After an initial attempt to force us to play on a pitch the size of a postage stamp common sense finally prevailed and the boys got to play on the only pitch on which the suffered a defeat last year. Was this an ominous sign?

Fortunately not, as Mellor started strongly from the off and eased out to 5 v 1 lead by the end of the quarter. Effort and commitment on the ground ball led to domination of possession which was then turned into goals through some quality team play up front where for the first time we found a team trying to play us at our own game and use a zone defence. An injury break late in the quarter delayed the game for several minutes after a Daniel Jones shot struck the goalkeeper on the foot resulting in some choice language from the goalkeeper. This very seasonal missile, toe and whine break delayed the game for nearly five minutes but Mellor retained their concentration and dominated the remainder of the quarter. At the back, despite conceding the oppositions only goal to a strong outside shot on unsettled play, the defence were solid and, led in this regard by Joe Kynaston, there we some excellent knock downs and some strong work from all of the back three recovering ground balls and clearing the ball under pressure.

The second quarter saw a significant fall off in Mellor’s effort and performance which led to us only scoring one further goal. The team generally took their foot off the gas and lost focus in all aspects of their game. Poor finishing and poor shot selection up front gave a very disappointing return of 1 goal from 10 shots, which also reflected an improved defensive performance from the opposition as we struggled to penetrate the zone effectively. Rochdale came more into the game winning ground balls and having a reasonable share of possession in the quarter but were unable to turn this into significant goal scoring opportunities. This was due in part to generally strong play from the back three, albeit not up to the high standards of the first quarter, and a number of quality saves from hard outside shots by Will Macdonald.

After some strong but wise words from Coach Hussey at half time the team started the third quarter as they had the first and again dominated possession and played with the effort and commitment expected of a Mellor team. This was reflected in five unanswered goals to leave the score 11 v 1 to Mellor at the end of the quarter. Working much harder on attack, it was quality ball movement that gave us some much better quality shooting opportunities, the vast majority of which found the back of the Rochdale net. The game became somewhat more physical but Mellor retained their composure whilst Rochdale showed their frustration and spent too much time on the penalty bench to allow them to compete and remained scoreless in the quarter, thanks again to some solid defending and quality shot stopping on the odd occasion it was required.

Quarter four was a scrappy affair. Mellor still dominated possession for the most part but lost focus going forward. The team became far too static on attack, stopped playing as a team and had too many players dodging into the oppositions zone defence and coming off second best. Defender Ben Mochan, playing out of position in attack, found his way onto the score sheet with a good shot from a tight angle and Will and the back three remained solid again but other than this we stuttered to a finish running out as eventual winners 14 v 1.

Will Macdonald played to his usual high standards, keeping his concentration despite not having too many shots to save. There were strong performances, especially in the first half, from Joe Kynaston and Josh Haining in defence although both boys could improve further by using their size and strength more and hitting the opposition harder! In midfield Ben Tipping & Josh Simpson Pink worked tirelessly to win possession and going forward Daniel Jones with five goals and one assist and Sam Griffiths, with four goals and two assists, led the way. Mention should also be made of Drew Bickerton who played very unselfishly to provide one goal and three assists and would have had considerably more assists had we caught the ball and finished better on a good number occasions.

A quick mention for our opposition who fought hard throughout the game and never made it easy despite what the score line says. When they prevented our fast breaks and forced us into settled offence their zone was compact, disciplined, and hard to break down and with the exception of quarter one where they were slow to start they made us work hard for every ground ball and goal.

A mixed performance then, with clear room for improvement on the performances in quarters two and four , nevertheless resulting in another good win for Coach Hussey and the boys.

With Stockport coming up next week the boys will need to raise their game a good few notches over this performance to ensure another win against the old enemy but I am sure we can do it.