack. Their skilful and pacey forwards saw a carbon copy of the first goal put them 2-0 up with 20 minutes left to go. Despite a strong and aggressive press, a number of opportunities in the attacking D, and despite player of the match Carmel Windsor-Waite’s impressive efforts down the right hand side of defence, Dragons were unable to find the back of the net, and the opposition were able to seal the game through a short corner with just a few minutes to go. While a disappointing result there were a number of positives in the game. But tighter possession and more composure in the attack are needed over the coming weeks.

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

This Week’s Results

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

MOM:  Lucy Morton, Joanna Raymond

The Ladies 1s, welcoming Lucy Morton back into the squad, alongside Harriet Green
and Gail Thomas, travelled down to Cambridge to take on the University 2 nd XI.
Depleted by injury, illness, and absence, it was always going to be a tough game against a
feisty and youthful team, but going down to a bare 11 before the game even started set
the stage for an uphill struggle against the opposition’s army of 15. The Dragons started
tentatively, as the students exposed gaps in our defensive unit, and capitalised on their
pace up front. However, the team soon settled and began to go on the offensive, with
the forward line of Tabba Tabbrett, Maddy Reynolds, and joint player of the match, Lucy
Morton, making some excellent runs up front. The first half saw a few chances for both
sides, with some excellent saves by both keepers to keep the score 0-0 at half time.

The second half started much the same, with plenty of opportunities for the visitors. A
number of chances saw the ball slotted just wide on several occasions, and run across the
face of goal on others. The hosts also had their own chances, with Harriet Green and
Carmel Windsor-Waite needing to make some important tackles on the wide flanks of
defence, and Shelly Seaman making an excellent save off the goal-line to keep the score
at 0-0. However, with no substitutes and a slow pitch, the team of 11 began to tire and
Cambridge were able to exert some pressure. After a flurry of short corners, they
managed to convert through a bobbling straight strike. Despite the tireless running of
Tabbrett, alongside the midfield unit of Holly Reding, Gail Thomas and joint player of
the match, Joanna Raymond, the Dragons were just not able to pull the game back, and
the whistle blew with the score still at 1-0. This was a disappointing and frustrating loss,
but lessons can be learned with regards to game management. And with a full squad, the
team fully expect to take their revenge on home turf.

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

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Watton 1s:  0-7

MOM:  Stella Windsor Waite

This week saw Norwich Dragons 3^rd team travel to play Watton 1^st team who are undefeated this season with a team that consisted of no fewer than eight under 18 players. The team welcomed both Lily Sore and Emma Bambridge for their 3^rd team debuts.

The game started as a fairly even contest with both teams creating some good hockey all over the pitch. The defensive combination of Esther Jacobs in goal, Lily Sore, Ally Windsor Waite, Stella Windsor Waite and Emma Bambridge combining well for the first time together keeping a clean sheet for the first twenty minutes of the match.

The midfield combination of Elsa Scott, Hannah Ellis, Catherine Matthews and Grace Brown were linking well to fed the forwards of Harriet Marlee, Harriet Rant, Aditi Naik and Katie Lister, who were worrying the Watton defence.

Unfortunately, Watton managed to score three quick goals from open play mid-way through the first half. Dragons kept battling, winning short corners and creating goal scoring chances but the first half ended 3 0 to Watton.

The second half again saw some promising hockey from Dragons but were not able to score a goal and Watton were clinical in front of goal and scored another four goals in the second half, three from short corners.

A great team effort from such a young and inexperienced team, with plenty to work on and build on in the coming weeks. Player of the match was taken by Stella Windsor Waite for a determined performance in defence. Thank you very much to our sideline support and encouragement from Spike, Sarah and Neeps.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Broadland 2s:  4-3

Goalscorers: Caroline Wolfe x3, Lilli Ballard
MOM: Trish Hagan, Jenna Mills, Sophia Haehnelt

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Diss 1s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard
MOM:  Emily Smith

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Watton 2s:  1-7

Goalscorer:   Gill Walker
MOM:  Gill Walker, Louise Brooks

Goalscorers:  Adelice Kraemer
MOM: Emma Dyer

The 7s turned in a very creditable performance against the division’s unbeaten leaders, holding them to a goalless draw in the first half and pulling a goal back after Magpies established a three goal lead in the second half. The Dragons defence are developing into an assured unit, with Emma ‘Meg’ Dyer turning in another POM performance in the centre ably backed by Erin Aldous and Amy Hunter. Becky Bowen, playing despite a nasty respiratory infection, stuck to her task at bottom of the diamond and got in some good tackles. As usual, Emma ‘Northie’ North was reliable in goal and withstood a barrage of shots in the first half. The midfield continued their progression, with Paige Fisher and her unorthodox way of tackling stopping a lot of raids and cross balls, and Katy Cole worked hard as usual. Captain Claire Fairhurst proved her versatility with different roles in the mid, and showed excellent direction when playing at top of the diamond. Nat Crisp was able to play in the second half and added some bite into the link between forwards and defence.

 Dragons did not make enough use of the potential of Addi Kraemer, because they had difficulty in reaching the right side of the pitch. Magpies wanted to play centrally and down their right, which kept the 7s pinned on their left side. The one time that Bridget Le Good managed to get a decent pass to Mia McGhee, she sprinted down the left channel and timed her cross beautifully for Addi to slot home. During the last 7 minutes, Dragons produced some decent hockey, but Magpies were in no mood to be generous.

 7s know that there are three things they have got to work harder at in training – and the challenging thing is that it is the same three things that have plagued them all season. It is a great shame that illness and other commitments have meant that the 7s are no longer the champions of training that they were last season. They need more than six or seven to take advantage of the excellent coaching available to them if they are to ‘click’. That having been said, this was a pretty good performance against a strong team and all the Dragons made plenty of effort. So thanks to the Magpies for an enjoyable game and the tea of the season so far! The quest for success continues…

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Magpies 7s:  0-5

MOM:  Issy Gale, Neha Shammy

Ladies 8’s were at home against Harleston Magpies today. It was an early pushback and the pitches glistened after a light frost in the early morning sunshine. The setting was idyllic but despite a valiant fight we lost 5-0. We had four opportunities on goal but just couldn’t quite get it across the goal line.
Issy Gale played with energy and dogged determination in midfield and was rewarded with cheers from the sidelines, not just from the Dragons but the oppositions supporters as well! Nehar Shammy played in her debut match for Dragon’s Eights and did us all proud in defence continually clearing the ball and deservedly earning herself MOM. Karen Davidson made an incredibly competent goalie and made some great saves! Also in defence Jess Lockwood, Jo Baker and Eva Muiruri fought tirelessly to form a wall to block the ball going through and we witnessed some awesome play. Mouse Fielding, Sadie Jacobs, Sarah Lucas and Katie Davidson were in midfield and  I don’t think any of them experienced the luxury of standing still!! They were constantly on the move and if any of them were wearing a Fitbit, I would love to know the mileage they covered!
Lois Metcalfe, Johanne Steward and myself, Emma Young were playing as forwards, Lois and Johanne set up some great goal opportunities but we just couldn’t quite finish them with a goal.
But despite the loss today the Awesome 8’s remained positive and determined. We were able on reflection to highlight strengths and weaknesses and how to improve them for next weeks match.
It takes a lot to dull the spirits of the Awesome 8’s and we will be back and we will be Victorious!!!

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Long Sutton 1s:  1-5

Goalscorers:  Rupert Snelling
MOM:  Lewis Wilkins

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

Goalscorer:  Louie Barby, Jason Wolfe, Eddie Gould
MOM:  Peter Dickerson

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

Goalscorer: Tom Vaughan
MOM:  Tom Vaughan, Jon Goodson

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Magpies 4s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Joel Lawrence
MOM:  Isaac Diver Hall

Dragons start well with strong running and good positional play helping against a mix of youth and experience in the Magpies side. Dragons scored first with Joel Lawrence slotting home from close range.  Unfortunately this didn’t last as Magpies capitalised on a direct ball into the D to gain a touch to wrong foot the keeper. Both sides played a fast form of hockey with Alberto Embarba making sure the Dragons midfield was well defended. This enabled Dragons player of the match Isaac Diver-Hall to create issues and constantly win turn over ball. The game ended 1-1 despite Dragons having  a few clear opportunities to get good shots on target and pinch the game.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Pelicans 4s:  2-1

Goalscorers:  Greg Reynolds, Sam Echevarria
MOM:  Will Bowman

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Norfolk Nomads 1s:  1-4

Goalscorers:  Charlie Creasy
MOM:  Charlie Creasy

Development Leagues

Norwich Dragons Development Girls v Yarmouth:  1-0

Goalscorer:  Hattie Stuart
MOM:  Evie Marlee

Norwich Dragons Development Boys B v Dereham:  5-1

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Sudbury 1s:  5-1

Goalscorers:  Shelly Seaman, Issy Wolfe, Olivia Thomas, Maddy Reynolds, Kiera Goymour
MOM:  Issy Wolfe

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s continue to build momentum in Division 1N League, taking
all 3 points in a 5-1 win against Sudbury Ladies 1s. The Dragons began the match
strongly, dominating possession and keeping much of the play in their attacking half.
While Sudbury managed to break through the middle with a couple of long balls through
to their forwards, they did not look overly threatening in the opening stages of the game.
After a flurry of short corners – one of which saw Mia Bartrum’s drag flick sail just
inches wide of the post – the Dragons managed to convert one, through a strike from
Shelly Seaman on the right which was deflected into the roof of the goal by player of the
match Issy Wolfe. The scoreline remained at 1-0 at half time.

