Melbourn lost 8-17

The final match of the season sent the 2nds on their longest trek north (by distance, if not by travel time) as they headed up to Stamford to take on the hosts 2nds.

Preferring the SatNav to the JanNav, which makes bold claims it can’t substantiate about “knowing the way through Stamford” (see match reports passim) most of the team arrived just about on time…only to find the entrance way to the car park blocked by Matt W, who hadn’t got the message about parking up and then knocking on the Squash Club door to be buzzed through the gate. There always has to be some transport fuss on a trip up to Stamford – it’s traditional.

Once we had got everyone through the gate, and placated irate swimming pool users who were delayed by 60 seconds dropping little Jenny and Johnny off, we were into the action, starting with the 4th and 5th strings. At 5 James Storer was taking on Gregory Smith, and it was soon clear there was very little between the players. Both were playing clean and structured Squash, with James going for his boast-kills and Greg opting instead for straight drops. It all came down to execution… but this just shaded Greg’s way in the first two, which caused James head to drop a fraction in the third as he lost 12-15, 17-19, 9-15.

Meanwhile Moises Estrelles Navarro (4) was taking on Will Stuart Jones in what would prove the match of the evening. The first was an indication of things to come as it was exceedingly tight, with Moises chasing and ability to pick up the near impossible matching up well with Will’s clean attacks. Shot choices at the end of the game were an issue as Moises lost it on a tie-break, but a strategy change to push Will back and then go short worked very well in the next two as the match flipped on it's head. At 2-1 up and with Will blowing the fourth seemed Moises for the winning… expect it he got overenthusiastic about it and shifted from the counter-punch tactics that had been working so well to trying to straight out attack to end rallies swiftly instead. This wasn’t the play, the match coming back to 2-2, but a reset after the game to going back to the grind worked as Moises, who drops were the best we have seen from him yet, picked up a notable* 16-18, 15-11, 15-10, 7-15, 15-9 win.
* - per Squashlevels 1634 (Moises) to 1977 (Will), so an upset and a 4.8% level rise for EL Bandido.

Moises game took a while – by the time he was finished Matt Walker (3) was halfway through against Neal Cooke. At this point the score stood at a game all as Matt won the first on a breaker but then lost the second looking to push too hard to attack before he had really created the opening. A touch more patience worked a treat in game three though, Matt hitting lengths to force Neal into the back corners before looking for the cut-out volley drops that are the cornerstone of his game. This pattern, once set, is very hard to break and this lead to a fourth that flowed all in Matt’s direction as he rounded out a strong 16-14, 9-15, 15-11, 15-2 success.

The 2nds were 2-1 up – could either of the top two convert to claim a win? The first to try was Gareth Jones (2), who took on Stamford skipper Jon Oakley. The first two games were shared as the players tested each other out, Gareth claiming the second as his death or glory attacking approach worked. However from game three on Jon appeared to have sussed Gareth as he kept the Melbourn player deep and turning, and then pounced on any skewed balls. Gareth never gave up the fight but it was all running away from him as he fell 10-15, 15-13, 9-15, 8-15.

That left the 2nds hopes resting on Jan Brynjolffssen (1) who took on George Montgomery. This was a match between two pretty similar players who were both looking to construct rallies and keep things going with some lung-busting defence. Winners were at a premium in the first two games, Jan edging the opener but then getting behind in the second and unable to come back. The third was the turning point of the encounter as Jan worked his way into a 12-11 lead… but then made a poor choice on a risk/reward serve to give away the advantage. One mistake was allowed to spill into two and then three and George was two games to one up. The aftershocks of this decided the fourth as George’s confidence surged, and he began to lunge for drops really well, whilst Jan got a bit chin-on-chest. An 8-2 start was way too much to recover, George closing things out comfortably as Jan fell to a 15-13, 10-15, 12-15, 7-15 defeat that meant an overall 7-18 loss for the 2nds.

Despite the slightly disappointing end, albeit from a very good night of Squash where everyone had a proper workout, the 2s can still feel happy with their final finishing position of 6th in Division 3. It’s a few spot down from the last couple of seasons, but with the loss of one of the top order of the team for the season that represents a decent return for Colm and the boys and girls.