SHEFFIELD vs MC LAX Saturday 26th Sept
The first game of a new season is never easy but with an early start, a newly formed group of players, strange shirts (to half the boys), a new name, no dedicated goalie and a strong Sheffield team this was never going to be an easy fixture.
Sheffield won the first face and, indeed, most of the others that followed in a very tight, closely fought match.
The first quarter saw plenty of shots at either end but a combination of good goal-keeping and inaccurate or soft shooting saw the quarter end 0-0. Sheffield were playing with confidence and it was clear MC had a tough first game on its hands.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern – tough defending, plenty of effort but no goals. Finally, Miles broke the deadlock and squeezed a goal for MC which was soon cancelled out at the other end. It ended 1-1, at half time at which point Joe, who had only conceded one goal over two quarters, handed the goalie’s stick to Alex.
MC went ahead once more, but this was short-lived as Sheffield equalised and then almost immediately scored another to go one in-front (3-2). Miles tried reverting to football with a 40 yard “punt” up-field off his boot but the coaches insisted the boys stick with lacrosse.
The game was becoming more lively and open now - the MC team were starting to gel and, unusually, listening to the coaches’ instructions.
On the side-lines, the parents were also becoming more vocal as they began to work out “who was who” on the MC team. However, more importantly, the players knew each other and as confidence grew in each other’s abilities, the quality of lacrosse being played improved quarter by quarter. MC equalised and then went one ahead. Still a tight game, which would have been made easier (and certainly on the parents’ blood pressure) if the head from Jonnie’s stick hadn’t followed the ball into the net after a great shot. Disallowed GOAL.
This seemed to give Sheffield a lift and they piled on the pressure. But good goal-keeping from Alex and solid, coordinated defence from Will, Louis and Isaac (who maintained his own personal battle throughout with the Sheffield No 56) kept them at bay. Sheffield never scored again.
The third quarter ended 3-4 to Mellor. The score could have been higher had Elliot focused on the lacrosse goal and not the rugby posts directly behind. Johnnie Wilkinson would have been proud of the way he cleared the posts – Elliot’s mum was slightly less impressed. However, as he managed two goals including an opportunistic “poach” he was allowed a lift home.
The final quarter was all MC LAX with some great lacrosse being played. The middies Joe, Cameron, Miles and Brandon ran their socks off – no mean feat considering the long Sheffield grass (we’ll take our own lawn-mower next time). The MC middies, plus Josh linking behind the goal started to take real control of the game; and some fast “break-outs” from defence allowed the forwards (Josh, Jonnie and Elliot) to score 3 in the final quarter from point blank range.
Final score 3-7 MC LAX. A great result which doesn’t really reflect the closeness of the game and probably doesn’t do justice to a good Sheffield side. Goals from Elliot, Miles, Brandon and Jonnie.