|
|
 | Fixture Details | |  | | |
Home | Return to Division Fixtures
| Report: | Both teams were missing a player but most matches where competitive which made for a tense outcome and a 3-2 result which is becoming a speciality for Dulwich.
1st up where Steve versus Adam with Adam making a good start getting 2 points on the board quickly. Steve put a block to that and after a handful of handouts Steve began to make progress and was soon 4-2 up. Adam was competitive but Steve was forcing the errors from Adam and it was quickly 1 up to Steve. The 2nd was slow to get going and Adam was good at winning the serve back but could not add as to his tally as often as Steve was so it was Steve who gradually made progress getting a couple of points each time he had the server and at 2 game to 0 it looked difficult for Adam. In the third Adam seemed to be struggling a little to keep up with the pace and Steve began to make quicker progress and very soon he had it wrapped up.
On the other court it was Dave versus John with Dave last playing at 3 probably as long ago as when John last played a team match! It seemed to be hot on court tonight as the ball was pinging around all over the place. Dave was just ahead in the accuracy stakes but both players where getting around the court well so it was taking time to score points but Dave was gradually moving ahead particularly when he dropped in the front right of the court. Dave took the first game for the loss of 3 points although it looked a lot closer. The 2nd was more representative with John getting ahead whilst Dave tried to regain his concentration.When Dave levelled at 3-3 it seemed he would be the one going ahead but John was playing well and he was the one taking the lead again. Dave levelled again at 5-5 and went ahead making it seem likely he was going to wrap it up but John then picked up a couple of points as Dave's racket skills deserted him only to return just in time to forge ahead again to take a 2 nil lead. The 3rd was similar to the 3rd but with John seeming to falter a little but it was still tough for Dave to win the points. John pulled back from 6-2 down to 6-4 down but Dave just had the edge and moved towards match point and wrapped it up for a 3-0 win.
On the other court it was Mike versus Dean who had never previously beaten old mate Mike in a competitive match. Mike has been struggling for fitness although it did not show too much in the first as he stayed in touch with Dean most of the way but Dean was too energetic for Mike and took the 1st just as Mike seemed to be closing in. The 2nd saw Dean brimming with confidence and cheeky threw the legs shots had Mike struggling to keep up with the pace. Mike only managed to put one point on the board and a couple of handouts so pretty soon Dean was 2 up. At this point Mike decided it could not end this way and he made a significant effort and with some nice cut shots he started to build a lead and 3-1 became 5-1 then 7-2 and it looked like Mike had cracked it as Dean seemed to be struggling a little to deal with Mike's shot play. However a couple of lengthy rallies had Mlke struggling and all of a sudden Dean was back in it but Mike reached game point 1st only to see Dean pull level and now it was anyone's game. Mike however played a couple of solid rallies and got a game back. The 4th saw Dean determined not to let it slip and he upped his enerjeticness (new word) with multiple threw the leg shots being sanctioned by the team captain for fines. Mike was now strugglin to keep in touch but he fought as hard as his gut would allow him and that unfortunately was not enough as Dean finished things with a couple more threw the leg shots for a 3-1 win.
Next up were Greg versus Stefan and whilst Setfan was getting going Greg had already gone and was 6-1 up. Stefan could only manage a couple more points before Greg wrapped it up.The 2nd saw Stefan move quickly to a 4-0 lead only to see Greg level and forge ahead to game point. That was the cur for a bit of jitters from Greg and some solid fighting squash from Stefan and the lead was wiped out then the game was taken by Stefan to level up. The 3rd was key for both players and it seemed that Greg had the edge on the backhand court whereas Stefan was the stronger on the forehand especially when Greg cross courted. Greg sped off to a 4-1 lead only to see Stefan level but Greg was just managing to play tight enough with his volley drops although many of these ended up in the tin. Greg had the edge and moved to game point as Stefan was frustrated by Gregs tight drop shots and Greg took the game to go 2-1 up, The 4th saw Stefan determined to make quick progress and he grabbed a 3-1 lead only to see Greg level it up but it was Stefan who had the edge in this game all the way.Stefan pounced on any cross court Greg played to the forehand court and Stefan moved to game point at 8-6 up and looked to be about to make it a 5 set match. Greg however never gives up and he managed to make Stefan work hard and just as Stefan seemed about to win another game Greg won point after point and Stefan could not believe it when 8-8 was announced. Greg kept is nerve and saw out the game to win a crucial match 3-1 and make it a win on the night for Dulwich.
Finally Ben versus Neil was the match of the evening and enjoyed by all. The first saw Neil struggling to keep up with Ben as he shot off to an early lead although Neil did manage to level and then went largely straight through to win it as it was Ben's turn to struggle. The 2nd saw Ben in charge as Neil went a bit quiet. Ben was quickly 3-0 up then 7-2 up before Neil staged a mini fight back but it was too little too late and Ben leveled at 1-1. The 3rd was even more one way with Ben having too much energy for Neil who seemed a bit lost and very quickly Ben was 2-1 up. The 4th saw Neil come out fighting and hitting the ball significantly harder than he had been so far and this seemed to do the trick as it forced Ben into numerous mistakes which enabled Neil to get a quick lead and keep it all the way through to level up at 2-2. The 5th set was even more one sided as Ben maybe stuggling with a groin strain seemed to find it hard to live with Neil's hard hitting and very quickly Neil had it wrapped up only to find afterwards that his team had already lost the match.
Great match which could have gone either way.
Dulwich Tandoori delivered just as Dulwich 3 had delivered and we all sat down to a great curry and some hot talk of last weeks match at Tunbridge Wells. Looks like being a very tight div 3 this summer as most teams have won and lost one already. |
|---|
| Author: | Ian Armstrong |
|---|
| |  |  |  |
|
