Poynton 9, Rochdale 7

It was a cold VERY windy morning when the squad of 13, lone coach and 4 parent supporters ventured out to Rochdale on Saturday morning – but what a match we had!!

Q1 resulted in a 3-3 draw with Poynton having the majority of possession but Rochdale taking their chances with two solo efforts resulting in goals. Joe scored the first and third of our Q1 goals – his second goal was a result of excellent teamwork started by Ben R in defence, transitioned in mid-field by Alex R and then Joe hammered the ball between the pipes! Alex R scored our second goal – a brave, determined lone battle! Our defence battled valiantly – Ben R, Lenny and Anton were strong and determined, putting the opposition’s Attack-men under pressure.

Q2 saw the squad moving confidently and scoring 4 goals. The team’s passing was fast and accurate – the mid-fielders Ciaran (who kicked off the scoring in Q2), Cole, Jem, Alex R (who got his second goal of the game), and Joe ran their socks off and took a few tumbles. Snakey moved particularly well and scored 2 goals – his second again the result of excellent teamwork started by Ben R in defence, transitioned in mid-field by Alex R and then Snakey hammered the ball between the pipes! Steve Shaw made some excellent saves for us – his speedy reactions saved us quite a few times! Steve Davies (parent) played his part in the proceedings by querying the Ref on his half-time score of 6-4 when it was 7-3 to Poynton. The Ref acknowledged the score and we closed at half-time feeling comfortably ahead...

We scored 2 more goals in Q3 – both assisted. The first was scored by Cal CC quick reactions following an intelligent assessment and quick decision to pass by Will. Our second was scored by Snakey with a swift assist by Alex R. Rochdale scored 3 – so we closed 9-6 with Rochdale more confident!

Q4 started tensely and Rochdale scored again so we were 9-7 and the parent supporters on both sides were getting twitchy!! Thank goodness Steve queried that score at half-time otherwise we’d have been level-pegging. The defence, including Ben F, held the fort for us in the final quarter as we were a player down for 3 minutes. Both teams took lots of time penalties during this match – our worst was the 3 minute penalty for an illegal stick. So players PLEASE check your sticks are legal!

In summary the squad played some good fast lacrosse – growing with confidence as the game progressed. There was lots of accurate passing (always room for improvement though!), most of the goals were the result of teamwork/assists rather than lone attempts and it was an exciting game of lacrosse to watch. Snakey was awarded MVP. Thanks to all the drivers for transporting the players too!!

Chris Russell

Cup Round 1 Poynton 9, Wilmslow 4

So after a long (too long!) Christmas break we finally got to play are first game of the new year against Wilmslow in the first round of the cup. We played some good lacrosse at times but the pace we played at was slower than we are capable of and showed that we were perhaps a little rusty. Wilmslow were also a better side than the one we played against at the beginning of the season as they were at full strength this time and consequently gave us more of a game. It was satisfying therefore to come away with a solid 5 goal win.

With the Ben R., Lenny and Scraggy unit restored the defence was solid and collectively prevented Wilmslow from getting many shots on goal (only 9 in the whole game) with Steve saving over half of them. The clearing was OK with a 6 – 3 success rate and Ben also contributed effective in attack with 1 goal and 2 excellent assists

In midfield Ciaran carried effectively in transition as well as competing well for the ground balls in a stand out performance. Jem ran strongly and had his best game of the season which was capped with a fine goal and the MVP award.

In attack Wisey scored a fine goal following a superb cut into space at the perfect time to collect an equally good pass from Ben. Matt dodged well and was rewarded with 2 goals and some good attacking moves from all concerned floundered with the quality of the final pass.

So, we are safely through to the next round and have shaken off out Christmas lethargy. A little more precision on the final ball and a little more composure and we will be a fine team!

Chris Russell

Poynton 1, Sheffield 18

I’m going to see this game like United’s 1 v 6 loss to City; an inexplicable aberration!! They were a big strong and skilful side and we made them look good by being disorganised in defence for the first half and in attack being unable to deal with their high pressing defence.

With Ben, Ben and Lenny missing Scraggy was our only pole so, as with the Brooklands game, Joe and Anton dropped back from midfield. Unlike the Brooklands game, however, we didn’t start well and took until half time to start to come to terms with Sheffield’s dodging game with our slide defence too slow. After half time the organisation improved and we defended well as Sheffield dominated possession and kept our defence under pressure for long periods. Steve had a 38% success rate saving 11 out of 29 shots on target. In putting in 100% effort throughout, winning some good faces and joining the attack when the opportunity presented itself Joe won the MVP award for the week.

