Mon 9th March

Melbourn won 18-4

The last home game of the season was an important one for the 2nds as we hosted the team one place above us in the table, Hunts County 3rds. The outcome mattered as Hunts were second, a promotion spot, and we were third, which is not…

We started with the top string clash, which, appropriately for the match closest to International Women’s Day, was an all-female affair as Kate Bradshaw (1) took on Emily Fuller. With both players ranked inside England’s top 200 women (per Squashlevels) a high-quality encounter was expected. It certainly started that way with extended rallies, both players looking to move the other to all the corners of the court; physical chess as the phrase goes. However midway through the first game it began to be clear there was something else in play as Emily was clearly struggling for breath, way too early in the match for that to be the case. It turned out she was playing her first game since a chest infection (genderless) and was discovering it wasn’t as far behind her as she thought. The lack of oxygen from midway through each game meant Emily was unable to run for Kate’s short attacking shots, which, as anyone who knows Kate’s game will tell you, is a recipe for a rapid defeat. That is exactly what Kate delivered, lobbing and dropping Emily to death as she cruised to a 15-7, 15-7, 15-10 win. [ 4.5% on Squashlevels]

The first string on the other court pitted Matt Walker (4) against Marcus Lattimer. There was something of a contrast in styles between the players as Matt looked to finish things with his trademark volley-drops whilst Marcus is more of a power player, though he has added some nice touch on the standard drop in recent years. As it panned out, Marcus’ low, hard hitting held the upper hand… mostly. Matt got his game really going in the third, and when he is on, he is really ON, but otherwise this was an off night as Marcus repeatedly caught him with punchy shots from the back corner. It all added up to a frustrating 7-15, 13-15, 15-3, 10-15 loss for Matt.

Next up on Court 2 were Moises Estrelles Navarro (5) and Kevin Hewitt. The Hunts player came into the game with a superb record for the season, sitting on 7-1, but he rapidly became the latest opponent to be surprised both by Moises speed around the court and the development of his attacking game. Moises came out all guns blazing, racing to a 10-1 lead in the opener that set the tone for the opening two games as Kev couldn’t find a way to counter a player who can seemingly get everything back and nowadays also puts away many of his own chances – well, this is a pretty deadly combination. One rally where Kev played the obvious and seemingly right forehand drop, only for Moises to somehow chase it down and then smack a crosscourt winner stands out in the mind; Kev looked completelity perplexed – we have all been there, mate. Moises had to worked harder in the third as a few mistakes crept into his game (pushing for the win) and Kev tried to wrong-foot him more (never give up), but right at the conclusion a series of "get everything back, make no mistakes” rallies from Moises saw him stretch away to finish off a comprehensive 15-6, 15-4, 15-12 win… against, remember, an opponent who has been tearing things up in the league this season. [ 7.1% on squashlevels]

The destiny of the bonus points was still in the balance as Richard Gouriet (3) took the court against Rick Watson. Richard has found county league Squash a struggle since he came into the team in the autumn, having spent 10 seasons away from the game. Match sharpness and fitness were initially lacking, but these are now coming back… but in the meantime Richard had endured a number of losses that hurt the confidence – we were not seeing the same player on the match court as we see in practice and internal friendlies. However, last time out, Richard had claimed a game for the first time, so hopes were high this could be the breakthrough. Those hopes looked slightly, well, hopeful after a first game which featured some tension-driven errors, but a determined effort saw Richard push through the nerves to claim the second and third. Fighting tooth-and-nail was a way through, as having got himself 2-1 up we finally saw some of Richard’s true abilities in fourth as he moved Rick around the court and then killed things off on the drop. It added up to a 9-15, 15-11, 15-12, 15-8 win… and a clearly relieved Richard. Hopefully that is the monkey off his back.

Richard’s string concluded whilst Jan Brynjolffssen (2) and Paul Goodwin were on court, so this one was about the margin of our victory rather than which team would come out on top on the night. A previous meeting at Hunts four years ago had seen Paul give Jan the run around, boasting him to death, but this time Jan was able to keep the ball wide, crisp and deep enough to force Paul into the back corners, where he had time to get to the boasts, rather than Paul boasting from the service line. Jan was having particular joy countering Paul’s short shots with straight drives, often catching the Hunts man racing forward expecting a crosscourt or drop instead. There were also a few weird exchanges at the front wall as both men reacted to scramble back balls whilst off balance… but most of these ended Jan’s way as he managed to hold his movement and not fall for Paul’s attempts to wrong-foot him. A slight wobble at 13-8 in the third with a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes from Jan made for a tense finish, but a straight backhand overhead volley kill (a shot which worked well on the night) at 13-12 set up a match point and a forehand drop closed it out as Jan picked up a 15-10, 15-7, 15-12 victory. [ 8.3 on squashlevels]

It all added up to a 18-4 win, or a 14 point margin of victory. That cut Hunts gap on us from 15 points down to just 1, with a single round of matches remaining. Exactly what the 2nds will need is still to be determined though as another match this week is Cambridge 3s (level with us prior to the Hunts match) hosting leaders Stamford. The outcome of that one will set up the final day, but prior to it this is how the top of the standings looks:

Tight, innit?

