WEEKLY ROUNDUP MARCH 28TH

INTRODUCTION
At last some decent weather which allowed a lot of lacrosse to be played. Timperley teams put out 11 teams as well as fielding two U10 teams in a successful Tournament. The 11 games saw 6 wins, a draw and 4 losses. So a just about positive outcome.

The Men’s 1st had another titanic game at the top of the Premiership in a low scoring game at Stockport which ended in a 6-6 draw. Timperley have one game left against Cheadle in a couple of weeks. There are no easy games but there is still everything to play for so we need to get a big crowd of supporters to the game. Watch this space for the match details.

It was a disappointing weekend for the Men’s A team who had two very tough games against Stockport A and Cheadle A. Unfortunately the A team were far from their best going down to 9-13 and 9-17 defeats.

There was also disappointment for the Men’s B team who went into their semi final game against Norbury as favourites but despite taking an early 5-0 lead they succumbed to Norbury’s greater experience and went down to an 10-11 defeat . It was a very young Timperley squad with 10 of the 14 players being U19s. That is a great sign of hope for the future but also a sign of the challenges that Timperley’s programme faces in developing its young talent.

There is some real talent who have made the transition to senior Lacrosse and are playing on the B team. They need to be allowed to develop their talent and move up in the game. A big blow this season is the decision to put on hold the U19 Cup competition. For a generation of young players the U19 is an important stepping stone to senior lacrosse and realising their potential.

For Timperley in particular the U19 gives our young players exposure to outstanding coaching. Our U19 coach, Mikey Armstrong is one of England’s outstanding young coaches and will, along with former TLC LDO Ryan Garnsworthy, be a coach for the next U19 England World Championship team. A season of U19 under Mikey would be a real boost for our young talent.

A further disappointment was the defeat of our Boy’s U16 team 5-14 in their semi final tie against Norbury/Cheadle Hulme team.

There was better news for Timperley from our U12 teams with the A taking a comfortable 20-3 win over Poynton to set up a final against the talented Mellor team. The B team travelled to Rochdale and booked a return visit on Flags Final Weekend to play in the Plate Final with an exciting 12-10 win over Rochdale.

It was a good week for our Junior girls programme. Good wins for our two U15 teams, Blue and White, will see them meet in the JNGL Cup Final. Silverware for Timperley!

MATCH REPORTS
Wednesday 21st March
Girl’s U18 v Stockport (H) Won 15-8
It has been a long time coming but after weeks of inclement weather and club tournaments we had a game we could actually play, all the girls were up for the game and couldn't wait to get stuck in.

We had a full turn out for the game of 18 which is fantastic only to have to play down to 10 as side, which causes the team playing down problems with continuity and players being off the field of play longer than we would want. That said we re-set the team and started strongly winning the draws and going two up after a couple of minutes. There was some good transition work and this was key. However, this didn't last and we let Stockport come back into the game making life difficult for ourselves coming in 7-6 in the lead at half time.

We discussed the need to not waste possession, hold the ball if needed and not rush whilst keeping structure at the back. This worked in the second half and we were able to stretch our lead finally putting the game to bed. Well done to all the Girls and their patience when not getting game time allowing continuity and a great result and Lauren who scored 8 goals.

TLC Blue 15 - 8 Stockport

Gabrielle Wardle
Sarah Bailey 1/0
Cathy Woolham
Hope Cooke 0/1
Millie Wilkinson
Emilly Hall 1/3
Emily Richardson 1/1
Erin Pollard 0/3
Lauren Cheyne 8/1
Lucy Odonnel
Hannah Odonnel
Josie Woolham
Saoirse Gribbon
Lexi Molnar 1/0
Ana Green
Maddie Lord 2/0
Elise Humblet 1/2
Emma Whitley

Saturday 24th March
Men’s A v Stockport A (A) Lost 13-9
Q1) 3-4
Q2) 5-8
Q3) 8-13 – (game suspended/full time result called due to injury)

