Match 5 - Redbridge Home
A big thanks to Captain Dave for providing this report seeing as I was otherwise engaged....
A bit of a setback to this match came over the weekend when Hodgey announced he had been handed a match ticket to Southend's "must-see" match against mighty M U. He couldn't resist the offer, especially as he hadn't even had to queue up for it, or pay on the black market like everyone else. (Edit – my “mate” Pricey was exactly that and did charge me over the odds actually!)
On the night, the first major bonus was not only did Redbridge turn up, but that they were there early.
The match started with No 5's - Tony vs Qamar Jillani, and No 3's - Colin vs Tom Smith(my last victim in an Essex League match way back in January...!?).
Reports had come through via Colin that Draper had been in fairly awesome form the night before, and this coupled with the fact that Qamar had not played for some time, led to a one-sided and easy victory for the home team 9/4 9/4 9/3. Tony's reverse drop-shot from the back of the court proved something of a mystery to his opponent throughout the encounter (we've all been there). So Tony proved his usual worth as a trusted substitute.
On the other court, a hard fought encounter was unfolding between Colin and Tom. Both players were working very hard. The rangey Tom retrieving well from back and front, and Colin producing positive shot-making; the latter tactic proved more beneficial in these early exchanges and Colin found himself 8/5 up. He then lost faith in his attacking play, retreated into a more cautious mode and allowed the game to slip away. After losing the first few points of the 2nd game, Colin never competed and lost it to love. Colin, however, has been playing well recently, and he wasn't about to give up his 100% record easily. He rallied to win the third with a resumed positive approach, but Tom's dogged play together with a subtle boast was draining Colin's energy, and he went down 3-1 (8/10 0/9 9/6 4/9).
Meanwhile the No 4's had kicked off with Marcus taking on Phil Roberts. Phil's style was one of elaborate shot-making, in contrast to Marcus's steadiness, and the first 2 games were closely contested to leave the contest 1 - 1. Marcus continued to play good quality squash from then on, and coupled with what was later diagnosed as a "stitch" suffered by Phil, ran out a convincing winner. (7/9 9/6 9/0 9/1). So Clements found themselves with a 2 - 1 advantage in the match. Unfortunately, that was to be the high point of the evening.
Without our regular No 2, the second string was always going to be a tough nut to crack for an out-of-form Dave against Adam Howell. The Clements Captain tried to lull his opponent into a false sense of security with a laid back approach, but the Redbridge man was too strong and experienced, easing to a comfortable 3 - 0 win (1/9 3/9 2/9).
Feeling a bit despondent after coming off court, Dave was immediately made to feel a bit better with the news that Chris at No 1 had actually succeeded in winning 4 less points than his own pathetic total of 6; I'll leave you to work out the Maths and the one-sided nature of the contest against Paul Blom. Chris was completely downcast when he came off, and we actually thought he had gone home when nobody saw him in the changing room afterwards. He later put his performance down to a stressful workload - and I thought he was only an accountant!
And so to the drinks and food. We actually converged on Clements Hall "bar" to take in the final minutes of the drama unfolding at Roots Hall where Southend were edging towards "The Result" of their history by beating Man Utd 1 - 0 in a Carling Cup tie. The room which usually has all the atmosphere of an empty aircraft hangar, was very excitable with alternate moments of nervous tension as Man Utd launched desperate late attacks and loud cheers of relief as each one was repelled.
The British Legion was also still crammed to the rafters when we arrived. Eventually a few folk left and we could enjoy the usual sumptuous array of buffet offerings. Redbridge couldn't believe their eyes at the quantities and range put before them. A friendly evening although obviously not the result hoped for, albeit against unbeaten opponents.
Results:
Chris v Paul 0-3
Dave v Adam 0-3
Colin v Tom 1-3
Marcus v Phil 3-1
Tony v Qamar 3-0
Match score - Clements (7 points) lost to Redbridge (15) by 3 ties to 2.
