Melbourn won 20-0

Melbourn's first men's squash team were hosting at home this week to Peterborough's 3rd team. The outcome of this match for Melbourn was important as at least 17 points would guarantee them the division 2 league title and entry into the 1st division for next season. However Melbourn did have a back up of their last match of the season (away at Cambridge Squash Club) if they fell short of the points required in this one.
Unfortunately for Peterborough a last minute illness meant that their usual 1st string player couldn't play. With their regular 2 also unavailable that left their 3rd seeded player, Neal Cooke, at the number 1 spot for their team! With Neal playing up two positions, meant Peterborough's remaining team members would, most likely, all be playing a higher seeded player - this is a tough pill to swallow for any team facing this challenge. Neal is a good player, but playing against Matt, the money had to be on Melbourn's number 1 winning. To make matters worse for Peterborough, they couldn't find a fifth player to fill the gaps from losing their 1&2 players so conceded the fifth string to Melbourn before the night had begun. For Melbourn this also meant a last minute change to our line-up, but fortunately Kate offered to step out from her squash duties to have a well-earned rest after all her recent nationals' matches.
With Melbourn's line-up confirmed and the team already 3 points towards their 2nd division title, the night's squash got off with Ed Aspelling playing at string 4 against his opponent, Alec Sarkissian. Ed started the first game positively, playing his shots low and hard that tested Alec's movement and retrievals to the ball. The first game had some good rallies and Alec's racket skills and boast shots disrupted the flow, but Ed's speed around the court made up for any accuracy from Alec's racket and Ed won the first game 15-10. The second game followed similarly to the first, seeing Ed maintain his movement and shot selection that handed him the second game, again 15-10. It was not looking like Alec was threatening to take control of the third game, with Ed continuing his excellent level of play and it was a very positive to see Ed win the third game 15-9 and his match 3-0 (15-10/15-10/15-9).
Next up to play was captain Mark Oppen at 3rd string. Tim Millington, who Mark had played some years before, hadn't played for the team in the first half of the season. Tim can be a very difficult player to overcome and although Mark had a positive start to his first game he wasn't playing as well as he could and although the first game he won 15-11, a match win was not a certain. The subsequent games were much closer seeing Tim with game ball in the second game twice, but fortunately Mark was able to prevent him from converting and won a very close second game 17-15.  The third game was a replay of the second but Mark was able to keep ahead when it counted and also with a little fortune, Mark won the third game 17-15 and so his match 3-0 (15-11/17-15/17-15). This match had the makings of a 3-2, but thankfully for Mark that didn't happen!
Following on to steady the ship after the wobbly performance seen from Melbourn's skipper, Vinod Duraikan came on court to play his opponent, Jeff Fillmore at second string. The first game saw Vinod easing into his rhythm, taking half the game to find his shot range and lengths. Jeff's movement wasn't as good as Vinod's and although he made great efforts to keep in the rallies, Vinod always had the upper hand, taking the first game 15-8. The second game saw Jeff up the ante, attacking from many angles. Vinod responded by adapting his play to try and keep the shots clear and wide of Jeff's line-of-approach to the ball. This worked for Vinod (and for Melbourn's marker) as the rallies became less contentious and the points flowed much better. It was never looking like Vinod was troubled by the play and the second game went to Melbourn 15-9. The third game saw Jeff's movement hampered and maybe with some frustration Vinod's opponent came off court early and Vinod took the game 15-2 and his match 3-0 (15-8/15-9/15-2).
So with Melbourn's team win confirmed already, Matt Sampson was next up to play Neal Cooke at first string. Matt was looking good in the first game, maybe not quite in his groove but to his credit, Neal did put up a valiant fight and the rallies were at a level that gave Matt a good workout. The first game Matt won 15-6 and the second game went to a similar score-line 15-5. Matt was certainly working hard to maintain his level of play but for Neal it was to be a three game straight loss, with Matt taking the third game 15-7 and so his match 3-0 (15-6/15-5/15-7).
The evening was finished off with an excellent get together and Thai red chicken curry meals supplied by the Queen's Head, Harston.
The skipper’s comment on the evening was "It was an excellent 20-0 win for us, which got the points we needed for the 2nd division title. It was unfortunate Peterborough's team were weaker than they would have liked, but the squash was still competitive on the night".