Round SEVEN - Tue 28th Jan
Edgbaston 4-1 Duffield
Manchester 3-2 Wolverhampton
Hallamshire 5-0 NottinghamChichester 3-2 Broxbourne
Lexden 3-2 Guildford
UK Packaging 3-2 Lee on SolentLeaders Beaten As Teams
Jostle For Play-off Positions
Roundup from Howard Harding
Group leaders FPD Savills Nottingham and Hertfordshire's TVS Broxbourne both lost in their seventh round ties in the National Squash League, but whilst Nottingham maintain their supremacy in Group A, Broxbourne slip to second in Group B behind their 3-2 victors Chichester. With just three rounds to go before the top two teams in each group qualify for the play-off semi-finals, only six points separate the top four in Group A, and just two the top three in Group B.
Fielding by far their weakest line-up of the season, Nottingham slumped to a 5-0 away defeat to Sheffield club HLW Solicitors Hallamshire. British Junior champion Laura-Jane Lengthorn set the scene in her first appearance for the hosts, beating Nottingham's Scottish champion Wendy Maitland 9-4 9-6 8-10 0-9 9-7 in a 64-minute marathon. Hallamshire No1 Anthony Ricketts sealed the maximum points victory for the club in an impressive performance less than 48 hours after winning the Dayton Open trophy in the USA. The world No7 saved two matchballs in the fourth game to register a 7-9 9-6 8-10 11-9 9-4 win over Nottingham's former world No3 Simon Parke in 67 minutes.
Birmingham's Edgbaston Priory strengthened their second place position in Group A, but might have also expected a 5-0 win when visitors Benz-Bavarian Duffield had their leading woman player Cassie Jackman ruled ineligible when severe traffic congestion on her journey from Norfolk made it impossible to reach the west midlands venue by the 7.00pm deadline (despite setting off at 1.30pm). Reserve Laura Hill raced from the Derbyshire club's base to arrive with a minute to spare - then promptly beat Priory's first-timer Emma Beddoes 9-5 3-9 0-9 9-6 9-5 to restore Duffield's battered hopes. Ironically, this was to be the visitors' only win, as Edgbaston then cruised to a 4-1 victory - with team stalwart Stewart Boswell, the world No5 from Australia, wrapping up the tie with a 4-9 9-7 9-1 9-3 win over Duffield No1 and Welsh champion Alex Gough.
Manchester-Pontefract held onto third place in the Group A table (sharing 26 points with Hallamshire) following a 3-2 home win at Manchester's National Squash Centre over Wolverhampton - despite being weakened by the late withdrawal of Pontefract-based world No9 Lee Beachill, still recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the Dayton Open in Ohio. The hosts' middle order prevailed, however, as world junior champion James Willstrop, Marcus Berrett and Andrew Whipp secured wins over Wolverhampton's Mark Cairns, Joey Barrington and Chris Ryder, respectively, to give the joint Yorkshire/Lancashire team an unassailable lead. Wolverhampton claimed the final glory, however, as top string David Palmer, the Australian world No3 playing in his first National League match as world champion, overcame the home team's stand-in No1 Nick Taylor 10-8 9-6 6-9 9-6.
Chichester deposed Group B leaders Broxbourne after a 3-2 home win over the Hertfordshire club, their second win of the season over the 2000 League champions. Sussex's Linda Charman, fresh from her WISPA World Tour victory in the Greenwich Open in the USA on Sunday, put the hosts ahead with a 9-4 9-2 9-2 win over Broxbourne's Alison Waters. At third string, Chichester's Tim Vail staged a brave fightback to level the match against Alex Stait after being 2-0 down, but was unable to maintain his season-long unbeaten record, going down 6-9 8-10 9-6 9-7 6-9. Squad No1 Peter Genever clinched the decider for Chichester after Broxbourne captain Mark Chaloner conceded the match midday through the second game at 5-9 1-5 down - a further indication that his shoulder injury is still far from resolved.
Colchester-based title-holders Tek Sing Lexden came through a nail-biting
home clash against Surrey's UniSport Guildford, despite losing team No2 Lee Drew before the tie as a result of an injury. Team captain Tony Hands, No5 in the squad but elevated to second string following Drew's absence, survived a cut to his face after an accidental collision with opponent Stacey Ross' racket in the second game. Roared on by the home fans, Hands extended Ross to five games - but eventually went down 5-9 9-3 11-9 3-9 9-5 as Guildford levelled the tie. Lexden's hero was Welshman David Evans, the former British Open champion who beat the visitors' top string Stephen Meads 9-2 7-9 9-1 9-6 to clinch the tie 3-2 for the Essex club.
London's UK Packaging celebrated their first win in five ties with a 3-2 home victory over Lee-on-Solent at their Connaught Club base in Chingford. Lauren Briggs led the way for the club, claiming her first win of the season in a 9-0 9-4 9-3 victory over Tina Rix. New Zealand's Commonwealth Games hero Glen Wilson, surprise Mixed Doubles Gold medallist in Manchester in the summer, beat Lee-on-Solent's Ben Howell 9-5 9-3 9-6 to also register his first win of the season for UK Packaging.Edgbaston 4-1 Duffield
Manchester 3-2 Wolverhampton
Hallamshire 5-0 NottinghamChichester 3-2 Broxbourne
Lexden 3-2 Guildford
UK Packaging 3-2 Lee on Solent