This was billed as “going to be a tough match” by the Manager in the build up and it certainly proved to be the case. Brookport scored in the first ten seconds…even before the reporter had taken his place on the touchline! The pace of the match was set in the first 5 minutes which saw a strong rally from Mellor with 2 goals in quick succession; the first from Eddie and the second a powerful shot from Jamie to provide a strong response. It was pretty much end to end stuff for the whole quarter with both teams looking fast and positive. The first quarter ended 4-3 after a super goal from Jamie showing fast hands after a good feed from Sam.

The start of the second quarter was marked by a swift goal from Brookport to level the scores. A good cut from Sam saw him shoot and just miss and his second effort also came close only to be saved by the Brookport keeper who was looking very agile and useful. Half way through the quarter, Rick called a time out to re-group. After the re-start, a great long range launch from George to Tom produced a goal which was finished in classy fashion. There was some really good passing particularly from George to Jamie and from Sam to Tom and on the stroke of half time, Tom slotted one away to make it 7-4. It looked like we might be edging ahead slightly but this was always going to be a very closely fought contest and we knew the pressure had to be maintained.

The third quarter started as the second had finished and Brookport scored quickly to make it 7-5. They then got a second in the quarter to make it 7-6. This was still a tough contest. Throughout the game, Ned was showing how he has developed in his role in both confidence and stature and had made half a dozen key saves which had really been key to keeping the score as it was. Next came a good feed from Sam to Tom who showed smart play with a calm head to slot away a fast and low shot. 8-6. Still the game looked tight. The defensive team of Joey, Joe and Alex were looking good and despite this being a tough day for ground balls, they were winning more than they were losing. Sam was then sent off for a head check which was uncharacteristic but left us slightly exposed with a man down. Despite this Mellor showed great spirit and kept the pressure on. In the final minutes of the quarter, Brookport had one of theirs sent off and their goalie made a great save to keep the score at 8-7 at the quarter time.

The final quarter was set to be as tight as the rest and the first few minutes were tense. It was still end to end and fiercely contested and Mellor called a time out after 5 minutes to re-think it. Quickly after the re-start, Sam made an individual drive and fired one in to score an important goal to take it to 9-7. Ned saved two with his helmet in quick succession proving the point I made earlier. Brookport clawed one back and it was still looking like we could lose this. Sam then stepped up and blasted one in the top corner quickly after that and an individual effort from Eddie saw us finally edge in front at 12-8 with only a few minutes to play. Tom then had a shot which was saved but unfortunately for the Brookport goalie, he somehow lost control of it in his net and it landed in the goal. We had done enough and the final minute ran down without incident.

A great game of Lacrosse today. End to end stuff, great goals, good defence including a fantastic performance from Ned, strong team spirit and classic Mellor resilience to win the day. Well done boys. Keep this up.

Stats
Goals – Tom 5, Sam 2, Eddie 2, Jamie 2 George 1, Josh 1
Assists – Tom 1, Sam 4, George 1, Jamie 1
Saves - 10

Quarter time scores
Qtr 1, 4-3
Qtr 2, 7-4
Qtr 3, 8-7
Qtr 4, 13-8

Man of the match - Ned

Match Reporter: Paul Griffiths