This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:  Kiera Goymour, Kate McKenna
MOM:  Sarah Jenkins

Ladies 1s safely negotiated the A14 roadworks and travelled to St Ives needing a win to ensure safety in Division 1N.  

A large group of  Dragons’ supporters saw the ladies play some excellent hockey from start to finish and the team deservedly came away with the 3 points needed.  Every player worked their socks off, no more so than Sarah Jenkins who was MOM.

A well taken goal by Kiera Goymour from a short corner early on settled the nerves.    Dragons continued to dominate the first half and maybe should have gone into half time more than the 1-nil up.

Early in the second half Kate McKenna had the last touch on a strike from Harriet Green to score the second.   Supporters’ nerves were starting to settle.  However, St Ives came well and truly back into the game and with 10 minutes left they scored a goal from a short corner, making the remainder of the game a very tense affair.   Dragons held their nerve and returned home with the 3 points and a place in Division 1N next season.

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

Goalscorer:  Georgie Manly
MOM:  Stella Windsor Waite

Dragons faced 2nd placed East Coast – welcoming Lily Sore into the squad who was deservedly making her 2nd team debut. 

The early stages of the game saw Dragons in the ascendency, playing some good passing hockey and pushing East Coast back from the start. The home team were rewarded for their efforts with a good goal by Georgie Manly, showing some good individual skills.

Dragons couldn’t hold onto their lead for long as East Coast turned the tables with a couple of goals before halftime. Dragons were still in the game though and talked about continuing to press in the 2nd half, however their plan didn’t work out, with East Coast scoring quickly after the break to deflate the home team further. The visitors were by far the better team in the 2nd half, and took their chances clinically extending their lead to 5-1.

The scoreline not totally reflecting the whole game, but the visitors are deservedly in the hunt for promotion. Dragons PoM vote was close with Stella Windsor Waite taking the honours.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s – no fixture

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

MOM:   Nat Crisp, Flori Smith

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

Goalscorers:  Hatty Harrison Mobbs, Mimi Rutterford, Gemma Ballard x2, Louise Brooks, Anita Mancini, Lizzy McDonnell x2, Adelice Stanley x3
MOM:   Claire Stuart

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

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee, Hattie Stuart
MOM: Jo Jennings

Today ladies 6’s played away to Herlings finishing with a 2-2 draw. Their goalie arrived with no kit so we quickly took advantage of this with Mia McGhee scoring a cracking goal! When defending slipped up they managed to sneak a goal back! Second half they came out much more determined, causing us to work hard but Hattie Stuart insisted that she scored and what a goal it was! Short lived by an equaliser!
Great game played by all with awesome teas to enjoy after!  Pat was great support on the sideline, only telling me off once 👍😆 player of the match went to Joanne Jennings with her persistence in left defence!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Pelicans 3s:  4-0

Goalscorer:  Lara Nuthall x3, Paige Fisher
MOM:   Orla Hardiman

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

Goalscorer:  Imi Burke
MOM:  Mehnaz Shammy

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v St Ives 1:  3-3

Goalscorers:  Olly Buck, Ollie King x2
MOM: Olly Buck

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v Palicans 2s:  2-5

Goalscorer:  Rupert Snelling x2
MOM:  Joe Flatt

Men’s 2s unfortunately lost 5-2 after making the away trip to Kings Lynn. As starts go, it wasn’t the best. We found ourselves 3-0 down in the opening 10 minutes. However, after some strong words, we picked up the quality of our hockey and created some decent chances for the remainder of the half. We contested well, but couldn’t keep out the quality of Pelis short corners as they added to their total after half time. We continued to create chances and scored 2 goals in quick succession. Callings of a comeback were on! Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and we couldn’t add to our total in the last 15 minutes of the game.

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles x5, Mitch Smith, Will Kirby
MOM:  Jon Miles

Today saw Mens 3s take on IES 3s at home with one team looking to avoid relegation and the other pushing for promotion. Knowing only a win would be an acceptable result in the battle to avoid the bottom three Dragons 3s started with vigour and vitality going 3-0 up quickly.

A half time team talk of “keep doing what you’re doing” saw the home side come out the gates quickly…and concede from a disastrous short corner which should have been an easy save for Captain-not-so-fantasti (Tom McLean). Thankfully we responded and went down the other end to score from a short corner where IES’s keeper decided to do exactly the same manoeuvre of getting swiftly out the way of a ball down the middle of the goal.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Ipswich Cranes 1s:  4-0

Goalscorers:  Owain Hall x2, Robin Clarke, Adrian Kemp
MOM:   Will Gwyther

Dragons start strongly against a spirited Cranes side eager to contest every ball. But pressure told as Owain Hall (aka Dwyne) converted a short corner and Bobby Sheppard squares to Robin Clarke to finish. The second half saw  two short corner conversions through Owain and Adrian Kemp and put the game out of reach. Man of the Match went to Will (Billy) Gwyther for controller the middle.

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

Goalscorers:  David Kidner, Casper Lind, Will Kidner, Ross Barnshaw
MOM:  Matt Armstrong

Dev Girls A  v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM: Elspeth and Charlotte

Dev Girls B  v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

Dev Boys A v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

This Week’s Results

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

MOM:  Shelly Seaman

The Ladies 1s lost 3-0 against City of Peterborough 2s. We didn’t play the hockey we’d been playing for the past few weeks. Although we had a large majority of the play, we didn’t move the ball on quickly enough and there wasn’t any urgency in the second half. It was 2-0 at half time. The first opposition goal came from a short corner, the second from a deflection. The third goal was scored quite early in the second half. We did have many chances to score, notably Shelly Seaman who nearly scored a volley, and Georgia Rant who struck an amazing reverse hit. However, a skilful opposition goalie was on them every single time. Player of the match went to Shelly Seaman for her work rate and shots on goal.

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

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

Goalscorers: Lillian Sore, Harriet Rant
MOM:  Harriet Rant

Ladies 3s win away at Christchurch 2-1. Massive effort to come back from 1-0 down after 5 minutes, Dragons levelled just before the break, with the winner coming half way through the second half. There should have been more, but their keeper was having a very good day.
Goals from Harriet Rant and Lillian Sore. PoTM to Harriet for good interceptions, tackling and a “sick” goal

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

Goalscorer:  Niamh Somers
MOM:   Gill Walker

Ladies 4’s have a good win 1-0 v Loddon. Goal scored by Niamh Somers in a goal line scramble (with a little help from the defence!). POM to  Gill Walker for her pocket dynamo performance in midfield. Well done everyone!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Herlings:  8-0

Goalscorers:  Claire Stuart x2, Gemma Ballard x3, Lizzy McDonnell x3
MOM:   Mimi Rutterford

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v East Coast 3s:  5-2

Goalscorers:  Adelice Stanley, Freya Dolding, Mia McGhee x2, Mia Norris
MOM: Freya Dolding

Ladies 6s beat East Coast 3s 5:2 (talk about yoyo-ing this season…). An enjoyable game, lots of good tackles and passing play, and the sun even came out for a bit. Got some good short corner practise in and scored a couple of goals off them too. Goals from Mia McGhee x2, Mia Norris, Freya Golding and Adelice Stanley. Man of the match to Freya for a fantastic game at top of the diamond. Well done 6s, we needed and deserved that win. Let’s go into the last couple of games confidently 

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

Goalscorer:  Lara Nuthall
MOM:   Brittany Hopkins, Fern Daly

Today ladies 7’s played Breckland to lose an unfortunate 2-1. Goal scored by Lara Nuthall.  However, we played very well as a team. We had a fair few injuries but still we persevered. Our joint winners for POM were Fern Daly and Brittany Hopkins

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

MOM:  Mehnaz Shammy

We welcomed new players to the team Alicia Billington and were delighted to have Lynne Price
(out of retirement!) joining us too. Lynne proved to be worth her weight in gold, playing on right
wing and you could guarantee she was everywhere and anywhere she needed to be, taking hold of the ball and moving up the wing either in person or with an impressive whack, much to the frustrated magpies!

Man of the match went to a very deserved Mhanez Shammy who exhibited some beautiful text
book hockey, showing elegance and skill and out foxing the opposition as she took the ball up the pitch and into the D with at least two attempts on goal. Backing her up was Alicia Billington and Imi Burke, who like M were speedy, skilled and always ready in a free space to receive the ball. It was fabulous to have the three youngsters on the team and they played with a grace and confidence only to be admired.

Special accolade has to go to Emma North in goal, who made multiple saves and some of a jaw
dropping quality which again left Magpies dumbfounded! My personal favourite was one that she caught with her knees!!! I kid you not!!!!!

Jo Lee’s in defence, once again executed one or two of her infamous, stick down blocks right on
the goal line! Jess Lockwood in Left defence was kept on her AstroTurf tip toes as she relentlessly blocked and tackled and moved the ball deftly out wide and ditto can be said for our captain Johanne Steward. Bridget Le Good remained strong and defiant and refused to relinquish the ball in some feisty tackles which more often than not left her victorious!
Karen Davidson and Nic Harrison were their usual reliable selves. Nic fast and determined and
Karen, strong and persistent. Sadie Jacobs and Louise Crouch-Reed were up front and towards the end of the second half the ball was very much in our half meaning the forwards were given the opportunity to take the ball into the D and make some shots on target.

Lois Metcalfe was manning the bench and assured subbing ran smoothly, as well as offering a
much needed calm and brief repose from a fast paced match.

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Horncastle 1s:  6-1

Goalscorers:  Sam Avery, Jack Hallworth x2, Matt Knights, Dan Rix, Sean Orton
MOM: Kade Bond

Cars packed for the epic journey to Horncastle – stopping for much needed breakfast provisions at Ronald’s patisserie  – we arrived following a scenic route and with Sam’s flailing lumber bus bouncing its way along.

The first half was a controlled affair. Sam Avery – harnessing the deep anger held for his car’s flaccid suspension – bullied his way out wide and past the Horncastle defence to ping the ball past a despairing keeper!

The second-half featured a dominant Dragons subjugation of Horncastle’s [extremely] long-ball tactic (they had a trebuchet at centre-back!)  Matt Knights struck first, deftly deflecting an upright reverse into a falling keeper who palmed the effort into the corner of the net.

Solid defensive performances alongside patient and inventive build-up play – with a commanding, assured and controlled midfield anchoring performance from Kade Bond – afforded the Dragons a control of the game.

Next to score was Dan Rix who’s reverse strike was carefully pushed into the net by a Horncastle defender. Jack Hallworth then notched his [now routine] deflected push from a short corner, under the keeper’s hand and over the line!

I (Sean Orton) was next on the scoreline. After being fairly ridiculed for not shooting earlier in the game, I received the ball at the edge of the D from assist-king Ollie King, took the ball past and through the legs of a defender and flicked the ball past the keeper into the net.

Hallworth then added his second with Rixy performing his classic pirouette spin for the ball to deflect into the path of the scorer who’s clip-shot rifled into the backboards.

A win to be proud of…certainly worth the epic journey across the Fens, and back in time, to Horncastle.

We celebrate and wait to see if Sam makes it back in his low-rider.

A special mention to Ali  Smyth who came on today and was solid. We now reminisce of better times…a flashback card below of his former glory…

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

Goalscorer:  Joe Flatt
MOM:  Alex Brooks

Men’s 2 unfortunately lost 3-1 in an even game which saw Dragons on the wrong side of the result. We dominated the first half, breaking through with an early goal from Joe Flatt in the first 5 minutes. However, our momentum was halted due to a stoppage for 5 minutes when one of the umpires fell over. UEA then took their opportunity to level the scores shortly after, as we finished the half 1-1. We continued to play decent hockey but a long ball from UEA and fortunate finish saw us go 2-1 down. We continued to press and create chances going close on numerous occasions but we were caught on the break once again and conceded our 3rd goal.

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles x2
MOM:  Mitch Smith

Men’s 3s hosted Pelicans this afternoon at a slightly chilly and overcast Den. The visitors scored from 2 short corners to take them into the break 2-0 up. A slight dressing down and motivational speech from Jon Goodson and 9 year old son revitalised the side and sent us into the second half ready to put up a fight. A solid second half performance saw a great come back and well earned point from two Jon Miles short corner flicks. MOM Mitch Smith for a solid midfield performance and DOD for James Goodson sporting his wife’s jeans during teas.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Newmarket 2s:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Will Kirby x2, Bobby Stuart Sheppard
MOM:   Will Mares and Bobby Stuart Sheppard

Solid start from Dragons saw Will Kirby sneak the ball in under the keeper. Newmarket fought back though a good deflected cross but Dragon countered with a Kirby short corner. Half time ahead and Dragons looked to extend the lead early in the second half with plenty off chances. Newmarket suffered a couple of injuries which didn’t help but a fine finish from Bobby Sheppard put the game out of sight for Newmarket. The last ten minutes where more open but it closed out 3-1.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v  Ispwich Cranes 1s:  8-2

Goalscorers:  Robin Clarke x2, Jason Wolfe, Ross Barnshaw, Casper Lind, Will Kidner x3
MOM:  Matt Armstrong

Dev Girls A  v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

Dev Girls B  v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

Dev Boys A v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

This Week’s Results

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

MOM:  Holly Setchell

The Ladies 1s lost 3-0 against high flying  (unbeaten) Sudbury 1s. Sudbury pressed very high and were quick to close down, however we managed this the majority of the time. It was 2-0 at the end of the first half. The first opposition goal was a straight strike to the left post from a short corner. The second, also from a short corner, was lifted and dropped to hit the back board. Unfortunately, a Dragons’ goal was disallowed, however we fought on but sadly couldn’t find the net. The third opposition goal was scored within the last 5 minutes of the match after a scramble in the D. Goalie, Gina Hunt, saved the first shot, Sophie Thomas saved the second, however we couldn’t save the following rebound. Player of the match went to Holly Setchell for her strong and aggressive tackles, especially against a skilful Sudbury striker.

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

MOM:  Stella Windsor Waite

Wet and windy weather and a strong looking Magpies 3rd team met Dragons at Weybread. Having a late drop out in the morning Dragons 2’s were down to a bare 12 players. 

The first half was a very close affair, with both teams having good opportunities, Shelly Seaman and Georgia Rant coming close for the visitors, but thwarted by Magpies strong GK. Sadly for Dragons a couple of lapses before half time saw the strong Magpies forward, firing home two strikes.

The 2nd half was less even, with Magpies forcing Dragons back for long spells of the game. Dragons were a bit sloppy in their play and just not able to get themselves going, with too many stray passes or running into open sticks. Another goal came for Magpies during this spell of pressure.

A disappointing 2nd half performance by Dragons, meaning they left with nothing. Player of the Match was Stella Windsor-Waite.

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

Goalscorer:  Lucy Buxton
MOM:  Lucy Buxton

Ladies 3s lost 1-3 at home to Ipswich. We got over our slow-start curse with a lovely, well worked goal in the first 3 minutes. Assist from Lillian Sore with the final work around the goalie from Lucy Buxton.

The opposition’s first goal came from a short corner, with the others coming in the second half when our concentration slipped. Another result which didn’t fully reflect how we played. Lucy was also our player of the match – welcome back!

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

MOM:   Mia Somers

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Magpies 6s:  2-5

Goalscorers:  Gemma Ballard, Anita Mancini
MOM:  Georgia Butterworth

Dragons 5s lost against Magpies 6s. We took a bit of time to get going and despite having no subs we settled in the second half to win that part 2-1. Goals coming from Anita and Gem. Magpies were strong and took advantage of some fast breaks. Their keeper also had a very good game! POM to Georgia Butterworth for some great work playing out of position in left midfield! Well done.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Carrow:  1-13

Goalscorer:  Claire Stuart
MOM:  Emma North

Another tough game today for the Ladies 6s away against Carrow. They were good. There is no other way to say it. But we kept going and actually had a very enjoyable game despite what the score ended up being. The second half was much stronger (those extra 4 minutes at half time waiting for the hail storm to pass really did the trick), and we even scored a goal!!! It was an absolute beauty from Claire Stuart ! Anyway, if you need to know, they beat us 13:1 in the end. But hey it’s not the worst we have seen this season and we all had lots of fun in the sun. Man of the match goes to Emma North for some wonderful saves, including a penalty flick. Onwards to next week now, team. 

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

Goalscorers:   Claire Fairhurst, Sophie James
MOM:  Sophie James

Ladies 7’s won a well fought game against Loddon 2’s securing a 2-0 finish. Strong play from all players despite the cold, wind and rain. First goal scored by Sophie James from a well executed short corner. Second goal scored by Claire Fairhurst after great link up play from Maisie Dearmer and Lara Nuthall. Mom Sophie James. Thank you to Des and Rob Wagstaff for the sideline support. Go dragons!

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

MOM:  Mehnaz Shammy

The 8s played arguably their best hockey of the season, and with all respect to their opponents there was an element of luck about both the goals.  The first was scored with scarcely a minute on the clock when a speculative ball into the circle bobbled around hitting various sticks before rolling slowly over the line.. The second, midway through the second half, was a clean shot struck from a cross – which a Dragon’s defender had well covered before she unluckily fell on the slick surface.

So having reported on the goals, time to concentrate on a very solid performance by the Dragons. They lost 4-0 to Carrow earlier in the season, and this performance represented a step up by every department. The 8s traditionally play and build from the back, and Esther Jacobs in goal turned defence into attack with some positive wide clearances.  The defenders improved their marking and tackling, and with Jo Lees, Bridget Le Good,  Johanne Steward and Jess Lockwood rotating, it was good to see them combining the ability to hit the dimples off the ball with some finer touch play. There were even times under pressure when good communication  enabled one defender  to rob a forward in the circle, and another to complete the clearance. This was progress! Hester McLean showed her versatility by putting in a stint in defence and also in a more attacking role, switching with Johanne also moved smoothly from defence into attack.

Carrow tended to have the better of the end to end exchanges, because as a team they used stronger passes and gathered them safely. But Dragons were fighting back, and push passes and sweeps from Bridget, Jo and Jess were finding the new 8s experimental midfield. Nic Harrison and Sadie Jacobs both carried the ball well, and they were joined by two newcomers to the team who made a big impact. Mehnaz Shammy, who regularly runs rings round teammates in training, was for the first time able to play competitively and was player of the match for ball carrying and tackling skills. She combined well with Imi Burke and Kaia Peiris. Karen Davidson turned in another good performance at top of the diamond and created openings to left and right for Johanne Steward and Louise Crouch-Read up front.

If the 8s can keep this midfield together, there is every chance that they will learn to press and create more opportunities. Carrow asserted themselves in and around the defensive circle, and Dragons need to learn to hold their own space and get shots away. Its a difficult skill to practice safely in training, but the cutting edge is one of the last pieces of game play the 8s need to master if they are to get a win before the end of the season.

The 8s declared themselves very happy with their game against tough opposition, and players worked hard for each other. More plans to do even better in training and in the next match! Go Awesome 8s.

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

Goalscorers:  Jack Hallworth x2, Matt Knights
MOM:  Jack Hallworth

The well rested Dragons, dispelling dark memories of defeat a fortnight ago, regrouped for this week’s encounter with Norwich City. City would come into this game confident, with one of our regrettable performances this season coming on their turf several months ago.

Only one outcome today would do…the sweet taste of GLORIOUS RETRIBUTION!

Pounded by the wind, rain, and hail, the game was underway with each team pushing for the opener. The Dragons, however, soon took control of proceedings with Matt Knights finishing crisply from the penalty spot. City came back at us hard, and while we controlled much of the play in the first half, our defence was breached for a moment, which saw City equalise.

At the half-time break the sun broke through the thick clouds and spurred us on into a comfortable second half display. Not forced into a high gear of play, we moved forward and Jack Hallworth struck from a deflected short corner and shortly after, whilst being tumbled in the D, he rifled a reverse strike into the top of the net … bullet! 

The whole team had a very solid game, and while not our most fluid and expansive display of hockey today, there is a confidence to push on to the end of the season in good form and finish strong! 

Special mention to LJ Dangerous who celebrated his 30th anniversary of birth yesterday and crowned the momentous day with two…yes two…strikes at goal today! 

We now begin packing our bags and preparing provisions for the epic trek to Horncastle next week…

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v Norwich City 4s:  8-1

Goalscorers:   Joe Flatt x3, Rupert Snelling x3, Matt Hull, Isaac Diver Hall 
MOM:  Matt Hull

Men’s 2s won 8-1 with their second win in succession with an excellent performance against Norwich City 4s.  We started off well, picking up a well worked goal in the opening minutes of the first half. After having much of the possession, we were hit by a quick City move that levelled the scores. However, we bounced back in quick fashion with another goal before half time and closed the half 2-1 up. In the second half, we continued strongly before putting a 3rd and then 4th past City. They couldn’t cope with the pressure put on by ourselves, conceding another 4 in quick succession in the last 10 minutes of the game.

