Melbourn lost 3-10

Fortunately the heat wave earlier in the week had subsided and this match was played in more typical July temperatures.
First up was Roger Woodfield (3) playing Ben Franks. Roger started well and soon established a meaningful 11-7 lead which was suddenly swept away by a flurry of powerful shots which left Roger wondering why he had just lost the first game 11-15. Perceptive comments from team mate Colm saw Roger tighten up his squash in the second game with much deeper and wider drives with less use of the drop shot on a very warm court. Ben’s 6-1 lead was turned round and at 13-13 Roger was able to exert more pressure to win 15-13. Roger continued the tactics into the third game and a run of 9 points put Roger into a strong position at 14-10. But Ben was not done and fought back hard to make the score 14-14. The momentum shifted again and Roger took the game 16-14 with some well chosen shots. This effectively was the match decider with Roger controlling the fourth game, winning it 15-8 and the match 3-1.
Meanwhile, on the other court, Sean Hamilton (2) was having a very hard time with Matt McGill who was dominating the rallies with his exceptional reach and accuracy. Sean lost the first game 6-15. The second game continued in the same vein with Sean losing 12 points in one run of play. Then we saw Sean fight back and play with his usual tenacity and doggedness. However, a run of 5 points was too little too late and the game was lost. The third game was much more competitive but Matt continued his firm grip on the game and Sean lost the match 0-3.
Colm O’Gorman (1) faced Scot Adam, a powerful player with excellent racket skills. The first game was neck and neck until Colm pulled ahead to 14-12. But Scot competed fiercely and took the game 16-14. The second game went the same way but this time Scot kept just ahead all the way and took many of the very long rallies which made for great viewing. Come the third game, Colm started to run out of steam and he could not withstand the torrent of powerful shots from Scot. The match was lost 0-3.
Skipper Roger Woodfield said “It was a very lively match played in a competitive but friendly fashion. On the day, we were beaten by a better team who were able to dominate 2 of the 3 strings”