Ladies 1s: hosted Kettering 1s, who started the day as unbeaten leaders of 2NW and sadly for Newmarket finished that way, despite Newmarket causing them a scare or two along the way.
Kettering started brightly and took an early lead via a short corner. Newmarket’s equaliser came via the ever reliable Di Farrell-Thomas, whose back post run was not picked up by the Kettering back line, making it 1v1 at half time. Another regular supplier of goals then turned the game on its head as Jess Richardson picked up a loose ball from a Newmarket short corner and beat the prone Kettering keeper. Newmarket had turned it around but time was on Kettering’s side and their superior fitness allowed them to push back Newmarket and dominate the remainder of the game. Two quick goals swung the game their way, before a 4th goal was scored on the counter attack as Newmarket searched for an equaliser. Next up for Newmarket, an away trip to Bourne Deeping 1s currently sit in the bottom two.
Men 1s: Travelled to a Bury St Edmunds 2s for the late game. Bury were fresh and fit and worked hard through out the game mainly down to the large percentage of Culford students in their ranks. It was however Newmarket who had the best of the first half, hitting the post twice with the score at 0v0. Had either chance gone in, the game may have developed very differently, but luck was in short supply and Bury took the lead on the stroke of half time from a well struck shot from the top of the area that snuck inside Newmarket’s post. Throughout the second half, injuries mounted for Newmarket and Bury eventually managed to make the most of their good fortune, by adding a short corner and back post tap in to take the game 3v0. The result was harsh on Newmarket and they will hope to get back to winning ways at home to Ipswich 2s.
Ladies 2s: Continued their good start to 4NW with another fine win, this time on the road at March 1s. A brace a piece from Jess Malings and Sophie Robins put Newmarket 4v0 up before the break, with Katie Barrett applying the cherry on the cake to round out a 5v0 win. The result leaves Newmarket one point clear of Cambridge City 6s, with Newmarket hoping to stretch the gap next week at home to bottom side Cambridge Nomads 2s.
Mens 2s: Remained unbeaten but were held to a 1v1 draw by Dereham 3s and dropped to second place in 4NE. Newmarket started brightly and took an early lead through a Mark Pears strike, but Dereham did not look like a side struggling for form and they continually put Newmarket under pressure until they got the luck their pressure deserved when a wayward shot was deflected into their own net. Both sides continued to exchange chances and Newmarket will rue two gilt edged chances almost one on one with the Dereham keeper not to put the game to bed. In the end the points were shared and Newmarket M2s will go again for 3 points next week as they host Watton 1s.
Ladies 3s: Played at home vs Long Sutton Ladies 2.
Back line: Jo Graham Thompson, Liv Wright (GK), Sue Rowe and Melly Benedikz
Mid field: Peggy Claydon, Edith MacDonald, Zoe Bailey (c) and debut Alex Rowe
Attackers: Vicky Benedikz, Natalie Rice and Murron McCulloch
Newmarket made a cracker of a start, attacking from first push back and keeping Long Sutton on the back foot. Persistent attacking from throughout the team eventually resulted in Zoe Bailey driving into the D and slipping the ball inside near post past the keeper. 1 -0 Newmarket 80,000 fans roared.
Long Sutton came back but their attacks fizzled out before getting into the D thanks to the strong defending of the back line. Melly Benedikz held strong down the left hand side making it look easy in slipping the ball past her opponent several times to be picked up by Murron McCulloch who ran menacingly towards the Long Sutton 23. Peggy Claydon (Player of the match) made similar positive attacks down the right, assisted by Sue Rowe, and welcomed the opportunity to whizz into the D to attack. The second goal came from a Bailey strike that was heading towards the keeper and Vicky Benedikz captured it on her reverse stick and ensured its passage into the goal. 2-0 Newmarket at half time.
Newmarket had the pushback and attacked from the start trying yet again to keep up the pressure. A Long Sutton hit out was picked up by Vicky Benedikz from the press (Benedikz, Rice and McCulloch) who dribbled into the circle and slipped past the keeper. 3-0 Newmarket. Tiredness and the high attacking positions meant Long Sutton slipped past a couple of times in the second half but Newmarket kept on recycling the ball and attacking. The final goal came from sustained pressure by the attackers who slipped it across the face of goal towards McCulloch who poked it past the keeper on the left post. 4-0 Newmarket at full time.
Determination won the day and a high press recapturing attempted clearances contributed to our goals. Everyone played an integral part of keeping the pressure on Long Sutton.
Player of Match – Peggy Claydon for superb runs down the right and consistent pick ups and pressure throughout the game.
Lemon of the match – despite keeping a clean sheet – Liv Wright took to staring down a gull during the game because “It started it.”
Next up, a trip to fellow high fliers Cambridge University 4s.
Mens 3s: were always going to be up against it against league leaders Sudbury 3s. Sudbury had scored 32 in 5 games before this, so a 2v0 scoreline was far from a poor result. Sudbury looked skillful and fit, but played most of their hockey in front of Newmarket, allowing them to be held at bay for long periods of time. In the end a goal in each half was all Sudbury managed and Newmarket will look to get back to the winning ways their performances deserve against Colchester 4s next week.