U12A 14-9 Rochdale (Onondaga Cup Winners)

It has been a long season, during which peoples' expectations of the U12A have been forever rising. Today this group of boys won their second trophy of the season, taking the Onondaga Cup by beating a tough Rochdale team by 14 goals to 9. By winning today we kept our unbeaten season intact (played 22, won 21, drawn 1) and we can now justifiably call ourselves the best U12 team in the country.

Now to the game.....
The pitch was perfect, the sun was shining and we had a good number of spectators to cheer us on. Unfortunately, after ten minutes of the game we were losing 0-4 and things were looking decidedly grim. Time out blue, and a chance for a breather and a little chat. We weren't playing badly, but the two big kids on the Rochdale team started as if they were on fire, and we had no answer to their power. On the positive side, we were creating chances (but shooting poorly) and we knew that there was no way the Rochdale boys could continue at that pace for the whole game. A goal from Tom Cox seconds before the end of the quarter stopped the rot and gave us a good vibe as we had our quarter time team talk.
During the second quarter the Rochdale boys did start to run out of steam, and the Timperley midfield started to gain more posession. This was the crucial part of the game, and goals from James Prickett, Oli Loveland and Tom Cox got us back to 4-4, before Rochdale went ahead for the last time at 4-5. Another goal from Oli Loveland levelled it at 5-5 at half time.
Looking at the two teams at half time told the story of where the game was heading. Rochdale had blown a huge lead and their heads were down. Timperley were starting to dominate and our confidence was up, having shown great resilience to come out of a tough situation.
The third quarter was where we took control of the game, when Matthew Stewart and his defence shut Rochdale out whilst we scored three goals ourselves, to get to three quarter time at 8-5 up. We were now showing great patience, moving the ball with confidence and feeding the ball well.
The final quarter was out of character with the rest of the game, with both teams trading goals for the whole 15 minutes. Rochdale never gave up and went for route one as they started to run directly at the heart of our defence. Goals were conceded, saves were made, but all the time up the other end we were picking our way round their defence, and we outscored our opponents by six to four, giving the final score of 14-9.

Goals / (Assists)
Cox 6, O Loveland 4(1), Prickett 1(3), E Loveland 1, Hunn 1(1), Phillips 1, Crosby (2), Harris (1), Callaghan (1)

Three months ago we would have lost this game, but this team has developed a toughness since Christmas, when we have played some harder games, not had things all our own way and have learned how to scrap for a win. Today, even at 0-4, our heads never dropped and this was probably the most commendable part of today's performance. Being able to continue to play proper lacrosse when under great pressure marks this team out as winners.

The team of 2009/10 has won the first U12 trophies for three seasons, matching exactly the achievements of the 2006/7 U12 squad in winning the Onondaga and the 6 a side. The following boys have played regularly for the A team over the last seven months and deserve the plaudits that come their way.

Goal Matthew Stewart
Defence Sam Harris, Alex Ball, Dan Walker, Patrick Sugden, Harun Wasim
Midfield Oli Loveland (capt), Oliver Crosby (vice capt), James Prickett, Seb Phillips, Will Callaghan, Callum Townsley
Attack Tom Cox, Ed Loveland, Joe Hunn, Sam Hirst

Now, let's have one more look at that trophy.........

U12A 15-5 Cheadle Hulme

The regular season is over, and the unbeaten record is still intact, so well done to the boys for that. If there were a league for the U12, we would have won it easily.........David Shuttleworth even turned up to see if his presence was a jinx on the team, but it appears not, so he is free to attend the cup final next weekend!

Today was a tricky looking assignment against an unknown Cheadle Hulme team that has had some good results this season. Added to that, we were on a really small pitch which we know doesn't suit our style of play. This took a bit of time to get used to, but eventually the team settled down and played some good lacrosse.

Seb Phillips is worth a mention today as he played a solid game in midfield, scoring a couple of goals and winning a lot of good ground ball. This is exactly the kind of selfless performance we needed - someone to do the unglamorous (but not unnoticed) hard yards in the midfield.


Goals / (Assists)
O Loveland 5(1), Cox 4, Crosby 2, Phillips 2, Prickett 1(1), Callaghan 1(1), E Loveland (1), Walker (1), Hunn (1).