The second half opened in much the same way, with the hosts maintaining possession,
and finding the back of the net a second time through a well-timed run from Issy Wolfe,
and a beautifully placed pass to the unmarked Liv Thomas in the D. Thomas took the
ball on her reverse and cooly slotted in past the keeper. Following this, the Dragons
experienced a difficult phase of play and were put under pressure by the visitors. The
defensive unit absorbed the pressure, with Sophie Barrow making a number of fantastic
tackles on the left. However, following a series of short corners, Sudbury managed to
claw their way back into the game after an awkward bobbling strike crossed the line. The
visitors maintained the pressure for a further few minutes before the Dragons took
command of the game again. The forward movement and the feeding of the ball from
the midfield was much improved this week, and the team were rewarded with a further
three goals. Two came from penalty corners, with Kiera Goymour finding the net from
the left, and Shelly Seaman from the right. The final goal came after some lovely
movement off the ball around the pitch, finding Issy Wolfe on the left hand side of the D.
Wolfe crossed the ball on her reverse to a waiting Maddy Reynolds for a tap in goal. A
good performance from the whole squad.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v North Norfolk 1s:  3-4

Dragons had a good warm up and started the game at a fast pace. Within minutes of the start Dragons earned a short corner. The ball was put out by Harriet Green straight to Jess Bennett, who stopped the ball and fired it home to put the Dragons 0-1 up. This fired the Dragons up even further and they continued to press and put pressure on the North Norfolk defence. During this spell of pressure several shots were had, but saved well by the North Norfolk keeper. On one of these saves the ball fell to Lucy Morton who calmly slotted it into the goal. This but Dragons 0-2 up within 15 minutes of the start. Dragons had further chances, but unfortunately nothing came of them. Then just before half time and against the run of play North Norfolk got one back. When the whistle went for half time it was 1-2 to Dragons. Coach Ollie King was pleased with the first half and asked for the same again.

Unfortunately for the dragons North Norfolk started the stronger of the two teams and before long had managed to drew the game level at 2-2. After this a real battle ensued with both teams having several chances but neither scoring. North Norfolk continued to work hard and eventually managed to break the deadlock making it 3-2 to North Norfolk. North Norfolk were encouraged by this and not long after made it 4-2. The Dragons however did not give up and continued to try and fight their way back into the game. A piece of good individual skill from Jess Bennett saw her score her second to make it 4-3. Dragons continued to push to see if they could at least get a point from the game but ran out of time. The whistle went with the score at 4-3 to North Norfolk. Player of the match went to Sarah Borrett for some good goal line stops and good defending.

Thanks to Ollie King for his help and to all the supporters that travelled to Cromer to cheer us on. Thanks also to Dragons 8th team who tried their best to spur us on, but unfortunately on this occasion it wasn’t to be.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Felixstowe 1s:  4-0

Goalscorers:  Hannah Ellis, Hannah Hardy, Harriet Rant, Sam Franklin
MOM:  Sam Franklin

Norwich Dragons Ladies 3 rd team this week welcomed Felixstowe Ladies 1 st team on a bright sunny Saturday morning to the Den. Dragons began the game playing positive attacking hockey, which was to set the tone for most of the game.

Dragons first goal was scored from their first short corner with a clean strike from Harriet Rant at the top of the D. Dragons energised by scoring an early goal and creating chances began to switch the ball at pace around the defence and midfield. Playing a short sharp passing game, the second goal came from a lay off by Hannah Hardy, which was fed up the left-hand wing with Catherine Matthews and Aditi Naik combining well to cross into the circle for Sam Franklin to sweep in style from the right.

The team continued to work hard defending from the front to maintain their lead at the beginning of the second half. Dragons 3 rd goal was confidently put away by Hannah Hardy on her return to hockey this season following injury. The fourth goal was scored from a favourite third team chuckle brother routine between Sam Franklin and slotted home by Hannah Ellis.
Dragons continued to play attacking hockey creating chances and the score could have been higher was it not for a superb performance by the Felixstowe keeper. Dragons defence remained focused throughout the match and kept any Felixstowe opportunities out and were awarded with a clean sheet. Player of the match was won by Sam Franklin for a super strike in the first half and tireless work in midfield up and down the pitch.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Pelicans 2s:  5-0

Goalscorers: Caroline Wolfe x3, Lilli Ballard, Lisa Harwood
MOM: Steph Samson

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Reepham:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard
MOM:  Amy Forse

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Yarmouth 2s:  6-0

Goalscorers:  Kelly Mills x2, Amelia Keitley-Webb x3, Adelice Kraemer
MOM:  Gill Walker

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

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee, Maisie Dearmer
MOM: Maisie Dearmer

Breckland turned over the ball after the second pass and raced away to score a goal inside a minute – unhindered by any tackles from Dragons. But Dragons then picked themselves up and battled courageously, with the defence turning in an excellent performance. Breckland have one very strong player, and after scoring a second goal from a well-struck penalty, it was perhaps fortunate for Dragons she was not available to the home side for the second half. For the 7s, another slightly rejigged defence saw Emma Meg Dyer growing in confidence in the centre, well supported by Bethan Greaves, Amy Hunter, Jessica Young and Erin Aldous. Briony Johnstone was awesome at the bottom of the diamond, full of running and tackles. The midfield was very impressive. Maisie Dearmer on the right, Paige Fisher on the left and Claire Fairhurst at the top of the diamond passed accurately and fast and got the ball into circle. The score was 1-3 at half time, with the Dragons’ goal coming from a melee after a penalty corner, when Maisie Dearmer (POM) showed the greatest persistence by forcing the ball home.

So in the second half it was 1-1, which just shows that the 7s are frustratingly close to the win they so desperately need. Dragons improved the accuracy and timing of their passes and looked as though they could push Breckland close. Playing out from the back, Emma Northie North kicked and cleared strongly as usual and the defence, playing well as a unit could find their mids at will, which led to Dragons having a lot of possession. But the forwards lacked the ability to finish. Breckland packed their circle, and Dragons could not find a way through. Mia McGhee, Bridget Le Good and Katy Cole need to build an understanding quickly, and learn when to pass, when to slip and when to hammer a shot home. Erin Aldous moved up to left forward, and showed she could match Mia for speed and skill, Generally Bridget’s shots lacked their usual  power and too many from the right went straight to the keeper’s pads. After a super move from the back through the mids and into the circle, Bridget passed the ball across the circle for Mia to sweep the ball home for a beautiful goal. Despite urging from Claire, who was having a great game in control at the top of the diamond, there was no further score.

7s remain upbeat and determined, and have a good idea of what they need to do in training in order to find the final piece of the jigsaw. Come on 7s!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v North Norfolk 2s:  0-6

MOM:  Chaniece Claxton

The Seeded Grape! 

It was going to be a tough game against top of the shop North Norfolk. It was a game that started with a 1 minute silence to remember all those lost and ended with the curse of the seeded grape!

North Norfolk proved their speed right from the off but great defensive play from the 8’s kept them at bay.

A rolling number of shorts kept coming but the defence held strong and Emma North In her second game of the day in goal was able to keep them from scoring. In quick succession North Norfolk slotted home some well worked goals from open play.

8’s worked hard to push North Norfolk to the wings and clear the ball wide to stop them from attacking the centre, with forwards and midfield working together to support the back line

A controversial goal came from the left hand side which saw the scoreline go to 3-0. The first injury of the game came just before half time, seeing some position changes for the 8’s.

After half time 8’s were ready to pick up the game once more and it was a half that saw the 8’s head more into the oppositions half with good defensive work and some great passing play. Shaniece out on the left wing never gave up and often came up with the ball, proving her player of the match status.

A lifted ball caught Sadie on the wing and a reshuffle was had once more. With many 8’s now playing out of position and a slight wariness 8’s fought on. 8’s continued to work hard, keeping sticks down and another goal was won with some hesitancy around a short corner.

2 more goals were to be won with a tired 8’s working determinedly to the end of the game showing how well they are working together and honing their skills.

A special shout out to the umpire who caught the ball one handed after a lifted ball to the sideline!

Final score 6-0 to North Norfolk. Several players were voted for in Player of the Match, with Shaniece hitting top spot for her untiring efforts out on the wing.

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v City of Peterborough 3s:  3-3

Goalscorers:  Rupert Snelling, Matt Jenkins, Jono Chaney-Baxter
MOM:  Rupert Snelling

After going 2 goals down in the space of the first ten minutes, things looked rather bleak. However, an inspired Dragons come back in a cracking spell of hockey gave them a 3-2 lead with come back kid Matt Jenkins and Rupert Snelling (p-flick – won by Patrick Gordon) and a naughty reverse from Jono Chaney Baxter bagging the goals. CoP hit back just before half time from a short to make it 3-3. An even second half but neither side could find the winner. An honourable mention to Olly Buck who charged down the last short on the whistle with his finger…

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

Goalscorer:  Alex Browne
MOM:  Peter Dickerson

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Ipswich 2s:  4-6

Goalscorers: Tom Vaughan x3, Mitch Smith
MOM:  Angus Blazer

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Norwich City 5s:  0-4

MOM:  Alex Brooks

Dragons unfortunately stated without a keeper despite City delaying the start. Dragons held there own until a miss control resulted in a goal before the keeper could get on. After that the game flowed both ways , with Dragons not able to convert their short corner chances. City capitalised on their chances with a flick and another goal going City way. The fourth City goal was a good short corner flick which James King manged to get to but couldn’t keep out. Half time looked bleak for Dragons at 4 down but the team knew they had had chances focused the team for the second half.  The second half opened up and unfortunately for Dragons they failed to finish again with the City Goalie blocking Rich Phillis from close range and Bobby Sheppard sending one over the bar. The defence held well with man of the match going to deserving Alex Brooks. So the game ended 4-0 to City and highlighted the need for Dragons to be more clinical in the D again. Thanks again to City for waiting for our late keeper and as always a nice curry and jacket potato.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norfolk Nomads 2s:  5-1

Goalscorers:  Will Bloom, Dan Ryan x2, Andrew Cross
MOM:  Dan Ryan

The game started with both teams standing in a circle to observe a minute’s silence to commemorate Rememberance Sunday and the 100 years since the end of the Great War.

