Posts Tagged ‘Match Reports’

Cambridgeshire Squash League
Premiership/Division 1
Stamford v March
Wednesday 19th October 2011.
Team: Spencer Beresford; Rob Vivian: Alistair Gunn; Simon Barker; Dave Robinson

March, Stomp & Quickstep

Away at March, so we knew we had to have a stronger team than the one we put out for the PDSL on Monday.
Rob Vivian or “The Super Sub” was airdropped in, or so he hoped, after an hour and half car journey from Leicester!
The scene was set.
Robinson hit the court dawdling, having been training the night before down the Green Man, he eventually roused in the third game but by then the horse was in a different country, his opponent Andy Osbourne out-playing as well as out-running him. (0-3)
Barker at number two was an entirely different story, grabbing the first two games like a man possessed. Although with the advantage he was not happy with his play and expecting too high a standard was his downfall. Neville MacNish took the next two in quick succession although Simon had his chances in the third and fourth games. Frustration overcame the “Housewife’s Choice” in the final game, when his opponent caught a couple of nicks. (2-3)
The Gunn took to the court like a man suffering from jet-lag…his legs suffering from DVT and his head at 30,000 feet. He was soon back to his best though taking the second smoothly from the grasp of his younger opponent Avison Warren only to crash out in the fourth. (1-3) Mr Vivian arrived late from his mammoth journey, but just in time to warm-up in readiness to play the young teenager Harry Taylor. The smooth consistent shots from Rob were picked up constantly by the fast and reactive Taylor, leaving Rob frustrated, even though the match was closer than the score belied. (0-3)
When Bez stepped on court the match was already lost. Was this going to quash the enthusiasm and drive of the Stamford No1. No Way. Even when Bez went two games down and was losing in the third he dug deep putting on an amazing display of determination and fitness, even the March number one Matt Fiveash looked stunned, well as stunned as an exhausted, beaten man can look. (3-2) Some gorgeous homemade Shepherds Pie from Harry’s Mum and we were replenished and back on the road homeward bound. Roll on the match against Frank Lee in two weeks time.

Peterborough & District Squash League
Division One
Stamford l v Abbotsley l
Monday 17th October 2011.
Team: Spencer Beresford; Simon Barker; Jon Oakley; Dave Robinson; Simon Morris

Squashed, Stuffed & Simons

All squashed up even before we arrived, the team’s transport for this fixture being a decidedly small car.
As we tumbled out of the miniscule vehicle at the Abbotsley club it took a while for the circulation in our legs to kick in. When it did Mr Morris was the first on court against Tony Barker, the veteran of the Abbotsley team but still fast and accurate. Although Simon actually lost, he was the closest in the team to getting a game from the opponents! (0-3).
Up next was Bez, as his opponent wished to make an early exit the number one entered the arena early. Chris Reeve hit some fast unbelievable volley shots, making Bez seem slightly out of sorts but he still took the game to Chris creating some great entertaining rallies. (0-3). Our third on the night Simon, took to the court against Mark Emery, although, attacking, Barker was kept away from the ball by his talented opponent. The Abbotsley number two giving Simon just three points in the whole match was an indicator of just how strong this team was. (0-3). The number four Robinson, after seeing his comrades be beaten went on court with totally the wrong attitude knowing the match was technically over. His six points in total were hard earned from Matt Nankaville but twenty-one short of a win. (0-3) Oakley, stepped onto the court with the correct attitude regardless of his associates’ losses, nearly managing to take a game off opponent Simon ‘Sparky’ Scott.(0-3)
As we squashed back into the vehicle for the return journey we all felt well and truly stuffed, although the team were still bravely upbeat knowing we had all learnt a lesson that would strengthen the team.

