With the first score coming after five seconds, the tone for this rare visit to the Old Waconians was set. George Schonfeld having won the face off, ran with the ball and passed it to Josh Myers who duly put it in the back of the net. Another twenty-one goals followed with eight of the lads getting on the score sheet. Strong performances from Ellis Booy, Finn Howie and Will Hodgson saw Mellor run away with the game early on. There were contributions from James Smith, as well as a notable performance from Robbie Wilson in defence. Toby Halls marshalled the defence well from the centre.
By the end of the first quarter Mellor were 6-0 up. The goals came from Josh Myers, Fredrick Jenkins (2), Joey Bissell, Finn and George. The highlight of the quarter coming with the first of Fredrick’s goals (Mellor’s second) with the ball being passed slickly through the sticks in the build-up.
The second quarter saw the score progress to 12-0. Goals coming from Jamie Mochan (2), Joey, Josh, George, and Finn. There were two stand out moments. The first came from Finn who calmly slotted it away after receiving a fine pass from Jamie with some work still to do. The second was from Will who went on a snaking run from inside his own half, beating three of four Wacs players, then neatly laying it off to Joey who casually scored. Also worth a mention was a powerful shot from Ellis that unfortunately hit the crossbar.
In the third quarter, Old Waconians began to find some possession and territory for the first time. After another interplay between George and Josh leading to the 13th goal, Wacs scored their only goal of the game with their number 8 picking up a loose ball in front of the goal. There were four more scores in the quarter with George scoring three of them and, after a bold run from Jake Fell from one goal to the other, he unselfishly laid it off to Eddie Liles who put it away.
With the score at the end of the third quarter reaching 17-1, the Schonfeld/ Howie coaching team became uncharacteristically quiet as they focused on rotating the team. There were a further five goals in the final quarter; one from Joey as well as two notable assists; two from George and another for Josh Myers who finished it off.
The game finished 22-1. This was not exactly the first runaway victory of the season but what made it particularly satisfying was the nature of the team performance, with so many of the lads making strong contributions.