Poynton 3 Ipswich 3

Slazenger EHL

Premier Division

Poynton 3 Ipswich 3

A depleted Ipswich squad showed their team spirit on Saturday to fight back from 3-0 down and claim a well-deserved draw against Poynton.

It could have been even better for the Suffolk side too had captain Becky Baker's late penalty stroke not been disallowed for an alleged infringement.

Ipswich travelled to Manchester with a squad of only 13 players and were missing three key players in the form of Jenny Hall, Emma Lee-Smith and Leisa King.

The team also included a change of goalkeeper with second team captain and goalkeeper Claire Gould making her first ever start in a national league game.

Ipswich started the game well, however it was the hosts that had soon taken an early lead when Cath Linaker scored in the seventh minute.

Frustrated by the early setback Ipswich lost their shape and conceded goals in the ninth and 21st minute to find themselves 3-0 down.

A time out for an injury to a Poynton player gave Ipswich a brief respite and, following an inspirational talk from player-of-the-match Vic Sandall, Ipswich were kick started into action.

Also having a positive impact on the game was the positional changes by coach Royce Waters as Lucy Gallagher came on to do a fantastic marking job in defence.

Within three minutes Ipswich were back in the game when a short corner routine saw Emma Millar fouled as she attempted to play the ball and captain Baker stepped up to convert the resulting penalty stroke in the 24th minute.

With the attack being led by a powerful display from Lizzy Aldous, Ipswich gained several short corners which Poynton defended well.

Half time arrived with Ipswich still two goals down, but they could sense the momentum had swung in their favour.

Within three minutes of the restart Ipswich had further reduced the deficit when Miriam Fabregas fired an unstoppable shot past the keeper to make it 3-2 for her fourth goal of the season.

The play was now all about Ipswich and, with Sandall having her best game of the season in the middle of the pitch, they were able to dominate the game.

In the 47th minute Ipswich completed a remarkable come back when a great run down the right by Jess Bloom saw the ball collected by Millar. Her pass found an unmarked Baker who coolly flicked the ball over the diving home teams keeper to score her second of the game and level the scores.

Poynton looked shell shocked at having lost a 3-0 lead and Ipswich pushed for the winner.

Minutes later the opportunity for a remarkable win arose. A short corner shot was stopped illegally on the line by a Poynton leg and Ipswich were awarded their second stroke of the game.

Baker stepped up again for her hat-trick and coolly slotted the ball home to wild celebrations from the Ipswich team. However, their joy was short lived as one of the umpires ruled it was an illegal drag technique and the goal was disallowed.

Following this Jess Bloom also looked to have scored the winner, but her shot flew into the side netting and the hosts escaped again.

Ipswich welcome league leaders Slough on Saturday, before they travel to Sunderland for a place in the quarter-finals of the cup on Sunday.