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Newmarket 1s:  0-6

MOM: Phil Good

A day to forget for the Men’s 3s as a tough day away at Newmarket proved their biggest loss of the season so far.

A woeful start saw dragons go 3-0 quickly before solidifying for the last 5 minutes. The hairdryer was out at halftime which saw the away side perform much better for most of the second half however the few errors were pounced upon by Newmarket seeing the score finish 6-0. A deserved win for the home side but score line is flattering. MoM for recently selected Norfolk Masters wonderkid Phil Good, whilst DoD goes to Ed Smith for an unusually sloppy day out.

3 big games left for survival, we go again against Peli 2s next week.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Norwich Exiles 1:  2-4

Goalscorers:  Will Kirby x2, Bobby Stuart Sheppard
MOM:   Will Ives

Good challenging game saw Exiles take the lead but Dragons fought back to head into the half time break 2-1 up. The second half saw the game get competitive with Dragons creating chances but not being as clinical in front of goal. In the end Exiles fought back to take the lead and Dragons pressed til the end. Well played all. Goals 2x Will Kirby…and one that was millimetres away and the other from Bobby Sheppard. Man of the match to Will Ives for being everywhere in defence.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Magpies 6s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Will Kidner, Jamie Allsop
MOM:  Jason Wolfe

Dev Girls A  v Magpies:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Rosie Smith
MOM:  Josie Kell

Dev Girls B  v Norwich City:  0-8

MOM:  India Bunn

Dev Boys A v Norwich City:  10-0

Goalscorers:  Aryton Rant, Dylan Bondi x4, Will Sexton x5
MOM:  Theo Demetiou, Will Sexton

It was a sunny but very cold and windy game.
The two teams set out determined but the play stayed firmly in City’s half for the first 2 quarters. The score at half time was 5-0 to dragons.
City came out fighting after half time and pushed in to Dragons half but were not able to get on the score sheet.
Dragons dominated once more and Scored a further 3 goals in the 3rd quarter.
The final score was 10-0 to Dragons despite City’s final flourish in the closing minutes with Dragons keeper being called into action to make a save.
Well done all on a great game.

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer:  Harriet Green
MOM: Carmel Windsor Waite

Ladies 1s draw 1-1 on the road to Wisbech. Some great build up play , but just lacking a little something in the attacking D.  

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

Goalscorers:  Joe Flatt, James Cross, Ollie King
MOM:  Alex Brooks

Men’s 2s won 3-2 in an excellent performance that saw us bring back a crucial 3 points from Bury. The first half consisted of some great all round hockey which lead to us going 1-0 up through a well worked goal. Our good structure meant Bury were unable to break us down and we finished the half 1-0 up. At start of the second half, our lead doubled thanks to a drag flick short corner. However, Bury continued to press and we conceded shortly after. In the later stages of the second half we put away our 3rd goal, hitting Bury with a good counter attacking move. A tense last 10 minutes saw us concede again to bring the score to 3-2. Although thanks to some great defending we saw out the game for a well earned 3 points.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Bury St Edmunds 4s: 3-3

Goalscorers:  Alberto Embarba, Adrian Kemp, Will Kirby
MOM:  Alberto Embarba

Men’s 4s have a good game with Bury. Bury well organised attack went 2 up but got pegged back with Alberto converting a short corner break down. After half time Dragons pulled another back via a p flick from Will Kirby. Excitement continued with a short corner for Bury after a few saves from Jamie. Dragons pulled it back with a great move from Isaac crossing for Adi Kemp to roll back the years. Bury closed out time with a short corner but will Ives closed out the threat. Great competitive game and good teas.

Dev Boys A v Magpies:  7-0

Goalscorers: Ed Cross, Raul Wigglesworth x2, Will Sexton, George Wilson x2, Finn Dearmer
MOM:  Conor Kerrigan

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer:  Holly Setchell
MOM: Alex Daplyn

The Ladies 1s lost 2-1 against North Norfolk 1s. A very unlucky and frustrating score line as we played extremely well. We were patient on the ball, waiting for a suitable pass to open up, there were good transfers around the back and movement off the ball was fantastic. The Dragons goal came from Holly Setchell after a scramble during a short corner. A lot of chances but sadly just couldn’t make much of the short corners that we had. The opposition scored their first goal from a short corner, and the second was an unlucky own goal. But we had great support, happy to say that there was no heckling from the sideline by Mr Barrow, and Storm Dennis didn’t push us off the ball! Player of the match went to Alex Daplyn for her amazing runs, composure on the ball and tenacious work rate.

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

Goalscorer:  Grace Kidner
MOM:  Kristina Smyth, Karen O’Neill Simpson

Whilst Storm Dennis threatened, conditions for the early local derby were actually quite pleasant so the game got away as scheduled! Dragons had slightly depleted numbers, whilst City arrived with a full squad of 15.

Early encounters were extremely one-sided with City forcing a number of early short corners and forcing Dragons to defend for their lives, GK Kristina Smyth and Karen O’Neill Simpson throwing themselves at everything whilst Ally Windsor Waite took one effort off the line. Eventually however City’s pressure counted with the ball forced home after a bit of a scramble in the D.

This served as a bit of a wake up call for Dragons, who started to get themselves back into the game, beginning to close the ball down and finding each other better with their passes. Sophie Farrow was having a fine game in midfield, whilst both Lucy Buxton and Piper Hempsall were also battling hard and winning possession back for the home team. 

Midway through the half, another commanding run from the ever dangerous Grace Kidner saw a free hit awarded. Once again Grace saw the opportunity to pick up the ball quickly and drive into the D, once there her shot at goal was deflected off a City stick, flying up over the keeper and into the net.

From here on, the game remained pretty even. Both teams had their chances and had good spells of play, but there was some strong defending meaning the final score remained 1-1. Given their depleted numbers, Dragons were relatively happy to take the point. 

Some excellent performances for the Dragons, notably Stella Windsor-Waite in a new position which she is starting to make her own, Grace Kidner, who improves week on week with the strength of her tackling and all round play, and Sophie Farrow, stepping up for the 3’s and battling really hard for the team. To a player however, Dragons showed excellent spirit and workrate. Thank you to both umpires for a well umpired game.

PoM was split between Karen O’Neill Simpson and Kristina Smyth. 

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

MOM: 

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s – slip week

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s – slip week

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s – slip week

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s – slip week

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s  – slip week

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Long Sutton:  0-2

MOM: 

With storm Dennis the Destroyer on the horizon – causing many a strange happening to occur across the land – in a deep forgotten corner of Lincolnshire cutting crosswinds saw the Dragons’ flight falter.

The sporting bout began crazed and confused, with slow play and our opposition maximising the long ball to wise effect – knowing that to play a ground-pass in the thick yellow wasteland was futile.

End to end, we soon ‘scored’ through Dan Rix but alas was disallowed, just not be 😕 minutes later Long Sutton bundled the ball in! After a reflective half-time we pushed ahead and had much of the ball with Rixy, Pedro Goss, and I (Sean Orton) having decent chances to level proceedings. Long Sutton applied their game-plan very well and Olly Buck saved us on the line with Pete Dickerson pulling off some spell-binding saves. They scored a rasping short corner in the dying minutes to all but end the game.

A frustrating day for the Dragons.

This season’s shock giant killing result – understandably boisterously celebrated by Long Sutton, and one that will surely be celebrated in the barns of deep Lincolnshire for many moons to come!

We dust ourselves down and empty all pockets and orifices of sand, and go again in a fortnight!

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

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

Goalscorer:  Jon Miles
MOM:  Tom McLean

Dragons Men’s 3s secured a huge win in their fight to stay up today during storm Dennis. A home game against relegation rivals Norwich City 3s in a windy affair saw the home team come out 1-0 victors thanks to a stunner from Jon Miles.

After a reasonably well imposed (if with grumbles) Friday night of sobriety the home side defended excellently and made the best of the few chances they had. Special mention should go to the back 4 of Jim Goodson, Ed Smith, Stu Kelly and Harry Brown who played 70 minutes of excellent defensive hockey but ultimately MoM goes to captain fantastic T Mac for the game of his season keeping the clean sheet including a few stunning short corner and double saves (not to toot my own horn too much). Outfield highlight of the game goes to Rob Goodson’s last ditch sliding tackle in the D. DoD to John Ives for breaking the curfew and spending a bit too much time searching for gold in his nose 😛

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Bury St Edmunds 4s:  P:P

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v  Sudbury 3s:  2-4

Goalscorer:  Will Gwyther, Jamie Allsop, Casper Lind
MOM:  Ed Cross

Dev Girls A  no fixture

Dev Girls B  v East Coast:  6-1

Goalscorers:  Katie Hume x1; Megan Davis x1;  Poppy Francis x4 
MOM:  Poppy Francis

Dev Boys A v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:  Sarah Jenkins, Holly Setchell
MOM:  Sophie Thomas

The Ladies 1s lost 3-2 to St Neots 1s. We held most of possession during the first half, and our high press worked well, however we could not make anything from the breaks that we had. There were lots of short corners from both sides, but all of ours were unsuccessful. During the second half we dropped the tempo and were unable to keep hold of the ball. Our first goal was scored by Sarah Jenkins from a wonderful penalty flick. Our second was scored by Holly Setchell from open play. Two opposition goals were from short corners and one from open play.
Player of the match went to Sophie Thomas for her solid runs up the pitch and being the play maker throughout the game.

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

Goalscorers:  Georgie Manly
MOM:  Grace Kidner

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

Goalscorers: Lily Sore
MOM:  Lilli Ballard

Ladies 3s went to sunny but windy Lowestoft to play clinical and quick East Coast. First half dragons went 5-0 down after a quick series of impressive goals. But the 3s really rallied at half time with a lot more possession and great teamwork resulting in a lovely reverse stick goal from Lily Sore after a well worked long corner from Fiona Fletcher and assist from Catherine Matthews. Second half score 2-1 to East Coast (you can do the maths). POM Lilli Ballard for great attack on the wing and a superb goal line save!

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

Goalscorers:  Nat Crisp
MOM:   Katherine Hardwick

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Beccles:  8-0

Goalscorers:  Hatty Harrison Mobbs, Gemma Ballard x4, Mimi Rutterford, Anita Mancini x2
MOM:   Mae Clarke

A strong start with lots of linking play and well organised passing. Midfield were strong with excellent distribution from Louise Brooks. Forwards used the space well to create lots of opportunities goals soon came with  Gemma Ballard getting 4, Hatty Harrison-Mobs getting 1, Mimi Rutherford getting 1 and Anita Mancini grabbing 2. Mae Clarke got a well deserved PoM. Goals from a variety of open play and short corners. Beccles continued to battle to the last whistle, meaning no one could rest. Lara King and Jo Jennnings kept up the pace in midfield and the defensive line pushed and channelled through out. A good game of passing hockey.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Norwich City 5s:  0-10

MOM:  Lizzie Costello

Ladies 6s went out to Taverham for some fitness and fun in the sun. Emphasis here on the fitness, the result is not worth talking about really (for anyone that really needs to know it was 0:10 – it is what it is…). Lots of fantastic individual performances but not quite linking up as a team just yet – lots to work on. MoM goes to Lizzie for a brilliant final appearance for us before she leaves us for the wondrous world of London.

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

MOM:   Rosie Tarleton

The 7s played out a hard-fought goalless draw on a breezy and bright afternoon. After the disappointment of last Saturday, the whole team put in an absolute shift in a really enjoyable game!

POM deservedly goes to Rosie Tarleton for an absolute stormer at LB

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

MOM:  Issy Gale

Ladies 8’s were away playing Watton 3’s and despite a loss of 6-0 it was a fabulous match to be a part of and we ALL played our ‘green dragon’ socks off!

POM went to Issy Gale who was a deserved choice and played solidly throughout.

We were delighted to welcome Lois Metcalfe back into the fold as our Goalie.

She made some truly awesome saves!  And proved to have a strong, powerful kick when clearing the ball which any Premiership footballer would be proud of!!!!

Lois’ kick proved invaluable as it carried such pace that 9 times out of 10 it was picked up on the wing by Issy or Nic Harrison who both sped off down the pitch.

Dragons were awarded at least three short corners where we came so close to scoring.

Sadie Jacobs having said at the start she had not played a match in a while, (I can only wonder if the reason being is she has been at a 24 hour Hockey Boot Camp!!) She played some fabulous hockey displaying skill, confidence and ‘dogged determination’ which we embrace in the 8’s.  Sadie made excellent use of the width and was often seen picking up one of Bridget Le Good’s numerous and legendary cracking hard hits and speeding down the wing. Bridget was another player who seemed to be everywhere at once much to the vexed opposition!

Louise Crouch-Reed and Hettie McClean were great upfront as forwards, finding space and receiving the ball up high and taking it into the D.

Karen Davidson was her usual awesome self and never seems to be afraid of making some bold tackles with confidence and strength.

Back in defence, Jess Lockwood, Jo Lee’s and myself fought hard to mark players and NOT the ball and Lois was fabulous at letting us know who was unmarked. Jo Lee’s made an awesome save on the post which made an impressive cracking noise as it deflected off her stick!!!

Our Captain Johanne Steward could be seen playing upfront and in defence and was another player who made one or two brave tackles in defence and clearing the ball wide.

Team spirit and camaraderie shone brighter than the February sunshine and the strong gusts of wind which swept relentlessly over the pitch stood no chance of blowing away our ‘dogged determination’.

We remain Strong and we remain the Awesome 8’s!

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

Goalscorers:  Dan Rix x2
MOM: Dan Rix

First Half

•  The game began with end to end play
•  Some early chances for Dragons
•  Special mention to Ali Smyth’s improved manager’s attire
•  It was too easy to pass it to our own players…
•  Pedro Goss was a workhorse throughout the game
•  They scored a decent goal
•  Owen Tennant engaged sprinting – a rare and thunderous lumberous quelling of their forward
• We piled on pressure and a slick breakaway saw us score at half time…weeeeell almost, as the half time whistle was blown less than 2 seconds before we had the ball in the net (Cries of “Why!” could be heard echoing through the Harleston countryside )

Second half

•  Pete Dickerson pulled off some great saves
•  Jim Barker the enforcer commanded the anchor of our midfield, with a very tidy mid-air pick too
•  Rixy (Dan Rix) scored following some quick-thinking forward combination play
•  I set up Jim to take his glory but it wasn’t to be
•  Roman Cassidy had a great chance (swiiiiiiing…and a miss)
•  Bucky (Olly Buck) saved us on the line with a smart clearance
•  A solid debut from Kade Bond
•  a real battle of a game ensued as the points hung in the balance
•  In the last minutes of the game Rixy (putting aside some earlier chances) fired in a rocket from a short corner for the winner!

A real grind of a win but three points none the less…Rixy this week basks in the smooth buttery coconut glow of his man of the match upgrade!

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

Goalscorers:  Rupert Snelling
MOM:  Jason Wolfe

Men’s 2s narrowly lost 2-1 in a competitive game. We started the first half by playing some good flowing hockey all over the pitch, which saw us go 1-0 up through a drag flick from Rupert Snelling.  However, we couldn’t keep out 2 of IES’s short corners and finished the game 2-1 down.

MoM – Jason for a top performance playing at right back.

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles
MOM:  Ed Smith

Fantastic 1-0 win for NDHC Men’s 3s against IES 2s. Jon Miles with the goal from a short corner drag flick. MoM to Ed Smith for a great defensive performance (he even voted for himself cheeky).  Big 3 points, onto North Norfolk next week!

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v IES 5s:  10-0

Goalscorers:  Greg Reynolds, Adrian Kemp x3,  Tommy Gale x3, Will Kirby x3
MOM:   Tommy Gale, Garnett Jones, Will Kirby

And it’s 3 hat tricks in 3 weeks for Will Kirby.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v  East Coast 2s:  3-1

Goalscorer:  Will Kidner x2, Tom Helfer
MOM:  Tom Helfer

Dev Girls A  v Dereham:  Dereham conceded

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

Dev Girls B  v Yarmouth:  0-1

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

Dev Boys A v 

Goalscorers: 
MOM:

This Week’s Results

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

Ladies 1s lost 3-0 to IES 1s. A long high intensity game against a very good team. The first half was very slow.  Our decisions were not accurate and we needed to pick up the pace, which was seen at times in the second half, where we were more aggressive and moved the ball quicker. There were many defending short corners, most of which were successfully defended against. We are ready to take what we have learnt from this match into training and work on what needs to be improved. Player of the match went to Holly Setchell for her consistent hard tackles, and her aggressive attacking play.

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

Goalscorers:  Georgia Rant, Shelly Seaman, Lucy Buxton
MOM:  Grace Kidner

Dragons 2’s with several people unavailable for different reasons welcomed Harriet Green, Lucy Buxton, Sophie Farrow and Piper Hempsall into their team. They were also pleased to see Georgia Rant finally arrive just before the start of the game via Taverham, even though her sister Harriet Rant, who was playing for the 3’s, manged to get to the correct pitch on time!!

Inter-club games are never easy but this was a good game played in the right spirit. The first goal came from a strong shot from Hannah Hardy which was well blocked by the 3’s. However Lucy Buxton who was in a great position was first to the ball and fired it into the goal from a narrow angle. This gave Dragons 2’s the lead and they went into half time 1-0 up.

In the second half Dragon 2’s started to apply a bit more pressure. The second goal was again assisted by Hannah Hardy who saw Shelly Seaman in a great space and slipped the ball to her. Shelly Seaman took her chance and from a acute angle fired it towards the goal, giving the keeper little chance, to make it 2-0. The third and final goal came from a lovely ball across the pitch from Grace Kidner to Harriet Green. Harriet Green then fired the ball into the D and found Georgia Rant on the P spot who deflected it skilfully into the goal to make it 3-0 to Dragon 2’s.

Player of the match for Dragons 2’s went to Grace Kidner who played LB for the first time and had a great game. Donkey of the Day went to Georgia Rant for thinking Dragons 2’s would be playing Dragons 3’s at Taverham. 

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

MOM:  Harriet Rant

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

Goalscorers:  Lisa Harwood, Niamh Somers, Amy Forse x2
MOM:   Gill Walker

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Watton 2s:  0-4

MOM:  Louise Brooks

Dragons 5s played Watton 2s away and lost 4-0. First half we had two unlucky goals scored against us, and one good goal. Dragons had some excellent chances but just missed the target. Second half Dragons found their form and were much better, but still failed to score and Watton scored on a break to end the match 4-0. Watton played well, we had some good chances. Looking forward to the next match… 

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

Goalscorers:  Adelice Stanley x2, Mia McGhee
MOM:  Mae Clarke

It was a level game between the two teams, we went out strong and Mia McGhee got in there early to bring us 1:0 up. Unfortunately a couple of decent short corners and some nice runs down the middle by them made the score look slightly less attractive towards the half time whistle. A slighly scrappy goal by myself (Adelice Stanley)  brought us back into the game and we went into the break 2:4 down. The second half saw a much stronger Dragons team, we had some lovely passing play, particularly in mid and used the final minute to score another even scrappier goal (me again). But alas it was not quite enough in the end. Man of the match was very spread but Mae stole it in the end for a fantastic game at top of the diamond. Onwards and upwards as always 6s!!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v UEA 3s:  104

Goalscorer:   Brittany Hopkins
MOM:  Maisie Dearmer

Ladies 7s had a strong start against UEA 3s, Dragons scoring first with straight strike at a short corner from me. UEA responded almost immediately, converting a penalty flick after a stunning goal line save by my thigh (sorry Nola 🥴). UEA then put the match to bed with a further 3 goals, leaving us with a final score of 1-4.

MoM to Maisie Dearmer for some beautiful runs down the right despite being definitely quite ill…with Lucy Courtier a close second!

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

MOM:  Rosie Tarleton

This was a really gutsy performance by the 8s. We are now well into the second half of the season and the 8s are giving it everything they’ve got in order to improve their standard of hockey – without losing the great team spirit and friendship that has hallmarked their performances.

So with high availability for once, the captains went for the bold step of selecting just 13 players in order to help with making the best use of the subs. In the past, using more players has not actually strengthened the team or enabled the less-experienced players to understand their positional roles. There is also a new focus on attending training, which has been so beneficial since Christmas. On Wednesday the players were trying new skills and discussing solutions to hockey problems. Before the match, the team planned how they would put training into action. 

In the early stages, the plan worked. Kristina Smyth always puts up an outstanding performance  when she plays in goal for the 8s, and part of the benefit of using her experience is the way in which she guides the defenders in front of her. Emma Young is improving every week with her clearances and marking. Jess Lockwood and Jo Lees are always solid and in the first half Rosie Tarleton and Karen Davidson shared the holding role, and linked well with mids.

