Thursday 27 November 2014

Grange 4 versus CCS6 – Tuesday 25/11/2014; Venue – Grange Sports Club

Tonight we were playing Colinton Castle 6 (CCS6) down at the Grange.
Christie and myself were first up playing number 4 & 5 respectively. Both games were won in 4 and both ended with Grange winning them 3-1. I was playing Lynn and having found myself picking up cheap points early in the match, Lynn started to work out my game and before I could respond Lynn took the second set from 1-6 down. Eventually I found a way to start scoring points and after a tight third set, which I managed to sneak, the match was won in the fourth. Meanwhile on the other court Christy lost the first set 7-9 but quickly established himself in the game by winning the next set to love and going on to win the match comfortably.   
Next up was Jamie, who was playing Bob Baikie at number 3. This match was over quickly with Bob winning 3-0. It seemed that every shot hit by Jamie was finding the middle of Bob’s racquet, who then responded with a winner.
Over on the other court Mark was playing Jamie and it seemed that Mark was intent on beating himself and complaining loudly about the quality of his squash and quickly found himself 2-0 down. Mark was becoming increasingly fractious as the game wore on and managed to level the match 2-2. The 5th set followed a similar pattern with Mark arguing against any decision going against him, which earned a conduct warning for dissension, followed by a conduct stroke on the next point. Order was restored and Mark went on to win the set 9-5, for a 3-2 win. Jamie was less than impressed with the outcome.
The last match on court was between the number 1’s which were Dougie and Derek. An enthralling match ensued with Dougie taking the first set 9-3 before Derek struck back by winning the second set 9-7. Dougie then took the third set with a commanding game. Dougie started the fourth set in a similar fashion and with the Pizza’s ordered and the fat lady about to warm up her vocal chords; Derek fought back and levelled to take the game into a fifth set. Despite this setback Dougie regrouped and after some changes of serve early in the set, managed to get his nose in front and seal the win taking the set 9-5 for a 3-2 win.
Match results including ref points was 17-11 to Grange 4. We then retired to the bar for the standard fare of Franco’s pizzas and refreshments. The pizzas were delivered promptly and a few of them had the topping slide over to one side, so extra helpings for those who noticed.

Pos
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points

        
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points

1
1
3
43
0
2
26
2
1
3
36
0
2
38
3
0
0
13
1
3
27
4
1
3
34
0
1
15
5
1
3
33
0
1
17
Total
4
12
159
1
9
123
Competition Points
15
9

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Grange 4 versus Waverley 4 – Tuesday 18/11/2014

Grange 4 versus Waverley 4 – Tuesday 18/11/2014; Venue – Grange Sports Club
This team match was quickly upon us after our last performance on Friday at Edinburgh Sports Club and with a much changed team due to full availability we entertained Waverley 4 on Tuesday 18/11/14 down at the Grange. We found ourselves sharing courts with the national league team which at times doubled the amount of spectators watching the squash on offer.
Jamie and myself were first up playing number 1 & 5 respectively. Both games went to 5, I was having trouble dealing with Chris’s deft lob serves and drop shots to the corner, but managed to grind out a win and Jamie was having a bit a of a battle on the other court and the game was officiated over by a visiting national league ref who kept a lid on things with amongst other things a conduct warning against Colin. Jamie took the match 3-2.
Next up was Rocco and Richard playing at number 4 & 2 respectively. Rocco was up to his usual and lost the first 2 games easily before mounting a spirited comeback to close out a 3-2 win. Richard was too strong for his opponent in the other match and a lot of big hitting from both players saw Richard win 3-0.
Last up was Christy playing Gary at number 3. Christy started well taking the first 9-1, before Gary worked out how play Christy to take the second game 9-7, unfortunately Gary then retired injured early in the 3rd game after pulling a calf muscle and this left Christy to take the match 3-1.    
Match results including ref points was 20-7 to Grange 4. We then retired to the bar for the standard fare of Franco’s pizzas and refreshments to watch the last 30 minutes of the Scotland v England match being shown on the TV and to reflect on the evening events.


Pos
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points

        
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points

1
1
3
38
0
2
27
2
1
3
27
0
0
15
3
1
3
34
0
1
12
Retired
4
1
3
33
0
2
32
5
1
3
32
0
2
30
Total
5
15
164
0
7
116
Competition Points
18
7

Ladies National League side at Bridge of Allan(Tue, Nov 18)

Not sure about the 12-11 game score in Georgia's game - have queried.