In midfield Alex gave another wholehearted performance and Ciaran, once again ran strongly in transition. The one goal we did score was a great team goal with the ball moved round quickly, a fabulous shot from Ciaran into the top right corner from a good feed for an assisted goal of the highest quality.

In attack Matt ran hard with the ball trying to loosen the stranglehold of the opposition’s high pressing defence both in attack and later on in midfield. In attack, however, we were unable to hold the ball to give the defence a rest and struggled all game to find a way to beat their high press. This is something we can work on in training for next time we encounter this type of defence.

So, let’s forget this game and get back to the standards we set against Timperley and Brooklands in the previous weeks!

Chris Russell

Poynton 9, Timperley 14

Well what a strange game. For the first three quarters we continued to play at the level we achieved against Brooklands the previous week and, in an excellent game, held a deserved 7 v 5 lead. Timperley were a well organised team with good basic skills and some strong players so to restrict them to 5 goals during this period was an excellent defensive achievement. We looked all set to win a hard fought and high standard game; And then the wheels fell off! The last quarter can only be described as disastrous as we shipped 9 goals and ended up losing by a five goal margin.

Steve continued his fine form making 10 fine saves and helping the team to 6 successful clears. The defence was great for those first three quarters; restored to a full compliment of three poles Timperley were well contained with the defensive unit making 15 successful turnovers in our own half. Lenny made a game high 5 ground balls as we fought for possession with our customary enthusiasm, Scraggy made some good interceptions and Ben R was very solid and once again scored from a fast break.

Anton also gave a solid defensive middy performance with plenty of energy. He was ably assisted by Ciaran and Joe who once again ran strongly out of defence in transition. Joe also bagged 2 excellent assists with some excellent passing under pressure. Snakey was prominent in the first half of the game and scored a lovely assisted goal with a smart turn and shot. Alex turned in the MVP performance refusing to give up giving his all right up to the final whistle even when other heads had gone down. 4 goals, 4 ground balls and an assist was a great contribution to the game.

Up front Lewis was back to his mobile best and chipped in with yet another assist. Will scored a fine close range goal which was the result of some good movement to get free and a tracer bullet feed from Alex. Wisey was unlucky not to score and worked hard linking and trying to create space and Callum, as ever, rang strongly. Matt threw some beautiful dodges as well as making quick passes to keep the momentum of the attack going and was rewarded with 2 goals from 4 shots.

So, a curate’s egg; an excellent performance for the first three quarters and a last quarter when our game disintegrated and some heads were lost. Possession was evenly contested at the faceoffs but two many ‘early start’ penalties crept back into our game giving the opposition easy possession. This is something we must cut out of our game. The effort and organisation in defence was good and we maintained our intensity in completing for the ground ball. In attack we scored some delightful goals with 4 of our 9 goals coming from assists. So some good stuff, some stuff to build on and a lesson to maintain our energy, focus and organisation right to the final whistle are the things we can take from this game. Onwards and upwards!

Chris Russell

Poynton 6, Manchester WACS 7

So the winning run finally comes to an end in a close fought game with the winning goal scored in the last few seconds. Having been 5 – 1 up at half time and 6 – 4 up with only a few minutes left in the game we should have closed the game out but to their credit WACS never gave up. The lesson we should learn from this is to look after the ball – possession is everything. We passed better and moved the ball better this week but in doing so lost something with less running off the ball. We will get the balance right between passing, cutting and dodging and when we do we will be awesome.

In goal Steve made two good saves and organised his defence well and kept a clean sheet in the first quarter. In front of Steve was a new defence with both Anton and Joe playing at the back alongside the two Ben’s. Anton was very solid with some excellent bodying taking his lead from a Ben F who gave a really disciplined yet abrasive defensive display. Ben R dominated the ground balls making a game high 6 in the game and was quick to turn defence into attack as was Joe who ran strongly out of defence, defended robustly as well as making 3 ground balls. All of which contributed to him receiving the MVP for the game.

In Midfield Ciaran gave a strong defensive performance with some excellent bodying and 3 ground balls. Alex was wholehearted in his effort throughout making some excellent checks and driving the team forward. He contributed 2 goals from 7 attempts. The other midfield goal came from Snakey from 8 attempts. Collectively the midfield passed the ball better this week and there were markedly less unforced errors of dropped or misplaced passes. We were second best on the faceoffs for the first time this season winning 6 and losing 8. Consequently we did not dominate possession in the same way as we have in all our games up to date.