Nomads opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes from a short corner, however Andrew Cross scored two in the next 10 mins. Dragons played very well playing a very good passing game. After half time it was all Norwich Dragons, Dan Ryan slammed home two shorts in, and was very much the play maker all game. Will Bloom got the last goal after a great run from centre back to stike making it 5-1 with 12 minutes left.

The Game was a fantastic team effort and very fun game to play.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v North Norfolk 3s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Mike Banham, Sam Nutt
MOM:  Luke Wilkinson

Development Leagues

Norwich Dragons Development Girls v Norwich City Girls:  0-4

MOM:  Mia Norris, Mia Rutherford, Honey Wells, tbc

Norwich Dragons Development Boys A v Norwich Dragons Development B:  3-0

On Sunday  4th November Norwich Dragons O45s travelled out of the city to Taverham to take on Norwich City O45s in the Investec Women’s O45s Championship.

Dragons started brightly and they looked like a team that had played together regularly despite being made up from 6 separate Dragons teams.

Dragons broke the deadlock after a free hit from the top of the D found its way to Hannah Hardy who, after 8 months out with injury, wasted no time and calmly slotted home.

The Dragons defence of Kath Mares, Angela Murgatroyd and Karen O’Neill-Simpson switched the ball round well, protected GK Kat Spiers and assisted with the attack whenever they could.

In the second half Dragons doubled their lead with a sweetly struck short corner from joint player of the match Gail Thomas.

The forward line of Bridget Le Good, Hannah Hardy, Ally Windsor Waite, Claire Fairhurst and Caroline Wolfe created numerous chances including the third goal, a neat move between Wolfe to Windsor-Waite who finished well.

The midfield including joint player of the match Louise Brooks along with Trish Hagen, Vicki Earley and Jen Buskell worked tirelessly and supported the attack in tenacious fashion.

The final goal was a penalty flick, won by a Norwich City foot on the line after a good short corner strike, this was despatched expertly by Hannah Hardy.

An all round excellent team performance with lots of energy that did not allow Norwich City any time or space to threaten the Dragons goal.

Thank you to the management team of Lynne Price, Sarah and Ellie Wagstaff.
Round two here we come.

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Lowestoft 1s:  7-0

Goalscorers:  Sarah Jenkins x2, Issy Wolfe x2, Kiera Goymour, Olivia Thomas, Maddy Reynolds
MOM:  Sarah Jenkins

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s continue to build momentum in their Division 1 campaign, taking an emphatic 7-0 win on the road at Lowestoft. Seeking to work on a couple of areas of weakness over the last few weeks, the Dragons team came out focused and ready to make a statement. They were rewarded early on in the game, after Holly Setchell executed a perfectly weighted pass through the Lowestoft defence, into a wide and high position for Carmel Windsor-Waite to storm onto from the right back position. Picking the ball up strongly, Windsor-Waite crossed the ball into the D, to a waiting Issy Wolf. Wolfe managed to create enough space for herself in order to lob the keeper on her reverse, a beautiful piece of skill, putting the Dragons 1-0 ahead in the opening 5 minutes of the game. The visitors maintained the pressure upon the Lowestoft team, and after a tussle in the D, with several shots being saved at close range by their keeper, Liv Thomas got hold of the ball and made sure of the second goal. Whilst Lowestoft had a couple of attacking moments in the first half, none looked particularly threatening. The Dragons made more of their attacks, and before half time won a further two short corners. A virtual carbon copy of each other, these short corners saw the ball slipped left, first to Sarah Jenkins, and subsequently to Kiera Goymour, for the pair to slot the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. The scoreline stood at 4-0 as the half-time whistle blew.

In the half time talk, the Dragons were told to up the intensity of play on the slow pitch, and to create more options in attack. However, the opening few minutes of the second half saw a brief period of Lowestoft possession, with the Dragons needing to keep composed in defence. Some excellent defensive work from Setchell, Windsor-Waite and Sophie Barrow, supported by the midfield line of Joanna Raymond, Liv Thomas and Kiera Goymour, and along with some composed saves from goal keeper Luisa Valentini saw off this period of pressure, before the Dragons went back on the attack. The second half saw a further 3 goals come from short corner chances. The first a straight strike from eventual player of the match Sarah Jenkins. The second followed a break down in the penalty corner routine, with the ball falling to Katy Hands towards the top of the D. Unselfishly, Hands passed the ball across the D to Piper Hempsall, who – on her first 1^st XI debut – set Maddy Reynolds up for a tap in on the right hand post. The final goal came following another break down in short corner play; with the goalkeeper dragged out of position by the initial shot from the right, the ball was passed to Sarah Jenkins on the P-spot. A first time slap saw the ball directed towards the open goal, with Issy Wolfe – in classic forward fashion – making sure it crossed over the line! The Dragons did enough to win, and win comfortably on the day. However, there is much more potential in this team, and plenty of things to work on as they seek to maintain this momentum leading up to the halfway point of the season.

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

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

Goalscorer:
MOM:  Grace Brown

This week saw Norwich Dragons 3 rd team travel to Taverham to play Norwich City 2’s. The play began with Dragons playing some positive attacking play, however City soon settled into the game and put the Dragons defence under increasing pressure. The dragons defence of Kat Speirs, Stella Windsor Waite, Angela Murgatroyd, Grace Brown, Esme Potter and Elsa Scott absorbed all of the open play pressure and only conceded one goal from a short corner in the first half.

Dragons managed to switch the ball more in the second half to play a wider game as requested at half time but unfortunately could not convert the few chances that were created. City maintained their attacking game and again managed to convert another short corner in the second half. The final score was 2-0 to City and player of the match was awarded to Grace  Brown.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Norwich City 4s:  1-0

Goalscorers: Caroline Wolfe
MOM: Catherine Matthews

The Ladies 4s played some great hockey today at Taverham, with clever first time passes and ‘fight’ to get to the ball first, all the way through the game.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Magpies 5s:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard
MOM:  Jennifer Buskell

 Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Carrow 1s:  0-4

MOM:  Emily Roper

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Loddon 2s:  0-3

MOM:  Emma North

The three weeks since the last match showed in Dragons performance, especially when some had been unable to train and/or suffering from colds. The first 10 minutes of the match were encouraging and looked like Dragons could be a force to be reckoned with. It was then that they started to lose their shape and failed to mark, allowing Loddon to get the ball too easily. For long spells they had the upper hand over Loddon, getting the ball into the attacking 23 if not so much into the D. But it was Loddon who showed how to get first to the ball and make strong individual runs into the Dragons defence. Fortunately, Emma Northie North (POM) was in brilliant shot- stopping form. She led the way in grit and determination, and after her sliding tackle resulted in a penalty flick being given, she jumped straight up and saved the flick! Whoop whoop.

Dragons held out until the end of the first half, when Loddon got two breakaways, the defence not quite being able to keep their shape. Emma Dyer gave a strong performance at centre back, aided by Amy Hunter, Lilly Crew, Erin Aldous with Briony Johnstone at bottom of the diamond. In the midfield, Nat Crisp had a stand out game as a holding player, and also contributed to support in attack. Maisie Dearmer sparkled at right mid, tackling well and linking up with forward Mia McGhee who made some good runs. Becky Bowen and Paige Fisher made some good attempts to hold up Loddon. The forwards of Mia, Claire Fairhurst, Charlotte Carr and Bridget Le Good tried to get into good positions but didn’t really manage to ping the ball accurately between them.

There is lots for the 7s to work on, with one of the biggest issues is maintaining positioning. If this can be overcome then surely Dragons will be a force to be reckoned with. Come on, we want this long overdue win!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Carrow 2:  0-1

MOM:  Issy Gale

A strong performance was shown by the 8’s this weekly, albeit losing 1-0 to Carrow 2’s at the den, the team showed grit and determination.

Issy Gale was rightly awarded MOM for her amazing runs along the wing, continually fighting for possession of the ball and playing to the width. A special mention to Jess Lockwood for her save of the century, using sheer skill (and not luck!) to stop the ball approximately one millimetre from the goal line. Although this almost caused Lois Metcalfe’ heart to stop, Lois was still able to have some valiant runs, pushing the ball into the D throughout the match

The awesome 8’s were delighted to have Nic Harrison return this week, after some time out due to injury. She was a strong addition to the midfield team, integrating perfectly into the now ‘well-practised’ weekly team formation. She was well supported by BoD ‘Bondy’ (Louise Bond) and with the speedy runs from Katie Davidson, the second half of the game kept Carrows’ defence busy.

The 8’s defence team were kept busy themselves with the six short corners – one of which conceded to Carrows’ goal. Goalie Kat Speirs had a sterling performance and the 8’s were grateful to have her play with them this week. Together with Anna Chapman, Jess Lockwood, Jo Baker and Mouse (Emma Fielding), no further goals were scored.

Playing up forward, Emma Young, Johanne Steward and Sadie Jacobs made some excellent attempts at getting the ball into the D – hopefully as confidence and skills continue to grow those goals will soon come through.

Granted we didn’t accomplish a win this week the team remained sprightly, motivated and driven – keep going 8’s !

