Melbourn won 16-7

Following a great start to the league campaign at Stamford last week, this was always going to be a tougher assignment and so it proved.

First up was Colm at string 4 against Sanjay. Colm was quick out of the blocks and carved out an early league which settled him and while Sanjay fought back, Colm was able to stay a few points ahead and took the game comfortably 15-9. An experienced player like Sanjay was not going to be a pushover and in the second, he forced Colm to retrieve more than he liked, forcing errors and Sanjay cruised to a 8-15 win. The third game was neck and neck all the way to 9-9, and then Colm found an extra bit of energy, stepping forward to pick up the drops and was rewarded with a series of points to take the game 15-10. Colm kept up the pressure in the fourth, working hard to get into a 7-1 lead. Sanjay piled on the pressure to recover the situation but the gap was too much and Colm took the game 15-9 and the match.

Aidan kindly stepping in as string 2 for Jan who was unavailable, played a very fit and experienced player in James. Aidan's power and accuracy put James in a lot of difficulty in the first game and dominated, leading throughout to win it 15-11. It looked as though Aidan has the measure of his opponent and on course to win the match, however a slight back tweak all of sudden and Aidan was hampered, restricting his game. Bravely he battled through the second forcing it to 14-14, but couldn't stop James taking the game 15-17. It was becoming more difficult for Aidan, and James was energised from winning the second game. The result became inevitable but credit to Aidan for playing in the circumstances. James took the match 1-3.

Gareth was next up at string 5 and against a new player for Cambridge, Jamie. The first game was of a very high standard and very entertaining with lots of long rallies including driving, dropping and retrieving. Gareth was able to stay in the rallies, playing accurately and confidently, making almost no errors and managed to get a 12-1 lead with his opponent having played quite well. Gareth took the game 15-5. Gareth kept the pressure up in the second game, and although Jamie managing to stay in it for the first half of the game, Gareth was playing too accurately and assertively, and took the game convincingly 15-8. The third followed a similar pattern, Gareth playing extremely well again to take the game 15-6 and the match.

Miles playing at string 1 against his previous club was good for his motivation and taking on his old pal Ben, he immediately got the pitch of it, getting to 9-1 very quickly in the first game. Miles cruised to a 15-5 win. Ben started the second game like an express train, dragging Miles into a game of touch squash at the front and made the most of it to get to 1-7 up. Miles knew his tactics needed to change and once he varied his game he managed to win point after point (winning 12 points in a row!!) and very impressively took the game 15-9. While Ben also started the third game strongly, Miles was ready for it and again once he found his rhythm, he cruised to a 15-6 win and the match.

Last up, playing at string 3, Liam was up against Keith, again another new player for Cambridge and as it turned out a very strong player who could easily compete in the higher divisions. Liam made a great fight of it however. In the first game, aside from a burst of points in the middle of the game, Liam competed excellently showing his capability to match Keith's level for periods. Keith took it 7-15 but the scoreline was a little unfair to Liam. The second game was a little more in Keith's favour but again Liam was showing that he could mix it. This game was 9-15 to Keith. In the third game, Liam went for it and was rewarded. He dominated from the T and forced Keith to the corners, and played accurate and determined squash to take the game 15-7. Liam took this form into the fourth game and led early on, however Keith was somehow able to find a way to get Liam back under pressure and took a series of points in a row to eek out a 5-10 lead which he didn't give up, the game ending 7-15 and the match going to Keith.

Skipper Colm noted 'this was a very satisfying evening with the team competing very well against a strong Cambridge team, special mention to Gareth who played superbly, a thanks to Aidan for filling in last minute, to Liam for having the toughest match (a bit like all of last season) and well done Miles for overcoming the emotion of playing against your previous team mates and winning convincingly again'.