Melbourn won 20-0

Having seen our seven match winning run ended at Cambridge the previous week, and with the top two having gained ground by posting 4-1 and 5-0 victories whilst many of ours were 3-2, the 2nds were under a little pressure to deliver a comprehensive win away to bottom side Frank Lee (… who we only beat 3-2 (18-8) at home). A little pressure apparently helps as the boys and girls ruthlessly delivered a 20-0 mauling.

The first on were Bradshaw and son, Kate B (1) taking on Dan Foster and Will B (4) up against Daniel Pereira. Lets start with Will’s match, which was entirely one-sided as his movement and shot-weight were too much for Daniel. One particular pattern repeated many times: Will drops into the front backhand corner, Daniel rushes up to it and counter-drops into the same corner. He then stops, clearly expecting this pattern to be a winning one (maybe it is against his typical opponents) but Will was mobile enough to get back into the front corner, pick the counter drop up and send a trickle boast around the front corner that Daniel couldn’t get to. This was just one way Will won points in a landslide 3-0 victory.

Meanwhile next door Kate was taking on Dan Foster, who is an old foe on the Cambs scene. This one wasn’t as totally one-sided as Will’s match but was still a cruise for Kate as her patterns of driving Dan back and then pouncing on lifted defensive shots to attack the front corners were exposing the Frank Lee players movement. Kate was always in command of things as she rattled through a 3-0 win that saw the side 2-0 up.

It was 3-0 in double quick time as Sean Hamilton (5) proved much too strong for Paul Walker. This one went Sean’s way on his movement and his shot depth, repeatedly catching Paul out in the back corners. When the Frank Lee player did try and hustle forwards Sean’s crisp shots went past him before he was ready, Sean racing through 3-0.

Whilst that was happening Colm O’Gorman (3) was making heavier weather of beating Mat Williams, particularly in the first game which got close and tense at times. A key shot, with the score at something like 10-8, was a backhand half-volley from Colm that flubbed just above the tin and dropped for a winner. Luck of the Irish. Having scrambled through the game, Colm adjusted in the next two to hold a higher ‘T’ position as a counter to Mat’s effective (and unexpected) attacking boasts, and also a pattern change to counter-drop off the boast rather than driving for depth, as driving was just sending it back to Mat as he covered the back corners. These tweaks saw Colm win going away, 3-0.

The final match on was the tightest of the evening as Jan Brynjolffssen (2) took on James Hustwayte. The opening game saw Jan generally a point in front but also unable to shake James off as the home player stayed in the battle, and Jan also made a few uncharacteristic mistakes. Certain patterns were working for him, though, such as driving James into the deep backhand corner [what a novel Squash tactic!] and also straight counter-drops on the forehand off the boast that worked more by width, clinging to the side wall, than by their shortness. However, the second game was level pegging at 10-all until James made about four consecutive errors on what should probably have been his kills. Let off the hook Jan stepped it up a notch in the third, especially towards the end of the game as he gained increasing control of the ‘T’ to complete a 3-0 win.

The aim for the evening of 20 points was secured, and we were all done before 9pm. On to the bar… and for the team on to a final pair of fixtures against top two sides Hunts County and Stamford. We are 15 points behind Hunts and 27 behind Stamford, which are big gaps at this stage, but with the head-to-heads and also with Stamford due to visit third-in-the-table Cambridge 3s this week (level on points with us and so also needing to win) it is not all over yet.

Melbourn lost 8-15

The last month of the season promises to be make or break time for the 2nds. The team had had a week off for the spring half-term, which was a time to examine our league position. This had us fourth in the table, despite being on a Division 3 best record of 10 wins from 12 matches – this was because too many of the matches recently had ended up as wins by three strings to two; we had won seven in a row, but had gradually lost ground during that as all but the first of these had been by the narrowest margin. Some might argue all those 3-2s shows we are at the right level in Division 3 and the ambition to go up was not necessarily well founded… but that was what the team had decided to try and pursue. One has to have ambition.

All those pyrrhic victories meant that Melbourn needed direct head-to-head wins against the sides just above them in the league. Fortunately, we had those opponents still to play; Stamford (top), Hunts County (2nd)… and Cambridge 3, who sat just above us and hosted us for this match. They were also the last side to beat us, winning 18-7 (4 strings to 1) at Melbourn back in the autumn. Lots of motivation, then.

