Mens East League Division 2 North
Norwich Dragons 1s : No Fixture
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Mens East League Division 4 North East
Norwich Dragons 2s: No Fixture
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East Men’s Hockey League Division 5NE
Norwich Dragons 3s: Boys U16 (f)
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East Men’s Hockey League Division 6 North East
Norwich Dragons 4s: No Fixture
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East Women’s Hockey League Division 2 North East
Norwich Dragons 1s 1:1 Norwich Dragons 2s (f)
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East Women’s Hockey League Division 2 North East
Norwich Dragons 2s 1:1 Norwich Dragons 1s (f)
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 1
Norwich Dragons 3s 7:0 Dereham 4
League matches commenced straight after the Christmas break leaving neither side much time to regain their fitness after a few weeks’ break. Dragons took an early lead following a straight strike from a penalty corner by Caroline Wolfe. She soon followed this with a second goal, flicking the ball into the right corner of the goal.
Dragons dominated the remainder of the half with short passes and maintained possession of play in the Dereham half. Despite this possession another goal did not come until just before half time when Olivia Thomas finished off a string of passes.
Both sides showed some fatigue in the second half but with rolling substitutes for both teams, the pace of the game did not drop. Dereham pushed some of the game into the middle of the pitch and did have a couple of penalty corners but Dragons’ goalie was never required to touch the ball.
Dragons continued to control the game with good movement and passes resulting in a steady flow of four more goals. The first came when Amy Brown took the ball along the right base line and slipped to Pollyanna Watson to score from close range. The second was after a series of passes in the Dereham goal mouth was completed by a flick from Amelia Dawson. Pollyanna Watson scored her second goal after she followed up her own shot on goal and was able to intercept the keepers rebound to put the ball in the back of the goal. Caroline Wolfe then sealed her hat-trick with another straight strike from a penalty corner.
Despite the final score, Dereham’s goalkeeper had a good game and prevented Dragon’s goal tally from being even higher. Dragon’s player of the match was Pollyanna Watson.
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons 4s 4:0 Norwich City 4s
A good way to start the New Year with a fresh January afternoon, no rain and a win for the Dragons. Determined to continue with being the first team on the score board Annika Richardson started the scoring with a lovely shot from a short corner, tucked in the corner and past the goal keeper’s foot. Scarlett Brown decided that she would also take advantage of a short corner and scored after a rebound from the keeper’s pads.
While the goals were certainly the highlights of the first half, what was also wonderful to see was the use of space, the simple clean passes and those all-important triangles down the wings. Felicia Roberts and Freya Clogan (player of the match) made a lovely team down the left, with Freya forgetting for a moment that she is a defender and taking the ball all the way to the D. Laura Bruce and Holly Francis kept the right hand side of the pitch locked down and stopped City’s attacks before they started.
In the second half Beth Bygrave put in a fantastic performance, utilizing the space and making a series of excellent dummies, this was to be rewarded with a lovely reverse shot that skirted in front of the keeper and crossed the line at the tightest of angles. The final goal came from Megan Harvey who made a well timed run to the right post and slotted the ball in totally avoiding the keeper. The second half also saw excellent team work from Marcy Windsor Waite and Sue Cross, who chased down every ball and kept possession, making City’s life even more difficult.
Some beautiful hockey ladies – keep it up!
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons 5s 1: 1 Breckland
The 5s were overjoyed with their point at home to Breckland, with the equaliser coming from Laura Goodbun with 34:59 on coach Pete Thomas’s stop watch in the second half. It was a match which the 5s should have had done and dusted in the first half, but once again although they could move the ball up and around the pitch, they created few opportunities in the circle.
Breckland went ahead early in the second half. With Dragons still re-organising themselves after the break, Breckland used their high forward Jane Sheldrake to good effect and she nipped round the defence to score. But then the Dragons defence got their composure back, and each time Breckland sent a powerful ball through the middle for Sheldrake to chase, Abie Cowe was on hand to cut out the pass. Abi showed excellent decision making in mixing her clearances, either choosing to run at the opposition herself or to find a midfielder. Dragons were rotating their defenders, and when Jade Blanchflower moved to right back she was a revelation. She earned the player of the match vote with easily her best game in the league so far, using her speed to run laterally and confuse the opposition before making some telling passes.
Dragons kept pressing. Chiara Bond added some incisiveness when she was switched to right mid, and Laura began to run through the Brecks at will. Kate Goodrum took up some excellent positions on the left, but was not always found. Beth Elgood snuffed out all the threats coming down the right, and Lizzy McDonnell recovered from a painful hit to the foot to hold up the play in midfield and put some passes into the circle that deserved better. Lisa Harwood continues to build her skills and is potentially a very difficult forward to shake off the ball, which is what the 5s need. Lois McGregor was also on the spot but out of luck; Brecks are a very strong side defensively and take no prisoners in the circle. This contributed to the Dragons’ joy at their late, late goal. All the players believed they deserved something from the game, from Nine Holden in goal who dealt with the occasional forays confidently; to Claire Fairhurst and Armiria Pounsford, who showed their flexibility in their cameo roles on the day. Chiara, Rosie Korn, and Lizzy gripped the midfield and supporters on the sidelines urged the team on. One last run down the right saw Abi move the ball to Chiara, who gave an early ball to the tireless Laura. She cut in from the right and swept the ball home from a narrow angle. No player deserved a goal more. Cue celebrations.
The 5s did miss three regular players from their squad. There is now genuine competition for team places, with another couple of players due to come back from injury as well. Attendance at training is really important, because there are some things the team needs to put right, and it is essential that everyone who wants to play ‘gets the message’ at the same time.
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Boys Development League
Norwich Dragons: No Fixture
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Girls Development League
Norwich Dragons: No Fixture
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The hoof table this week is as follows:
| Position | Team | Hoof Average |
| 1 | Ladies 3s | 4.64 |
| 2 | Ladies 4s | 4.38 |
| 3 | Ladies 1s | 4.36 |
| 4 | Mens 2s | 3.93 |
| 5 | Mens 3s | 3.85 |
| 6 | Mens 4s | 2.79 |
| 7 | Mens 1s | 2.07 |
| 8 | Ladies 2s | 1.86 |
| 9 | Ladies 5s | 1.86 |
| 10 | Girls Development | 1.38 |
| 11 | Boys Development | 1.22 |