U14s at Home to Mellor in Cup Round Robin

Another good game in prospect as we welcomed a good team in Mellor to 'The Cale'.
Good teams require us to be at our best, and that is a good judgement of the first halves play, as we quickly found our rhythm, and in particular the link up play between midfield and attack.  First quarter, had Jay dominating Face, with Hugo George and Joel backing him up with great energy, however it was the link up play which was most effective.  Hugo to Rhys on a couple of occasions, opened up Mellor's defence, and then a couple of solo efforts from Joel and Hugo to give us a strong 4-0 quarter.
Second quarter and Mellor swapped their face off man, and were now coming up with the ball more frequently.  However, we defended well, restricting Mellor to just the one goal, whilst at the other end another couple from Rhys, and one from Findlay (2 Assists from Hugo) and coming into half time, we were dominant with a 7-1 lead.
Third quarter, and were we complacent, or did we just take our intensity down a notch or two, but we let Mellor into the game, and once they gained in confidence their play improved, and on this quarter, Rhys managed a solo effort, but Mellor managed 3 at the other end, to get our nerves jangling a little as we lead 8-4.  Maybe we tried to hard, as this was the only quarter where our finishing deserted us, with Rhys's effort being the only 1 from 8 shots.
The final quarter, and Mellor struck first to bring them within 3, and they were starting to believe in another comeback (like last time we played), but on this occasion we finished the game with a 3-2 quarter, with 3 solo efforts, one from George, and 2 from Hugo.
All in all, a nervy affair, but one which we won 11-6 and played some good lacrosse.  Improving all the time, and hopefully the players will use the time at training to improve.

All Photos :-https://www.flickr.com/photos/182853094@N08/albums/72157712919333142

U12s Stockport vs Timperley

U12s Stockport vs Timperley

Cage fight on the thread bare carpet. 

The Stockport team had a choice this week of whether to play at Home or travel to Timperley and with the prospect of a little less kit cleaning and sausage and chips after the game on offer, the choice was to be at Timperley, naturally.

Last time we played here it was a fantastic match and a close game, so we were all looking forward to an entertaining game with lots of great goals.

Q1.  Face off time and Timperley straight away looked the more organised passing team from the off, scoring fairly quickly with some good accurate passing and then running straight through the Stockport defence, this repeated itself a number of times with Timperley going on to eventually score 5 goals in the first quarter.

Stockport replied with just three goals with the Stockport team preferring to run mostly with Henry running the ball in all the way out from the Stockport half and scoring a couple of times and also a good link up and a goal for Ethan too.

Q2. While Stockport were making some good efforts getting the ball up the pitch with some good clearances and nifty footwork from Henry the effort was sometimes wasted with poor shooting at straight at the keeper or wide or loss of possession, Stockport just weren’t effective enough in attack despite all the effort being put in, Henry was also trying out some new bowling shots from quite far out also, only one Stockport goal in this quarter for Ethan.

Q3.  Stockport fought well for the ball and had a lot of possession this quarter and with just 1 goals by Timperley in this quarter and 2 for Henry we actually won this quarter which shows we are capable of beating these teams in the top half of the league, if only we could maintain a high level of play. 

Q4. Stockport were just three goals behind going into Q4 but as tempers flared, this had been building in the previous quarters between Dan Teal  and Cuba #40 playing for Timperley and eventually the sticks were dropped and a fight broke out on the pitch.

The coaches stepped in and the flare up was soon extinguished with appropriate penalties until play resumed. Two more goals for Ethan and a goal from new player Findley young, well done!

A good effort by the Stockport team, who seemed to struggle mostly in their own half of the pitch, but who didn’t give up and kept on playing against a good Timperley Team until to the end.

Final score,  Stockport 9 Timperley 13

Goal Scorers  Ethan 4. Henry 4. Finley Young 1.

Stockport U12s Vs Mellor

Stockport U12s VS Mellor

Cup Match.

