Match 6 - Ongar Away
After successfully completing a 100% first half record, our attentions turned to the trip to Ongar. The only change from last week was Tony Draper brought in to replace 'Homer' Dan Summers who was absent once again. We made pretty good time on the journey to our hosts, arriving just minutes after the 7.20 official start time; covering the 57 mile journey in a little over 2 hours! ;-)
The action commenced straight away, with Tony taking on John at No.5 and Chris matching up with Malcolm again at No.1. As Tony and John warmed up, there was a feeling on the balcony that this might be a classic encounter due to the marked contrast in styles. And so it proved to be. Tony stormed into a 6-0 lead in the first game as John simply couldn't read his awkward disguised drop shots from all over the court. However credit is due to the Ongar veteran who battled back gallantly to snatch the first game, and indeed took the second to lead 2-0. However, Tony's drop and lob game continued to frustrate and as John became increasingly rattled (uncharacteristically!) Tony levelled at 2-2 to force a decider. The concluding game was more of the same from both players, until Tony eventually closed out 9-7 to take a thoroughly entertaining match.
Meanwhile on the other court, Chris was struggling to come to terms with Malcolm's relentless pressure and accurate shots down both walls. The heated courts were not helping Chris's usually reliable boasts, and they were sitting up at the front and with Malcolm all over the T area he was able to deal with them convincingly. Chris was further hampered by his troublesome neck injury, and despite getting closer in the 3rd game, Malcolm proved too strong and took the match 3-0. But at least we weren't 2 down after 2 matches!
Next on were Paul v Mark at No.2. This match followed a similar pattern to Chris's, with the younger McEwen brother quick to chase down shots all over the court and also playing steady shots down both walls. However, Paul wasn't hampered by any injury, just the fact that his opponent was younger and fitter! And the result eventually went the same way, with Mark claiming a 3-0 victory.
And so it was left to our stalwarts Dave and Colin to try and turn the match around. Dave was on at No.3 against Phil and Colin played Kevin at No.4 - both matches being repeats of the first half of the season where the Clements boys both claimed victory. Could history repeat itself? Well it started well for Captain Fantastic as he took the first game. The second was a much closer affair, but Dave got to game point at 8-7. Phil's return appeared to be out at the front of the court, but the marker called it in and a couple of points later the match was all square at 1-1. The 3rd game was pivotal, and Phil fired himself up by repeatingly pointing at the ball after hitting a good shot - much to the embarassment of his wife! It appeared to do the trick though, even if it did make him look rather strange, and he edged the 3rd game 9-7. A combination of good shots and further finger pointing enabled him to complete the victory in the 4th and with it wrap up the match for Ongar.
On the other court Colin was involved in an absorbing match with Kevin. He looked like a different player to the forlorn figure that had sloped off court last week at Maldon. He successfully chased down seemingly lost causes, and played some stunning cross court drives together with some delicate drop shots. To his credit, Kevin matched Colin at times but allowed his temper to get the better of him, and his racket flew accross court on a couple of occassions. To which John advised him to "Calm down". As Dave remarked at the time, talk about Pot and Kettle! Despite being a closely fought affair, Colin ultimately triumphed 3-0.
And so Clements maintained their 100% record and suffered a 2-3 defeat for the 4th time this season. With a little bit of luck we could have been at 2-4 or even 3-3 but as it is, it's looking increasingly likely that our 3 season tenure in Division 2 might be coming to an end....
Results:
Chris lost to Malcolm McEwen 1-9 3-9 5-9
Paul lost to Mark McEwen 3-9 2-9 4-9
Dave lost to Phil Wilkes 9-4 8-10 7-9 2-9
Colin beat Kevin Spencer 9-7 9-5 9-7
Tony beat John Fowles 6-9 4-9 9-4 9-4 9-7
Clements lost to Ongar 2-3 (7-16)
The action commenced straight away, with Tony taking on John at No.5 and Chris matching up with Malcolm again at No.1. As Tony and John warmed up, there was a feeling on the balcony that this might be a classic encounter due to the marked contrast in styles. And so it proved to be. Tony stormed into a 6-0 lead in the first game as John simply couldn't read his awkward disguised drop shots from all over the court. However credit is due to the Ongar veteran who battled back gallantly to snatch the first game, and indeed took the second to lead 2-0. However, Tony's drop and lob game continued to frustrate and as John became increasingly rattled (uncharacteristically!) Tony levelled at 2-2 to force a decider. The concluding game was more of the same from both players, until Tony eventually closed out 9-7 to take a thoroughly entertaining match.
Meanwhile on the other court, Chris was struggling to come to terms with Malcolm's relentless pressure and accurate shots down both walls. The heated courts were not helping Chris's usually reliable boasts, and they were sitting up at the front and with Malcolm all over the T area he was able to deal with them convincingly. Chris was further hampered by his troublesome neck injury, and despite getting closer in the 3rd game, Malcolm proved too strong and took the match 3-0. But at least we weren't 2 down after 2 matches!
Next on were Paul v Mark at No.2. This match followed a similar pattern to Chris's, with the younger McEwen brother quick to chase down shots all over the court and also playing steady shots down both walls. However, Paul wasn't hampered by any injury, just the fact that his opponent was younger and fitter! And the result eventually went the same way, with Mark claiming a 3-0 victory.
And so it was left to our stalwarts Dave and Colin to try and turn the match around. Dave was on at No.3 against Phil and Colin played Kevin at No.4 - both matches being repeats of the first half of the season where the Clements boys both claimed victory. Could history repeat itself? Well it started well for Captain Fantastic as he took the first game. The second was a much closer affair, but Dave got to game point at 8-7. Phil's return appeared to be out at the front of the court, but the marker called it in and a couple of points later the match was all square at 1-1. The 3rd game was pivotal, and Phil fired himself up by repeatingly pointing at the ball after hitting a good shot - much to the embarassment of his wife! It appeared to do the trick though, even if it did make him look rather strange, and he edged the 3rd game 9-7. A combination of good shots and further finger pointing enabled him to complete the victory in the 4th and with it wrap up the match for Ongar.
On the other court Colin was involved in an absorbing match with Kevin. He looked like a different player to the forlorn figure that had sloped off court last week at Maldon. He successfully chased down seemingly lost causes, and played some stunning cross court drives together with some delicate drop shots. To his credit, Kevin matched Colin at times but allowed his temper to get the better of him, and his racket flew accross court on a couple of occassions. To which John advised him to "Calm down". As Dave remarked at the time, talk about Pot and Kettle! Despite being a closely fought affair, Colin ultimately triumphed 3-0.
And so Clements maintained their 100% record and suffered a 2-3 defeat for the 4th time this season. With a little bit of luck we could have been at 2-4 or even 3-3 but as it is, it's looking increasingly likely that our 3 season tenure in Division 2 might be coming to an end....
Results:
Chris lost to Malcolm McEwen 1-9 3-9 5-9
Paul lost to Mark McEwen 3-9 2-9 4-9
Dave lost to Phil Wilkes 9-4 8-10 7-9 2-9
Colin beat Kevin Spencer 9-7 9-5 9-7
Tony beat John Fowles 6-9 4-9 9-4 9-4 9-7
Clements lost to Ongar 2-3 (7-16)
posted by Hodgey at 5:31 PM
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