The MC team are back with their winning ways but at times they made hard-work of it.

And it should probably be said that of all the Mellor players on the pitch, the plaudits should go to the four U14s who put on Wilmslow shirts for the day – and who nearly pulled off a coup by helping to beat their older compatriots.

In the end, the strength in depth of the MC team came through and the “win” was relatively straightforward. However, when Wilmslow went one goal ahead in the third quarter an “upset” was potentially on the cards. MC also struggled a tad, with two of the key play-makers (i.e. Cameron and Miles) taking turns in goal ….plus Elliot and Will were away on hols.

The tone for the game was set from the start by Wilmslow scoring first – the first of many scored by the Mellor members of their team. I wouldn’t normally comment on the opposition goals but they were of such quality (great assists and shots) that they deserve a mention.

MC came back and scored 3 goals to get their noses in front. Two came from Cameron’s stick and the third, a lovely shot on a very tight angle, was a classic Josh goal. However, Wilmslow always looked dangerous on the attack and they scored a second before the quarter end.

The second quarter saw two goals being scored apiece. The first for MC was from Matt and the second was a sweet low shot from Brandon. Isaac tried a long run from defence but the quality of the break-out wasn’t matched by the shot which was easily saved by the keeper. 5-4 at half-time.

Miles was glad to see the back of the goal-keeping job and handed the big stick to Cameron. Unfortunately, he then spent the next 15 minutes trying to locate a gum-guard rather than winning face-offs and harassing opposition defenders.

The second-half didn’t start well and Wilmslow scored two good goals to put themselves in front.

MC was still enjoying good periods of possession but was struggling to turn it into points. In contrast, Wilmslow always looked dangerous on the counter-attack. However, another sneaky side shot from Josh put MC back on level terms. Shortly after, a long pass out from the Wilmslow goal-keeper (who played really well) was intercepted by Louis and after a series of short sharp passes, Joe netted with a great goal.

Josh who seems to get a real kick out of barging through 2-3 opposition players netted his third goal of the game. Isaac then intercepted another long Wilmslow clearance but following a series of good passes the cross-bar stopped another goal. MC were slowly starting to take control, Tom was playing a blinder in defence – always being in the right place at the right time and the quarter ended 8-6.

At the start of the 4th quarter, Miles finally made his way onto the pitch and we started winning more of our share of face-offs. His added pace, and determination to make an impact, saw Wilmslow “on the ropes” and he scored twice with two powerful shots. Josh also added to his tally (4 for the match) and Brandon got his second.

Matt did some good darting runs but the Wilmslow defence had learnt how to stop him shooting with his preferred and powerful right-hand shot – time to practice shooting on the left Matt!.

Throughout, Joe put in some strong “hits” and Jonathan never stopped running – either with pace from mid-field or by pulling defenders every which way but loose to help create space for others to score. There were also, some good assists from Jonathan and George.
Wilmslow replied with two goals but it was too late - Game over, a win for MC Lax 12-8

Goals from 6 MC players (Matt, Cameron (2), Josh (4), Miles (2), Joe and Brandon (2).

After the game, the Wilmslow coach named Daniel Jones as the “man of the match” and thanked all four Mellor U14s for their performance. He commented that not many teams would have provided the opposition with such good players – even though he had initially said they looked like a boy-band. They were a credit to Mellor Lacrosse Club.