This Week’s Results
| Team | Opposition | H/A | Score | Scorers | Player of Match |
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
Goalscorer: Fiona Fletcher
MOM: Jen Buskell
Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s v Dragons 6s: 8-0
Goalscorers: Claire Stuart x4, Lizzy McDonnell x3, Jane Wells
MOM: Nat Crisp
As usual the season kicked off for the 5’s with their first game up against the 6’s. With lots of new faces in both teams it was a chance for both teams to try and establish themselves with their new mix of players.
The 6’s started strongly and were obviously determined from the off. But 5’s soon had a quick break down the right with Megan Beckett-Flatman finding Anita Mancini, and then her cross being calmly deflected in by Lizzy McDonnell. Claire Stuart soon added to the scoring tucking in another cross from Megan on the left post. 6’s continued to challenge with some great runs down the right-hand side but were cut out by the defensive line of Emily Grint, Kate Atkins and Hannah Woods and again the 5’s would be set off back on the attack. Esther Jacobs made some great saves for the 6’s but couldn’t keep out a short corner slipped to the left by Anita. Nat Crisp, Hatty Harrison-Mobbs and Louise Brooks all found themselves making runs into the attacking D and with Lizzy and Claire’s finishing the 5’s finished the 1st half 6-0 up.
The 2nd half saw the 6’s work tirelessly and eventually winning a flick for their persistence in front of goal, but this was saved by Mia. 2 further goals came from Jane Wells and Lizzy, but then an excellent goal line clearance by Ella in the 6’s denied the 5’s of any more. 6’s had an opportunity in the last minute of the game when Hatty Stuart found herself charging at Mia one on one, but Mia remained cool and sent the ball wide to keep a clean sheet and end the game 8-0.
A good start to the season and great hockey played by all. POM was very close but eventually went to both Nat Crisp and Claire Stuart.
Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 1
Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s v Norwich Dragons 5s: 0-8
MOM: Ella Handy
Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 2
Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s v Thetford: 0-11
MOM: Paige Fisher
Dragons lost heavily to a very well-drilled Thetford side who were superior in the key areas – they could move the ball all over the pitch more accurately and more powerfully, and they were frequently first to the ball. However, captain on the day Emma North said she was very pleased with all the players who made themselves available to fill the gaps in the team. Everyone gave 100 per cent, and the heads never went down.
With the first goal coming in two minutes, Dragons were able to identify Thetford’s most speedy and skillful player. When she was left unmarked and not tackled, Thetford scored. Once Paige Fisher was given the task of marking and tackling her, Thetford had less freedom, and an exhausted Paige earned the POM award.
Dragons had a lot of defenders. Jo Lees, Jess Lockwood, Emily Roper, Rosie Tarleton and Karen Davidson all had their moments with some very brave and solid tackling, but having never played as a unit before this was always going to be a baptism of fire. They picked up a lot of the tonking shots, but where Thetford were clever was in the way they moved around in the circle at speed and forced the marking to break down. Dragons worked at establishing an understanding and even if the goals came at regular intervals, Northie kept out three or four for every one that went in. That in its turn is a measure of how much pressure Thetford created and how hard Dragons worked.
The 7s are really going to benefit from their own dedicated coach this season, and Des D’Souza made an instant impact with his crisp instructions, his ideas on developing the formation and his ability to keep the team positive. He needs his full squad available to develop his themes, but his first insistence was on stronger, more accurate passing and the midfielders getting free to pick up from the defence, especially at 16s. Sarah Lucas seems to double her prowess every time she plays, and in this match she was particularly effective when she dropped into right mid where she tackled, won the ball and then got the passes away. Sharing the mid roles, Katy Cole always impressed with her speed, Sophie James with her tackling and Claire Fairhurst with her clear-headed distribution. Claire also made an impression in a more forward role.
In the second half of the second half, Dragons improved their link play. The defence were getting the ball through to the mids, and the forwards in their turn were getting a better understanding of how to make themselves available. With Dragons under pressure, Ceris Burgues and Lara Nuthall were often isolated up front, but they learned how to time their runs, especially with Bridget Le Good spraying strong passes around. Ceris used her speed and Lara took up some great positions in the circle – and the reward shortly before the end of the match was a penalty corner, which was executed according to plan.
This was a glorious day for hockey. Vice-captain Claire summed it up; ‘We played, they scored – it was hot!’ Every player was delighted to have had the opportunity to play in this hard-fought but sporting game, and has Des’s words ringing in their ears for what needs to be done at training next week.