With an excellent keeper (26 shots yielded only 6 goals) and one excellent long pole WACS’s defence proved a tough nut to crack. Wisey was full of movement on the crease and was prepared to ‘get in where it hurts’ and was rewarded with a (leftie!) goal from close range. Matt looked really threatening on the left and not only scored two excellent goals but also harassed the defence well and contributed an assist. Similarly, Lewis made a good assist and moved well to make himself available at all times. Collectively, the offence kept the ball well and passed well but in so doing we loss our cutting edge with people hesitant to cut and dodge. This is no doubt in reaction to last week so hopefully next week we will get a better balance to our attacking game.

So the pressure of maintaining an unbeaten run has gone and maybe this will help us to play with freedom as a team. Let’s respond with a complete performance next week. Bring on Rochdale!

Chris Russell

Poynton 10, Mellor 4

In lots of ways this was a similar game to last week; up against a team who scrapped for the ball and were organised in defence we once again didn’t pass well and resorted to playing as individuals. A win is a win and that must not be over looked but over the last two weeks we have gone backwards as a team rather than forwards. We must improve our basic skills, pass the ball and work together as a team

Steve had his busiest game of the season by far and gave a dominant display adding a ground ball to 9 excellent saves in a performance that earned him today’s MVP. After Ben F’s self imposed early exit from the game we had a new defensive unit with Lenny, Ben R and Scraggy. All three showed good positional sense and were effective in marking the opposition attackmen out of the game and aggressively hunting the ground ball. Once again Ben R added good transitional play and an excellent goal to his defensive duties

In Midfield Anton once again lead by example in his effort and application in his defensive duties. Going forward there was less movement and coherence than in our previous games although all the middies were running hard there was not enough passing. Joe and Ciaran contributed 4 ground balls a piece as we did compete for the ball throughout the game. Alex and Snakey contributed 4 goals each (from 7 & 8 shots respectively) as we resorted to our ‘go to’ men but the fact that all of these were unassisted tells its own story. With regard to faceoffs we came up against a good face man and did well to edge these 10 – 7. We also only gave away one from striking too early which is pleasing as this was a problem last week.

For the second game in a row we ran two attack strings with Danny once again moving up from midfield. Mellor had the most organised defence we have played so far and all the attackmen found themselves closely marked and had to work hard to create space. This was done only occasionally when Callum was able to score a good goal and Will was able to provide an assist. Wisey showed some excellent skills to take passes fed to him on the crease and retain possession under the most severe pressure.

Winning is a good habit and we now go 6 – 0 for the season but improving as players and as a team are our prime objectives as coaches and that at the moment is not happening. Passing, playing as a team with enjoyment, freedom and a smile on the face must be our focus in the coming weeks and if in the process we keep winning then that’s fine but if not, no worries.

To do this we need to concentrate on the basics of passing and catching (13 unforced errors is too high) together with keeping our shape and learning when and how to cut. Plenty to work on guys.

Chris Russell

Poynton 11, Cheadle 5

Well, here was our first real test. We came up against a team who matched us for physicality and for half the game we were in a real scrap. The reason for this was that when we were put under pressure we lost our formation didn’t pass well and resorted to plying as individuals. To the team’s credit at half time they assessed what was wrong, agreed what needed to be done to put it right and then went out and won the half 6 v 1 to end up with a comfortable victory.

Finally Steve found himself busy making 5 saves from the 10 shots that were on target two of which were excellent saves made at crucial times when the game was still in the balance. Ben, Ben and Scraggy grew into an effective defensive unit as the game went on and the Cheadle dodging game was well contained by the end with some good sliding and bodying from these guys and the middies on their defensive duties. Ben F dominated the opposition attackmen when he was on the pitch but spent an unacceptable 5 minutes on the penalty bench especially as 4 of these minutes was for backchat! The fact that we lost only one goal when we were a man down is a testament to the rest of the defence, Anton and the middies doing their defensive duties well. Ben R was simply brilliant; he recognised what the problems were at half time, said what we should do about it and then went out and lead by example with some brilliant defensive (a game high 5 ground balls) and transition play which was rewarded with a spectacular top shelf finish at the end of the 3 rd quarter. All of which contributed to his MVP award for the game.