Monday 17 November 2014

Grange 4th team away vs ESC7, Friday, November 14

Grange 4 versus ESC7 –Friday 14/11/2014; Venue – Edinburgh Sports Club

This should be called “massacre at the sports club” as we were comprehensively beaten by ESC7.

Not much to say about our overall performance, but well done to Brian and Rocco for at least picking up a couple of points, from what was an ordinary display.
Match results including ref points was 20-5 to ESC7. A few of our team had to get away early and the remainder showed face at the bar to be treated to Chilli Con Carne and suitable refreshments, before everybody made their way into the evening to reflect on a disappointing team display, slightly buoyed by the news that Scotland had just beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in the European championship qualifying game.

PosPlayerRubbersGamesPoints        PlayerRubbersGamesPoints
1Neil Love004James Riches1327
2David Grieve0015Louis Kingdom1328
3Brian Sloan0230Tom Utting1332
4Rocco Pannozzo0124Doug Brown1335
5Bill Marshall0017Johnny Webster1327
Total0390515149
Competition Points318











Wednesday 12 November 2014

Winter minileague #2, 2014

Here are the results of Winter minileague #2.
Click in the frame and scroll down for your league or click here for a full screen view.



Tuesday 4 November 2014

GRG1 Vs ESC4s (29 Octber 2014)

Grange 1 hosted ESC 4 last Wednesday.  Only our third match of the season so still looking to find our stride.  Last minute call off from Matt didn't really help how ever young Andrew Boyd stepped up to make is debut playing at 5.  He had a cracking start against his opponent Sean Morgan by taking the first with some confident volleying which kepted his opponent on the back foot and midly frustrated shall we say!  Andrew took the first and really should have had the second but the ESC made was digging deep and refusing to go away.  With it 1-1  Sean kept stepping it up and eventually came out on top in which was probably the longest match of the night.  Not much in it at the end of the day and great first match from Andrew.

The overall match was won at posisitons 2-4 with the most notable result coming in the form of Angus' 3-2 win over Senga.  Unbeknown at the time but this is were the tie was won.  Great job from Angus sealing this in a game that went back and forth.

A good night for both teams.  We even got papped at the start!



Pos Player Rubbers Games Points Player Rubbers Games Points
1 Will Kerr 0 0 19 Richard Snowden 1 3 29
2 Angus MacPherson 1 3 36 Senga Macfie 0 2 36
3 Tiezheng Yuan 1 3 30 David Coutts 0 1 18
4 Pete Cockburn 1 3 27 Charles Robertson 0 0 16
5 Andrew Boyd 0 1 25 Sean Morgan 1 3 35
Total 3 10 137 2 9 134
Competition Points 13 9

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Grange 4th team vs Watsonsians 4 @ Grange 28/10

Grange 4 versus Watsonians 4 –Tuesday 28/10/2014; Venue – Grange Sports Club
The long awaited home debut playing in the nice new squash facilities was finally upon us and we entertained Watsonians 4, who had a great start to the season winning their first three fixtures.
The team had a great night winning all 5 rubbers with some good solid wins from some of the team and others managing to get over the line by the skin of their teeth. Overall picking up maximum points is always welcome.
Match results including ref points was 20-7 to Grange 4. We then retired to the bar for beer and a wait for the pizzas from Franco’s which seemed to take an age to arrive. Once they turned up and put in front of the hungry diners then they soon disappeared, before everybody said their goodbyes and headed home.

Player
Rubbers
Games
Points

        
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points


1
1
3
27
0
0
8
2
1
3
36
Jason Hargreaves
0
1
20
3
1
3
37
0
2
27
4
1
3
40
0
2
31
5
1
3
27
0
0
7
Total
5
15
167
0
5
93
Competition Points
18
5

Thursday 16 October 2014

Grange Squash O'Brien Bucket Handicap Competition

The O'Brien Bucket Handicap Competition is now open for subscribers!

Start Date:

29th October 2014 (Wednesday)

Final Night:

28th November 2014 (Friday)

Get down to the club and sign up on the form on the notice board!

Grange Squash Over 50's Competition

The Over 50's Competition is now open for subscribers!

