Match 10 - Chelmsford 3 Away
And so to the final match of the league against Chelmsford 3, and because some blog reports have been missing from the last few matches, a chance also to summarise.
A successful season so far had seen only 1 defeat, and we felt that we were on the cusp of promotion to Division 2, but we also knew that Chelmsford 3 were one of the stronger challengers with an outside chance of catching us. Although we were without Chris at 1st string, it had already been discussed that Chelmsford would also be without their No.1, so the 2 teams were set for an even encounter.
First match on was Greg at 5 against Steve/Scott/? McKie (something beginning with "S" anyway). Greg has now fully settled into Essex League, as shown by him easing to the first game on courts that undoubtedly play very different to ours. He lost his way a bit in the 2nd game, which was a shame, cos he then easily won the 3rd with his wristy action producing lobs and reverse angles that frequently caught his opponent out. With the match sitting at 2-1 to Greg, he looked odds-on to secure a victory, however his opponent's hard, but sometimes erratic, shots gradually became more consistent, and he secured the 4th, before running out an easy winner in the 5th.
On the other court, Colin seemed to be battling a few demons (aswell as his awkward and talented opponent Sean Lamont). Sean's lob serves from the right box were a constant irritation to Colin, as they just sneaked in under to out-of-court line. Colin probably coped better with them than most people would have done, but it was still proving a major weapon, as Sean took the first game. Colin could not find any rhythm, and was getting more and more frustrated with himself, and despite battling hard, Sean narrowly took the second aswell without dominating. The third saw a mini-revival from Colin, but he was still fighting the demons, and duely lost in 4.
So 2 - 0 down after 2 rubbers called for some drastic action. It came in the form of Captain Fantastic who quite simply blew his opponent Paul Tranter away with a gritty determination to create some parity in the overall match. Paul just could not get going, and the scoreline was not an unfair reflection of the one-sidedness of the match.
With the No.1's now on court, Clements now had a chance. Adrian made a steady start against Bernie Bray to take the first, but then looked increasingly uncomfortable as the Chelmsford man started to show some great touch on the volley and drops. Adrian was struggling to stay with his man, and Bernie turned the tables to lead 2-1. Adrian is nothing if not a fighter, and made a fist of it in the 4th, although he always looked unhappy. Bernie continued to play winning drops which eventually produced match points, and despite needing a few attempts, he closed out the match.
So Chelmsford had secured the overall win, as the 2nd strings of Paul vs Alan Burrows began the "dead" rubber. Alan has been pushed up the order by Chelmsford as reward for some good early season form, and he secured a tight 1st game, even producing a few drop-shots to vary his normal constant driving game. Paul was having none of it though, and battled through the next 3 games to win and provide him with a good, if slightly scrappy work-out.
So Chelmsford had won the tie 3 - 2, but with Clements gaining 10 points, it was surely going to be enough to see them promoted to Division 2 - great, can't wait !!!
Sean always likes to dominate the post-match banter with tales of Squash Matches Past. Other topics were of Alan playing in Essex Over 45's, where it seems Essex are stronger than their regular team ! The average age of Essex League teams is really getting to be quite embarrassing.
With policeman Adrian present, current law and order also came up for discussion - the country is really heading towards anarchy it seems, with certain categories of people just creating their own method of living which has absolutely no consideration for the general population, and the Police finding it increasingly difficult to control, let alone prosecute them.
So the season has seen Clements win 8 out of 10 matches, many of them convincingly. It has been good to see Purky playing well at No.1, and with Adrian often bolstering the top-end of the order, Paul getting through his baptism into Fatherhood, Colin generally playing some good stuff, Dan producing some early season fireworks, El Skip finding some consistent form, and Greg settling into Essex League, the team has surely taken itself to the brink of Division 2. Abit of practice over the Xmas/New Year break is definitely required though to make a better mark on the next division up.
Before that there are copious pints of beer to be drunk on Wednesday evening !
