Mens East League Division 2N
Norwich Dragons 1s 4-3 Wisbech 2
Ahead of the Christmas break, Norwich Dragons men’s first team began the second half of the season with a trip to Wisbech Town’s second team, who they’d beaten 4-1 at home on the first day of the season. Dragons handed a competitive debut to 14 year-old Jonty Gosling after a string of good performances for the second XI.
Newly promoted Wisbech had adapted well to life in 2N, sitting in the mid-table grouping, and Dragons knew that Wisbech would not give them as much respect as in the first game between the sides.
After a good warm-up, Dragons came out strongly, looking lively and pressing Wisbech high up the pitch. Despite having the majority of possession, Dragons final pass was not quite finding the man, and Wisbech began to mount some attacks of their own, again without having a final ball.
The introduction of Matt Knights from the bench provided the impetus Dragons needed to take the lead, with his first possession of the ball the forward drove away from his marker before slipping the ball to the unmarked Rupert Snelling for a simple finish. Bouyed by this, Dragons played some fluid attacking hockey, wining a number of penalty corners, as well as creating a number of open play chances, again without the final touch.
It was Dragons who gave Wisbech a way back into the match, a turnover by the defence led to the Wisbech forward breaking into the D and after drawing Dragons’ goalkeeper, Matt Collinge, pulling the ball back for a teammate on the penalty spot to knock home. This encouraged Wisbech, who won a number of penalty corners of their own, which were well defended by Dragons.
Eventually Dragons did find their rhytmn again, and they re-took the lead when Tom Rutledge deflected in an Alex Browne penalty corner; before extending the lead when Mark Flatman re-acted quickest to the ball rebounding of a Wisbech foot to turn it home past a stranded opposition keeper.
At half-time Dragons’ coach Rob Wagstaff asked the team to find and display the levels of performance from previous games, to ensure they took the 3 points.
Again, Dragons started the half well, with early chances being created without the killer touch being found. It was somewhat against the run of play that Wisbech got their second goal, a quick break lead to an overload that resulted in a Wisbech midfielder arriving into the D to lift the ball over the diving Collinge.
This goal knocked Dragons off their pattern and the game became stretched and end-to-end. From one such break, Dragons saw Matt Knights sent to the sin bin following a coming together with a Wisbech player, who received the same punishment, as did one of his teammates for expressing his opinion. Dragons did keep the ball well against the 9 men, but struggled to create any clear cut chances during this period.
Once both sides were restored to 11 men, the game resumed its end to end nature, and Dragons managed to extend their lead when Flatman was again quickest to react, turning home the rebound from Browne’s penalty corner strike.
Dragons again lost a man to the sin bin when Ali Smyth was adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity during a chase with the Wisbech forward, and from the resulting penalty corner, Wisbech won a penalty stroke when a goalbound effort was blocked by Rutledge’s leg, causing Rutledge to have to leave the pitch for treatment. The resultant stroke was converted to set up a tight last 10 minutes, with Wisbech pushing hard for an equaliser.
Despite losing Wagstaff to a blow to the head, Dragons’ defence of Alex Overstall, Rich Smith, Jonty Gosling and Ali Smyth, held firm despite Wisbech creating a number of chances and wining further corners. Smyth was able to atone for his earlier error by clearing a goalbound corner effort from the line.
With time running down Dragons had opportunities to put the game out of reach, but as with much of the game, couldn’t quite find the final touch.
A hard earnt 3 points for Dragons, who will be pleased with their league position ahead of the Christmas break, but will find plenty to work on before the league resumes in early January
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Mens East League Division 3NE
Norwich Dragons 2s 1-3 Magpies 4
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Men’s East Hockey League Division 4NE
Norwich Dragons 3s 1-1 Watton 1
After the mid season break, the Dragons were keen to make amends for the poor performance in their last game. The return of Captain George Walker, gave some more direction to the ship; howverem, it was to be far from plain sailing.
On a bright and sunny December lunchtime, the Dragons started the stronger of the two sides, with much of the possession in Watton’s half. This was not to be converted however, despite some good chances for Matt Jenkins and Adrian Kemp troubling a strong Watton goalkeeper.
The dynamic defensive duo or Pentin and Davison, were not untroubled themselves, managing to keep am much younger and quicker Watton strike force at bay, with some cautious yet decisive challenges. The deadlock was broken eventually after some good interplay between Sayer, Walker and Jenkins and Will Kirby finished calmly to bring his tally for the season up to 6.
After a calm first-half for the Dragons, the second half was a differetn story. Watton came out rejuvenated and applied some good early pressure making it difficult for the Dragons to clear their lines. The defensive unit and in particular Man of the Match Robbie Bell in goal, kept Dragons in the lead with some fine work between the sticks. With a Watton side committing more and more men forward, the Dragons had a number of chances to take extend their lead but were wasteful in front of goal.
The inevitable equaliser came from one of Watton’s skillful defenders in the end and Dragons were left ruing their missed chances.