A brave but perhaps misdirected attempted to stop a high ball opened the scoring for the Us, but after that the defenders learned to focus on making the tackles and letting Kristina stop the shots. The students were fast in the outfield and clever about passing the ball in the circle. This tested the ability of the defenders to keep on their marks, and led to a certain amount of scrambling and a lot of penalty corners.  Well done to Jess, Emma, Jo, Rosie and Nic Harrison for holding firm – and to Karen  for knowing when she had to come back to defend. During the frantic spell, Kristina saved a penalty flick.

Ellie O’Kane was back after a few weeks absence, and began to make an impression in midfield. She showed a willingness to run the length of the pitch with any opponent on a raid, and her jab tackling improved throughout the game. Kaia Peris has also not played many games, but showed some very nice touches – and some even nicer determination when tackling. Louise Crouch-Read is another player making an increasingly positive contribution.

Possibly the skill difference between UEA and the 8s was the visitors’ ability to be first to the ball and to show greater speed and stamina as the match progressed. This made life very hard for the forwards, mainly Johanne Steward and Ceris Burgues who had to create their own opportunities. Ceris formed useful partnerships with Ellie and Kaia. This was her last match for Dragons, and we hope it was memorable for many positive reasons.

Towards the end of the second half, Dragons defence faded in stamina but not in spirit. Some players are still recovering from virus and injuries, and this was a step up on last week’s performance. Dropping Bridget Le Good back to bottom of the diamond gave Dragons a bit more welly in getting the ball out of defence, and also released Rosie to play a more creative role. For her tenacious tackling in defence, accurate passing and determined running in attack, Rosie was voted player of the match.

Once again, there is a lot the 8s can take from this match. Their heads never dropped, they worked hard at moving the ball around, and they encouraged each other. Typically, even other members of the squad turned up to support. Come on 8s!

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Kettering 1s:  0-2

MOM: 

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

Goalscorers:   Joe Flatt, Eddie Gould
MOM:  

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

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles, Charlie Creasy
MOM: Stuart Kelly

David and goliath. The tortoise and the hare. Norwich City vs. Man City. These are all stories of incredible underdog performances and today witnessed a new tale for the history books. Listen closely fellow readers as I recount the story of the men’s 2s vs. 3s.

Picture the scene, a brisk Saturday afternoon fourteen men, nay, heroes gathered together at the Den to face off in the ever epic NDHC derby between the 2s and 3s. These heroes knew they faced an uphill battle against the odds, outnumbered and out gunned but were they scared NO! There were butterflies in the stomach and nervous toilet trips of course, but not for one minute did the plucky 3s feel unready for this mammoth task. And so, after the long wait, the game finally begun with the blow of the whistle and you could feel the pantheon watching from above for what promised to be a fantastic, feisty and frantic game of hockey.

The first half saw some excellent interplay between Kit Scott, AJ Edwards and Jon Miles upfront with numerous chances just missing wide of the target or flying past the back post untouched with the 2s sitting deep and inviting pressure, pressure we gave. After 15 of so minutes disaster struck. A quick free hit saw a ball enter the D where a 2s striker turned and found the bottom corner with a good reverse stick finish. The 3s responded with more liquid hockey and some beautiful passing plays but were thwarted by the 2s keeper. All over the pitch we saw stick tackles and desperate challenges and the 2s struggled to keep up the pace and beauty of the 3s play, a sign the away side took of respect but none the less disruptive to our Barcelona-esque tactics. Despite all of this pressure the underdogs saw themselves down 2-0 just before the half when a crash ball found its way to Eddie Gould who fabulously (and fortuitously) deflected the ball into the top corner.

You would think at half time our plucky protagonists would be dismayed, 2-0 down but once again my dear reader you would be wrong. With all the chances and beautiful play we knew more chances would come our way and if we kept playing how we were then the goals would come. Captain fantastic gave a rousing team talk (think “Once more into the breach, dear friends…”, “We shall fight them on the beaches…” etc) and distributed the liquorice all sorts (a debatable choice this week) before once again sending his band of merry men out to undertake the impossible.

The second half saw a change in fortune for our fellows with the ticky tacky hockey leading to Charlie Creasey slotting a beautiful finish into the bottom corner to bring the 3s back into the game. Seeing the opponents on the ropes saw our underdogs change tactics (The “going for it” method) throwing caution to the wind and going for the jugular. A scrap in the opposition D saw a goal line clearance using an illegal body part leading to a penalty flick being given and the ice man himself, Jon Miles, stepped up to guide the ball into the corner, the stands erupting in celebration, the fans going wild and we even heard a small squeak of joy from the often-taciturn Stu Kelly. The final 5 minutes saw the biggest backs against the wall defensive performance ever witnessed with every single member of the 3s putting everything on the line to ensure the precious point was kept including a gift from the gods as an uncleared save from keeper extraordinaire Tom McLean saw Eddie Gould hit the post with the follow up.

After what seemed an age the umpires blew for full time and the comeback was complete, they’d done it! A 2-2 draw, feeling like a victory and I believe everyone player on the pitch will agree the most enjoyable derby game in a long long time. A few special mentions are needed with an unnervingly good performance from Stu Kelly earning the MoM award and DoD going to John Ives for falling off his chair whilst reaching for a slice of pizza, I won’t mention his height but it probably played a part.

Shout out to the 2s for being a fantastic opposition and giving us a game that will be fondly remembered for both teams I hope, a really really enjoyable derby (even ignoring the score).

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

Goalscorers:  Will Kirby x3,  Bobby Sheppard
MOM:   Robin Clarke

The game started pretty even as both sides found openings. Eventually Dragons 4ths found Kirby in space on the left post who’s shot was deflected in off the keeper. With a goal up the game remained open with both sides pressing well. Another was added by Kirby before half time to ensure Dragons 4ths felt a bit more comfortable.The second half opened up but the end result was put beyond doubt by Kirby completing his second hattrick in two games. Kirby then set up Bobby Sheppard for the 4th. Dragons 5ths didn’t stop at any point though and finally got one past Chris Millar with Will Kidner slotting home. Good game had by all and thanks to Pat and Sharpie for umpiring. Men’s 4ths man of the match to the engine room performance from Robin Clarke.

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

Goalscorer:  Will Kidner
MOM:  Matt Armstrong

Dev Girls A  

Dev Girls B  v East Coast:  7-2

Goalscorers:
MOM:  

Dev Boys A v 

MOM:   Theo Demetriou

This Week’s Results

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

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

Goalscorers:  Hannah Ellis, Maddy Reynolds, Georgie Manly
MOM:  Shelly Seaman

The game started a bit slowly with Norwich Dragons giving the ball away too easily and putting themselves under unnecessary pressure. Dragons still had plenty of chances but were struggling to take advantage of them. Finally about halfway through the first half the ball fell to Maddy Reynolds who quickly took advantage of this and calmly slammed the ball into the goal to make it 1-0 to Dragons.

At half time Dragons coach Pete Thomas made it clear that we needed to step it up and play better hockey, something none of us could argue with! 

With his words ringing in our ears Dragons started to play much better hockey and take control of the game. Under pressure Christchurch started to give away short corners, but the Christchurch keeper made some excellent saves keeping the score at 1-0. Finally though the pressure paid off. The ball was put out at speed by Hannah Ellis, smartly stopped by Karen O’Neill-Simpson and struck hard by Gail Thomas, again the keeper made a great save. However the ball was then jumped on by Hannah Ellis and a Christchurch defender and a battle of strength began cms from the goal line which Hannah Ellis won to make it 2-0. Dragons were now playing much better hockey and put the game to bed with a lovely run from Grace Kidner who passed the ball at speed to Georgie Manly who slotted it home to make it 3-0. As usual the votes for player of the match were really spread with Shelly Seaman just pipping Mia Bartram and Grace Kidner to it.

Not Dragons best game ever but they were pleased to take 3 point, to score 3 goals and to keep a clean sheet.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Magpies 3s:  0-6

MOM:  Piper Hempsall

Ladies 3s suffered a 6-0 defeat against a very skillful, quick and well drilled Magpies squad. Some great moments of play from us with everyone on the pitch giving 100% effort but it unfortunately wasn’t enough. Special mention to Mia Somers for some awesome saves and great talking from the back line. POM goes to Piper Hempsall for relentless play down the wings – On to the next!

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

Goalscorers:  Amy Forse x2, Nicola Cage Brimelow x2, Niamh Somers
MOM:   Mia Somers

Ladies 4’s won 5-0 against Diss. Slow start into the game with the first goal coming about 15 mins into the game from Amy Forse, Nicola Cage Brimelow x2, Niamh Somers and then Amy with a second goal. We kept up the momentum throughout the game and kept fighting. Some great hockey girls!!! Pom Niamh Somers!!! 

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v East Coast 3s:  4-0

Goalscorers:  Katie Lister, Gemma Ballard, Lara King x2
MOM:  Lara King 

Ladies 5s win 4-0 against East Coast. We were a little slow to get started but had a few shots on goal which we were unable to convert. Our first goal came from a top of the D hit from Lara King. The opposition then levelled the score from a lovely short corner. We then decided we would go up a gear & goal number 2 came from a short corner received at the top & slipped to Katie Lister on the left who got the ball in the back of the net. Third goal again from Lara at the top of the D. Goal number 4 was a lovely run down the right from Katie to Mary Bowles into Liz McDonnell & then tapped in by Gemma Ballard at the left post. Well played everyone. Thank you Anita Mancini and Will Kirby for your sideline guidance & management. MOM Lara.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Watton 2s:  5-1

Goalscorer:  Mimi Rutterford
MOM:  Mimi Rutterford

Despite mostly dominating the first half, and still holding well in the second, Ladies 6s went down to Watton 2s a slightly painful 5 – 1 (painful to our pride and injuries sustained)
The solitary goal was scored by Mimi Rutterford, who also won player of the match (most deservedly). This one goal was a cracker, lifted slightly past a defender and the goalie, into the net. The crowds (all five dragons supporters) went wild. Hope renewed, but soon dashed.The details escape me, but Watton scored three in rather quick succession.
Despite the lack lustre outcome, there was some right good hockey played.
Yet again, the rally cry of the sixes is heard “onwards and upwards!”
Injuries sustained in order of severity: Emma Dyer maybe broke a finger, I took a minor blow to the head, and Georgia Heaton was icing her leg but I’m not sure why.
Massive thanks to Pat for yelling at us from the side lines.

Goalscorer:   Lara Nuthall
MOM:  Hattie Stuart

Ladies 7s lost 4:1 to Broadland 3. Goal by Lara Nuthall. POM Hattie Stuart. We battled hard with only 10 players and Broadland certainly didn’t have an easy time. Heads up ladies!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s  v Magpies 8s:  0-17

MOM:  Lucy Courtier

Ladies 8’s took on Magpies 8’s away in Harleston and despite a cricket score style result! (not in our favour sadly) I might add! We played some amazing hockey, showing grit and determination and never more so than in the second half.We lost 17-0 but did not go down without fighting back. The team spirit was flying higher than any magpie could ever possibly wish to reach and as our captain Jess Lockwood said there were times in the match that any spectator walking passed and watching for five minutes would no doubt be surprised at the score!POM went to Lucy Courtier who was joining us from Dev’s in her debut appearance for the 8’s and we were very happy to have her onboard. She played some excellent hockey with the ‘dogged determination’ we all embrace as a team.Lucy picked the ball up on the right wing and glided effortlessly up the pitch, she was an awesome player to watch and a very welcome addition.Lucy and Bridget Le Good soon picked up an excellent rapport and between them devised a plan which had Bridget keeping the ball and then passing out wide back to Lucy who having found space picked it up and sped off! Nola Mitchell was a absolute legend as Goalie and made numerous, incredible saves and without her competence, bravery and again ‘dogged determination!’ the score would have been considerably enhanced for Magpies. She never gave up and was a pleasure to have on the pitch with us.Karen Davidson was top of the diamond and played brilliantly showing her speed, skill, and yes! you guessed it ‘dogged determination’! which she carried every minute of the match and most importantly she never gives up!Jess in defence made some spectacular tackles allowing Nola a brief reprieve as did Jo Lee’s.Hettie McClean dropped back to Defence in the second half and was soon making some bold tackles which was fantastic.Louise Crouch-Reed picked up some great balls playing as left forward as did Johanne Steward in Center Forward. Nic Harrison was her usual fast and reliable self as Left Mid. We also used the width of the pitch brilliantly, just as we had practiced on Wednesday night training and it worked an absolute treat!!! 

The coaches would have been proud!!!!

We remain Strong and most importantly We remain The Awesome 8’s!!!!! 

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

Goalscorer:   Jack Hallworth
MOM:  Peter Dickerson

The sun shone in the biting cold at UEA as the students attempted to extend their recent impressive league form – today scuppered by an energetic and resolute Dragons display.

Lively from the start, UEA took the lead through a low-driven short corner. Not to be down for long, some explosive link-up play down the left wing between Pedro Goss and Sean Orton saw Jack Hallworth finish exquisitely!

UEA pushed into the game with many, many short corners however could not finish, and  Dan Rix spurning a good chance just wide.

Honours even – thanks mainly to the monstrously elegant display by captain Pete Dickerson in goal – he takes home the coconut gel 

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v Newmarket 1s:  0-4

MOM:  Dim Ives

Mens 2s lose 4-0 to a strong Newmarket side. Some good play and chances to score, but beaten by a better side on the day. Man of the match goes to Dim Ives for keeping the score lower than the home fixture with some fantastic low saves (although kicking the ball directly in to my privates was less fantastic..). DoD to Isaac for keeping us waiting at Goals for 30 minutes while actually being in a car already half way to the pitch.

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v UEA 2s:  0-2

MOM: Rob Goodson

A tough game against what seemed like a squad of 20 UEA 2s players ended in a 0-2 defeat for the Men’s 3s. With most of the game being played in midfield the dilapidated home team put up a great fight but two not-so-clever moments leave the 3s thinking what could have been.

Many positives to take from the game including a great debut for Tommy Gale in tough conditions and another stellar performance for Rob Goodson garnering MoM! DoD goes to Will Main who seem to spend half the game on his arse. Suggestions for correcting the range from new footwear to getting personal running lessons from Will “the gazelle” Kirby.

With many players returning for next week’s epic against NDHC 2s we aim to return to winning ways.

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

Goalscorers:  Will Kirby x3, Jamie Allsop
MOM:  Will Kirby, Alberto Embarba

A tight first half drew saves from both keepers as the game ebbed and flowed. Dragons managed to break the deadlock first with a Will Kirby strike but Harleston didn’t back down. Using their subs well Dragons finally found more chances and Kirby added another two good finishes. With the game open Dragons ran harder in the last quarter and Jamie Allsop added a good 4th before the end. A good game and competitive til the end.

Man of Match was tied between the goal machine Kirby and the midfield general Alberto Embarba.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Newmarket 2s:  5-2

Goalscorers:  Josh Bingham, Tom Helfer, Will Kidner x2, Ross Barnshaw
MOM:  Will Kidner

Dev Girls A  

Dev Girls B 

Dev Boys A v Dereham:  2-0

Goalscorers:  Aryton Rant, Will Sexton
MOM:  Will Sexton, Rahul Kaushal

The match started fairly even between both teams. Us and the opposition had some great chances but didn’t quite manage to put anything in the goal. Some good passes were made but what we lacked was enough urgency to get the ball and the game seemed a bit relaxed in the first quarter.

Dev Boys B v East Coast:  2-3

Goalscorers: Louis Bolton Smith x2
MOM:   Tommy Cahir, James Hollis

After a late start to the game, we all were passing the ball wide and we had a few chances. We had a short corner in the middle of the first quarter, but it was well defended by East Coast. Nearing the end of the first quarter East Coast made a breakthrough and passed through our defence and scored. Going into the second quarter, Tommy Cahir is off with the ball racing down the wing and passes it to Louis Boulton-Smith, he controls it and puts it bottom left corner. East Coast have a couple of shots on goal, but they go wide. Then Archie Griegg has the ball on the right wing and passes it through to Louis Boulton-Smith, who pushes it past the keeper, its 2-1 at half time. In the third quarter we have a short corner, but it’s well defended by EC. Getting near to the end of the third quarter EC coast get a goal just past the reach of Patrick O’Rourke in goal.  Then it came to the last quarter, we had to get a goal to win. We were all passing it well, both teams had some good chances. James Hollis did some great defending at the back, controlling the back 3. Then just when we coming to the end, there’s a stumble at the back it looked like it hit an EC players foot but the umpire carried on and it went left bottom corner. It was the end of the game, both teams played well, and we all worked and played amazing. Final score was 3-2, to East Coast. POM James Hollis and Tommy Cahir.

Final result – 3-2 to East Coast.

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:  Holly Setchell x2, Harriet Green, Kate McKenna
MOM:  Sophie Thomas

Ladies 1s beat Colchester 1s 4-1. A good first game after Christmas, preparing the team to step up the tempo. There were brilliant transfers round the back, effective use of triangles and game management was good. The first 10 minutes was a bit slow, however after we picked up the pace and went out and smashed it! The first goal was scored by Holly Setchell after a fantastically worked short corner. After stretching Colchester and hitting them on the break, the second goal came from a wonderful reverse flick into the corner by Harriet Green after a hit in from Sophie Barrow. The third goal came from Holly Setchell again after multiple deflections, and the fourth goal was from Kate McKenna after an assist from Alex Daplyn. The opposition goal was a straight strike into the left corner of the goal from a short corner. Overall, a very good cohesive performance where everyone worked as a unit. Player of the match went to Sophie Thomas for her composure on the ball, amazing defensive work and fighting spirit.

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

Goalscorer:  Grace Kidner
MOM:  Jillian Christie, Stella Windsor Waite

The game started at a fast pace with Norwich Dragons 2’s determined to close their opponents down and not give them time on the ball. There was a lot of good play from both teams but Norwich Dragons 2’s work rate was giving them the edge and they started to control play. Hannah Hardy, Gail Thomas, Grace Kidner and Sophie Farrow were wining the battle in midfield and providing some great balls forward. Any Ipswich attacks were cut out by Hannah Ellis and Shelly Seaman who were protecting the middle well. Ally Windsor-Waite and Georgia Rant were working hard up front and Norwich Dragons 2’s were unlucky to go into halftime at 0-0.

As expected Ipswich started the second half all guns blazing. On numerous occasions Karen O’Neill-Simpson, Esme Potter and Stella Windsor-Waite found themselves outnumbered as Ipswich drove forward on mass. Even with some good defending and some great saves from Jillian Christie, Norwich Dragons 2’s unfortunately found themselves 3-0 down within 15 minutes of the re-start. However Norwich Dragons 2’s didn’t give up and started to work their way back into the game, earning themselves a short corner. The ball was put out by Hannah Ellis and well stopped by Esme Potter. Gail Thomas then slipped it to Ally Windsor-Waite, who found Grace Kidner, who calmly slotted the ball into the goal, exactly as we had practiced in trainiing!!! Norwich Dragons 2’s continued to pressure the Ipswich goal, back on top of the game, but unfortunately ran out of time as the final whistle went.

A great team effort from Norwich Dragons 2’s who have made great progress since September and are excited for the rest of the season. There were several players who got votes for Player of the match but it was shared between Jillian Christie and Stella Windsor-Waite. 

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

Goalscorer:  Lilli Ballard
MOM:  Beth Prakash

Ladies 3’s took on the tough Norwich city 2’s today. A slow start saw us 2-0 down, but a great goal from a short from Lilli Ballard got us one back. Half time ended at 3-1 and despite much better play in the second half we were unable to better the score. The game unfortunately ended 5-1 but there were signs of great play which will hopefully lead to a better score next week 👍🏼😊 pom to Beth Prakash!

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

Goalscorers:  Amy Forse, Nathalie Crisp, Lisa Harwood, Nicola Cage-Brimelow
MOM:   Katherine Hardwick

Smashing game in the sunshine for Ladies 4s vs Reepham.  A battle from start to finish. New formation working well with lots of opportunities to score – resulting in a 4-3 win. Goals from Nic Cage, Nathalie Crisp, Lisa Harwood and Amy Forse .  2 goals from shorts (thanks for the help and advice Pete Thomas). POM to Katherine Hardwick for some sound attacking defence. 6 points from 2 games makes a great start to 2020!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Carrow:  0-4

MOM:  Lara King, Lizzie Costello

We started off the game with good play from both teams. We each had opportunities and from a 16 they unfortunately smacked it past our defence, there was good play in the D resulting in a goal and 2 goals were from well-drilled short corners.  Well played everyone

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Magpies 5s:  1-12

Goalscorer:  Adelice Stanley
MOM:  Emma North

Ladies 6s took on top of the league Magpies 5s. We always knew it was going to be a tough game and we went out there with a smile and buckets of enthusiasm. We fought hard and kept the score low for a significant part of the first half, even scoring a goal (yes everybody, we scored a goal against magpies 5s!!!). Unfortunately as time went on the Magpies got stronger and eventually went on to win quite clearly…final score 1:12…oh well!
Man of the match goes to Emma North for a cracking game in goal. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Freya!!!

