INTRODUCTION
A windy weekend which included heavy rain saw the decimation of senior lacrosse.
The men’s 1st team were without a game but the A and B teams were scheduled to play tough cup games against Cheadle A and Rochdale A but they were postponed because of the appalling weather.
The big games were on Sunday when the U12 started the 6 a side as hot favourites. After a commanding qualifying campaign Timperley beat a strong Cheadle side in the semi final winning a close game. Timperley faced outsiders Heaton Mersey in the Final who they had beaten comfortably in qualifying. Heaton Mersey were inspired and Timperley had run out of steam leaving Mersey deserved winners of the Tuscarora Cup.
Timperley U19 faced the controversial SNL team in the final of the Norman Barber Cup and accept they were well beaten on the night by a very good team.
The concept of combination team is to ensure that players who might otherwise not get a game manage to play. The combination team should be a temporary solution to a challenging situation to allow the clubs to recruit players to field teams which acknowledge club integrity. SNL has been around for four or five years now and it is difficult to think that thriving clubs like Stockport and Norbury cannot find the players to field independent teams. The age range for u19 is 4 years which means you only need three or four from each year to make up a team. I am not sure what sort of satisfaction can be gained by players, managers and coaches when they win.
My view is that although combination teams are within the rules and regulations as they stand they do not embrace the ethics and principles which are aspired to by teams and community sports clubs. Combination teams are, I think, doing great damage to our sport.
Our U16 team travelled to Wilmslow for a game against another strong combination side known as Chilmslow or something equally amusing. It was an early start and Timperley came second going down to a 4-8 defeat.
Timperley U14 entertained Brooklands in the latest episode of the Battle of the Roundabout. Including some U12 players Timperley showed they had recovered from last week’s defeat to Mellor with an 13-5 win.
Sheffield travelled to Timperley for an U12 fixture. The game was nip and tuck until the visitors scored 3 late goals to take a 6-9 victory.

MATCH REPORTS
SAT 16TH MARCH

WOMEN’S NO GAME
MEN’S 1ST NO GAME
MEN’S A V CHEADLE A CUP POSTPONED WATERLOGGED PITCH
MEN’S B V ROCHDALE A CUP POSTPONED WATERLOGGED PITCH

BOY’S U16 V CHEADLE/WILMSLOW (A) LOST 8-4
What a horrible wet Saturday, the game was played on the Wilmslow astro which had been double booked so the game began at 09:15 with 10 minute quarters.
Timperley were without George in goal this week but fortunately Chilmslow were able to arrange for the London based Knights goalie Jack to sub in for us. What a goalie he is, a real talent! Throughout the game he made an incredible series of saves.
Chilmslow are probably the strongest team at U16 level and this was always going to be a tough game with our low squad numbers but the lads performed admirably and kept the score honest. Great battling across the team with some sound defensive work.

Quarter time scores were, 3-1, 4-2, 6-2, 8-4
Jack O 2, Ewan 1, Goalie og

BOY’S U14 V BROOKLANDS (H) WON 13-5
Out first game after the very disappointing loss to Mellor in the plate semi saw us do battle against our closest rivals Brooklands. The boys played very well and for the 3rd time this season Timperley U14 won the battle of the roundabout.
Our defence and defensive middies were very good and managed to lock off their best player who in each previous game we had played had always troubled us.
The game finished 13-5 to Timperley & despite a battling performance from Brooklands young team each quarter we were in total control

Q1 3-1, Q2 7-3, Q3 9-3, Q4 13-5

The U12’s that stepped up again shows that they are more than capable of playing at this age group & hopefully it bodes well for next season

Scorers
Cai Alty 4, Jack Dearden 1, Owen Shuttleworth 5, Jim Hartley 2, Angus Gilchrist 1

BOY’S U12 V SHEFFIELD (H) LOST 6-9
Rain will have stopped play for most teams today, but with our astros we were able to host a travelling Sheffield team, though they were down to 10. The sun shines on the righteous and parents and boys were pleased to see rain stop just in time for the face-off. Q 1 was close with the teams evenly matched, only separated by a pass from Mattie to Lucas who lobbed the Sheffield goalie to score. Q1 1-0.
Sheffield piled on the pressure with Lucca making some great saves. Timperley took advantage when Sheffield were a man down with a goal for George, but Sheffield were quick to respond with a goal. A Timperley own goal after a scrabble in defence levelled the score before Sheffield scored 2 more from open play, the second a fast break from the face-off and our defence caught on the hop. H1 2-4
Daniel George scored a quick hat-trick to put Timperley ahead. We also saw good chances with shots from Mattie and Finn, with Lucas adding pace to our midfield supporting Alex in defence and a danger on the break. We were unlucky to concede a goal at the very end of Q3 5-5
The rain came back in Q4 and I was hoping that Sheffield would tire with no subs to use. Timperley benefitted with an early lead, Dan underwriting his Man of the Match performance with an assist for Tom Hayton to score, but Sheffield were resilient, levelling back almost immediately. Unfortunately, with steely determination, Sheffield dominated the remainder of the game, scoring 3 more to win a game that was enjoyed by all despite the weather. (6-9).
Lucas Brennan 1, George Rommel 1, Daniel George 3, Tom Hayton 1