U12A 22-6 Brooklands

Even though Brooklands are not as strong as recent years, they can still spring the occasional surprise (Nationals - semi final - say no more), so we were looking at this game as a small measure of payback, but more importantly the continuation of our preparation for the Onondaga Cup Final. Brooklands scrapped hard in the heavy rain, but we really hammered them with our superior lacrosse skill. They were route one; we were passing it around and playing a team game.

Continuing our recently acquired (bad) habit of a slow start, we managed to go a goal down early on; however, there was no hint of concern and we soon got into our stride. The fast breaks were flying in, we were moving the ball around well, the ground ball was OK, we were drawing fouls from the opposition then scoring on the man up, the defence was tight and sliding well, our 5 man zone was excellent and the clear was good. Basically everything was working.

James Prickett had his best game of the season today, including a surprisingly effective stint at facing during the second quarter when, using his strength, he won 4 on the trot.

The quarterly scores were 5-2, 12-4, 17-5, 22-6

Goals / (Assists)
Cox 6, E Loveland 4(2), O Loveland 4(1), Prickett 3(3), Hunn 3(2), Crosby 2(2), Callaghan (2)

There are two more games to go this season - if we can maintain our unbeaten record, we will end the season as champions. Let's keep focussed and ensure this is what happens.

U12B 7-13 Rochdale

U12A 14-7 Cheadle [Onondaga Cup Semi]

Today was the biggest game of the season so far – the Onondaga Cup semi final against Cheadle. Having beaten them twice in recent weeks we knew their game plan and how to deal with it. The weight of expectation was hanging heavily over the whole U12A group– we knew we could win; we knew we should win; the question was, would we win?
We started well enough going 2-0 up quite quickly, but Cheadle’s big kid hit back with some individual goals, to put us 3-4 down at quarter time. Nerves were perhaps getting to us, the focus wasn’t there and we were struggling for fluency. It was time for a few deep breaths on the side line and some well directed words from the coaches. The second quarter saw some immediate improvement, as the attack found its range, and the ball started to move more easily from stick to stick. The confidence was growing, but there were still only two goals in it at half time, with Timperley leading by 7-5. Tom Cox (playing attack again) was leading the way at this point with three goals, and a couple of shots off the frame of the goal to his name.
The third quarter started evenly, before Oliver Crosby suffered a game ending hit to his knee. At 8-5, this could really have cost us because up to this point he’d been instrumental in keeping us in the game and was battling all over the pitch with his captain - losing his experience certainly worried me. However, Oli Loveland then went up another gear up for his team, scoring 3 unanswered goals in a 5 minute burst to get us to 11-5 at three quarter time. Almost there……….
The final quarter was just holding onto what we had. Cheadle weren’t pressing the ball and we ran the clock down well, keeping possession and scoring goals, to reach the final score of 14-7.

The result was all that mattered today. What the spectators saw was a real team effort, with every member of the squad playing their part in the performance that saw us make progress. It was good to see that after the first quarter, the team toughed it out and eventually came away with a solid win. We had our poor spell early, and then used the remaining game time to get the game won and reach the Onondaga Final for the first time in three years. Well done boys. Job nearly done……..

Goals / (Assists)
Cox 5, O Loveland 4(2), Crosby 2 (1), E Loveland 2 (1), Hunn 1, Prickett (2), Harris (1), Phillips (1)

U12B 5-13 Oldham

U12 National 8 a side

Another Sunday, another tournament, but unfortunately, after the excitement of last weekend, there was no trophy to take home today. In my own mind a semi final place was the very least we were aiming for today. There are three or four good sides at this age group and any one of them is capable of winning a short tournament like this - a bit of luck, and some momentum counts for a lot.

We started really well with a great 5-3 victory over a tough Rochdale team, and then followed this with a 6-2 win over Spencer. Meanwhile Wilmslow were doing us all a favour with a huge win over Rochdale that effectively put them out of the tournament before lunchtime. We then beat Wilmslow 2-1 to win the group with a game to spare, before we gave the whole squad a go in the final game, winning 4-3 against Wacs.
So far so good – we’d made the semi final. We had played some nice lacrosse at times, and had fought hard for the wins but without really playing at our fluent best. Matthew Stewart in goal was probably the stand out performer up to this point, which itself tells a tale.

Brooklands and Sheffield had qualified from pool 1, along with ourselves and Wilmslow from pool 2. The betting man would have probably gone for a Timperley / Sheffield final, but he’d have lost all his money. We lost 1-4 to Brooklands, going behind early on and never managing to get back into the game, whilst Wilmslow produced another upset by overcoming the previously unbeaten Sheffield in overtime. Wilmslow followed this up by beating Brooklands 1-0 to take the tournament.

