Mens East League Division 2 North
Norwich Dragons 1s 2:5 Cambridge Uni 3
Dragons slumped to a disappointing defeat, losing 5-2 to Cambridge University. Hoping to build on their win against Dereham last week Dragons started strongly and were rewarded when Lewis Wilkins scored from close range making it 1-0. Alex Browne doubled the lead from a well worked corner, 2-0 to Dragons. Cambridge pulled one goal back before the break, the half-time score was 2-1 to Dragons.
Cambridge took the ascendancy in the second half, finding time and space on the ball, combined with good running up front. The Dragons’ defence held strong until, with 10 minutes to go they lost 2 of their players to injury. From this point Dragons were unable to gain any purchase in the game, conceding 4 further goals and losing 5-2. Having worked so hard for 60 minutes, it was a shame that they were unable to gain anything from the game.
Dragons Man of the match was Jason Wolfe
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Mens East League Division 4 North East
Norwich Dragons 2s 1:3 Bury St Edmunds 2
Dragons travelled to Bury on a drizzly afternoon, to what they knew was an important game. The rain stopped just as the game started and Dragons started well, wining a short corner in the first 2 minutes. Unfortunately Andy Kelsall’s shot was saved and Bury started to get themselves together.
Play continued to switch between Dragons and Bury, and it was Bury who initially broke the stalemate by scoring. Dragons fought back hard and were rewarded with a string of short corners. From one of these, Andy Kelsall was able to smash a ball into the back of Bury’s goal.
Confident runs by Dan Cheesman and Captain Cley Hamilton kept the pressure on Bury. Mark Flatman, Rich Phillis and Adam Sayer kept working hard in the middle of the pitch to keep the Bury midfield from breaking through. However, late in the first half Bury won a free hit, which was taken quickly, not allowing Dragons to set their defence, leading to their second goal. This turn of events led Dragons to feel very frustrated and they entered half time knowing they were up against it.
Dragons came out fighting in the second half. The Dragons defence did well keeping the Bury forwards out of the game; Henry Eades making some lovely challenges and Gary Burgess showing great determination. Despite this, Bury managed to score another goal, when a ball hit into the D was deflected through a Bury players’ leg off his stick. This was an unfortunate goal to concede and there was little Dragon keeper Robbie Bell could do, who had an impressive 2nd team debut.
Dragons really pushed hard the last 10 minutes, with great link up play between Mark Flatman, Adam Sayer, Barney Price and Cley Hamilton. Dragons were unlucky not to get a last minute goal from a Ricky Powley pass through to Adam Sayer, whose shot was saved from a flying keeper, as well as Cley Hamilton being unlucky with a shot on goal. The final whistle blew and the score was 3-1 to Bury.
Dragons left the game feeling frustrated at their performance. It wasn’t all negative though, as there was some great attacking and defensive play, with which Dragons will have to take advantage of in their remaining games.
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East Men’s Hockey League Division 5NE
Norwich Dragons 3s 5:1 UEA 3
After last weeks match report mentioned the teams inability to take advantage of short corners the team took note and were much more productive from these set-pieces.The match was played in windy conditions which brought a chill to the Dragons Den.
The mens third team would not allow this to put out the fire of their performance. Early pressure was built from fast flowing passing round the pitch making use of the flanks with John Ives playing well down the right ably supported by Ben Dures who had a fine performance at full-back strong in defence and getting forward on overlapping runs. From the award of an early short corner Dragons took the lead when a good variation allowed the injector George Walker to score from close range. UEA were creating a few opportunities of their own and a ricochet ball was reacted to quickest by a UEA forward who took the ball into the D and went round the onrushing Dragons keeper before putting the ball into the net with a reverse stick shot from an acute angle.
This setback seemed to initially knock the Dragons and the match became scrappy for a while but crucially just before half-time Dragons regained the lead when from another short corner Adrian Kemp drilled his shot form the top of the D into the back of the goal 2-1 Dragons and this remained the score at the break.
The second half saw Dragons come out to build on their lead with Phil York-Smith coming on as sub bringing great ball carrying skills to the forward line. Dragons did not have things all their own way and had to produce some solid defending as the students pressed with Lawrence Singleton making some good tackles. Dragons were getting the ball forward and young Ollie King was holding the ball up well and releasing it to his team-mates these attacks resulted in more short corners being won. From one of these another variation involving Adrian Kemp and George Walker allowed the ball to be played to Jon Goodson in front of goal to score from close range.
