THIS weekend sees Ipswich travel to Chilton Fields, to take on Stowmarket Crusaders in the semi-final of the Suffolk Chadacre Cup, writes Dave Carey.Stowmarket will be looking for the win, despite being in a lower league than Ipswich, having last reached the cup final in 1995.

THIS weekend sees Ipswich travel to Chilton Fields, to take on Stowmarket Crusaders in the semi-final of the Suffolk Chadacre Cup.

Stowmarket will be looking for the win, despite being in a lower league than Ipswich, having last reached the cup final in 1995.

Coach Kev Parker said: “Last weekend's result against Canvey Island was obviously a disappointment, but has given us plenty to work on this week in training.

“I'm hoping that the players will want to use this opportunity to prove that Stow have what it takes to beat any club on their day, as we certainly have some talented players on the pitch.”

Ipswich, on the other hand, have shown considerable promise over recent games, and with key players such as Cristof Blom, Aretseta Toalima, and new signing Luciano Silvero all set to feature in the starting line-up, they will make for formidable opponents.

Last year Ipswich were knocked out of the cup early on by a more sturdy Hadleigh at Layham Road, and the Humber Doucy Lane side will no doubt be seeking the opportunity to go all the way this year.

The winners of tomorrow's tie will face local rugby giants Bury St Edmunds in the final, due to be held on February 11, after the west Suffolk side beat Hadleigh earlier this month.

Despite being neighbours, Stowmarket and Bury have not met for some time, and the local derby would certainly be a thrilling end to this year's Suffolk Cup campaign.

But Ipswich and Bury are old league rivals, and having last met just before Christmas at Ipswich, the east Suffolk side would certainly relish the opportunity to right the wrongs from that match, which saw Bury walk away 34-19 winners despite a spirited start from Ipswich.

Ipswich coach Andy Skipper said: “This is an exciting period for us, and the introduction of Slivera has had an uplifting effect on the squad as a whole.

“I'd like to think we could win this game, and go on to lift the cup next month. We certainly have to ability, and skill to do so.”

Tomorrow's game at Chilton Fields kicks off at 2.15pm.

n IPSWICH Scorpions had an exceptionally muddy training session on Wednesday night, which saw a fantastic turn out.

Captain Emma Johnson and the girls are on a real high at the minute, and will certainly be looking for a win at the weekend as they travel to Chesham.

Johnson said: “After an intensive defensive session last week we worked on our fitness and attacking running lines.

“It was great to see so many of the girls turn up, and numbers really are improving, but we are going away with only 15, leaving us no reserves.”

The Scorpions drew 7-7 when they last played Chesham at home in October, and the London side sit just above Ipswich in the league table.

Chesham have had a good start to the season and had a 15-10 win over London Welsh last weekend.

Ipswich Scorpions welcome new players of any level to attend their training sessions on a Wednesdays at the Humber Doucy Lane grounds. from 7pm to 8.45pm.