Melbourn won 10-5

Recent wins had pushed the 2nds up the Herts Summer League Division 4 table, but this one was going to be a challenge – visitors Nuffield 3rds sat in second place in the standings.

The first test came for Moises Estrelles Navarro (2), who took on the St. Albans’ side’s skipper, Mark Weedon. This match showcased the new-and-improved Moises (courtesy of work with Melbourn Head Coach Chris) – no longer just a dogged retrieve with ultra-fast court coverage, but now a player looking to dominate and finish off rallies. He did this excellently in the first and third, riding out a sterner challenge in the second to rattle up a 15-6, 15-13, 15-10 win.

After this the match split on to two courts, with Colm O’Gorman (1) taking on Nick Henderson on one of them and Will Bradshaw (3) facing off with Julian Craxton on the other.
Colm got off to a flier against Nick, winning the opener. But he found his opponent wasn’t going away, and was also rather good. The match was levelled up and then things got really, really close, Nick winning the third 15-13 and the fourth going to a tie-break. Colm was showing all his Irish fighting spirit, but Nick ultimately had the slightly cleaner and more classical game and this meant it finished 15-10, 10-15, 13-15, 16-18 against Colm. Who was both disappointed to lose and also slightly relieved he didn’t have to play a fifth when the tank was already near empty.

No such luck for Will and Julian though as their game swayed this way and that. Will started off like a house on fire, a display of power hitting in the middle of the game building a substantial lead that allowed him to close things out. However Julian is ultra-experienced and completely wily and he was never going to allow a teenaged opponent to play the match of his terms. Instead Julian began to break things up with trickle boasts and exquisite touch, pegging Will back to all-square. In previous summers this change in fortunes could have frustrated Will, but a new maturity saw him knuckle down to win the third… and then repeat the trick to play a really clean, positive and aggressive deciding game after Julian had again had him in knots in the fourth. Will eventually came through 15-7, 12-15, 15-9, 9-15, 15-9 for what may prove a landmark win in his development – lots of players never get their head around the variations and sharp match-play that Julian throws at everybody.

Will’s win was more than just a personal triumph, it also secured victory on the night for Melbourn by a score of 10-5. Enough to lift the 2nds up to third in the table, 6 points adrift of Nuffield but with a game in hand – they have a bye in the final week of the opening half whilst the 2nds play Ickleford. A win there and the side could be in second spot at the halfway point of the season. Which would be a lovely marker for everybody.