Ely Roller Hockey News

Match Report of Ely Ladies WINNING the National Conference Competition on 6th July 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
ELY CROWNED NATIONAL LADIES CHAMPIONS!

Ely created a big upset when they won the National Club senior ladies championship, on Sunday 5th July. Fielding a young and inexperienced squad with five 12 year olds, expectations were not high going into the tournament. However a mixture of hard work in defence, a bit of luck and great goalkeeping combined to give an unlikely victory.
The competition became a three horse race as Middlesbrough didn’t have an eligible goalkeeper, so their games became friendlies.

Ely started the competition against Bury who have a number of players in the current England Squad. There were few chances for either team in the first half with the scores 0 -0 at the break. It always seemed likely that one goal would separate the teams and that proved to be the case - going Ely’s way for a 1 – 0 victory. The whole team played superbly in defence including those playing their first ever ladies match.
The second match against Middlesbrough was won before the start; and although Ely lost it on the rink, it was a chance to develop some teamwork ahead of what proved to be the decider.

The final match was against Plymouth, who also fielded several England players. As they had drawn with Bury, Ely knew a draw was enough to win the competition. However, they got off to a bad start with some poor defending gifting Plymouth an easy goal in the first 5 minutes. Ely rode their luck several times and had to rely on Hattie Ford in goal to keep them in the match. But they never gave up battling and had several shots on goal before they finally equalised with 30 seconds left on the clock! They held out over the final few seconds to take the trophy.
TEAM - Hattie Ford, Emma Gillett, Sam Noble, Vicky Moffat, Kirsty Moffat, Hannah Barrow, Emily Barrow, Nikki Hart and Becca Sharpe.

Match Report from 28th June 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
Eastern Counties Cup Final

The Ely senior side secured a league and cup double at the Eastern Counties cup finals when they comprehensively beat Colchester 20 goals to 3 in the Seniors 2 final. The scoring started only 15 seconds into the match and Ely were dominant throughout. The side which contained several under 15 age group players had already secured the 3^rd division title following a clean sheet of wins at the last tournament held at Maningtree. Wins against Colchester, Kings Lynn and The England Ladies were enough to give a 5 point margin and promotion to division 2 for next season.

In the Under 11s cup final against Cambridge expectations were high after some recent close encounters in the league. Ely got off to a perfect start and were soon one up. However Cambridge came back strong and Ely lost their shape and marking which lead to Cambridge going into the break 5 -2 up. In the second half Ely reorganised themselves well and pulled a goal back. A further goal for either side meant a frantic last three minutes as Ely tried to push for the goals they needed. They had several chances but Cambridge held out with one further goal giving them a 7-4 victory (scorers Nikki Hart 2, Emily Barrow and Ryan Norton).

Match Report from 13th June 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
Under17s Knockout Cup

On a very hot day in Kings Lynn Ely under 17s team played in the qualifiers for the end of season Regional Cup Finals. In the first match against Bury who had beaten Ely comprehensively in the league Ely took a shock lead. The team were playing well defensively but Bury soon hit back with three goals. Ely scored again before the break as did Bury leaving the score 4 – 2 at half time. Early in the second half Ely scored and an upset was still on the cards. However the team tired towards the end with Bury scoring 5 late goals for an 9-3 win.

In the second game against Kings Lynn , Ely had much of the play but couldn’t find a goal. The score at half time was 1 -0 to Kings Lynn. In the second half again Ely had much of the play and had a penalty saved and hit the post several times but it was Kings Lynn who found the net to lead 5 – 0. Unlike in the first game it was Ely who found extra at the end and scored 3 times in the last 5 minutes. Unfortunately the whistle went when more goals seemed likely.

The team have one final game against Bury in the National Cup Final in July and will hope their improving form continues.

