Saturday 19 December 2009

U12A / U12B

Due to the weather, both U12 games were cancelled today - road trips to Poynton and Rochdale were not looking too appealing anyway. The U12A all had a lie in as a result, but the U12B actually made it down to Timperley and had a small practice match, driven on by David "What do you mean there's no game on Boxing Day?" Shuttleworth.

The results for this term have been very encouraging. The U12A have played 12 and won 12, whilst the U12B have played 14, winning 7, drawing 2 and losing 5.

Merry Christmas!

Monday 14 December 2009

Saturday 12th December U14s results

Well what can I say….the long awaited match of A vs B. And with 2 A team members (Charlie and Tim) making guest appearances with the U16 B team playing a vital cup match at Ashton – how would things pan out?

It was great to be watching the B team and see how much they have progressed since we split the squad into A and B teams almost 2 months ago……..and sure enough as if to prove a point, B team scored first – a great opener from Simon Briggs.

The first quarter showed an enthusiastic B team and a dis-jointed A team, however the A team pulled a couple back (Lucas and Nathan). And ater a stern team talk at first interval, the A team cranked into action and picked up 4 more in the second quarter (Joe / James H / Harry and Alex).

Some good saves from both James S for the A team and Adam L for the B team were noted.

B team picked up 2 further goals in the 3rd quarter (Simon and Harry) but the A team were on a roll now and further goals from Alex Winton (too many to count) and a great run from Josh P all the way up the field resulting in a sneaky goal finished the story of this quarter – with the formal score ending at 10 – 3 win to the A team.

It wouldn’t be right to finish the report without mentioning the 2 coaches – James & Tim who have developed 2 very able teams and I think we are going into the cup rounds in January with 2 teams to be proud of……as long as the squad keeps up the training, learn from the coaches and keep the practise up over the Xmas break!

Training as usual Wednesday night followed by the last match of the season on Saturday 19th:

Timperley A team at home to Sheffield

Timperley B team away at Heaton Mersey

Meet at TLC as usual for 8.45 for final team selection.

Saturday 12 December 2009

U12A 20-3 Wacs

Onondaga Cup First Round - the most important game of the season so far.
Before the game started Nelly painted a picture to the team, that this was the Onondaga Cup, and that the big prize at the end is a game at Flags Weekend, watched by a big crowd, with a trophy and medals at stake. The boys need to keep this in mind, because this team can go all the way - they have to believe in themselves and want to do it. Timperley U12 last won the Onondaga in season 2006/7 so it is time to deliver again. Nelly, Rory and myself want the boys to win – they have all got to want to win too.

During this half term we have, at times, played some excellent lacrosse, most notably in the wins against Sheffield, Brooklands and Wilmslow. The first half of today’s game was on the same level as any of those performances, as we outpassed and outclassed a determined Wacs team.

The first quarter was close – Wacs always compete well and we were only 4-2 up at end of the first quarter. It was in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter that I felt the game was decided, as our top string midfield of Oli Loveland, Oliver Crosby and James Prickett outgunned Wacs and put us a further four goals to the good. Half time was 11-2 with eight of the goals being assisted – great stuff. The third quarter saw the boys relax somewhat and the passing wasn’t as crisp, and the scoring turned to individual efforts as we put another 5 on the scoreboard. Our opponents were not giving up and threatened at times, but Matthew Stewart and his defence kept them at bay. The fourth quarter saw most of the team making contributions as the scoring was spread around, with the result that for the first time this season all the midfield and attack scored in the same game. Notably, Tom Cox, now playing midfield, had his best performance of the season and is really starting to enjoy his new role.

Scorers were
O Loveland 6 (+2 assists), Cox 5, Hirst 2, E Loveland 2 (+1), Hunn 1 (+2), Prickett 1 (+2), Townsley 1, Walker 1 (+2), Crosby 1 (+1).

U12B 1-7 Brooklands

Onondaga Cup First Round
This was always going to be a tough assignment for our B team, but to come away having only gone down by 6 goals was a good effort. Last season the B team consistently got beaten by Brooklands B, so to run their A team close this season shows how much of an improvement we have made over the last few months.
This defeat puts the B team into the Plate competition for all the defeated first round teams. It is very much an achievable target for this year's B team to get to the Plate Final, and even win it.

Monday 7 December 2009

U14 Match Reports Saturday 5 December

Norbury vs Timperley A:

With a few close wins under our belt - were we going to have another nail biter on our hands? Judging by Norbury's results so far this season - there was every indication that this would be the case!

We got off to a good start with a great attacking move that unfortunately didn't result in a goal, however we didn't have to wait too long as Timperley went into an early lead. Despite the Norbury No. 17 pulling one back, James held firm in goal making some good saves and Timperley ended the first quarter in strong position leading by 3 goals (1 - 4).
Q1 goals: Tim 1 (assisted by Nathan) / Lucas 1 assisted by Tim / Alex 1 / Harry 1

The second quarter saw a strengthening of our lead with Q2 goals coming from Lucas 2 assisted by Alex and Joe & Charlie getting in his stride and scoring a belter! No. 17 came back for Norbury but on a further attempt, Josh P managed to block him with a full on body check! It was now 2 - 7 as we entered the second half - looking good Timperley.

We lost our way in the first part of Q3 with Norbury gaining momentum and getting 3 goals past us despite some good saves again from James S. Before long though, the Timperley attack regained it's composure with Harry showing real form (1 goal) Lucas adding to his tally and Mr Nicol showing stealy determination and scoring solo and then bagging another following a great assist from Charlie.

The score was now 5 - 11 as we entered the last quarter. Norbury continued their comeback with 3 more goals.........however, James Hackett scored a well earned goal and so did Joe Harris followed by Charlie, Tim and Harry making the final score 8 - 16. A good result for Timperley. Other performances and acts of heroism include - great runs from Nathan, strong face offs and play from Pick, great defensive play from James Littlewood and 2 great blocks to on target high speed shots - one from Charlie's bum and one from Josh's leg!

To summarise - a much better all round performance, good skills (in quite difficult conditions), good balance between strong attack and effective defence - well done lads.


Timperley B vs Mellor:

The B team put up a valiant effort scoring 5 goals but alas Mellor put 10 past us. Tim was pleased with the team's performance, well done lads - keep up the effort! Final score 5 - 10 loss.

