Lacrosse weekend preview
CHEADLE Hulme are on the brink of becoming the first casualty
of the new season after requesting special permission to disband
their first team which plays in the North of England League
Premier Division. The Cheshire side have lost a string of
key players throughout the summer and that resulted in the
club conceding their opening game of the season against Boardman
& Eccles.
And, having also conceded tomorrow's proposed clash with
Timperley, it is has emerged the club have written to the
North of England League committee .requesting special permission
to drop out of the top flight after a lengthy stay amongst
the games' elite.
"I don't think there's much more we can do apart from
accept their request," admitted a North of England League
source. "It's a real shame, but if you haven't got enough
players to raise a team, then there's not much you can do."
Indeed, and having previously stayed tight-lipped about their
future, some club officials at Ladybridge Road have now openly
come forward and revealed that their stay in the top flight
may soon be over despite a prolonged battle to stay up. The
North of England League committee are expected to meet next
on Tuesday 2nd October and Cheadle Hulme's fate is set to
be settled then. "We were hoping that a lot more younger
players would come through this season," admitted club
captain Guy Lansbury, "but unfortunately that hasn't
happened. We've probably lost between 13-14 players in the
last four seasons and it just becomes harder and harder to
carry on. I'm personally disappointed and I know a lot of
people at the club are. We had a meeting and all the players
just wanted to play lacrosse."
And Lansbury admitted that despite efforts to plug emerging
cracks, there was no way they could replace the loss of influential
players such as Anthony Broadhurst, who moved to Manchester
Waconians, and the Beadle brothers, Matt and John,
as well as Thomas Gallagher, who all made the move to nearby
Heaton Mersey. Injuries haven't helped either
with goalkeeper David Musrie and Matt Jones both absent this
season because of damaged ribs, while Tony Eglin was sidelined
after a foot-operation. Cheadle Hulme's A-team, however, are
expected to continue playing in Division Two, with the remaining
surplus of players from the first team making the step down.
Cheadle, winners of four trophies last season,
host arch-rivals Mellor tomorrow in a repeat of last year's
Daily Telegraph Senior Flags Trophy final, while Mersey visit
Georges Road to play Brooklands Hulmeians,
Stockport do battle with Wilmslow,
and Rochdale, the Lancashire side, entertain Boardman
& Eccles.
Fixtures (Sat 27th September)
North of England Men's League - Premier Division (2.15pm):
Cheadle v Mellor; Brooklands Hulmeians v Heaton Mersey; Wilmslow
v Stockport; Rochdale v Boardman & Eccles. Division 2:
Old Stopfordians v Cheadle A; Sheffield Steelers v Norbury;
Manchester Waconians A v Rochdale A; Nottingham v Poynton;
Heaton Mersey A v Oldham; Stockport A v Brooklands Hulmeians
A. Division 3: Boardman & Eccles A v Mellor A; Ashton-under-Lyne
v Heaton Mersey B; Cheadle Hulme A v Stockport B; Poynton
A v Manchester Waconians B. Division 4: Rochdale B v Sheffield
Steelers A; Poynton B v Ashton-under-Lyne A. Division 5: Norbury
A v Poynton C; Heaton Mersey C v Boardman & Eccles B;
Manchester Waconians C v Stockport C; Norbury v Brooklands
Hulmeians B. North of England Women's Premier League (2.00pm):
Timperley v Harrogate; Stockport v Heaton Mersey; Mellor v
Wirral; Sheffield Steelers v Liverpool.
(Sun 28th September)
Ted Donnet Under-19s Trophy team competition (Brooklands
Lacrosse Club, Georges Road, Sale 11.00am).
South of England Women's Premier League (11.00am): Putney
v Purley; Beckenham v Blackheath Legends. 12.30pm: Harpenden
v Berkshire Wanderers; Centaurs v West London.
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