The start of the winter season with Under 12’s first match of December, and the first match in a while with the postponement of last weeks game due to the weather and the cup game the week before.
A drizzle of rain greeted players and spectators at Norbury where a narrow and boggy pitch meant that ground ball and close control would be important in todays game.
Norbury won the first face off however Mellor broke down their attack with Noah finding Jack Royle who took his chance to Mellor an early lead.
From the face Mellor again went on the attack however referee Phil Barlow, in his first game without Fred’s assistance, quickly noticed that there were two balls on the pitch!! From the restart Norbury went on the offensive and levelled the scores.
There was then a period of sustained Norbury pressure and despite some fine saves from Frederick, Norbury scored two more goals to finish the quarter leading 3 – 1.
The second quarter was very scrappy with the Mellor boys struggling to adapt to the very uneven surface. Norbury took advantage, more often than not winning the ground ball in a congested game and breaking through the Mellor defence to score three unanswered goals.
Jack Royle took matters into his own hands to score an individual goal to make it 6 – 2 at half time.
Half time heralded the arrival of Angus Wilson who was single handedly boosting the profits of Norbury lacrosse club by wading through a number of bacon butties and explaining in between mouthfuls that he’d had no breakfast, or indeed tea the night before.
Anyway back to the game, again a good save from Frederick but Norbury turned over possession and scored to make it 7 – 2. Both teams then had a goal disallowed for encroaching into the crease, Mellor’s played was Eddie who unfortunately stepped into the crease following some good driving attacking work.
The third quarter then followed the same pattern as the second quarter and despite heroic defensive work, particularly from Robbie Norbury scored twice more, with Jack Royle scoring for Mellor to finish the quarter 9 – 3.
The fourth quarter started well for Mellor with the midfield combination of Ellis assisting a well deserved goal for Noah who had both run their socks off. Norbury scored four unanswered goals for the game to finish 13 – 4.
A tough day for the Mellor boys today in tough conditions, they never stopped running and applying maximum effort against some tough opposition.