This was a bizarre game! We’re used to the boys getting off to a slow start but this lasted for ¾ of the tie. Timid, almost apologetic, we were up against the best players from 2 good clubs who had bolstered their numbers with the more skilled U12s of Stockport. We knew from the first face off that this was going to be a very tough morning of Lacrosse.

Unusually we just couldn’t gain possession for much of this game and were outplayed by pacey and well-drilled players from the off. There were glimmers of hope with George shooting wide 3 times but Tom’s feed to Sam, his first of many, still left us trailing 2-1 at Q1.

Everything from Brooklands & Stockport was well conjured and this wasn't a game for our attackers who had to live off scraps all day. Great work from Tom saw him fire our second but despite Sam’s third this was slipping away as we reached half way at 5-3 down.

And the slide continued – 5 goals for no reply left us with a mountain to climb. Ned had been left stranded for all of their goals and with Joe going off injured, this one looked done and dusted. In stepped Rick with a great team talk about taking pride in the final score and, with some final tweaks to positions, the boys looked set to at least have a go!

… and what a reply! We started to play as we’re known – fast, direct and effective. Sam and George started pulling the strings and despite losing all bar 1 face off, we started to ripple their net as the minutes ticked down.

George dispossessed their best player on the day, no 40, with under 2 minutes left having earlier won his first face off to see Sam fire us level with seconds remaining. With our defence starting to play with some aggression, Eddie and Ollie fighting harder for the loose ball and our attack realising today was about assisting, we could have nicked it in the final seconds.

A draw seemed fair in what was an evenly contested game. Brooklands and Stockport have real talent in their squads so when they come together they take some beating. With such a small group of young players our boys have to box well above their weight every week. Today was no exception – they never drop their heads and they never give up.

Man Of The Match – Sam Griffiths – magnificent from start to finish – 5 goals but had a hand in everything we did today – well done Mr G!
Stats – Goals – Sam (5), Tom (3), Eddie (1)