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

Goalscorers:  Claire Fairhurst, Lara Nuthall
MOM:  Paige Fisher

Well done to the 7’s who played Thetford today with a winning score of 2-1. It was a strong game on both sides with Dragons making a great comeback from an 11 nil loss at the start of the season. Well done to Claire and Lara for scoring the goals and congratulations to Paige getting WOM. Thank you to Des and the umpires for a great match and start to the season.

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

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

Goalscorers:  Dan Rix, Jack Hallworth
MOM:  Jim Barker

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

Goalscorers:  Chris Simmonds, Rupert Snelling, Isaac Diver-Hall
MOM:  Mark Walmsley

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

Goalscorers:  Crossley Eccles, John Ives, Jon Miles, Kit Scott x2
MOM: Kit Scott

Mens 3s started their match away against NCHC 4s slowly (I blame too much Christmas spirit(s)) and went 1-0 down after 5 minutes but fought back and immediately responded with a beautiful back post finish from Crossley Eccles to even the scores. Then followed two wonderful goals from Kit Scott making an excellent debut and John Ives with his 4th of the season making it 1-4 at the half.

Second half saw dragons defending about a million (no exaggeration) short corners including a few spectacular diving stick saves from Captain Fantastic (Tom McLean) before John Miles put the game to bed with some sort of goal I didn’t see because it was far too windy to view the other end of the pitch. A fantastic start to 2020 and long may it continue… 

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Sudbury 3s:  2-0

Goalscorers:  Tommy Gale, Will Kirby
MOM:  Greg Reynolds

Both teams missed chances to score in the first half with a few more eluding Dragons. In the second half Dragons got the goal they needed at the end of a good move with Tommy Gale rolling the ball home. The game opened up and Dragons got a second from a strong shot by Will Kirby.  Sudbury kept fighting to the end but Dragons held them. Well done all with man of the match going to Greg Reynolds.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Norwich Exiles 1s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Tom Helfer, Dan Murphy
MOM:  Tom Bailey

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A  – no fixture

Dev Girls B v Pelicans:  2-1

Goalscorers:  Imogen Dolding x2
MOM:  Imogen Dolding

Dev Boys A v East Coast:  6-0

Goalscorers:  Oli Rudling x2, Rahul Kaushal, Monty Patel, Ayrton Rant, Dylan Bondi

Dev Boys B v Magpies:  1-5

Goalscorer: Theo Demetriou
MOM:   Theo Demetriou, Hector McNeill, James Hollis

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s – no fixture

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

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s – no fixture

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

Goalscorers:  Catherine Matthews x2, Lillian Sore x2,
MOM:   Emma Merryweather

Ladies 4’s start the year off with a 4-0 win against Evergreens. 2-0 at half time with the opening goal from Catherine Matthews and the second from Lillian Sore.   We kept fighting in the second half knowing they could win the game back but we put in another two goals, first of the second half from Lillian Sore and the last goal from Catherine.  We had a green card against us and some challenging play but we kept up the high intensity and bagged ourselves yet another win! Pom Emma Merryweather for some excellent play!!!

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

Goalscorers:  Gemma Ballard x2
MOM:  Jillian Christie

First game back after all the Christmas and new year excesses! The 5s rolled down to the pitch and into a much needed warm up led by our ‘warm up Queen’ Lou!  We knew the game would be one of our toughest games against top of the table and unbeaten Magpies 5s, meaning we were very much the underdogs! We didn’t start well conceding a goal in the first 5 mins. It was a bit of a shock to the system! Think we had forgotten how to play hockey. None the less we stayed strong and started to find our rhythm. Play started to link well and our first goal game after a great passing move down the right between Lara King, Claire Stuart, Lizzie McDonnell and Gemma Ballard. Gem narrowly missed a second goal a few moments later. We continued to match Magpies who had a lot of chances but our keeper Jillian Christie was AMAZING! Lizzie has a goal disallowed too. The first half finished 1-1. Magpies started strong in the second half getting a second goal from a short corner move with just 10 mins to go. Hannah Edwards also made a great goal line clearance to keep us in the game. We pushed on with Anita Mancini winning a short corner. Lizzie’s straight strike led to us equalising through Gem!! We were very happy.  Final score 2-2. Great game by all. MOM to Jillian  for keeping us in the match. Lara (Carol) in second place! Looking forward to the Carrow game where we will all be feeling fitter and stronger!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Evergreens:  

Goalscorers:  
MOM:  Lizzie Costello

The 6s continue to yo-yo between winning and losing, going down 7-0 to Dereham 3s.  Again, we hadn’t played as a team before, and Dereham wouldn’t let us settle, tackling as soon as we won the ball.
Still, the match tea was good.
POM goes to Lizzie Costello for her wonderful defending. Special mention to our goalie, Emma North,  who saved a hell of a lot more than went by her.

Chin up for next week ladies, a yo-yo must come back up!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s –  no fixture

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

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s –  no fixture

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v IES 2s:  0-4

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s  – no fixture

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s – no fixture

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

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A  – no fixture

Dev Girls B – no fixture

Dev Boys A – no fixture

Dev Boys B v Magpies:  1-2

Goalscorer:  Vithu Baskaran
MOM:   George Wilson

On Saturday the boys dev B team suffered a close 2-1 loss to magpies.  They scored first from a short corner.  Vithu Baskaran equalised for us with a great strike.  Magpies then scored the winner when their winger was left unmarked during a rare Magpie attack.  Dragons had majority of the ball and played some good hockey but two excellent saves from the Magpies keeper prevented us equalising. After that, despite lots of effort, we failed to successfully work around the Magpies adult who defended resolutely. George Wilson was player of the match.

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:    Sarah Jenkins x2, Liv Leary
MOM:   Sarah Jenkins

The Ladies 1s drew 3-3 with Cambridge City 3s.  Blood, sweat and tears as the team fought throughout the whole game – a determination that we haven’t seen in previous weeks.  Dragons scored the first goal from a brilliantly worked short corner. A one, two, to be smashed in by Sarah Jenkins. At half time it was 1-1; the opposition scored from a short corner just before the whistle went for the break. In the second half, we went 2-1 up after another fantastic short corner and another strike from Sarah Jenkins to be deflected off a defender’s stick. The third goal came from a lovely drive to the base line by Lucy Morton who played it in to Liv Leary to hit in. Another two goals were scored by the opposition, the 2nd from open play on the break, and the 3rd from another short corner. A great game where all 50/50 balls were ours and, solid but dynamic defending. Great work from everyone. Player of the match went to Sarah Jenkins for her amazing goals and work upfront – well deserved.

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

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s – no fixture

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

MOM:  Katherine Hardwick

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s – no fixture

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

Goalscorers:  Adelice Stanley x3, Gemma Ballard x2
MOM:  Hatty Harrison-Mobbs

Ladies 6s go out strong and positive on a cold and breezy morning in the fields of Harleston to take on the Magpies 6s. We started on a high with 3 goals in quick succession by Adelice Stanley, which surprised both them and us if we are quite honest. Things calmed down a bit and the Magpies stole one back before half time. A rainy but sweets-filled half time talk later and we were back on form, for Gemma Ballard to score another two in the second half. Lots of fantastic play all round, with Hatty Harrison Mobbs stealing that MoM in the end. Final score 5:1, a great result to go into the (short) break with. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!

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

Goalscorers:  Brittany Hopkins, Paige Fisher
MOM:  Mia Norris

Ladies 7s beat City 6s 2:1 in a friendly. Great game with dragons dominating. Cracking goals by Paige Fisher and Brittany Hopkins. Paige then received a ball to the wrist putting an end to her game. POM Mia Norris in her first adult game. Special mention to Ella Peart too as it was also her first adult match came 2nd in POM votes. 

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

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s –  no fixture

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s – no fixture

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s  – no fixture

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s – no fixture

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

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A  v Norwich City:  1-6

Goalscorer:  
MOM:

Dev Girls B – no fixture

Dev Boys A v Magpies:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Vithu Baskaran
MOM:  Varun Naik

Dev Boys B – no fixture

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Bury St Edmunds 1s:  0-3

MOM:  Carmel Windsor Waite, Sarah Jenkins

After a week off due to last week’s weather cancellations Ladies 1s played Bury St Edmunds 1s at home. Dragons lacked some intensity in the 1st half and Bury were able to capitalise on a couple of our mistakes. A rousing half time talk from our captain gave us more fire in the 2nd half but sadly not enough to turn the game around, ending 3-0 to Bury. PoM joint between the dynamic defensive duo of Sarah Jenkins and Carmel Windsor Waite.

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

Goalscorer:  Nat Beal
MOM:  Shelly Seaman

With availability issues across the Ladies Club, Dragons fielded a squad of 12 against much healthier looking numbers for UEA!

The game started evenly, with both teams having spells of possession but lacking composure in the final ball. Dragons were first to break the deadlock, a fine run down the right by Georgie Manly saw the ball crossed into the D, Gail Thomas has a good strike saved but Nat Beal was there to finish off on the rebound.

Dragons almost had a 2nd through an excellent Hannah Ellis strike from the top of the D, but unfortunately it glanced off a Dragons foot on the way to goal, meaning the strike was disallowed.

Dragons were holding the game although UEA were starting to get more into it – they earned a penalty flick, which Dragons keeper Jillian Christie saved smartly to her right. An injury to influential defender Esme Potter saw Dragons lose their shape a little, as they struggled to adjust just before half time. In this spell UEA capitalised scoring 2 quick goals to turn the tie going into the break.

2nd half the game changed completely with UEA dominating the attacking play and scoring some excellent goals. The speed and fluency of their play combined with their all round ball pace meant Dragons were somewhat outplayed in this half. 5 goals for UEA saw the game finishing with a convincing victory for a team who on the day, played some very strong hockey.

Dragons need to take this on the chin, rebuild and come back stronger in the new year. Some good displays notably from Georgie Manly and Shelly Seaman with Shelly taking PoM.

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

MOM:  Kristina Smyth, Catherine Matthews

3’s lose 3-0 to a tough Yarmouth team. 2 goals half way through the first half  meant Dragons needed to really rally at half time.  We started strongly in the second half and had some great play with numerous opportunities and more of the possession but a few harsh injuries and an unstoppable short corner hit from Yarmouth sealed their lead. Score doesn’t reflect the hard work and great team play of the 3’s.

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

Goalscorer:  Amy Forse
MOM:  Jen Buskell, Sarah Wagstaff, Amy Forse

Ladies 4’s lost 4-1 to a good Harleston side. Goal scored by  Amy Forse. Our good play was good enough but there wasn’t enough of it. Thanks to coach Lynn Price! POM three ways Amy Forse, Jen Buskell and Sarah Wagstaff but in typical 4’s fashion the votes were spread across 7 players.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s:  10-0

Goalscorers:  Gemma Ballard x4, Lizzy McDonnell x3, Anita Mancini x2, Hatty Harrison Mobbs
MOM: Gemma Ballard

Dragons 5s vs Dragons 6s – always a difficult game to play. Both teams came out fighting.  End to end play, Gina Hunt was fantastic keeping a clean sheet for us. However by half time the 5s were up 5-0.  The 6s came out strongly at the beginning of the second half, but when the 5s managed to get another goal they then dominated the last few minutes. Great play by both teams, lots of short corners on both side and near misses.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s:  0-10

MOM:  Karen Davidson

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s – no fixture

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

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

Goalscorers:  Jack Hallworth, Dan Rix
MOM: Peter Dickerson

A patchy grey afternoon in Norfolk’s forgotten wilderness witnessed a frustrating, confusing, and battling performance.

It was one of those games…couldn’t get our game firing on all cylinders and tackling a persistent long-ball game against us …we stuck at it with effort, guile, and vigour.

First half – happened.

Second half – Conceding the first goal to a penalty-flick we rallied and Jack Hallworth rifled a beautifully orchestrated short-corner drag-flick routine into the roof of the net.
After controlling some impressive phases of play we found ourselves behind once again to a good Dereham short-corner routine. It was tense. The massing local crowds were biting their clenched fists in anticipation of a fairytale win, and believed this day to be the fateful giant-killing moment…all before Dan Rix, the dream breaker, pounced in the very final second to torpedo a leveller from the angle into top bins!

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v North Norfolk 1s:  0-5

MOM:  Rob Goodson

This morning Men’s 3s faced a much changed and strong Bury 2s who were coming off some big wins. Dragons got off to a strong start with Jon Miles narrowly missing a beautiful drag flick just past the post. It was a fairly even and open first half but ended goalless.

Second half saw a change with Bury being well on top but Dragons held strong for 35 minutes to come away with a much deserved and welcome point.
Onto the Christmas meal!

Man of the match goes to Rob Goodson for some fantastic midfield play and being pivotal for the clean sheet.

Goalscorer:  Jason Wolfe
MOM:  Greg Reynolds

Men’s 4s lost 2-1 away to Bury St Edmunds 5s.  Dragons were strong throughout and constantly on the attack. Everyone played well in all parts of the pitch except for in front of goal. Everyone had their fair share of fluffed shots so blame was shared equally between the lads.

Our only goal came from Jason Wolfe, who took advantage of a perfectly stopped ball on a short to give dragons hope in the second half.

MOTM was awarded to Greg Reynolds in order to ‘mix things up’ from the usual MOTM picks. Shoutouts to Tommy Gales, Bobby Shepard and Arj P for their usual performances. Alberto’s defensive debut was deemed a moderate success by the lads.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Bury St Edmunds 4s:  0-1

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v  Norfolk Nomads 1s:  0-4

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A  v Watton:  5-0

Goalscorers:  Mia Rutterford x2, Lucy Courtier, Ivy Hodds, Hannah Shepperson
MOM:

Dev Girls B v Dereham:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Libby Ong, India Bunn, Caitlyn Hernon
MOM:  Libby Ong

Dev Boys A v Norwich City:  4-1

Goalscorers:  Monty Patel, Rahul Kaushal, Hector McNeil, Tom Clifton
MOM:  Hector McNeil, Tom Clifton

The Dragons had a fantastic start to the game with the first goal coming within two minutes of the starting whistle.  Moments earlier the team had stood with only ten men but not only did Hector McNeill arrive with seconds to spare he scored with lightening speed.

Norwich City were not phased by this coming back strong and moments later we saw their equaliser.

Both teams fought on for the rest of this quarter but with the Dragons stronger up front.

The second quarter was a battle between both sides. From a short corner hit by Will Sexton, the ball was deflected by one of their defenders, past the keeper, and hit the backboard. But for some unknown reason the goal was disallowed.

This made us more determined and we went on to score once again. (scored by Monty Patel)

By the third quarter we were dominant but only leading 2-1. The team talk brought confidence resulting in the Dragons third goal moments after the play began. (scored by Rahul Kaushal)  City had their fair amount of chances but our defence was very solid.

The weather was bitterly cold as we hit the fourth quarter but both teams fought on. The forwards had a decent press again with many attempts at goal with Tom Clifton scoring the final of this four goal win. The opposition were still trying to get goals but the defence made sure they wouldn’t let that happen.

 Player of the match shared between Hector and Tom Clifton

Dev Boys B v Watton:  7-0

Goalscorers:  Zac McEwan, Louis Bolton Smith x2, Monty Patel, Theo Demetriou x2, Ayrton Rant
MOM:  Theo Demetriou

This Week’s Results

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

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

Goalscorers:  Maddy Reynolds x2, Nat Beal x2
MOM:  Maddy Reynolds

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

Goalscorers:  Beth Prakash, Jenna Mills x2
MOM:  Jenna Mills

Ladies 3s get their first win of the season away to Broadland 1s!  HT 0-0 but some excellent play and Dragons came out fighting for the second half. A cracking effort from Lilli Ballard was saved but the rebound was put away by Jenna Mills shortly before a short corner strike from Beth Prakash rattled the goal as it hit the back board for a 2-0 lead. Broadland pushed and pushed and eventually got one back but then Jenna pulled off an absolute screamer into the top corner from a narrow angle making it 3-1 FT. A great game for the whole team, with Jenna also winning the POM title.

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

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Dereham 3s:  2-0

Goalscorers:  Claire Stuart, Lizzy McDonnell
MOM: Louise Brooks

The pitch defrosted just in time for the Ladies 5s push back vs Dereham 3s. The struggle was real with Dereham going out hard and fast from the start. Their youthful team looked dangerous on the break, but the 5s stayed strong with our first goal coming from some quick passing around the D and a tap into the left corner by Claire Stuart. The defence of Lou Davies, Georgia Butterworth and Emily Grint worked so hard to keep the Dereham attack at bay with Esther  Jacobs making some great saves – even getting the ball stuck under her shin pads. Emily made a save on the line.  Louise Brooks put an absolute SHIFT in, reliable as ever in defensive midfield! (Think the valuable experience she gained as a forward in the over 45s game paid off!!) Our solid midfield of Anita Mancini, Emma Merryweather, Nat Crisp and Floss Andrews made intelligent passes between the defence and the attack and helped to keep the pressure on the Dereham defence. The second half was just as tough with a second goal coming from a short corner to Anita at the top, slipped right to Liz McDonnell who pushed it into the goal! Jane Wells had a lot of shots on goal which were saved by the Dereham keeper. The dying seconds saw an amazing passing move down the left resulting a great effort by Claire, missing the goal by millimetres!! Another great team performance against a strong Dereham side! POM going to Louise Brooks. Well done all. FIVES!!

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

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Dereham 4s:  1-2

Goalscorer:  Lucy Courtier
MOM:  Emma North

Ignoring the fact the opposition scored in the first few minutes, there was some excellent play from across the team, especially the defence who stood firm, sharpened their elbows and tried to give as good as they got against a very robust team. Dragons got their reward in the second half after some excellent play lead to debutant Lucy Courtier scoring her first senior goal! The team continued to fight till the end but unfortunately Dereham snuck in a very good goal. Special mention to the defence and Emma North who was our player of the match! Final score 2-1 to Dereham.

Goalscorers:  Bridget Le Good, Hattie Stuart
MOM:  

The 8s went down to lowly-placed Dereham, but in this match they achieved far more as a team than they have done in recent games. Dragons did not let their heads drop, and in the second half their determination and ‘sticking to the knitting’ (continuing to put into practise all the work they have been doing in training) actually saw them ‘draw’ 2-2.

An unfortunate recurrence of an injury meant that they were without Nic Harrison, who has been playing so well in recent weeks. But, coming back after a long injury was Hattie Stuart who had to play a restrained game but still added some much needed pace into the team. As her confidence grew, Hattie began to turn on the stick skills and in one glorious move in the second half ran half the length of the pitch, beating three players  before placing the ball past the goalkeeper.

This gave the 8s a terrific boost. The midfield of Hattie, Emily Matthews and Sadie Jacobs redoubled their efforts and did some nice linking with the forwards who consisted at various times of Emma Young, Johanne Steward, Louise Crouch-Read and Hester McLean. These very same players also did stints in defence. The 8s may not as yet be getting the results on the pitch, but every one of them will do her very best in whatever position she is asked to play. This is particularly creditable to the less experienced, and this versatility is one of the plus points of the team, and why the team spirit is so good.

The defensive unit was mainly Jess Lockwood, Jo Lees in the middle and Karen Davidson on the right with Bridget Le Good as bottom of the diamond. In the first half they tended to give the nippy Dereham forwards too much respect, hanging back because they could be shredded by slick through passes. This gave Emma Northie North a lot to do, but as always she kicked and cleared far more than went in.

A bit of a talking too (nicely) by coach Pat Cline at half time saw Dragons up their efforts. The defence were tackled more confidently and were clearing to the mids. 

Bridget Le Good continued to smack the ball the length of the pitch, and gradually the forwards are developing the skill of collecting these balls.  After one of these forays, Dragons won their second penalty corner. Up stepped Johanne to take a sweet injection straight onto Bridget’s stick. One little push into the circle and the ball was hit straight into the corner of the goal. Another move straight out of the practice book. Much who-hoo-hooing. No more goals for Dereham.

The team didn’t vote for a POM because they had to race back to the City for Quiz Night. Nothing beats a pack of Dragons going for a curry!

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East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Magpies 2s:  1-4

Goalscorers:  Matt Knights
MOM: Pedro Goss

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

Goalscorers:  AJ Edwards, Jon Miles x2
MOM:  Charlie Creasy

You’ve heard it here first folks. Nobody beats the Men’s 3s 8 games in a row! It was a cold and sunny afternoon that saw the home side take on Ipswich 2s at 1pm. With a strong side dragons weathered a high press and strong start from the visitors before Charlie Creasey drove down the right wing to drop it back for Jon Miles to finish well on his return. The visitors scored a thundering strike from a short corner just before the break to leave the score 1-1 at the half.

