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04/04/2004
CHICHESTER STROLL THROUGH TO THE FINAL
A stunning display from Sussex (in Peter Crabtree's dreams!)
After a stunning display of squash from all of the team, Chichester demolished the opposition with a crushing defeat to take them through to the finals of the National League play-offs.
It was on of those nights when everything went exactly to plan, and started with possibly the quickest ever 27-0 in Women’s Squash as Linda Charman hardly broke sweat in a 7 minute whitewash of her opponent Madeleine Perry. In fact Madeleine only served twice, and once was to start the match! On the next court, Ben Garner exacted the sweetest possible revenge for his first leg defeat by Fez, and despite some excellent play by Marcus, Ben’s power gave him an unbeatable edge, and a 9-2, 9-3, 9-0 win set up the rest of the team for the challenge.
Vole stepped on court in a bit of a rush, having been completely stunned by Linda’s remarkable win, and was in a bit of a dither in the early stages. Nick moved him around with superb control of the pace and style of the game, and it looked as though Chi’s hopes were fading. But Vole began to disturb his opponent’s domination, and soon began slotting nicks as of old, and it quickly became a rout as he won 17 consecutive points, mostly with nicks, to take the match 3-0. So the victory in the bag, but still 2 more emphatic wins needed to go through to the finals.
Azzi stepped onto court unfazed by the speed of the preceding events, and at last displayed the squash of which we know he is capable. The newly crowned King of the Canaries looked to be the class act that he has become, and his newly discovered affinity with his Malay friends was soon dispelled as Azzi slapped nicks, and played some outrageously disguised shots to send James all over the place. Surprisingly, the visitor took the first game, but this only spurred Azzi to greater efforts, and he soon levelled the match, and went on to an emphatic 3-1 victory to leave us still in with a slim chance of producing the greatest result that the National League has ever seen.
Jelly, looking resplendent in his James Anderson pink highlights and shocking pink shoes (courtesy of the Oxfam shop in Tottenham Court Road) cut a fine figure, and has obviously dispelled his loss of confidence of recent weeks. Beach was as ever, and some of his flamboyant shots of the first leg were exceeded by the display tonight. In a match that see-sawed throughout, scintillating squash was on hand, and the best part was the way in which Jelly never allowed his opponent to dominate, and despite his resorting to ever more desperate and ambitious shots, Lee was never able to get in front, and Jelly rounded off a fantastic display with 3 cross-court nicks straight out of Vole’s scrapbook to secure the finals berth for Chi.
Gracious as ever, Yawar couldn’t hold back his praise for the Chichester display, and recognised that the destiny of the title was indeed to be in West Sussex. He promised better efforts for next season, and only hoped that his players would learn from the stunning display put on by the underdogs.
Contributor: Peter Crabtree
Club: Chichester
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