It was really good that we had a stronger turn out this week - the A team really beenfitting from having 12 players. Remember to keep asking any of your mates to come along if they fancy a try. For the boys at AltyBoys - can you lobby Bradley and see if he would like to make a return appearance?

Saturday 5 December 2009

U16 'A' 10 v Mellor 1 - Saturday 5th December

Moments of creative attacking genius, mixed with moments of poor possession and missed chances - a short description of the U16 'A' team performance. The final score of 10-1 hints at an easy one-sided game, in reality it was far from this. Mellor had a lot of the play and kept Paul Chapman busy. Our defence was strong as always, with Dan Perrie adding to the back four and putting in an impressive performance. I was impressed with the amount of talking between Joe S and Jack M, organising the defensive plays. The midfield, led by Tomb and Cam Parks is very effective, feeding the attackers making for a very strong team which wins a lot of matches, but they have so much more to offer. The attacking play was sometimes too slow with Mellor having too much time to settle their defence. When we were on a fast break and passed the ball at speed the U16 team looked formidable and generally bagged a goal from such moves. The goals came from Tomb, Tom S, Tom H and Myles, with assists from Toby, Cam and Myles.

Next week our cup campaign begins. If we can get our attacking play up to speed I think that this will be a formidable team with a real chance of going far in the competition.

U12A 19-0 Rochdale

Following the excitement of last week's win against Brooklands we were a bit flat for this game, but given that this Rochdale team is a shadow of their all conquering team from 2008/9 we still managed to win easily.
A focussed coaching session on Wednesday led to a good performance from the attack. We had much better shape on the fast break with the boys more sure of their positions. I reckon that both Joe Hunn and Sam Hirst had their best performances of the season. The next improvement for the team is to get our positions sorted on settled attack play.
The defence is also good for a mention, as they had their first clean sheet of the season in a proper game.

Quarterly scores were 5-0 (getting the game won), 2-0 (lack of passing), 5-0 (better team play) and 7-0 (goal avalanche with good passing) giving the final score of 19-0.

Goal scorers were
Hunn 4 (or 5 if he is claiming the one the goalie knocked into the goal), O Loveland 4, E Loveland 4, Hirst 1, Walker 2, Crosby 1, Cox 1, Harris 1 (defensive dart up the pitch).

Next week is the first round in the Onondaga Cup, against Wacs at home.

U12B 6-4 Stockport (Onondaga Cup)

A good win for the U12B in the preliminary round of the Onondaga Cup. The game was riddled with penalties, but the Timperley boys hung on for the win to set up a clash with Brooklands next week.

Thursday 3 December 2009

U19 Cup Final Match Report - by Peter Forster



Sunday 29.11.09 the final match of the U19 league and Timperley players knew that a win would see them lift the trophy for the first time in the club's history. In the event, as closest rivals Brooklands lost in the match immediately before, Timperley had won the trophy before their own match started. But the players wanted to go out with a clean sheet of wins.
Cheadle had other ideas and quickly took a two goal lead but the Timperley players continued playing with the inner belief that cream rises to the top and soon the Cheadle keeper had to make two good saves but then Greg Sandy with a burst of speed drove from behind the goal and scored. 1 - 2

Elliot Shaw hit the post at the start of the second quarter, then Ollie White gave the final pass to Elliot who scored and Jack Brook who shot narrowly wide. Cheadle were rocked back by the force and power of the Timperley attacks which came at them from all angles with Tommy Kirkland getting the third goal to take the lead and then it was one way traffic with Jay Armstrong winning all the faces. "Rob Nob" Edwards, Jim Anderson and Will Hawksley all played their part in the dominance with Ross McDermott being denied by a great save from the keeper but Timperley added another three for a score at half time of 6 - 2.

Mike Smith got in on the act supporting the attack with his long stick in the third quarter and more goals came with the Timperley defence of Tommy, Matt Raven, Larry Poole and Pig Forster keeping Cheadle chances to a minimum. The quarter ended with Ollie shooting and diving at the same time but the goal was disallowed. Ollie looked good whilst doing it though !! 8 - 3

Coaches Justin and Rory did not let Timperley relax in the last quarter and more flowing moves saw another two goals, although at one point the Timperley defence were down to a three man zone with Mike, Ross and the Mighty Pig trying valiantly to keep Cheadle out which they managed to do for almost a minute, but Cheadle scored late on in the penalty. Will Hawksley took a face and showed he perhaps should have taken more in the league with a good effort. Final score 10 - 4.

The celebrations afterwards showed how much winning the league meant to the players and they had done it in style coming through some tough matches by playing excellent lacrosse. The team remained cool and calm when in a close match and is a sign of their collective maturity. They fully deserved the trophy.


36 shots, 24 on target, 10 goals (good display by the Cheadle keeper).
17 face offs, 12 won.

10.5 minutes penalties.
Stats by "Statto" Toby Hawksley, drier than last week.

Monday 30 November 2009

U14 Match Report - Saturday 28th November

Timperley U14 Boys A team vs Heaton Mersey:

Another week, another match and a few men down so, with 10 men, Timperley A warmed up wondering how this year's Heaton Mersey team would shape up. Their record this season is pretty good - only falling to Brooklands so far.

And then the HM squad appeared....a sea of gold, plenty of subs and an average size of player that would sit comfortably in an U16 league! What do they feed them on at Heaton Mersey?? (in fact there were a few U16 players with dispensations on the HM team - but this time I managed to keep my mouth shut and not scare our team!!)

With Tim Nicol and Charlie Edwards missing (thanks for coming down Charlie to support!) - we managed to hold our nerve and thanks to a Lucas Almond goal set up by Alex Winton, we ended 1-1 at the end of the first quarter. Timperley were showing that despite having no subs, we were capable of putting up a good fight and in fact we had far more shots in attack in this quarter.

The second quarter saw a Harry Man special - great goal but Mersey managed to get 2 in, one a delflection off a good interception from Timperley defence - resulting in 2 -3 scoreline at the end of Q2. Good defensive play and breaking runs by Josh P were noted!

One down as we entered Q3 and Timperley seemed to step up a gear with a good save from James S and 2 strong goals from Harry and Joe. Despite reaching with his foot a powerful shot from HM, James conceded one goal leaving the score 4 a piece for the start of Q4. A familiar scenarion for us!

A tough last quarter with 2 goals from HM but Lucas, Alex and Joe did the business resulting in a 7-6 victory for Timperley.