SUNDAY 17TH MARCH

U12 6 A SIDES AT TIMPERLEY
March is always the time of the year for the U12 a Sides. It has been hosted by Timperley Lacrosse Club for the last 10 or so years. The reason for the choice of venue came about after the event had been cancelled or ended being played on a mud heap.
6 a side lacrosse is an exciting version of the game. However, there are other pluses especially the fact that the event becomes a social event for players and their families. One of the important aspects of any sport and certainly lacrosse is that it encourages young people to develop friendships within their teams and with other clubs.
Sunday’s event was one of the most successful held in recent years. 12 teams were entered this year;
Cheadle x 2, Mellor x 2, Timperley x2, Brooklands, Cheadle Hulme, Heaton Mersey, Poynton, Sheffield, Stockport
It was disappointing that Boardman and Eccles did not enter a team. Boardman/Monton is a vibrant club which has worked hard to develop its facilities (best clubhouse in lacrosse?) and to interact with its community.
The standard of play on show was really encouraging and showed how all teams had improved over the season.
Cheadle, Mellor and Timperley were the favourites to dominate the event as they have been the standout teams over the season.
Timperley played outstandingly in the qualifying games beating Cheadle A, (4-3) Poynton (8-0) Mellor B (9-0) and Heaton Mersey (5-1). Timperley looked perhaps the best team.
Timperley were missing Ben Lawton who has been one of best U12 defencemen this season who was ill but a strong team effort covered for his absence.
In the semi final Timperley faced Cheadle again and it was another close game with Timperley just edging it.
It was a surprise to find that Heaton Mersey had beaten a very strong Mellor and we faced them with (over?) confidence.
In the final the first period was very tight with Timperley shots being saved by an outstanding Mersey goal keeper and in attack a good Mersey attack put Timperley under pressure and grabbed a goal to give them a 0-1 lead at the half. In the second half Timperley suffered a setback as Mersey grabbed a second goal. Timperley looked as if they were beginning to tire and some of their passes were going astray. However, a big effort saw two goals from Owen Shuttleworth level up the scores with just over a minute to go. Timperley defence play began to show worrying lapses and with less than 30 secs on the clock Mersey grabbed what was to prove to be a winning goal.
A deserved win for Mersey and a disappointment for an excellent Timperley team.
Timperley Blues v Cheadle (won) 4-3 (Owen 3 Noah 1)
Timperley Blues v Poynton (Won) 8-0 (Owen 5 Noah1 Sam 1 Lucas 1)
Timperley Blues v Mellor (Won) 9-0 (Owen 2 Noah 3 Sam 3 Lucas1)
Timperley Blues v Heaton Mersey (Won) 5-1 (Owen 2, Sam 1, Noah 1, Lucas 1)
Timperley Blues v Cheadle (semi-final) (Won) 4-2 (Owen 2, Noah 1, Lucas 1)
Timperley Blues v Heaton Mersey (Final) (Lost) 2-3 (Owen2)

Timperley Whites v Mellor Whites 1-6
Timperley Whites v Cheadle Hulme Norbury 3-4
Timperley Whites v Mellor Red 1-8
Timperley Whites v Cheadle Green 1-7

Without an established goalie, we rotated through the games with Oscar, Finn and George all taking turns between the posts. The pace of the first game took Timperley by surprise with quick passing by Mellor exposing gaps in our defence with our players left largely in attack. Heads didn’t drop and with some better team play vs Cheadle Hulme Norbury we were unlucky with Oscar adding some pace and scoring alongside Mattie and we were unlucky to not secure a draw at least. It was difficult to bounce back against Mellor’s strongest side despite some strong defensive midfield from Bruce, Antonio and Tom, with George seeing little of the ball in a more attacking role. It was good to see Timperley dominating the face-offs through the day, but another tough game against Cheadle’s stronger team saw Finn and Freddie working hard in defence but Cheadle found space for the passes to take a comfortable lead
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U19 BOY’S V SNL (NORMAN BARBER CUP FINAL) LOST 5-17
I hesitate to say we lost to the better team; we can certainly concede that we lost to the better players on the night but they are drawn from two strong clubs so it is hard to actually be content at the outcome. This is the third final in the last 18 months we have lost to this combination team, and it is really starting to grate.
This game was all about momentum. Timperley seemed to have very little throughout the whole game, save for a couple bursts, one at the start when we got 2-1 up, and one at the start of the fourth quarter. In between, and right at the end, the force was with SNL as they dominated the 50-50s and groundballs and got an ever tighter grip at the face off. We turned the ball over too often, and that really didn’t help our cause. The scoreline has, I think, a pretty unflattering feel to it due to a flurry of late goals by SNL, but it is what it is, and arose out of the situation we found ourselves in as we chased the game.
I would rather take a loss in the cup final than be competing for the plate, and this team, in spite of this loss, is still a good team and has had some seriously good results this season already.
Goals / Assists
Owen Atkinson (2, 0), Patrick McGowan (2, 0), Will Greaves (1, 0), Ed Loveland (0, 2)