In Midfield Anton was a ball of energy and another leader by his actions in the second half. Joe also competed ferociously for the ball making 4 ground balls and contributed 3 goals from 6 attempts- a much improved conversion rate. Cole linked well and showed some good vision with some excellent hard flat passes and Ciaran once again dodged beautifully. Jem, returning to the side after illness, was very industrious and competed well at the faceoffs. Snakey, having taken a nasty blow on the thumb, did well to play out the full game and when he went up into attack in the second half looked a real goal threat and was unlucky to score only 1 goal from 7 attempts. Alex was another who led by example and helped to create order and allow us to impose our game in the second half making two assists as we started to move the ball and play team lacrosse.

With 17 players for the first time this season we ran two attack strings with Danny, moving up from midfield to join our five regular attackmen. In only his second game of the season he looked completely at home making two good ground balls and linking well. Callum chased everything and was a major contributor to the fact we won the ball back whilst it was still in the cheadle half on no less than 8 occasions. Wisey played well behind the left hand pipe and showed increased understanding of our new offensive formation with some excellent vision and movement. Will was in midst of things making 2 ground balls, 1 assist and 2 goals from 3 attempts in an energetic all round performance. Similarly, Matt had a busy game that produced 1 assist and a goal from 2 attempts. Lewis continued his fine run of form contributing 2 assists and a gaol as we imposed our passing and moving game on the best defence we have met to date.

So the archetypal game of two halves; in the first we were not comfortable on the ball and let cheadle put us under pressure and we looked ordinary. Then a second half with our movement and passing we created space and looked an excellent team scoring some excellent team goals as 7 assists out of a total of 11 goals testifies. The shooting success rate remains low at 33% and our riding of the defence when their keeper was trying to clear was less impressive than last week. We edged the faceoffs 10 – 7 but 5 of the losses came from striking too early which if we nip in the bud should help us to continue dominating the possession. So lessons to be learned and things to work on in an ultimately successful game.

Chris Russell

Poynton 17, Wilmslow 17

This was a good game; Wilmslow were the strongest opposition that we have met to date and we had to play good lacrosse to break down their defence. We also played a new offensive system that we have started working on in training and this worked really well for a first try and is definitely something we can build on.

Once again the defence was a really effective unit. Steve was only called upon to make one save and achieved a shut out for the entire second half. Ben F, Lenny and Scraggy went about their defensive duties with much enthusiastic so much so that from quite early in the game the opposition attack didn’t want to receive the ball! Ben F made a game high 10 ground balls but also found time and energy to contribute to the attack with 5 shots, a goal and an assist. Scraggy’s positional play has improved enormously this season enabling him to make a number of crucial knock downs and interceptions and Lenny hassled the opposition mercilessly.

Another development for this game was to run the middies in strings with Anton taking on the defensive middy duties from the faceoffs. This was successful and something else we will be looking to build on. Anton had a fantastic game in helping to win possession from the faceoffs, breaking up Wilmslow attacks and starting our own attacking moves. Jem and Joe were impressive at the restarts helping us to win 15 of the 21 faceoffs. Winning this possession and then looking after the ball is the key to our domination of the games to date. Both also ran strongly getting off 11 shots and making 6 ground balls between them.

Ciaran and Cole ran and dodged effectively and looked comfortable on the ball; it was a real shame that Ciaran’s game was cut short by a nasty check on the arm. Cole toped off his game with a spectacular finish to a good passing move crashing the ball into the net off the crossbar before the keeper could blink!

Alex and Snakey led their strings to good effect with good passing and movement to keep the Wilmslow defence under pressure for long periods. With 5 and 4 goals they contributed over half our goals and made a total of 12 ground balls between them.

In attack the movement was excellent and with a bit more practice and understanding we will be an offensive threat whenever we have the ball. The attack matched their five goals with 5 assists as they fed the middies cutting through at speed. Lewis gave a consummate performance in this regard making 4 assists with Wisey also providing a fine assist to add to an impressive all round display. All five competed aggressively for the ground ball making a combined total of 15 ground balls. Matt took his chances with 3 goals from 4 attempts and Callum CC and Will moved well in creating space on the crease. Will bagged 2 goals and 4 ground balls from quick work in and around the crease which he combined with quick distribution and good vision. All of which contributed to earning him the MVP award this week.