Empresa Norfolk Women’s League, Division 3
Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s – no fixture
East League, Men’s 2N
Norwich Dragons Men’s 1s v Dereham 2s: 5-2
Goalscorers: Pedro Goss, Matt Knights, Dan Rix x2, Cley Hamilton
MOM: Dan Rix
East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 2s v North Norfolk 1s: 1-2
Goalscorer: Rupert Snelling
MOM:
East League, Men’s 3NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 3s v Bury St Edmunds 2s: 1-1
Goalscorer: Jon Miles
MOM: John Ives
For the first game of the 2019/20 season the NDHC mens 3s headed down to Bury St. Edmunds to take on their 2nd team in what proved to be a thrilling match. In the glorious Saturday sunshine the away side got off to a good start with new member Jon Miles opening the scoring after a counter-attack led by pacy winger Will Main. For the rest of the half the Dragons weathered a storm of pressure and short corners but the defence remaining resolute including some important saves from captain Tom McLean. The second half featured much of the same with Dragons missing a few key chances in breakaway attacks and enduring constant pressure but centre-backs Joel Dennis and Mitch Smith proving up to the challenge whilst Rob Goodson shut down the midfield with his constant hounding of their best players. Finally the home side got their breakthrough with a nasty bobbling ball through the D finding their striker at the back post for an easy tap-in. The 3s dug in for the final 10 and came away with a very respectable and hard-earned point at 1-1 final score. Many positives to take away from the tough game, man of the match was awarded to John Ives for his experienced and “terrier-like” performance.
East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 4s v Bury St Edmunds 5s: 3-1
Goalscorers: Rich Phillis, Ali Smyth, Bobby Sheppard
MOM: Tommy Gale
The Men’s 4th team got off to a good start to the season, not without a fair portion of drama, I must admit. They were facing a well organised Bury St Edmunds 5th team, who arrived at the Den with plenty of time before a theoretical 3:30pm pushback. Shortly after their arrival and having made introductions, they requested access to the blue pitch, which wasn’t being used at that time, for a very disciplined warm up session. Meanwhile, Dragons awaited the final whistle of the previous game, which was carrying the cumulative delay of the rest of the games played before on that shiny Saturday. It was just a couple of minutes after the previous game ended that we learnt a great lesson from the Bury guys, who had been brilliantly plotting their masterplan: having noticed that we were not warming up while we waited, they requested a quick start of the game to “overcome the delayed pushback”. And their plan definitely paid off. With just a couple of minutes of play gone, Bury managed to raze into our D through the centre several times, catching us with the guard down, and scored an early goal from a short corner. Despite Dragon’s efforts, for most of the first half the game seemed in Bury’s hands, with Dragons lagging behind unable to turn their chances into goals, until young Bobby managed to slot in a ball getting the equalizer after a brilliant team effort of great passing between midfielders and attackers. That late-first-half goal seemed to bring Dragons some fresh air, with Bobby Sheppard, Tommy Gale and Adrian Kemp only missing a few more chances by millimetres.
The second half saw Dragons progressively getting into the game and creating multiple chances. Soon a second goal came from a short corner in which Ali Smith managed to send a bouncy ball in from the right side of the D. As time went on, more and more details of quality were seen. Like Paul Keating running up the side line, eliminating opponents with his 3D skills, Rich Phillis diving trying to reach every ball coming around the midfield or Tommy Gale navigating brilliantly from midfield into Bury’s D. With some 10 minutes still to go, Bobby had to leave the pith being a hit on his ankle, pushing Jon Price into the attack line, along with Mr Kemp, with a combined age of 111. But fear not, since both proved to be really fit and gave Bury a really hard time in defence for the remainders of the game. A last goal finally came from Rich Phillis, making the final score 3-1.
It was a great fair-play game, with the score not really reflecting on how well Bury fought. Man of the match went to Tommy Gale for his relentless work throughout the game, but needing a second vote to resolve the draw, since Bobby Sheppard, Jamie McKinnon and Will Mares had also received a fair number of votes for their flawless work on the day. Special thanks to both umpires, Angela Murgatroyd and Dave King, whose great work was also commented after the game.
East League, Men’s 5NE
Norwich Dragons Men’s 5s v Bury St Edmunds 4s: 3-3
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
Goalscorer: Casper Lind
MOM: Graham Cormack
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 21st 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 21st 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!