FOR the second time in as many weeks Ipswich took the honours in the East Anglian derby.After beating Chelmsford 3-2 in the Slazenger EHL Premier Division, Ipswich then repeated the feat indoors by winning 6-2 to claim the East Indoor Championship.

FOR the second time in as many weeks Ipswich took the honours in the East Anglian derby.

After beating Chelmsford 3-2 in the Slazenger EHL Premier Division, Ipswich then repeated the feat indoors by winning 6-2 to claim the East Indoor Championship.

With both sides missing their international players it was a perfect chance for those less experienced to make their mark and the club were very pleased to see the whole squad rise to the occasion.

Ipswich started the weekend with a 2-2 draw with fellow Premier Division side Old Loughtonians, they then beat St Albans 4-1 and finished Saturday with an impressive 11-0 win over Maidstone.

Not only did the high-scoring game highlight the superb skills of drag-flicker Lucy Unwin, but also it ensured that Ipswich finished top of their group.

Another highlight was the return of Kirsten Spencer, who has been out for nine weeks with a fractured and dislocated thumb.

Sunday saw Ipswich face EHL Indoor Division One side Sevenoaks in their semi-final.

A superb display of indoor hockey enabled the Suffolk team to brush the Kent team aside 10-0, with Leisa King showing her class with several outstanding goals.

The final, as predicted, saw Ipswich face local rivals Chelmsford and after losing this final and the national indoor semi-final to their Essex counterparts last year, Ipswich were determined to make amends.

Ipswich started the brighter, putting the Chelmsford defence under pressure and were rewarded when they took the lead in the sixth minute.

Inspired by their good start, Ipswich continued to dominate and opened up a 4-0 lead, the pick of the goals being a superb drag flick by King.

Chelmsford battled gamely and pulled two goals back, but Ipswich were creating chance after chance and scored another two to see the scoreline finish 6-2 and give Ipswich the first title of the season.

Ipswich men lost in the semi-finals in the cruellest possible fashion at the East Region Indoor Hockey Champion-ships held in Rickmansworth.

After drawing 5-5 with St Albans thanks to two goals apiece from Joeri Roosblad and Will Hearne and one from Ed Driver, Ipswich went out 7-6 on

penalty flicks.

Ipswich then drew 3-3 with Witham in the third and fourth place play-off, courtesy of two strikes from Roosblad and one from Hearne, to finish joint third.

Ipswich had earlier defeated Dereham 3-0 thanks to two goals from Roosblad and one from Will Fulker before hammering Harpenden 7-1 with Roosblad again on target twice. Phil Messant also netting a brace and Ravi Roosblad, Keir Dixon and Hearne one each.

They then lost 5-3

to Chelmsford with Joeri Roosblad, Hearne and Messant on the scoresheet, but qualified as runners-up from their group to meet St Albans in the last four.

Visit www.eveningstar.co.uk/hockey for more hockey reports