Second half the dragons weathered a storm where they did well to only concede one more, this from another short corner after 15 minutes of intense pressure. Dragons then won a short which Jon Miles duly dispatched in wonderful fashion then deciding to fall over during his celebration. It was the time for the home time to pile on the pressure and the winner came through AJ Edwards keeping his cool and firing a vicious reverse hit through the keepers legs. The last 5 minutes was a defensive masterclass even with Harry Brown, at the end of an awesome performance, truly cementing his place in the 3s by getting a green card after disgustingly hitting the ball away (after the quietest whistle ever).

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v East Coast 2s:  4-1

Goalscorers:  Greg Reynolds, Tommy Gale, Bobby Sheppard, Rich Phillis
MOM:  Tommy Gale

On a bright day Dragons used their bench wisely and went ahead via a clever short corner conversion from Rich ‘poacher’ Phillis.  Lowestoft didn’t back down and it took good play for Bobby Stuart-Sheppard to double the half time score. Lowestoft came back with vigour and made a short corner scramble count. This meant the game opened up and in the end Dragons made their subs count with Greg Reynolds (aka don’t call me Greg) and man of the match Tommy Gale both slotting seemlessly in to take the game away from a battling Lowestoft.

Good teas and a warm room after much appreciated.

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

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Dev Girls B:  2-0

Dev Boys A v  Watton    : P-P

Dev Boys B v Norwich City:  1-2

Goalscorer:  Vithu Baskaran
MOM:  Tom Clifton

1ST QUARTER

The First quarter was a real rollercoaster of 15 minutes, with attacking displays coming from both sides, but mostly from our opponents who played some great hockey up front, but ultimately failed to penetrate our solid defence, whom had been well prepped for the game. When we did attack though we looked very strong, with our wide midfielders generating a couple of good attacks, but getting unlucky after our attacks were broken down. Ultimately though, our opponents were dominant in this quarter and had many good chances and once the quarter ended we had a lot to praise and reflect on.

2ND QUARTER

After the break, we came out playing even better than before and started to limit the number of their attacks whilst increasing our own, including a good shot saved by the keeper. However though, Norwich City increased the pressure on all our players but mostly our defence. Who were playing exceptionally well to keep up with the high press of Norwich, many great tackles and interceptions by our defence kept our clean sheet intact. But, a few minutes before half time, a splitting ball by Norwich, cut open our defence and their striker slotted in a shot to make it 1-0. This gave us an extra boost for the rest of the quarter but we couldn’t find a way through before the half-time whistle blew.

3RD QUARTER

After an extensive team talk at half-time, we set out to dominate possession in the second half which we did for the whole of this quarter. We started attacking a lot more now and we had many good drives up the field. but many were smothered by Norwich’s’ ’Smother the attack from the core’ tactics which meant our attacks didn’t pose much threat to the Opposing keeper, until we really got going with a great team move being saved by the keeper with Vithu Baskaran then chipping in a rebound to make it  1-1. This gave us a spring in our step and more attacks rained in on Norwich, but we couldn’t really get fluidity in the final third like before. We then saw a turnover in play and a rapid-fire attack from our opponents lead to a Norwich short corner. Our defence rushed out to counter or block the shot, but Norwich managed to slot the ball in to the goal to make it 2-1 just before the break.

4TH QUARTER

After the final stoppage, we set out with an attacking outlook more than anything else this quarter. Our defence kept us in the game on a pitch that was beginning to freeze, slips were beginning to become common for us in attack and defence but we kept strong despite the freezing conditions, a few last gasp attacks gave us some light but Norwich had kept their solid foundations at the back, making getting in on goal hard. Norwich kept on shutting us out until the final whistle blew. Despite a loss on paper, the boys were unfortunate to come away with a loss and not picking up any points. Against one of the strongest teams in the region, a great performance was had all round from the boys.

Man of the Match was Tom Clifton for an excellent display in defence

Adam

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:   Lucy Morton, Kiera Goymour, Harriet Green
MOM:   Carmel Windsor Waite

The L1s secured a 3-1 win against St Ives. Fantastic game with so much movement from everyone. The two wing defenders pushed high up the pitch to put further pressure on the opposition.
After starting the game down a player with just 12 the team stepped up to the challenge, however sadly Sam Franklin got injured and we were down to 11.
The transfer was used well, and everyone worked as a unit, offering the pass 24/7.
The first goal was scored by Lucy Morton – assisted by Katie Taubman – who was on the post to hit in. The second goal was scored by Kiera Goymour from a broken down short corner – quite messy but a brilliant goal. The third goal was scored by Harriet Green from a 1,2 at the top of the D and a rogue ball to hit in. The opposition goal was scored from a short corner off the post player.
Player of the match went to Carmel Windsor Waite for making incredible runs up the pitch, getting into the D and working the ball around the defence. Well deserved.

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

MOM:  Elsa Scott, Stella Windsor Waite

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s – no fixture 

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

Goalscorers:  Lillian Sore, Georgia Manly, Fiona Fletcher
MOM:  Nat Crisp

Ladies 4’s win 3-2 against east coast, finishing the first half at 1-0 with Fiona Fletcher getting the first goal. The rain decided to join us towards the end of the first half, obscuring everyone’s vision just slightly. We started the second half strongly knowing that the opposition were going to want to grab a goal back,  which they did . But in true dragon fashion we went back in front with a second goal from Georgia Manly with the help of a defender putting the ball into the back of the goal for her! East coast continued to fight back and bagged themselves a second goal which put the game head to head at 2-2 with about 5 minutes left to play. It was a very equal game with no team having the majority of possession. And in the last few minutes of the game Lillian Sore scored the winning goal – on her birthday – and we managed to hold on until the end of the match making it another win for us! 

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Yarmouth:  12-0

Goalscorers:  Gemma Ballard x6, Lizzy McDonnell x2, Jane Wells, Claire Stuart,
Emma Merryweather, Anita Mancini
MOM: Jane Wells

Ladies 5’s won 12-0 against Yarmouth.  In the first half we scored 4 goals, struggling to finish many short corners. Yarmouth played well with only 10 players in the first half. We came into the 2nd half strongly, with great passing between everyone. MOM went to Jane Wells, well played everyone.

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

Goalscorers: Adelice Stanley, Mia McGhee x2
MOM:  Orla Hardiman

Dragons Ladies 6s held onto (and fought b***** hard for) a 3:3 draw against Herlings. We scored one then they scored one then we scored one then they scored one then they scored one then we had a break then we scored one. All clear? Lots of fantastic play all round and a thriller of 4 tense short corners in the last 20 seconds of play (who knew that was possible…).  Player of the match went to Orla for an excellent game in left mid. A well deserved point and a highly enjoyable game 

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

MOM:  Emily Matthews, Sophie James

It was a very close game with some great saves from Emma North. The Pelicans were very fast paced and began to dominate towards the end of the second half.

There were lots of falls and tumbles with the Dragons but with no subs we all ploughed on, well done to everyone.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s v Pelicans 4s:  0-10

MOM:  Freya Dolding

Dragons Ladies 8’s lost 10-0 to Pelicans. It was a tough game and the first half was absolutely fantastic with Freya making her debut performance in style.

Huge thanks to Karen Davidson for putting a brilliant effort in goal and there were some truly excellent moments out on pitch.

Great support from the whole team as usual and some good points to develop on for future wins.

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

Goalscorers:  Ollie King x2, Sean Orton, Roman Cassidy, Lewis Wilkins
MOM: Sam Avery

With a chill in the air and fresh lashings of wind, the atmosphere was set for St Ives’ signature brand of long-ball hockey…and set to witness a battling Dragon’s victory!

Exploding out of the gate, we dominated the opening passages of play, only to be betrayed by a short corner St Ives goal – I think Pete will warm up before the game next week! With some nice work from Jack Hallworth to reach their D, Sean Orton swept in our reply, curling into the bottom corner. But again, our over exuberance witnessed a St Ives breakaway win a short corner that was finished to make it 1-2!

Our response saw a Lewis Wilkins dangerous cross deflect  off their keeper into the net with the last touch from Ollie King.

It was our turn for a defensive muddle when their third deflected off Peter Dickerson into our net…but a Dragon would rise…Olly Buck set up a wonderful move seeing Ollie King pop in his second of the game!  Olly Buck then pounced again in the second half to bring us in front! Solid defending, and a consistently monstrous Sam Avery performance saw the St Ives’ attack quelled in the second half. In the dying embers of the game Sean Orton found Pedro Goss sauntering onto the back-post from a short, whose saved strike allowed Roman Cassidy to  finish to nicely round off the game.

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

Goalscorers:  Joe Flatt x2, Mark Walmsley, Cley Hamilton
MOM:  Rupert Snelling

MOM:  Charlie Creasy

An early away game in Ipswich for the 3s against IES 3s saw the biggest loss (although a very even game) of the season at 3-0 against a very strong side with about a million subs. 3s debuts to Greg Reynolds and Charlie Creasy who excelled up front on the counter. Although the defence played well all 3 goals game from very good and well designed short corners. The away side came close with a few good attacks through the rapid Jamie Allsop.

Man of the Match goes to debutant Charlie Creasy for an excellent performance up front fitting in to the team with ease.

Dragon of the Day goes to Will Kirby for turning up late, having the worlds longest toilet break and also forgetting his socks and shorts and forgetting how to finish.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Ipswich Crane 1s:  7-1

Goalscorers:  Will Ives, Robin Clarke x2, Arj Puvanachandra, Bobby Sheppard, Matt Hull x2
MOM:  Robin Clarke

Men’s 4ths took on a plucky Ipswich Cranes coming out 7-1 winners.

Dragons used their youth and subs well to head into an early lead but Cranes limited the half time score to 3. More attacking play and a constant set of rolling subs saw the second half open up and more goals flowed. Cranes did pull one back but Dragons had too much for them. Well played all.

Goals came as follows with Robin Clarke taking Man of Match. Apparently Will Ives goal was the pick of a talented bunch.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v IES 5s:  4-1

Goalscorers:  Jason Wolfe x2, Tom Bailey
MOM:  Tom Bailey

Goalscorer:  Josh Cormack
MOM:  Freddie Royall

Mens 6th lost 2-1 to North Norfolk 3. A match where we probably deserved a share of the points and maybe some of the decisions didn’t quite go our way.  A good performance by a team where experience and youthful skill and energy combined well.

Man of the Match:Freddie Royall.  Who had a great match on the right wing and hit a stunning shot that required a fantastic save from the keeper to prevent from arrowing into the net.

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Magpies:  0-4

MOM:  Nola Mitchell

Dev Girls B v Norwich City 0-8

MOM:  Perdie

Dev Boys A v Dev Boys B:  7-0

Goalscorers:  Will Sexton x3, Paul Wigglesworth x2, Fredd Jupe, Hector McNeil

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:   Kate McKenna, Sam Franklin
MOM:   Polly Watson

The Ladies 1s secured 3 points winning 2-1 against City of Peterborough 2s after a few weeks of disappointing results. The game began as a relatively evenly matched affair, with chances from both sides coming before the break. However, the score-line remained at 0-0 at half time. The dragons went a goal down mid-way through the second half, as Peterborough executed a slick short corner routine, deflecting the ball high into the goal from the left post. The score-line was shortly brought back level after a short corner for the dragons saw Kate McKenna slot the ball over the line. With only a few minutes to go, the hosts began to pressure the ball higher up the pitch. This led to a mistake from the opposition defence and a loose ball sent towards the top of the circle was picked up by Sam Franklin, who took the opportunity to put the Dragons ahead by slapping the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner. With some smart possession hockey in the final few minutes, Dragons held onto the lead to secure the 3 points. A solid performance from the team, and a great 1^stXI debut from Alex Daplyn. 

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

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

MOM: Elsa Scott, Beth Prakash, Catherine Matthews, Piper Hempsall, Georgie Manly

Ladies 3s double their season’s points with a 0-0 draw against Christchurch 1s

After a rousing team talk from substitute captain Beth Prakash and a sermon on the Wolfie Ways from Caroline Wolfe, Dragons had a solid warm up and a cracking game, we just couldn’t convert! POM votes showed what a good match the 3s had, split between half the team and resulted in a 5-way tie.

Thanks to Caroline Wolfe for managing (aka shouting at us!) and the ladies 2s that used their no game weekend to come and support.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Loddon:  3-5

Goalscorers:  Hannah Edwards, Aditi Naik, Niamh Somers
MOM:  Mia Somers

Ladies 4’s lost 5-3 in a tough match against Loddon. Some lovely play and amazing team spirit but luck was not running our way today.

In typical 4’s fashion a spread of votes but the amazing Mia Somers was player of the match!

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Herlings:  3-0

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard , Liz McDonnell x2
MOM: Emma Merryweather, Mae Clark

Dragons Ladies 5s played a hard fought game against Herlings.

We dominated the first half with all three goals being scored by play from the right. First goal was a deflected goal crossed from Lizzie McDonnell and tapped in by the Herling’s defence. 2nd goal was crossed from Lizzie to Gemma Ballard with a classic tap in. 3rd goal was the result of a cross from Jane Wells and tap in from Lizzie.

2nd half saw Herlings coming out stronger with some strong hits out and important interceptions. Dragons Defenders: Lou Davis, Georgia Butterworth and Emily Grint absorbed the pressure and Gina Hunt put in some good saves to keep us in the game. Lou even made a save on the line! Midfielders Emma Merryweather, Nat Crisp, Lara King and Mae Clark worked hard to break up the play. Emma fell over in the middle of the pitch (really no idea how!). Final Score 3-0 Win. POM – joint between Emma and Mae! Well done all. Go 5s!!!!!

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

Goalscorer: Hatty Harrison-Mobbs, Mia McGhee, Claire Stuart, Lara Nuthall
MOM:  Georgia Heaton

Dragons came out cocky, and let two goals by in the first ten minutes. Suitably humbled, we pulled our socks up, picked our sticks up, and remembered how to play hockey. Hatty Harrison-Mobbs put away a messy goal, via the keepers shin pads, but the crowd roared it’s appreciation (well, the sub and someone’s boyfriend). Within the next few minutes Mia McGhee scored a cracker.

Half time came and we congratulated ourselves on equalising, but suggested more goals would be optimal. Having eaten too many sweets, we went back on the pitch on a sugar high.
Newcomer Georgia Heaton, who had a fantastic game, crossed the ball forcefully through the D, where Claire Stuart niftily popped it in – who breathed a sigh of relief as we were now in the lead, and despite turning 40 recently, she hasn’t lost her edge.  Our fourth goal was courtesy of Lara Nuthall, assisted by Fern Daly.

We had several scuffles on our defensive goal line, with Esther Jacobs playing marvelously. Fern frequently picked up the ball on the edge of D and moved out further up the pitch.

Unfortunately the opposition scored a third goal, whilst Briony Johnstone had gone off the pitch coughing a lung up, which nobody noticed, so we were a man down when that went in.

It was a harder match than we anticipated, but the East Coast ladies were friendly and fun to play against. Cracking match tea as well.

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

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

MOM:  Esther Jacobs

Dragons put up a very spirited defence away against Magpies 7s, who are currently romping away with Division 3. The Magpies, playing a settled blend of experience and youth, have won all their matches and have had only one goal scored against them so far – and they have now scored 50. The 8s never seriously looked like making a dent on this record, although there were a few forays in the second half which were nearly the stuff of which dreams are made!

The captains decided to set out a defensive formation as this was the 8s best chance of making an impression. To an extent, they achieved their goal because they held Magpies to just about their ‘average’ goal feast.

Where Dragons are improving is in their determination to be first to the ball and get their tackles in, and to get the ball out wide when under pressure. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two sides is that Magpies demonstrated how to find team mates all over the pitch with firmly struck passes that were brought immediately under control, where Dragons know they still have a lot of work to do in this area. 

Magpies scored 5 in the first half, but Dragons played a lot better in the second. There was some stand out performances, particularly from Esther Jacobs in goal who must have saved two dozen shots. Her POM recognition was not just for her blocking but also for her strong kicks out wide, particularly impressive when she could stand up tall and impose her presence on the marauding forwards.

Dragons mids caught the eye. Sarah Lucas played mostly at the top of the diamond and was electric throughout the game, particularly good at tackling back. Nic Harrison gets better every game, and drove forward at every opportunity but also played a steady wide role when defending.

All the Dragons team played some good hockey at times. As individuals they again demonstrated their willingness to work for each other. This was a game that everyone enjoyed, even though it was something of a lesson in how to play the game from a very sporting team. The 8s might well expect that they can carry forward the lessons learned to next week’s game when they play against a team who might be more at their level. Perhaps!

—————————————————————————————————————————-

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Horncastle 1s:  8-0

Goalscorers:  Mark Beckett-Flatman, Roman Cassidy x2, Dan Rix, x2, Matt Knights, Sean Orton, Cley Hamilton
MOM: Dan Rix

A fast start by Dragons saw a silky passing move finished by this week’s hattrick-chasing-and-failing Rixy (Dan Rix). Then, fuelled by fresh analysis of last week’s game via NorwichCity Tv, Mark Beckett-Flatman pounced to score a saucy reverse. With Horncastle’s goal aching for more, airshot-Knightsy (Matt Knights) and Roman Cassidy stepped up with a goal each to round off the half. Oh yeah, and Rixy pulled an absolute wonder goal out of his proverbial backside – an absolute blinder, no man on the pitch looked as surprised as the scorer as it kissed the top corner! 

The second 2,100 seconds witnessed more solid defending and impressive forward play. Roman saw the Horncastle defence part like the red seas, before he sent a cheeky undercut into the roof of the net…a decent debut. Sean Orton remembered that hitting the ball at goal is a genuine option, so enacted this to rifle one in from a short corner . Pete Dickerson pulled off a devilish double save, and Cley Hamilton then got in on the act with a clinical eighth just to make sure of the 3 points! 

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

Goalscorers:  
MOM: 

Goalscores:  Matt Hull x2
MOM:  James Goodson

A tough away game for Men’s 3s away at Pelican 2s who have had some huge home wins recently. A series of short corners ended in a goal for the home side before  Dragons hit back with Matt Hull scoring . A wicked reverse hit into the top corner saw dragons go into half time 2-1 down with all to play for. Dragons then equalised after the half through Matt Hull again via a  own goal! Pelis then took the lead through another reverse through the keepers feet (which he’ll never hear the end of) before the visiting side then weathered a storm forcing captain fantastic (Tom McLean) to make a series of excellent saves but not enough to save him from DoD for being a human sieve. Despite a few half chances  the game ended in a midfield battle and finished 3-2 to Pelis. Another close score and lots of positives to take from the game, on to IES 3s next week. 

Goalscorers:  Bobby Sheppard, Tommy Gale, Dan Murphy
MOM:  Arj Puvanachandra

Dragons started with enthusiasm, and the tireless running of the midfield and forwards meant Newmarket had to work hard to keep the game level. But eventual pressure meant Dragons found themselves 2 up at half time and more chances beckoned. The second half opened up and good goal keeping from Newmarket kept the score the same. Dragons substitutes then told towards the end of the game and a third was added. Goals from Bobby Sheppard (cool slide under the keeper) , Tommy Gale (great composure) and Dan Murphy (classic tomahawk). Man of the match to Arj Puvanachandra closely followed by Tommy and Bobby. Cheers to Ali and Dim for the umpiring and Newmarket for a good game.

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

Goalscorers:  Ross Barnshaw, Jason Wolfe, Andrew Cross
MOM:  Alex Wolfe

MOM:  Josh Cormack

Bottom of the table sides are often difficult to beat on their home pitch. Pelicans scored 2 goals in each half but first half M6’s had enough chances to turn level. Trying to push the game later, the M6’s gave away too much ball especially getting too close to defenders & being picked off. Plenty to work with before visiting Cromer. MOM – Josh Cormack for a tireless display

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Yarmouth: 7-0

Goalscorers:  Mia Rutterford x3, Mia Norris x2, Indian Bunn x1
MOM:  Mia Rutterford

Dev Girls B v Magpies:  0-0

MOM:  

Dev Boys A – no fixture

Dev Boys B v Dereham:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Rahul Kaushal
MOM:  Rahul Kaushal

It was a fairly even game with Dragons B team starting well early on, but Dereham upped their game in the second quarter and got two goals. In the fourth quarter Rahul Kaushal scored but Dereham topped that with another goal which made the game 3-1. Well done to man of the match Rahul.

 A big thanks to Steve Linford and Andy Kelsall for their encouragement and support.’

This Week’s Results

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

MOM:  Carmel Windsor Waite, Polly Watson

The Ladies 1st team lost 7-0 to Sudbury 1s.  A match of two halves, with a high intensity first half finishing 1-0 down after a flukey opposition goal from a reverse stick deflection. Fantastic movement off the ball using everything that was worked on in training.

