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21/01/2004
WE GOT A POINT!
One point on the night for Wolverhampton was as good as a win, two would have been spectacular.
Benz Bavarian Duffield 4-1 Wolverhampton
Nick Matthew
beat Alex Gough 9-5, 9-6, 9-7
Dan Jenson beat Mark
Cairns 10-8, 9-7, 9-7
Paul Hargrave lost to Liam
Kenny 10-12, 3-9, 9-1, 8-10
Jonathan Kemp
beat Chris Ryder 9-4, 9-6, 9-2
Cassie Jackman beat
Dominique Lloyd-Walter 9-2, 9-4, 9-2
When I looked at the two teams it was pretty clear that a win at Duffield was going to be difficult! Not made easier given that Mark ws just back from his first ever skiing holiday, fortunately in one piece, and Chris ryder was about to go down with a cold or something. And so it turned out but not before a lot of gutsy performances from the whole team together with an inspired win from Liam Kenny. Dominique against Cassie Jackman was a tough one but the 9-2,9-4,9-2 scoreline does not do justice to a game that lasted 32 minutes and had both long ralleys and many changes of serve. At the end Cassie just hit the ball too hard and to too good a length but Dominique has youth on her side (apologies Cassie) and will one day get her own back. Jon Kemp, freshly back from Canada started at a tremendous pace, perhaps looking to wrap things up in 3 before falling asleep from jet lag. The first game was over in only a few minutes with Chris being pushed all over the court and forced into errors. The second was far more competitive and Chris led 4-2 and had the upper hand. During the next ralley Jon hit the ball more or less back to him and as the referee was forming the word "point" to Chris, Chris decided to hit the ball! Being in a poor position he did noyhing with it, lost the ralley and soon after the second game. Would 5-2 made a difference, perhaps. By now Chris was showing signs of his oncoming cold and Jon made few mistakes to take the game 3-0. Brian Hargrave had hoped to have 4 matches on the main court but time was against him so Liam and Paul played on one court whilst Mark and Dan Jenson started on the other. This was a bit of a pity as both matches were excellent. Although Mark went down 3-0 the match lasted 44 minutes and it was only a lapse of concentration in all three games that cost mark the match. Both players retrieved magnificantly, played with great determination and with hardly any contentious moments. Given an extra week to forget the pleasures of the apres ski and Mark could have won and given a mild heart attack to Brian Hargrave. Our best chance of a point was Liams match and he did not disappoint. The first game was crucial and could have gone either way. Liams style depends on light touch and when it's working has his opponent running all over the court, often in the wrong direction. Equally a few balls go down. Paul was a little unhappy with a decision towards the end of the first game and was probably still thinking about it in the second, losing that game fairly quickly. He got his mind together in the third and hardly put a foot wrong where as Liam decided to hit the tin fairly regularly. The fourth game was a repeat of the first and again could have gone either way. Liams touch returned and Paul found a second wind. At match ball Liam elected to follow Chris and play a ball that would almost certainly resulted in a stroke and then lost the ralley. At 8 all he then had his piece of luck with a shot that he knew nothing about, a sort of half volley off his toes in front of himself which sort of staggered onto the front wall, a bit similar to some of my best effoerts really. Some of the crowd were less than sure that the shot was good but not the referee. The final point was an anticlimax with Paul missing an overhead and bouncing the ball on the floor on its way generally towards the front wall. We had our point. Last up Alex Gough against Nick Matthew. A 41 minute match saw Nick come out 3-0, but again only after some enthralling ralleys, great retrieving and some drop shot errors from Alex after he had worked out great openings. Two such in the first, 4 in the second and 3 in the third were enough to change the face of the match. Shot of the evening, a behind his back swish at the ball by Alex that hit Nick on the back on it's way........to where. No one will ever know and the referee had no alternative but to play a let as although it would have made the front wall it might well have hit the side wall first. Brilliant reaction though!
Two weeks time off to Manchester Northern. To help things along, our team will be as this week, provided no-one gets injured. Hopefully will be a great night, could even be a win.
Contributor: Stephen Russell
Club: Wolverhampton
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