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Men’s East Hockey League Division 5NE
Norwich Dragons 4s 1-1 Pelicans 3
And so the second half of the season begins and on what a glorious morning at the Den. Dragons entertained a very useful Pelicans side who on their first encounter comprehensively beat us at Lynn Sport.
Dragons, however, were not going to let themselves be ‘thumped’ this time and pressed hard from the start winning most of the early encounters. The game was evenly poised with good play from both team playing with fast attacking hockey but rarely troubling the goalkeepers. The deadlock was finally broken when one such flowing moved resulted in Pelicans scoring through the legs of the advancing Dim Ives. The remainder of the half past without further incident or goals.
After the break and an encouraging team talk Dragons felt they could get something from the game so set out all guns blazing! Winning most of the 50/50 tackles our pressure began to tell and one excellent move starting with Banham at the back and culminating in Ben Campbell sweeping in at the far post. Ben Watson was growing in confidence throughout the game and was unlucky not to score. One final scare for the dragons was when the Pelicans centre forward rounded Dim and sent a short scorching to the top of the net only for Paul Keating to deflect the ball, at shoulder height, to safety.
A good point for Dragons who will enjoy the festive break but come back fresh and determined to push up the league.
Man of the Match – Ben Campbell
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Men’s East Hockey League Division 7NE
Norwich Dragons 5s 1-2 Dereham 5
Despite being left with only 9 players Dragons’ 5’s put up an excellent rear guard performance. They stunned Dereham by taking the lead early in the game following an fine dribble & cross by Alex Stone who put the ball on a plate for Joel Lawrence to tap home. Dragons defence, well marshalled by Dan Ryan held out until late in the half when the extra two players counted and Dereham managed to equalise.
The 2nd half was very much a backs to the wall defensive job for Dragons, who thoroughly deserved to hold out for a draw. Cruelly they were denied very late on.
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Women’s East Hockey League Division 1N
Norwich Dragons 1s 10:0 Pelicans 1
The Dragons travelled to Pelicans hoping to get three points before the Christmas break and hoping to score some goals that have eluded them in recent weeks to instill some much needed confidence in their forward line. The visitors clicked today and they by far excelled their expectations by getting double figures for the first time this season.
The Dragons started with a high tempo and it was Emily Rolls that got them off to a flying start from a well paced short corner strike fired into the corner after only 3 minutes on the clock. Within 7 minutes the Dragons were 3-0 up with further goals from Rachel King and Emma Tabrett. By this time Dragons were playing attractive passing hockey with some great passages of play and were 6-0 in front at half time further goals coming from Nat Beal, Karen O’Neill and a brave effort from Lizzie Moulton who finished in style but sustained an injury as she clashed with the goal-keeper the impact causing the keepers helmet to come off. Fortunately both players were able to continue. A special mention goes to our great support and a half time team talk by vice-captain/stand in coach Hannah Ellis who ensured the Dragons maintained the pressure going into the second half.
To Pelicans credit they did not give up the fight and unsettled the Dragons pattern of play for the first ten minutes of the second half. Dragons finally found their rhythm again and managed to take their tally to 10 with some great time goals. Nat Beal got her second of the game, Rachel King getting her first ever hat-trick and player of the match Laura Shreeve getting on the score sheet having worked tirelessly up front and being key to many of the goals that were scored.
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Women’s East Hockey League Division 2NE
Norwich Dragons 2s 1-0 North Walsham 1
This eagerly awaited clash of two in-form teams saw 3rd place North Walsham travel to the Den for the final East League match before the Christmas break. With just 1 point separating the two teams, this was always going to be a tightly matched affair.
Dragons started the brighter of the two teams, following a good warm-up, orchestrated by Debs Smith. About 10 minutes into the game, Helen Kelly made a strong run down the middle, releasing Hannah Hardy on the left, who guided the ball across the top of the D. The ball seemed to run loose initially, however Dragons Player of the Match, Olivia Thomas picked the ball up on the right of the D and fired it goalwards, scoring at the near post.
Whilst Dragons continued to pressure, North Walsham found their stride, with strong play in the middle of the pitch and some quick breaks by their fast forwards. The defensive line of Ally Windsor-Waite, Angela Murgatroyd, Ruth Wilmott and GK Amy Forse knew they were going to be in for a busy afternoon.
Both teams forced short corners, Debs Smith and Gail Thomas combined well for Dragons forcing one double save from the Walsham Keeper, whilst Amy Forse at the other end, was forced into a strong save from an Ellen Vanlint.
The second half saw North Walsham push hard for the equaliser, with Dragons getting forced quite deep at times. Dragons defended heroically, with Ally Windsor-Waite in particular, showing great determination with some important last ditch tackles. Dragons had their breaks through Olivia Thomas on the right and Niamh Lowe-Davies on the left, however clear cut opportunities were limited.
The last few minutes remained tense for Dragons, with North Walsham continuing to press and one firm strike from outside the D, took a deflection off a Dragons stick, flying just wide of the far post.
The game was always going to be a tight, with two very evenly matched teams and defences who were on top of their game. Dragon’s were perhaps slightly fortunate to take all 3 points, however they battled hard and sometimes you earn that little bit of luck. A really encouraging first half of the season from a team who have grown together and who continue to show the desire to improve. The team need to continue to work hard over the Christmas break, to keep their fitness levels high, if they want to push on in the second half of the season.
