Oh dear. This was a very poor game. Excuses could be made for the astro-turf pitch, the bright sunshine and the early start but in reality Mellor were beaten by the better team. Wilmslow are physically bigger than Mellor but in the past Mellor have always managed to outwit them with greater speed and passing skills. This time however Mellor’s passing was bad and Wilmslow looked more hungry for their first victory over Mellor in years.

It started very well with a goal from Sam Griffiths, a low shot that surprised the goalie but Wilmslow quickly struck back with a goal from their number 36. The Mellor defence melted away as he carried the ball to the goal and it was a sign of things to come. The quarter ended at 1-1 with both teams struggling to get the measure of the bounce. However, Wilmslow’s defence looked very difficult to penetrate and Mellor didn’t seem to have many ideas how to get a goal themselves.

Wilmslow started to rack the goals up in the second quarter and it was soon 4 – 1. Wilmslow used their size and speed to barge through but there was also some good stick work and cutting from the home side. On the other hand Mellor’s positioning was woeful, not enough concentration in defence and not good enough handling in midfield. Sam Griffiths got a second after a neat lay off from Ben Tipping but Wilmslow quickly grabbed back control scoring to make it 5 – 2 at halftime.

If anything the third quarter was worse for Mellor. Wilmslow scored another two, one through Will Macdonald’s legs and another a huge pile-driver. Mellor had no response and the wayward passes continued. The visitors were also caught out offside too many times, which is a sure sign of concentration dropping. The third quarter finished 7 - 2

Finally in the fourth quarter we got to see the Mellor we thought we’d been watching for the last few weeks. Wilmslow scored a quick goal from the face-off but from then on it was all Mellor. Maybe Wilmslow were tiring and maybe the Mellor had had enough of their coaches shouting at them. Drew Bickerton fed Tom Brady for a typically clever low goal. Sam then slotted another in from a good Ben Tipping pass and finally Rufus Lancaster had a neat finish from a brave ball from Drew, which resulted in Drew getting injured. Will made a series of good saves at the other end and if it hadn’t have been for the little Wilmslow goalie’s saves Mellor could have sneaked a draw.

As it was the game ended 8 – 5 to Wilmslow. The fight back in the fourth quarter was too little too late and it gave a late glow to what was a bad defeat. Mellor had a very, very poor day at the office against a good side. Hopefully they can put this game behind them and concentrate on what makes them so good - passing, running, positioning and teamwork.

GOALS

Sam Griffiths 3 Tom Brady 1 Rufus Lancaster 1

ASSISTS

Drew Bickerton ` 3 Ben Tipping 2

SAVES 6

Man Of The Match – Sam Griffiths for his 3 goals