Start Date:

17th November 2014 (Monday)

Final Night:

12th December 2014 (Friday)

Get down to the club and sign up on the form on the notice board!

Grange Team Calendar

The Grange Teams' fixture lists have now been loaded into the Grange Calendar gmail account at:
squashcalendar1@gmail.com


Alternatively you can load the fixtures directly into your own calendar using this file.



Wednesday 8 October 2014

Grange 1 Vs Dunbar 1 (08/10/14)

Grange 1s were at home for the first match of the season against Dunbar 1s.  A fairly straight forward match as the Dunbar guys were missing some key players.  Matt turned up with out his shorts but managed to squeeze into a pair of Angus's.  Not sure what was more worrying.  The fact the Matt could wear a pair of shorts belonging to a junior and still have them hinging off his erse or the fact he was for once colour coordinated on the squash court!!

Home Team: Grange 1Away Team: Dunbar 1
PosPlayerRubbersGamesPoints        PlayerRubbersGamesPoints
1Matthew Bain1327David Legge0114
2Will Kerr1327Evan Green0011
3Angus MacPherson1327James Cunningham001
4Pete Cockburn1327Martin Campbell008
5Duncan Walker1327Philip Revell0014
Total5151350148

Saturday 4 October 2014

Winter minileague #1, 2014

Here are the results of winter minileague #1, 2014.
Click in the frame and scroll down for your league or click here for a full screen view.
Dougie


Thursday 2 October 2014

Grange 4 @ Abercorn 2 on Wednesday Oct 1

The first game of the season saw us make the trip to play Abercorn 2 at the Abercorn sports club located on the east side of Edinburgh.
First up against a much changed Abercorn line up were myself and Dave Grieve playing 5 & 4 respectively. I was playing Adam Robinson and I was always in control of this match and won the rubber 3-0, 9-1, 9-0, 9-1. Meanwhile on the other court Dave was taking time to warm up against Murdo Walker and lost the first set 9-3, the second set was a much tighter affair with Dave managing to take 9-7. With Dave fully warmed up by this time the next 2 sets were over quickly with Dave winning 3-1, 3-9, 9-7, 9-1, 9-0.
Next up was Tom McEwan and Catherine John playing at numbers 3 & 1. Tom had a comfortable win over Peter O’Connor with a 3-0 score line of 9-0, 9-0, 9-1. On the other court Catherine was playing Marek Rak and an entertaining match was won by Catherine 3-0, who displayed better consistency throughout the match with a score of 9-6, 9-2, 9-1.
Anthony was last up playing Neelu Sarkar @ #2. This match was quickly wrapped up by Anthony who won 3-0 with a score of 9-1, 9-1, 9-3.
Match results including ref points was 20-1 to Grange 4. We then were treated to an assortment of pizza, birdies & mini sausage rolls followed by strawberries and chocolate biscuits and a drink of our choice before heading off home.
PosPlayerRubbersGamesPoints         PlayerRubbersGamesPoints 
1Catherine John1327Marek Rak009
2Anthony Fitzgerald1327Neelu Sarkar005
3Tom McEwan1327Peter O'Connor001
4David Grieve1330Murdo Walker0117
5Neil Love1327Adam Robinson002
Total5151380134
Competition Points181

Friday 25 July 2014

Men's 3rd Round Results : Commonwealth Games

Men's 3rd round:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Christopher Binnie (JAM) 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (27m)
[9] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 12-14, 11-9, 13-15, 11-1, 11-9 (116m)
[7] Chris Simpson (GGY) bt Colin Ramasra (TRI) 11-2, 11-4, 11-1 (22m)
[11] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-2, 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8 (84m)
[3] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 (40m)
[10] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 11-9, 11-7, 13-11 (52m)
[5] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Sunil Seth (GUY) 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 (25m)
[16] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Nick Taylor (JEY) 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 (41m)
[12] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Micah Franklin (BER) 11-1, 11-1, 11-4 (21m)
Kelvin Ndhlovu (ZAM) bt Joe Chapman (IVB) 11-6, 10-12, 11-0, 12-10 (51m)
[14] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Joel Makin (WAL) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)
[4] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Paul Coll (NZL) 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (43m)
[15] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Bradley Hindle (MLT) 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (57m)
[6] Alister Walker (BOT) bt Cameron Stafford (CAY) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)
[13] Martin Knight (NZL) bt Kevin Moran (SCO) 11-4, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6 (55m)
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Anthony Brindle (GIB) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (15m)

Racketlon 2014

Our second Grange Racketlon will take place on Friday 19th(Evening) and
Saturday 20th(Day) in September - so make a note in your diaries.