We must remember that 8 and 6 a side games can be won and lost in a very short space of time and often there is no time to respond - we will win some and we will lose some over the coming years. I firmly believe that this current team is better suited to 10 a side, which is where the main prizes are - the main target for the season was always the Onondaga Cup. We have a big semi final this coming weekend against Cheadle which, if we turn up in the right frame of mind, we are more than capable of winning.

Thanks to all the parents for taking the time to travel to Malvern to support their boys. It is meant to be a lacrosse festival and I think that from that point of view, we all had a good day at a great location with some superb weather.

U12A 13-4 Cheadle

This was a warm up for the Onondaga semi next week, and we came through with what was ultimately a comfortable 13-4 win. Although we never really played as well as we can, we scrapped and did our best to remove any shred of confidence that Cheadle might have been taking into next weekend.

We need to focus from the start next weekend and make sure we reach the final.

Goals/(Assists)
Cox 5, Crosby 2, E Loveland 2(1), Callaghan 1, Phillips 1(1), Hunn 1, Walker 1, O Loveland (2), Prickett (2), Hirst (1).

U12B 4-12 Ashton

David Shuttleworth reports.........
Although the game was fairly even for a long time we were eventually fairly well beaten by a much improved Ashton side. Admittedly they did have a very big, athletic overage player with a dispensation but he was supposed to be very new to lacrosse (!!). He was a decent athlete. However we kept at it . Joe Schaefer did well in goal and his clearing was really good and Matt Allen did well at faces. We missed our runners, Adam,Cameron and Will C as it was a big pitch which usually suits us.

U12 win 6 a side tournament

This is what it is all about. Playing lacrosse and winning a trophy. Ultimately the day ended as I had hoped, with Timperley taking home the cup, but I never thought that it would prove as dramatic as it did for players and parents alike.
In the round robin format, a lot depends on the draw, and we got a favourable one, with only Cheadle (last year's winners) looking a threat. We breezed through our opening two games, winning 13-0 against Mersey Guild B, and then Wacs 12-1. The whole afternoon changed with the Cheadle game as we struggled with their direct tactics and eventually went down 2-3. Chins were down, the boys were moaning about the ref, which in reality was good to see because it showed they cared; from this moment on, the team seemed to gel as they realised they were going to have to fight for this cup.
The fourth game was against an unbeaten Mersey Guild A, and we had to win, or it was the early bus home. We came through in style to record a comprehensive 12-1 win. Bring on the semi final draw……….. which paired us with Cheadle. We were going to have to win it the hard way.
The game was as we expected but our tactics were better and we coped with Cheadle’s long game. We were never ahead, but never more than a goal behind, and we were playing some really good lacrosse, whilst not being hurt too badly by the big kids on the opposition. Full time came, with the score at 3-3. It was a golden goal to settle the game – first to score wins - no pressure then………
This led to what was for me the most memorable and important moment of the afternoon. We won the face and after a bit of scrapping, put together a great four man passing move that ended with Oli Loveland coolly slotting the ball home for his hat-trick, the golden goal and a sprint half the length of the pitch to celebrate with his team mates. I was leaping around and so were half the spectators - we’d won it 4-3 to reach the final against Rochdale.
Rochdale had one really big player and we played him as best we could. Unfortunately we’d not been tipped off about their other top player who would go on to score 5 goals in the final. However, it didn’t matter……….
This was another game where we were never ahead until the end, but again we held it together and were never more than one behind. To counter the two good players Rochdale had, our team played some excellent lacrosse, slugging it out goal for goal, only losing its head once with about two minutes to go where the long ball reared its ugly head. We got over this mini crisis and then took it to Rochdale from 5-6 down to score two in the final 90 seconds to be 7-6 up. Our ball on our back line with 20 seconds to go and we killed some time, before a final assault from the big kid was repelled, and we’d done it, winning 7-6 in a brilliant final.

Every one of the boys played their part today [in the photo (back) Matthew Stewart, James Prickett, Sam Harris, Oli Loveland, (front) Tom Cox ,Oliver Crosby, Ed Loveland, Will Callaghan]. They became a real team over the course of the afternoon and ended up really battling for each other to achieve the victory for themselves and the club. There are a lot of proud parents, coaches and managers in Timperley tonight.