A bit of a setback to this match came over the weekend when Hodgey announced he had been handed a match ticket to Southend's "must-see" match against mighty M U. He couldn't resist the offer, especially as he hadn't even had to queue up for it, or pay on the black market like everyone else. (Edit – my “mate” Pricey was exactly that and did charge me over the odds actually!)
On the night, the first major bonus was not only did Redbridge turn up, but that they were there early.
The match started with No 5's - Tony vs Qamar Jillani, and No 3's - Colin vs Tom Smith(my last victim in an Essex League match way back in January...!?).
Reports had come through via Colin that Draper had been in fairly awesome form the night before, and this coupled with the fact that Qamar had not played for some time, led to a one-sided and easy victory for the home team 9/4 9/4 9/3. Tony's reverse drop-shot from the back of the court proved something of a mystery to his opponent throughout the encounter (we've all been there). So Tony proved his usual worth as a trusted substitute.
On the other court, a hard fought encounter was unfolding between Colin and Tom. Both players were working very hard. The rangey Tom retrieving well from back and front, and Colin producing positive shot-making; the latter tactic proved more beneficial in these early exchanges and Colin found himself 8/5 up. He then lost faith in his attacking play, retreated into a more cautious mode and allowed the game to slip away. After losing the first few points of the 2nd game, Colin never competed and lost it to love. Colin, however, has been playing well recently, and he wasn't about to give up his 100% record easily. He rallied to win the third with a resumed positive approach, but Tom's dogged play together with a subtle boast was draining Colin's energy, and he went down 3-1 (8/10 0/9 9/6 4/9).
Meanwhile the No 4's had kicked off with Marcus taking on Phil Roberts. Phil's style was one of elaborate shot-making, in contrast to Marcus's steadiness, and the first 2 games were closely contested to leave the contest 1 - 1. Marcus continued to play good quality squash from then on, and coupled with what was later diagnosed as a "stitch" suffered by Phil, ran out a convincing winner. (7/9 9/6 9/0 9/1). So Clements found themselves with a 2 - 1 advantage in the match. Unfortunately, that was to be the high point of the evening.
Without our regular No 2, the second string was always going to be a tough nut to crack for an out-of-form Dave against Adam Howell. The Clements Captain tried to lull his opponent into a false sense of security with a laid back approach, but the Redbridge man was too strong and experienced, easing to a comfortable 3 - 0 win (1/9 3/9 2/9).
Feeling a bit despondent after coming off court, Dave was immediately made to feel a bit better with the news that Chris at No 1 had actually succeeded in winning 4 less points than his own pathetic total of 6; I'll leave you to work out the Maths and the one-sided nature of the contest against Paul Blom. Chris was completely downcast when he came off, and we actually thought he had gone home when nobody saw him in the changing room afterwards. He later put his performance down to a stressful workload - and I thought he was only an accountant!
And so to the drinks and food. We actually converged on Clements Hall "bar" to take in the final minutes of the drama unfolding at Roots Hall where Southend were edging towards "The Result" of their history by beating Man Utd 1 - 0 in a Carling Cup tie. The room which usually has all the atmosphere of an empty aircraft hangar, was very excitable with alternate moments of nervous tension as Man Utd launched desperate late attacks and loud cheers of relief as each one was repelled.
The British Legion was also still crammed to the rafters when we arrived. Eventually a few folk left and we could enjoy the usual sumptuous array of buffet offerings. Redbridge couldn't believe their eyes at the quantities and range put before them. A friendly evening although obviously not the result hoped for, albeit against unbeaten opponents.
Results:
Chris v Paul 0-3
Dave v Adam 0-3
Colin v Tom 1-3
Marcus v Phil 3-1
Tony v Qamar 3-0
Match score - Clements (7 points) lost to Redbridge (15) by 3 ties to 2.
posted by Hodgey at 1:12 PM
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