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Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Quarter Finals

12/12/2018

Quarter Finals

It was hats, coats and gloves on the balcony to watch the 4 quarter final matches in Tuesday evening.
In the first match of the night Mark Knott was up against John Ormsby (John went through as highest runner up after Ian Morton pulled out with injury)
Mark coped well with John’s fierce serve and played many cross court drops for winners. At 9 all in the first it looked like it could be a close contest however Mark put his foot down and went through to 21 in no time. 21-11.
The 2nd game was a little closer but Mark held out 21-18.

Martin Davison had a touch of good fortune when up against Dave Hall in the next match of the night. Unfortunately Dave injured himself very early on. It was clear that Dave struggled laterally and any number of Martin’s unorthodox and often unexpected ‘cross courts’ had him beat. 21-12 and 21-9.

Peter Archbold and Rob Owen were next to spar. Rob had a 5 shot advantage (-9 to -4 respectively) It took some time before Peter clawed back the deficit, 9-9 at one point. Peter then went away quickly and won 21-13.
The second game swung back and forth, both players had several runs of 5 or 6 points on the trot. At 9’s Peter ran away to 16-9 and never looked back. 21-13 again- to win the match.

The last game of the night saw the marathon that was Tony Hedley against Chris Brock. Huge handicaps -25 against -11 was going to be lengthy, and so it was. First game was tight all the way through until Tony had a run to 19-14, he looked secure but Chris was having none of it.
After a decision went against him (only a let) Chris hit the ball somewhat harder and battled back winning the first 21-20.
Both players had put in much effort, perhaps Chris working slightly harder……….. but he is 20 years younger !

The next 2 games were simply a war of attrition. Tony placed the ball slightly better throughout and Chris was run-down rally by rally. Tony’s drops also started to tell.
A great game to end the night with Tony going through 21-14,
21-12.

Semi finals on Wednesday (12th December)
Mark Knott plays Tony Hedley and Peter Archbold takes on Martin Davison.
Ian Mc

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Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Part 2 of 1st round

12/12/2018

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Part 2 of the 1st Round.

The 2nd part of the Round Robin 1st round matches were played out on Monday 10th December. Despite atrocious court conditions there were some good matches to watch. This is how the evening unfolded.

Group E.
First up was newcomer Paul Leedham against Nick Fecitt.
Nick couldn’t afford to make any mistakes having to claw back from -7 and Paul only needing 11 points to take a game. Nick got off to a good start, perhaps a few nerves on show but it was quickly 11 all. Nick kept it tidy and took the game 21-16. The second game not so straightforward, Paul got into his stride, used his reach and cut out a few of Nick’s shots for winners.
Paul was 17-13 up at one point- just 4 points needed but Nick steadied and went through without dropping another point.
2-0 to Nick.
The other player in this group was Tony Hedley. Even with a -25 handicap Tony had was under little pressure during both his matches and comfortably went through as the group winner.

Group F.
Peter Archbold and Steve Lavery had another up and coming junior to contend with in this group. Luke Fecitt demonstrated his court speed and ability to retrieve just about anything. Fortunately for both elders Luke included a few errors to keep them honest.
I suspect Luke will be a serious contender next year. This group was decided on the result of the game between Peter and Steve. With only 2 points between them (-9 against -7 respectively) it was close throughout their 2 games but Peter remained composed from 10-10 onwards and took the games 21-15, 21-15.

Group G.
A most interesting group with Lorna Chambers on +10 looking difficult to beat. And so Jonny Woodhouse discovered. With accurate drops and boasts Jonny got off to a bad start. With only 3 points on the board (starting from scratch) Lorna had the 21 needed.
The second game was a little different and Jonny realised he had to up the pace of the game. Lorna had no trouble dealing with the power play particularly when loose and managed to cut out enough of Jonny’ s shots for winners. 21-3, 21-13 to Lorna.
Jonny played better squash up against Martin Davison in his 2nd match. With a 8 shot advantage Jonny kept Martin at bay throughout and won 21-18, 21-15.
Lorna’s (and Martin’s) second match had Martin on the ropes.
With such a healthy headstart of +10 Martin was always under pressure. He held on and took both games at the death, 21-19, 21-19. All 3 players had won one, lost one. Lorna had only dropped 4 points but was doubtful for the semi final match. Jonny’s opener with Lorna was his downfall and Martin went through as the groups representative.

Group H.
Put simply I can’t cope with our fridge like courts and during the opening match in this group against Bruno Gaultier I pulled my hamstring. (I was only in it as a stand-in) I could not continue which meant the match between Bruno and the third member - Rob Owen would be the group decider.
There was only 3 between them (-7 against-4 respectively)
It was close throughout but Rob always managed to stay ahead.
21-15 in the first and a fiercely fought 21-20 in the second.