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Kettering 1s:  2-2

Goalscorers:  Sam Avery, Jono Chaney-Baxter
MOM:  Ed Murphy

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

Goalscorers:  Jason Wolfe
MOM:  Peter Dickerson

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Lowestoft Railway 1s:  1-1

Goalscorers: Matt Jenkins
MOM:  Ed Smith

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v IES 4s:  2-1

Goalscorers:  Alberto Embarba, Angus Blazer
MOM:  Neil Shorten

Dragons started the game with a strong squad but fell behind to an early short corner rebound after the first shot was well stopped by stand-in keeper Lloyd Wade. Dragons rallied and constantly pressed forward with the mid-field and forward line pressing for chances. Dragons equalised before half time from a converted short corner from Alberto Embarda. The game opened up with youngsters on both sides playing well and causing turn overs. Dragons then went ahead after good work resulted in Angus Blazer finishing from close range. More chances followed but Dragons fitness and solid defence closed the game out whilst still creating chances. Man of the match for Dragons Isaac Diver-Hall worked relentlessly and caused numerous problems for IES who played well to create a good competitive game played in the right spirit.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norwich City 7s:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Dan Ryan x2, Greg Reynolds
MOM:  Dan Ryan, Greg Reynolds

Dragons 5’s continued their unbeaten start to the season with a well deserved victory over their closest challengers.  Two goals for Dan Ryan and one for Greg Reynolds sealed victory.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s – no fixture

Development Leagues

Norwich Dragons Development Girls v Dereham:  3-2 W

Goalscorers:  Freya Dolding, Rosie Sheppard, Lucy Courtier
MOM:  Lucy Courtier

Norwich Dragons Development Boys A v Watton:  15-0

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Bedford 2s:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Jess Bennett, Issy Wolfe, Katy Hands
MOM:  Olivia Thomas, Mima Watson

Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s continued their streak of good form with a 3-1 win over second-placed Bedford 2s. The opening minutes of the game saw the Dragons’ nerves show, as they struggled to hold possession in their campaign to close the gap between themselves and the top-3 promotion zone. The hosts absorbed some early pressure before capitalising on an attack down the right-hand side of the pitch after the 10^th minute. A ball from Tabba Tabrett found Maddy Reynolds on the base-line; driving  into the D, Reynolds found Issy Wolfe on the penalty spot who slotted the ball into the back of the net with her first touch of the game. The remainder of the half saw the Dragons begin to control the game, working the ball well out of tight corners in defence, through Liv Thomas in the midfield, and creating opportunities in attack on the right through fellow player of the match Mima Watson. This pressure soon paid off when the ball was placed on the foot of a Bedford defender for a short corner. The Dragons took the opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the Bedford team, converting it through a textbook straight strike from Jess Bennett. The score remained 2-0 going into half time.

The second half saw Katy Hands put the Dragons another goal ahead as she reacted quickly to a save from the keeper and made sure of the goal. The remainder of the game, however, was a more evenly matched affair, as Bedford began to exert more pressure on the Dragons’ defence.  Despite some excellent defending from Bennett, Holly Setchell, Carmel Windsor-Waite and Watson, the visitors broke through the line and, in a 2 on 2 situation managed to find the back of the net. This period of play saw a number of short corners for the Bedford team, but these were dealt with calmly by the Dragons, with Jess Bennett making several saves on the line. The hosts managed to run the clock down and finish with the 3 points, taking them a step closer to the coveted top 3 position.

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

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Ipswich 2s:  5-0

Goalscorers:  Joanna Raymond, Tabba Tabrett x2, Maddy Reynolds, Katy Hands
MOM:  Olivia Thomas

The Ladies 1s rediscovered their form this week and were rewarded with a 5-0 win
against Ipswich 2s. The team set out with the goal of upping the intensity of play from
the previous two weeks. The increased focus was evident from the opening whistle, and
within two minutes, the Dragons had won a short corner. The game continued in this
vein, with the Dragons enjoying the lion’s share of possession. Lauren Laurie was making
some excellent runs up front, alongside fellow forwards Katy Hands, Tabba Tabbrett
and Maddy Reynolds. However, it took some time for the first goal to come, as the
Ipswich goalkeeper managed to keep our strikers at bay. However, the attacks kept
coming, and after a scramble in front of goal, Joanna Raymond managed to get hold of
the ball on the left post and slot it through the keeper’s legs to put the Dragons 1-0
ahead. The second goal came a few minutes later, and looked much the same; following
an initial short corner strike, confusion in front of goal saw the ball fall for Katy Hands
on the right post, and she tapped in to put the team 2-0 up. Despite being depleted by
illness and injury, the girls did not let the intensity drop and set out to close the game out
early. Having lost possession high up the pitch, the hosts looked like they were about to
attack on the break. But some hard leg work from the forward and midfield lines saw the
ball won back in the middle. Player of the Match, Liv Thomas then went on a mazy run,
driving the ball into the D and perfectly placing the pass to the left post, where teammate
Maddy Reynolds was waiting to put the visitors 3-0 up leading into half time.

The second half saw the Dragons begin to tire, and Ipswich began to test our defence.
However, their chances were calmly dealt with by some fine goalkeeping by Luisa
Valentini, a goal-line save from Jess Bennett, and some brave running from Liv Thomas
in the short corner defence to ensure another clean sheet. Mia Bartrum was tireless in
midfield, attacking and defending with enthusiasm and tenacity. After absorbing some
pressure and regrouping, the Dragons went back on the offensive, and Tabba Tabbrett
joined in the scoring. She slotted one into the back of the net from the penalty spot off a
pass from Liv Thomas, and scored a second from a strike from the top of the D,
bringing the final score to 5-0. This was a much better performance from the team after
a frustrating couple of weeks, and we look forward to maintaining our intensity as we
take on second placed Bedford 2s next week.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Yarmouth 1s:  7-2

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Bury St Edmunds 1s:  1-5

Goalscorer:  Harriet Rant
MOM:  Stella Windsor Waite

Another sunny Saturday and this week Dragons Ladies 3’s travelled to Bury St Edmunds to play their game in the tropical climates of the walled garden pitch. This week saw the team give East League debuts to Fiona Fletcher, Chloe Mikronis, Catherine Matthews and Stella Windsor Waite and involved six Dragons teenagers within the travelling twelve players.

The game started and continued at a very high tempo, with Bury St Edmunds having most of the possession within the Dragons half. However, the defence of Kat Speirs, Katie Franks, Ally Windsor Waite, Angela Murgatroyd and Stella Windsor Waite proved very difficult to break down, with Ally and Angela showcasing their strictly efficient defensive footwork in the centre.

The determined defence combined with the midfield trio of Harriet Rant, Elsa Scott and Hannah Ellis, who supported the enthusiasm of the forwards Harriet Marlee, Chloe Mikronis, Catherine Matthews and Fiona Fletcher, creating a couple of attacking chances for Dragons. Despite the quick attacking pressure applied by Bury St Edmunds they only managed to score one goal before the half time whistle. Dragons felt confident they could still score and stay in the game in the second half.

Unfortunately, the additional player to Bury and heat meant Dragons could not sustain the intensity of the first half and the Bury attacking pressure proved too much and two goals were fired home early in the second half. Dragons remained positive and managed to create a few more attacking chances, one of which fell to Harriet Rant who scored with a clinical shot from the middle of the D.

Bury continued to pressure the Dragons goal and managed to score two more goals before the final whistle. Some stand out performances given the many changes within the team, including Stella Windsor Waite who was awarded player of the match.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Evergreens 1s:  2-3

Goalscorers: Lilli Ballard, tbc
MOM: Sophia Haehnelt

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Lowestoft 2s:  5-0

Goalscorers:  Liz McDonnell x2, Gemma Ballard x2, Beth Elgood
MOM:  Beth Elgood

Ladies 5s travelled to Lowestoft for a sunny (and sandy) morning game. After some stellar pre-game music (yes please Queen) to get the team motivated, we took the game hard to Lowestoft, with some lovely linking play, making the ball work for us on a very slow pitch. For much of the first half, the ball was pinned in the attacking half. Dragons pressure was rewarded with a number of short corners, two of which were converted to points, with goals for Lizzy and Gemma.  Dragons worked well off the ball all match to ensure passing options and (following training advice) avoiding taking the ball into contact. Special commendations must be given to Sue, for soldiering on after taking an early ball to the head, and to Beth, who played pretty much every position (except for goalie – next week perhaps?) The bench was beautifully managed by Emma, who somehow managed to keep track of the multitude of positional changes, and kept Dragons focused with her off pitch instructions.

The second half followed much the same pattern, with Dragons keeping the ball pinned in the
attacking half. Lowestoft defended valiantly, their keeper making some incredible saves, often
appearing as if from nowhere to send the ball careering off the pitch. Ultimately, the pressure was too great, and Dragons slotted in three more – one more a piece for Lizzy and Gemma, and one for Beth with a beautiful strike from the top of the D. At this point, a shout-out should be given to Mia, who despite looking formidable in the warm-up, was not actually called upon to touch a ball for the entire 70 minutes, though I’m sure those half-time jelly-babies helped keep your concentration up!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Magpies 5s:  1-6

Goalscorer:  Kelly Mills
MOM:  Emma Merryweather

On a beautiful October day, the Ladies 6s prepared to take on a strong Magpies 5s side at the den. Coming off the back of two consecutive wins, the dragons were raring to go, with some new additions to the squad since our last match. We knew that the Magpies would be a young, fast and strong team, and Captain Hannah Woods motivated dragons to try to bring home the win.

