U16s out of the Cup in Extra Time

Last gasp turnaround from Cheadle Hulme and Norbury to edge cup thriller

Mellor were knocked out of the Cup in extra time in a thrilling game of lacrosse. It could have been a very different story with Mellor in the lead throughout the match but it wasn’t to be. In the end Cheadle Hulme/Norbury had the momentum and Mellor heads went down.
A late switch to Mellor’s ground due to waterlogged pitches in Norbury and Cheadle gave Mellor some home advantage. It started promisingly with early goals from the Poke/Pink combination that works so well for Mellor and the home side were soon 0-4 up. However Cheadle Hulme/Norbury were too good to let that become the norm and pulled back two to end the first quarter 2-4. In the second quarter the pattern continued with some fast and incisive play from Mellor, leading to well taken goals. However, too often Mellor lost the face-off and the opponents forced their way back into contention. By halftime it was 5-6 to Mellor.
In the third quarter Mellor had the game won. Skillful midfield play and great finishing gave Mellor an 8-13 lead. All they had to do in the fourth was lock the game down and they would have been deserving winners. However, the fourth quarter was a nightmare for Mellor. Cheadle Hulme/Norbury came at them relentlessly and the momentum of the match shifted. Will Macdonald had one of his poorer games between the sticks but the whole defence was starting to wobble. Further up the pitch Mellor were making uncharacteristic handling errors and looking tired. Mellor still managed to score a few – at one point leading 10-15 but they just couldn’t put the game to bed. Gradually the visitors clawed their way back – 11-15, 12-15, 13-15 – then Mellor scored again to make it 13-16. But the three goal advantage still wasn’t enough. Heads went down and the opponents barrelled forwards scoring some good goals and exposing big holes in the Mellor defence. A minute from the end they equalised and that’s where the fourth quarter ended.
In extra time it felt like the first team to score would walk away with the game. They both battled through the first half of ET with no goals but in the second half Cheadle Hulme/Norbury won the face-off yet again and scored a simple goal. Mellor’s response was aggressive but disjointed and a last flurry couldn’t produce a goal. When the whistle went there was a general feeling that this had been a real cup tie. Not the result Mellor wanted but they battled and were ultimately defeated by their inability to close down games.

GOALS – Josh Poke 6, Josh Pink 5, Dan Jones 5
ASSISTS – Josh Poke 2, Josh Pink 2, Dan Jones 4, Will Macdonald 1
SAVES – 9
Man of the match – Dan Jones for a fighting performance and some great goals.