The second half lost a lot of momentum after Sophie Barrow was given a green card. Two further goals were conceded with 10 players.  Frustratingly a further four goals were scored by Sudbury, however there were improvements towards the end of the match. Players of the match went to Carmel Windsor Waite for making some brilliant passes and strong defending, and Polly Watson for an overall fantastic game and distributing the ball brilliantly from the middle.

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

Goalscorers:  Gail Thomas, Mia Bartram
MOM: Mia Bartram

This week Dragons Ladies 2^’s welcomed Harleston Magpies 3’s to the den ready for a tough encounter as both teams were in a similar position on the league table. The game started at a high pace with both teams displaying good skilful hockey all over the field. During the first half Dragons created more attacking opportunities and short corners, but Magpies managed to take the lead a couple of minutes before the half time whistle.

Dragons remained positive and confident they could still win the game at half time and believed if they stuck to their game plan and fought hard for each other some points could be taken. The second half was played in a similar style to the first half with constructive attacking play from both teams. Dragons managed to equalise half way through the second half from Gail Thomas with a clean strike on goal at a short corner.

Dragons now believed they could take all three points and continued to battle hard all the over the pitch and were soon rewarded with a second goal from open play scored by Mia Bartram. Magpies continued to put pressure on the Dragons defence but were unable to find an equaliser. A great team performance to build on in the coming few weeks and the player of the match was awarded to Mia Bartram.

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

MOM: Sophie Farrow

Dragons 3’s had an unfortunate result against Ipswich losing 3-0.
Their goals were from well rehearsed short corners and a straight strike.
3’s played hard with some great defensive work and we go again taking lessons learnt with us.

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Norwich City 3s:  1-5

Goalscorers:  Lisa Harwood
MOM:  Mia Somers

After a buoyant game the previous week the 4s were keen for a repeat performance.  The Norwich City 3s were near the top of the table and we expected a tough game.  In the first 10 minutes the Dragons battled hard and had a couple of chances on goal, passing out and round the opposition.  Then we just became a bit sloppy, hanging on the ball and City were quick to capitalise making breaks into our D.  At half time we were 2-0 nil down, with words of wisdom from our sideline posse we managed to pull back a goal with a ball slipped into the D from Amy Forse and stuck into the right corner from Lisa Harwood.  Final score was 5-1.  Player of the match was Mia Somers for fighting off many attacks.  DOD goes to Amy Forse for not being able to count to 11 and subbing herself on and off and on! 

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

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard 
MOM: Emma Merryweather

Ladies 5s started their hockey Saturday with a minute’s silence with Magpies 6s. The game was a well fought battle with decent Dragon’ possession. Magpies 6s were a well drilled young team who were quick to fight back but Dragons held their own and a beautiful cross from Jane Wells to Gemma Ballard on the corner (signature move!) gave Dragons the lead which we held on to for a 1-0 win. Player of Match Emma for her hard work in mid.

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

Goalscorer: Jade Blanchflower
MOM:  Jade Blanchflower, Maddie Gibbs, Brittany Hopkins

Ladies’ 6s took on second in the league Carrow 1s in a dark, damp game. After a ropey start including not having a full team on the pitch and a bit of confusion about what was and wasn’t a match ball we got going and gave it our all.

A solid performance in the first half against a technically strong and tactical team saw the half time score at 0:2. After a motivational team talk at half time (thanks Anita Mancini), Dragons came out roaring and went on to score a beautiful goal from a short corner, a straight hit from myself which Jade Blanchflower swiftly tapped into the back of the net. Our confidence boosted we became more attacking as the game went on, which however left some gaps in the defence, which Carrow took advantage of. Final score was 1:6, however, overall a smashing performance and one to be proud of! 

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

Goalscorer:  Claire Fairhurst, Orla Hardiman
MOM:  Paige Fisher

Dragons 7s played their best hockey yet this season winning against Loddon 2s. Scoring quickly in the first half and then following up with a second left Dragons to win 2-0.  Goals from Claire Fairhurst and Orla Harriman. All round excellent hockey, good use of Triangles (thanks Des). Man of the match well deserved by Paige who worked hard and placed the ball really well in midfield. First clean sheet and win of the season

MOM:  Ellie O’Kane, Karen Davidson

Ladies 8’s took on Carrow ladies 2’s on Saturday under a cold but brilliant blue sky, the sun shone and Langley school provided an idyllic backdrop on such a beautiful Autumn day.

Johanne Steward was captaining the team and one of her first words of advice to us all was to lose our base-layers! 

This was understandably met with a gasp and the obligatory “but it’s freeeeeezing!”

But not for the first time and definitely not the last Johanne was right! We only had eleven players and not a sub in sight, we were therefore on the move constantly and any chill was quickly forgotten. 

We played valiantly for the first 30 minutes and there was little difference in the standard of hockey between the two teams which was impressive considering this same Carrow team beat top of the table Watton 6-0 last weekend.

But then a  goal for Carrow brought the standard up a level! But as true Dragons, and not just any Dragons, but Awesome 8’s Dragons, we kept up the fight!

Esther Jacobs made some fantastic saves in goal and ‘unlucky’ (but only for a second) Johanne Steward playing in defence put her stick down to stop a goal which annoyingly flicked offf the wrong way and an own goal went in Carrow’s favour. But it needs to be said that Captain Johanne made up for it in spades in a similar situation in the second half and stopped the ball on the line with such strength, grit and determination, there was no way the same mistake was happening twice.

Johanne also played some great hockey in defence and stopped a lot of balls making into the oppositions D which were more often than not  picked up by Nic Harrison in midfield who could be seen running through Carrow players fast and skilfully on the wing. Nic is always noticeably enthusiastic and always gives it her ‘all’.

Karen Davidson played in defence and proved her weight in gold as she blocked numerous balls  and sent the ball out wide. Jo Lees was also kept busy, and at times seemed to appear from nowhere with her legendary clearance shots which saved the day on many occasions. 

Bridget Le Good was bottom of the diamond and the opposition soon scattered when she played one of her remarkable and accurate and EXTREMELY hard hits which flew out wide and up towards the Center line where Sadie Jacobs as left forward was ready with stick down to receive the ball. 

Louise Crouch was Center forward and was only to happy to drop back and help out in defence and quickly  learned to find a space and intercept the ball much to the annoyance of our opposition.

Shaniece Clayton was top of the diamond and as always played a high level of hockey, executing some beautiful stick skills and text book block tackles. 

We loved having Ellie O’Kane join us and she was an amazing mid fielder who moved like lightning, picking up balls and driving them forward with skill and confidence.

Emma Young was playing right forward and although we did get the ball into the D and we had a short corner in the first half, Carrow proved just a bit quick in their defence and we weren’t able to execute any accurate shots on goal although we gave it everything.

We were down to ten players in the second half due to injury, but we carried on with pace and determination and did not allow them to take advantage of this.The whole team gave it a 100% until the final whistle blew. 

The final score was 4-0 to Carrow Ladies 2’s.

We may not have won but the camaraderie and team spirit was totally awesome and I for one have never been prouder to wear the Dragon shirt alongside my team mates. Well played everyone!!

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

MOM: Pedro Goss

A bad day at the office for Men’s 1s, starting slowly at Norwich City 2 and never recovering from their 3 goal headstart.

A much improved second half couldn’t find the goal to bring about the comeback, and City added a 4th from a corner.

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

Goalscorers:  Alex Sharpe, Eddie Gould
MOM: Eddie Gould

Men’s 2nd team made the long journey to bottom of the league Norwich City 4s.

On the back of some strong form a win was inevitable.

Despite being away from home our travelling squad was strong and we even had substitutes.  There was a Dragons’ debut goal for Alex Sharpe – back-foot squeeze,  and one from Ed Gould – top of circle rocket through the keeper’s legs.

Goalscorer:  John Ives
MOM:  John Ives

Mens 3s had an early game against top of the league Newmarket 1s. With a few key players missing to injury or child birth including Mitch Smith with “ouchy ribs” and Joel Dennis falling to pieces it was always going to be a tough ask but Dragons got off to a flying start. “Experienced” forward Jon Ives scored half way through the first half to put the home side 1-0 up after weathering a serious storm in which keeper and captain fantastic Tom McLean made a number of impressive stops (if I may say so myself). The away side then scored from a good short corner routine near the end of the first half to take it to 1-1.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Norwich Exiles 1s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Bobby Sheppard, Neil Shorten
MOM:  Dim Ives

Exiles started strongly as you would expect from a top of the table team. But a short corner strike from Neil Shorten saw Dragons take the lead.  Exiles rallied though and pulled one back before half time despite good saves from Dim Ives. The second half opened up and Exiles pulled 2 goals ahead via a great strike and a penalty stroke. Dragons didn’t give up and another goal from Bobby Sheppard meant the final 10 minutes of the game was in the balance. Exiles managed the game well at the end and Dragons couldn’t convert their chances. Well played all and great to see familiar faces #hockeyfamily MOM to Dim the cat Ives.

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

Goalscorers:  Charlie Creasy, Dave King, Pete Latoy, Tom Bailey
MOM:  Shiv Kapur

Dragons 5s record their first win of the season with a brilliant team display. Four goal from four players (Peter Latoy, Charlie Creasy, Tom Bailey and Dave King)

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v  No fixture

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Dereham: 8-0

Goalscorers:  Freya D x2, India B, Mia N, Mia R
MOM:  Freya D

Dev Girls B v Yarmouth:  0-0

MOM:  Sophie Rice

Dev Girls B played a fantastic match away at a, for once sunny and pleasant, Yarmouth. With a good number of u12s stepping up, the girls fought hard against players in some cases nearly twice their height and considerably older than themselves. Everyone in the team showed some great passing skills, fearless tackling and super runs for each other. It was a thrilling game to watch, coach and manage, with some heart stopping moments at either end. A super 0-0 result for the team (though is it ok that I’m a little disappointed for the girls that they didn’t get a win, which would have been thoroughly deserved from the effort and work they put in?!) A deserved POM for Sophie Rice who made some great runs down the right from midfield to set up several chances at goals. Well played everyone & thank you to Amy Forse & Bridget Le Good for their help & being playing adults.

Dev Boys A v Dereham:  4-1

Goalscorers:  Rahul Kaushal, Will Sexton x3
MOM:  Rahul Kaushal

Dev Boys B v East Coast:  0-1

MOM:  Monty Patel

Dragons Dev Boys hosted East Coast Dev Boys at the Dragons den on Saturday the 9th November for a League match. The weather conditions where good and Dragons fielded an 11 boy team plus 1 adult player. East coast fielded a full squad of mixed age boys plus two adult players.

The first half was an even contest ending 0-0. Key learning points were for the back 3 to pivot and to avoid passes on the stick side of the opposition. The second half was equally close however East coast scored a goal in the 3rd quarter.  In the final quarter Dragons where able to push forward and a last minute short corner for Dragons could not be converted in to a goal.

A good effort from all players and lots to take away for the next match. The POM was Monty Patel.

Thank you to Natalie for organising and managing on the day. 

James Hollis

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer:  Katie Taubman
MOM:  Sophie Thomas, Holly Setchell

The Ladies 1st team lost 2-1 to North Norfolk 1s today after a tough match. A disappointing game with a lot to learn but amazing fighting spirit from all players. The first North Norfolk goal was scored in the first half from a ball that was hit over the top of the goalie’s head. The second half saw a levelling goal scored by Katie Taubman; a straight strike from a short corner. However, frustratingly North Norfolk scored the winning goal from a break. Players of the match went to Holly Setchell and Sophie Thomas for their solid attacking and defensive play.

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

MOM: Esme Potter

With the wind subsiding and the sun shining, the respective Norwich 2nd teams played in what was was the best conditions of the day. Dragons were once again grateful to Amy Forse for helping the team out in goal.

The visitors started the brighter of the teams, attacking the City goal through good work by the attacking mids of Gail Thomas, Alex Daplyn, Elsa Scott and Grace Kidner. Ally Windsor Waite and Georgia Rant were working hard upfront however clear cut chances were few and far between.

The Dragons defence were working hard to protect the goal with Esme Potter and Stella Windsor Waite looking really strong on the wings and helping launch the attacks. The spine of the team was well marshalled by Karen O’Neill Simpson, Shelly Seaman and Hannah Ellis and it was all square at half time.

The 2nd half was much of the same with neither GK overly troubled, however Dragons lost their shape a little and allowed themselves to drop a bit deep, inviting City pressure which ultimately lead to a City goal.

With 10mins to go Capt O’Neill Simpson changed the formation in order to try and get the equaliser. Dragons had a bit more pressure but alas couldn’t make any clear cut chances and City scored a 2nd on the break to seal the points.

An improved performance from Dragons with plenty to encourage the team who are still building. Esme Potter was player of the match, run closely by Stella Windsor Waite, both of whom are improving week on week, showing the confidence, composure and tenacity needed in this league.

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

MOM: Kristina Smyth, Beth Prakash

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

Goalscorers:  Emily Smith x3
MOM:  Lillian Sore

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League,  Division 1

Goalscorers:  Gemma Ballard x2, Anita Mancini, Jane Wells, Claire Stuart
MOM:  Kate Atkins

Despite the very wet and blustery weather conditions, Dragons 5s were ready to go out and be ‘RELENTLESS’. With the direction from Captain Gemma Ballard to ensure we were first to the ball, to use the width and make early passes, we started strongly and dominated the first half. 

The first goal came after some good play between our awesome and unrelenting midfield line, which led to Anita Mancini picking up the ball in the D, working her usual magic and calmly slotting it past the keeper; 1-0. 

Dragons continued to pressure City with some great movement and play down the right between Emma Merryweather and Jane Wells. Two more goals were scored in quick succession: both from firm right crosses from Jane followed by first time touches by Claire Stuart and then Gem to put the ball against the backboard …. textbook and 3-0 up! 

Dragons had a lot of short corners during the first half and the 4th goal was scored as a result of a well worked move from Gemma’s injection to Anita; who slipped the ball left to Jane,  who hit a strong first time strike into the bottom left hand corner of the net. 4-0. 

The 5th goal was scored by Gem at the end of the second half again from build up play between Emma to Jane who crossed the goal to Gemma to tap in. 5-0. 

The second half saw continued pressure from the Dragons, with the midfielders of Mel Widdows, ‘Haley’ (Katie Hale) and Emma working tirelessly and chasing down every ball. With our strong defence behind them, they were able to play high and keep the pressure on the City defensive line. 

However City were certainly seeing more of the ball after their half time talk. With some strong hits out of their defensive third, their nippy wingers were able to break through the Dragon’s midfield. Nevertheless, the Dragon’s fearsome defensive line of Kate Atkins, Lou Davis, Nat Crisp and Brooksy (Louise Brooks) worked hard to absorb any pressure with some very strong tackles getting the ball back out wide to the Dragon’s midfield. 

City kept the pressure up but our stand in Goalie Emily Grint (who we are VERY grateful to!!) did her job and kept her calm to kick away any shots on goal. 

We were nearly through the game with a clean sheet, but one last push from City led to a short corner. This was well taken with a good first shot on goal, that was initially blocked by Brooksy. City’s persistence meant that the ball was scrambled into the Dragon’s goal at the left post. 5-1. 

Overall a really great game and a huge team effort. City are always a difficult side to play. The 5s worked hard for each other and we were relentless; as was the wind and the rain! 

Player of the match to Kate Atkins for some excellent interceptions at crucial moments and fab distribution of the ball out to the midfielders. 

Finally, you’ll all be pleased to know that Nat’s freshly manicured nails remained intact. RESULT!

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

Goalscorers:  Stevie Spencer, Hatty Harrison-Mobbs x2, Mia McGhee
MOM:  Hatty Harrison-Mobbs

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

Goalscorer:  Claire Fairhurst
MOM:  Brittany Hopkins

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Long Sutton 1s:  4-1

Goalscorers:   Olly Buck, Jack Hallworth x2, Cley Hamilton
MOM: Peter Dickerson

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

Goalscorers:  Eddie Gould, Rupert Snelling
MOM: Patrick Gordon

Goalscorer:  John Ives
MOM: Jamie McKinnon, John Ives

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Bury St Edmunds 4s:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Bobby Sheppard, Jason Wolfe, Phil York-Smith
MOM:  Bobby Sheppard

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Sudbury 3s:  2-3

Goalscorers:  Charlie Creasy x2
MOM:  Charlie Creasy

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

MOM:   David Pentin

Development Leagues

Dev Boys A and B – both postponed

Dev G A v Pelicans:  7-0

Goalscorers:  Freya D, Josie Kx2, Mia N x2, India B x2
MOM:  Nell Morreg, Mia N

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorer:  Lucy Morton
MOM:  Sophie Barrow

The Ladies 1st team drew 1-1 against Cambridge Uni 2s today. It was very evenly sided with a lot of ‘ping-pong’ action in the middle of the pitch for most of the game. It was 0-0 at half time, however Cambs scored from a penalty flick in the second half. After a strong fight back, Dragons scored when Lucy Morton tapped in from a well worked short corner.  Player of the match went to Sophie Barrow for her goal-line saves and runs up the pitch.

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

Goalscorer:  Hannah Hardy
MOM: Grace Kidner

With half term holidays causing havoc with availability and a last minute drop out, Dragons were extremely grateful to Elsa Scott, Harriett Marlee and Harriett Rant who all stepped up to play for the 2’s and performed extremely well on their 2nd team debuts. It was great to see the Rant sisters take to the pitch for the first time together in the 2’s. Dragons also warmly welcomed Grace Kidner to the team for her debut for the Club.

The game started with a concerted spell of Dragons pressure, with the central midfield duo of Han Ellis and Grace Kidner breaking down Yarmouth’s crash balls down the centre of the pitch and quickly turning defence into attack. Gail Thomas on the left and Elsa Scott on the right were providing great midfield support and feeding the willing forward runners, however Dragons couldn’t quite work the Yarmouth GK as much as they should have.

Finally a dangerous attack into the D saw Georgia Rant use her skills alongside Harriet Marlee, the Yarmouth defence struggled to clear the ball and a shot at goal was stopped near the line by a defenders leg. The umpires deliberated before a short corner was awarded. The resulting short corner was despatched inside the near post by Hannah Hardy.

Whilst Dragons were largely on top, they still weren’t quite playing their fluent hockey and Yarmouth had breaks of their own, earning a number of short corners particularly in the first half. Kristina Smyth in goal made some fine saves against the direct strikes from Yarmouth. The defensive line of Stella Windsor Waite, Alex Daplyn and Karen O’Neill Simpson worked really hard to break down play and ensure a clean sheet at half time.

The second half saw more of the same with Dragons working hard to gain possession, but just not finding the effective final ball to cause the Yarmouth GK any real problems, however there was lots of good work particularly through joint PoM Grace Kidner. Kristina Smyth was the other joint PoM with some important saves again from short corners and one particular one on one effort with Yarmouth centre forward, where Smyth and Alex Daplyn combined really well to clear the danger and kept the clean sheet intact.

So 3 points to Dragons, it wasn’t pretty but they all count!

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v  Watton 1s:  0-14

MOM: Esther Jacobs

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

Goalscorer:  Niamh Somers
MOM:  Emily Smith

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Norwich City 5s:  0-4

MOM:  Emma Dyer, Stevie Spencer, Emma North, Mia McGhee

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v no league game

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

Goalscorers:   Mark Beckett-Flatman, Matt Knights
MOM: Mark Beckett-Flatman

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v Ipswich 2s:  5-4

Goalscorers:  Joe Flatt x3, Isaac Diver Hall, Angus Blazer
MOM: Isaac Diver Hall

Mens 2s travelled to 2nd placed Ipswich 2s this morning, showing our true dedication to the club by missing the England game!

A poor start and saw us go 2-0 down within 15 minutes. However, some excellent play and brilliant teamwork saw us draw level just before half time.

A busy second half saw us at 4-4 with around 5 minutes left on the clock before we finally (for the first time in the game) took the lead at 5-4.

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles x2
MOM: Stu Kelly, Phil Good

After watching the England rugby team demolish the All Blacks NDHC Mens 3s went into their game with high-flying North Norfolk 1s with spirits high even with the weather doing its best to dampen that elation. Unfortunately it seemed all minds were still on the rugby as Dragons went 0-1 down in the first minute, simply not having switched on and NN 1s taking full advantage finishing at the back post. Soon after the visiting team went 0-2 up after a deflected shot, high in the sky, was volleyed down into the goal, slowly the home side worked their way back into the game coming to close to scoring but at half-time the score was still 0-2. NDHC 3s weathered another storm after starting slowly in the 2nd half again but were dragged back into the game by prolific striker Jon Miles, scoring a beautiful drag flick high into the corner. With 10 minutes to go and still 1-2 down Dragons threw caution to the wind taking off multiple defensive players and playing four upfront to push for an equaliser. They came close before suffering a dagger blow conceding from a short corner. With a never-give-up attitude the team brought it back to 2-3 after a nice move ending in Jon Miles finishing yet again (taking his tally into the double figures for the season!). With everyone attacking the visiting side broke on the counter and scored their final goal on the bow of the whistle leading to a very flattering score of 2-4 to North Norfolk 1s. Many positives to take from the game including some gorgeous attacking, solid defence against a very good side and an unbeatable attitude. MoM was shared between Phil Good and Stu Kelly for superb defensive work and some great runs down the right from Phil!