Dragons took a while to get into the game and were caught napping to concede an early goal. Magpies’ pace and skill as a team overwhelmed our midfield, and a few breaks later Dragons were 0-2 down. Some fantastic work from our defensive line of Kate Atkins, Emily Grint and Hannah Woods, including a clearance from mid-air on the goal line from Emily, kept us in the game at this point. Special mention also to Emily Roper in goal, who not only pulled off some brilliant saves but was a constant vocal presence from the back of the pitch, when too often communication was lacking and led to mistakes. We gained in confidence however throughout the first half, with some excellent passing up the wing resulting in a short corner for Dragons. This was masterfully put away by Kelly Mills, bringing Dragons back into the game. Unfortunately, we could not hold onto this momentum, and finished the first half 1-3 down.

After a half-time pep-talk from Hannah, Dragons were ready to go again, however the fire had somewhat been extinguished and we reverted to a style of hockey that did not suit our game. Ultimately, we failed to pass the ball around and instead were trying to run the ball up the pitch, where time and again we ran straight into an opposing player. The final score of 1-6 was disappointing, and the dragons left with plenty to work on for the next game. Despite not quite coming together as a team, there were some fantastic individual performances, with Player of the Match going to Emma Merryweather, closely followed by Emily Roper and Kate Atkins. With no game next week, the 6s will train hard to come together as a cohesive unit and come back stronger and fighting in our next game.

Friendly
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Norwich Dragons 8s :  4-1

7s Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee x2, Adelice Kraemer x2
7s MOM:

8s Goalscorer:  Karen Davidson
8s MOM:  Jessica Lockwood

Ladies 8’s took on Ladies 7’s in a non-league game at home yesterday. We were treated to yet another beautiful Autumn day in Norwich. Push back was delayed due to an earlier match starting late and so it was 5pm by the time we were on the pitch, just as dusk was setting and revealing the most stunning skies and the flood lights were switched on ready for action.
Lois Metcalfe captained the 8’s and thrilled us all with our very own customised white board. It was not just a work of art though and we very quickly all agreed it was a highly beneficial aid to discuss and highlight tactics and players movement.

Ladies 7’s presented a strong side and with no substitutions on either team we all had to work very hard but it did stand out that the 8’s played with a vigorous team spirit and worked closely and constantly as a team. Working together in boosting team morale and showing a fighting spirit which rarely dwindled despite tired limbs.

Ladies 7’s had a strong set of forwards and confidently landed 4 goals in the net.
Esther and Emma North swapped at one point as goal keepers, effectively playing for both sides and both made some great saves and Esther in the first half was very busy and very brilliant.
Jess Lockwood did an amazing job in defence and could often be seen just getting her stick on the ball a nano second before the 7’s and clearing it away. Mouse also did a sterling job in defence. Fern, Izzy and Sadie playing in midfield showed an enviable vitality which did not seem to fade as they ran up and down the line chasing the ball. Johanne kept their defence on their toes with constant movement.

Our time came close to the end of the match when we were in the D at our end of the pitch, I (Emma Young) passed the ball to Lois at the P spot who then passed it to Karen on the post who neatly tucked it into the goal and as we all heard the reassuring klonk of the ball we all squealed with delight, shouting and cheering.
It was the first goal of the season for the 8’s! Well played Karen.
The final result was 4-1 to Ladies 7’s.

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Norwich City 3s:  5-0

Goalscoresr:  Rupert Snelling, Will Main, Sam Avery, Stu Leate, Jono Chaney-Baxter
MOM:  Will Main

This week saw the team come up against city which added extra incentive to turn our bad run of form around and after a rousing pre match team talk from captain Ollie Buck the dragons flew out the blocks with Rupert Snelling scoring a P flick after 10 mins (Sam Avery wants a mention for winning said P flick from a well worked corner routine). Jonathan Chaney Baxter, Sam Avery and Stu Leate added to the scoresheet putting the team 4-0 up at half time.
The second half was a quieter affair probably something to do with the fact someone forgot the half time refreshments! Despite this Will Main was able to add to the score with a reverse stick from the top of the D.
Man of the Match was awarded to Will Main for some great play and DOD was me… it’s a familiar occurrence.

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

Goalscorers:  Jason Wolfe, Eddie Gould
MOM:  George Wright

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v North Norfolk 1s:  1-4

Goalscorers: Mitch Smith
MOM:

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Ipswich 4s:  0-1

MOM:  Neil Shorten

Norwich Dragons started brightly against an experienced Ipswich side early in the first half. Once Ipswich midfield settled though Dragons found it hard to link play effectively within the final third of the pitch.  Most chances went Ipswich’s way but Dim Ives was up to the challenge and much appreciated by the Dragons defence. Ipswich though struck in the first half from a narrow angle taking a deflection into the goal. After half time the game opened up and chances at both ends where missed but Ipswich remained in control of midfield. Endless running and endeavour from Angus Blazer led to some of Dragons best chances to equalise linking well with Alex Brookes, Tommy Gale , Bobby Sheppard and Isaac Diver-Hall. It wasn’t enough for Dragons  and Ipswich closed out the good spirited game to take the slender victory.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v UEA 4s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Will Bloom
MOM:  David Pentin

The 5s Remain undefeated so far this season. A bare 11 manage to hold off the very energetic 16 of the UEA. Its fair to say it was a mostly defensive game. With UEA doing most the attacking threw out the game. UEA broke the deadlock 15 min from the end by scoring from a there 6th short attempt. However going 1-0 down seemed to bring a new wave of energy to a very tired squad. Straight after the restart Dragons had their best bits of play of play and had their first couple of real shots of  the game.

With 10 mins left Dragons got their second short of the game, Will Bloom, put the ball in the left corner of the goal with real power taking it back to 1-1. From then on it was batten down the hatches.  UEA began grabbed the game by the horns but failed to score.

David Pentin was a complete rock at the back today and awarded MOM.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Dereham 4s:  0-2

MOM:  Alex Wolfe

Development Leagues

no fixtures

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer:  Joanna Raymond
MOM:  Sarah Jenkins, Olivia Thomas

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

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Christchurch 1s:  2-5

Goalscorers:  Hannah Ellis x2
MOM:  Grace Brown

A sunny Saturday morning took Dragons Ladies 3’s down to Ipswich to play Christchurch, with a few last-minute changes due to illness, thank you Katie Franks and Esther Jacobs. The dragons took a while to settle due to all the changes but were having the majority of the possession, creating some promising attacking play.

However, Christchurch were direct in attack and converted a short corner to score the first goal
against the run of play. Dragons continued to push up the pitch and were unlucky not to score
despite several chances. Again, Christchurch took advantage of the high press of dragons and broke through to score the second goal.

After a half time break, dragons remained positive and play attacking hockey, but Christchurch’s long and hard hits up the pitch broke through again and they scored another two goals. Dragons kept the pressure on the Christchurch defence and after winning a third short corner in a row, persistence finally paid off when Lucy Buxton strike was saved and Hannah Ellis was within close range to put the ball between the keeper’s legs.

Dragons quickly reset and kept the pace and pressure on, which resulted in them scoring a second goal from open play. The ball was moved quickly down the right-hand side of the pitch and crossed into the middle of the D for Hannah Ellis to cleanly strike into the bottom left hand corner, bringing the score to 4-2 with ten minutes to go.

Dragons determination could not be questioned and they continued to play attacking hockey, which also resulted in Christchurch scoring one more goal in the final minutes of the game. Some great determination shown all over the pitch and the player of the match vote was deservedly won by Grace Brown.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Dereham 3s:  8-0

Goalscorers:  Trish Hagan x2, Victoria Earley x2, Niamh Somers x2, Lisa Harwood, Lilli Ballard
MOM:  Niamh Somers

On an unseasonably warm October day Dragons travelled to Dereham chastened after their defeat the previous week. Captain Trish Hagan motivated the team, demanding better and to bring home the win! With these words ringing in their ears Dragons started strongly and quickly went ahead with a well taken goal by Niamh Somers. Wanting to keep Dereham on the back foot Dragons kicked on and Trish Hagan converted a second. Coach Neeps Price had asked for the team to play with more width and Dragons stepped up playing neat triangles down the flanks and quickly brought the half to and end with a couple more neatly finished goals by Lili Ballard and another for Trish Hagan.

At half-time Coach Price asked for us to play with better shape and hold our structure and with
Hagan’s rallying words the team took to the pitch. Again the team responded to the leadership and were more able to switch play and maintain neat triangles through all areas of the team. This soon paid dividends as Dragons scored again, another for Niamh. With the rotation of players maintaining intensity, Dragons again converted through Lisa Harwood. Dereham kept playing high and trying to break out but this just played into Dragons hands who utilised the space behind with Vicki Earley converting the final two goals.

A great result for Dragons against an inexperienced Dereham team; patterns of play improved over the game and it was brilliant to see our youngsters continuing to develop so well with Niamh voted player of the match following Stella’s win the previous week! Well done everyone and thanks to those who supported.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Beccles:  2-0

Goalscorers:  Liz McDonnell, Gemma Ballard
MOM:  Emily Smith, Anita Mancini

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Lowestoft Ladies 2s:  4-0

Goalscorers:  Kelly Mills x2, Adelice Kraemer x2
MOM:  Floss Andrews

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Pelicans 3s:  2-6

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee x2
MOM:  Emma North

Three goals in the last five minutes sent the 7s spiralling into their biggest defeat of the season. Such a heavy defeat to Pelicans was baffling, because Dragons matched them all over the pitch at times and were only the odd goal down for much of the game.

