Oo – this was a good win. It was a tough fight against skilful opponents and both teams played with passion and pace. Mellor were definitely worthy winners though as they played better as a team and had more firepower up front.

The first goal was a lovely surprise, Alex Chalmers, stepping up from the U12s found himself in a great position after a catching a pass cleverly from Drew Bickerton. It was his first goal for Mellor U14s! Drew and Sam Griffiths then quickly scored trademark goals to give Mellor a clear lead. Stockport/Brooklands had a lot of possession but couldn’t quite convert it into goals until their talented number 25 finally got one just before the break.

The second quarter was tight but Tom Brady scored a lovely twisty, mazey goal as he was floored by the keeper. The home team’s number 25 managed to score again from the face-off and the second quarter ended 2 – 4 to Mellor.

The third quarter saw Mellor extend their lead with great goals from Sam, Drew, then Sam again and Tom with a great solo run from behind the goal. Stockport were looking a little ragged and increasingly dependent on their number 25. Will Macdonald was having an inconsistent game but his saves in this quarter certainly frustrated the home team. The Mellor defending looked very solid, especially the long poles of Ben Hodgson, Josh Haining and Joe Kynaston and the sheer amount of running the entire team did demonstrated their desire to win. In particular Ben Tipping’s work rate in midfield was very good and he managed to keep the tricky number 25 tightly marshalled most of the time. The third ended 3 – 8.

The last quarter saw Mellor pegged back. Tired legs were to blame really, it was a very intense physical game and in the end tiredness and loss of concentration cost them three goals, which could have all been prevented. The last came on the final whistle – to Will’s frustration. In the end the score felt about right. Both teams hammered away at each other for the whole game. It was tough but fair and Mellor should be really proud of a well coached, solid team performance.

GOALS :

Drew 2 Tom 2 Sam 3 Alex 1

ASSISTS :

Drew 4 Ben 3

SAVES : 7

Man Of The Match – Ben Tipping