U12B 12-2 Stockport

David Shuttleworth commented.....
Won 12-2. Played well.
Will Callaghan and Mickolaj Mars were good. Four goals for Ben Williamson and three for Adam Kinghorn.

U12A 32-2 Poynton

Our nemesis of last season, Poynton, were buried under an avalanche of goals today by a team that played some truly excellent lacrosse. Poynton have a young team and are obviously rebuilding this season, but take nothing away from the U12; I am sure the way they played today they would have beaten any opponent.
For the whole hour, we passed our way up the pitch and around the goal, and scored some really good team goals with 5 or 6 slick passes prior to a shot. The biggest improvement on last week was the groundball which we were winning cleanly for the whole game.
It is hard not to feel a bit sorry for the opposition in games like this, but they were beaten by a real team performance which even had the Poynton coach muttering admiration in our direction. We practice hard and it is good when it all comes together in a match – is was clinical lacrosse all morning and at no point did we resort to bullying our way to goal or showboating.
Due to the half term holidays we were short of 5 regulars, but the remaining 9, plus Alex Robins and Will Callaghan played tremendously well. The team was reassured by the presence of captain Oli Loveland who ran the game for Timperley with goals and assists. He and his fellow midfielders of Oliver Crosby, James Prickett and Will Callaghan (first goals for the A team today) were the real driving force behind today’s win. Tom Cox sneaked back into the attack for the game and helped himself to a career high 11 goals, and was well assisted by Ed Loveland and Joe Hunn. Matthew Stewart organised his defence of Sam Harris, Dan Walker and Alex Robins really well, and as a unit they marked tightly and cleared the ball easily.

I would still rate our early season victory over Sheffield as a better performance than this one, but the boys who played today really battled for each other and I hope we can take this momentum into the 6 a side, 8 a side and the Onondaga semi final against Cheadle in 3 weeks time.

Goals / (Assists)
Cox 11(1), E Loveland 8(4), O Loveland 4(7), Hunn 4(1), Crosby 2(3), Callaghan 2(3), Prickett 1(1)

U12B 9-9 Heaton Mersey

David Shuttleworth reports.....
Thought we did well on Sat and really should have won but we could not hold their best player who got 8 out of their 9 goals . Adam Kinghorn played well and got 6 goals (but should have had more with better shooting!) and I thought our defence did well.

U12A 11-4 Brooklands

This was a hard fought game against a Brooklands team that competed well all game. It was not the best we've played this year by any stretch of the imagination, but we fought well through the scrappy bits and came up with the win by 11-4.
The first three quarters of the game were pretty similar, with the Timperley boys just about getting the better of the opposition, but not helping themselves with poor groundball and wayward passing. We were just not sharp enough to take a commanding lead and the scores for the first three quarters were 2-2, 2-0 and 2-0, giving a lead at three quarter time of only 6-2.
Finally, in the fourth quarter we seemed to wake up and actually played some good lacrosse, moving the ball well and cutting and shooting on target. This led to us scoring 5 goals, whilst conceding 2, to give a final score of 11-4.

Goals / (assists)
Crosby 3(1), Hirst 3, O Loveland 2(2), E Loveland 1(2), Hunn 1, Prickett 1, Cox (1), Callaghan (1)

The last three weeks have been good for this team. The playing schedule lined us up against three of the best U12 teams and we have come through unbeaten, which, given that we have never had our regular squad out in any of the matches, is really pleasing. Boys have stepped up from the B team and made telling contributions, whilst the regular A team players have discovered how to “win ugly” and grind out a result.

Next games
Spencer (home) on Friday 19th (4.30pm face)
Poynton (away) on Saturday 20th (10am face)

U12B 16-9 Mellor

U12A 6-6 Sheffield

The 100% record is gone, but we maintained our unbeaten season with a gutsy 6-6 draw against a good Sheffield team, who really fancied picking us off today. Missing three of our year 7 boys, we anticipated a tough game, and we got it, but the team were ultimately well worth the draw.
This was a very up and down game for us, as we were outscored in every quarter bar the third. We started slowly and took time to adjust to the pace of the game, and we couldn’t match the commitment of the 3 or 4 Sheffield boys who were running their team, losing the first quarter 1-2 and the second quarter 1-3, giving a half time score of 2-5. We had barely threatened the Sheffield goal, with our attacking play lacking ideas and fluency, but we were kept in the game by solid defending and goalkeeping. Four minutes of penalties in the second quarter did nothing to help our cause either.
It really needed someone to stand up and take control, and today that person was Dan Walker. He started winning some possession at the face, and scored 2 goals to get us back in the game, and we ended the quarter 6-5 up. The final quarter saw us face an onslaught of constant attacking by Sheffield, and they eventually got the equaliser, and then we held on for the final couple of minutes to get the draw we deserved.

