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| Report: | Last match of the 1st half of the winter season and Crimbo parties really played havoc with the Dulwich line up with 3 of our regulars all out painting the town red so a hastily put together team attempted to get a win in the final home match of this half.
1st up where Ravi and Tristan and this was one of old timer versus newish blood. The old timer seemed to be doing ok at the start as he quickly marched off to a 4-1 lead with some nice cross court switcheroos and a couple of boasts which caught Trstan wrong footed. Trisitan often struggled to read Ravi's game but usually got to the ball and often just getting it up was enough to win the rally. From 4-1 down Trsistan recovered to 4-4 then went two ahead only for Ravi to make it level again but it was Tristan who managed to hold his nerve to win the 1st. The 2nd again saw Ravi getting an early lead and although he again often wrong footed Tristan he invariably got to Ravi's shots and made Ravi pay for not putting the ball away when he had the chance. Tristan had a string of points to go from 2-0 down to 6-2 up at which point Ravi perked up and put together a string of points to almost level at 5-6 at which point Tristan again saw off the game to go 2 up, The 3rd saw Ravi once again getting an early lead but after a few handouts Tristan began stacking up the points and he was soon marching off with the game and a 3-0 match win.
Next up where Oliver and Tom. Both players where able to get to most things although it seemed that Oliver was having to do more running as Tom was often able to just stick out a long limb to reach the ball. The points however where mostly going to Oliver and he was working hard to ensure that Tom did not get any easy points. Oliver ran off to a 7-2 lead but at game point he stuttered a little and Tom managed to get it back to 8-6 before Oliver was able to finish the game off. The 2nd saw Oliver again working hard to prevent Tom getting easy points and this time Tom only managed 2 points whilst Oliver moved smoothly through the gears to take the game and go 2 up. The 3rd saw Tom dig in and work much better whilst Oiliver took a slight breather. Tom was running away with it at 7-0 and although Oliver managed a couple of points Tim wrapped it up to get a game on the board. Oliver regrouped and came out much more determined not to let Tom have anything easy and it was as if we were playing the 2nd game again as Oliver got anything back that Tom could throw his way and points accumulated for Oliver whilst Tom stalled and could not get going. Oliver soon had a commanding lead at 7-1 and although Tom got a couple back Oliver wrapped it up to take the match 3-1.
Next up where Duncan and Richard.This was quite tight early on but once Duncan started to find his game it forced mistakes from Richard and he stormed off to a 5-1 lead. Richard tried hard to get in to the game but Duncan would not let him have any easy points and they shared the points from that stage which meant that Duncan took the first. The 2nd was going Duncan's way early on but then Richard found a bit of form although it was often hit or miss so tins often followed clear winners. Richard took the lead at 4-3 only for Duncan to wrestle back control and go 7-4 up. Richard working hard and determined not to go down without a fight and he managed to get it back level at 7-7. Duncan had game point first only for Richard to level again at 8-8. There was a crucial rally which resulted in a no let for Duncan when he potentially had all of the court to play into for a winner and that let Richard in and he took the game 10-8 to level the match up at 1-1. The 3rd saw Richard in confident mood whilst Duncan tried to shrug off the memory of the 2nd game and that resulted in a commanding 5-1 lead to Richard. Duncan however regrouped and played some controlled drop shots which had Richard struggling and soon enough Duncan moved into a lead at 6-5. Richard fought back to level and we were back in a scrap like the previous game but this time it was Duncan who stole himself to play a few great rallies which meant that he went 2-1 up. The 4th saw Duncan getting an early lead only for it to be snuffed out and Richard march away to 5-2 up. Duncan played his usual stealth game to get back to 4-5 down only for Richard to build a 7-4 lead. At that point however Duncan concentrated hard and Richard started to hit the tin again and that was all Duncan needed to grab point after point and soon enough he had it won 3-1.
Next up where Andy and Nilen which was a contrast of styles with Andy's drop and boast game up against nickathon Nilen. The early stages saw Andy struggling to get going and Nilen took a swift 5-1 lead. Andy gradually pulled it back level and went ahead only for Nilen to do the same then Andy likewise resulted in game point to Andy. Nilen scrapped back to 8-8 and after a few handouts he took the 1st game. The 2nd saw Nilen march off to a clear lead again whilst Andy was struggling to get back up to speed after a fraught 1st game. Andy could not get going and Nilen took it for the loss of just one point. The 3rd saw Andy in more determined mood whilst Nilen went on one his familiar sight seeing tours of the court. Andy gradually built up a 6-1 lead and although Nilen pulled it back to 6-4 Andy was the more determined and he saw it through to get a game on the board. The 4th was close all the way with Nilen just ahead but then a stalemate developed once Andy levelled it at 4-4 and when Andy came out of that with the next point it seemed he might be about to make it a 5 setter however Nilen was not going to allow that and he pushed through to get the necessary points and a 3-1 win.
All that meant that the final match between Ian and Sam was the decided. Ian did his usual stuff in the first playing the sharper of the two and grabbing a clear 7-2 lead whilst Sam tried to get going. Too many mistakes from Sam resulted in a clear win for Ian. The 2nd however saw Sam in more control of his game and Ian was the one struggling to read Sam front court boasts. This time Sam had a clear 5-2 lead and Ian could not add to his total despite a number of chances and so it was 1-1. The 3rd saw Sam continuing from where he left off in the 2nd whilst Ian became more and more frustrated and the little mans ability to get to the front of the court and play deft little touches. Ian recovered from 4-1 down to 6-4 down at which point it could have gone either way but it went Sam's way and he went 2-1 up. The 4th was beginning to get tought for both players but Ian was just edging it as Sam begun to let a few mistakes come back into his game. Ian grabbed a 6-3 lead then made it 7-3 at which point Sam recovered it back to 6-7 down and the balcony wer getting a little edgy. Ian added one more to get to game point only for Sam to close the gap again but Ian saw it off with a couple of strong rallies which forced another mistake from Sam at game point so we were all square at 2-2 on the night and 2-2 in the final game. The 5th set was tight but Sam was just edging ahead forcing Ian to recover. Sam had cut out the mistakes forcing Ian to have to work harder for his points and that made the difference as Sam gradually took the lead and 5-3 became 6-3 then 7-3. Ian pulled a point back but a gut busting rally saw both players struggle to reach the ball only for Sam to put away a winner and soon after that he grabbed a couple more points to take the match to the delight of the Park Langley boys.
Great match to finish off the 1st haff of the season and that result seems Park Langley move off the bottom of the table whilst Dulwich secure 3rd spot. The curry from Dulwich Tanndoori was greatly appreciated by all. |
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| Author: | Ian Armstrong |
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