U14 struggle against organsied Stockport/Norbury

U-14 MATCH REPORT – Saturday 14th November
MELLOR 10 - STOCKPORT/NORBURY 15

Well, it’s finally happened. Mellor U14’s lost at home and lost to the better team. It was a thoroughly enjoyable match with both sides hugely competitive throughout, as you would expect from these great rivals. However, Mellor were beaten by a team that had better shape, moved the ball round quicker and generally looked more of team than a collection of talented individuals.
Mellor took the lead but it was obvious from the start that it was going to be a tough game. The first quarter ended with even honours at 2-2. Dan Jones and Josh Pink looked particularly impressive. In the second quarter Mellor kept their noses in front but too many of their goals were individual efforts fired in from distance and Stockport/Norbury doggedly pegged the score back. The second quarter ended 6-4 to Mellor with Mellor’s defence still looking strong and Will Macdonald pulling off a series of good saves.
However, the more disciplined, better set up Stockport/Norbury team really started to find their feet in the third quarter. They hauled the scores back level and then started to nudge ahead. Mellor increasingly lost possession due to long individual runs and lack of quick passing and fast cuts. At 7-9 down Will was injured making a brave save that only deflected the ball into the net. From then on Mellor looked frail, with Will hobbling and the defence losing concentration. Too many silly sendings off left Mellor a man down at crucial moments and the third quarter ended a disappointing 8-10 to the visitors. There was a last rally by Mellor in the fourth quarter of the game but they looked tired and the defence started to wilt. Even the energetic running of Drew Bickerton couldn’t change the outcome. The visitors banged in another five goals to Mellor’s two and successfully killed the game off to win 10-15
Mellor have had a long, long run of wins over the years and possibly this has meant they haven’t worked hard enough on playing as team, relying too much on individuals. Today there were shades of the game against the Americans in the Summer. Mellor have to learn that things will only get tougher in the future. The game is won by disciplined team play – as demonstrated by their opponents and worthy winners today.