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Empresa Norfolk Women’s Premier League
Norwich Dragons 3s 1-0 Lowestoft Railway 1
Dragons Ladies 3s took on Lowestoft Railway this week. After setting a good pace and making some good runs in the first half making it into the Lowestoft D was proving tricky. Lowestoft then went to 10 after an injury and Dragons got a bit complacent still not building the play enough or communicating properly. Some lovely defending from Harriet Green, Sophie Thomas, Abbie Cowe and Sarah Wagstaff kept the half time score 0-0.
After some half time changes and a few harsh words from Coach Pete Thomas the Dragons went out hard in the second half. The pace was just as fast from Dragons but the excellent communication and composure from everyone on the team led to 5 short corners. On the last of these Captain Amelia Dawson stepped up and slotted the ball home into the left corner. Full time score 1-0 to Dragons.
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Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 1
Norwich Dragons 4s
No Fixture
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Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 2
Norwich Dragons 5s
No Fixture
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Empresa Norfolk Women’s League Division 3
Norwich Dragons 6s
No Fixture
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Empresa Norfolk Girls Development League
Norwich Dragons 4-0 Pelicans
On Saturday the 14th December, the dragons girls development team played against Kings Lynn Pelicans. Winning a fantastic 4-0, this was a great result for our last game before Christmas. Dragons started very strong with great positioning and passing. We quickly scored our first goal, by Sophie Thurtell. Straight after Laura Hansell made a fantastic run down the right wing and scored our second goal. Sophie Thurtell then scored another goal just before half time, making the score 3-0.
In the second half. We all communicated well and everyone was involved. We were all very determined to get one last goal, this was succeeded by Brooke Simmons. Even though Pelicans goalie was very strong we still managed to get a great score of 4-0. Player of the match was awarded to Laura Hansell as she always made herself available and made lots of excellent runs.
Thank you to all the coaches that helped us in training and especially to Emma Tabrett and Maddie Denman (our adult players) who helped us a lot. Thanks to Bridget for managing. And finally well done to everyone who played ,you did amazing.
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Empresa Norfolk Boys Development League
Norwich Dragons 3-3 Norwich City
A slightly late start after the women’s thirds and with an umpire short, Butts kindly volunteered (and was quite grateful for the opportunity to keep warm!). Natalie decided not to start with an adult, and see how we would fare against a strong City line-up. We lost the toss and the first 15 minutes saw some great play by both sides, though particularly by Dragons, with Harry C, Robert, Edward and Raunaq controlling the midfield play, enabling Dragons to put pressure around their D. City, however were dangerous on the break, and despite some great defending by James and Luke, and Andy as sweeper, we had an extended period in our 25 and City won a short corner. Ben made a great save, with a quick clearance by Luke off the rebound. At the next short the City forward hit hard and fast, Ben dived to the right got a toe to it but went over and up into the net. But, luckily for Dragons, the ball did not go outside the D and so no goal was awarded.
A great hand save by Ben went for a long, and another good City attack right through towards the goal was saved by a dive from Ben, who obstructed the ball in the process. The short was struck cleanly into the right hand corner to give the lead to City.
Andy made some great defending block tackles and clearances from the 16, keeping the ball low and fast, allowing Dragons to get back on the offensive. Jono picked up one such clearance and some neat passing with Luke, Robert and onto Tom B, who took the ball down the right hand side and made a fine cross to provide us with a great chance to equalise, And a few minutes later we had another with Raunaq trying one of his reverse specials!
For the next ten minutes there some of the best hockey played particularly with exciting end to end play, with all players working hard, tracking back, intercepting their passes. Many great passing between Charlie, Pedro, Raunaq, Tom W and Harry W provided some good openings but City’s defence was solid.
We started the second half well, but City stepped up a gear and despite good blocks and interceptions by Robert and Jono, and some timely tackles by James in the D, City scored again. And, having been awarded a short during one of our fine attacks, Pedro injected to Raunaq who hit it cleanly into the backboard.
Harry C and Edward worked well together and a pass to Charlie, who dribbled past four of their players and into the D to cross to Raunaq, who was closed down. A few minutes later Pedro made a great run down the middle and into their 22, slipped it through to Harry C who then swept it onto Edward, who did a neat little V drag around their defender and flicked it into the corner to make it 2-2.
City came back and after some fine teamwork held us in our D, and took a neat goal, a fraction before the final two minutes was signalled by the umpire. Tom B made a great move down the right, using his speed to pass a couple of defenders and with some neat dribbling got a clean cross into their D towards Harry W, who kept his stick low and swept it into the right hand corner of the goal, to make it 3-3.
Without a doubt the best hockey played by the team this season and a most entertaining game to watch.
Many congratulations to the whole team who, without exception, played very well and was a good demonstration of our skills and talent. Back in the clubhouse Tom B was voted player of the match.
Many thanks to Ollie and Peter – though their services were not required! And to the parents who endured the cold easterly wind.