Melbourn won 15-8

Liam Murphy playing at string 5, his first appearance for the 1st team, started well mixing and varying the play. It was looking to be a close opening game. Unfortunately his opponent had other ideas in some of the front court exchanges, driving the ball long and out of reach into the back corners. Liam fought well to control his play but just missed out on the first game 11-15. The second game was similar to the first, with some close-quarter exchanges again at the front of the court, but alas, the second went 11-15 following the same score line as the first game. The third game saw Liam play some improved length that pressured his opponent but this wasn't enough overall and although a close 11-15 (it's a hattrick!) score line Liam lost his match 3-0. 

Ed Aspeling (4th String) started extremely well, playing with an aggressive style that saw him win the opening game convincingly 15-4. His opponent however started to find his own game in the second, seeing him produce some crafty drop shots and with a mixture of pace. Ed unfortunately lost the second game 7-15. His opponent continued this play into the third game and Ed was soon faced being 1-2 down. Although Ed made some great efforts to level the points in the forth game, executing some excellent low hard kill shots that produced a string of points this wasn’t enough in the end to change the final game score and his 1-3 match loss. 

Skipper, Mark Oppen (3rd string) back from injury didn't have the easiest of starts, loosing the first 15-13 and then the second game similarly, this had taken its toll on him physically. 2-0 down, fortunately Mark's length and lobbed shots improved, removing the midcourt from his tricky opponent. This changed the game, creating more opportunities for playing short balls off of the front wall from a forced boast or loose return. It was a battle but Mark won the vital third game 15-13 (but no cigar!) and to save the match. The fourth game was better again, seeing improved shot selection that drew the match out to 2-2. The hard work paid off as his opponent was clearly tiring and Mark won the deciding game 15-9 and his match 3-2.   

Vinod Duraikan (2nd String) Started well against his opponent, taking the first game 15-6. With a combination of his opponent gaining more confidence and Vinod relaxing, his opponent picked up more points in the second and third game, but not enough to threaten the final result. Vinod won the final two games 15-9 and 15-11 and so his match 3-0. 

Matt Sampson (1st String) was up against a youthful opponent but this 'youthfulness' seemed like it may have been elsewhere on the night as his game was not at all at the level to create competitive play. Even after Matt kindly adjusted his shots to help generate some sort of rallies, that still couldn't enthuse his opponents game and although Matt won comfortably 3-0 (15-7/15-8/15-6) , it was not the most gratifying of wins.  

Skipper Mark commented on the evenings play "It was great to see Liam Murphy in his debut match for the team, although not the result he'd have liked, the games were still very close. The overall team result on the night was far tighter than expected, the third string match was the recovery of the night"