Dragons had the best start to a match so far this season, being ready to go as soon as the whistle went thanks to attack vs defence practice in warm up. This proved worthwhile as Dragons opened the scoring when Mia McGhee got the first of her two goals through sheer persistence. After the ball did a couple of pings around in the circle, it was Mia who forced the ball home. However Pelicans retaliated, soon equalizing and then scoring their second. Dragons formation disintegrated towards the end of the first half which easily allowed Pelicans through. Thanks to GK Emma North (POM) the score line would have been higher as she stopped countless attacks.

After a stern talking to at half time by Captain Claire Fairhurst and some tactical words from Hannah Hardy, Dragons started the second half much the same as the first. Mia’s second goal just after half time was better than her first – a clean sweep past the keeper. Mia also made some excellent runs, as did Maisie Dearmer from the right mid position. Hatty Harrison-Mobbs, Paige Fisher, Becky Bowen and Amy Hunter all worked hard at getting the ball into the D, but too often the last pass was off target and Claire, Katy Cole and Mia got into excellent positions without having many chances to get away.

The 7s fell into their old habit of failing to be first to the ball, and this was where Pelicans really excelled. They turned the ball over and raced into the attack, and despite some good interceptions by the defence of Emma Dyer, Erin Aldous, Bethan Greaves and Bridget Le Good, the marking was not always tight enough or the tackling strong enough.  Briony Johnstone at bottom of the diamond was invaluable, getting into great positions and tackling with excellent energy and displaying all the GRIT that the whole team needed. Yet again Dragons lost their shape and drive and that’s when they watched Pelicans slot three balls home.

Dragons will have to remember what they practice at training, trust each other and work together. They know that they can get the results that they want but need to make more effort to achieve them.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Pelicans 4s:  0-1

MOM:  Karen Davidson

After travelling the length of Norfolk to reach Kings Lynn with a strong 14 players the 8s were excited about the prospects of playing hockey after last weeks cancellation. They knew it would be a tough game in the heat against a young Pelicans side with boundless energy.

The game started strongly putting into practice the key points from training of marking up, using the width and protecting the castle. Jess Lockwood, Issy Gale, Jo Baker, Emma Fielding (Mouse) and Anna Chapman all rotating in defence really improved their marking. Some excellent block tackles by Mouse and Jess with Issy weaving constantly around players to get the ball out of danger and Jo Baker really holding the sweeper position.  Throughout the first half Karen Davidson made some excellent saves when the pressure was on. What was really exciting though was the fact that within 10 minutes Dragons had had several shots at goal with Nat Crisp really holding her central position and firing in the goals and creating play in the middle. Her constant pressure and the work-rate of Sadie Jacobs and Johanne Steward meant that the Pelicans defence had to be on their toes. Pelicans continued to mark tightly throughout the game, however pressure in the D by Shaniece Claxton led us to our first of three short corners.  A good shot but sadly note quite enough from  Lois Metcalfe the keeper just stepped in to deflect it out of reach. As the first half ended 0-0 this was a truly exciting moment as it was all for the taking.

The second half continued with a similar level of pressure on both sides and quickly Pelicans took their chance to score. After an initial shot the deflection from the keepers pads was there for the taking. Sadly Dragons did not quite react quickly enough to clear the ball and the young Pelicans player had her moment of glory. Dragons did not give up though ! Sophie James an absolute driving force in the game pushed herself continually and created great opportunities in the second half working well with midfielders Sarah Lucas and Katie Davidson.  They continued to apply pressure up and down the pitch, wining more short corners and also with chances on goal. Johanne Steward took her chance close to the backline but sadly we could not quite get the angle. A special word for Sophie, who even came back on the pitch after crashing to the ground to continue to try and try again. Overall a fantastic game, lots of tenacity, getting better each week and really building on what we are learning. Man of the match a wonderful Karen Davidson in goal who more than held her own and to me the whole team showed grit and determination and never gave up!

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Cambridge South 1s:  1-5

Goalscorer:  Rupert Snelling
MOM:  Daumantas Matulevicius

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v Sudbury 2s:  3-4

Goalscorers:  Al Browne, Cley Hamilton, McCartney Aldous
MOM:  Tom McLean

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Bury St Edmunds 2s:  2-0

Goalscorers:  Matt Hull, Tom Vaughan
MOM:  Rob Goodson

Dragons secured back to back victories with a comfortable two goal win against Bury at the Den.

Dragons dominated the first half with Matt Hull scoring a well worked opener, beating the keeper at the near post with a firmly struck shot.

The second half was much more even but man of the match Rob Goodson skilfully shielded the defence and kept Bury at arms length.

Tom Vaughan finished a flowing team move for the second goal, banishing any thoughts Bury may have had of snatching a draw.

4 league games in and the team are up to 4th and, as importantly, are playing some lovely hockey and having a great time doing it.

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Watton 1s:  0-9

MOM:  Tommy Gale

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Watton 2s:  3-0

Goalscorers:  Dan Ryan, Tommy Chapman, Bobby Sheppard
MOM:  Alex Brookes

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Pelicans 4s:  1-4

Goalscorer:  Rob Lee

Development Leagues

Dev Boys A v Norwich City:  1-4

Goalscorer:  Ed Cross
MOM:  Gabe Overton

Dev Boys B v Magpies:  4-2

Goalscorers:  Bertie Pinching, Harry Fuller, Raul Wigglesworth, Monty Patel
MOM:  Bertie Pinching

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v St Neot’s 1:  0-0

Dragons Ladies 1s had to settle for a single point against St Neots in their first away game of the season. A cold and wet Saturday saw the Dragons get off to a slow start, struggling to maintain possession in the opening stages of the game. Both teams were giving the ball away cheaply, and neither defence was truly tested within the first 15 minutes. Dragons however began to press forward towards the end of the half, using their skills to break through the St Neots defence and win a number of short corners. Unfortunately, they were not able to convert and the half ended at 0-0.

The team were asked to up the intensity and to play their own game, and the second half saw a number of offensive opportunities. Issy Wolfe showcased her skills to break up the St Neots defence, giving her a number of shots on target, as well as a one-on-one with the keeper, who repeatedly saved her team from going a goal down. A great opportunity was missed after Issy bunted the ball to Sarah Jenkins on the left post, but the shot went inches wide of the goal. Katy Hands saw her shot hit the foot of the last defender on its way into goal, but was unfortunately not awarded a stroke. These chances, in addition to a flurry of short corners, should have seen the visitors seal the deal in the second half, but luck was not on their side.

As Dragons pushed higher up the pitch, this did leave some opportunities for St Neots to counterattack. However, alongside the solid Holly Setchell and Carmel Windsor-Waite, player of the match Sophie Barrow proved an insurmountable obstacle for the host’s strikers, as she put in some cracking tackles and held firm on 50-50 balls. The midfield also put in a hard shift, with youngsters Mima Watson and Saskia Williams refusing to give up and working hard to win the ball back. Despite having all the pressure in the final minutes of the game, the Dragons were unable to find the back of the net and the game finished at 0-0.

While there were a number of positives to take away – including the work rate and atmosphere amongst the squad – this was not the squad’s best performance. They look forward to coming back stronger next week against Cambridge University.

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

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

A wet and windy match for the Ladies 3’s this week at Harleston. The team welcomed some new faces to the squad and worked to build on our previous weeks work using our new formation.

Dragons came under fire very quickly facing a very well drilled Magpies team who had fast feet and speedy passing skills.

The home side scored from two well worked short corner goals and one open play; regardless the visitors persevered and our performance was much improved in the second half. POM keeper Kat Speirs provided a masterclass in goal keeping and made some astounding saves with feet, hands and stick and kept the goal difference to 3-0 to Magpies.

Sadly Dragons didn’t challenge their keeper but have plenty to be proud of and a great team spirit to keep the squad going.

After complaining about warm weather last week, this week hockey weather arrived! We welcomed Lilli Ballard and Stella Windsor Waite to the team. This was going to be a tough game against top of the table team. The 4s had first push back and Broadland were quick to shake us down, the midfield battled hard to get the ball up the pitch but Broadland equally took chances and managed to get a ball into the D. After much grappling all round they pushed it across the line. Undeterred the 4s kept pushing, the first chance on goal came from a great run worked up the wing and across into D, just wide of the post. Our first goal game from a nice little lob over the keeper from Caroline Wolfe. At half time Broadland had continued to pick off the ball and take their chances in the D, score line was 1-4. Jason Wolfe gave us his words of wisdom and reformat for the 2^nd half. Play linked up better in this half and everyone continued to battle for the ball. Broadland managed to squeeze in another 2 goals before the end of the game. Onwards and upwards next week!!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Watton 2s:  7-0

The ladies 5s arrived at Watton still riding on the high of last week’s spectacular win and we were hungry for another convincing win – and we did not come away disappointed. An early cross from Hannah Edwards at bottom of the diamond in to the D after just five minutes of gameplay saw Lizzie McDonnell tuck away the first goal of the match. Dragons worked the ball cleverly, utilising both the width and depth of the pitch and our dominance meant that the defensive line (Steph Samson, Jen Buskell and Georgia Butterworth) were able to contribute to the attack. Along with Amy Beadman who made a tenacious debut from devs taking stints at the bottom of the diamond, the defence played decisive, composed hockey. Watton cannot be undersold here. A young, vibrant team who played with skill who at no point let the scoreline affect their spirits. With that said Mia Somers provided Dragons with the usual fierceness and reliability we’ve become so used to from her in goal making sure not to let them make a comeback.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Beccles 1s:  5-0

Despite the rain and wind Dragons Ladies 6 team played a strong and lively match against a skilful Beccles side of 9 players.

The first half started energetically for Dragons who used the width and played a nice passing game to have most of the possession. Some well timed through balls from the middle allowed Dragons attack to pressure the GK well but despite a number of chances the Beccles defence kept them from scoring. Dragons kept up the pressure and this paid off with a goal, followed by three more. Beccles weren’t allowed any space by Dragons and at half time Dragons had a 4-0 lead.

