|
05/11/2003
CHAMPIONS EDGBASTON CRASH TO FIRST NATIONAL LEAGUE DEFEAT
Champions Edgbaston Priory crashed to their first National Squash League defeat of the season when they lost 3/2 to visitors Manchester-Pontefract in a controversial third round clash.
Full results from week 3
“The match should have been ours,” exclaimed the Birmingham club’s team manager Matt Suckling afterwards. “You get bad calls now and then, but we got a seriously bad one tonight.”
The crucial confrontation featured Edgbaston stalwart Del Harris, the ‘veteran’ former world No5 from Essex who has turned out for his team in every tie this and last season, and the visitors’ rapidly-rising world junior champion James Willstrop. The 20-year-old Yorkshireman took the opening game, but Harris fought back to move 2/1 ahead. Willstrop pulled level to take the match into a fifth game decider, and at 10-9 and match-ball to Harris, struck a ball which came straight back at him. To the amazement of the local crowd, the referee judged the infringement to warrant a ‘let’, rather than a penalty stroke against Willstrop which would have given Harris the match and ultimately Edgbaston the tie. Moments later, Willstrop claimed a 9-7 9-11 5-9 9-7 12-10 victory that proved to be the decider which took Manchester-Pontefract to the top of the Group A table, one point ahead of previous leaders Edgbaston!
Earlier, Finland’s Olli Tuominen overcame a nervous start in his debut in the league for Edgbaston Priory to beat Manchester regular Nick Taylor 4-9 9-4 9-7 9-2, while Taylor’s team-mate Lee Beachill, who with Willstrop had raced back from the Canadian Open to compete in this significant league fixture, beat Priory No1 Adrian Grant 9-2 9-3 9-6.
Former champions FPD Savills Nottingham and Wolverhampton registered their first wins of the season, against Benz Bavarian Duffield and Manchester Northern, respectively.
Fresh from her career-first international title at last week’s Atlanta Masters in the USA, Nottingham star Jenny Duncalf was unable to reproduce her winning form against experienced England No1 Cassie Jackman. The 20-year-old from Harrogate went down to the world No4 from Norwich 9-2 9-4 9-3 to give Derbyshire club Duffield their only point of the East Midlands derby. In the top string encounter between Duffield’s Dan Jenson and the visitors’ world No2 John White, home hero Jenson also suffered a harsh refereeing decision when given a conduct stroke against him at 7-3 up in the third game, two points away from a 2/1 lead. White immediately sprung back to take the game, and eventually the match 6-9 9-7 9-7 7-9 9-3 to clinch a 4/1 win for Nottingham – and a one place rise to fourth place in the Group A table.
Over-35 British Open champion Mark Cairns beat Manchester Northern’s Peter Billson in straight games to clinch the decisive match for Wolverhampton which gave the home side a 3/2 win over the struggling league newcomers. Alex Gough had a 2/0 lead and two match balls in the fourth game to give the Staffordshire club a 4/1 win – but the Welsh No1 lost both to the visitors’ Malaysian No1 Ong Beng Hee who claimed a 6-9 10-12 9-3 12-10 9-7 top string win in 66 minutes. The Manchester team’s other win came from Jenny Tranfield – but the world No10 from Milton Keynes took 50 minutes to overcome compatriot Dominique Lloyd-Walter, ranked 18 places lower, 9-1 9-3 9-3.
In Group B, Lee-on-Solent secured their first win of the season in an away tie against UniSport Guildford which was settled by the top string encounter. Newly-promoted world No11 Vicky Botwright had earlier put the south coast side ahead by claiming her first league win of the season in a 9-6 9-7 9-7 scoreline over Guildford’s tentative Fiona Geaves, the world No13 from Gloucester who is still competing in a mouth guard to protect her recently-injured front teeth. 48 hours after retaining his British U17 National title in Manchester, Lee’s Chris Simpson secured a notable senior scalp in his 9-1 9-5 9-4 victory over Guildford’s Tony Hands, though the former full-time player from Colchester was clearly still suffering from the hamstring injury which caused his retirement in the league a week ago. The decider went against world rankings, as Bradley Ball belied the 15-place gap behind world No32 Stephen Meads to beat the Guildford No1 9-7 9-1 9-5 to give Lee-on-Solent a 3/2 victory and a lift off the bottom of the Group B table.
League newcomers SWSA Bicester crashed to their third successive defeat in a 5/0 drubbing by last season’s group champions Chichester. SWSA’s 18-year-old fourth string Toby Mortimer was unable to convert a 2/1 lead over the home team’s England U19 No4 Tom Richards, and eventually went down 9-3 5-9 7-9 9-7 9-5 to the 17-year-old from Surrey. There was a similar struggle between the top strings, with SWSA’s Scott Handley taking the opening game, then leading 4-0 in the decider, before Chichester’s high-flying Malaysian Mohamed Azlan Iskandar resumed control to win 7-9 9-3 9-7 3-9 9-6 to take the Sussex side to a shared table-topping position with Hertfordshire’s resting TVS Broxbourne.
Full results from week 3
Contributor: Howard Harding
Club: NO CLUB
Link:
|
Latest NSL News:
NATIONAL LEAGUE SITE HAS MOVED
THE LOCAL DERBY
INSIDE ROUND ONE
GUILDFORD SUFFER IN WEEK ONE
DEPLETED NOTTINGHAM TAKE ON THE CHAMPIONS
WOLVERHAMPTON WIN 4-1
RESULTS FROM WEEK ONE
CHI CRUISE LOCAL DARBY (AND JOAN!)
CHAMPIONS STORM TO SUCCESSFUL OPENER
INSIDE ROUND ONE
THE SEASON STARTS HERE
INSIDE THE 2004/05 SEASON
NATIONAL LEAGUE OFF TO ANTIPODEAN START
|