Saturday saw Timperley take on Stockport. Looking at the team sheet on paper the game shouldn’t have been a contest, an easy Timperley victory was on the cards with Timperley fielding one of the strongest teams possible. Unfortunately victory wasn’t as secure as anticipated. Stockport came up with the ball after the first face, the Timperley defence seemingly unaware the game had started were caught napping. Simple off ball movement by Stockport wasn’t picked up allowing an easy feed to the crease and Stockport to score their 1st. Sadly this didn’t provide the wakeup call the Timperley defence needed as Stockport all but mirrored the same play 3 more times back to back taking a 4-0 lead within 10 minutes forcing an early timeout. After a much needed talking to the defence switched on and managed to clear the ball into Stockports half for the first time in the quarter. Fortunately for the team in sky blue the offense was already paying attention. Some excellent link up play from Timperely’s youngsters saw TJ get us onto the score board followed by 2 more from Louis H to end the quarter a much more respectable 4-3 to Stockport.

During the second quarter Timperley's attack continued to convert their opportunities when they presented themselves by troubling Timperley's defence, who continued to daydream allowing Stockport to extend their lead ending the half 8-5.

Despite promising to come out fighting in the second half the passions seemed to have left a deflated Timperley’s side. Stockport didn’t relent and unfortunately Timperley couldn’t keep pace allowing the game to reach 13-8 before a freak accident a minute before the end of the 3rd quarter saw the Stockport keeper suffer a neck injury calling an early end to the game.

TJ Burgess (3, 0)
Ed Loveland (1, 0)
Louis Humblet (2, 0)
Tim Holdsworth (1, 0)
Billy Kershaw (1, 0)
Ollie Loveland (0, 3)

Men’s B v Norbury A Cup Semi Final Lost 10-11
Timperley went into their Cup match against Norbury as slight favourites. It was a case as to whether young talent would overcome experience.

Timperley opened strongly and shot into a 5-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. The young attack and midfield showed great skill and ball movement. However, success seemed to go to their heads and Norbury’s experienced old heads began to take control of the game and dictate its tempo. A couple of quick goals allowed them to get a foothold in the game.

Timperley started to show poor control and bad shot selection particularly in one on ones and it meant that Timperley goals dried up. Adding to their problems was their careless concession of penalties which led to Norbury goals and their domination of possession.

By half time the Timperley lead was down to 5-4 and they were struggling but still very much in the game. Two quick Norbury goals at the start of the third quarter was the last thing that Timperley needed as they went behind for the first time. At ¾ time Norbury still had their noses in front with a 9-8 lead. In the last quarter Timperley again started poorly conceding a couple of quick goals to be 11-8 behind leaving Timperley chasing the game. They closed the game to 11-10 but could not score the goal need to take the match to OT.

A game that Timperley could have won but on the day Norbury’s experience and better game management gave them a deserved win.

This team is full of very talented young players and they have the potential to go far. The jump from junior to senior lacrosse is a challenging one. Many of our young players have the skills and ability but lack the management skills. An example of this on Saturday stemmed from the number of penalties we conceded. There was at least 10 minutes; it felt like more. When you are man down you are unlikely to score. On several occasions our defence overturned the ball whilst man down. The ball was then moved up field and should have been retained and the penalty wound down but we either threw the ball away or took a shot which allowed Norbury to regain the ball and on a couple of occasions score!!

As an observation, the match was played on the Stretford Sports Village 3G pitch. It was a fantastic Lacrosse surface.

As a final comment Timperley captain Martyn Henderson (Who had an excellent game) gave a rallying call to the team “We will be back next year,” I would be surprised if we are not.