Match Report from 6th June 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
NATIONAL CONFERENCE QUALIFIER

Ely under 15s played in the qualifying tournament to try and reach the National Club Finals. A number of last minute withdrawals left the competition a three horse race between Plymouth (who had travelled 6 hours to get to Soham) Ely and Bury. Bury won the first match against Plymouth 12 – 0 which meant Ely had to try and score more, as goal difference counted. The crowd were not disappointed as they scored 23 to nil in reply. This left the decider between Bury and Ely. Ely took the early lead but Bury replied with 2 quick goals, Good teamwork between Max Dunnand and Sam Norton caused Bury several problems and the score was soon back level. However, Bury scored 3 more and took a comfortable lead into half time. Ely pressed hard in the second half and hit the post 4 times, but despite scoring one further goal the score ended 7 – 3.

In the under 17s, the first match effectively decided the qualifier for the finals. Unfortunately this was against a very strong Peterborough team, who pressed from the start and soon took a 3 – 0 lead. However Ely started to organise themselves well and pulled a goal back before half time. In the second half the good work continued and this created one further goal, although Peterborough ended 5 -2 winners. This was one of the best performances of the season against a team who had beaten Ely 10 -0 and 12 -1 in the league. In the other match against Plymouth, the team took it easy and won comfortably 6 – 0.

Match Report from 3rd June 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
ELY LADIES MISS OUT ON FINAL

Ely ladies drew Bury for the third year in the row in the Eastern Counties knockout ladies seniors semi final. Ely are one of the few clubs with enough players to enter ladies competitions but even so it was two 14 year olds, one 13 year old and 3 12 year olds that made up the bulk of the 7 strong team. The opponents fielded four members who played for England last year so Bury were firm favourites.

In front of a good and vocal crowd Ely started brightly and created several chances but couldn’t quite find their form in front of goal. At the other end superb defending meant there were few chances for Bury until 14 minutes into the game when they found the back of the net. It was not until 6 minutes from the end that Bury scored their second goal. Ely battled hard to try and find a goal but they struggled to trouble the experienced Bury goalkeeper. A great effort and 2 -0 over 40 minutes of hockey an excellent result.

Match Report from 30/31st May 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
ELY MISS OUT BY GOLDEN GOAL

Teams from Bury, Peterborough, Kings Lynn, Cottenham and two from Ely took part in the under 15s Eastern Counties Cup qualifiers to determine the end of season finalists.

The Ely Greens were back to full strength and started with a superb match against league runners up Bury. Ely took an early two goal lead but Bury soon pulled this back, despite never falling behind the result ended 4 -4.

In the second game against division 2 champions Cottenham, Ely got off to a slow start and soon found themselves two goals down; the team lost much of the shape that they had in the first game but they dug deep and eventually ran out 6 -4 victors.

The Blues were drawn in the other pool; the team was missing players so had to draft in two younger members at the last minute to ensure there were subs on what was a very hot day. The team defended fantastically in the first game against league champions Peterborough with the score at 0-0 until 10 seconds from the end of the first half. Ely had plenty of chances but eventually lost 3 – 0. In the second game against Kings Lynn the team started to play some good hockey with the game close until well into the second half. However tired legs and a lack of teamwork let Kings Lynn score several late goals to win 9 – 3.

In the semi final play offs the Greens came up against Peterborough. In a fast and frantic game Ely dominated for several periods of the game but failed to convert many of the chances particularly late on. The score ended 2 – 2 so went to golden goals. Ely started as they finished the game with the early chances but on their first attack Peterborough found a goal, taking them through.

The Blues had a 5/6 place play off. The team reverted to shooting from distance and rarely troubled the Cottenham goalkeeper . The score ended 5 -1. Scorers Greens -Sam Norton 8, Dan Salisbury 2, James Cox & Simon Thompson Blues -Michael Hart 3 and Max Dunand.

Match Report from the Tournaments on 9/10th May 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow
Runners up spot for the Ely under 11s.

