On behalf of the Social and Fund Raising Committee I thank everyone who supported the Spring Prize Draw and last Saturday’s Fun Quiz Evening. The SPD made a profit of £1250 and the prize winners drawn by the club’s President were:

1st (£125) Mike Denham (sorry – but no fix I can assure you!), 2nd (£50 each) Helen Barber and Julie Tovell, 3rd (£25 each) David & Debbie Francis and John Baddeley.

The quiz drew an attendance of 80 members and relatives and our thanks go to Jose Tibbenham (for setting the questions), to Philippa Taylor (for putting the questions), to Julian Taylor (for helping to run the very enjoyable evening) and to Robert Stimpson and Kirstin Cumming for running the bar. Congratulations to the formidable Mackenzie/Osborn team for their triumph over the other 12 teams.

The club’s social functions raise invaluable funds and help us to reduce our interest-free loans which now stand at £33400. A recent repayment cleared the last loan in respect of the water-based pitch put down in 2002 at a cost of £450,000. The outstanding figure is in respect of the recarpeting of the sand-based pitch in 2006 (at a cost of £165,000) and our thanks go again to all members and friends of the club for the important part they played, alongside our other funders, in making these vital developments possible.

Saturday’s hockey at Weybread was overshadowed by a nasty knee injury sustained by Micayla Tootill while playing for the Ladies’ 2nds against Saffron Walden. The game (eventually won 5-1 by the visitors) was understandably held up and then moved to the sand-based pitch while awaiting the ambulance. Best wishes Micayla for a speedy recovery. Our thanks go to Kirstin Cumming for the way she dealt with this emergency – another example of what we owe Kirstin week in and week out.

With Micayla safely in the ambulance and the Ladies’ 2nds now on the other pitch the Men’s 2nds were able to start their game against Wisbech on time but for the first half several players from each team seemed more interested in umpiring the game than playing in it! However, after the break the game settled down and Magpies did well to pull back a two-goal deficit to win with goals by skipper Lawrence Baynes, David Francis and Martin Fields – the latter with considerable help from Richard Ling making a welcome and successful return to the game. Like nearly all the men’s sides last Saturday the team was down to just eleven players so Richard was not able to take a breather.

Earlier in the day the Boys’ Development had a good win 2-1 win over Pelicans thereby helping to keep coach Stuart Peters in his job (!) thanks in no small part to goals by son Kieran and Matthew Bensley while the Men’s 6ths had their best win of the season by beating then league leaders Sudbury 3rds 2-0. But they had keeper Andy Palmer to thank for their clean sheet when he pulled off a save late in the game which would have gladdened the heart of Gordon Banks! Meanwhile the Ladies 4ths, and already league champions, were getting over the surprise of their defeat the previous weekend by beating Pelicans 3rds 5-2 with Laura Schultheiss in great form.

Away from home the Ladies’ 1sts recorded their seventh successive win (what a run!) by beating Dereham 4-1 with the help of two goals by Bryony Lund and the Men’s 3rds made sure of avoiding one of the four relegation spots by coming from behind to beat Cambridge City 3rds 2-1 with goals by Gavin Cole and the evergreen Philip Cobbald. Congratulations also to the Girls’ Development who clinched second place in their league with one game to play when they beat Norwich City 1-0.

I hardly need say that the all-conquering Men’s 7ths beat second placed Felixstowe 3rds to retain their 100% record while the 10-man Men’s 4ths gained a vital 2-1 win away to Thetford to keep alive their survival hopes with goals by Paul Shelley and Charlie Blandy. Unfortunately the Men’s 5ths conceded a late goal in their 1-1 draw against Ipswich 4ths but promotion is still possible provided they win their last two matches and second placed Holt Harlequins slip up in one of their two remaining matches which includes a home game against unbeaten league champions Lowestoft Railway.

On Sunday the Men’s 1sts gained a vital home point in their thrilling 4-4 draw with Bromley & Beckenham who the previous day had beaten Indian Gymkhana 6-1. Scorers for Magpies were Stuart Leate and Gareth Furlong with a hat trick from penalty corners. The team is away to bottom placed Sevenoaks (recent victors over league leaders Southgate!) on Saturday (1.30) seeking the one point to finally banish any lingering concerns over filling the relegation play-off spot while on Sunday at Weybread (12.30) the Ladies’ 1sts face their toughest test of their remarkable second half of the season when they too play Sevenoaks who in contrast to their men are league leaders. For a full list of this weekend’s fixtures please see the Home Page of the website. Good luck to all our teams including the Mixed who are away to Luton on Sunday (12.30).

Finally, congratulations to our teams who did so well in last Sunday’s Norfolk Minis at Weybread with the U10 Girls finishing first and the U12s coming second while at Gresham’s School the U12 Boys came first with the U10 Boys in second place. It is also ‘well done’ to the U13 Girls who beat City of Peterborough 2-1 and Dereham 1- 0 at Peterborough to top their East league.

Mike Denham [email protected] 15/3/11