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 | Fixture Details | |  | | |
Home | Return to Division Fixtures
| Nom | Home Player | Nom | Away Player | Result | Games |
| 8 | Phillip Ithier | 2 | PJ Rutherford | 1 | 3 | 7/9 9/7 6/9 6/9 | | 9 | Andy Burt | 4 | Gary Mitchell | 2 | 3 | 1/9 6/9 9/3 9/1 8/10 | | 10 | John McCue | 5 | Mark Fleming | 3 | 1 | 9/5 9/3 6/9 9/5 | | 13 | Peter Lewis | 6 | Chris Morgan | 2 | 3 | 9/2 10/9 6/9 7/9 4/9 | | 14 | Paul Bromley | 7 | John Creek | 2 | 3 | 4/9 1/9 9/4 9/6 4/9 | | | | | | | | | | | Games: | 10 | 13 | |
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| | | Bonus: | 0 | 5 | |
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| | | Result: | 10 | 18 | |
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| Report: | Knole Park travelled to Poultwood in the wilds of Tonbridge more in fear than expectation. The usual late afternoon call from Jerry Staffurth to say that he could not make it, left Knole with a squad of 5 to face a Poultwood side pushing hard towards the top of the table. Jerry's parting comment that he would not be able to be beat the Poultwood number 2 any way, did not help to calm the nerves.
Chris Morgan went on first and soon went 0-2 down. He might have won the second game, but made errors and Peter Lewis showed good touch and range of shots to deny him. Luckily for Chris, a bit of coaching from PJ and a more positive approach saw him wear down a tiring Peter and increasingly to take control in the next three games. A good win for Chris against a skilful opponent.
Meanwhile, at 1, PJ played the age card to good effect against Phil Ithier. Sporting a large knee bandage under his track suit, PJ refused to stretch himself for Phil's drops in the first game - yet still asked for more lets than usual; largely denied by a tough marker. Phil took time to find his feet - literally - as PJ took the first 9/5. PJ appeared to rest his knee more in the second and a succession of uncharacteristic errors let Phil in to take it 9/7.
There had been a lot of contact and misdirection up to then and this increased, as Phil appeared to have trouble with his grip on the floor. There were several tumbles and dust-ups around the T as Phil became frustrated with his shoes, the floor, himself and the match. PJ relished the delays, as it saved him the trouble of bouncing the ball or arguing with the marker to buy time. As Phil became more and more distracted, PJ eased to a win in four.
A tactical ploy saw Gary Mitchell promoted to 2 ahead of Mark Fleming - the 'sacrificial lamb' ahead of the form player. It didn't quite go as planned - as Gary raced to a two game lead over Andy Burt, seemingly transformed from the lumbering weight-watcher of previous weeks into a gazelle. All of Gary's touch shots were working in those first two games. Could it last? No, as Andy found his form and romped away with the next two games - 9/3, 9/1. Gary looked to be banking his two points for the team and resting for next week. However, he was not to be denied his surprise victory and summoned up strength from his vast reserves to nick the fifth 10-8.
Over on the next court, John Creek had again been forced to play himself as a last resort. Having read this week that eating before a match was not necessarily bad, John stuffed a green banana down his throat and went on against Paul Bromley, expecting to have to win to save the match. A racing start made John look better than his ranking - briefly. Some of the hard team training sessions of recent weeks paid off as he took an early 2-0 lead. And news of Gary's surprise lead on the other court took off some of the pressure. Sensing his opponent was slowing, Paul used his superior height and reach to level. Only a Captain's sense of duty enabled John to save face by taking the fifth with a tight drop (rare). His win could be his last for the club, as the full squad should return next week. A suitable presentation is being planned.
Mark Fleming, having spent two hours on BR rails and an hour on Tonbridge back-roads trying to get to the match, did not feel much like playing. The writer did not see the game - but heard a lot of it from the other end of the hallway - as Mark's rising expletive count told the tale. He did manage one consolation game to make the trip not entirely in vain - or, as Mark put it, 'I didn't come all this ******* way to lose in three!'
A great win from depleted resources for Knole, which puts them in good heart from the top of the table clashes coming up against Waterfront and Acacia Hall. Not bad considering that Knole fielded four players with an average age of 52. |
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