The first matches on court saw Will Bradshaw (5) take on Toni Coppolaro and Melbourn skipper Colm O’Gorman (2) face off with Toby Harris. Lets be traditional and start with the fifth string, especially as this one showcased a superb performance from teenager Will, whose ability to fly around the court really undermined Toni’s game – and Toni is well known on the Cambs County circuit for his ability to break up play and find winners. However, whatever he tried in the first Will was retrieving it, and whilst Toni made adjustments in the next two which resulted in closer game scores, Will always looked in command as he rounded off an impressive 15-11, 15-8, 15-12 victory.

Meanwhile, next door, things were not going so well for Colm against Toby. The first was an early turning point as Colm had his nose just in front towards the end of the game, but got caught pushing for the line. That saw Toby take it to a breaker and though the home player butchered a forehand drop shot to win it 16-14, he took the next two points to claim the game. Colm had been a little out-of-sorts in the first game and this mounted thereafter as he tried to attack a player who was solid in defence and happy to counter-punch. These tactics didn’t work, Colm falling to a 15-17, 8-15, 9-15 loss.

Next on court was Moises Estrelles Navarro (4) against Peter Connaughton. The first game saw home advantage really at play as Peter lobbed it up into the dark spaces in the rafters of the Churchill College courts, Moises not coping with the volleys called for. Game two saw Moises take an approach of trying the same thing… and discovering that Peter was lobbing it up because he was aware that is what he would least want to face as well. That saw Moises level up, but maintaining a style of play that is not his natural one was a challenge and mistakes in execution cost him the third. The match was on a knife-edge towards the end of the fourth, with both players knowing it was all or nothing – if Moises could force it to a decider then Peter looked like he might run out of gas, but could Moises find the kills to do so? He had a definite chance at 14-13, but couldn’t get his balance to pull the trigger, and then fell 15-14 behind. The next rally ended in controversy and chaos; Moises was out of position and initially went the wrong way, stepping towards the front backhand corner, but Peter mis-timed his drive and pulled it a bit towards himself. Moises adjusted and hustled to the ball… but was his racket up in time to play a shot? If it was, Peter hadn’t cleared the ball and was in the swing plane making it a stroke, but if he wasn’t then it was no let and match over. Plus who created the interference as well? Peter for not clearing or Moises for dog-legging his line? Or both. To complicate matters the call was very black-and-white; it was either a “No Let” or a “Stroke”. The call from the marker was “No Let” which went down very badly with Moises, who was disconsolate to lose 10-15, 15-5, 9-15, 14-16.

Whilst all this palaver was happening, Matt Walker (3) was taking the court a bit gingerly as he tried to play on a somewhat suspect ankle. What he needed was a nice, calm, slow game. What he got was maybe the fittest and fastest opponent in the Cambs League, Gift Nuka. So anything but calm and slow. The opening game saw Matt attempting to rush things, leading to errors, however a chat between games advising patience and setting up his preferred attacking opportunities seemed to have the effect – the logic being that if Gift had a game of high accuracy, he wouldn’t be playing in Div.3 given his outstanding movement. Maintaining the pinpoint precision on the volley drops is not always straightforward, as is holding off one that is nearly-but-not-quite in the slot, but when Matt managed that (games two and four) he dominated… and game three was just good enough to wrap up a 9-15, 15-4, 16-14, 15-6 win. What injured ankle?

That meant it all went down to the top strings, where Jan Brynjolffssen (1) took on Daniyal Jafree. This proved to be a competitive match, and also one played in a good spirit with both players calling things against themselves that hadn’t been spotted by the marker. The first two games were close, but always tipping Daniyal’s way as he was more effective from the back of the court, repeatedly catching Jan a quarter of a step out by straightening shots when he didn’t seem to have space to do so. Teammate advice was Jan needed to both straighten up his lines as Daniyal was hovering to pounce on crosscourts, and also go for it more as trading from the back corners was simply a route to death by a thousand cuts. So he tried, looking to attack on his volleys into the front nicks. Let’s say this worked, as pretty well every one hit the target. Back in it now, could Jan maintain it? Sadly not, both because he didn’t truly believe and also because Daniyal had clearly decided he had seen enough volley kills and kept the ball down in game four. The end result was a 9-15, 10-15, 15-7, 4-15 loss for Jan.

And so we had another 3-2, but this time a losing effort. It turns out that winning 3-2, whilst not ideal, is much more fun. Let’s go back to doing that, shall we? Also, taking one match at a time from here on out is probably a good idea.