MELLOR UPSET STOCKPORT
DEFENDING champions Stockport suffered a surprise defeat
to Mellor, last year's runners-up, on the opening weekend
of the Men's North of England League Lacrosse Premier Division
season.
The Beech Road club were beaten 13-12 by their arch-rivals,
although they did battle back to level at 12-12 having been
five goals behind.
"We were 9-4 down at half-time, but we scored six without
reply which was a great effort," said Sean Ring, the
Stockport coach.
"Unfortunately they got the ball with about 40 seconds
left, went to the crease and scored the winner.
"A draw might have been a fair result, but credit to
Mellor because they played well."
American Brandon Wright, a new summer signing, led the way
for Mellor with three goals and two assists, while experienced
attacker Daniel Hodgson scored a hat-trick and contributed
four assists.
Ollie Hall, Andy Brickell and Matt Marsh all added braces
for the Longhurst Lane club, while face-off ace Alistair Wallace
dominated possession from the centre.
The England midfielder won 16 out of 18 of the first-half
face-offs, and completed the match with 25 successful face-offs
from 29 contests.
"Alistair Wallace was excellent for us in the face-off,"
praised Ben McAllister, the Mellor skipper and international
team-mate of Wallace.
"It was a good win for us. They never gave up, but thankfully
Brandon managed to score the winner at the death.
"I'm not sure beating them is a psychological advantage
at this stage in the season, but it's the perfect start for
us."
Daniel Heighway and Chris Battersby both scored four goals
as Heaton Mersey thumped Boardman & Eccles 13-1 in their
opening match
Andy Battersby added a hat-trick and Martin Beacon and Steve
Grace also scored as the Oakley Villas club led won every
quarter of the match - 4-0, 4-1, 2-0 and 3-0.
Manchester Waconians saw Australian Adam Hamilton net a hat-trick
in their 10-5 win over Timperley, while newly-promoted Sheffield
Steelers led Wilmslow 10-6 at half-time, but their Styal Road
opponents dug deep to win 15-14 with a last minute goal from
Chris Mountney.
Mountney finished the game with a hat-trick, while attacker
Ashley Tarran-Jones and Englanbd midfielder Dan Green did
the bulk of the damage with four goals each.
Cheadle, who will miss their captain Ryan Bevington for the
next two weeks while he is on holiday, ground out a 7-4 win
away to Brooklands Hulmeians having led 3-1 at half-time.
Timperley women, the reigning North of England Premier League
champions, opened their account with a 12-6 triumph away to
Wirral, with Heaton Mersey, possible title-contenders 18-2
victors at home to Leeds.
Lacrosse Results (Saturday 23 September)
Men's North of England League - Premier Division:
Stockport 12 Mellor 13 (Quarter scores: 3-4, 4-9, 8-10, 12-13),
Brooklands Hulmeians 4 Cheadle 7 (QS: 1-2, 0-1, 2-2, 1-2),
Heaton Mersey 13 Boardman & Eccles 1 (QS: 4-0, 4-1, 2-0,
3-0), Timperley 5 Manchester Waconians 10 (QS: 1-3, 0-3, 4-0,
0-4), Sheffield Steelers 14 Wilmslow 15 (QS: 2-3, 8-3, 2-6,
2-3).
Division 2: Heaton Mersey A 10 Poynton 7,
Mellor A 7 Nottingham 10, Oldham 17 Manchester Waconians A
5, Rochdale 10 Cheadle A 6, Stopfordians 7 Stockport A 20.
Division 3: Brooklands Hulmeians A 17 Sheffield
Steelers A 6, Cheadle Hulme 7 Norbury 9, Cheadle B 4 Rochdale
A 9, Timperley A 9 Stockport B 15. Postponed: Sheffield University
v Ashton-under-Lyne.
Division 4: Ashton-under-Lyne A 8 Poynton
A 0, Boardman & Eccles A 9 Mellor B 6, Heaton Mersey Guild
6 Heaton Mersey B 14, Manchester Waconians B 8 Brooklands
Hulmeians Extra A 6, Wilmslow A 1 Timperley B 0.
Division 5 - Conference A: Leeds University
9 Manchester Waconians C 6, Oldham A 1 Heaton Mersey C 0,
Rochdale B 8 Stopfordians A 6. Postponed: Sheffield Steelers
B v Poynton A.
Conference B: Stockport C 1 Loughborough
University 0, Cheadle C 1 Cheadle Hulme B 0, Wilmslow B 8
Oldham B 7, Norbury A 13 Brooklands Hulmeians B 6.
Women's North of England Premier League: Wirral
6 Timperley 12, Mellor 9 Liverpool 11, Heaton Mersey 18 Leeds
2.
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