Norwich Dragons Ladies 1s Vs Cambridge University 2’s

Score: 0 – 2

Scorers: Jemima Watson & Holly Setchell 

MOM: Jemima Watson

Ladies 1s travelled to Cambridge to play Cambridge Uni 2. After a strong start, dragons managed to convert a short corner with the goal coming from Jemima Watson. Our second goal came from Hol Louise Setchell after taking a penalty flick to bring us to the final score of a 2-0 win. MOM Jemima Watson DOD Kate Macca (reading confusion)!  Great game girls!

Norwich Dragons Ladies 2s Vs Framlingham 1’s

Score: 7-2

MOM: Hannah Hardy

Second half saw more of the same with Dragons passing the ball around well, however a slight lapse in concentration saw Framlingham get in behind and their shot on goal hit a Dragons body en route, the flick was dispatched despite Jillian Christie getting a glove to it. Dragons then had another flick following good work by Jess, but this time Hardy changed her side and fluffed her lines putting it wide.

More goals came however, a fine Gail Thomas short corner strike made it 4. Jess Bennett then scored 2 further goals completing a fine hat trick, and Hannah Ellis fired a shot that went so quickly, no one saw it until it smashed against the backboard!!! Another slight lapse in concentration at the back allowed Fram a 2nd consolation goal. Much better performance from the L2’s. Flori Smith had a great debut for the team, Tabby Witte also playing for the 2’s for the first time had a strong game. All round great team performance.

Norwich Dragons Ladies 3s Vs East Coast 

Score: 3-3

Scorers: Harriet Marlee x2 & Lucy Cross

MOM: Nat Crisp

The weather was kinder than last week, warm and damp! And we had more confidence for this Saturdays match and we all felt hungry before we even went onto the pitch. In the first half we kept our cool and fought hard to win a goal but to concede 2! But for some reason we didn’t think we were losing and kept up the tempo – we were winning in our eyes!

The second half brought more confidence to the team and we went in strong to pull back and win the second half ending in 3-3. It’s amazing how even though we drew we felt like we won – the team came together so well albeit we hadn’t played together only but a few.

A huge well done to a relatively new team of ladies, we go on and we endeavour to fight as a team

Norwich Dragons Ladies 4s Vs Diss

Score: 1-0

Scorers: Amy Forse

MOM: Harriet Rant

Ladies 4’s away to Diss won 1-0. At times some really pretty hockey, we’ll played everyone!! Goalscorer Amy Forse and POM Harriet Rant. 

Norwich Dragons Ladies 5s Vs Dereham 4’s

Score: 8-0

Scorers: Lizzie McDonnell x4, Jane Wells, Freya Dolding, Claire Stuart & Gemma Ballard

MOM: Anita Mancini

Dragons 5 played Dereham 4 on another soggy Saturday. Dereham battled hard but couldn’t keep out the fiesty Dragons in a match which ended 8-0. Defence and mids had to work their socks off against some strong, dare I say, rugby-style play from the opponents. Scorers were Lizzie x 4, and one each for Jane, Gemma, Freya and myself. Some may say mine was helped in a little by the opposition!

Norwich Dragons Ladies 6s Vs Magpies 6’s 

Score: 4 – 2 

Scorers: Lily McDonald x2, Rosie Smith & Charlotte Carr 

MOM: Joanna Jennings

Ladies 6’s we’re away to Magpies 6’s and returned home with an awesome 2-4 win under our belt! The rain held off and we had some great sharp clean passes and plenty of quick release play allowing us to take control of the game. Our ever valuable Pat Chat at half time helped inspire us to push ourselves that bit harder to be first to the ball and continue to put pressure on a young magpies team, who played very well!

2 goals from Lily on the right wing ( very speedy!) another from Charlotte C and last of all Rosie POM deservedly went to Joanna Jennings for taking over left wing superbly #dragons #ladies6’s and the rain stayed away!!!!!

Norwich Dragons Ladies 7s Vs Loddon 2’s

Score: 1-2

Scorers: Lara Nuthall 

MOM: Emily Matthews 

The 7s were lucky to dodge the rain this afternoon at home against Loddon 2s. Some glimmers of lovely hockey with the first half ending 2-1 to Loddon, our goal a lovely ball into the D from Claire Fairhurst very lightly directed into the bottom corner by myself. No more goals for either team followed in the second half and another unlucky loss, however really pleased with how the team is starting to build. MOM to Emily Matthews for her strong and resilient defending.