A good match with excellent performance from everyone - well done lads - it showed that you held up on both fitness and skills.

Wilmslow vs Timperley B:

A stronger performance from our relatively new B team. After being 5 down at the end of Q1, the team battled on finally losing 14 - 5. The whole team is developing well and a good effort by all with particular mentions for Grady and Josh B and some excellent saved from Adam in goal.

this is following a similar patter to last year with good early performances resulting in defeat but then the winning begins towards and after Christmas - well done lads, keep the effort up.

Training on Wednesday – let’s try and get a few more out this week lads and then matches on Saturday 5th December;

A team away at Norbury

B team at home against Mellor

Saturday 28 November 2009

U12A 11-6 Brooklands

Playing Brooklands is never easy and we approached this game in a very focussed manner. We arrived at Brooklands soon after dawn (literally, for a 9am face), took to the pitch as if we owned it and warmed up like a real team – the opposition couldn’t take their eyes off us, while we ignored them totally.

The game was even for the first quarter with Timperley taking a lead, falling behind, then equalising to get to 2-2. We were a less nervous team in the second quarter and in spite of Brooklands putting their first choice U12 goalie onto the pitch, we stretched to a 5-3 half time lead. The third quarter saw more improvement as the Timperley defence started to press more, the attack started to move more, while the midfield kept it aggressive all over the pitch. 8-4 at three quarter time and 15 minutes to go. The fourth quarter was more of the same, with Timperley scoring 3 goals, before conceding 2 in the final 2 minutes to make it 11-6 at the end.

Brooklands have now lost three games this season, but they will always raise their game for Timperley. However, they managed well under half the number of shots that we did - both goalies made good saves, but our superior shot count really showed how much we dominated the game and we were never in danger of losing. We created some really good chances, and scored some lovely assisted goals. Towards the end of the game we showed our experience by excellent retention of the ball and by not rushing to goal all the time.

Matthew Stewart has discovered that he enjoys spending Saturday mornings shouting at his defence, and marshalled Sam Harris, Alex Ball and Patrick Sugden well. This was their sternest test of the season and they came up with the goods. Captain Oli Loveland led the midfield superbly with 5 goals. Dan Walker scored his first goal for the A team, while Oliver Crosby centred well, and showed great awareness and fight all game. James Prickett and Tom Cox make up the rest of the midfield legs and are a real part of the strength we show here. Finally, the attack was led by Ed Loveland (3 goals), ably assisted by Joe Hunn (2 goals) and Sam Hirst.

Coming through a tough game is good for this group of boys, as they haven’t been pushed often enough this season. It is now evident there are certain points in our play that need working on, and we can now address these in training over the coming weeks. We haven’t won anything yet, but this result, against a club that has consistently competed for and won U12 trophies over the last few years, gives us great optimism for the rest of the season.

U12B 10-4 Stockport

Thursday 26 November 2009

Cup Draws

Onondaga Cup
U12A v Wacs (12th Dec) home
U12B v Stockport (5th Dec) away
Centurion Cup
U14A v Mellor (9th Jan) home
U14B v Sheffield (9th Jan) away
Junior & Schools
U16A v Wilmslow (12th Dec) home
U16B v Ashton (12th Dec) away

Wednesday 25 November 2009

U19 Match Report - Timperley v Mellor - Sunday 22nd November - Match Report by Peter Forster

Sunday saw the start of more seasonal weather for the Under 19 season with heavy rain and wind. A hardy group of supporters left the warmth and comfort of their homes to see Timperley take on Mellor after a delayed start. 10 man squad Mellor showed they would be no pushover and took an early lead which shook Timperley out of their lethargy and they began to dominate. Jim Anderson levelled the score with a left hand shot after a dodge and then added another with a right hand one. Will Hawksley, playing in attack, showed good movement and anticipation to take a goal and then his feed for Ollie White saw Timperley with a 4 - 1 quarter lead.
The wet surface made play difficult and the tempo in the second quarter dropped and some wayward shooting meant that there was only a goal for each side. 5 - 2
A half time talk kick from Justin and Rory saw the Timperley players up their desire to win and four goals followed and the defence limited Mellor to one shot (which did result in a goal). Tommy Kirkland hustled well and Captain Tim Blower had a couple of sprints upfield to start attacks and it was a much better quarter against a tiring Mellor side. 9 - 3
The last quarter saw good play from Timperley with Mike Smith continuing to impress in his long stick midi role - he reads the game well and is quick to pick up the loose ball and passes well to transform defence into attack. Matt Raven is solid and strong in defence, Will Hawksley had a good game playing out of position in attack and Larry Poole showed several bursts of his speed to intercept balls before they reached the Mellor attack. Final score 12 - 4

33 shots, 19 on goal, 12 goals
19 face offs, 16 won
3.5 minutes penalties.
Very wet stats provided by Toby "Statto" Hawksley.

Monday 23 November 2009

U16 'B' 6 v Wilmslow 1 - Saturday 21st November

There were two key points about this weeks U16 'B' team home against Wilmslow on Saturday:

1) The outstanding performance of the two new players Adam Holmes and Mike Atherdon - they looked as though they had been playing for years

2) The outstanding spirit of fun and teamwork

The game was nearly a non-starter with our team suffering three player withdrawals between 5:00pm Friday and 9:00 am Saturday morning, leaving us short of a full team. Luckily though quite a few 'A' team players, who were without a game this week, came down to support the 'B' team, and brought their kit just in case.. The main 'B' team were great as always and set about attacking the Wilmslow goal from the off. Jack Cox put two goals away in the first quarter, and Ciaran bagged one in the second quarter to end the half 3-0.

Wilmslow suffered some bad luck after the re-start when their goalkeeper fell and twisted his knee. One of their defenders had to take over, leaving them down to 10 players. While Wilmslow attacked well during the third quarter our well organised defence led by Dan Perrie and Barney stopped all bar one of the credible attacks and let the midfield take advantage of their weakened team. Jack Cox grabbed a third, and Jesse Hope grabbed his first goal of the season followed by Sam Sutton. The final score 6-1.

The best thing about the game was the great spirit on the team, and the fact that players such as Ged who were injured plus 6 of the 'A' team all came down to support their teammates. Again on Sunday night there were 6 players came down to watch the U19 team - this is what makes the U16's so good, teamwork and team spirit.

U14s Match Report Saturday 21 November 2009

Timperley A away at Rochdale - what a match!

