Men s Hockey East Division 2N Ipswich East Suffolk 3 St Ives 4 THE curtain came down at the end of the season in fine style for champions St Ives when their long trip to Ipswich resulted in a 4-3 win. The game started slowly with neither team showing muc

Men's Hockey East Division 2N

Ipswich East Suffolk 3 St Ives 4

THE curtain came down at the end of the season in fine style for champions St Ives when their long trip to Ipswich resulted in a 4-3 win.

The game started slowly with neither team showing much bite in front of goal but a fine solo effort by Joe Brennan was as good as over the line when Alex Drummond nipped in to make the final touch for a real poacher's goal.

Having been shown the route to goal, Dave Land added number two after a great break by Ben Scarrow.

Good defensive work from captain Iain McIntosh and debutant Jamie Hall restricted IES to a few penalty corners and they eventually pulled a goal back just before the break that debutant goalkeeper Jack Forward could do little to prevent.

The second period was punctuated by a number of contentious umpiring decisions and the hosts netted an equaliser.

Land restored St Ives' lead by adding to his tally from a penalty corner but following another questionable decision IES levelled via a wicked deflection from a penalty corner of their own.

Minutes later McIntosh was sin-binned for dissent but Land completed his hat-trick with a carbon copy of his second goal in the dying minutes of the game to secure a final three-point haul for the season.

Elsewhere, St Neots will be playing St Ives in Division 1 next season after their relegation from Premier B was underlined by a 5-3 home defeat against Bury St Edmunds at the weekend.

St Ives III badly needed their 2-1 win over rivals St Ives II and the news that Alford had beaten Peterborough Exiles meant relegation had been avoided. Kishor Shah and Barry Wickson netted the all important goals with Chris Bollom scoring for Saints II.

St Ives IV finished the season on a high with an outstanding 7-1 thrashing of Bourne III. Michael Wilderspin hit a hat-trick, Rob Brand netted a brace and strikes from Alex Cade and Richard Corbett complete the rout, whilst St Ives V had to be content with a 2-2 draw against Rutland III.

+ St Ives Hockey Club is holding a Club Day on Saturday at the St Ivo Outdoor Centre between 12 noon and 3.30 pm - all new players are welcome. The club's AGM will also take place on the same day and venue commencing at 4.30 pm. For more information on both functions visit www.stiveshockeyclub.co.uk