Norwich Dragons Ladies 8s Vs UEA 4’s 

Score: 0-8

MOM: Emily Grint   

Dragons 8s lost 8-0 at home to UEA 4s. Dragons were disappointed that they could not build on their promising start to the season, but recognised that the students are already playing the kind of game that they aspire to. UEA built their victory on being first to the ball, accurate passing, speed around the pitch and with a few talented players having the strength to drive through when they needed. Dragons have the potential to achieve these essential skills, and must continue to believe that they really are making progress, especially by working hard at training week by week.

Dragons were 2-0 down at half time and at that point the defensive line up was holding up well. Jess Lockwood was very composed at left defence, dealing well with a speedy wing. Emma Young improves week by week on the right, making some good clearances out wide. Bridget Le Good has a reliable hit which can frequently get the Dragons mids away. Karen Davidson is a tenacious tackler in front of the back three and also links well with the mids. Ringing the changes to give their many defensive players pitch time, Jo Lees is developing her hit out with accuracy and power. And, Karen Grint is thoroughly enjoying her hockey and developing her game. Throughout the game, POM Emily Grint proved she is an excellent shot stopper in goal and is also developing the ability to clear out wide to begin the first line of attack.

The Dragons expected, and got, a very high work rate from their young midfielders. Neha and Mehnaz Shammy ran themselves into the ground and displayed some good stick skills out in the wide positions. Imogen Burke in the centre was the one player who actually got stronger as the match progressed, discovering that she was one of the fastest players on the pitch and could not only take the ball from the opposition, but could get her forwards away as well. Louise Crouch-Reed, Johanne Steward and Hester McLean saw less of the ball this week, but comparing where the 8s are now with this time last season, the forwards are getting the ball into the attacking 23 more often.

The closest the 8s came to getting a goal was from a short corner, which they need to create opportunities to practice. The injection to Bridget Le Good was a little soft, and the defence were on her, but she got the ball onto the post where Karen Davidson so nearly managed to force the ball home. It was a great effort from Karen in an unfamiliar position doing unfamiliar things really well!

In the second half, UEA upped their game. They were far more forceful, and perhaps Dragons tired and became a little disheartened. The first thing they lost was their ability to press up, which they have been practicing. This surrendered a lot of territory to the Us, and made it very difficult for the Dragons’ mids to work the ball out and up to the forwards.

Last season, the 8s would have folded into a double figure drubbing. They didn’t, thanks to Emily’s performance in goal and to the defence’s determination to clear the ball out wide.

So it is back to the drawing board for the 8s this week, with the focus needing to be on their main objectives. Personal fitness and acceleration over short distances is still an issue. They will continue to work on their press, and their passing game. But, they still have the excellent team spirit and determination to do better. Onwards and upwards Awesome 8s!

 

Norwich Dragons 1’s vs Pelicans 1’s

Score: 2-3

Scorers: Jon Miles & Daniel Rix 

MOM: Oliver Buck

The first half was a rather end-to-end affair with each team trading attacks and spells of sustained pressure. A moment of brilliance saw today’s assist King-o turn away from his man on the edge of the D, dance with poise and skill into the area before feeding a chance on a plate for Jon Miles to finish with ease into the net. Pelicans pushed hard as the first half moved on, finding two goals in a very short space of time at half’s end. Oliver Buck put in a fine performance today, notably during the first half, with adept skilful carries from the back and a frantic yet vital save on the line to keep us in the game!

The second half saw another Ollie King mazing dribble that resulted in a ball across the goal for Rixy to finish into an empty goal. A Peli’s attack 10 minutes later swept into our D and a wayward strike was deflected in. For the remainder of the game the Dragons reshaped and pushed hard, establishing a superiority over the play in the final 15 minutes. Our midfield and back line stepped up and pushed Pelis back. Owen Tennant spreading play from the back with real shifts and movement from our midfield, alongside interplay between Kingo, myself and Rixy – producing flashes of our previous season’s movement and linkup play.

Sam Avery came close with a late run and volley at goal, just wide. I got hacked, smacked and bundled upon during a run down the centre…moments before coming close – losing my man in the D and their keeper pulling off an impressive save. Other highlights included Jonty and Sam putting in big shifts, and Roman was followed by a rather physical little admirer. Pete again delivered good saves, while Owen did his best Gandalf “you shall not pass”, smiting an attacker in his path, fairly…and with the force of a thousand oxen!!! 

