First Tournament for Under 15s and 17s

Ely started the new season with 3 tournaments on the first weekend. These were also the first matches under the new rules which tested both the players and officials, particularly the newly introduced team fouls designed to punish the more physical play.

 
Saturday was the turn of the under 17s who played at Cambridge. The team got off to a sluggish start losing 6 – 2 to Cottenham. Whilst Ely played well in patches their passing and general team work was not up to normal standards. In the second match things improved with a convincing 7 -1 win over the Bury Ladies. Unfortunately they couldn’t capitalise on this going down 6 -2 to Kings Lynn, a game which in top form Ely were capable of winning. The fourth game was one sided with Bury containing several players who recently played for the England winning comfortably 13 -1.
 
Sunday was the turn of the under 15s at Kings Lynn.
 
 In the first division the Ely side contained two players playing at this level for the first time in a newly created team. This showed in the first match with Kings Lynn taking an 8- 0 lead. Ely however started to find some form and scored two late goals to finish 8 -2. The second match against Bury was much closer and was sat at 2 -2 with less than 5 minutes to go. However this time it was the opposition who scored late, to win 4 – 2. In the final match against Peterborough Ely defended well to restrict a bigger and stronger team to only three goals well into the second half. Unfortunately with two of the older Ely players off the rink Peterborough scored 4 goals to win 7 -0. Highlights of the day were some excellent goals by Max Dunnand and the goalkeeping from Hattie Ford inc two direct free hit saves resulting from the new team fouls.
 
In the second division Ely started against Norwich a team they knew from under 13s last year. Ely started well and took an early lead but Norwich fought back and won 6 - 4 after a late penalty. In the second match there were few chances for either side with Ely defending well, going into half time only one nil down. Ely pushed hard for an equaliser but another penalty gave Kings Lynn a 2 – 0 win. The next game was against Colchester and this time it was the defence that let the side down with Colchester establishing a good lead. Even with some late goals Ely still found themselves 6 – 3 down at half time. Ely had the better of the second half and despite a good goal by Jake Kendall lost 7 -5. The final match was the highlight of the day, a strong defence and well taken goals giving Ely a comprehensive 11 -3 win over Bury.