After a week of rain and 'will it be on or will it be off?', we finally got the 'game on' from Rochdale late on Friday.

So, on a rain threatening morning, we set off for the land of the dark and satanic Mills. Out we stepped and despite a couple of chunky players, we felt we should be onto a winner as the rest of the Rochdale players looked small and were made up of last years U12s. However, it wasn't long before we were 1 down...then 2 down....and then another – resulting in a score at the end of first quarter of 3 - 0 to Rochdale!

……..It often takes us a quarter to get going and also to get used to grass - that was our excuse…and we were sticking to it!

The second quarter saw Timperley settle down with Mr Tim Nicol getting Timperley on the score sheet with a determined effort. Mr Winton, reassuringly unhindered by last week's injury, was to follow with 2 cracking goals. Unfortunately Rochdale's No.5 got their 4th and Rochdale were still leading at the end of the second quarter 4 - 3.

The third quarter saw Timperley take control as Rochdale began to tire with their 10 man squad. Alex added his 3rd assisted by Tim and then a fourth. James Hackett scored a great goal assisted by Pick and then Alex set Joe up for his first. Timperley went into the lead and ended 4 - 7 up going into the final quarter....surely the match was Timperley's?

So....final quarter...all we had to do was hold on to our 3 goal lead.......then disaster! 3 Rochdale goals on the trot, so now it was 7 - 7. Come on Timperley...don't give it away! A couple of important saves from James Smethurst helped steady the nerves for a while but then Rochdale went into the lead again. And then they added one more....it wasn't looking good for Timperley at 9 - 7 down!

Then Alex got a corker and Joe Harris got his second of the match, it was 9 - 9 with just over 2 minutes left.

It was time for Timperley to finish the job off.....Mr Nicol stepped up to the challenge with a great goal, making it 9 - 10 to Timperley. Just needed to hang on to this delicate lead for the last minute and a half....which we did. Job done, well done lads - good match!

Timperley B at home against WACS - a beating!

Still early days for our B team and also missing a couple of key players, we were understrength and soon went 5 goals down to WACS. However, we pulled 3 back despite WACS going onto to score 5 more. So final score was 3 - 10 to WACS. A valiant effort by our B team with some good play showing through in a tough match.

Training Wednesday as usual.

Next week's matches:

We are looking a bit thin on the ground for both teams next Saturday (28th) so we need a good turn out from everyone else please!

Sat 28th November - Timperley A team at home to Heaton Mersey / Timperley B team away at Wilmslow

Saturday 21 November 2009

U12A 27-1 Mellor

This game was played at Newall Green Primary School as part of the club's programme to get into primary schools in Whythenshawe, and on a bumpy, grassy pitch the game went ahead in spite of the heavy rain that had fallen during the week.
The U12A hadn't played a match for three weeks and were up for some action, our warm up went very well and the fun began.
There is not really much to say about such a one sided game. The goals were spread throughout the team, with 8 different boys scoring. A fair number of the goals were assisted which is always good to see. The way we play is in a very quick and direct manner which leads to lots of shots and lots of goals. The small pitch made it difficult at times as we got a bit bunched and didn't play round the perimeter, but that gives us something to work on in training.
We are not perfect and this team can still go to another level if the boys want to. However, save that for Wednesday, and enjoy today's win, which was the biggest U12 score for any club this season.
Next week Brooklands........

U12B 7-7 Norbury

By David Shuttleworth
On Saturday we played 2 quarters of excellent lacrosse and led 5-2; a quarter of OK lacrosse and led 7-2. At ¾ time I commented that we could only lose the game from here because we were seemingly in control. However we put together a very poor final quarter and very nearly achieved my prediction.
In sport and particularly in team sports you often learn more from when you play badly so from Saturday the lessons are;
Concentrate when you are in defence (Defencemen and Middies) - every player needs marking – particularly the one with the ball (and particularly when we have conceded a penalty.)
Keep up the intensity on the ground balls. That is what wins matches and usually we are really good at this part of the game.
Remember to keep our passing game going particularly in attack.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

U19 Match Report - Timperley v Brooklands - by Peter Forster

"Super" Sunday 15.11.09 the "clash of the titans" between the two remaining unbeaten teams in the league. Timperley played host to Brooklands. Timperley's first two matches had been close affairs, whereas the juggernaut which is Brooklands had steamrollered their opposition, scoring a hatful of goals so the Timperley players knew they had a tough one coming.

The match started at a high pace and carried on that way. Brooklands had a lot of possession but the Timperley players stuck to their task and Brooklands were limited to long range shots which the keeper comfortably dealt with. The first quarter ended with only one Timperley goal separating the teams. The second quarter was equally tight with both teams swapping goals and neither getting a clear advantage, but the pressure of being behind began to tell on Brooklands who began to lose control over themselves with some penalties against them. Timperley remained calm and focussed and took advantage of this by playing controlled lacrosse and the first half ended with a two goal lead for Timperley, 4 - 2

Brooklands were used to being way ahead at the half way stage but the half time talk from Justin and Rory ensured that Timperley would not relax and let Brooklands back into it and the pressure on Brooklands showed with Timperley pressing, harassing and scrapping for every ball and quickly passing the ball to create openings. Every member of the squad played their full part to dominate the quarter and more goals from the attackers brought the just reward for the commitment and desire to win shown by the Timperley team. 7 - 3
No let up from Timperley in the last quarter saw the lead extended by a couple of hockey (or was it golf?) shots!! The Timperley defence played like they would rather have their balls nailed to the floor than concede a goal and Brooklands were restricted to long range shots most of which went wide. Final score 9 - 5
It is impossible to single out any player for special praise as the match was a fantastic display of committment, control and desire to win shown by every Timperley player who never let their concentration slip and did not react to any provocation. The coaches Justin and Rory were superb in motivating them and keeping calm (in stark contrast to Brooklands) and they justifiably got the win they deserved.

Stats
25 shots, 18 on goal, 9 goals
17 face offs, 5 won
5.5 minutes penalties. Stats provided by Toby "Statto" Hawksley.

U16 Match Results - Saturday 14th November

Brooklands 5 v U16 'A' 1

U16 'B' 2 v Ashton 1

A low score for the 'B' team, but great effort as usual from all players. Barney was outstanding in goal and saved the team on several key occasions. Ged ran the defence. DC and Jack Cox had their usual understanding in attack and fed each other key passes. A great win from a great team.