Cambridgeshire Squash League
Premiership/Division 1
Stamford v Hunts County
Wednesday 12th October 2011.
Team: Rob Vivian; Simon Barker; Dave Robinson; Dave Spooner; Simon Morris

Lessons, Long games & Losing

The first home match for Stamford 1 was with a weakened team, due to the noticeable absence of Bez and Alistar, our top two players for the first half of the season.
Up first stepped Morris, who had a hard fought match against Andy Reynolds. In the past Simon has had the upper hand but Andy arrived at Stamford to even things up, with all the games going to the wire with the visitor becoming the victor (1-3). Team captain Spooner made a rare appearance, due to the weakened team, at number four string. Even though carrying an injured, poorly shoulder, the true trooper he is became the hope of the team, leading 2-0 only to be eventually beaten by his worthy opponent Paul Goodwin (2-3). Next up was Robinson, who was taught a squash lesson by Hunts County regular John Mitchley. The consistent retrieving by “Mitch” coupled with Robinson’s lack of fitness made for a short match with the Hunts County number three winning comfortably(0-3).
Barker, also playing up a position, took to the court with the right frame of mind, hunting and chasing the ball down at every opportunity. His opponent Colin Griggs, put his coaching skills to good use moving Simon around into every corner, eventually wearing down “the housewives’ choice” to win in safe margins (0-3). The team was greatly strengthened by the appearance of Rob Vivian at number one. Although Rob starting the match off well being neck and neck at one all, his consistent and quality game was unfortunately still not good enough to overcome the slow, methodical grinding technique of his opponent James Powley that could wear the most patient of men down (1-3).
Next week we are away at March for another challenging fixture, fingers crossed for a win this time!

Cambridgeshire Squash League
Division 1
Team:  Spencer Beresford, Alistair Gunn,  Simon Barker,  Dave Robinson,  Simon Morris

Retorts, Ribald humour and Ripped shorts.

The first Cambridgeshire team match reared its head and it was an away match at Cambridge University Press’ new venue in Cambridge due to their old courts being requisitioned.   The courts were a tadge dusty but Simon Morris coped well in the conditions against Tom Mitchell-Williams, a new team member who plays for Queens College normally.   It was a hard thrash as is always the case with any opponent of Morris’ ending up wih a cliffhanger finish with our man holding his nerve.(3-2)

Robinson played Lewis Robinson, a regular in the Press’ line-up, not the most enlightening of games but there were some good rallies amongst it all with Robinson getting away with it again. (3-0)

Next up was the team driver and stalwart Simon Barker who stepped up to the plate in his match with Mark Mitchell. Although he went down in the first game he quickly composed himself and dispatched the punishment in the next three ensuring the top two players could enjoy their games, sound in the knowledge that the match was won. (3-1)

Alistar Gunn’s match resembled more a game of twister than an upstanding game of gentlemanly sport. Gunn’s opponent Andy D’Alessandro gave as good back in the close contact match, each player trying to dominate the centre “T” resulting in entangled bodies, much posturing, and even a item of ripped clothing!   It went to the wire with Andy just pipping Gunn in a match that should have been under an hour that broke the 90 minute barrier. (2-3) This seems to becoming the Gunn trademark!

Last but not least Bez played old rival Vinod Duraikan in another long match of quality rallies and great shot play. Vinod only dropped one game on the way to a well fought win. (1-3) Nonetheless, although a close team match, it was still a win that started the season off well.

Peterborough & District Squash League
Division One Team:  Spencer Beresford, Alistair Gunn,  Jon Oakley,  Dave Robinson,  Simon Morris

Aces,  ‘Appiness & Apple Crumble.

The first match of the season was an away fixture at Spalding Squash and Racquetball Club.

First on court was Gary Slater against Captain Si Morris.   Nerves were not evident as Morris made short shrift of the number five of the Spalding squad,  frustration at Morris’ retrieval capabilities finally getting the better of him. (3-0)

Up next was Robinson against squash sage Paul Tudor. A scrappy game resulted in Robinson looking dazed & confused as he managed his first ever victory over Welsh Champion Tudor. (3-0)

The court dress code of one un-named team member came close to black-balling the team as he choose the 100% nylon & extra tight “Lord” Coe route of shorts suicide.   Luckily he pulled off a great (3-1) victory over Gary Harrison through skill & distraction.

