E14HOCKEY East League Premier DivisionIpswich II 0 Canterbury II 0IPSWICH welcomed Canterbury to Tuddenham Road on Saturday and, having narrowly missed out during their previous meeting, Ipswich were determined to take points this time in this NE14Hockey East league game.

E14HOCKEY East League Premier Division

Ipswich II 0 Canterbury II 0

IPSWICH welcomed Canterbury to Tuddenham Road on Saturday and, having narrowly missed out during their previous meeting, Ipswich were determined to take points this time in this NE14Hockey East league game.

With quite a few changes in the side from previous weeks, it would not have been a surprise if it had taken the home team a while to settle, but they showed no hesitation in getting to grips with the game.

Lucy Gallagher linked well with Sophie Kesterton and Anni Nunn to set up strong attacking moves down the right. Through a combination of Nunn and Millie McWhirter on the right wing, Ipswich were soon piling on the pressure in Canterbury's half. Sam Bennett and Hannah Godfrey took every opportunity to drive forward from the back and connect via Anni Broster, with Chloe Hunnable and Fiona Lane upfront to dominate the Canterbury midfield.

As in the previous fixture, Canterbury's strength lay in the experience of their defensive unit and, despite the pressure, Ipswich found it hard to carve any genuine scoring opportunities in the first half. The home team remained in control of proceedings and gave Canterbury few opportunities.

In the second half Beth Scott and Connie Bedingfield played some excellent hockey to build more attacking moves down the left side of the pitch. Canterbury began to switch the ball more around the back and it became a real end-to-end affair, with both keepers called into action. Kat Wrinch and Hannah Godfrey each made key tackles at the back to break down threatening attacks. Claire Gould had her goal well covered and Canterbury were unable to take any advantage from their efforts.

With time running out, Ipswich really started to drive for a winner but Canterbury's experienced defenders were not going to give in, and both teams had to settle for 1 point each from a hard fought game.