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Pelicans 3s:  1-2

Goalscorers:  Bobby Sheppard
MOM:  Kit Scott

Dragons 4s suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, against direct rivals Pelicans 3, who swapped positions in the league table, pushing Dragons down to the third position on a goal difference basis only.  As soon as they left Norwich the rain started, and it never stopped, neither during the long trip to Kings Lynn, nor during the game, not even on the way back to Norwich.

As soon as the game started Dragons knew it would be a tough one. Pelicans were strong and very well organised, with quite a few well-known faces that had been seen before playing in higher leagues. Soon after the push back captain Alberto Embarba made good progress in the run fur goof of the day, by brilliantly intercepting a ball in the midfield, making no apparent effort to use the lawful side of his stick, the same stick that was later seen flying backwards off Alberto’s slippery hands after a hit. As time went by Pelicans were dominating more and more and managed to lock Dragons in their half of the pitch. But Dragons proved to be really strong in defence and stopped every single attack from Pelis. With some 10 minutes still to go, Bobby Sheppard got the reward to his efforts when he scored a great goal that brought Dragons some fresh air. But a few minutes later Pelicans got the equalizer, setting a 1-1 score at half time.

The second half started in a slightly different fashion, with Dragons gaining momentum and pushing Pelicans defence more and more often. The combinations between Kit Scott, Bobby Sheppard, Gregg Reynolds and Robin Clarke were very prolific, but still a second goal couldn’t be achieved. Keeper Peter Dickerson, with his magnificent saves, managed to keep Dragons’ aspirations alive for most of the game, but Pelicans got their second goal in the end. Nevertheless, Dragons never gave up and kept fighting fiercely in the ruthless rain until the final whistle.

Everyone played really well but Neil Shorten, Bobby Sheppard and Kit Scott were shortlisted in a very tight MOM draw, with Kit Scott getting the award in the end for his brilliant contribution to the game.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s vBury St Edmunds 5s:  1-1

Goalscorer:  Ali Smyth
MOM:  Tom Bailey

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

Goalscorers:  Mike Banham x2, Dan Orsborne, Casper Lind
MOM:   Andy Hollis

Development Leagues

Slip Week

Friendly Mixed Ability Dev Boys v Norwich City Dev 3-12

On a very rainy Saturday afternoon Norwich Dragons played Norwich City at Taverham High School.  Dragons did well to clear the ball wide and made some good runs but City were strong on the attack. Dragons lost 12-3 but despite played well. Dylan Bondi scored first for dragons with a reverse stick near the top of the D into the right side netting. This was followed by Ayrton Rant running down the right side of the pitch and sending it just in between the post and the goal keeper. Zak McEwan made it three by receiving it from across the box and tapping into the goal. Ultimately this was not enough and City scored again and again. POM Aytron and Dylan

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:  Lauren Lawrie, Haz Green
MOM:  Liv Leary

Dragons Ladies 1s played St Neots at home and came away with a 2-2 draw. 

Dragons went ahead in the first half with Polly Watson finding space through the middle to play a lovely ball to Lucy Morton on the edge of the D, who touched it into Lauren Lawrie for a well composed finish.

St Neots lead the scoring in the second half with a strike off a short corner at a difficult height into bottom right corner. Though Dragons soon scored from a short corner of their own, with a slip right to Katie McKenna for a beautiful shot across goal, hitting the far post where Harriet Green was already waiting to tap the ball into the goal from the rebound. With less than 10 minutes to go Dragons were playing for time to hold onto their lead but were punished when they played a loose pass into the middle of the pitch allowing St Neots to break through the middle and bring the score level before the final whistle.

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

MOM: Alex Daplyn

Dragons started the game brightly with a prolonged early spell of pressure. Maddy Reynolds looked bright on her return to the team, however after less than 5mins was forced off with a back injury to take no further part in the game. Then just minutes later, GK Emma Cleland stretched to for a ball, and in doing so, potentially tore her hamstring. Whilst sitting in the dugout she was then taken ill, needing to be taken to the Clubhouse and play no further part in the game – get well soon Emma.

So Dragons saw themselves down to a bare 11 with no GK, a goal down and 65 minutes remaining. The team battled hard however with the defence and mids working hard to keep the ball out of the D. Unfortunately despite some decent build up play, Dragons didn’t quite do enough in the final 25 and the home team went into the break 1-0 up.

The second half saw a similar pattern and despite lots of good build up play by Dragons, the goals wouldn’t come. Broadland were awarded short corner after short corner and eventually they made one count against the team playing with no GK! Dragons continued to attack and could have scored but poor finishing combined with good GK’ing meant the score remained 2-0.

A strong effort from a depleted Dragons team. Best wishes to Emma and Maddy for speedy recoveries. PoM went to Alex Daplyn for some strong work down the left.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v  East Coast 1s:  1-6

Goalscorer:    Lilli Ballard
MOM: Sophie Farrow

Dragons started with determination for the first 15 mins of the game and we were playing with confidence. But East Coast started to find their feet with clinical playing hockey they ruled the rest of the first half.  Two goals were scored, one  from a short corner for East Coast.

Dragons battled hard and achieved 3 short corners of their own but the opposition’s back line was so confident we couldn’t get a goal past them.

Eventually our hard work paid off as the game started from Spike (Angela Murgatroyd) at the back switching to Beth Prakash who passed through to the midfields of Catherine Matthews, Sophie Farrow, and Harriet Rant and eventually onto Vicki Earley who set up Lilli Ballard who scored our goal.

We were now in hope of increasing our goals, with Nic Cage-Brimelow battling and working hard and Jess Haw running the line forcing Abi Flatt to sprint fast up front we weren’t able to score any more goals.

Grace Brown and Emma Bambridge did a superb job in defence but we just couldn’t keep out the clinical work of our opposition.

Jillian Christie had a storming game – in more ways than one!

At the end of the day we played against an excellent well controlled team but we kept our heads up and didn’t give up, lots to learn!

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

Goalscorers:  Lillian Sore, Lisa Harwood, Amy Forse
MOM:  Emily Smith

Goalscorer:  Gemma Ballard
MOM: Anita Mancini

On a crisp but unexpectedly sunny and dry morning, Ladies Dragons 5s took on the mighty Watton.  After an enthusiastic warm up routine by Kate Atkins (in Lou’s absence) and a motivational pep talk by skipper Gemma Ballard the game began. Both teams began at a pace with both teams’ mids and forwards pressing hard. Watton had some good early breaks but the Dragons defence of Emily Grint, Kate and Nat Crisp held firm. Dragons worked the Watton defence hard with short corner after short corner with just that first goal alluding them. Fortunately for Dragons it seemed that Watton forwards may also be suffering the same frustration on the final strike.  Opportunities were missed by both sides with Claire Stuart, Jane Wells and Lizzie McDonnell coming close to breaking the deadlock.  Watton pressed hard and had an opportunity to go 1 up from a 1 on 1 against the Dragons goalie, but there was no way any ball was going to get past the immeasurably experienced Kristina Smyth in the Dragons goal who comfortably cleared the ball wide. After breathing a sigh of relief, the Dragons mids pressed forward and from a beautifully delivered ball from the right by Jane to Brooksy (Louise Brooks) who then perfectly floated the ball past two Watton defenders on to the stick of young Gemma  (back on form after time away through injury) who aced the ball into the back of the net- hurrah! The deadlock was broken after 22mins and Dragons were in the lead. Dragons lifted by this started to press the Watton defence with the formidable mids of Brooksy, Mel Widdows,  Emma Merryweather, Floss Andrews and Anita Manchini distributing the ball well to the forward line but they just couldn’t pierce through the Watton defence . First half ended 1:0 and time for a quick review.

Second half began at a pace – so much so it had to be restarted as the Watton forwards began the pushback before the whistle had started. Restart. Again there was good to end to end pressure down the left and right wings by both teams with some lovely creative play especially across the back (Nat, Kate and Emily) and up the wing. Pressure by Dragons on the short corners saw some excellent strikes at goal from Jane and Gemma with the goalie thwarting their best efforts. Floss came close with a reverse hit from a rebound, Lizzie had opportunities to widen the gap between the sides but just couldn’t find the backboard. It seemed as if the Watton defence had built a blue wall between the goal posts with even defenders on the ground scrambling the balls away . Short corner hit from the left (Mel and Emma) from the right (Lizzie and Jane) and centre (Neet and Lizzie)…Dragons just could not find the net- guess we need to practise A LOT more 😊 Hopefully we can borrow Emily’s mums recording . All credit to the Watton Mids and Defence from holding off the continued pressure from Dragons throughout the second half …A much better second half girls, some nice creative play, clever use of triangles and relentless barrage of shots in the D. Well done to all. Bod of the match Neet M

Special thank you to Amy F for first half scribing and subbing (hope the bench wasn’t too wet) and Emily’s mum for pizza delivery.

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

Goalscorer:  Lara King
MOM:  Hatty Harrison-Mobbs, Honey Wells

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v no league game

East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Magpies 3s:  4-0

Goalscorers:   Sean Orton, Ollie King, Jack Hallworth x2
MOM: Jim Barker

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v IES 3s:  5-3

Goalscorers:  Rupert Snelling x2, Jack McIntyre, Joe Flatt, Rich Moulson
MOM: Joe Flatt

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

Goalscorers:  John Ives, Mitch Smith
MOM: Harry Brown

On a beautiful sunny autumn Saturday the NDHC Men’s 3s, in their black away kit, headed down to Ipswich to face IES 2s. The home team had a clear advantage from the start being used to playing on the trampoline-like blue pitch and after 10 minutes took the lead through a penalty-flick.  Dragon’s missed some key chances during the rest of the half but kept the home team at bay to go into halftime 1-0 down. The second half started brightly with Mitch Smith scoring quickly from a penalty corner before the home team responded in the same manner. Dragons looked to be getting back into the game before another penalty-flick was awarded to IES which was converted. After that all the play belonged to IES with captain/keeper Tom McLean having to make some smart saves to keep the score respectable including a stunning stick save. Finally IES scored their fourth before the experienced Jon Ives capitalised on some lax defending to score a great consolation goal. On reflection an excellent match by both sides. Man of the match went to Harry Brown for his excellent work on the right hand side, offensively and defensively. 

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v IES 5s:  5-1

Goalscorers:  Jon Miles x3, Tommy Gale, Adrian Kemp
MOM:  Bobby Sheppard

Dragons met at the Den with plenty of time before their 2.30pm push back. Unlike in previous games, there were only 12 of them this time, mainly due to schools’ half term. With the previous game running late and a very vivid memory of what happened in the past, Dragons decided to go for a team run-around outside the pitches. As expected, as soon as both teams put their feet on the pitch the umpires requested a quick start, but that didn’t catch Dragons with their pants down this time.

Dragons started well in the first half, keeping control of the ball and creating multiple chances but the scoreboard remained untouched for a very long time. Their attacks kept gaining momentum but Ipswich-East Suffolk’s defence, also with some help from the goal posts, managed to hold Dragons for most of the first half. Finally, with some ten minutes still to go before the break, Dragons found their path to goal when Tommy Gale, after challenging a few opponents, managed to send a great pass from the right side towards the top-right side of the D, where Alberto Embarba was waiting to slap in a ball that was brilliantly deflected by Adrian Kemp around the penalty spot. And not long after that, a very similar second goal came with Greg Reynolds long shot being just tapped by Jon Miles to slot it in between the keeper’s legs. That brought us to a 2-0 score at half time.

Ipswich-East Suffolk boys reacted well after the break and managed to shorten distances with an early goal, coming from a striker who managed to break the defence lines and have an unexpected reverse hit on target which ended up finding its way to the net. With 2-1 on the scoreboard the game seemed to have changed direction for a little while, but soon it was redirected by Jon Miles scoring for the second time, with a strong square hit from the right side, next to the end line. But Jon wasn’t happy with just two goals, he wanted to get a hat-trick before going on his paternity leave. And he got it, from a short corner this time, with a brilliantly executed drag flick to the top side of the net. It was just 7 minutes after the break and Dragons had granted themselves a comfortable advantage. But Ipswich-East Suffolk boys were determined to fight and got a few chances, with keeper Jamie McKinnon having to pull some of his best saves to keep the score. A few minutes before the end of the game, Tommy Gale got a well-deserved reward to his fantastic contribution to the game with a fantastic late goal that set a final 5-1 score.

Another great win for Dragons, which will keep them on the second position of the league table for another week, with equal points as the first team. Man of the match went to Bobby Sheppard this time, for his magnificent contribution throughout game, proving his great value not only as a goal scorer but also as a generous passer. But he wasn’t alone in the contest. Will Mares was also in the draw after completing a really good game. Of course, Jon Miles also had a say here with his hat-trick. And, as usual, Greg Reynolds and Tommy Gale were both well worth their weight in gold.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v East Coast 2s:  0-4

MOM:  Alex Wolfe

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v  North Norfolk 2s:  1-7

Goalscorer:  Richard Draeger
MOM:   Stephen Holland

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Dev Girls B:  1-2

Goalscorers:
MOM:  

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v IES 1s:  0-4

MOM:  Katie Taubman

The Ladies 1st team lost 4-0 to IES 1s today. It was a hard game against a well drilled side, however all short corners were successfully defended against.
It was 3-0 at half time with one goal scored after a ridiculous deflection. In the second half, Katie Taubman made a great shot on goal but unfortunately couldn’t make anything from it.
Player of the match went to Katie Taubman for having incredible determination and going for every short corner.

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s v Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s:  6-1

Goalscorers:   Shelly Seaman, Gail Thomas, Georgia Rant x3, Ally Windsor Waite  
MOM: Stella Windsor Waite

A grey derby day at the Den saw the Ladies 2’s take on the 3’s in their League encounter. With GK Jillian Christie helping the Club out this week by kindly switching teams, Emma Cleland returned to the Ladies 2’s.

The opening 15 mins was very open and even, with both sides having good attacks and both Keepers being called into action. The 2’s took early advantage with Georgia Rant getting her first smart finish of the afternoon, before the 3’s equalised with a well taken effort from Jess Haw.

The 2’s continued to press however and more goals came. Shelly Seaman scored a great goal at the far post, whilst Georgia Rant showed calmness in the D slotting 2 more away by half time completing a very well taken hat trick!

Whilst the 2’s has been clinical in the D, they still lacked a little in strength and determination to be first to the ball across the pitch, and this is an area they need to improve on.

The 2nd half saw a similar pattern, good spells of play by both teams, but the 2’s made the most of their chances. Gail Thomas scored a 5th with a smart short corner strike and Ally Windsor Waite fired home following some good build up play by Sam Franklin on the right.

PoM was Stella Windsor Waite showing tenacity and bite in a strong defensive display in her more familiar position of left defender. 

A game played in good Club spirit and well umpired by both umpires – thanks to all who played and supported both teams. 

East League, Ladies 2NE
Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s v Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s:  1-6

Goalscorer:    Jess haw
MOM: Harriet Marlee

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

MOM:  Flori Smith

Goalscorers:  Claire Stuart, Emma Merryweather, Lizzy McDonnell x2, Jane Wells, Gemma Ballard x2
MOM:  Jane Wells

Ladies 5’s travelled to a slightly damp Lowestoft to take on a newly formed East Coast 3’s. The game started with Jane channelling the best of the personal trainers to prepare us for the game ahead “you know, that one. It’s stretching there I think!”

The game started with Dragons taking a few minutes to settle before setting out strong in search of goals. Jane was first on the board with a goal which set the game in motion. A few short corners led to Gemma making a return to the game after injury, only to be sent up to the half way line after a difficulty with the short corner routine.  2 goals from Gemma balanced out the misdemeanour!

Midfield were strong together and kept hold of the ball, slipping it through to the forwards in the D to capitalise on chances. East Coast’s Goal keeper who had stepped into the role for this game played well deflecting many a shot from the Dragons attacking play.

Lizzie in a dazzling display reminiscent of strictly come dancing kept the ball away from her feet and completed a 360 degree turn to score another goal, taking her total to 2! Further goals from Claire and Emma after good passing and attacking play saw Dragons tally reach 7.

Defence had little to do thanks to the strong attack but were challenged on some good breaks from East Coast who made the most of opportunities given to them. Emily defended the Dragons half well when her fellow defensive players went for a run which saw Nat run from left to right across the pitch and up into the top right hand corner with Jo not far behind her and Brooksie in the D. Kate made the most of the opportunity to stretch her legs and run the ball up the right wing.

Dragons good luck charm Gillian who had come to support us in goal had to be alert in case Emily needed support when all around her had pushed up into the attacking half. A great sense of teamwork shown throughout with egos left at the door to capitalise on goal scoring opportunities.

Game finished with teas where half the team were very eager and were worried, they were in the wrong place when the other half of the team and the opposition took a while to arrive! Hot food much needed after a drizzly game. Final score of 7-0 to dragons. Special thanks go to Gillian for coming to support us in Goal and Will for supporting with team management on the sideline.

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

Goalscorers:  Mia McGhee, Adelice Stanley
MOM:  Hannah Woods

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

MOM:  Jess Young

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

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

Goalscorer:   Sean Orton, Ollie King, Matt Knights
MOM: Peter Dickerson

Norwich Dragons made the long away trip to Kettering this weekend looking to extend their perfect run to four wins from four and remain top of the table. Dragons started slowly surrendering the bulk of possession to the home side but still managing to carve out the better chances early on. This soon paid dividends as a third short corner in a few minutes lead to tactical re shuffle at the top of the D and seen Matt Knights deflect in from close range to take the lead 1:0.

Again Kettering found themselves with the lion’s share of possession and after an explosive tactical change in their press caught the Dragons defender Owen Tennant napping and his wayward pass was played long for the Kettering striker to round the keeper and tie the game at 1:1. Norwich Dragons showed why they have been perfect so far this season and continued to press whatever possession they had into goal scoring opportunities and when the Kettering keeper got down to make a smart save from the first strike Sean Orton stepped up to smash home the rebound for his first of the season and restoring Norwich Dragons lead going into half time 2:1 up.

Norwich Dragons came out stronger in the second half and had several short corners repelled by the Kettering defence before Ollie King had a goal ruled out by the umpires. Kettering applied pressure of their own and after a smart save from a short corner by keeper Peter Dickerson was cleared some lacklustre defending saw Kettering instantly regain possession and get away another shot which the keeper saved only to see the rebound poked home by the Kettering striker 2:2.

The game really opened up from here as both teams exchanged threatening attacks in the search of the winning goal. The Dragons keeper Peter Dickerson found himself called upon again as a sly Kettering striker found himself clean through 1 on 1 only to be denied by the out rushing keeper and covering. Dragons returned the favour and Matt Knights came close to adding to his tally with a drag flick from a short corner that rattled the cross bar. Dragons pressure eventually paid off and they managed to sneak a late winner through forward Ollie King with roughly 5 minutes to go. Kettering in turn through the kitchen sink at dragons trying to claw back the one goal deficit but were denied by a resolute dragons defence. In the final moment Kettering had their last attack from a short corner which a slick passing routine seen their forward find himself free from 2 yards out only to be denied by a reflex diving save from the goalkeeper.

Dragons held on to win 3-2 with man of the match going to Peter Dickerson. That makes it the perfect start to the season for Dragons and sees them sitting joint top of the league with 4 wins from 4.

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

Goalscores:  Ed Gould, Rupert Snelling
MOM: Jamie McKinnon

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

Goalscoresr:  Josh Rollason 
MOM: Ed Smith

Last game of the day saw a clash of the titans. The highflying Mens 3s taking on pointless Mens 2s in a fixture that should, and eventually did, only have one outcome. A quick start by the 2s saw the 3s go 0-1 down after a minute from an Eddie Gould back-post tap in. Things evened out after that and the 3s clawed their way back in before half time with a great attack by AJ Edwards leading to a tidy finish by Josh Rollason. The second half saw a similar start as to the first with the 3s caught sleeping and Rupert Snelling finishing smartly after a goal mouth scramble. After that it was all 3s, forcing the 2s keeper into making some fantastic saves including one with his helmet. Unfortunately despite some slick play the 3s could just not find a way back in. Final score 3s: 1-2 :2s. MoM to Ed for a fantastic performance all over the pitch. Next up is a tough game away at IES 2s.