Up next was the team’s secret weapon Alistair Gunn.   Over the course of an hour and twenty minutes he twisted and turned his worthy opponent Clyde Finch to a very close match and a crowd-pulling victory. (3-2)

From black-balled to white-washed, as team number one Bez in his inimitable, determined style creamed his way to a victory over injured Andy Walsham without dropping a point. 3-0(27-0)

The evening was sealed off with traditional homemade chilli and lashings of apple crumble.  I’m not saying the team was on fire but there was a distinct burning smell in the team car on the trip home!   Here’s to the next match in two weeks time.

Mixed results so far for the Stamford Squash Teams in Peterborough & District Squash League

The details are below:-

Stamford I
Stamford II
Stamford Juniors

We can even name and shame the individuals by checking out the individuals results!!

However, in the Cambs Leagues, Stamford are sitting in third place, looking for promotion into Division 1

The ‘Tania Team Training’ evening held on Monday May 4th and sponsored by the club, was well attended and very successful.

Following the recent “Play Squash with Tania Bailey’ during which all club members were invited to come along and have a game with Tania, this event was designed to give current and potential team players a bit more of a workout and some tips from Tania’s professional eye on how to improve their game.

Initially players were divided into groups of three per court, carrying out boast and drive routines. These developed into drive, straight drop or boast routines, to keep the person at the front on their toes, and then straight- or cross-court drive, straight drop or boast to keep those at the back on their toes as well.

The routines then turned into drop-drive-drive and drop-drive, the objective being to improve playing to length from the front and playing short from the back, in addition to court movement.

During these Tania watched from the balcony, advising on movement and technique. The results were impressive, all players becoming aware of definite improvements attributable to the tips Tania was handing out. Players remarked on her ability to watch just a few points being played and then make a very accurate assessment of how to make slight changes (or sometimes not so slight) which often resulted in dramatic improvement.

Finally, players played normal games up to 5 points, watched by the rest and with Tania commenting and critiquing to those watching during the points and giving advice to the players themselves when finished. Everyone played and received the benefit of Tania’s advice, and all agreed that the evening had been very enjoyable and of enormous benefit.

Tania is now taking a break for a while but the club will definitely be organising other evenings both for all club players and team members during the year.

The Peterborough & District Summer League 2006 was won by Stamford.

In the picture are some of the Team players, from left to right, Martin Shippey, Mark Smith, Alastair Gunn (Capt) and Giles Clawson. Glyn Williams and Simon Barker are not pictured but also made valuable contributions to the team victory. WELL DONE!

Stamford Squash Club achieve 5-1 success against Portuguese

Although many squash clubs find their activities somewhat curtailed during the summer months, with many players opting for the fresh air activities of golf and tennis, Stamford Squash Club seem to be taking the opposite tack.

Having recently returned from a stimulating tour in Edinburgh they found themselves on the receiving end of a challenge from the Monte Aventino Squash Club from Porto, Portugal, currently touring in the UK.

The fixture against Monte Aventino S. C. was arranged by Carlose Correia, of the Peterborough District Squash League. Carlos met Monte Aventino’s No. 1 player and coach Paulo Pinto five years ago when playing in Porto, where Paulo runs his own squash school and since then Carlos has taken several squash teams over to play in Portugal.

The match was played on Friday 2nd June at the Stamford Squash Club courts. The teams, consisting of six players each, were played as follows:

Monte Aventino Squash Club, Porto:
1 Paulo Pinto, 2 Paulo Amorim, 3 Pedro Silva, 4 Francisco Lupi, 5 Luìs Carvalho, 6 Felipe Vitorino

Stamford Squash Club:
1 Alastair Gunn, 2 Glynn Williams, 3 Richard Barker, 4 Ian Burnham, 5 Martin Shippey, 6 Dave Spooner.

