23/01/2004
SEVEN DOWN, THREE TO GO
The Crystal ball is murky below the top, says Brian Hargrave, Inside the National League ...

TAKING STOCK:
SEVEN DOWN THREE TO GO
THE CRYSTAL BALL IS VERY MURKY BELOW THE TOP !

In Group A Manchester –Pontefract have all but secured their place in the play offs after a thrilling narrow round 7 victory against FPD Savills Nottingham before a record NL crowd at the National Centre.

The City dignataries from Manchester were suitably impressed with the rich feast of entertainment provided by Yawar’s team justifying their financial support which places the NL team very much at the top of the squash sporting pyramid. The final rubber between Lee Beachill and John White went on court after 10 o clock and Press Officer Howard Harding was still beavering away in the early hours re-writing his headlines. The Lancashire-Yorkshire combination has established a 7 point gap over second place Edgbaston and 11 points gap over third placed Benz-Bavarian Duffield. It really is a three horse race for the second play off position in this Group with Edgbaston clear favourites on the grounds that they are not relying on results from elsewhere. However, they travel to the 100% Group leaders in round 8 and then have a tricky away encounter against Duffield in round 9 before ending with the Birmingham ”local derby” against Wolverhampton who will be hoping that it is their turn to win 3-2 if they can field their strongest line up.

Third placed Duffield has the toughest run in with a visit to local East Midlands rivals Nottingham in round 8. Both managers have already indicated their probable line ups which include John White v Nick Matthew, Simon Parke v Dan Jenson and Natalie Grinham v Cassie Jackman. The supporting cast comprises of David Evans v Paul Hargrave and Sam Miller v Jon Kemp and one of the manager’s would settle for the tie standing at 2 all with at least the final rubber between White and Matthew to be played on the new show court.

Duffield expect to have over 30 supporters travelling along the A52 with the outcome of the tie likely to determine which team wins the unofficial East Midlands NL crown. A Duffield member has even offered to provide a trophy to be played for bi-annually between the two teams to add further interest to the clash.

Meanwhile Nottingham management considers that they face a very tall order with the need for two whitewashes and a 4-1 with Priory going down to Manchester-Pontefract. Nottingham follow the tie against Duffield with a potentially tricky visit to hungry Wolves and end with the hope that they can reverse the 5-0 whitewash their much weakened team suffered against the Northern in round 5.

The crystal ball is very cloudy, so no predictions, but this should become a little clearer in 10 days time.

In Group B, TVS Broxbourne need just one point to be mathematically certain of a play off place but with their superior “rubbers won” can safely budget for at least two additional outings.

It is also a three horse race for the second play off place in Group B. The main interest rests with the battle between old rivals Team Chichester and Unisport Guildford. The eagerly awaited Peter Crabtree round 7 SP report was much delayed with rumour suggesting that he was still suffering from shell shock after the “retired” Stephen Meads came back from 2-0 down to overcome full-timer Peter Genever in the fifth match decider.

As previously predicted Ian Robinson’s Unisport Guilford have again saved their best form until the second half... However a tough visit to Lee on Solent in round 8 with a final tie against Broxbourne in round 9 means that Ian will be depending on results going his way elsewhere.

Chichester will be hoping for maximum points against Bicester on 3 February and a victory against Lee on Solent in round 9 before tackling high riding Broxbourne in the final round. However, victories for Lee on Solent against both Guildford and Chichester might see them edge out their rivals as they finish with a home tie against Bicester.

An unbiased prediction from the other group suggests that SP will be treated to humorous semi final reports from young Mr Crabtree down on the south coast before the season is over.

 Contributor: Brian Hargrave