Melbourn II lost 9-16

Melbourn 2nds hosted this first round match of Cambs League 3 having been promoted in March 2020 when the pandemic stopped all sports activities.

First up was Mark Asker (4) who quickly found himself in a very tight encounter with a very experienced and skilful player. He narrowly lost the first game but came back well to take the second. His opponent then built a meaningful lead to win the third and then started well in the fourth. Unfortunately, injury struck and he had to retire, leaving Asker the winner 3-2. Colm O’Gorman (2) started well and won the first game 15-11. His opponent responded vigorously and worked really hard to get back into the match. He won the second and then never lost control of the match so Melbourn lost the string 1-3. Playing his first match for Melbourn, Liam Murphy (1) struggled to find his rhythm and lost the first game. He then fought back well to win the second 15-13. But his opponent re established control and won the next 2 games with some relentless pressure and some devastating drop shots; the string was lost 1-3. Gareth Jones (3) simply outplayed and outgunned his opponent with unrelenting pressure and forced a fairly comfortable 3-0 win. With the match situation at 2-2, Jamie Ware (5), also playing his first match for Melbourn, quickly realised he was in for a tough match. The pace was fast and furious at times but Ware played well to take the first game 15-10. His opponent responded well to narrowly win the second game. Although every point was fiercely contested, the Comberton player was just a bit more consistent and was able to win rallies with some fine shots. Comberton won this final string and the match by 3 strings to 2.

Skipper Roger Woodfield said "This was tough fixture for our return to Cambs Div 3. Our team competed really well but, in the final analysis, were just beaten by a stronger side. Nonetheless, we picked up 9 valuable points. Great to see Liam and Jamie play their first matches for Melbourn and strengthen our squad"