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07/01/2004
BRIGHT START TO 2004 FOR GUILDFORD
Ian Robinson reports on a confidence-building 5-0 start to 2004 for UniSport Guildford ...
SWSA Bicester 0 lost to UniSport Guildford 5
Scott Handley 1 lost to Stephen Meads 3 (2 - 9, 9 - 6, 7 - 9, 7 - 9)
Chris Clare 0 lost to Stacey Ross 3 (6 - 9, 5 - 9, 10 - 12)
Mike Elford 0 lost to Neil Frankland 3 (5 - 9, 5 - 9, 4 - 9)
David Nash 0 lost to Paul Allen 3 (2 - 9, 3 - 9, 4 - 9)
Lauren Briggs 0 lost to Fiona Geaves 3 (3 - 9, 0 - 9, 3 - 9)
UniSport Guildford started the second half of the season and the new year with maximum points from a 5 - 0 victory over bottom of the table SWSA Bicester. This was a bright start to 2004 for the university players but guardedly was against a generally youthful and inexperienced Bicester team. Form, however, was good and there was very little rust in evidence after the Christmas break. Notably the captain and number 1, Steve Meads was recovering from a virus but did not let that dampen his ardour.
First to take the court was Paul Allen against David Nash who is a product of the Sue Wright Academy for aspiring squash players. Nash was especially nervous in the first game and Allen was quick to capitalise claiming the game 9 - 2. The pattern was much the same in the second as Paul dominated the middle of the court and took the ball in short to finish the rallies, add this to some errors and the second game was also quickly in the bag 9 - 3. Nash was determined and stirred himself to compete strongly for while at the beginning of the third but it was not long before Allen took command and found himself in the locker room by a 9 - 4 margin in the third. Allen who is new to university ranks was always in command and played without error to secure a good start for the visitors.
Fiona Geaves, meanwhile, was warming up with a troubled early start while she found her range. However once she did she deprived her younger opponent of the middle of the court forcing her to risk too much too soon and the result was loose balls for Geaves to dispatch or errors. Either way the first game was soon in the bag 9 - 3. The second was even more disastrous for the Bicester player who found it hard to remove Geaves from the middle of the court and consequently forfeited the game without troubling the scorers. At the start of the third Briggs started to clip the ball harder and force the rallies to extend but it was still not enough as the vast experience of Geaves helped her to re-establish the dominant spot in the middle of the court and increasingly dispatched a range of winners in the front of the court. This was a sharper performance than of late from Geaves and demonstrated clearly that now the traumas of her freak accident are past she may well go on to trouble some good players through the next part of the season.
Barely 30 minutes of play had passed and UniSport were 2 - 0 to the good. This is unprecedented this season and brought a slight smile to the face of travelling supporters. Neil Frankland was next into the fray and found a young and quick opponent in Mike Elford another from the Sue Wright Academy. Frankland looked supremely confident in the warm up which is usually a good omen. It was not long before he established his routine of reliable accuracy forcing loose replies and then a suitably chosen winner to clinch the rallies. This strategy was causing Elford a problem and as hard as the youngster tried to rest the initiative away from Frankland he found himself entangled in a spider's web of accurate strokes to which he did not successfully find a way to respond. Frankland controlled the match for the most part although credit to Elford there were moments when his speed around the court and a well chosen winner kept the university man on his toes. The consistency of his accurate hitting is clearly demonstrated in the scoreline which was a good result and set the seal on a good win for UniSport Guildford.
At 3 - 0 UniSport Guildford needed to set about claiming the extra bonus points for a big win and Stacey Ross was next to court. He looked as though Christmas had been good to him and not to his squash. Losing the first 5 points in the first game with a ragged series of errors, his opponent was first into his stride and looked sharp and as though he would be a difficult opponent. Strangely at this point Clare seemed to stop playing his best squash and Ross seemed to find his and with no discernible change in the tone of the game the points were flowing just as quickly in favour of Guildford. Suddenly the game was banked 9 - 6. The second followed a similar course Ross reeled the game in from another early game deficit. Neither player was playing good squash but there were some interesting shots more because of their unorthodox nature than their excellence. Ross always looked to have something in hand when he played well but he was only barely adequate for the most part and there was a real chance that if Clare could put some form together he would have been more troublesome. Clare was also not at his best but it led to some dramatic see saw squash at the end of the third with both players gifting penalty points to the other via the referee before Ross claimed the match. Not a very inspiring performance by either player, but the point was the all important thing for Guildford. 4 - 0 and the whole match was still only an hour old.
Steve Meads was up for the challenge to give Guildford maximum points for the first time this season, but it was to be a tough struggle. Meads has recently retired from the international tournament circuit and therefore will be more available in the league. He made a quick and bright start as if to show what we will see more of. Claiming a 7 - 0 advantage he nailed the first game 9 - 2 which, given his state of less than complete fitness was a good start. The second game was a turn around and was a tough game with both players rallying hard. This was just what Meads did not need as it was testing his fitness to the full. As Handley moved up a gear and got quicker around the court, Meads seemed to be slowing fast and floating the ball instead of hitting it. This game was never likely to be close at the end, Meads losing out 6 - 9. A revitalised Meads appeared at the start of the third hitting the ball harder but only after conceding some early points. Points started to flow back the Guildford way and Mead's movement seemed more assured. The ball was being struck tight to the side walls and the occasional winner popped up at useful times and the university man claimed the third 9 - 7.Throughout the fourth Meads was always in front although as it neared its conclusion, the physical resources were clearly on the wane and it was a huge relief not only to Meads but also to the travelling Guildford supporters to claim the match by another close 9 - 7 margin. This was a maximum points score of 7 for Guildford for the first time in the league this season.
The next match is against south coast rivals Chichester at home on 20th January starting at 7.00pm. Tickets are already much in demand for this match, which always starts the juices flowing. Don't delay in booking tickets for this local derby. It is a must win match for UniSport if we are to mount a charge up the league and threaten the play off places.
Contributor: Ian Robinson
Club: Guildford
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