Last year 30 Grange members took part in our version of Racketlon - a
competition comprising Squash, Tennis and Table Tennis - played in mini-
league format followed by Finals for the top scoring Ladies and Men.

We will also arrange a meal out for those with any energy left on the
Saturday evening.

This year the organisers will be David Grieve, Dave Jones
and Alex Stewart

More details about exact timings and how to enter to follow soon.

David, Dave and Alex

Opening Qualifiers in the Commonwealth Games



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/commonwealth-games/28219040
then click on live coverage
then click on the catchup image:


Qualifiers
Duration: 5:04 hours

Have a look at:
Clyne (Sco) vs. Sandhu (Ind)

The first point was an incredible 147 strokes lasting 3mins 46secs !

Friday 13 June 2014

Inverness event is another step forward for squash in Scotland

Article in the Herald Scotland website:

www.heraldscotland.com

The Inverness Be Personnel Loch Ness Challenge PSA event is at Inverness Lawn Tennis and Squash Club on the 17th to the 22nd of June.

Please see www.scottishsquash.org for all details

What legacy will squash leave after the Games?

Article in Herald Scotland website:


www.heraldscotland.com

Meadowbank Sports Centre


Meadowbank will be welcoming the Queen's Baton this Sat the 14th June

Edinburgh are running a sports event at Meadowbank for children and Scottish Squash have been asked to support 4 courts from 10:30 to 16:00

This is a great opportunity to showcase the sport to kids of which 2,500 are expected and hopefully get some nice press coverage along the way.

If you're in the area, why not pop in and take a look?

Note: Meadowbank car park will be closed all day Sat 14 June.

Thursday 8 May 2014

The BMI Cup – 24th May 2014; Weigh-In 2.30pm

Just as you thought the season was over, along comes the unofficial Grange Squash season-closing tournament – the BMI Cup.
Fed up losing to fit and trim youngsters?
Sure you’d win if it was an even playing field?
Or are you the best pound for pound squash player at the club?
Devised in a spark of genius (at the club bar) in 2011, the BMI Cup now enters its fourth year.
Played in one afternoon on the Saturday 24th May from 2.30pm, this tournament is followed by dinner and drinks in the Longroom from 7:30pm till late.
So how does it work?
Players are handicapped according to their age and Body-Mass Index (yes, that’s why it’s the BMI Cup!) with suitable penalties for those from higher teams. Players are placed in pools and play each other player in the pool. Winners of the pools will play for the trophy and top sartorial prize.
Past winners include Pete Young and Colin Williamson.
Dinner afterwards will be in the Longroom where you are welcome to eat and drink to put back on the pounds you lost on the court. The cost of the day is just £5, thanks to our sponsors Avista (also known as Neil Love), and we’d ask you to arrange your own drinks. This year, all entrance money will be donated to the squash club funds looking to buy warm up bikes for beside the new courts.
What better way to end the season?
To enter, please drop an email to Mike at mike.douglas@kidmore.co.uk.
See you at 2.30pm on Saturday 24th May.

Please note that Grange Time does not apply and all late players will benefit from a further point deducted from their handicap !

Friday 4 April 2014

SQUASH DINNER


The list for the Squash Dinner on Saturday 26th is filling up nicely, please put your name down behind the bar where tickets are available.

All prizes and trophies will be presented on the night.

£20 for dinner and 1/2 bottle of wine, juniors please send me an email if you're coming along, very special prices for you.

FINALS NIGHT

Here are the details of the finals night this Friday 4th from 7:00pm.

It WILL be busy on the balcony - first come first served for prime viewing spots unless you volunteer to referee a match:

7:00
Juniors Final - Andrew Boyd v Angus MacPherson
Ladies Plate - Karen Kennedy v Dawn McBrayne
Open Plate - Dougie Brown v Pete Cockburn

Followed immediately by
Jim Moore - Roger Hamilton v Jules Lutte
Racketball - Andrew Beames v Mike Gore

7:45
Ladies Final - Donna Cruikshank v Aoife Kerrin (referee allocated)

8:30
Open Final - Matthew Bain v Allan Hamer

9:30 (ish)
Promotional drink offer in the bar and complimentary snacks.