Dave Spooner and Felipe Vitorino were first to play, Dave very quickly taking the first game 9-4, and in spite of a very spirited and energetic defence from Felipe, took the next two games 9-3 and 9-3.

The next game, between Martin Shippey and Luìs Carvalho began in much the same way, with a score of 9-3 to Martin, but Luìs, taking better advantage of his speed and agility in the second game, took it 9-6. The third game looked as if it might also go to Luìs had Martin not slowed the pace right down. Lobs and drops produced the desired effect and he took the next two games 9-4, 9-3.

Two games played and two decisive wins to Stamford.

The third game, Ian Burnham against Francisco Lupi, proved itself to be the longest match of the six played. Ian, sensing the younger player’s stamina advantage, decided to play a game of alternating attack and defence. The first game was played with dazzling speed and ferocious drives from Ian, who backed off in the second, allowing Francisco to take an easy game. Ian, coming back in the third with more speed and powerful drives, again backed off in the fourth, giving another easy one to Francisco, and on to the gruelling and crucial fifth game. The final scoreline clearly illuminating Ian’s strategy; 9-7, 0-9, 9-3, 2-9, 9-7 and another win for Stamford.

Playing in the third position, Richard Barker and Pedro Silva exhibited squash playing at another level, this game being characterised by long stamina-sapping rallies, astonishing retrievals, clever reversals and heavily disguised drops and drives, but in the end Richard’s strength proved decisive, giving him a 9-4, 10-8, 9-0 win.

In the second position, Glyn Williams was drawn against Porto’s Paulo Amorim, in Glyn’s words “the craziest squash player Portugal could produce” After Glyn took the first game convincingly, Paulo pulled out an array of court dives to snatch the second 10-8. The third was also closely fought with Paulo, now bleeding as a result of grazes sustained during the dives, taking an early lead. However, Glyn managed to claw the points back and win 10-9. At this point Paulo retired from the match due to his ‘injuries’, giving a final result of 3-1 to Stamford.

So far, Stamford remained unbeaten, but there was one match remaining to be played, against top Portuguese coach Paulo Pinto, who is also nationally ranked. Could Stamford’s no. 1 Alastair Gunn hold the line against a player of such formidable standing?

The first game was played carefully, each player sounding the other out, looking for opportunities and weaknesses, of which there were few on either side. Alastair’s game, which combined superb anticipation with always-disguised and deadly accurate drives down the walls or cross-court, saw him through the first game with a 9-7 win. Paulo came back in the second, relentlessly chasing everything down, returning everything with pace and precision, leaving nothing to chance and in the end just edging a 10-9 win. Having seen what worked, Paulo stuck to his guns, and continued to pick off point after point through the third and fourth exhausting games, the final scoreline of 9-7, 8-10, 2-9, 5-9 telling the tale of Alastair’s elegant and intelligent game being inexorably ground down by technical and tactical excellence.

At a brief award ceremony which took place at The Dolphin, the Monte Aventino Squash Club team showed themselves to be extremely polite, sportsmanlike and good natured representatives of their country. Cups and medals were awarded to both teams and it was agreed that a return match in Porto would be arranged soon.

Following Stamford Squash Club’s success in the Peterborough District League in which all three teams gained positions in the top three in each division, a tour to Edinburgh over the weekend of 19th – 21st May was arranged.

Matches were to be played against the Edinburgh Squash Club on the Saturday, and following a rest and relaxation period overnight in Scotland’s capital (aka “a night on the town”), a further series of doubles games on Sunday before returning to Stamford.

All places on the tour were filled within days of the notice being posted and a squad of 16 players duly made their way to Peterborough station on Friday morning for the three-and-a-half-hour journey to Edinburgh.

Karen Cozens has supplied a superb banquet for us to enjoy on the way up! The 2 organisers Dave Spooner and Lawrence Ball did all they could top make it an entertaining journey splitting the 16 of us into 2 teams – the competitive nature of us all had started!