Rise like a salmon (blog title guest created by Chris Bland this week)

‘Oh no, not Mellor next’ was muttered by the Stockport faithful’s after the last fixture. There was a genuine fear that despite the best efforts of the boys recent performances, this was going to be a difficult match. Inevitably, this thought was driven by the results from the last few games but putting that aside, and casting an eye back to the away fixture in November, I recall Mellor commenting that Stockport had been their first real test of the season.

In the past couple of games, Stockport have not been starting well, which has created a mountain for them to climb as the quarters have progressed. They seem to have suffered from ‘rabbit in the headlight’ syndrome… and something needed to change.

The game this week was played on the pitch in front of our impressive clubhouse. The weather was bright and there had been a slight overnight frost which made choosing an appropriate jacket, a tricky challenge before even leaving the house! In the end, I went for a padded option with hood- very snug.

All three pitches, at the venue, were hosting games so there was a really good atmosphere all round. Our local neighbours Stockport County had just completed a takeover so we were all wondering (and hoping) if the positivity surrounding the town would transfer down to the U12’s.

Before the ref blew his whistle to signal the start of the game, the only other pressing question was, ‘were Henry’s boots coral or salmon pink?’

Fashion aside, let’s crack on.

Q1

I’m not sure what the coaches said to the boys before the face-off but immediately we looked like a different team. There was a better shape from the beginning and we had energy in abundance. A great battling start led to Dan scoring first 1-0. Mellor got one back but a great check and goal from ‘salmon boots’ Henners took back the lead.

The energy and shape continued, and I think Mellor were a little shocked at how competitive the Stockport boys were. This was not going to be a high scoring game and the quarter finished 2-2 with the Mellor (13) getting his second goal. You could feel the positivity within the team and the massed Stockport followers cheered on the boys. This was a vastly better start to a game.

Q2

The energy and passion continued from the start. The ball was being passed around and all team members were involved, which was good to see. Tom had a fine shot and was unlucky to hit the post. Dan got a well-deserved second goal followed up by Henners getting a second. The new boots seemed to be working.

This was turning into a physical game which we thought Stockport were winning with plenty of very solid blocks repelling Mellor.

However, Mellor were organised and passed the ball well. They weren’t going to roll over and hand us the win. Instead, they fought on and hit the post before getting a third goal to finish the quarter 4-3. Come on Stockport!!!

Q3

Mellor started well and hit the post which was followed by a goal to make it all square 4-4. The defence was still holding its shape and there was some good defensive work particularly by Harrison.

It probably should have been mentioned earlier on, but the team now has some young and inexperienced players but these players looked to be integrating well, which is great to see. The addition of extra players, gives the team more options and with Finn in midfield, the team isn’t relying on 2 or 3 players to make plays.

A rocket shot from Dan put us back in the lead but Mellor was matching us goal for goal and they got another one to finish Q3, 5-5.

Q4

The general consensus within the crowd was that we carried on into Q4 with the same energy and structure from the previous quarters, Stockport could really win this match.

However, possibly because of the sheer amount of effort the lads put in during the previous 45mins we seemed to lose the shape (this was probably down to fatigue setting in). The coaches responded to the situation and moved a few players around to get some fresh legs on the field, particularly in midfield. Mellor accelerated almost immediately (perhaps sensing victory) and despite the best efforts of the boys’ they cruised to 5-9 at the finish.

Those of you who were at the game may be wondering why Josh has not been mentioned in this match report. ALL the players played well but we, (the members of the crowd) all thought Josh was outstanding in goal and this was the best we have seen him play.

Despite the Q4 capitulation, this was a very strong showing from Stockport. Going into the Timperley match next week I hope the energy can continue and the boys can get a positive result.

I classed this as a good loss. Great performance and a cracking watch. 5-9 at the final whistle.

Coral or salmon pink, you decide.

Henry`s new boots! Don't know what the RAL number is for those!