The Men’s season kicked off this past weekend on the road at Cheadle Hulme. Last year the south Manchester side were Liverpool’s closest rivals in Championship 2L and ran our boys close. To add to that Cheadle Hulme were looking to bounce back from a opening weekend loss to Rochdale and were welcoming back two key attackman who were missing the 17-2 defeat. So our boys were expecting a tough outing for our opening weekend.
However, after a solid preseason and with no injuries in the roster, Captain Jay Jones was able to field a strong team for the trip to Cheadle Hulme. Included in the game day squad were several new signings including defensive middie Ollie Lewis (Wilmslow), Andrew Adams, Welsh Development player Ben Brookes and Welsh International (2016) Sam Miles, and welcomed back Irish International Sean Gibson to the team.
Preseason work paid off early as the LivLax crew dominated possession early. Moving the ball well and looking for an early opportunity to find the net. With all the early pressure it didn’t take long for Liverpool to capitalise when Ben Brookes found Gibson down low in transition and Gibson fired his first over the shoulder of Cheadle Hulme’s goalie for the games opening goal. Cheadle Hulme would answer back after a couple of exchanges and Liverpool goalie Frank Lewis was unable to prevent Cheadle Hulme from tying the game up. Liverpool would take the lead again as Gibson returned the favour to Brookes who was able to convert in close for his of the game bringing the score to 2-1 mid way through the first. Brookes would grab another goal as Cheadle Hulme was unable to deal with Liverpool’s transition play. With the scoreline at 3-1 Cheadle Hulme would manage to score before the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 3-2.
Much like the first quarter the second would see Liverpool’s offense dominating possesion. Part of the reason for Liverpool enjoying so much possession was Sam Miles’ dominating performance at the face-off x and he would eventually finish the day 14 face off wins from 16 attempts. It wouldn’t take long for the Merseysiders to convert in the second as Ben Brookes found Gibson on the crease who finish one-handed in traffic to double the lead. It wouldn’t be until mid way through the second quarter for Liverpool to extend the lead. This time Ming Trinh would convert a dodge from the wing beating his defender and shooting past the Cheadle Hulme goalie. With the score 5-2 Cheadle Hulme would grab one back with about five minutes remaining in the half. A defensive miscue would see Liverpool’s Lewis unable to stop a screened shot from up top. The teams would head into the half 5-3 to the Liverpool side.
A frustrating day for the home team (Cheadle Hulme) would continue with Liverpool’s defense stepping up thier game and goalie Frank Lewis making several key saves (10 save on 13 shots on target). This combined with more sustained Liverpool possession the second half was all Liverpool. Sam Miles would capitalise first on a dodge from the midfield firing the ball through the legs of the goalie in the Cheadle Hulme goal. Dan Brown would score his first of the season midway through the third to extend the lead to 7-3. It would take until the fourth quarter for Liverpool to score again after more sustained pressure from the Merseysiders. Both Ben Brookes and Gibson would complete their respective hattricks to help the Liverpool side earn a respectable 9-3 opener.
With several stand out performances including solid defense (the unsung hero), Frank Lewis’s 10 save performance, Sam Miles dominating at the face off, and both Sean Gibson and Ben Brookes both having 6 point games; captain Jay Jones had his hand full when selecting player of the game. It would be Ben Brookes however, that would earn player of the game honours in the season opener.
The team will prepare for their next game on Saturday October 8th away to Wilmslow A.
Match Summary can be found here: