Men's 1st Team v Heaton Mersey

The team will walk away disappointed by the result and in some parts the performance. Whilst there were moments of quality - those moments weren't consistent or frequent enough, yet the effort certainly was there.

We saw some strong early possessions, working the ball around the goal, being patient and taking some good opportunities. Mersey got the first goal but we responded quickly with Mike Armstrong sneaking round the crease and popping the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal. Mersey then found the next goal from a fast break straight off the face-off and then the first quarter seemed to ebb and flow, back and forth in this manner, both teams being patient and taking their chances. Jack Brook scored a good outside, bounce shot (if you can say it bounced on the heavy Heaton Mersey's pitch). The score at the quarter was 4-2 to Heaton Mersey.

The 2nd quarter seemed to continue in a similar vein, both teams playing well, fighting hard for everything and some lovely goals on both parts. Mersey did seem to be edging the game slightly as they went in at half time with a score of 7-5. Another goal from Jack Brook accompanied by a lovely shovel shot to the top corner from midfield engine James Bates. Brook also found the goal for a third time.

The 3rd quarter was when things started to take a turn for the worse. Frustration in not taking the chances we did make, tiredness and ultimately errors saw the game slip away, whilst Mersey twisted the knife and scored the next 5 goals. The face-off was also taking it’s toll, with Timperley being starved of possession. Will Greaves converted the only 2nd half goal when he beat his man and pinged the ball past the goalkeeper. The score at the end of the quarter was 12-6.

The final quarter, was sloppy as the pitch was starting to become, turnovers, failed clears, dropped passes and poor shooting stifled Timperley's chances to get back into the game. Tim Blower made a solo effort to keep Mersey to no further goals, with a flurry of outstanding saves. The stunning last quarter performance, coupled with a solid game in general earned Tim the man of the match accolade.

Timperley will face Heaton Mersey once more this season in the cup and know that they can perform better, but it will take a more rounded consistent performance to earn a victory there. Despite the game not being TLC's best, on the heavy pitch and generally not a great spectacle, it was brilliant to see Timperley put in so much fight - especially the younger players making up the bulk of the side and working hard right to the end.