Adrian lost to Bernie 9-4 1-9 5-9 8-10
Paul beat Alan 8-10 9-4 9-4 9-2
Colin lost to Sean 5-9 7-9 9-2 4-9
Dave mullered Paul 9-1 9-1 9-0
Greg lost to Steve 9-2 4-9 9-1 3-9 0-9
Clements lost to Chelmsford 3 2-3 (10-15)
A successful season so far had seen only 1 defeat, and we felt that we were on the cusp of promotion to Division 2, but we also knew that Chelmsford 3 were one of the stronger challengers with an outside chance of catching us. Although we were without Chris at 1st string, it had already been discussed that Chelmsford would also be without their No.1, so the 2 teams were set for an even encounter.
First match on was Greg at 5 against Steve/Scott/? McKie (something beginning with "S" anyway). Greg has now fully settled into Essex League, as shown by him easing to the first game on courts that undoubtedly play very different to ours. He lost his way a bit in the 2nd game, which was a shame, cos he then easily won the 3rd with his wristy action producing lobs and reverse angles that frequently caught his opponent out. With the match sitting at 2-1 to Greg, he looked odds-on to secure a victory, however his opponent's hard, but sometimes erratic, shots gradually became more consistent, and he secured the 4th, before running out an easy winner in the 5th.
On the other court, Colin seemed to be battling a few demons (aswell as his awkward and talented opponent Sean Lamont). Sean's lob serves from the right box were a constant irritation to Colin, as they just sneaked in under to out-of-court line. Colin probably coped better with them than most people would have done, but it was still proving a major weapon, as Sean took the first game. Colin could not find any rhythm, and was getting more and more frustrated with himself, and despite battling hard, Sean narrowly took the second aswell without dominating. The third saw a mini-revival from Colin, but he was still fighting the demons, and duely lost in 4.
So 2 - 0 down after 2 rubbers called for some drastic action. It came in the form of Captain Fantastic who quite simply blew his opponent Paul Tranter away with a gritty determination to create some parity in the overall match. Paul just could not get going, and the scoreline was not an unfair reflection of the one-sidedness of the match.
With the No.1's now on court, Clements now had a chance. Adrian made a steady start against Bernie Bray to take the first, but then looked increasingly uncomfortable as the Chelmsford man started to show some great touch on the volley and drops. Adrian was struggling to stay with his man, and Bernie turned the tables to lead 2-1. Adrian is nothing if not a fighter, and made a fist of it in the 4th, although he always looked unhappy. Bernie continued to play winning drops which eventually produced match points, and despite needing a few attempts, he closed out the match.
So Chelmsford had secured the overall win, as the 2nd strings of Paul vs Alan Burrows began the "dead" rubber. Alan has been pushed up the order by Chelmsford as reward for some good early season form, and he secured a tight 1st game, even producing a few drop-shots to vary his normal constant driving game. Paul was having none of it though, and battled through the next 3 games to win and provide him with a good, if slightly scrappy work-out.
So Chelmsford had won the tie 3 - 2, but with Clements gaining 10 points, it was surely going to be enough to see them promoted to Division 2 - great, can't wait !!!
Sean always likes to dominate the post-match banter with tales of Squash Matches Past. Other topics were of Alan playing in Essex Over 45's, where it seems Essex are stronger than their regular team ! The average age of Essex League teams is really getting to be quite embarrassing.
With policeman Adrian present, current law and order also came up for discussion - the country is really heading towards anarchy it seems, with certain categories of people just creating their own method of living which has absolutely no consideration for the general population, and the Police finding it increasingly difficult to control, let alone prosecute them.
So the season has seen Clements win 8 out of 10 matches, many of them convincingly. It has been good to see Purky playing well at No.1, and with Adrian often bolstering the top-end of the order, Paul getting through his baptism into Fatherhood, Colin generally playing some good stuff, Dan producing some early season fireworks, El Skip finding some consistent form, and Greg settling into Essex League, the team has surely taken itself to the brink of Division 2. Abit of practice over the Xmas/New Year break is definitely required though to make a better mark on the next division up.
Before that there are copious pints of beer to be drunk on Wednesday evening !
Adrian lost to Bernie 9-4 1-9 5-9 8-10
Paul beat Alan 8-10 9-4 9-4 9-2
Colin lost to Sean 5-9 7-9 9-2 4-9
Dave mullered Paul 9-1 9-1 9-0
Greg lost to Steve 9-2 4-9 9-1 3-9 0-9
Clements lost to Chelmsford 3 2-3 (10-15)
posted by Hodgey at 1:28 PM
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