With all group winners decided, Peter Irlam kindly drew lots for the knock out stage to be played on Tuesday.
Martin Davison                    v                Dave Hall
Peter Archbold                    v                Rob Owen
Mark Knott                          v                John Ormsby
Chris Brock                         v               Tony Hedley.

Ian Mc

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Concordia Squash Handicap Competition 2018

4/12/2018

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I had 24 entries this year and due to scheduled County League matches had to split the 1st round ‘Round Robin‘ games between Monday 3rd and Monday 10th December.
Group’s A to D played their matches first on courts that started off on the cool side and got colder as the night progressed.
The situation regarding the lack of heating on our courts grinds on with little hope of improvement but we continue to campaign.

Group A
Dave Collis as a new comer and with a +10 handicap could have caused an upset. He nearly did. First match to get going saw John Ormsby loose 12-21 to Dave. John (off scratch) had to work hard to turn it around and won the next two 21-20, 21-19. It meant Dave had only dropped 3 points. A great start.
Another Dave (Hall on -8) was next up against Dave Collis.
A similarly good exchange.
Dave Hall came through 21-17, 21-14.
It was winner take all in this groups final match between John Ormsby and Dave Hall. It went to the wire. Dave took it 21-20 in the third….that close.    (11-21,21-14, 21-20)

Group B
I‘m proud to say this group saw a much improved ‘junior’ give two experienced stalwarts a run for their money.
Adam Rowe off only +4 was first up against Mark Knott.(-5) It‘s fair to say Mark ’s unorthodox play meant Adam had to work extremely hard. Adam seemed to work things out and after losing the first game 18-21 was very much on top in the second, at one stage 13-6 up. Credit to Mark who didn’t panic, came back well to take the match 21-18.
Adam was next up against Dan Cusack (-8). A great battle which was to have consequence later for Dan.
Adam took the first game 21-19. There wasn’t much in it point for point but Dan came through the next two games 21-17 and 21-18.
Well played Dan but he had to play Mark Knott to decide the group winner.

                                             -2-

Dan and Mark have played many matches against each other. (This is because they are old)
They know each others game well and it was always going to be a close thing, (-8 against -5 respectively) errors and/or stamina was going to be key.
And so it was.
Mark took the first game 21-20, Dan took the second 21-20.
Can’t get much closer than that.
Dan’s earlier effort took it’s toll and he hit the wall. 21-11 to Mark in the third. A great match to watch.

Group C
Another new comer to the club and to these events, Nick de Pinna had already shown his court speed and fitness, I had his +12 handicap woefully wrong. (I hadn’t seen him play or seen any results when deliberating)
After reviewing previous league results Nick was docked and given +4. Fortunately this was about right.
Nick was first up against Peter Irlam (-4) who I suspect was just after value for money, he seemed to be on court most of the night.
This was a monumental battle with Nick unprepared to give anything up. The scores were 21-16 to Peter, 21-18 to Nick and Peter came through 21-15 in the third but was left in no doubt what a fierce competitor our newest member is.
Nick was next up against Ian Morton (-13) and continued to return just about everything but not without a huge workload. First game to Nick 21-20. Ian remained cool and always placed the ball where Nick had to work the hardest, this took it’s toll and Ian won the next two games 21-16, 21-15. A long and interesting game to watch.
The marathon that was the group C decider was the last match of the night, always seems to be the best saved until last.
An intense battle between Peter Irlam and Ian Morton took us near to 9pm. Both players had worked hard against Nick de Pinna so stamina would be key or so you would think. In actual fact many of the rallies were won with great ‘winners’, particularly in the first two games. 21-18 to Ian then 21-20 to Peter. (Ian had 3 match balls but Peter wouldn’t give them up.)
Then the stamina thing did kick in, only because Mr Irlam had been on court most of Monday evening. The third game ended 21-8 to Ian. Great squash.
Group D
An ever improving Chris Brock was simply too strong for this group despite a -11 handicap. He was up against Andy Lawrence (-6) and Keith Grey (-2) On reflection Chris should have had a ’higher’ handicap.
Chris was relatively comfortable beating Andy 21-12 and 21-13.
Similarly Andy looked comfortable against Keith Grey, 21-14 and 21-10.
The last game in this group saw Chris beat Keith Grey but the plummeting court temperatures seemed to affect Chris in the second game. Keith’s boasts and even his drops (not well known for his drops) had Chris struggling. After a straight forward 21-10 first game, Chris just hung on 21-20 to win the match. Great effort from Keith Grey who nearly caused an upset making the most of the conditions.

I must offer a big thank you to all those who marked games, especially Peter Edney and Martin Davison who marked all night.

The second half of the ‘Round robin’ first round is on Monday 10th December, please come along and support.

Ian Mc

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Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Quarter Finals

Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Part 2 of 1st round

Concordia Squash Handicap Competition 2018

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