B Team
Q1 4-0
Q2 5-4
Q3 9-8
Q4 10-11

Will Greaves 5 and 1 assist
Toby Doughty 2 goals
JD Bulmer 1 and 1
Marius Robinson 1 and 1
Sam Hirst 1 goal
Noel Harrison 2 assists

Boy’s U16 v Norbury/ Cheadle Hulme (A) Cup Semi Final Lost 14-5
So the last weekend of the season had the U16 boys playing Norbury in the Cup Semi-final. The boys have been improving over the season with some great results but also some bad performances. Unfortunately, we were missing three players due to DofE weekend, which in a squad of 13 makes a big difference. A big thank you goes out to Matty and Joe who stepped up from the U14 team to help us out and both put in a great performance. So with the sun shining for a change, the question would be, could the boys put in a great performance and get us to the Flags Final. The team started a little off par and some basic mistakes in defence were punished by some clinical Norbury attack. We were always second best in the first two quarters and while we saw plenty of the ball we didn’t make the most of it. Losing 5-2 at half time the boys finally started to play the lacrosse we have seen from them and matched Norbury. With the score 7-4 going into the last quarter it was still all to play for. However, even with plenty of effort and commitment gaps opened up and Norbury scored some very good clinical goals to see the game out 14-5. The gap on the field was not reflected in the score and the boy’s commitment in the second half deserved more than they got. However, Norbury played very well throughout the game with some great attacking play and solid defence. The boys have grown as a team this year but in the end it isn’t quite enough.

So as the older boys leave junior lacrosse and continue their development in the Men’s game and the younger ones now have the opportunity to step up and be the older ones next year. They should be proud of a good season, it’s just a shame we couldn’t make it a great one.

Big thank you goes out to Taylor and Sam who have given up their free time to coach the boys over the year.

Dan Flisk 2 goals and 1 assist
Harry Alty 2 goals
Will Hirst 1 goal
Jack O’Mahoney 1 assist
Joe Tomlinson 1 assist

Boy’s U12A v Poynton (A) Cup Semi Final Won 3- 20
This week the U12A took on Poynton in the cup semi-final.

The first face went Poynton’s way but the boy’s quickly regained possession and from then on Timperley dominated scoring 5 times. Goals from Jim, Ben Edwards, Jack and Cai 2 saw Timperley finish the quarter 5-1 up. In the second quarter the boys kept up the pressure on Poynton and this led to Timperley creating numerous chances. The defence was solid with great work from Alex, Toby and Tom in goal who once again restricted Poynton to just 1 goal. 5 more from Cai 2, George, Owen and Jim saw the halftime score 10-2. Mark Harrington was all over the field picking the ball up and starting a lot of Timperley’s attack. Timperley’s dominance continued in the third quarter with all the boys playing their part. The movement was excellent and some exceptional 2 handed play from Owen and Cai helped to create 6 more goals. Jim, Owen 2 and Cai 3. The fourth quarter was a tighter affair with Poynton pushing for a goal but Kuba seemed to have the beating of Poyntons enormous number 4 with his stick checks. The boys again fought well and forced 4 more with Owen, Cai 2 and Jim getting the goals.

Final score 20-3

All the boys were brilliant this week and so they all win man of the match.

Stats
Cai Alty 9,2
Owen Shuttleworth 4, 6
Jim Hartley 4, 2
Jack Dearden 1, 3
Ben Edwards 1, 3
George Rommel 1, 0

Boy’s U12B v Rochdale (A) Plate Semi Final Won 10-12
It was a long anticipated match between Rochdale and our U12Bs, having been cancelled 3 times already due to the bad weather this season. We were lucky to get a lovely morning and were warmly welcomed by our hosts. Both sides had a full compliment to make for an exciting game.

Q1 Opened well with an early goal for Timperley from 19. This quarter saw 2 shots from 8 and a goal from 75, but the other team put in a strong performance and we finished the quarter 4-2 down.

Q2 Opened with a strong attack from Timperley. Another early goal from 19 was followed up with shots from 12, 59 and more from 19. We also saw 2 goals from 75, another from 19 and a well deserved goal from 59, who put in a great performance throughout. We also saw our defence step up a gear in this quarter. Lucca Read made some amazing saves, and we saw a fantastic push back from Dylan McDonald against the Rochdale attackers.

Ended 1st half 6-7

Q3 Lucca Read was on fire with some superb saves against very strong attacks. 2 more gals from Sam Ginger kept Timperley's lead.