In the second half Beccles closed down and showed strength and determination to run every ball down and now allow Dragons as much space. Dragons scores one goal from a quick ball out from the defence but despite a few more chances no more goals followed.

Goal scorers: Kelly-Marie Mills x2, Gill Walker, Charlotte Nicole and Amelia Keitley-Webb.

POM split between Gill Walker, Amelia Keitley-Webb and Floss Andrews.

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

Dragons would not begrudge fellow-strugglers Dereham their first win of the season, but this was one match where Dragons could say the chips did not fall kindly for them. They were down four strong players because of illness and work commitments. Then, only days after coach Jason had urged them to think about preparation and psychology, Bridget Le Good misread the time of the match. By the time the FOTP arrived, Dragons were 2-0 down to some good individual play by an exceptionally strong and smart Dereham player.

Dragons got into their shape midway through the first half. Erin Aldous had a great game at bottom of the diamond, and Lily Crew showed a lot of determination in her tackling. Bethan Greaves gradually built her confidence and Dereham stopped having it their own way. Amy Hunter had made a good job of central defender, but she was glad to relinquish to Bridget and back to the comfort of left defence. Nat Crisp (POM) was tireless in midfield,  distributing the ball up and running back. A short corner just before half time saw Bridget get the ball into the top right corner of the net, but the pen corner injection was judged not to have come out of the circle.

With their tails up and breathing fire, Dragons got off to a great start in the second half. With Nat, Katy Cole, Paige Fisher and Claire Fairhurst laying siege to the Dereham circle, our forwards showed what they could do. First Addi Kraemer and then Mia McGhee forced their shots home. Mia’s running was more directed and purposeful on the right in the second half and she made some good runs. Katy and Claire began to combine well and were unlucky not to score. Dragons could not make quite enough of Addi who is always ready to poach a goal.

But Dereham were far from done. Despite Emma Northie North having her usual excellent game and blocking plenty of shots, their most skilful players could break through. Dragons still need to time their tackles better (more often) and pass accurately (more often). Nevertheless, Captain Claire is confident she has the makings of a squad to win. Soon. She urges everyone in the 7s to show more GRIT, right from the start. That is, Get Right Into Them.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s No Fixture

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Bourne Deeping 2s:  4-0

Men’s 1s finally get their season underway with a 4-0 against Bourne Deeping. Goals from Rupert Snelling x2 (who broke Jonathan Chaney Baxter’s heart for one of them) and Daumantas Matulevicius x2. Man of the match was Pedro Goss (who won rock, paper, scissors against Daumantas after a tie) and Dragon of the day was Matt Knights.

Onwards and upwards!

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

Mens 2s draw 3-3 with Ipswich 2s in a shortie fest. 2 goals for Al Browne and one for Jason Wolfe. MoM Al Browne

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Newmarket 1s:  3-0

Goalscorers:  Matt Hull, Tom Vaughan, Will Kirby

POM: Ed Smith

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Felixstowe 2s:  1-1

Mens 4s Drew 1-1 with Felixstowe 2s. Goal from Alberto Embarba. MOTM: James King.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norfolk Nomads 1s:  5-3

Men’s 5’s beat Nomads 5-3
Will Bloom with two goal & one each for Tommy Gale, Andrew Cross & Dan Ryan.
Mom – Will Bloom

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Norfolk Nomads 2s:  3-2

3-2 win for Men’s 6th against Nomads 2 – 2 goals for Mike Banham 1 for Shiv Kapur. MOM Shiv Kapur

Development Leagues

Dev Boys A v Magpies 7-0

Dragons Dev Boys A team produced a great all round team performance to beat Magpies 7-0.
Will Panter 3, Gabe Overton, Will Sexton, Lawrie Williams with one each – Tommy Chambers scored the last goal from a short corner, a great team goal, two selfless passes setting up Tommy up for an assured finish right on full time.
Notable debut today from U12 Sam Leeming, who along side U12 Lawrie Williams controlled the middle of the pitch.
MOM – Gabe Overton for tireless running down the right.

Report by Lawry Williams

I thought we played really well on Saturday. We started off playing a very nice passing game and we dominated possession for the first 10 minutes. We got our reward when Ed Cross hit a strong free hit that was deflected in for a goal by Will Panter. We went into the first quarter just 1 goal up. Will got his second goal shortly into the second quarter of Ed’s cross. Gabe Overton got goal 3 shortly afterwards and we really started to build momentum. Goals 4 and 5 followed quite quickly and a nice bit of work from Jake Reynolds earned him a goal to take us to 6-0. A really nicely drilled short corner set Tommy Chambers up to score the last goal and we won comfortably, 7-0, with Will getting his hat trick. It was a really strong start to the season and it was great to see the team working so well together in all positions. It does bode well for next weekend versus City.

Dev Boys B v Watton 1-2

Dev Boys B team lost 2-1 to Watton boys. George Wilson (under 12!) with the goal and player of the match. Thanks Steve Linford for managing and playing, Joel and Lloyd for playing.

Dev Girls v Dereham Penguins:  7-0

Dev girls beat Dereham 7 _ 0. Goals by Hattie Stuart 4, Ella Peart, Mia Rutterford and Evie Marley. An awesome all round team performance.

POMs shared between Hattie Stuart, Ella Peart, Honey Wells and Mia Norris

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Wisbech:  5-0

Dragons Ladies 1s built on the positives from last week to put in a dominant performance against Wisbech, winning the game 5-0. The hosts, welcoming Joanna Raymond and Holly Setchell back into the squad, opened the game strongly, putting into practice some of the principles they’ve been working on through the preseason. The first half saw some exceptional movement of the ball and patterns of play, as the Dragons put Wisbech under early pressure. The forward line of Katy Hands, Lucy Morton, Tabba Tabrett and Shelly Seaman made it tough for the Wisbech defence as their well-timed runs created plenty of passing options. This paid off within the first 10 minutes as a movement into the circle saw the Dragons win a penalty corner, and Tabba calmly slotted it into the net with a well-practiced drag flick. The rest of the half saw much of the same, with little pressure on the Dragons defence. Just before half time, some nice movement down the right hand side of the pitch from Carmel Windsor-Waite and Tabba Tabrett saw the ball slipped to Liv Thomas on the top of the D and she placed her shot perfectly to drift past the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner.

The Dragons maintained the intensity throughout the second half, winning a flurry of short corners and converting two of them through Tabba and Lucy Morton. Another goal came from open play as Shelly Seaman drew the goal keeper out and pulled the ball back for Katy Hands in front of the goal to put the Dragons 5-0 up. Wisbech had a few forays forward in the second half, but they were dealt with coolly by the defensive line, with youngsters Sophie Barrow and Carmel Windsor Waite making some important tackles and interceptions. Joint players of the match were Carmel Windsor-Waite and Liv Thomas, but this was a strong overall team performance and a deserved 3 points.

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

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v North Norfolk 1s:  2-1

Norwich Dragons Ladies 3^rd team hosted North Norfolk 1^st team on a warm September Saturday afternoon at The Den for their first home league match and were prepared for a tough game. The match began with North Norfolk maintaining the possession and looking to gain an early advantage from their quick wingers. However, the defence of Grace Brown, Kath Mares, Spike and Hazel Knights, well supported in goal by Kat Speirs maintained their composure and dealt with all the danger.

Norwich Dragons began to create some attacking chances following the early pressure from North Norfolk and opened the scoring with a confidently taken strike by Ally Windsor Waite into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

Both teams had short corner and open play chances before the half time whistle but the score remained 1 0 to Dragons at half time. The half time talk called for Dragons to maintain their structure on the pitch and continue the hard work all over the field.

The second half was entertaining for the spectators on the sideline with the game going from end to end, with both attacks showing a good array of speed and skills. The Dragons midfield of Harriet Rant, Katie Lister, Elsa Scott and Hannah Ellis worked hard to support the attack and defence.

However, North Norfolk managed to level the score halfway through the second half from open play. Dragons maintained belief that they could still score and kept playing attacking hockey with chances being created by the forwards of Jess Haw, Harriet Marlee and Aditi Naik.

With ten minutes left on the clock Harriet Marlee made a run down the left wing, along the baseline and passed back for Jess Haw to have a shot saved, the rebound was received by Harriet Rant who shot from the top of the D that was again saved by the keeper, which was collected and fired home from close range by Ally Windsor Waite for Dragons to take the lead again.

Following the pattern of the game North Norfolk pressed forward to gain another equaliser and were awarded a short corner on the final whistle. Norwich Dragons managed to clear the shot and maintain the one goal lead and take the 3 points. A great team effort to build on in the next few weeks, with Hazel Knights and Ally Windsor Waite sharing player of the match.

It was a sunny late afternoon game at Weybred for the Ladies 4s this week, with surprisingly warm conditions for the time of day. Magpies 4s came out quickly and with intent, scoring within the first five minutes. Rather than getting their heads down, this goal shook Dragons into action, and they started to put the pressure on the Magpies’ defence.

Dragons won several short corners in the first half, and despite exploring the full extent of their playbook, the ball just didn’t seem to want to go in the goal. There were a couple of very near misses on each post and credit must go to the Magpies’ keeper who was forced to make some good saves.

Finally, at the end of the first half, luck was on the Dragons’ side. Another short corner slipped from Amy Forse to Caroline Wolfe, whose shot was deflected clear by the goalie. Fortunately it was kicked into the path of Fiona Fletcher on the right of the D, who got some air beneath her sweep to get the ball past the keeper and into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The equaliser fired up the visitors for the remainder of the match, but sadly the second half ended up being similar to the first. Dragons had many more short corner opportunities, but the Magpies side put on plenty of pressure at the other end too.

