University of East Anglia 1 Ipswich III 1 Ipswich fielded a changed team with the defence and attack comprising regular players but the midfield was a mixture of new faces and seasoned regulars providing key stability.

University of East Anglia 1 Ipswich III 1

Ipswich fielded a changed team with the defence and attack comprising regular players but the midfield was a mixture of new faces and seasoned regulars providing key stability.

The match started brightly for Ipswich and they were quickly keeping UEA pinned into their half. Throughout much of the first half Ipswich were dominant on the field and had much more possession. However, as half time was approaching UEA were awarded a dubious short corner, which they managed to convert.

This did not dampen the Ipswich spirit and as always the 3's dug into their reserves of experience and skill and raised their game to face the enlivened UEA pressure. However the skill displayed by the Ipswich team was only matched by increasing physical pressure from the UEA team, but as always, the Ipswich defence, and in particular Martine Butcher, kept the attacks well away from the goal.

Ipswich started the second half in a determined mood and their skill shone through as they dominated the midfield with Tori Hughes continuously supporting the development of attacking moves. Both Anna Sherring and Connie contributed significantly to this Ipswich pressure with their rapid movement and accurate passing. UEA were obviously tiring and Ipswich enjoyed most of the possession. The persistence was awarded early in the second half, with the combination of accurate passing and light footwork Sarah Logan managed to drive the ball into the UEA goal. At this point the UEA morale started to falter and Ipswich pushed hard into the UEA half, winning a number of short corners and having a number of shots on goal.

Throughout the last minutes Ipswich dominated the play with high quality, high energy play whilst UEA had clearly run out of inspiration.

It was great to see that despite the team changes, both new and established players gelled into a coherent and quality team from the start. With skilled exciting performances like this, Ipswich should have no difficulty in maintaining their position in the table for the remainder of the season.