A fourth goal was added from a short corner with another shot from Adrian Kemp just inside the post giving the keeper no chance.Will Ives was creating some excellent runs down the left wing for Dragons and was also producing some tenacious tackling to win the ball. The icing on his man of the match performance was capped off when Adrian Kemp completed his hat-trick with a goal from open play to make the final score 5-1. This was the teams final home match of the season and completes two full home league seasons unbeaten and they now have just one rearranged match to play to see if they go through this league season unbeaten.
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East Men’s Hockey League Division 6 North East
Norwich Dragons 4s 4:1 Bury St Edmunds 5
Dragons’ push for promotion requires them to concentrate on their remaining fixtures and go for the win and hope their rivals slip up. Against Bury 5ths they did just that to take a well deserved victory against an experienced Bury side.
The game in the first half very much belonged to Dragons who controlled the midfield with good intercepting play and passing, Rob Jenkins and Chris Wilkinson being solid in the middle and able to release the ball quickly to the forwards, which really gave Dragons the forward momentum to create a number of chances. Continued good passing play from Dragons ensured they remained the more dominate team but the Bury defence and Goalkeeper were in good form to keep out the opportunities. Will Kirby supplying Dave Thornton a handful of good chances which didn’t quite pay off as it had done so for him throughout the season.
About 20 minutes into the game Dragons were still able to pour forward, this time a well struck shot from Chris Harrison was well saved by the goalkeeper with his stick. Bury had chances themselves but rarely threatened the Dragons goal with any clear cut chances as the defence cleared the ball convincingly to release the midfield. This good play eventually led to Dragons forming another attack and this time it paid off as Will Kirby showed good composure to strike from the top of the area to give Dragons a deserved lead.
Given the number of chances and short corners, Dragons should really have scored more, but they doubled their lead with again Chris Wilkinson intercepting to release Chris Harrison who drove to outside of the area and unselfishly slipped the ball to Will Kirby who fired home goal number 2. Half time arrived less than a minute later to give Dragons a comfortable half time lead.
Half time talk was to continue with the good play from the first half and Dragons did that in the opening minutes of the second half to continue where they left off. Bury weren’t sitting back and responded with a controversial goal about 10 minutes into the half however.
The nature of the goal seemed to unbalance Dragons who struggled to regain their composure, feeling very hard done by. Bury started to push forward more looking for an equaliser and put the pressure on Dragons but never really finding the clinical finish in front of goal.
Dragons got regrouped and once again started to drive forward, being first to the ball and using simple passes to grind down the Bury veterans. Dragons got themselves goal number 3 when a Mike Banham short corner strike was saved and collected by Will Kirby who completed his hat-trick after a well struck, on target shot was slightly stopped by the keeper but still went in. Dragons had control of the game once more and continued to press Bury who were now tiring slightly and reverting to hitting the ball clear hoping to find a striker unmarked.
Another short corner was awarded to Dragons which again saw the initial shot saved and the ball fell to the Captain who slotted home from a tight angle to ensure Dragons would take victory and keep the pressure on the teams above them in the league.
An all round excellent performance from everyone, all working hard and really wanting to win. The defence of Ray Hansell, Rob Lee, Andy Webb, Rich Davis and sweeper Mike Banham all working well to ensure quality clearances and kept Bury at bay, the midfield really for the first time in a while were controlling the middle of the park much more convincingly and the 2 forwards just kept running causing the Bury defence all sorts of problems.
Man of the match was a close vote, with 5 separate nominations displaying the all round team performance; and despite his hat-trick, Will Kirby took the honours by just one vote.
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East Women’s Hockey League Division 2 North East
Norwich Dragons 1s 3:1 Yarmouth 1
This was a top of the table clash the result of which could be significant in the title challenge with only two points separating Yarmouth, Norwich City and Norwich Dragons.
With both teams fighting for promotion and of course the honour of winning the league title both teams knew that this was a crucial game as did Norwich City who had identified the importance of the game in their match report last week.
The Dragons welcomed another youngster to the squad, Ruth WILLMOTT, who had earnt her right to a first team call up having had some solid performances with the seconds all season. Ruth had an excellent debut and did not look out of place holding her own in a midfield.
The Dragons started strongly playing some attractive attacking hockey and maintained their patience but the Great Yarmouth defence held strong and it was the home team that broke the deadlock scoring a breakaway goal against the run of play. This stunned the Dragons but they responded immediately; a slick passage of play from the restart found Emma TABRETT breaking through and finishing in style with a first touch which caught the keeper out.
It was tight and tense for the remainder of the first half neither team wanting to make a mistake and the teams went into the break level.
In the second half the Dragons took the game to Great Yarmouth determined to take all three points and were by far the more dominant of the two teams. Within ten minutes of the restart they were testing the Great Yarmouth keeper. A superb move found Shelly SEAMAN sprinting into the D, intercepting a through ball but just striking it wide of the post.