Acoustic music set from Harvey and Jack.

March Gameball draw (I know, it's late).


If you would like to referee a game, please ping me an email and I'll be in touch.

Bill

Wednesday 26 March 2014

GRG2 vs TYN1 - 19 March 2014

GRG2 vs TYN1
>
> The last game of the season saw GRG2 trot out trusted war horses and salty veterans of the ESSA scene, Whitelaw (4), Stokes (5) and Gore (1) - and for looks and charm field youngsters Kerrin (3) and Wallace (2).
>
> Note:  The author isn't in full possession of the opponent's names and scores so some creative license has been taken.
>
>
> *         At  2nd string, Young Wallace took the first 2 games easily only to lose the next 2.  Veteran Stokes has a word after the 4th and shares pearls of wisdom.  Wallace adopts and closes the match out 3-2.
>
> *         Kerrin at 3rd string plays Donald With The Beard and closes him out 3-1.  Didn't see much but having played Donald in the past he is fast and awkward and worst of all a really nice guy.  Aoife persevered to close out producing some lovely volleys in the final stages.
>
> *         Whitelaw vs. Graham the Robot produced some astonishing and dangerous rallies which was fun to watch.  Crazy and unbalanced stuff at times but Whitelaw triumphs 3-1 when he switches his game to shot-making rather than keeping up with a much fitter opponent.
>
> *         Heated dialogue and ranting leads me to believe Captain Gore has stepped onto the court as 1st string against Alan...With More Grey Hair Than Mike.  I didn't see any of this but Mike clinches a valuable game from Alan who I remember is a nightmare to read and much fitter than his frame suggests, losing 3-1.
>
> *         David and Goliath battle next as Stokes plays Waldermar.  Stokes customarily does not try in the least, losing first 2 games, but tempts us all by stripping off one item of clothing per game.  It is a fine thing it is the best of 5 games.  Stokes takes 3rd, 4th and 5th games to win.
>
> GRG 4 matches vs TYN 1
> GRG 18 points vs TYN 11
>
> GRG2 secures their position in Div 3.  That's it for this season!

Monday 24 March 2014

Grange 4 versus Abercorn 2 – Tuesday 18/03/2014; Venue – Edinburgh Academy sports centre


We turned up at the Accies for the last time this season for our last match of the current campaign.
Jon Fraser and Mike Douglas were first up and Jon playing Bernard Starkey found himself 2 down again before winning the third set from 2 match points down 10-8. This seemed to break Bernard as Jon ran out to win the rubber 3-2. Mike had to dig in against a lively Marek Rak and slowly took control of the match in the third set and went on to win the rubber 3-1.
2 up after the first set of rubbers was a great return but unfortunately Myself and Pete Young were unable to get on the scorecard and we were both beat 3-0 to allow Abercorn to level the tie 2-2 going into the last rubber.
Andrew Claymore was playing number 1 against Graeme Caughey. Andrew raced in a 2-0 lead before Graeme took the third set to make it 2-1. Andrew got to match point at 8-5 and we were all waiting for the fat lady to sing, but Graeme had other ideas and got the set back to 8-8, points swapped and another match point to Andrew, but unfortunately for us, Graeme managed to take the set to level the rubber at 2-2, The last set was a tight affair with several swap of serves before the first point was registered, Graeme got his nose in front and stayed there to take the set & match.  
Match result 15-8 to Abercorn 2, disappointing to lose our last match of the season, but a very creditable third place in league, means a promotion to division 4.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who turned out for the 4th team this season; your efforts were greatly appreciated.
 
Pos
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points
Player
Rubbers
Games
Points
1
Andrew Claymore 
0
2
35
Graeme Caughey
1
3
35
 
2
Pete Young
0
0
15
Alistair McKenzie
1
3
28
 
3
Neil Love
0
0
11
James Irvine
1
3
27
 
4
Mike Douglas
1
3
30
Marek Rak
0
1
20
 
5
Jon Fraser
1
3
40
Bernard Starkey
0
2
34
 
Total
2
8
131
3
12
144
 
Competition Points
8
15