Ely roller hockey club had a busy weekend with four teams all playing in their last tournaments of the season. Saturday morning saw the under 11s compete at Burwell. Over age players playing for Norwich meant it was classed as a friendly and an automatic win for Ely, even so the match ended 4 -4. In the second match against Cottenham, Ely got off to a blistering start and were 6 – 0 up inside 7 minutes and eventually ran out 8 -2 winners. The third match was the eagerly anticipated game against unbeaten league leaders Cambridge. The team rose to the challenge and scored in the last two minutes to win 4 – 3. In the last match against Kings Lynn the game was tight up to half time but in the second half Ely ran away with the game winning 9 – 2. Ely Scorers on the day Nikki Hart 10, Emily Barrow 5, Ryan Norton 4, Kirsty Moffat 3 and Heather Dunand 2. Ely ended up runners up in the league and have a rematch with Cambridge in the cup final in June to look forward to.

In the afternoon at Soham both Ely under 15s teams were in action. Herne Bay had to borrow players so had to play friendly’s so whilst the Greens won and the Blues lost both were given victories. Ely Greens second match against Kings Lynn was a very tight and fast game with both teams playing some excellent hockey. Despite taking an early lead the Greens found themselves 4 -2 down with only a few minutes remaining. Two good goals however brought the scores level and despite a frantic finish neither team could find the winner. In the last match of the day the Greens played the Blues, the Greens who had a depleted team due to illness were still strong favourites but it was the Blues who ended victorious at 9 - 5 thanks to a superb goalkeeping performance from Hattie Ford. The Greens finished the season in 3rd place and the Blues 5th.

On Sunday it was the turn of the under 17s, again with players missing so 2 players played their first matches at this age group. The first game was against Peterborough ‘A’ who were vying for the league title and keen to score as many goals as possible. The final score of 12 – 1 against Ely was an excellent result against much more experienced and older players. The second Match against Norwich was tight and rough at times with the final score of 3 - 3 a fair result. In the final match against Peterborough ‘B’ again the score could have gone either way, Ely had many chances but could not find the equaliser ending 4 – 3 losers. James Bayes had an excellent day in goal. The Ely goalscorers were Max Dunand 2, Michael Hart 2, James Cox 2 and Simon Thompson 1.

Match Report from the Jubilee Cup matches on 25/26th April 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow

JUBILEE CUP 25/26TH APRIL – Roller Hockey

Both Ely under 13s team competed in the Jubilee Cup over two days at Soham and Burwell. This year’s competition included a team from Plymouth and CP Ribes from Spain. Ely were unfortunately drawn in the difficult qualifying group on the first day which included the two eventual finalists, Kings Lynn and the Spanish side. Both Ely teams played some good hockey at times but each suffered three defeats. Both goalkeepers (Molly Williams and James Walsh) were kept very busy but had excellent days and the scores would have been much higher but for the saves they made.

The match of the day as far as Ely was concerned was the blues against the Greens, This was the 5th time the two teams had met this season, the Greens opened the scoring but the Blues soon fought back and got themselves two ahead. However the Greens changed tactics and started shooting at longer range which resulted in several good goals and a 7 -4 victory. The Ely teams eventually qualified in 4th and 5th place.

Day two was a chance to play against the qualifiers from the other group. The Greens started with a game against Bury St Edmunds. Ely got off to a slow start and found themselves well down at half time. They however had the better of the 2nd half but eventually lost 6 – 3 (scorers Hattie Ford 2, Paul Masterton 1). This meant they were left with a 7th and 8th place playoff against Cottenham B a game they took control of from the start and were always in front ending up 8 -4 winners (scorers Paul Masterton 4, Jake Kendall 3 and Hattie Ford 1).

Meanwhile the Blues qualified for a 9th and 10th playoff against Plymouth. Ely took the lead inside the first minute and soon extended this and established a comfortable margin. Despite two well taken goals from the Plymouth side Ely were too strong and finished 7 – 2 winners (scorers Hannah Barrow3, Ryan Norton 2, and Emily Barrow 2).

The final was won by the Spanish side which was not surprising given roller hockey is a professional sport in Spain, although their win against Kings Lynn was a reversal from the first days meeting between the two clubs which Kings Lynn had won comfortably.

Match Report from the Ely Greens Tournament at Manningtree on 28th March 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow

Ely lose title by narrowness of margins

Ely Blues played their last under 13s tournament of the year on Saturday. Four wins would have given the team the Eastern Counties Second division title but it wasn’t to be in one of the closest competitions of the season.

