Men’s 1s: 7-2 win vs Lowestoft Railway 1 (Home)
(Dawson 3, B. Atkinson 2, Wade 2)
DAWSON LEADS NEWMARKET TO VICTORY
With the promotion charge all but over, skipper Matthew Holden took the opportunity to shuffle his pack and hand Will Frost his 1st Team debut, as well as giving young Ben Atkinson his first start. And they didn’t disappoint as Frost fed Ollie Wade on the run, who struck the ball straight at the keeper. As the ball rebounded, Atkinson was first to react to score his and the games first goal with a tap in from close range. 1-0.
It wasn’t long before Newmarket had scored their second as Josh Dawson raced past a static Lowestoft defender, with his trademark 3D skill, before striking the ball into the bottom left corner. 2-0.
The pressure told in the 25th minute as the navy and yellows went three ahead, with the clubs top goalscorer Ollie Wade drag flicking the ball into the top right corner. 3-0. Lowestoft responded well however, and piled the pressure on for the remainder of the half, but Newmarket held firm, down to some excellent defending by towns back four of Harry Bell, Jordan Newnes, Alex Andreou and Darren Jenkins.
But, 10 minutes later, Town got their 4th goal. Mark Pears slid the ball to the stick of Atkinson on the left wing, who burst past two Lowestoft players before taking aim from just outside the D and picking out Dawson at the far post to strike home. 4-0
Once the second half got underway, Newmarket wasted little time to make it 5-0, as Wade got his second through yet another short corner drag flick. The away side then managed to get a consolation goal in the 55th minute through a short corner of their own, which keeper Seth Bailey almost managed to save but only to see his save divert the ball into the goal. 5-1.
Two minutes later however and Frost was involved again, finding the unmarked Atkinson, with a sublime cross, in the centre of the D, to deflect the ball into the roof of the net. 6-1
But it was Josh Dawson who took the plaudits, completing his hat-trick by sprinting through on goal and striking the ball through the keepers legs to make it 7. Through some sloppy last minute defending however, the visitors managed to capitalise to add a second and ending the game at 7-2.
Men’s 2s: 0-4 loss vs Harleston Magpies 4 (Away)
In stalwart goalkeeper Martin McCourt’s last game for the club, Town succumbed to a 0-4 defeat away to Harleston Magpies. Somewhat fittingly, the weather was decidedly Scottish for the duration of the match, the pitch being lashed with rain and wind throughout. The scoreline doesn’t really tell the story of the game as Newmarket missed a flick at 0-2 and had a dubious one awarded against them at 0-3, but the Blue & Yellow machine played well to a man and enjoyed the match as always. The Division 5 victory parade goes marching on.
Men’s 3s: Friendly – 2-1 win vs Cambridge South 4 (Home)
(H. Frost 2)
Ladies’ 1s: 1-2 loss vs St Neots 1 (Away)
(L. Evans)
Ladies’ 2s: 0-5 loss vs Cambridge City 4 (Home)
Ladies 2s, another match that has flown by without a win but we stayed strong against City 4s and challenged them when they became tired and out done, there was still no goal that came from this but plenty of opportunities as we carried the ball towards their D, with the score being 3-0 at half time we realised we were lacking in communication and formation, City had messed with us but with a stern talk at half time we were back on thinking terms. Graceful, elaborate and delicate, there was some great passing up the line and running by Olivia Haste and Laura Excell who committed themselves to the game and with Laura receiving man of the match. With the final whistle blown and the defenders standing in position for a short corner there was no way that the ball was going in the back of the goal, with the keeper Jersey Bennett living up to expectation the shot was defended and the game was over with the final score of 5-0.
Ladies’ 3s: 4-0 win vs Ely City 3 (Home)
(Smith 2, Excell, Dryland)
Saturday saw the girls take on Ely 3s. The ladies were buoyed from their game the previous week and hoping to carry that spirit on into this game.
The game started well for Newmarket, with good possession, passing and positioning. But as in previous weeks, the goals were hard to come by, despite plenty of opportunities. The stale mate was broken after a series of back to back short corners.
The ladies went into half time 2-0 up and were pleased with their performance.
The second half start well, with sub Gabi on pitch now, and a few other team changes. Newmarket continued to dominate play. A further two goals week to be had out of the second half. One notably for Jane Dryland, her first of the season. The others were 2 for Laura Smith and 1 for Laura Excell.
Man of the match went to Sophie Bell again for her outstanding play at right back.
Teddy was awarded to Laura Excell for missing a perfect baseline cross ball.
Next week sees the ladies away to Cambridge South to play their 3rd team at 3pm.
Ladies’ 4s: 0-5 loss vs Ely City 2 (Away)
Juniors: Tournament at Ely City Hockey Club
The Juniors attended a tournament this weekend. U10s entered 3 teams and competed in 6 competitive matches against teams from March and Ely. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves playing with mixed results across the teams.
The U13s entered 3 teams, 1 boys team and 2 girls teams competing in matches against Ely, St Ives and March. The prospect for the future is bright for Newmarket Hockey Club who see the last junior training next Sunday 10-11.30 for their end of season matches and awards.
For photos of this event, make sure to check out the Junior section in our Galleries area.
