What a cracking start to the season! All three Ice teams have been blazing their own Ice trails in their respective leagues so far this season - with maximum points all round! A more relaxed out-take on the season as a whole and more focused weekly training sessions have produced three teams that have not only built on last season but are all displaying a more refined and balanced attitude all round and much improvement.
Ice 3 have benefited from the arrival of a few new players and have come together as a team very quickly. In their first ever competitive match against Norwich City 6, Ice 3 were laying up to play a player short but upon discovery of their opponents illegal team, Ice 3 could settle into the game knowing that the points were already won. A solid performance was still put in by all and the match was comfortably won (result will stand as a 5-0 victory). The third teams second game was against UEA 3 - last seasons division winners so a tough match was expected. This was made even tougher by the fact that we had to play a player short to ensure our teams legality and therefore qualify for promotion should we end up as division winners. The team battled hard against a UEA team in determined mood, and ran out eventual winners at 8-7. Two wins from two for our thirds in their very first season.
Ice 2 is proving to be the most competitive of our teams so far this season with most of the club in contention for a place! Hopefully proving not too much of a headache for the coach. Narrowly missing out on a chance to play at the top level last season merely by a golden goal in extra time in the division 1/division 2 play-off match, Ice 2 will look to gain automatic promotion this season. Ice 2 have only had one competitive match so far this season and looked very comfortable against a Dragons 2 team filled with division 1 experience. The team had no problems with goals as they may have done in seasons past and thumped 9 of them past the Dragons conceding just 1 in the final stages. A fantastic start and a great base to build on in the coming matches, against Stingers 2 and City 3.
Ice 1 started the season slowly as usual with a tense game against Dragons 1. The team found goals hard to come by and could only manage to stay level as half time closed in. The second half was a much better display as the team blew the cob-webs away and ended the game comfortable winners at 8-4. After a shakey start like that, it was not pleasing to see Knights 2 on the fixtures list for the following week - especially with several of the team expressing their fitness concerns from various bugs and colds throughout the weeks build-up. It was therefore pleasing to see a relaxed and confident performance from the first team throughout the game. With all the pressure on our opponents this time round, a stark contrast to last seasons title decider, Ice led the match from the first goal and nearly always had their noses in front. The teams seemed almost evenly matched throughout but a brilliant performance from the first team girls tipped the balance and finally proved the difference with Ice 1 running out victors by 2. A real quality display of fast flowing, attacking korfball. Ice 1 can now look forward to a SERL meet against Dragons and Ely Vikings, followed by league matches in the following weeks against Norwich City 2 and UEA 1.
Well done to everyone involved in all three teams, particularly Paul and Adam as second and third team coaches (keep up the good work), and I hope you are all enjoying the season as much as I am (and I can’t even play yet!). With the SERL division 2 start looming and some more testing matches for all our teams - we all have plenty to look forward to.
Neil