Q4 A nail biting final quarter with Timperley starting 1 up in an extremely close game. An early goal from Sam Ginger made the visitors think we had it in the bag, but un-deterred, Rochdale came back with 2 more goals to equal. Determination from the whole team gave Sam Ginger the chance to score our winning goal in the last few minutes and when the whistle finally blew the Timperley supporters went wild. It was wonderful to see the progress the boys have made over the season, and they truly deserved the reward of the win. Commiserations to Rochdale who gave us an amazing game, and who hosted us so warmly.

Sunday 25th March
Men’s 1st Team v Stockport (A) Drawn 6-6
Timperley faced Stockport on Sunday in the penultimate game of the season. Stockport, a team who normally challenge for the league have found themselves hanging around the bottom end of the table and had very little to play for, apart from stopping Timperley on the league charge.

Stockport started the game brighter and dominated early possession, very quickly the league leaders found themselves 2-0 down in no time. Nerves were obvious and simple catches in the attacking half were frustratingly being missed. Timperley pulled one goal back but Stockport fired two further goals past the Timperley defence to take a 4-1 lead into the 1st quarter break.

In years gone by Timperley would have collapsed, but with so much to play for we dug in deep and gave Stockport a hellish 2nd quarter. The Timperley defence were bullish and squashed every Stockport attack. At the other end of the pitch Timperley ran Stockport ragged. One goal was followed by another and another. 4-4 at half time, game on.

The second half began in a fiery manner and flags were being thrown more than passes. Timperley got their noses in front for the first time in the game. Stockport replied instantly which then saw a very strange celebration take place. ‘Come on the Blackbirds’ was screamed across the pitch to Poynton players, showing that Stockport were playing this match for them. 5-5 going into the last quarter.

As the 4th quarter progressed Timperley’s attack saw less and less of the ball. The defence however were throwing everything at Stockport to keep them at bay. Eventually the heroic efforts were thwarted and Stockport found the break through, 6-5 Stockport. As Timperley desperately needed the ball, Stockport kept getting the breaks and slowing the game down.

With 1 minute 30 seconds left in the game Stockport were forced into a time out. This gave Timperley a chance to start the game again double teaming the ball carrier. Tommy Kirkland and Jay Armstrong turned the ball over and got the ball back into the attacking half for one final assault. With the game clock at 37 seconds the equalising goal was converted by Tom Bracegirdle 6-6.

The dream of winning Timperley’s first piece of silverware at Premiership level is still on. We still have our fate in our hands, a win against Cheadle on 7th April will end the 48 year wait!!

Scorers
Brendan Farrell 3
Mikey Armstrong 2
Tom Bracegirdle 1

Men’s A v Cheadle A (H) Lost 9-17
After a disappointing Saturday Timperley hoped to bounce back against Cheadle. Unfortunately, hours before face off, injury claimed Timperley up and coming goal keeper Gregor Allen who has been a rock so far this season. With little time to find a more suitable replacement Captain Adam Henbrey stepped in between the pipes. Despite a valiant effort from the Timperley defence trying to hold back the Cheadle attack it soon became clear any shot on target was going to be a goal. Special mention to Ollie Lee making his A-team debut, putting in a sterling effort as LSM. Pushing back players more than twice his size and likely 4 times his age on numerous occasions Ollie was a ground ball demon massively helping out on what was a very tough day. Timperley’s attack converted what chances they had but without a competent goal keeper to recover the ball these opportunities were few and far between. Some calamitous errors resulted in an own goal from chairman Tom Slater (Note from Tom: I was promised this wasn’t going to be included) and even a full field run from the Cheadle goal keeper who saw his name on the score board before the day was done. An extremely tough day at the office under some difficult circumstances ending with a 17-6 loss.

TJ (2, 0)
Joe Harris (1, 1)
Ed Loveland (1, 0)
Pat McGowan (1, 0)
Sam Hirst (1, 0)

Girl’s U15 Blue v Oxton (A) Won 2-6
Timperley Blue made it through to the final of the JNGL cup with a 6-2 win against a really good Oxton team.