The home team were very strong, getting low to the ground and stopping any attempts by Dragons’ midfield to carry the ball. At times the Magpies’ passing pace made them look very dangerous, but Dragons managed to close them down and protect their D.

In the last five minutes of the match Dragons were on the back foot, with continuous pressure and a couple of shots being set loose from the Magpie forwards. However Dragons covered well and managed to keep the score to 1-1 at the whistle for that all-important point.

Plenty to work on for the Ladies 4s, but some positive signs for the season ahead. A welcome back for Lucy Buxton and Catherine Matthews who brought their usual youth and pace to the team. Catherine also shared player of the match with Lilly Sore.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Yarmouth 2s:  9-1

Luckily the final score line did not reflect the score line in my dream from the night before, which if you want to know, resulted in an 8 – 2 loss. Thankfully for us, the real score line was almost the opposite. Phew!

From the the starting whistle, Dragons put heavy pressure on the Yarmouth goal seeing a lot of shots on target, which were defended well by the Yarmouth Team. At one point there were 6 consecutive shots on goal, the last being stopped by a foot (not Lizzie’s) on the line. This resulted in the Umpire awarding a penalty flick which Beth Elgood confidently stepped up to take. It was a great flick matched by a great save (one of many) from the Yarmouth keeper.

Shortly after we were awarded a short corner. A great injection from Gemma Ballard resulted in a fantastic straight strike and our first goal from Steph Samson. 1-0 up.

Dragons inflicted further pressure on the Yarmouth Defence, so much so that Mia Somers even had time to have a little rest (no one saw you sitting down – honest!). The defence worked tirelessly with some great switch arounds between the back line of Stella Windsor Waite, Steph and Emily Smith. Much of the attacking play stemmed from their hard work at the back, getting the ball up to our fab midfield of Chloe Mikronis, Mel Widdows, Kate Hale, Hannah Edwards and Lizzie McDonnell. The second goal came from Jane Wells at 20 minutes from a straight strike at the top of the D, which hit the left post and went in. 2-0.

As the half drew to a close, Dragons switched off a little, losing their intensity and allowing Yarmouth a rare break, in which one of their players managed to squeeze the ball in between Mia and the post. 2-1. Luckily 3 minutes later, Lizzie, with another assist found Gemma who made it 3-1.

At half time with some useful feedback from Amy (thanks for running the bench) and a target of 10 goals, we went out with more intensity and structure to our game. It paid off. The fourth goal coming after 4 minutes with a long ball across the D to Katie Hale who calmly swept it into goal. 4-1. One minute later saw more great work from Katie (POM), with a shot on target which was saved by the keeper, the rebound being put in by Gemma. 5-1.

Two more goals were to follow, both from tenacious midfielder Mel. Again Kate’s distribution of the ball leading up to the goals. 7-1. The Dragon’s relentless force continued with our 8th well deserved goal for Beth, skinning her knees in the process. Further shots continued, with Jane’s high shot being parried away by the Yarmouth keeper’s hand. Our final (well almost final) goal was scored by Lizzie who had worked hard in the D to make the score 9-1 (definitely scored with a stick).

We could have had a 10th, from a fantastic short corner and straight strike from Steph, but it was disallowed due to the final whistle being blown during the strike, and putting off the Yarmouth defence. Dragons agreed to replay the short corner, but sadly we could not make it 10. Luckily Amy was reasonably pleased with our result, and was only a little bit cross that we did not make it to her target. Maybe next time Amy. (Thanks also to Amy for her helpful notes: “Who scored? What happened?” “Bench were nattering”)

It’s safe to say, this was a game dominated by Dragons, with A LOT (Lily counted 19) of short corners going our way. Perhaps the take home is that we need to work more on converting short corners into goals! Nonetheless, a great team effort and a really enjoyable game!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Lowestoft Railway 2s:  2-2

Ladies 6s played away to Lowestoft 2s on a slow and sandy pitch. Only playing 3 of last seasons 6s, the new look 6s worked hard to together and as a unit in division 1.

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

Dragons haven’t quite hit their stride yet, and if they needed an excuse it was that four players were suffering from heavy colds/chest infections. Having gone end to end with City for most of the match they tired in the last 10 minutes and City looked the better team with their strong runs.

The Dragons squad individually all contributed, but as a team there is some work to be done. Emma ‘Meg’ Dyer was POM with some excellent tackling and blocking and from her position at the back she urged the Dragons to get first to the ball and onto the posts. City’s right forward was a skilful handful but Meg contained most of the threat with Nat Crisp and debutante Bethan Greaves also catching the eye for their defence.  Briony Johnstone ran herself into the ground in the centre of defence, despite being under the weather. Maisie Dearmer was full of energy and pace at right mid and Paige Fisher showed some nice touches at left mid. Mia McGhee was also keen to pick up the ball and run with it and got some shots away. Mia came into battle in the centre, and the City keeper blocked her shot for Katy Cole to pounce on the rebound and sweep the ball home. The goal was a sweet reward for Katy who has worked hard on her fitness and ball control to get a chance in the 7s. Her goal brought the score back to 1-2, and despite Sophie James getting onto the post as required, Claire Fairhurst charging in from the left, and Becky Bowen tackling ferociously at the top of the diamond and spreading the passes accurately, Dragons didn’t always have the grittiness to control the midfield and the City attack. City got their goals when Dragons failed to smother them on the edge of the circle, leaving Emma Northie North to face the onslaught.

7s have been practising their penalty corners, though not with everyone in the same place or even on the same night! Doesn’t sound too promising… But with Captain Claire taking responsibility for injecting, she slid an inch-perfect ball to Bridget Le Good who slammed the ball (along the floor) into the far corner to bring the ball back to 2-3. Unfortunately Dragons tired more than City but they have a plan to tackle their areas that need improvement which they will put into practice on Wednesday – colds and sneezes permitting – as they press on for their first win.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Norwich City 7s:  0-1

Captain Lois Metcalfe had very kindly spent much of her free time this week devising a new team formation which proved to be very beneficial and with the chance of a goal within the first 7 minutes had team morale on an all time high, which continued throughout the match.

And together with the added help from Mike and Hannah on Wednesday evening, it was clear that the players in defence were armed with a few extra tools to keep the ball out of the oppositions D.

Both Anna’s in defence were quick to clear the ball off the pitch and away from the goal proving to be a simple but very effective technique.

Emma ‘Mouse’ Fielding deservedly was awarded man of the match. She fought tirelessly to defend the goal and displayed some text book hockey skills from all the Wednesday night training. We all cheered when she made a perfect block tackle and took possession of the ball!!!

New to the team and playing her first match for Dragon 8’s was Izzy Gale,  who although confessed to nerves at the start proved to be an invaluable player, making some excellent tackles.

Johanne Steward, Sadie Jacobs and Lois had some very near goals and  every one of us waited to hear the reassuring klonk of  the ball hitting the back of the net. Sadly for us it was not to be today but we certainly all agreed how much we enjoyed the match. Communication was very much in evidence as was team spirit and smiles on faces.

Thanks to Shanese Claxton for organising all the subs and diligently keeping her eyes on the timer.

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Cambridge Nomads 1s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Matt Knights, Jono Chaney-Baxter
MOM:  Lewis Wilkins

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

Goalscorers:  James Cross, Tom Vaughan
MOM:  Peter Dickerson

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

Goalscorer:  Will Kirby

East League, Men’s 4NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Norwich City 4s:  0-3

Dragons headed to Taverham for a late afternoon game in the sunshine. The game started quickly with early City pressure reflecting the fact this team had been in the league above last season. Despite having possession and field position City failed to convert this into goals mostly in part to great work from Pete Davison , Neil Shorten and good work rate from the returning Rich Phillis.  Dragons had a few decent first half attacks but most of the game was played in the midfield and turn overs made the game open to breaks. Dragons unfortunately did concede just before half time but still felt as the game wore on chances would come. The second half did seem more open but Dragons went two down to a nice move that finally found a cool finish in the circle. Chris Millar had another solid performance in goal frustrating most of the City shots on target. Dragons forwards worked extremely hard with Bobby Shepard and Garnett Jones linking well to cause some concern and a few short corners. Unfortunately a third goal close to the end made things comfortable for City and Dragons knew  they needed to convert their chances. Despite the score line the mid field work of Isaac Driver-Hall, Alberto Embarta , Josh Bingham and Owain Hall was a credit to the never say die spirit the team played with. Onwards to next week and some points. MOM obviously Chris MIllar

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v North Norfolk 3:  9-0

Dragons eased to a comfortable win over North Norfolk.  Dan Ryan controlled the middle of the pitch with Connor Adams.  Man of the match Ryan , help himself to a hat trick whilst fit again Matt Armstrong weighed in with two. The scoring was completed by Andrew Cross, Tommy Gale, Pete Latoy and Lloyd Wade.

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Norwich City 7s:  2-5

A new group of Dragons played together for the first time and it showed. The lack of communication early on let the door open for the opposition who took full advantage in the first half. The dragons were down 0-4 going into the sencond. The Dragons team took on the constructive criticism of the half time talk and with better shape and more completed passes held City back and the Dragons were able to push forward. It led to a short corner which was put away by Shiv Kapur after multiple passes within the D. Another late flourish of quick passes allowed Ed Crosier the opportunity to take one last shot at the goal which was put away to bring the final whistle. Dragons won the second half 2-1 to the overall score of 5-2.

Girls Development League
Dragons Dev Girls v Watton:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Hattie Stewart
MOM:  Freya Dolding

This Week’s Results