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Home | Return to Division Fixtures
| Nom | Home Player | Nom | Away Player | Result | Games |
| 1 | Ben Ford | 3 | Steve London | 3 | 2 | 9/3 6/9 7/9 9/3 9/3 | | 5 | Ritchie Fallows | 4 | James Robbins | 3 | 1 | 7/9 9/5 9/0 9/6 | | 8 | Matt Badger | 6 | Steve Pratt | 2 | 3 | 9/6 6/9 9/10 9/2 5/9 | | 7 | Christian Donelan | 7 | Mark Lennox | 3 | 1 | 9/7 6/9 9/1 9/7 | | 10 | Elliot Knight | 9 | Clive London | 3 | 1 | 10/9 9/2 3/9 9/2 | | | | | | | | | | | Games: | 14 | 8 | |
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| | | Bonus: | 5 | 0 | |
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| | | Result: | 19 | 8 | |
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| Report: | Having had the role of Bexley roving reporter delegated to me by Christian, herewith follows the record of the evening's proceedings as witnessed by your trusty hack.
Summary - A shedload of effort from the PL boys for precious little reward. Bexley in fine form all round (ok Matt, maybe you had a bit of an off day).
First up Fallows v Robbins.
Didn't really see any of this since I was on court next door for most of it, but JEJ seems to have struggled again due to lack of match play over the last couple of months. With JEJ having extracted first blood, Ritchie - who has obviously improved significantly from an already high baseline - came back strongly and accelerated away to take the match in 4. JEJ was keen to hightail it, no doubt keen to work up his training schedule ready for a return to former glories.
Next door, Knight v London snr.
This was a rather calmer affair than encounters between these two of late. Elliot confined himself to a single sarky comment (well done), and played pretty consistently throughout, utilising speed and youth to good effect. The author felt slightly out of sorts, and the shunning of several game balls in the 1st didn't bode well. A brief rally to take the 3rd having changed rackets so as to actually be able to hold the grip properly for a while helped, but it was back to business in the 4th as Elliot wrapped up a good win.
Next on Ford v London jnr.
This one went according to a well worn script. After last week's travails, Steve was right back on it again this week. A superb marathon match to watch with both players exhibiting great mobility and shot making. Ben cruising around the court slapping in shots for fun, only to see most of them returned with interest. As ever, the difference really was Ben's ability to apply pressure with a bit less effort expended, and a bit more penetration at the front of court. With Steve having gone 7-2 up in the 3rd, Ben made him work massively hard to take the game, and that took the edge off Steve's game. Despite valiant efforts, particularly in the 5th, Ben looked to be in control of the latter stages of the match to record another good Bexley win.
Next door, Donelan v Lennox.
Didn't see any of this one due to familial spectating duties, but Mark assures me that he feels his game is slowly coming back, having felt rather more comfortable on court than of late. Christian went off like a train in the 1st, but only just sneaked it in the end. Mark came back to take the 2nd only to get chopped in the 3rd, but a big rally in the 4th just failed to take it to a decider. Another good win for Bexley.
So, by this stage the usual Bexley mick taking about HiHo scoring and late finishes was in full flow in the gallery. The author was blithely ignoring the provocation as usual, with messrs Donelan and Knight landing on the apparently hilarious suggestion of going back to wooden rackets to complete the return to such an antediluvian scoring system. This, as it happens wouldn't be too difficult at Bexley due to the number of them nailed to the walls between the pictures of Ian Wright talking to Ted Heath in 1952 or whatever.
Still, at 10.40pm the final encounter of the night went on - Badger v Pratt.
This was a small beacon of light for PL, as WW managed to keep it all pointing in approximately the right direction, and Matt went for a few too many short ones (memo to Matt - your game is about hacking the sh*t out of it low across court). Another pretty long match, with the PL team exhorting their man to ever greater efforts. After a seesaw match, WW emerged victorious with original racket intact for a change, and life looking rosy. A good win.
So, with the bar officially closed, the remaining protagonists repaired to the tables to sample a really splendid chicken curry. So much so, that to everyone's amazement even the author was seen to eat after a match for a change. A thoroughly enjoyable match despite the thin pickings on the points front for PL. Well played Bexley. Too good on the night.
(with thanks to the hastily re-scanned Eats, Shoots and Leaves)
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| Author: | CL |
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