Ely got off to a good start albeit with a hard fought victory over Cottenham. The Cottenham goalkeeper had a superb game keeping the score down to 3 -0 to Ely with Ely goalkeeper Molly Williams also saving a penalty when the score was 1 – 0. (scorers Hannah Barrow, Ryan Norton and Nikki Hart). The second game was the big match of the day against the division leaders Norwich. Ely got off to a slow start and found themselves 2 – 0 down with a minute of the first half to go. However a good attacking move and well taken goal by Ryan Norton, made it 2 -1 just before half time. The second half was a different story with Ely playing some good hockey resulting in three goals and a 4 -2 lead. It looked good for a victory with two minutes to go but an unlucky penalty decision and a goal 20 seconds from the end gave Norwich an unlikely draw (scorers Ryan Norton 2, Hannah Barrow 2)

Game three against Kings Lynn started well with Ely establishing a 5 -0 lead. The Ely team then lost their shape and poor defending cost them three goals but they held on for a 5 -3 win(scorers Ryan Norton 2, Hannah Barrow 2, Emily Barrow).

The last match against the Eastern Counties Select Team saw Ely finish the season on a high with a 9 – 1 win (scorers Ryan Norton 4, Hannah Barrow2, Emily Barrow, Nikki Hart and Yasmin Hausler). With Norwich managing to win the remainder of their matches the title was missed by one point and a few seconds. However the season was successful for the club with the runners up spot and the other Ely team, the Greens finishing third.

Match Report from the Ely Greens Tournament at Manningtree on 28th February 2009 by our Roving Reporter Brian Barrow

Both Ely under 13 teams, the Blues and Greens, travelled to Manningtree, the home of Colchester Roller Hockey club to play the 6th tournament of the year. Expectations were high with the teams lying in second and third in the Eastern Counties second division and the league leaders Norwich having a bye tournament.

The Greens got off to a good start against the home side Colchester although they had to work hard for a 3 - 2 lead in the first half. The second half was a different story with three quick goals effectively winning the game which eventually ended 8 - 4 (goal scorers, Paul Masterton 4, Hattie Ford 2 and Jake Kendall 2). Colchester were fielding two over age players so this was a good result.

The next match for the Greens was a comprehensive victory over the EC Select team with players from Cambridge and Letchworth, score 9 -1 (goal scorers Hattie 5, Paul 4)

Meanwhile the Blues also got away to a good start with a 7 - 1 win against a young Kings Lynn side, several of the goals coming from good counter attacks ( goal scorers Hannah Barrow 3, Emily Barrow 2, Ryan Norton 1, Nikki Hart 1)

The next game was the highlight of the day, even for the neutrals in the crowd, as the Greens played the Blues. The Blues had the early chances but good goalkeeping by James Walsh kept the scores level until the Greens took the lead. The match was then fairly even for the rest of the first half with 2 goals each leading to a 3 -2 score at half time. The early part of the second half belonged to the Greens as with 5 minutes to go they had established a 5 - 2 lead. However not to be outdone the Blues scored two goals and during a frantic finish the Blues were unlucky not to equalise. Final score 5 - 4 (goal scorers Paul 3, Hattie 1 and Jake 1 - Hannah 2, Ryan 2)

The Blues' final match of the day was against Colchester. Ely went behind quite quickly and early in the second half they found themselves 3 - 1 down. However in what was some of the best play of the day the Blues scored 4 goals in 4 minutes and despite a late consolation for the home side Ely held on for a deserved victory. Final score 5 - 4 (goal scorers Hannah 3, Ryan 1 and Nikki 1)

The Greens had one final match against Kings Lynn whose young legs were showing signs of a long day. Ely capitalised and took a 10 -1 lead into half time. Instructions from the coach to go easy in the second half meant the match ended 12 - 1. The match was memorable for one player, Jordon Chambers, who only took the Sport up 8 weeks ago and playing in his first tournament scored 4, (other goal scorers Hattie 3, Paul 3 and Jake 2).