This was our toughest game of the season, and it highlighted certain deficiencies. At times in this game, our commitment and technique to win the groundball and then retain posession was simply not good enough, and it almost cost us the game. If we have the ball, the opposition cannot score – it is as simple as that.
Positively, this was Sheffield’s strongest team, and they played well, but we got the draw in spite of missing key players and generally underperforming. We must take heart from this.

Next week, we play Brooklands at home.

Goals / (Assists)
Walker 3, E Loveland 2, Phillips 1, Callaghan (1), Townsley (1), Hirst (1)

U12A 10 Cheadle 9

This was always going to be an interesting morning, with all our year 7 boys unavailable as they were playing for the U14B. This left what was essentially an U11 team playing against Cheadle, who, like us, have reached the semi finals of the Onondaga Cup.
We got ourselves into a 4 goal lead early in the second quarter playing some nice lacrosse, but then the wheels fell off in a big way (a general inability to retain possession through poor decision making, bad ground ball, inability to clear, poor passing, not concentrating – you name it and we did it) and Cheadle scored the next 5 goals without reply leaving us 4-5 down at half time. I don’t think any of this team has played in a game where they’ve been behind for a length of time but come back to win, and it was an interesting half time team talk by Nelly, trying to get the boys’ heads up again. Cheadle scored a sixth unanswered goal early in the third quarter and things looked over for us. However, two quick goals from Ed Loveland galvanised the team, and a goal in the last second of the third quarter by Dan Walker saw us level at 7-7. We then got our noses in front early in the fourth quarter and managed to remain there, mainly through the outstanding goalkeeping of Matthew Stewart who made numerous saves at close range.

Matches like this are good for the spectator, and also good for the boys. The ease with which we usually win matches is not really the norm for lacrosse. More often, games are tight and are won by one or two goals. We have learned a lot today, about the 4 B team players who came in and played well (Will Callaghan, on his A team debut, looked really comfortable) and also how the younger A team players reacted to the pressure of leading the team.

The two performances of the day were by Matthew Stewart in goal and Ed Loveland in attack – they continued how they have been playing all season and gave the team the belief they could actually win the game.

Goals
E Loveland 5(+1 assist), Hirst 2(+1), Crosby 1(+1), Hunn 1(+1), Walker 1, Callaghan (2 assists)

U12A 19 Heaton Mersey 3

This weekend saw the second round of the Onondaga Cup, against a Heaton Mersey team we had beaten easily at the start of the season. For the first time this season all 14 of the A team squad were available (the scent of cup glory must be in the air) and with Mersey only having 9 players, the result was never really in doubt.
It turned out to be a routine win where we never really sparkled, but played some solid lacrosse. The attack took the headlines today, scoring 12 goals between them as they all cashed in on the good work of the midfield, by more often than not, being in the right place at the right time. Ed Loveland in particular, gave his defender a morning to forget.

Scorers:
E Loveland 5 goals (2 assists), Hunn 4(1), O Loveland 3(1), Hirst 3(1), Crosby 1(1), Ball 1, Harris 1, Walker 1

The semi final draw has yet to be made, but the game is not until March 13th. However, we have a challenging schedule against Sheffield, Brooklands, Spencer (a touring team from London) and Cheadle in the next few weeks, plus the welcome distraction of the 6 a side and National 8 a side tournaments.
The success of any team is measured in terms of what cups are won – the win / loss record is secondary to the silverware we can gather by the end of the season. The next 6 weeks will go a long way to define how this U12 group of boys will be remembered – this is very much the business part of the season and we need to continue attending training and learning the game from Nelly and Rory.

Thanks to U19s Adam Legg and George Allen for refereeing the match – free from controversy, so well done!

U12B 5 Wacs 9

Written by David Shuttleworth
I thought we played quite well against Wacs but they just had the edge and particularly had a couple of decent midfielders. However, I thought the area where they were better was in their organisation and teamwork - basically because they were older and more experienced than us.

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!