Norwich Dragons 2s vs Pelicans 2’s 

Score: 6-1

Scorers: Rupert Snelling x2, Isaac Driver-Hall x2, Josh Rollason, Jono Chaney-Baxter

MOM: Jono Chaney-Baxter

We conceded one goal after going 5-0 up as everyone had dreams of their name appearing on the score sheet. A real marker of where we want to be this season in terms of performance and result… watch this space!

Norwich Dragons 3s vs Felixstowe  

Score: 0-7

MOM: Ed Cross

Huge thanks to those who volunteered to travel with us and ensure we had a team. Building on last week’s efforts, the horde of youngsters in the side continue to grow and develop. If us oldies can just keep up our end of the bargain we’ll be a decent team by Christmas.

MoM today was Ed Cross, who was a calm and effective influence at the back.

Norwich Dragons 4s vs Norwich City 4’s 

Score: 1-1

Scorers: Jake Hardesty

MOM: Matt Hull 

It was a definite game of two halves with City dominating first half possession but being thwarted by man of the match Matt Hull and keeper Dave King on numerous occasions. However City did manage to grab a well taken goal after a rare Dragons attack broke down.

The team had a productive half time team talk (well, better than the previous week’s grump-fest) and had much more of the play in an end to end second half. Jake Hardesty scored an excellent goal after good work by John Ives to take an share of the points.

Norwich Dragons 5s vs Pelicans 3’s

Score: 4-5

Scorers: Seb Atkinson, Casper Lind x 2, Bertie Pinching

MOM: Conor Kerrigan

5s Galactico Casper Lind then responded to take Dragons to 2-1, taking advantage of a severely rattled keeper. But again Pelicans equalised having been awarded a P Flick. With just moments until the half time whistle, false nine and 5s debutant Jos hammered home a sterling effort, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR due to some earlier footwork before receiving the ball.

Moving into the second half, Dragons again brought the pressure on with several brilliant opportunities, including an effort from striker Will Sexton, though unfortunately resulting in a stationary ball and a hockey stick blasted into row Z. Striker Casper Lind found the onion bag once more to put Dragons in front. However following some tough defending, Dragons conceded against the run of play on a short, and yet another P Flick awarded against the reds to bring Pelicans ahead 4-3. Fortunately midfield dynamo Bertie Pinching charged into the D to curl in a worldy off the back of a second assist from big-game player Shiv Kapur. This brought the score all square and the 5s’ unbeaten run seemingly intact. Within the final moments of the game the Dragons battled hard with yet more world-class saves from keeper Conor Kerrigan.

But sadly it was not to be, with Pelicans putting in their fifth and final goal during Fergie Time, leaving Dragons with no opportunity to respond. Despite the final score, the entire team played strongly against a tough Pelicans side who are anticipated to be setting the standard this season.

 Norwich Dragons 6s vs Pelicans 4’s 

Score: 0-4

MOM: Graham Cormack

Not quite the line-up I expected lunchtime but we were not 4 goals worse in a competitive match where we had enough chances. First half we were 0-3 down , with 2 goals due to our own defensive frailties & a feeling that foot stopped a short corner reply. The second half saws a more attack minded M6 & a Pelican keeper who seemed to be inspired in keeping us out of the game.

Norwich Dragons 7s vs Watton 1’s

Score: 7-1 

Scorers: Will Bloom

MOM: Adams Jones

A fast and challenging game for the second of the 7’s league matches away to Watton 1’s. The initial 11 man squad, bolstered by a guest appearance from Steve Linford, got off to a good start with some strong passages of play and possession. Constant pressure from Watton resulted in 3 goals by half time.

The second half saw further goals from Watton, however the continued determination from the team denied the home team of a clean sheet with a much deserved goal by Will Bloom. Special thanks to Dan Orsborne for half time refreshments! MOM this week, as voted for by the team, is Adams Jones whose sterling performance in goal prevented a heavier loss. Much to be positive about and to build on for future games. A great effort from everyone on the pitch.

Norwich Dragons Boys Development vs Magpies Development

Score: 9-0

Scorers: Louis Bolton-Smith x4, Ayrton Rant x3, Freddie Jupe & Deeran Jeyapragash

MOM: Louis Bolton-Smith