On the down side there were too many unforced errors, primarily dropping of the ball that slowed attacks and disrupted our momentum. Keep practicing the wall ball guys! We scored 17 goals from 57 shots a really low strike rate; the Wilmslow keeper had a good game and made many fine saves and the pipes were hit on at least four occasions. Notwithstanding this the accuracy was not as good as it will need to be against stronger opposition. It was good to see just about half our goals coming from assists, that our penalty count was low and that once again we monopolised possession. Good game, good result, plenty to work on.

Chris Russell

Poynton 21 Heaton Mersey 2

This was an excellent start to the season. Against a side that had not played together before and with 5 playing their first ever competitive game of lacrosse the result was never in doubt. What was pleasing though is that we didn’t showboat, we didn’t let up, we listened to the coaches and we played some excellent team lacrosse right up to the final whistle.

Steve was very solid in goal achieving two shut outs in the second and forth quarters and his distribution was quick and accurate. The defence looked solid for a first outing as a unit with both Scraggy and Lenny bodying strongly and picking up a couple of ground balls and checks each. Ben R was his usual all action self-making a really impressive 10 ground balls and 6 checks in breaking up the opponents attacks and converting defence into attack quickly.

There were several stand out performances in the Midfield with Snakey giving a captains performance in scoring 8 goals from just 11 attempts. Anton was wonderfully abrasive and led the way with the most checks by a middy and Jem and Matt competed strongly for the ground ball making 6 successful ground balls each. Joe has a revelation adding increased vision and shooting ability to his all action style of last season as 2 goals and an assist testify. Dan and Cole provided speed and athleticism to the midfield with Cole recording a goal, an assist as well as 4 ground balls.

Up front there was a new look attack with Callum CC, Alex and Lewis moving up from midfield. Collectively the attack worked well keeping the ball moving accurately and at speed. Will showed some excellent dodges and Callum made 3 ground balls and a check in a impressive return from a season off. Alex showed real vision working behind the goal in linking with the middies coming through as 1 assist and several near misses testify. Lewis had a terrific first game is attack scoring 2 goals from 3 attempts but more impressively bagging 3 assists in an all round game with 6 ground balls and a check. But Matt just pipped Lewis to this week’s MVP award with 4 goals from 5 attempts, 1 assist and 6 groundballs in an all round performance that was an exhibition in team work and following the coaches instructions.

By winning 19 of 27 faceoffs we dominated possession and looked after the ball well; with 21 goals from 40 shots are accuracy was good (for a first game of the season) and with only a single 30 second penalty all game our discipline was good. Of the 21 goals we scored 9 came from assists which indicates that we played some good team lacrosse with one or two of the goals being really top drawer.

So an excellent start but with plenty to build on and plenty of stuff to work in training to equip us for tougher challenges ahead.

Chris Russell

Poynton 16 Heaton Mersey 0

This was a good game for us. We played well in parts and showed signs of starting to gel as a team. we scored some excellent team goals and comprehensively out muscled the opposition in a one sided contest; the exciting thing is there is room for improvement!

Steve was able to achieve a shut out for the entire match which is a very rare feat in lax. He was helped enormously by a really strong performance from the defence as a unit. Scraggy made 3 quality interceptions to break up attacks although his enthusiasm cost him two 60 second penalties! Ben R again top scored on the ground balls making a total of nine in another all round performance. Ben F in his first game of the season was magnificent making 5 checks/knock downs and turning defence into attack really effectively which secured him the MVP award for the week.

In midfield we were strong at the faceoffs winning all but two of 19 which allowed us to dominate possession. Ciaran had a strong first game with some impressive movement and dodges. Jem won a hat full of faces ran strongly and was rewarded with an excellent finish to score a great team goal. Joe also scored one goal from four attempts, was equally impressive on the restarts and ran strongly in transition from defence to attack. Cole was quietly effective with some good linking play and Anton continues to improve with every game adding positional awareness to his enthusiasm and aggression. Alex showed some excellent awareness in threading passes through to the attackmen and Snakey gave another captains performance by adding two assists to his five goals.

With just three attackmen this week Callum, Lewis and Matt had to work hard. They did so to great effect with two goals apiece to Lewis and Callum and three to Matt with Callum adding an assist and Lewis an impressive three assists along with a total of 9 ground balls between them as they harried the opposition defence when possession had been lost.

This week it was great to see 50% of our goals coming from assists as we continue to develop the theme of team lacrosse. As already mentioned the faceoff stats were fantastic leading to loads of possession that gave us a great platform from which to dominate the game. The shooting, however, was less effective than last week with less goals from more shots and a conversion rate of 1in 3 will hurt us in closer games.

Chris Russell