Melbourn lost 5-9

Another strong Melbourn 2nds selection had high hopes of springing an upset on Division 3 leaders Radlett 3, who had picked up 35 out of a possible 36 points this season prior to this clash.
Thomas Higginson (2) was first up against Jordan Clements in what turned out to be the most entertaining contest and also the decisive one of the evening. Thomas started confidently and soon built a convincing lead in the opener with strong attacking shots and impressive defence. He took the game 15-11. Jordan responded in kind and piled pressure on Thomas to take the second 15-7. The momentum shifted again in the third and at 8-8 Thomas surged ahead to take it 15-9. Jordan was not done and fought back hard and forced a strong finish at 15-4. In the fifth Thomas was just about keeping up with Jordan but at 8-9 Jordan pulled away impressively to win the game 15-8 and the match 3-2.
Roger Woodfield (3) struggled to impose his game on John Batten who developed strong winning positions often with some well-judged attacking boasts which put Roger out of position. Having lost the first game, Roger relieved some of this pressure by lifting the ball to the back of the court but John maintained his grip and took the second game 15-10. In the third Roger started to fight back but his 6-5 lead was quickly snuffed out by a run of lost points. At 7-13 it was too late for a comeback and the game was lost 10-15 and the match 0-3.
Miles Jeanneret (1) faced Tony Stewart and steadily built a solid lead in the first game. Tony pulled the score back to 12-14 but Miles efficiently took the game 15-12. The second game was neck and neck until 10-10 when Miles pulled away to win 15-11. The reality was that Miles played controlled squash with few unforced errors while Tony was not as consistent and his mistakes were more in number than his winning shots. As the game progressed Tony visibly tired while Miles had sufficient reserves to win the game. It was the same pattern in the third and so Miles won that (also 15-11) and the match 3-0.

Skipper Roger Woodfield said “The result turned on the second-string match which was fast entertaining squash with many long exhausting rallies. The momentum swung back and forth and Thomas was unlucky to lose the match 2-3. As always Thomas played very good squash and gave his all. Although we lost the match we did pick up 5 valuable points”