After two teams pulled out of the four-team round, Timperley faced a trip to Oxton for a 10-min-each way game. That format puts pressure on the teams to play full-pelt for 20 minutes – and both teams did exactly that in an end-to-end game.

Thankfully, Timperley got their noses ahead early, and maintained a 2 or 3 goal lead throughout in a close, competitive game thanks in no small part to some solid goalkeeping by Niamh Gribbon.

Timperley led 4-1 at half time, but Oxton has a really good go and put sustained pressure on the blues at the start of the second half. The girls weathered the storm and won the second half 2-1 to take the tie.

MVP: Ana Green – great drives, relentless running and solid defending against a pacey midfield & attack.

Goals / Assists
Ana Green 1/1
Henrietta Wright 4/1
Sophie Hurlstone 0/2
Tilly Young 1/0
Zofia Jenkins 0/1

Girl’s U15 White v Stockport (A) Won 16-1
1st game U15 White against Stockport:
Originally, there would have been 4 teams today, competing for who will go through to the final, 3rd-4th place game, 5th-6th place game and 7th-8th place game. One team could not make it, so we turned today’s game into a three way competition. Our first game was against Stockport. We had 12 players last night but due to illness we were reduced to 11x, with 2x from U13s (Jess Haywood and Elsa Catalan) and 1x U11s (Bella Davidson).

Very often we start slow but today we did not. We took control from the start and never were in danger of losing this game. Again, we aimed to get all the players involved and we achieved this. Final score was 16 - 1 win. In total 9x different players scored and 7x assisted. Because our normal goalie was sick Nina went in goal and made some good saves, even one with her head!

Like in previous games, during the game we moved around players into different positions and this worked out well. The U13 girls are now regular to U15 but Bella Davidson was new to the U15s and she did very well and showed great awareness.

WHITES:
Man of the match: Jasmine Torevell - worked hard, scored, assisted and made some lovely runs.
Defence: Elsa— gave very few opportunities to the opponents.
Midfield: Elise Humblet - scored and played in different positions to support the team.
Attack: Bella Davidson - scored her fist goal.

Scores and assist.
Jasmine Torevell 4/1
Elise Humblet 2/5
Emma Whitley 2/3
Maddie Lord 2/2
Jess Haywood 2/1
Tanya Aggarwal 1/1
Elsa Catalan 1/-
Bella Davidson 1/-
Elena Rink 1/-
Jodie Pollard -/1

Girl’s U15 White v Norbury (A) Won 13-3
2nd game U15 White against Cheadle/Norbury:

Much the same like the first game. We took control from the start and never were in danger of losing this game. Again, we aimed to get all the players involved. Final score was 13 - 3 win. In total 6x different players scored and 7x assisted. We were pushed a bit more than the first game but we kept our composure.

Things to build on:
1. We need to work on our ground balls (bend knees and step forward) and also
2. We need to stop making passes into crowded areas or to players that are not looking.
3. Improve our shooting. Do not aim at the goalie.

WHITES:
Man of the match: Maddie Lord - worked hard, scored and assisted.
Defence: Tanya Aggarwal - covered very well.
Midfield: Emma Whitley - scored and tracked back well.
Attack: Jodie Pollard - some nice goals and moves.

Scores and assist.
Maddie Lord 3/2
Elise Humblet 3/2
Jasmine Torevell 3/2
Jodie Pollard 2/2
Emma Whitley 1/1
Jess Haywood 1/-
Bella Davidson -/1
Elena Rink -/1

This means that U15 Blue will face U15 White in the JNGL Cup final. I will see if I can organise this for Sunday 8th April afternoon.

Boy’s U10 Tournament
Timperley pop lacrosse, boys and girls field showed great spirit at the Tournament on Sunday. We had two teams, U10 and U8, who both had a really enjoyable afternoon in the spring sun. Winning was not important.... but .....we did beat Norbury...

Updated 08:45 - 31 Aug 2019 by Michael Armstrong