Friday 26 November 2010

Grange 4ths @ BOS - Thursday 25th November 2010

Grange 4ths went down 0-5 for the second week in a row, but as you'll see below, that headline really doesn't tell the whole story. Just a handful of points going Grange's way instead of BOS's in the four close five set matches would have made the difference between a team win and a loss on the night.

First up on the infeasibly hot Colinton courts (boy…those gas heaters must have the own personal hole in the ozone layer…) was Brian Sloan at no 5 against Phil Brown. Rarely can there have been a match of two so evenly matched players in skill and style. The ball was whizzing around like a golf ball rather than a squash ball and the players' favoured styles of hard-hit boasts and cross-courts and keen-ness to occupy the T gave quite a lot of work for the umpire. The match see-sawed 4-9, 9-5, 5-9, 9-3 and when balanced at 7-7 in the 5th it was anybody's for the taking….so Phil took it. Could have easily gone the other way but Phil's slightly better concentration at key points in the match swung it. A 2-3 loss for Brian.

In his second match for the 4ths, John Loftus at No3 was up against the tough Bob Porch. John was in the match for long periods but was unable to convert numerous hand-outs to points and Bob steadily crept away with each game, his very fine backhand drop giving John particular trouble. John competed well in most of the rallies but a little too often the loose shot would let Bob in to undo the good work. The games ended 3-9, 0-9, 2-9 for or 0-3 loss for John.

A titanic battle was had at no2 between Jonathan Frame and Robin Nisbet. Looking at the scoresheet as I type this I'd have to say that I've not often seen so much ink used on a single page. Every game was very hard fought with points only being scored rarely between high numbers of hand-outs. Jon took the first two 9-5 and 9-6 and was looking reasonably comfortable but then Robin returned the favour 5-9 and 6-9 with Jon perhaps taking his foot off the pedal a little. The final game went right down to the wire with feet to the pedal all round. At 8-8 it was as close as a squash match gets…but once again the BOS player was the one to hold firm to take it 8-10. A close 2-3 loss for Jonathan.

Meanwhile, an entirely parallel story was playing out on the court next door in the no4 match between Andy Whitelaw and Alan Cochrane. Nothing much to pick between the players as they battled out a long match with the first four games going 2-9, 9-6, 9-6 and 6-9. Eventually though, Alan's fitness edge started to tell and Andy's resistance was finally breached as his 4-3 advantage was reversed to a 4-9 loss. A 2-3 loss for Andy.

After the three titanic battles witnessed so far it was no doubt hoped by all concerned that no1s Mark Dutton and Rob Norris would get things over and done with quickly to allow the serious business of beer and pizzas to start. But the Titanic sailed off on a fourth voyage ….and another monster five setter was the result. Both players worked very hard in the heat of the court and every point had to be earnt with a bucket or two of sweat. The first game could gave gone either way with Rob just edging it 7-9. Mark was much more comfortable in the second once he switched to focusing on backhand depth to minimise the effectiveness of Rob's forehand drop and good volley coverage from the T. A 9-4 win was the result through some good touch and drops. Rob managed to dominate the third for a 9-4 win but Mark came out in the fourth like he meant business and raced to an 8-0 lead. Rob stopped the rot but it was too late and 9-3 was the result. The final game was marked on the back of the scoresheet since all room had been used up on the front. Rob was on top for most of the early exchanges and was looking a cert once he reached match point at 3-8. The talking point of the night was to follow, though. The crowd was already on its way to the bar once Rob smashed an unretrievable drive hard and low to the back forehand corner to leave Mark completely stranded at the front of the court. Somehow Mark's newly three-stone lighter frame managed to cover the infeasible distance, ending up a crumpled heap in the back corner but managing to contrive a desperate backwall boast that somehow avoided passing satellites and dropped gently towards Rob who was waiting poised in the front forehand corner to complete the formality of the match winning bunt. But …the ball took no more than a molecule of paint on its vertical descent down the front wall before landing stone dead in the side-wall nick and rolling across Bob's toes to complete what was generally agreed in the bar afterwards to be one of the most audacious and underserved match point saves ever seen. Mark saved two more match points on his way to 7-8 and a glimmer of hope of an infeasible win…..but it was an iceberg too far and Rob held his nerve to take it 7-9. A 2-3 loss for Mark and a nice little lie down afterwards...

A clean sweep for BOS, but a lot less difference between the sides than that indicates.

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