The 'A' team lost against Brooklands. The pain and hurt runs deep. My tears have clogged the keyboard - I have no words.....

Monday 16 November 2009

Saturday 14th November Match Reports for Timperley Boys U14:

Due to a wet pitch at Mellor, the B team match was cancelled late Friday evening so we only had the A team match against Poynton at TLC.

The first thing we noticed about Poynton was that there were a few larger players than we remembered from our first match against them earlier in the season (we won 11-5 then)!
So would the Timperley Boys be intimidated by this? How would we play after our first defeat last week against Brooklands?

The game started and Timperley looked steady, could we get an early goal? Before long Tim scored and Alex added a second. Poynton pulled one back by the end of the first quarter. A promising start and there seemed genuine belief in the team that we could win the match.

In the second quarter we got 2 more - Lucas assisted by Tim and James assisted by Alex, so now we were 4 -1 up. James S and his defensive boys worked well at the back to keep a clean sheet in the quarter.

Third quarter saw quality play in attack from Tim and Lucas with 2 excellent goals from the dynamic duo. Joe added one more assisted by Alex and Poynton pulled back 2 more making the score 7 - 3 as we entered the last quarter.

Despite Poynton scoring one more goal, Tom Roberts (making a great A team debut) scored a well deserved goal and Alex scored 2 more. The last one despite receiving what has to be the most aggressive and out of order slash to his elbow from Poynton's No. 18 who had quite simply resorted to brut force when faced and beaten by Alex's superior lacrosse skills!

Unfortunately Alex had to go Hospital but I am glad to report that he has not broken his arm but has a bad impact injury to his elbow - and this was through his padding!

TIMPERLEY WIN 10 - 4 WELL DONE LADS - GOOD GAME / WELL DESERVED VICTORY!

Hopefully see you Saturday Alex and in the meanime we all wish you a speedy recovery - I'll see the rest of you at training on Wednesday,

Paul Peachey.

Saturday 14 November 2009

U12B 4-10 Oldham

This B team has been unbeaten for a number of weeks, which is an almost unheard of state of affairs and they went into this game with high hopes of adding another scalp to their tally of wins.
Oldham proved a tough team to crack, and aided by a player or two with a dispensation, they dominated the face off and really had control of most of the game. Timperley battled hard all over the pitch but Oldham just seemed to have more conviction in front of goal, and this is reflected in the final score.
Thanks to the two volunteers who went in goal during the morning - it is never easy to do for the first time. Also thanks to Rory Sanborn for stepping in and refereeing, and to all the parents who helped and supported during the morning.
As the A team manager, it was good to watch the B team play a game. This team acts as a feeder to the A team and players can gain match experience away from the pressure and high expectations that playing on the A team brings. From what I saw today some of the players on this team could step in and do a job on the A team now, and will certainly be in the mix next season. Keep it up boys.

U12A v Cheadle cancelled

Today's game was the second consecutive game to be cancelled for the U12A. We were really looking forward to playing Cheadle as they are one of the better teams at U12 this season, and it would have been a very competitive match for the boys. However, due to the heavy rain that fell on Thursday and Friday, Cheadle's ground was unplayable and we got another morning off.

Next week we are playing Mellor in Whythenshawe, as part of the push to promote lacrosse in that community. Details to follow during the week.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Timperley U16 'A' 9 v Sheffield 4 - Match Report by Rob Hawksley

Headline news - the U16's fielded TWO full teams, and the 'A' had a substitute for the first time in a few weeks.

This was something of a stealth victory but the U16 'A' team, a comfortable win that seemed to just come from nowhere. My notebook has 'lack of urgency' written against the first quarter scores - yet we ended that period 3-1 up.

Sheffield are a strong team, with a lot of upper age U16 lads who looked to me to be physically intimidating. Sheffield were also smarting from having been beaten in the U16 6-a-side cup final, and were less than impressed to see a photo of the winning team (minus Tommy Hawthorn) pinned up in the club entrance.

The second period saw more action. Paul Chapman in goal was particularly good, making some quick instinctive saves that kept us in the game. The two Jacks had a good period - Jack S-S put in a huge hit on a Sheffield middie, and Jack Mann was just awesome in defence, hounding every red-shirt that came his way.

Nothing much in my notes about period 3, other than Paul Chapman making another great save, spinning a fast shot away off the post. End of this period 7-2.

The final quarter was a far more even period, but Sheffield had just left it too late. Tommy Hawthorn seemed fired up and bagged two goals which were very much solo efforts, attacking the goal. My notes show that the Timperley attack seemed to get going and Tommy's efforts reflected the whole attacking spirit shown by the Timperley forwards. The passes were quicker and there was a lot more movement. This left gaps in midfield that Sheffield exploited to bag their two goals, but at the final whistle the final score was 9-4 Timperley.

Monday 9 November 2009

Match Photo's from U16 'A' v Sheffield (thanks to Charles Streuli)



Timperley U19 8 v Heaton Mersey 6 - Match Report by Peter Forster

Sunday 8.11.09 a cold, misty night but a good night for lacrosse. Steam rising from nostrils like bulls in the ring as the teams enter the arena. The crowd shivering in anticipation of the feast which is to unfold before their eyes. Either that or they had forgotten to put their thermals on.

Heaton Mersey were Timperley's opponents and Mersey wanted revenge for a defeat in the Ted Donnet tournament. A nervy start from both sides saw an off side each and passes astray but then Timperley settled and their possession and pressure began to tell and Captain Blower started a move out of defence with a burst forward which ended in Ollie White scoring the first. A lot of possession followed and it was no surprise when Jack Brook grabbed another for a deserved 2 - 0 quarter lead.
The second quarter was in the same vein with the Timperley attack causing all sorts of problems for Mersey and tricky play from Greg Sandy saw him snatch two goals. Ollie grabbed his second. 5 - 1
Timperley increased their lead in the third quarter but at point were down to a four man defence which allowed Mersey to score twice when their play didn't really deserve it. Elliot Shaw, as always, took his goal well with placement rather than power and Rob Edwards scored with a low shot to make sure the team won the quarter by one goal. 8 - 3
Perhaps the best to say about the final quarter was that the Timperley defence played well (often when a man down) with Matt Raven in particular showing good positional sense and bodying well. Mersey pressed hard but they were too far behind to come back and when it mattered Timperley held the ball and kept Mersey out. Final score 8 - 6.