It wasn’t long before the Dragons took the lead. Shelly SEAMAN striking the ball sweetly from a penalty corner which was deflected into the net by Nat BEAL.
The Dragons were pushing for a third and were pressuring the Great Yarmouth back line. With only fifteen minutes gone in the second half the Dragons increased their lead; another short corner routine, this time a pin point pass by Gail THOMAS found Marie JAMES in space who made no mistake in deflecting the ball first time into the net.
Learning from previous mistakes the Dragons tightened up and ensured the defence was solid determined not to allow Great Yarmouth back into this game. They moved the ball around the pitch with confidence and ease keeping possession of the ball which frustrated their opponents.
Some good performances in what was a difficult game due to the pressure that came with it. Ruth WILLMOTT handled this well and gave an excellent account of herself as did young Maddie DENMAN in defence. Player of the match went to Hannah RONEY who had a solid performance and was influential in midfield.
The Dragons were very appreciative of the support from the travelling loyal spectators, Tim BRISCOE and Mr WILLMOTT, on a very cold, windy, winter’s day on the east coast. Thank you both very much.
With only three games left the Dragons need to hold their nerve with fate of the title in their hands.
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East Women’s Hockey League Division 2 North East
Norwich Dragons 2s: 0:1 Sprowston 1
A blustery day at the Den saw two evenly matched Teams battle out this mid table clash. Dragons started brightly, having the ‘lions share’ of possession early on, through some strong work from Sarah Radley and Dragons Player of the Match Laura Bailey, who was extremely bright on the right side of midfield.
As the half wore on, Sprowston upped a gear and started to overload the Dragons defence attacking strongly down their right. Having forced a couple of short corners, Sprowston made one count, with firm strike, to go into the break 1-0 up.
Dragons regrouped at halftime, and a slight alteration to their shape, allowed Alice Guest to push further forward, also freeing up more space for Lizzie Moulton and Debs Smith in midfield. Dragons became much more of an attacking threat, with Laura Bailey continuing to be influential.
Chances started to fall to the forwards, however, Sprowston continued to get many players behind the ball. A string of short corners ensued for Dragons and a neatly worked routine, saw a Sprowston player stop the ball in the line with a foot. Captain Hannah Hardy stepped up to take the flick, however disappointingly, this was put wide of the post.
An unfortunate end to a game for Dragons in which a draw, would have been a fairer result. Whilst not back to their best flowing hockey, Dragons continued to show the future is extremely bright for this Team and for the Club as a whole.
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 1
Norwich Dragons 3s 1:0 UEA 2
When Dragons 3 played UEA 2 before Christmas they only narrowly came away with a 4-3 win. Dragons were, therefore, visibly nervous for the team talk, but skipper Amelia Dawson gave her favourite ‘Yoda’ quote of ‘Do, or do not; there is no try’, putting fire in the Dragons’ bellies from the start of the return fixture.
Dragons showed skill and determination from the off. Half way through the first half, Dragons won a corner, with the final shot being stopped on the line by a UEA foot. Caroline Wolfe stepped up to take the subsequent stroke but unfortunately failed to get under the ball enough, and the keeper made the save.
Play was from end to end, and tested the Dragons’ defence on several occasions. However, the break came for Dragons in the final 30 seconds before half time. A string of lovely tight passing from the half way line took the ball to the stick of Amy Brown. Smart running by Dragons drew away defenders to make space for player of the match Brown to penetrate the D, dribble past the remaining UEA players, finally slipping the ball past the keeper into the goal.
The second half action was just as tense with UEA making several attempts on the Dragons’ goal. Dragons’ keeper Amy Forse made several key clearances, and showed superb judgement on when to leave the wide shots.
With 15 minutes to go, Dragons temporarily went down to 10 when Hazel Medler collected a yellow card. This only fuelled the desire of the rest of the team, which carried on with complete composure.
A huge breath of relief could be heard around The Den when the final whistle blew. The Dragons team maintain its perfect record for the season.
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons 4s 1:1 Herlings
As someone who hasn’t played on grass since the mid-90s this match was a blast from my teenage past! I had forgotten that you can’t really push or sweep the ball and expect it to go anywhere, that once you have managed to hit it with the appropriate amount of force it is unlikely to go where you intended it to and that trying to stop a ball which is bouncing all over the place is easier said than done. With all that in mind I am pleased that Dragons achieved a draw of 1:1.
