22/03/2004
YAWAR'S TEAM STAKES ITS CLAIM
Manchester/Pontefract all-but assured themselves of a place in the National League final with a 5-0 demolition of Chichester in the semi-final first leg ...
Semi-Final First Leg, Mon 22nd March:
Manchester/Pontefract 5-0 Chichester
Lee Beachill bt Peter Genever 9/3, 9/6, 9/4 (22m)
James Willstrop bt Tim Garner 9/7, 9/6, 9/3 (21m)
Nick Taylor bt Tim Vail 9/3, 6/9, 9/7, 11/9
Marcus Berrett bt Ben Garner 9/2, 9/4, 9/5 (23m)
Vanessa Atkinson bt Linda Charman 0/9, 9/4, 9/4, 6/9, 9/2 (55m)
BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR MAN/PONT
Yawar Abbas's all-conquering Manchester/Pontefract team continued where they left off in the league season, demolishing Chichester in the first leg of the semi-finals to all-but book their place in the final on April 17th.
Lee Beachill, just back from Bermuda and
suffering from a lack of sleep, was nevertheless just too
accurate for Chichester's Peter Genever, completing a 22-minute
victory. Pontefract number two James Willstrop
took one minute less to brush aside Tim Garner, no doubt
pre-occupied with tomorrow's opening of the Canary Wharf Classic, as Willstrop went through his range of shots in near-exhibition mode. Tim's brother Ben fared little better at number four, occupying Marcus Berrett for just 23 minutes.
Manchester's own Nick Taylor faced a sterner
test as Chichester skipper Tim Vail pushed the local favourite close, but when Taylor served a dead nick at 9-9 in the fourth to reach match-ball the writing was on the wall for Chichester.
The ladies' match was the longest, and best, of the evening,
with Vanessa Atkinson confirming her rise above
Linda Charman in the world rankings with a 55-minute 3-2 victory.
It started promisingly for Chichester, with Charman winning the
first 13 points, only for Atkinson to respond by winning the next 12!
Atkinson will be missing for the return leg at Chichester on
6th April, but even Peter Crabtree will surely struggle to find a
route by which Chichester can overturn this result.
Also see: Man/Pont crush Chichester - Yawar Abbas reports
Tuesday sees the second semi-final with Broxbourne
travelling to Birmingham to meet defending champions Edgbaston
Priory. It will be a case of the away team arriving first, with Edgbaston number one David Palmer
set to catch the train to Birmingham after taking on John White
in the opening match of the Canary Wharf Classic. Edgbaston will be hoping that Virgin Trains and Edgbaston's ace drivers can get Palmer onto court before the 10pm deadline.
Contributor: Steve Cubbins
