Phil Songhurst reports on a great start to the second half for Nottingham ...
FPD Savills Nottingham's full strength side showed their weight
defeating a depleted Edgbaston Priory side 5 - 0 to move back into
play-off contention in the England Squash National League
FPD Savills Nottingham beat Edgbaston Priory 5 - 0
John White Adrian Grant 9/7 2/9 10/8 9/3
Simon Parke Del Harris 9/5 9/5 9/4
David Evans beat Hadrian Stiff 9/6 9/5 9/4
Tommy Berden beat Peter Barker 9/4 9/5 9/2
Natalie Grinham beat Isabelle Stoehr 7/9 9/2 9/3 9/3
FPD Savills Nottingham came through a crunch midlands derby against
league champions Edgbaston Priory with maximum points to move to within
3 points of the second placed team.
After disappointing performances in last year's final and the opening
encounter of this season, revenge was sweet for the former champions -
despite Priory missing key players.
After making the short trip over from Amsterdam, Tommy Berden and
Natalie Grinham made quick work of their matches, Berden taking out a
lack lustre Peter Barker in under 30 minutes and Grinham overcoming a
spirited start by her French opponent to cruise though 3 / 1 in just
over half an hour.
David Evans started slowly against Hadrian Stiff coming back from 6 - 1
down in the first to take it 9 / 6., A similar pattern followed in the
second before Evans took command to run out a 3 / 0 winner.
Simon Parke has had some memorable battles with former England team mate
Del Harris in National League over the years. Parke has usually come
out on top in these encounters but Harris barely troubled him on this
occasion. A few glimpses of the old magic from both players entertained
a full house on Parke's favourite Court 5, easing through comfortably in
34 minutes.
Because of previous tournament engagements, this was the Nottingham
crowd's first look at World No. 2 John White this season.
True to his usual form, White kept his supporters on the edges of their
seats for the first three games, making several unforced errors to allow
Grant to get into a rhythm. After sharing the first two games the third
proved to be crucial with White sneaking it 10 / 8 before running away
with the 4th. The final point was a memorable backhand smashed into the
nick - sending the Park crowd away happy and more optimistic about the
team's prospects in the league.
Manager Phil Songhurst added "Hopefully this win has set us up for a
more successful second half of the season. The three defeats before
Christmas are all we can afford - so a 5 - 0 victory tonight gives us
renewed hope of qualifying for the semi-finals again."
The next match is away at leaders Manchester / Pontefract on 20th Jan
before they entertain East Midlands rivals Duffield on 3rd February
