Womens 1 Vs Ipswich-East Suffolk 1

Ipswich at Home 23rd November 2019

St Neots Ladies 1s continued their winning streak with a 3–2 win at home

against Ipswich. With two former 1s players returning to hockey, the ladies

were raring to go. Saints started hard and put Ipswich under immediate pressure.

The first goal came from a short corner, with Eleanor Pybus’s classic reverse hit

from a rebound flying into the back of the net. The second goal followed

another short corner, as the strike rebounded off the Ipswich keeper and found a

diving Kirsty Mckenzie at the left post to extend the lead. St Neots dominated

the majority of the first half but Ipswich finally broke through and pulled one

back.

Saints knew Ipswich, third in the league, would be determined and ruthless in

the second half, but this did not dampen their spirits! Despite Ipswich being the

superior team in the second half, Saints managed to score a third goal, courtesy

of a beautiful run by Emma Cody down the right wing ending with a cross to

Caz Osborne, who shot at close range and secured the lead. Ipswich attacked

hard for the final 20 minutes, pressing Saints’ defence. After Ipswich received a

bevy of short corners, they finally clawed back a goal, scoring from a (slightly

lifted) shot from the top of the D hitting the back board. But Saints’ defence

held and Ipswich were denied an equaliser thanks to some quick-reaction saves

from Saints’ keeper, Mel Harding.

Both teams fought hard throughout the game but Saints came out on top. The

team’s commitment was so evenly spread that there were joint third (Sophie

Faulkner and Kate), second (Mel and Millie Payne) and first (Emma and Mary

Richardson) players of the match!

’Tis the season for another 3 points!