Men's 1st Team v Heaton Mersey

After a very, very long break due to the unique scheduling process, the wettest year since years began and abandonment vs. Norbury, Timperley Men's 1st Team were finally able to take to the field once again. This gap in the rain couldn’t have come at a better time as the team were hosting Heaton Mersey and welcoming back two of Timperley’s prodigal sons. Much pre-match discussion was had over which of the Armstrong duo would snap first and spend time in the penalty box but a tactical appearance from Ros and Neil on the side-line made sure fuses would go unlit.

In previous years when these two Titans of Greater Manchester have gone head to head it has always been an exciting game and tough to call which team would come out on top, however this season with Timperley having lost some seasoned players you could tell that Mersey were the more confident side and expected victory.

During the first quarter it seemed like their confidence was justified as the Mersey attack moved the ball well and created several chances. The Timperley back 5 did their best to withstand the onslaught but a season-long issue with us not being able to retain possession meant that we conceded 4 unanswered goals in quick succession. Our dismay of the 1st quarter was only worsened when new returner Alex Winton suffered a concussion and had to be sidelined after he took a huge, late hit from behind and was knocked into next week (Fortunately for Alex though we don’t have a game arranged then either!) and we finished the 1st quarter 4-0 and one man down.

Despite the situation Timperley, we were far from done as we had come back from bigger deficits than this before and the added appearance of Will “Wilo” Sandy in the coach’s area only raised our spirits even higher. The 2nd quarter we came out fighting and looked like a completely
different team and it wasn’t long before Timperley’s silver fox Mikey Armstrong showed the way by netting the team’s first goal. The teams then continued to exchange blows back and forth with Timperley slowly closing the gap, taking advantage of a lot of man-up opportunities which has always been a struggle in previous seasons. The Blue’s back 5 who have quickly learnt how to play with each other over the season really turned it on as well and stopped wave after wave of Mersey attacks. A special mention goes out to Mike “The Flyswatter” Smith who really showed true leadership at the back and 17 year old, Ollie Lee who put in a MOTM worthy performance and silenced England attackman Ryan Hunns for the majority of the game. One can only hope that Ryan was let out of Ollie’s pocket before the team kit was put through the washing machine.

In the 3rd quarter, the momentum started to shift in Timperley’s favour as the work rate at both ends of the field was outstanding and it was hard to believe that we were playing with a man down! There was unrest in the Mersey defence as they had made a couple of new signings over the summer who had yet to settle into the team. The 3rd quarter belonged to Jack Brook, who took advantage of this fact and helped Timperley keep up the pressure by scoring a 3rd quarter hat-trick. The contest teetered on a knife-edge and it all seemed a bit too much for a very green looking Tim Blower who finally succumbed to the stress of it all after taking a shot directly to the stomach and had to relieve himself
of his breakfast and elevenses on the backline (get well soon Tim). The lightening of his load, however, made him even more agile than usual and enabled him to make some outstanding reaction saves. Keeping The Bumblebees within reach.

Going into the final quarter just two goals down it was all to play for and some inspirational words from the substitute captain were all we needed to try and get this result over the line. The Timperley Ultras were out in full force willing us on through every ground ball battle and counter-attack but sadly we had given ourselves too much of a mountain to climb at the beginning of the game and we had to settle with second place. Despite losing the match by just one goal the team were in high spirts having shown true grit and determination to get back into the game and look forward to the opposing fixture later in the season. Roll on next Saturday……I mean the Saturday after next.

Goal Scorers:
Jack Brook – 3
Michael Armstrong – 2
Will Greaves – 1
TJ Burgess – 1
Sam Hirst – 1