Ipswich 1 Chelmsford 2

Slazenger Women's EHL

Premier Division

Ipswich 1 Chelmsford 2

Ipswich fell victim to a determined Chelmsford on Sunday as the Essex side bounced back from their Saturday thrashing to win this local derby.

The game started at a high pace, with the majority of play in the hotly contested midfield area. Ipswich created the first real chance, but a reverse stick shot by Sarah Daley was comfortably dealt with by GB goalkeeper Katy Roberts.

Chelmsford broke the deadlock in the 13th minute, catching Ipswich on the break as GB player Lisa Wooding was able to hit a tame reverse stick shot into the corner of the goal.

Despite being behind, Ipswich continued to play some good hockey but a combination of tiredness and frustration led to the ball being given away too often.

The home side were caught on the break again when Chelmsford attacker Charlotte Roberts' shot straight at keeper Charlotte Lee-Smith somehow managed to go in.

Going in 2-0 down at half time, Ipswich coach Royce Waters had some positional changes to make and replaced Lee-Smith with second team captain Claire Gould, moving to a more attacking formation.

He also had to adjust to the loss of striker Jenny Hall who was hit on the thumb by the ball and had to leave the pitch with a nasty looking cut.

Hall was taken to A&E and has not only split her thumb, but also broken it and will be out for minimum of three weeks.

It is a massive blow to her and the team after only being back in action for three weeks after her shoulder injury.

Despite the loss of Hall, the positional changes seemed to pay off as Ipswich started the second half in a much better frame of mind and began to create clear cut chances.

First King dummied Roberts in the Chelmsford goal, only to see her reverse stick shot cleared off the line, then she watched in disbelief as her fantastic strike from the top of the circle smashed against the right hand post and bounced to safety.

With time ticking away Ipswich could sense that a goal would see them right back in the game, but Chelmsford defended with gusto and were determined not to suffer two defeats in the weekend.

Ipswich kept on battling though and finally broke through when Lizzy Aldous bundled the ball home from a melee in the circle.

The 69th minute goal proved too little too late for the Suffolk side though, who still remain in fourth place with only two games to go before the break for the indoor season.