What a day! The large Wacs entourage left the club early doors for
the trek up to Rochdale for the under-14's appearance in the plate final
against Mellor at the Flags Festival weekend extravaganza.
As the entry tickets were tucked away in Tom's pockets
we had to blag our way in past the gate stewards to occupy prime parking
spots just behind the clubhouse. As we stepped out into the Rochdale
air the mercury was touching 21 degrees Celsius - that's 70 Fahrenheit
for our readers in the Colonies. With little air movement and blazing
sunshine we were glad to be watching rather than playing. The pitches
were in fine fettle and looked very smart in lush green with beautiful
white and straight lines. The team emerged looking resplendent in the
new U16's maroon shirts and a set of socks selected by Captain Sophie of
either, pink and black, or lime green and black, all adorned with skull
and crossbones, very fetching. Both teams had plenty of support from
the off and Tom, Nick and Oliver were on coaching duty. With a full
complement of 4 very professional looking officials, the face-off was
spot on time at 10.00.
The first quarter was understandably a very cagey affair with both
teams building patiently and moving the ball around well. It was pretty
even and both teams scored twice. Jay netting with a good solo run and
then assisting for Sophie to open her account in her final game. Jeswin
had 3 saves to make and the rest of the defense was looking very solid
indeed. So at the turn around the game was tied at 2-2. Mellor scored
early in the second and also had one disallowed for a penalty call and
Jeswin had to make one excellent save. This seemed to galvanise the
Wacs into action as they stepped up a notch and raised the intensity and
speed of their game. Kieran hit the post before Cian equalised from a
Jay assist. Sophie got her second courtesy of jay again and then Will
scored from a cutting Sophie pass. Wacs were dominant now and having
the majority of possession and the defense were letting no-one through.
In full control the half ended with Wacs leading 5-3.
The second half opened in the same manner as the first had ended with
Wacs in control and Mellor seemingly flagging in the heat. Wacs piled
on the pressure and stretched their lead with goals from Cian and two
from Jay with two assists from Sophie and one from Cian. Mellor nicked
one just before the whistle, but Wacs held an 8-4 lead at the end of the
third. So the final quarter of the season started with Wacs continuing
in the same vein and seemingly in total control as they passed the ball
about smartly and defended like demons. Kieran scored from another Cian
assist before Sophie completed her hat-trick with a great solo run and
smart shot to give Wacs a 10-4 lead going into the last five minutes.
Mellor then finally found a second wind and with Wacs tiring a little in
the heat they got back into the game, forcing Jeswin to make 5 good
saves and finding the net twice. However, Wacs were able to get their
grip back on the game and run down the final two minutes to clinch the
plate 10-6.
So a good solid season for the under-14's ended in some style with a
fine performance and a great result to clinch the silverware. This was
a fitting way to draw the curtain on Sophie's career with the Wacs
juniors as she collected the plate. Most pleasing was that this was
probably Wacs best "team" performance of the season and everyone
contributed and played well. There were no mistakes and plenty of nice
moves for the fans to appreciate. Because of this, coaches Tom & Nick
felt there should be no "player of the day" award today, as this really
belonged to the whole team. So, season over for another year and many of
the team will now move up in September to the world of the U16 big lads.
Roll on.

Playing at their best today were: Jeswin Abraham, Liam Brennan, Iain
Brennand, Rommel Burke, Cian Conway, George Cornwell, Will Cornwell,
Brett Hoysted, Billy Kershaw, Ben Leahy, Jay Moore, Sophie Shingler &
Kieran Tudsbury.