Overall there was great play from Timperley with slick passing and movement bringing some memorable goals and the defence when a man (or two) down was solid. As with last week the goals were spread out amongst the team and all the Timperley players are capable of scoring which makes it hard for their opponents. Two reasonably tight games should give Timperley confidence for future games as they showed that they can play good lacrosse when under pressure.

No stats ("Statto" Hawksley was on an England trial, normal service next week) but there were 10 minutes of penalties against Timperley (2 for Mersey) and from memory Jay Armstrong won 14 out of 17 face offs which continued his good form.

Chocolates Needed !!!!!!

Calling all juniors .... u12, u14, u16 and yes, the rather old juniors, u19 ...... please bring some, or lots, of chocolates down to training this wednesday as donations for the TLC Christmas Fair which happens to be THIS SUNDAY, yes, this sunday .... 15th November. Just give them to your coach / manager, and they will pass them on to where they need to go. Thanks.

Timperley Boys U14s Match Reports - Sat 7th November

A VALIANT EFFORT BY OUR U14 TEAMS………that sadly resulted in our first losses this season!
Brooklands vs Timperley A: 6 – 3
Timperley B vs Sheffield: 1 – 6

At Brooklands - a ‘large’ U14 Brooklands A squad of 17 appeared as rugby players with lacrosse sticks (& indeed that was what they were!). Timperley had overall superior lacrosse skills but failed to convert shots at goal into scores. Although we defended well, 6 goals got past us. We held the score of 1 a piece for some time and then came back from 3 – 1 down to 3 all but then in the last quarter the opposition went 3 up. Not to worry – we’ll have our revenge next time and it looks an exciting prospect to have a ‘regular’ A team that can now start gelling as a finely tuned A squad!
Scoring:
Goal 1: Tim Nicol assisted by Nathan in the first quarter
Goals 2&3: Lucas Almond assisted by Harry Mann in the 3rd quarter

Meanwhile back at TLC - this was a lively game for the B team's first match together at this level. The coach rotated the player's positions so that they kept their energy levels up as Sheffield brought a full strength squad and their taller players just got the better of us in the attack. We never stopped harrying them to break up their play and had it not been for some passes not going to the stick we would have had more goals. The score flattered Sheffield as the outfield game was very even.

William's goal in the second quarter was well taken with a trademark Timperley build up with accurate quick passing and good positioning in front of goal to gain the space needed for the shot. Harry was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions as he weaved into good position in front of goal only to be robbed of possession at the last minute. Adam stepped up from the U12's to play goal again and was visibly more confident compared to last week. (I noticed later that he was much more exuberant in the U12's match when he was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet).

My thanks to Jeff Atkins who admirably stepped in as B team manager, scored and compiled this excellent match report.

TRAINING – As usual Wednesday night and then matches for Saturday as follows;

SATURDAY 14th November MATCHES:
TIMPERLEY A at home vs POYNTON
TIMPERLEY B away at MELLOR

Saturday 7 November 2009

U16 Results Saturday 7th November - Match Reports to follow

Timperley U16 'A' 9 v Sheffield 4
WACS 8 v Timperley U16 'B' 5

Match reports to follow...............

U12A v Cheadle Hulme cancelled

Today's away game was cancelled due to the heavy rain that fell over Thursday and Friday.
Next week's game against Cheadle will be a tough one - as far as I know they are unbeaten and will be one of the teams challenging us for trophies during the season.
Please can everyone be at training on time on Wednesday.

U12B 3-1 Poynton

The post match text from David Shuttleworth was that "we played OK".

Tuesday 3 November 2009

U16 'B' 4 - 10 Mellor : Saturday 31st October

Another 8-a-side game today, and this time we had a sub !! Fantastic!

Once more, Ged donned the short stick as the final cog in the midfield quartet of scrace, smith, moss, bauer. Despite strong work at the face offs, Mellor saw far too much of the ball in the first quarter and turned their possession into 3 unanswered goals. An early time-out tried to steady the HMS Timperley and the crew responded admirably, building up a good head of steam, and steering tight line through to the half time siren. The second quarter was level pegging at one each, a debut goal for Samba Sutton (assisted by Bruce Smith) on his return from the dreaded lurgy.

We were still in this one at the half, and all it needed was inspirational words from the coach, and we'd be cruising the highway to another memorable victory. Sadly the words seem to have the opposite effect, and we suffered another 3 goal deficit quarter (1-4) to leave Mellor leading 8-2 at the end of the third. (i really need to work on my team talks !)

So that was it. Inspirational words were not the key. Maybe bribery was. On the promise of muffins, cakes and all things good if we drew or won the last quarter, the lads re-entered the fray. They hustled the ball, and in truth dominated the early play, to take a 2-0 lead, Samba completing his hatrick. Could we hang on. Some more great saves from Barney seemed to be taking us there until 2 late goals from Mellor had us biting finger nails and anything else that was in reach.

And then it sounded. The final whistle.

The cakes are on me !!!

Well done to all that took part. In truth, Mellor are a strong side and this team battled hard throughout and should take a lot of pride in how they forced mellor to play some excellent lacrosse to get their result.

Timperley Boys U14s Match Reports

SATURDAY 31st OCTOBER:

A STONKING VICTORY on Saturday against SMG 24-3 win for us – well done lads!

Thanks to Adam Ledger for stepping in as Goalie – a great performance Adam!

4 goals for Lucas most of them assisted by Simon Briggs – a great duo!
1 for Josh B
2 for Simon Briggs with assists from Pick and Alex Winton
1 for Charlie Edwards
2 for James Hackett
2 for Joe Harris assisted by Freddie
1 for Will Hawthorn assisted by Tim Nicol
3 for Harry Mann
2 for Tim Nicol with an assist from Harry
1 for Tom Roberts – a great scoop into the back of the net
2 for Nathan
3 for Alex with assists from Tim, James and Charlie

SATURDAY 24th OCTOBER:
An 'interesting' match against Wilmslow as we had to loan half a team to them for a decent match to be had! Despite Alex and Joe doing their honourable bit in scoring whilst they were starring on the Wilmslow team, Timperley came through with a 13 - 7 win.
Timperley scorers as follows;
4 goals for Mr Winton,
3 for the He Mann,
2 for Lucas and
1 a piece for Charlie Legs, Mr Hackett, Grady and Tim Nicol.
Decent goalying and defence from the team at the back. Stronger performances in the third and particularly the last quarter secured our success. A big thankyou to a all players who played on the Wilmslow team, it was important to have a balanced match rather than call off the game and win on a forfeit.