The first half was spent relearning hockey – realizing that tactics applied with ease on astro simply don’t work on grass. We found it difficult to make clean passes in triangles and running down the length of the pitch was tricky to say the least. We certainly began to rely on those players with a strong hit, Sue Cross (joint player of the match) looked like a natural on grass, with strong hits that went incredible distances, Annika Richardson managed some wonderful strikes across and at the goal, which on an astro pitch would surely have been goals. Felicia Roberts and Isi Christophers played a lovely game in mid field, moving the game forwards and intercepting the bouncing ball well. The first goal was scored by Debbie Santa-Clara a lovely little deflection into to the corner from a strike by Annika. Herlings, had a clear advantage on their home pitch and made several excellent attempts on goal but each one was stopped by Laura Tuck in goal.
The Dragons entered the second half confident that a victory could be achieved and had the majority of chances, but the unyielding pitch and the difficulty in getting power behind the ball was beginning to cause problems. Sophie Farrow, Marcy Windsor-Waite and Lucy Campbell all made valiant efforts to try and get the ball into the D and into the goal, but it just wasn’t to be. Herlings scored the equalizer after a series of short corners, the ball had been stopped at least twice but the defenders simply couldn’t clear the ball far enough to stop the attackers returning. The ball was eventually lifted into the back of the net. Herlings continued to try and extend their score into a lead but Gemma Rump (joint player of the match) continued to battle for every ball and helped to keep the score at a draw.
A hard match that will stay in our memories for a considerable time – and possibly on our kits as well – mud is a pain to get out of white socks!
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons 5s 0:0 Norwich City 4
The good news – Dragons have re-discovered their passing game and created plenty of chances. The bad news – the whole squad can sit on the snick, but they still couldn’t hit a barn door. This could be considered two valuable points away points lost to their nearest rivals in the league. City managed a handful of shots in the whole game, and Giselle Nieuwoudt despatched them away from danger with confidence and composure.
Dragons voted two players’ of the match. Emma Buxton sparkled in defence with some immense tackling and strong clearances. Nicky King was a revelation in midfield, testing her recently injured back back with some long reaches and controlled tackling.
Laura Goodbun is due a hatful of goals for her determined running and accurate crossing, with several shots on target well saved by the city goalkeeper, who is a great shot-stopper. Lois McGregor is also due a change of luck – one sweetly struck penalty corner just went the wrong side of the post and a few others showed she has recovered her appetite for shooting. Claire Fairhurst also made the keeper work, and Armiria Pounsford is developing a nice line in ‘low lifts’
Katie Buxton could only play half a game because of a sports clash, and the Dragons missed her penetrative passes out of defence in the second half. Lizzy McDonnell and Chiara Bond can be pleased with the percentage of ‘completed passes’ that makes such a difference to the midfield. Beth Elgood has been working hard on her tackling and running back and improves every time she plays. Abi Cowe showed excellent tactical decision making over when to surge forward, and when to hold back.
Dragons have plenty of players available this week to face another City team. They need to carry forward the good things from the last couple of matches – plus a big step up in determination in front of goal.
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Boys Development League
Norwich Dragons: 1:3 Magpies
On a bitterly cold day a young Dragons team put on an excellent display in spite of the 3 – 1 score line to Harleston. Dragons had a number of young players in this team all of who showed that they are ready to be playing in the development side. In particular Ollie Shippam, Harry Williams and Robert Chaney- Baxter played really well.
Harleston’s goals came one in the first half from a well executed short corner. The second half saw another corner converted. Harleston’s other goal came after an excellent save from Ben Nkrumah which the defence were unable to clear. A tough game for young Ben in goal but he performed well and had a number of excellent clearances.
Dragons kept their heads down and had a number of excellent attacks. Ben Watson in the centre of the park was dominant in the game and created a number of chances as well as taking a couple of shots at goal himself. Ben’s strike from a corner was turned round the post by a defender which denied Ben a excellent goal.
Man of the match was Hamish Packham who showed incredible speed to take the ball of Harleston attackers time and time again. But it was Connor Adams who collected the ball near the dead ball line in Harleston’s “D”, moved the ball across the keeper and reverse stick’d the ball into the net for what was probably the best goal Connor has ever scored.
All in all an excellent performance from the Dragons
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Marshall Motor Group Norfolk Girls Development League
Norwich Dragons : No Fixture
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The hoof table as it currently stands
| 1 | Ladies 3s | 4.65 |
| 2 | Ladies 1s | 4.14 |
| 3 | Ladies 4s | 4.11 |
| 4 | Mens 3s | 3.71 |
| 5 | Mens 2s | 3.38 |
| 6 | Mens 4s | 2.55 |
| 7 | Ladies 2s | 2.15 |
| 8 | Mens 1s | 2.14 |
| 9 | Ladies 5s | 1.76 |
| 10 | Girls Development | 1.25 |
| 11 | Boys Development | 1.23 |