SOCCER SEVENS: THE opening rounds of the 2001 Sevens have seen some surprises and plenty of goals. Division One and Two were played with Stowmarket Town and Crane Sports proving victorious.

THE opening rounds of the 2001 Sevens have seen some surprises and plenty of goals.

Division One and Two were played with Stowmarket Town and Crane Sports proving victorious.

The competition started in Division One and Crane Sports secured a 1-0 success over Ipswich Wanderers courtesy of an early strike from Paul. Sophtlogic also made a winning start when they defeated Ipswich Exiles 3-1.

In the second round of matches Ipswich Exiles took the lead through Bowman, but hosts Ipswich Wanderers came from behind to win with goals from Smy and Lowe.

In the other match Crane Sports remained unbeaten when Nuttall and Jones were on target in their 2-0 win over Sophtlogic. In the group matches, Crane Sports secured the group win with a 2-0 victory over Ipswich Exiles and Ipswich Wanderers finished second after goals from Miller and Smy ensured a 2-0 win over Sophtlogic.

Division Two started with an early setback for holders Stowmarket Town when a Hawkins strike was enough to give Haughley a win.

Ipswich Athletic also started with a 1-0 win over Stonham Aspal. Ipswich Athletic remained unbeaten after two games as they defeated Haughley 2-0, whilst Stowmarket Town crushed Stonham Aspal 6-0 with a hat-trick from Yeomans and other goals from Platt, Ratcliffe and Gill.

In the group decider Stowmarket came out on top with a 3-1 win over Ipswich Athletic. Gill netted twice with Yeomans scoring the other goal and Beddows scored the Athletic consolation.

With Athletic defeated Haughley gained runners-up spot when they defeated Stonham Aspal 5-2 in their final fixture.

Divisions Three and Four saw St Clements and Ransomes clinching the group titles. Division Three started with Woodbridge Town defeating Horse & Groom 2-0 thanks to a Leech brace. In the other match Ransomes took an early lead through Bridger, but a second half double from Willingham gave Holbrook Rovers the points.

The second matches saw a total reverse of fortunes as Ransomes defeated Woodbridge Town 4-1. The Ransomes goals came from Markwell (2), Osborne and Andrews with Williams netting the Woodbridge consolation. Horse & Groom also bounced back with Spurling and Oliver on target in their 2-0 defeat of Holbrook Rovers. This set up the final games with all sides on equal points.

Ransomes defeated Horse & Groom thanks to another Markwell double and their goal difference edged out Holbrook Rovers who defeated Woodbridge Town 2-1. Division Four saw St Clements go through unbeaten, they started with a 1-0 win over Silver Star Thistle, the goal being scored by Wright via a deflection.

In the other match Needham Market made the worst possible start when a Coote strike gave Belstead Arms the victory.

St Clements then defeated Belstead Arms 2-0 thanks to goals from D Head and Wright and in the other match a solitary goal from Bynoe was enough to give Needham Market a win over Silver Star Thistle.

In the final matches goals from Hurd and Crane helped St Clements to a 2-1 success over Needham Market, Pitt netting the consolation goal. Meanwhile Belstead Arms clinched the runners-up spot with a 1-1 draw with Silver Star Thistle.

Westerfield United and Coplestonians progressed as group winners in Division Five and Six.

In Division Five the evening started with Westerfield United beating Whitton United 2-0 courtesy of a Sandilands double. In the other match in the division Melton YCOB defeated Martlesham 98 3-1. Payne gave Melton the lead before Anderson equalised, but Melton responded with Brand and Gray adding further goals.

The second round of matches in the division saw Westerfield United remain unbeaten as they secured a 2-0 win over Melton. Sandilands opened the scoring in the first half before a fierce drive from White sealed the win.

Meanwhile Whitton United bounced back from the opening defeat by winning 5-0 against Martlesham 98. The goalscorers were Lynch (2), wells, Eaton and Bartlett. Westerfield completed the evening with a 4-0 win over Martlesham 98. Clements netted twice with Sandilands and Harvey the other players on target. In the other match Whitton and Melton battled for the runners-up spot and it was the Jewson side which came out on top 3-1. Wells scored a hat-trick for Whitton with Gray netting the consolation for Melton.

In Division Six Coplestonians opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Achilles. Martin and Guthrie were the players on target. In the other match, Ipswich Wanderers Youth gained a 4-1 win over Ipswich Warriors A. Laws gave the Wanderers the lead before Jordan Smith completed a first-half hat-trick.

The second half was more even and Lewis Bloomfield netted a consolation for Warriors. Achilles recovered from their opening defeat with a 4-1 win over Ipswich Warriors A in their second match. Reeder (2), Bonwick and Brown scored for Achilles with Oliver Duncan scoring Warriors' consolation.

In the other match, Ipswich Wanderers Youth lost 2-1 to Coplestonians. McGlone put Wanderers ahead, but Bellwood levelled before the interval and a counter attack saw Martin score the winner. Coplestonians clinched the group with a 4-0 win over Ipswich Warriors A. Martin opened the scoring before Wessels scored a hat-trick. The other game saw a play off for the runners-up spot with Achilles needing a win. Baker opened the scoring for Ipswich Wanderers Youth and though Bonwick levelled for Achilles, the draw was enough for Wanderers Youth to clinch the second place.