SATURDAY 17th OCTOBER:
Our first draw 7 – 7!

Well a serious battle was had on Saturday with our first real challenge from a revitalised and stronger WACS team. Sure, there were a couple of dispensations on their team and we didn’t have our usual coaches – but a good effort was made by all. Many thanks for a great job done by Tim Blower who was our stand in coach – everyone had good time on the pitch and as I said we were rewarded by some really good play. The only reason we didn’t win was that we let them through our defence a few times and they scored on each occasion – the only blot on an excellent defensive game by Charlie, James, Joshua and James in goal. And up front, despite some excellent play, we hit the post, just missed to the side & over their goal – but good goals from:
Harry Mann (4),
Tim Nicol (1) &
Alex Winton (2) – and we mustn’t forget the excellent but frustratingly disallowed goal from Freddie who scooped the ball into the back of the net after a number of saved shots from our attackers – I had it down as a goal but alas this was not to be!

SATURDAY 10th OCTOBER:
Great Result against Sheffield on Saturday: 14 – 1 WIN!

On the whole a good match from all concerned with a clean sheet being maintained until the last quarter – well done James & the defence.
First quarter saw goals from:
Joe, Tim and Alex
Second quarter – Josh B, Harry (3) and Alex again
A quieter third quarter with just the 2 from Alex and then Freddie, Josh B again, James H and Alex taking the score to 14.
Good assists were noted from Simon, Charlie, Joe, Josh P (2), Pick and Alex – well done chaps!

Only downer on the game was a period of poor ball handling but as the opposition wasn’t that strong – you got away with it but be warned we cannot afford to have issues like this against stronger teams!

SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER:
Great result against B & E on Saturday - well done team!

17 - 3 WIN

Pick (2), Freddie (2) & Nathan (1) - well done for getting on the score sheet for the first time this season and good scoring again from Alex (8), James H (1) and Joe (3). Some really good play up front but also midis covering well and, with only 3 goals against us, good defending from our defence and sound goal saves by James.
(I hope to be able to start recording assists from next Saturday!)

SATURDAY 28th SEPTEMBER:
Afternoon All,
Well done – Great result on Saturday

For Timeperley:

James Hackett 1 goal
Joe Harris 1 goal
Harry Mann 4 goals
Alex Winton 6 goals

Poynton 5 goals

A good performance by all and a good win to start the formal season off!

Monday 2 November 2009

U19 Sunday League Match Report - Sunday 1st November by Peter Forster

Autumn is here, the nights get that little bit colder, the air is a little damper but the good news is the Under 19 Floodlit league is here !!

The whiff of testosterone in the air, the growling from the players as the match starts, the clatter and crashes as the hits are given out and sparkling and dazzling skills for all to see. It doesn't get better than this.

Timperley started their league assault with a match against Sheffield who showed they are no push overs by grabbing an early lead, which they held for several minutes. The Timperley players were not flustered and played good lacrosse to pressure the Steelers defence and it told when a good move saw Elliot Shaw feed Will Hawksley whose snap shot scored. Greg Sandy drove hard from behind the goal and struck the keeper's helmet with his shot and it was no surprise when Timperley took the lead, although the manner of it was lucky, with Jack Brook picking up a mistake by Sheffield to feed Elliot for a straightforward finish. Greg scored again to make the score 3 - 1.
The second quarter was controlled by Timperley throughout with Jay Armstrong winning every face he had and goals from Ollie White, Elliot and Jay Armstrong giving a lead of 6 - 1.
The third quarter again went Timperley's way, although a few silly penalties began to creep in. Jack scored after dodging past his man and Tommy Kirkland hustled his attacker into making a mistake in the Timperley half, picked up the loose ball, burst forward, fed Will who returned the ball for Tommy to score! He needs to work on his goal celebration though ! Another by Jack saw the quarter end 9 - 2.
Sheffield showed their mettle when they finished strongly, but Timperley were too far ahead and were not seriously troubled, further goals from Ollie and Greg saw the final score end Sheffield 6 Timperley 11.
Overall it was a competent display from Timperley, Jay's excellent face off play (14 from 15 won) saw Timperley with a lot of possession which they converted well into goals, the defence were solid and strong driving by the attackers saw several chances created. Too many penalties were given away, and stronger teams will take advantage of this but it was good to get a win. Stiffer tests will follow in other matches though.

29 shots, 19 on goal, 11 goals.
20 face offs, 17 won.
6.5 minutes penalties. Stats provided by Toby "Statto" Hawksley

U16 'A' Match Report - Saturday 31st Oct. Heaton Mersey 4 v U16 'A' 7

The Timperley U16 'A' tean magic continued on Saturday with a 7-4 away win against Heaton Mersey.

The boys travelled with a squad of just 10 players. The 'B' team who were at home to Mellor had just 9 players - we were 5 players down, with families being away for the half-term break.

While Mellor arrived with 9 players making for an even game, the 'A' team were staring at a Heaton Mersey squad of 17 players. Hmm..10 against 17, things weren't looking too good.
Things looked even worse after chatting to their coach. The words 'our boys are really up for this', 'we want to avenge our defeat in the 6-a-side cup', 'everyone wants to beat Timperley'...the lads were in for a tough game.

Coach Wylo left me with some very specific instructions, stuff about switching the mid-off attack, fly-pass, go long, go short - I can't remember what he said it was far too complicated for me. I asked the lads in the car if they knew what he was waffling on about - 'Don't worry about it we know what he means' was their confident reply.

The boys made a confident start to the game, calmly slotting away two goals in the first five minutes. HM looked rattled, especially when they failed to score after an sustained 8 minute attack period. We kept giving the ball away with loose passes, but HM were unable to break through our defence. The second quarter saw more of the same. Tomb, who won every face-off, went charging for goal. 'Don't shoot, pass it on' cried coach Justin. Tomb, ever the obedient player, promptly ignored him and fired anyway, blasting the ball into the bottom left corner. 'What do I know' was Justin's comment.

HM became more and more frustrated, despite having a large squad they couldn't find a way to get past Timperley. Our boys were clearly fitter and just kept going. Final score Timperley 7 - Heaton Mersey 4.