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

Goalscorers:  Greg Reynolds x2, Joe Flatt, Paul Keating 
MOM:  Joe Flatt

Saturday marked a great competitive day amongst Dragons’ teams at the Den, with brilliant hockey being displayed from all sides. Dragons 4s were facing what was soon described as the strongest fifth team ever seen before, and as a result, the 4s got off to a not-so-good start, which is unfortunately becoming a bad habit. Not so long after the push back 5s were awarded a short corner which was brilliantly converted by Josh Bingham with one of his strongest hits on the goal board. Josh (AKA the Ballbreaker) had another attempt from a short corner shortly after, but this time his shot hit the bullseye of keeper Dave King’s soft areas instead of in the net. The 4s’ efforts to level the game were relentlessly stopped by a defence masterly commanded by an incredibly solid David Kidner, who proved to be Peter Davison’s perfect counterpart. What’s more, the 5s managed to score again before the break after a great team effort converted by Tom Bailey. 2-0 down at half time and the feeling that things could still get worse.

With a serious chat during the break the 4s tried to recompose the picture by addressing the main issues spotted during the first half. And they reacted well. With just 5 minutes of the second half gone, Arj Puvanachandra brilliantly set Joe Flatt to score the first goal for Dragons 4s, bringing them back into the game. They kept pushing, and not long after the first goal Greg Reynolds got the equalizer. But 5s were still fighting well and went ahead again with another great goal from Tom Bailey, but their joy didn’t last long since 4s managed to level it up again, with a controversial goal by Paul Keating, since nobody seems to remember that one… later it was agreed that it would be considered as a great goal though . But 5s never gave up and kept attacking, with Charlie Creasy and Kit Scott creating multiple chances. Just a few minutes before the final whistle Greg Reynolds saved the day when he got his second goal, setting a final 3-4 score for Dragons 4s.

Man of the match went to Joe Flatt for his great contribution to such an important victory, which leaves Dragons 4s in second place in the league table, with same points as the first team.

Congratulations to Dragons 5s, who played really well and could easily have won the game.

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

Goalscorer:  Tom Bailey x2, Josh Bingham
MOM:  David Kidner

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

Goalscorers:  Casper Lind x4, Ross Bradshaw
MOM:   Casper Lind  

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v East Coast:  7-0

Goalscorers: Lucy Courtier x2, Hannah Shepperson x2, Josie Kell x2, Ellie Wagstaff
MOM:   Josie Kell, Yona McDonald

Dev Girls B v Watton:  0-2

MOM:  Libby Ong

Dev Boys A v  Magpies:  7-0

Goalscorers:  Will Sexton x3, Hector McNeill x2, Dylan Bondi x2
MOM:  

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Wisbech Town 1s:

Goalscorers:   Mia Bartram x2 , Lauren Lawrie, Sarah Jenkins
MOM:  Mia Bartram

This match against Wisbech Town 1s was a great build on last week, taking into account what was worked on in training. A 4-2 win saw goals from Mia Bartram x2, Lauren Lawrie after working the ball around the D, and Sarah Jenkins after a fantastic short corner with a deflection off the opposing player. There were fantastic runs up the pitch, notable work by Holly Setchell, and a high work rate was kept throughout the game. Two goals were conceded in the second half, the last scored on the break. Player of the match went to Mia Bartram for an incredible game and working hard to the end.  

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

Goalscorers:    Alex Daplyn x2 ,  Hannah Hardy  
MOM: Alex Daplyn

An early start for Dragons saw them head down the A140 for an away trip with Christchurch. Changes saw Kate McKenna and Sam Franklin return to the team, plus a deserved debut in the 2’s for Alex Daplyn.

Dragons had a good warm up and started the game well, with a long period of pressure following some good work down the right by Sam Franklin and Ally Windsor Waite who combined well. Having earned a couple of short corners, Dragons eventually scored with their 3rd, following a neat pass from Gail Thomas to Hannah Hardy who found the corner. Unfortunately the team then switched off a little, allowing Christchurch to attack and earn a couple of short corners of their own, with the 2nd, a neat routine saw a strike from the left deflected neatly past the Dragons Keeper.

Despite plenty of possession, Christchurch defended deep and in numbers and the visitors found it difficult to break them down. Christchurch had good spells too and Shelly Seaman, Karen O’Neill Simpson and Stella Windsor Waite needed to be alert to the threat, whilst Jillian Christie in Goal pulled off some important saves.

At halftime Captain O’Neill Simpson asked for the team to look to play with a bit more composure, move the ball on a bit quicker and believe the goals would come. The team heeded her words, good work down the right from Georgia Rant saw the ball forced across the D where debutant Alex Daplyn found herself in a great position to fire home into the roof of the net. Dragons 3rd quickly followed, again from the right of the pitch saw Georgia Rant showing good skills to find Hannah Hardy who fired the ball across the D, where Alex Daplyn had once again found space at the back post, to claim her second of the day.

More good Dragons build up play continued; Hannah Ellis was strong in the middle alongside Gail Thomas, both feeding great balls into the ever willing forward runners, Lilli Ballard worked hard, alongside Kate McKenna and Ally Windsor Waite, but the 4th goal just eluded Dragons, with the Christchurch Keeper making some strong saves.

An improved performance and plenty to build on for the 2’s. Player of the Match deservedly went to Alex Daplyn on her 2nd Team debut.

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

Goalscorers:    Maddy Reynolds,   Harriet Rant  
MOM: Piper Hempsall

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Premier Division
Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s v Reepham:

Goalscorers:  Georgie Manly x3,  Amy Forse  
MOM:  Georgie Manly

Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Carrow:

MOM:   Emily Grint

This was always going to be a tough game, Carrow are a strong and well organised team who have developed a style of play that works well for them and often wrong foots the opposition. However, Norwich Dragons, having played them last season, soon got the measure of them and set about taking advantage of youthful midfield in the form of Mary Bowles and Emma Merryweather who worked well to move the ball along the wings and towards the D.
Carrow tried to dominate the middle ground during the first 15 minutes, but the skilful Anita
Mancini and tenacious Louise Brooks, stopped most attacking play before it reached the defensive end of the pitch. Nat Crisp and Jo Jennings both worked hard to move the ball up towards the Carrow goal and successfully played the ball into the D and the waiting stick of Claire Stewart, who came close on a couple of occasions, but a very agile keeper stopped everything coming her way. The best chances in the first half came from a one-on-one with the keeper for Emma Merryweather and a lovely short corner strike from Jane Wells, again, strong keeping and a determined Carrow defensive line stopped all chances. Even two short corners on the half time whistle couldn’t get passed them!

A good half time talk from captain Gemma Ballard, reminded the team to keep its shape and make more of the wings, communication was key and so was easy passes and keeping possession.

The second half saw Dragons taking more chances with Louise Davis and Kate Atkins both taking chances to move out of the defensive quarter to overload the attacking play and this allowed multiple attacks on goal, with Floss Andrews having a couple of lovely runs into the D from the right. However the D was nearly always packed with Carrow defenders, who did a great job of stopping everything coming their way. Carrow had several chances in the second half, with some nice paired runs and passes to high forwards hanging around the D, but Dragon’s defence was equally up to the Job with Emily Grint (POM) making some lovely stops and channeling most attacks out wide. Mia Sommers was always in control of the D and took an attacking stance against the Carrow forwards. With the score resolutely staying a 0:0 both teams ramped up their efforts in the final 5 minutes with Carrow getting a short corner, which was expertly stopped by Emily Grint and Jo Jennings. This was quickly broken down and turned into a Dragon’s attack with Claire Stewart having one last shot on goal. The final score of 0:0 was a fair result for what was a pretty end to end game.

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

Goalscorers:  
MOM:  Esther Jacobs

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

Goalscorer:  Lara Nuthall
MOM:  Lara Nuthall

Ladies 7s played out their heart and soul against UEA 3s, however we simply out ran by a team of young nippy students with many more subs. Although the scoreline at 3-1  to UEA was the same as against Broadband the game was not as there was improvement throughout. 

Pulling ahead in the 1st half Dragons looked promising with Ceris Burgues working hard at top of the diamond to distribute the ball and from training remembering to push it.  The forwards starting to work well together, Claire Fairhurst taking some stealth positions and working the ball round followed by a shot in front of goal from Lois Metcalfe, however not quite finished on the post (I must learn to find those corners :-)) 

Paige Fisher focused and placed an intelligent slip of the ball to Lara Nutall (Man of the Match)  who with a tiniest of touches guided the ball into the goal. This made us jump around. Unfortunately UEA 3s fought back hard and pushing up the pitch led to a series (I lost track) of short corners and eventfully a save on the line (albeit with a foot) led Emma North to the high pressure situation of a flick. The flick was well executed and landed UEA in a 1-1 draw just going into half time. 

Scoring two more well executed goals they proved themselves the winner working an excellent passing game that the 7s plan to learn from. Keep focus, keep going and let the ball do the work!

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

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

Goalscorer:   Mark Flatman,  Dan Rix x2  
MOM: Peter Dickerson

Another fine performance saw Dragons take all three points from a fast end to end encounter. Mark Beckett-Flatman put Dragons in front and despite pressure from UEA throughout the game Dan Rix scored a brace to see the home side home comfortably.

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

Goalscores:  James Cross, Eddie Gould
MOM: James Cross

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

Goalscoresr:  Jon Miles 
MOM: Jamie Mckinnon

A tight encounter against a fit UEA side saw Dragons control their D well and Jon Miles’ goal ended up being the difference between the two sides.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Magpies 5s: 

Goalscorers:  Harry Brown , Greg Reynolds ,  Arj Puvanachandra  
MOM:  Arj Puvanachandra

Harleston started brightly and pinched two goals before Dragons got going. But Harry Brown pulled one back and the momentum swung to an energetic Dragons side. Soon it was 2-2 after a fine team goal resulting in Greg Reynolds putting Dragons back in the game. Dragons then went ahead with Arj  Puvanachandra finishing calmly in front the keeper but it wasn’t to be as Magpies hit back with 10 minutes remaining. Despite the pressure Magpies held out for the draw playing well in the final stages.

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Newmarket 2s:

Goalscorer:  Josh Bingham Andrew Cross
MOM:  Charlie Creasy

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

MOM:   Tom Helfer   

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A no game

Goalscorers: 
MOM:  

Dev Girls B v Pelicans 

Dev Boys A v  Norwich City:  3-3

Goalscorers:  Will Sexton x2 ,  Vithu Baskaran  
MOM:  Will Sexton

As the score would suggest the match was very even and both teams had the advantage at different points in the game. After the first quarter city were 0 – 1 up but after the second quarter 

Dragons had matched the score and as the half time whistle was blow it was 1 – 1. Into the third quarter City took a lead and made it 1 – 3 by the end of the quarter. From then on Dragons brought it back too the 3 – 3 draw which was well deserved after a great team play in the last few minutes. 

Also because of a lack of players on City’s side they played with 2 Adults who definitely played a big part in the city defence.

Dev Boys B v  Watton:  0-0

MOM: Freddie Jupe

This Week’s Results

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

Goalscorers:   Kate McKenna, Mima Watson
MOM:  Mima Watson

The Ladies 1st team played an inspirational match, winning 2-1 against Colchester Ladies. The first half saw Colchester leading 0-1 after scoring from a short corner, however, we made an amazing come back in the second half scoring two wonderful goals. The first was scored by Jemima Watson, and the second by Kate McKenna after receiving a well worked ball from Lucy Morton. Incredible work from everyone and a solid defensive line!

Player of the match went to Jemima Watson for her fantastic goal and great skill.

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

MOM:  Shelly Seaman, Esme Potter

Dragons lined up against Ipswich looking to improve on the previous week’s performance, as this new team builds together. 

The home team started strongly with a good spell of possession but failing to capitalise on this early pressure. Ipswich grew into the game and forced Dragons deeper, however goal scoring chances were few and far between.

Eventually the deadlock was broken with Dragons disappointingly allowing a ball to go right across the D, which was put away at the back post, giving Ipswich a slender lead at halftime.

Whilst Dragons had good spells in the 2nd half, Ipswich always looked comfortable and continued to move the ball around the back well. Dragons possibly sat back too much and should have pressed the visitors a bit sooner, as when they did this bought them success. In doing so however they left gaps, meaning Ipswich forced a late short corner home, with just 5 minutes remaining.

Player of the Match votes were split, the final vote a tie between Esme Potter and Shelly Seaman. 

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

MOM:  Kristina Smyth

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

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

Goalscorer:  Lara Nuthall
MOM:  Emma Dyer, Erin Aldous

The first half showed Dragons to be having a strong game against Broadland 3 with many opportunities on goal, winning short corners and maintaining pressure on the hosts. Dragons continued to deliver clean, clear passes and played the ball well, using the wings successfully. Erin Aldous as bottom of the diamond, kept the shape in midfield and was excellent at moving the ball around, making Broadland work! Claire Fairhurst began on as Left forward and had some great attempts at running the ball down the line and bringing it into the D via the baseline, Lois Metcalfe was receiving the rebounds well and Lara Nuthall managed to keep her game by the goal putting endless pressure on their goalie!

Our mid’s were also showing great play of attacking wide, Sophie James joined us from 8’s and had a particularly good game and it was great to see how over the past season her confidence has clearly grown!

Us defenders had a quiet first half, however unfortunately conceded 2 goals, the first from a short where the ball rebounded of my stick! Apologies team! The second being that of their forward being by the post and taking the opportunity to be swift! Something we can definitely learn from!

Jessie Young and myself have played in defence together many a time and we appear to be reading each other well and having great advice from Des allowed me to be an effective pivot at the back! Briony Johnstone joined us as right back and was playing some great clean, strong passes up the wing regularly.

In the second half the heavens opened and at one point play became impossible! A soggy second half allowed us to again concede from a short; however wearing a mask in torrential rain does limit sight and again Broadland were great opportunists! However, the fantastic Lara got what she had been working for all game, and scored a well-deserved goal bringing the result to 3-1.

This score does not reflect play at all and this should have been a game we should have at least drawn let alone win! From the defence point of view, we get to see the whole game play in front of us and we had many chances, something to take from the game would be to practise bringing the goalie out of their comfort zone and go around them. We had most of the possession and kept pressure both halves, an unlucky loss! With Biblical rain too! A quiet second half meant poor Northy got soaked through too; well played goalie!

Finally, a big thank you to Des who gave some great feedback and something we all need to apply to our games moving forward.

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

East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Norwich City 4s:  7-1

Goalscorer:  Josh Bingham
MOM:  Robin Clarke

East League, Men’s 5NE(N)
Norwich Dragons Men’s 6s v Norwich City 6s:  0-3

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Norwich City:  5-2

Goalscorers:  Mia Rutterford, Lucy Courtier x4
MOM:  Josie Kell

Dev Girls  – no fixture 

Dev Boys A v  Watton:  11-0

Goalscorers:  Ayrton Rant, Will Sexton x2, Hector McNeill, Raul Wigglesworth x4, Tom Skelton x2, Blade Earley
MOM:  Will Sexton, Raul Wigglesworth

Dev Boys B v  Norwich City:  0-4

In the first half Norwich City had the majority of the ball and went 1-0 up in the second quarter. At half time we lost our keeper that we had loaned. They went 2-0 up in the third quarter and scored the other two in the last quarter. They also had one disallowed. Thanks to Andy Hollis for playing as an adult. 

MOM: Dylon Bondi

This Week’s Results

East League,  Ladies 1N
Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s v Bury St Edmunds 1s:  2-2

Goalscorers:   Kate McKenna, Katie Taubman
MOM:  Liv Leary

The Ladies 1st team started the season off today with a well earned 2-2 draw against Bury St Edmunds 1s.  We dominated the first half with some great transfers and moving the ball into space. There was lots of attacking play and many chances to score. The second half started off with a fantastic goal from Kate McKenna, which was then followed by a levelling goal by the opposition. Another unlucky goal by the opposition led to us being 2-1 down, however, after a strong fight back, Katie Taubman scored a fantastic equalising goal in the final 2 minutes of the match as a result of working the ball round the D and the back line. Player of the match went to Liv Leary for magnificent attacking play on and off the ball.

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

Goalscorer:  Hannah Ellis
MOM:   Jillian Christie

The new season commenced with a number of new faces in the Ladies 2’s – with East League debuts for Georgia Rant and Lilli Ballard, who have worked hard over the summer and pre-season to earn their chance, plus a warm welcome to newcomer to Norwich Jillian Christie in goal.

UEA started brightly with Jillian pulling off a number of smart saves to keep the game level. Dragons grew and eventually a sharp attack down the right wing by Georgia Rant saw a great cross finding Hannah Ellis, who had ghosted into the back post, to place the ball past the keeper, to take the lead which the visitors held until half time, despite some UEA pressure.

The 2nd half saw UEA come out strong and draw level early after the break. It was end to end stuff though and an attack down the left involving Piper Hempsall and Hannah Ellis saw Ellis drive into the D and hit an excellent strike, beating defenders and the GK for her second of the game.

Unfortunately this only spurred UEA on further and despite the efforts of the Dragons defence and an outstanding MoM debut performance by Jillian Christie, the home team grabbed a further equaliser and then went on to take 2 further chances and all 3 points.

Dragons have work to do to fully establish themselves as a team, with a new mix of players, but the signs are promising and with continued hard work at training they will reap their rewards. 

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

Goalscorer:  Harriet Marlee
MOM:  Alex Daplyn

It was a very sunny and hot morning at the Den as the Ladies 3’s went out for their first league match against Yarmouth 1s. The 3’s started off strongly, winning a short corner in the first quarter with a brilliant straight strike from Harriet Marlee to go 1-0 up. Dragons kept their lead, with some other close scrambles near the opposition goal, up until late in the second half. 

However, Yarmouth were a strong side who challenged the Dragon’s defence on a couple of occasions in the second half. Eventually, the opposition secured a short corner in the last five minutes which brought them level. A quick break from Dragons in the last couple of minutes with a good shot on goal nearly brought them to 2-1 but it was saved and well cleared by a strong Yarmouth keeper.

All in all a good start to the season with lots of good play, team support and chances at goal! POM was very close but went to Alex Daplyn for some great play at both ends of the pitch.

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

Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Thetford:  0-11

MOM:  Paige Fisher

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

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

East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Bury St Edmunds 5s:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Craig Burley, Josh Bingham, Owain Diver Hall
MOM:  Charlie Creasy

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

Development Leagues

Dev Girls A v Watton:  2-2

Goalscorers:  Rosie Smith, Mia NOrrish
MOM:  Rosie Smith

Dev Girls B v Dereham:  0-0

MOM:  Ella Peart

Dev Boys A v  Dev Boys B:  3-1

Goalscorers:  Will Sexton x2, Raul Wigglesworth
MOM:  Blade Earley

On Saturday 21^st September Dragons A took on Dragons B at the den. I (Fin Dearmer) was captain of the B team and unfortunately we lost but it was still good fun. I scored the only goal for the B team and the A team scored four. They had most of the possession during the first and second quarter and it paid off when Will Sexton scored from a short corner and the A team went 1-0 up. Half way through the game we had to move pitch and that’s when I scored my goal. It was one all at this point and even though the A team had all of the ball we were still getting chances. In the third and last quarter the B team kind of fell apart and conceded three goals, with one more from Will Sexton and another from Raul Wigglesworth. Tom Clifton and Marcel Moore played their first game for dragons and played very well with Tom getting the assist for my goal. In the end it was 3-1 to the A team, however we still gave them a good match.

Dev Boys B v  Dev Boys A:  1-3

Goalscorer:  Fin Dearmer
MOM: Fin Dearmer

On Saturday 21^st September Dragons A took on Dragons B at the den. I (Fin Dearmer) was captain of the B team and unfortunately we lost but it was still good fun. I scored the only goal for the B team and the A team scored four. They had most of the possession during the first and second quarter and it paid off when Will Sexton scored from a short corner and the A team went 1-0 up. Half way through the game we had to move pitch and that’s when I scored my goal. It was one all at this point and even though the A team had all of the ball we were still getting chances. In the third and last quarter the B team kind of fell apart and conceded three goals, with one more from Will Sexton and another from Raul Wigglesworth. Tom Clifton and Marcel Moore played their first game for dragons and played very well with Tom getting the assist for my goal. In the end it was 3-1 to the A team, however we still gave them a good match.

From Saturday 14th September

Dev Boys v Norwich City:  0-4 
MOM:  Connor Kerrigan

It was a beautiful summers evening when the ‘Magnificent Seven’ (and the ever dependable Chris), played a pre-season friendly against City, who were kind enough to lend us a couple of players making it a more even game!

City were quicker out of the box, leading with 2 clear goals by half time!

The second half followed a similar pattern with City scoring a further 2 goals. 

Dragons goal keeper was in exceptional form, keeping the score line down by making some fantastic saves! 

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