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| Report: | The winner tonight would end up at the top of the table so it was going to be a tough fight.
1st up were Dave and Tom B and this was tight early on but soon Dave was looking the sharper and his play was having the desired effect for the loss of just 2 points. The 2nd saw Dave steam off into a solid lead with much the cleaner play. Tom rallied a little but Dave punched through to take it for the loss of just 3 points this time. The 3rd saw Tom playing a little better and it was close but Dave was always ahead. Tom seemed to be struggling with a calf strain of some sort. At 6-3 to Dave with Tom feeling more and more pain in his leg it looked odds on that Dave was about to close out the match. Tom looked fit in the rally but then in major difficulty between the rally's. Dave seemed to falter a little and could not seem to take advantage of the situation. Tom got 1 point back then another and all of a sudden things seemed to turn around despite Tom's leg pains. A few tins from Dave and good shots from Tom and it was 2-1 to Tom instead of 3-0 to Dave. The 4th saw a pattern of Tom playing well in the rally's but then seeming to be a dead man walking almost falling over just trying to put one foot in front of another. This was however working for Tom and it was he who ran off to a clear 7-1 lead. Dave dug in and started to claw back the deficit and Tom seemed to be done for but he too dug in and some ding dong rally's saw Tom win out to make it 2-2. The 5th saw Tom gaining in confidence shot wise but still struggling to walk between rally's. Dave had a go at 0-3 down but Tom was playing the better squash now but at 6-1 up he again seemed about to fall over. Dave could not work out how to make Tom's predicament work in his favour and Tom played some good shots to finish off the match for a 3-2 win.
On the other court Antonio was taking on Richard and this was a tight affair with Antonio just about keeping ahead. Richard took the lead at the crucial time in the game but Antonio fought hard to get back level at 7-7 and rushed through to take it 9-7. The 2nd saw Antonio keeping ahead with some good squash but Richard was fighting hard and again levelled things up at the crucial point in the game at 8-8. Antonio however was not going to let Richard have it and he forced his way through to go 2 up. The 3rd was all Richards without dropping a point so at 2-1 it seemed that a 5 setter was on the cards. Antonio started off the 4th better and went 2 up but Richard pulled it back to go 3-2 up so it was very nip and tuck, Antonio then upped his game and started to play some clean drops which were having the desired affect, At 6-3 up Antonio was looking good. Richard pulled a point back but Antonio played some perfect drops to keep Richard working hard and it soon paid dividends as Antonio took the last 3 points for a good 3-1 win.
Paddy and Phil started up on the other court and this was very competitive in the 1st. Paddy's play was slightly more accurate and effective to start with and he gradually built up a lead but at 7-4 up Phil turned it around and got it back level. Some close calls saw both players looking for more than the marker was offering but it was Paddy who played the last few rally's the better and he took it 9-7 to go 1 up. The 2nd saw Paddy controlling things well again early on and he gradually buit up a commanding lead at 7-2. Phil was determined not to let Paddy have it easy and he worked hard to put points on the board but at 7-4 then 8-4 Paddy was the firm favourite to take the 2nd. A couple of hard rally's saw Phil making progress and at 8-7 he was in touching distance of the 2nd game but Paddy wrestled the serve and played a couple of good rally's to go 2 up, The 3rd was similar to the 2nd but this time Paddy was in no mood to let Phil back in late on and Paddy took it to win 3-0.
Tom S and Tom C were now battling it out on the other court and this one saw Tom S going off like a train after a few stutters to take it for the loss of just 3 points.Tom S was in good form and he made it pay again in the 2nd for the loss of just 2 points. The 3rd saw Tom C making a fist of it and he took an early lead. At 5-2 up there was now a tussle to see who would make the next move and it turned out to be Tom C and he had a clean win to make it 2-1. The 4th was tight so a 5 setter was definitely possible however Tom C took an early lead and at 4-1 up looked to have turned the game around but Tom S then rushed through a number of ralll's to get almost level then move ahead to a commanding 7-4 lead. Tom C got another point back but despite a number of attempts could not add to that so it was Tom S who took it for Dulwich 3-1 to secure a win on the night for Dulwich.
The final match up saw Duncan taking on Ville and this was going to be interesting. Duncan went marking off with the stronger play to a 5-0 lead only for Ville to gradually pull it back to 6-4. Duncan took a few more points to get to game point but Ville clawed it back and at 8-7. Duncan forced his way back into the game and managed to finish it off to go 1 up. The 2nd saw Ville up his game with some clean volleying especially to the back hand court front corner. Duncan could not stop this sequence and very soon Ville had the game and went level. The 3rd saw this pattern continue with Duncan letting Ville have too many volleys. The ball was pinging all over the place with numerous stroke situations but Duncan was far happier to play on instead of stopping for a clear point at times and he paid the price too often. Ville however was cleaning up when given the chance and he cleaned up the 3rd to go 2-1 up, The 4th saw Duncan up his game and he looked the stronger now. Ville however was not going to let Duncan have it easy and at 4-1 down he started to pull it back and soon enough it was 5-5 and now it was Ville's turn to look the stronger of the two. This proved to be the case and soon Ville had match point at 8-6 but Duncan was not done yet and he worked hard to get it back level. A couple of hand outs made it all tense upstairs but it was Ville who ran out the deserved winner.
So a 3-2 win for Dulwich saw them leap over Blackheath in the league to go to top spot for the moment. |
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| Author: | Ian Armstrong |
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