Overall this was a very good result. The boys are a very strong team and play well together. A few loose passes to clear up, but other than that a very good win. Next Saturday sees the boys at home against Sheffield - they will be wanting to get revenge for their defeat in the final of the 6-a-side - should be a good game.

Saturday 31 October 2009

U19 Sunday League - Starts Tomorrow Sunday 1st Nov

Timperley U19 (winners of the Ted Donnet Tournament and last years Sunday League tournament) play their first game in this autumns Sunday night League tomorrow Sunday 1st November, Timperley astro, face-off at 6:40pm.

Come along, wrap-up warm and watch some of the fastest lacrosse you will ever see...

U16 Results Saturday 31st October

Heaton Mersey 4 v Timperley U16 'A' 7
Timperley U16 'B' 4 v Mellor 10

Match report to follow - stand-by, it's going to be a 'blogoff' between Rob & Wylo..

U12A 22-1 Wilmslow

A really good win today for the U12A, maintaining their 100% winning record. We travelled to Wilmslow missing 3 regular players, but took the opportunity to give an A team debut to 2 players from David Shuttleworth's crack B team. They did not let us down, and have actually given the managers some potential selection headaches for the next few games.
As seems to be the case for most of our games this season, we jumped to a first quarter 5 goal lead, which handed the free clear to the opposition. This always slows our rate of scoring down a bit, but it actually gives us a chance to work on our defensive play.
The midfield (8 goals) is the real engine of this team and they showed an incredible amount of hustle today, with the 5 boys dominating the game. They formed a really tight unit and their powerful running and accurate passing left Wilmslow floundering. The ease with which we move the ball from defence to attack is a pleasure to watch, and the feeding to the attack (13 goals) was selfless. The defence was solid when called upon, with the obligatory defenders' goal being bagged in the last quarter.
We have a number of potentially tough games leading up to Christmas so every boy needs to be at training every week. The next 6 weeks of the season will give a good yardstick of how good we actually are and will be crucial to the development of the team.

Monday 26 October 2009

U12 results so far.......

The U12A has started the season very well, reaching the October half term with a 100% winning record.
The results are as follows:
Rochdale 5-2
Heaton Mersey 17-0
Mellor 23-4
Ashton 5-1
Wilmslow 7-2
Sheffield 17-11
Wacs 18-2

The U12B began slowly but has posted some great results in recent weeks.
HM Guild 1-3
Wilmslow 1-5
Stockport 1-3
Rochdale 1-1
Poynton 2-1
Norbury 5-1
Ashton 9-4
Stockport 15-0

We have two settled squads of boys, but, promisingly, there looks like there could well be some B team players pushing for a place on the A team.

Sunday 25 October 2009

U16 'B' 7 - 10 Oldham/Rochdale : Saturday 24th October

Only 6 players this week on the B team, and considering we were also playing against 2 clubs, this should really be treated like a victory !!!

Thanks have to go to the opposition who were happy to loan us some players and then play 8-a-side. It's not easy to play with guys you've never met before, but the whole team just got on with the job with a hunger for victory. Ged got his wish of playing short stick middie for the whole game, but was severly hampered by the fact that he had to use my stick. However, he bagged one early goal. In fact, that's the only goal my stick's scored this season ! Four more goals were scored in the first half by us, while DP, Jonny & Barney held off the opposition attack well only conceding 3 goals. Winning at half time.

We suffered a couple of small injuries in the 2nd half which slowed us down and allowed the Old-dale combo to take the lead. DC & Michael B (who bagged 4 goals in all) then worked tirelessly to pull us back to 7-7 all. Sadly, in the end, it proved not quite enough as the larger squad proved less tired, and prevailed with some late unanswered goals.

Fantastic effort by all the players. If we can get this close with only 6 players, then we're gonna get quite a few victories this season when we have the full 10 !!! Roll on next week .....

Saturday 24 October 2009

U16 'A' 12 - Cheadle 7 Saturday 24th October

The U16 'A' pulled off another important win today. The visitors today were Cheadle, traditionally one of the stronger teams of the junior boys league. Initial impressions were rather worrying, they had one of the tallest midfield players I have ever seen - 6'5'' tall, this player would be able to hold the ball high in the air and simply walk to goal..

No need to worry though, the match turned out to be the Tommy show. Tom Bracegirdle (6 assists and 2 goals), Tom Hawthorn (4 goals), Tom Sandy (4 goals) - with an appearance from Myles Anderson (2 goals) - saw the team take victory. While the Tommy's (and Myles) took the spotlight, this was as ever a team performance. Paul Chapman was impressive in goal, stopping some big shots, aided by Joe, Jack and Alex in defence. The back four were extremely disciplined refusing to be provoked by the Cheadle players who kept pressuring. The midfield were fast on the break and could make the rapid transition from defence to attack, feeding the attackers. It was Tomb though who stole the show, he found a weakness in the Cheadle defence and exploited it to the max - the Cheadle boys must hate him.
Another good win from a strong team - thanks to you all for a great game.

U16 Boys Win 6-a-side competition


Timperley’s Under 16 ‘A’ team complemented their unbeaten run in the league with victory in the JA Barber 6-a-Side Cup competition on Sunday.

The annual competition, hosted this year by Mellor Lacrosse Club, saw teams from across the South Manchester area come together to battle it out for the trophy. Six-a-side lacrosse is fast and hard, with few offside rules, encouraging quick attacking play. Teams are allowed to enter an eight-player squad, with six players on the pitch at any one-time and with rapid substitutions as the play moves from attack to defence or vice-versa.

The eight-player squad came through the early rounds with comfortable wins against Waconians, Poynton and Heaton Mersey, and a draw against Boardman. By the time the team came to the semi-final against Mellor they were down to seven players, attacker Tommy Hawthorn having been taken off injured. The boys came through the semi-final, winning 2-1 to go on to meet old rivals Sheffield in the final. The two teams have a long history of close matches and the final was no exception. Timperley took an early lead, and despite Sheffield pulling a goal back went into the half-time break with a 3-1 lead. Sheffield started the second half aggressively but two quick goals from Timperley sealed the win with a final score of 5-1, bringing the cup back to the club for the first time since 2001.

Team: Joe Strueli, Barney Sant (goal), Dan Perrie, Tom Bracegirdle, Miles Anderson, Toby Hawksley, Cameron Parks, Tom Hawthorn.