Once we arrived at Edinburgh, there was bowling arranged and a few other competitive games, so it was a quick look at the view from the hotel and then straight back out!

First off was the bowling, with the 2 teams – there was a competitive match between all, with Jason Rudkin winning the fastest speed just short of 25mph.

Next up was a bit of light entertainment, Air Hockey, Dancing, Shooting and more….

Later on that night Paul wonders if his training regime is such a good idea. Anyhow after managing to get back to the hotel it was a day of squash to follow.

While Stamford may well punch above its weight in the Peterborough District League, the opposition north of the border proved a little tougher. The excellent facilities of the Edinburgh Squash Club were more than matched by both the hospitality and the high levels of skill demonstrated by its squash playing members.

When play commenced on Saturday, in what turned out to be an indication of things to come, Stamford’s no. 1 Jonathan Hand went down in a decisive 3-0 victory to Edinburgh’s Simon Boughton, both players demonstrating superb levels of accuracy and inventiveness.

At No. 2 Alastair Gunn’s skilful and deceptive game achieved no better against Richard Snowden at 0-3, while Glynn Williams at No. 3, almost tasting victory at 8 points to 3 in the fifth game against Adam Ralston, saw his lead slowly whittled away to finally lose 10-9 for a slightly more respectable (for Stamford) 3-2 result to Edinburgh.

Paul York, at No. 4, produced his usual flashes of brilliant and quicksilver play but failed to clinch the fifth against Graham Lind – another closely fought 3-2 to Edinburgh.

At No. 5 Simon Barker’s hard cross court drives and blistering boasts won him no more than a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Edinburgh’s Charlie Robertson, while brother Richard Barker at No. 6 achieved a slightly better 2-3 against Richard Melliso.

Six games played and only three near-misses for Stamford – the pressure was building up for the remaining ten to achieve a win.

At No. 7 Martin Brewin’s unconventional game of lobs, back wall boasts and outrageous deception finally achieved a 3-2 scoreline against David Ireson – Edinburgh 6, Stamford 1 – was the tide turning?

Peter Hand, on at No. 8, while failing to keep the winning streak going, did achieve 2-3 against Dave Shaw in this the first of two matches played, heroically achieving a 3-2 win in his second match, this time against Les Wilson.

At No. 9 Dave Spooner, while taking Eric Hogg to a fifth game with his hard left –handed floor-skimming cross-court drives, failed to close his opponent out; another 3-2 to Edinburgh.

Lawrence Ball at No. 10 achieved no more than one game against a determined Bruce Johnson; 3-1 to Edinburgh, while Ian Burnham at No. 11 fared even worse against a confident Ashley Mears: a 3-0 result to Edinburgh; the tide was turning back!

Martin Shippey, playing at No. 12 managed a 3-1 win against Edinburgh’s Moira Atkinson, a score which husband Paul Atkinson promptly avenged by beating Kim Cozens, playing at No. 13, 3-0.

Finally, Ferlin Barnard, benefiting from his intense training regime during the weeks prior to the tour, achieved a well-deserved 3-2 against Edinburgh’s Keith Barwell.

The final result for the day.

Squad members Tim Prior and Jason Rudkin, although not playing because of injuries gamely supported their team from the balcony, so with a total of 15 games played Edinburgh won 11 and Stamford 4; certainly a decisive win for Edinburgh, but with 8 of the scorelines at 3-2, clearly a hard-fought tie.

After hard squash games – some had a snooze – they will remain nameless, though pictures tell no lies! AND look what it says on his t-shirt, — PARTY!!

The local drinking establishments were waiting for us and so a tour of the city followed….

The following day doubles game was played by all – and cracking matches resulted without too many injuries!!

After lunch it was time to leave Edinburgh and head back to Stamford but a great time was had by all – much due to the hospitality of our hosts at Edinburgh Sports Club!

Finally, as mentioned earlier in the report – we were split into 2 teams and the photos taken at the beginning really did show who were going to win all the way along……
- the team that know how to position themselves for a photo!!