Great results all round meant the Greens go to the top of the league with 26 points, Norwich are on 25 and the Blues on 24. With the Greens having now finished the season, the top spot is likely to be decided in the match between Norwich and Ely Blues at Tournament 7 on the 28th March with both teams having 4 matches.

Match Report from the KnockOut Cup games on 24th and 25th January 2009 by our Roving Reporter Linda Hart

Saturday and Sunday 24th/25th January were NRHA Knock-out Cup days and Ely RHC were there in force!

Our first game was a minors game against Bury, who play in division 1 in the league. Ely had a very strong team, with players from both of the league teams taking part.
After a slow start, we finished the first half 5-1 down but after some sage advice at half time from John, the team made a spectacular comeback to 5-5 at the end of time! The parents and supporters had sore throats by this stage, but it wasn't over yet. As this was a knock out cup, extra time was allowed with the first team to score being the winners!

The tension was incredible. After several good attempts we nearly scored, but then Bury got a good shot at our goal - and it was all over. But it had been such an exciting game, and our team had played so well, that none of us minded! The pace and power of the game would not have been out of place in an older group. All the players gave 110% effort and we were very proud of them! If only it had been recorded - it will be remembered as a tremendous contest.

Our next game was our blue inters team, who had unfortunately drawn Bury as opponents. However, despite being the underdogs, our team defended with vigour and verve, and managed to disappoint many Bury attempts at the goal. Scoring a goal of our own was a high point, never an easy thing against such a top-class team, and we were not too disappointed at the final result, losing 1-10. Each of our team members played their hearts out. Well done to them!

Our third game was our green inters team against Middlesbrough, a largely unknown force. The goals came slowly to both sides, with Ely scoring 2 in a row to go from behind to ahead in the first half. Each Ely goal was matched by a Middlesbrough one, until near the end of the game when Ely scored again! The last couple of minutes waiting for the final whistle were torture, but at last it came and we had won!

Having won their game, the green team had now earned another game which was against the winners of a different game: who turned out to be Bury! It was definitely our day for playing against that club. Unhappily we lost this game 8-2 and were knocked out of the competition.

A new day and a new team: on Sunday it was the turn of the schoolboys (under 17s). We had a lucky draw for this level, as 4 of the other teams had to play twice to win a place in the final, but we only needed to play once. For a change we had not drawn Bury, but Herne Bay, a team we know from the inters league as quite physical.

The game started well for us, but then we conceded a goal and were 0-1 down for quite a while. After half-time we equalised, and then came another chance and we scored again! The clock still had 8 minutes to go, so things were very tense for the team and supporters! The play was intense but Ely held together well and fended off the enthusiastic efforts of HB, one of whose players was sent off with a blue card. With just one minute left the whistle blew for a point, but Herne Bay carried on playing and put the ball in our net. They started celebrating, sticks were thrown in the air, and then the refs told them it didn't count! They were less than pleased with this news: in fact several cards were given to HB players in response to their comments, including a blue after the end. The final whistle blew and we had won 2-1: we had made it through to the final! The players were tired but euphoric, the parents in need of a lie down!

And our opponents in the final? Well who else but Bury?!

Date and venue yet to be announced.

16th November 2008
After a recent meeting it's been decided that Wednesday night training times should
be restricted to the Inters Teams only.

2nd November 2008
Mid-week training is now back to normal as the School half-term holidays are over.
Would a for_sale/wanted/lost/found page be of interest? Email me via the link at bottom of the page

2nd October 2008
Ely teams took part in three tournaments last weekend. Well done all. The results can be found via the results links under each division title on the Fixtures & Results page. This years Events Calendar is now available on the Downloads page. Also the Gallery page has now been split into Gallery pages and the viewing method improved.

20th September 2008
We're very pleased to report that the first two Come and Try It sessions were very successful with a total of 18 guests trying roller hockey for the first time at Ely Roller Hockey Club. We are continuing to offer two free 1 hour sessions to first timers at the Tuesday and Saturday training sessions.

14th September 2008
There are some new photos taken at today's Division 3 tournament. Take a look at the Photo Galleries. (stop laughing.. I did my best)
Simon (webmaster)