Mellor A away proved to be a tough fixture. Although confident, Wilmslow could tell from the Mellor line up that they'd provide quality opposition and it would be unlike the games we had played against them last year.
From the opening face off it was clear that Mellor were determined to contest the ground ball battle and grind out possessions from the loose balls. It didn't take long for that to pay off with the home team making something from nothing in front of the Wilmslow goal while also drawing a slash. Wilmslow conceded a goal from Mellor's Matt Marsh on the following man up from a well placed low to low shot.
Being 2 goals down early in the quarter did not faze the Wilmslow, who have shown huge improvement in not only their skill and game play but in their mental resilience and work rate since last season. Eastwood opened the scoring for Wilmslow, soon followed by a sweet behind the back finish by Brooks from a Thomasson feed, one by Simpson-Pink and another for Eastwood for Wilmslow to lead 2-4. Matt Goddard made some fine saves over the 20 minutes with the D playing some great one on one and team defense.
If you've ever played at Mellor you'll know the many quirky features that both fields have. The game was played on the field by the clubhouse which is extremally small, slopes downhill and sideways making clearing a challenge but making riding somewhat easier for Wilmslow and the visitors soon figured out they needed to close up on the downhill dodgers from up top. Finding a groove during the second period and some excellent hustle all over the field would result in Wilmslow taking a 5-10 lead at the half.
Wilmslow made a goalie change at the half with Jimmy Holt stepping in the pipes and Mellor were keen to test him out. The second half was a tighter affair with Mellor stepping up somewhat in the offensive half and they started converting a few man up chances that came their way. Mellor also managed to start winning a little more possession at the face off X. Despoite Mellor's hard work and never say die attitude, Wilmslow would win the half 8 goals to 7 taking the final score 13-18.
A well fought win against a very strong Mellor A team who certainly have the personal this season to take a scalp or 2 from the top 4 teams in that division. Man of the match was Josh Simpson-Pink who was outstanding up in attack against his former club.
The 15th November will see Wilmslow 1st play their first home game of the year vs Boardman & Eccles, a team that seems to be seeing more positive results than last season and have been successful in seeing former players return to play again at the club.
