Wednesday 28 February 2007

Grange I v Hatton (Wed, 28.02.07)

We did well despite a creaking team.

Dougie has a slipped disc so is still confined to reffing and supporting from the balcony. The team solidarity must convert to a point or 2.
Christy won 3-0 and did delicious home made spuds and chilli too.
Stokesy had water on the knee, came up against the young David Tinning, and turned 1-2 down into a 3-2 win.
Gerald had a bad back, and did well to contain the older Nick Tinning 3-0, a good win.
Al was injury free, and won 3-0 against Alan Hove.
Mike had a cramping buttock, but still played reliable Perring Formula squash to crack the tough Malcolm Mitchell 3-0.

Overall 5-0 (18-2 on points).

Our results for this half have been good so far: 18, 10, 16, 18, 18, 18. But we now have our top 3 opponents left to play. Before tonight we were in joint 2nd, 8 points behind the leaders Marcos, and 10 points ahead of 4th place Colinton-Musselburgh. Next week we're away at Colinton-Musselburgh - a crunch match for us.

Man of the match: Stokesy, for going flat out for 5 against the man 4 decades younger.

Stokesy's confidence is riding high. So much so that he's taking bets on his forthcoming challenge match against Alan Hamer. Hamer's only handicap being a Grays Light Blue (wooden) racket. Stokes will be playing with his Dunlop (budget modern) racket. Date to be confirmed, but it should be a good night. Watch this space....

Friday 16 February 2007

Seconds @ Inveresk (Thu, Feb 16, 06)

The team travelled in style to Colinton, Mark ferrying the bobble-hat wonders Todd & Suggers in his new old Honda Civic. Todd Papadopoulis, the greek gunslinger, took court at 5th string tonight due to having a dodgy back. He didn't seem hampered in his movement, unlike George Purves who didn't seem to move as freely as usual. Pattern of the match- Todd would slide a good high backhand down the wall and get in quickly with the volley on George's high rail. Picked up everthing at the front. 3-0.

Peter Cockburn moved up to #4 and got Robin Carse out of his comfort zone with a high tempo of play to clean up 3-0.

Mark Dutton was 2-1 up on Norman at #3 when his elbow relapsed into the tennis disease. It was a well disputed match and Norman came through in the fifth; 2-3.

Christy faced fellow leftie Sam Fearnley at #2 to try to grab the bonus points. Sam went short too early too often in the first and Christy put it away to go one up. Sam then grannied Christy in the second with a taste of his own medicine, booming left-hand drives. They also swapped the next two games and Christy was on his third wind going into the fifth. It went to 8-8, set two and having survived a few match balls, Christy put in 2 brave (read "desperation") boasts to take it 10-9; 3-2.

Gerald Suggett faced John Brown who was muttering about Christy avoiding playing him. Gerald took the first, John threw in a few good reverse angles which stumped the welsh wizard, it was 1-1. From here, Gerald played quality width and length, picked up everything and threw it back with interest in the shape of killer boasts to close out 3-1. Some unreturnable lob serves too!

We enjoyed the bruschetta and pizza and some banter about Christy's lurid pink phone. Man of the match: Can't really pick out anyone, The Whole Team. Todd for putting his body on the line and still putting in a performance, Peter C improved on 3-1 at home with a 3-o win over the same man away, Mark dug out 2 points, which was as much as he could hope for (as he said himself, even without the onset of tennis elbow, Norman would have won), Christy for stumbling over the line in a match he had no right to win and Gerald for a #1 string style of play. Overall 4-1; 17-5. Click Here for latest standings

It was a shock to hear how Simon Schotken(Inveresk #3) is in recovery for a brain tumour and our best wishes are with him. Puts everything else into perspective.

Wednesday 14 February 2007

Grange I v Dalgety Bay 2 (Wed, 14.02.07)

In our valentines date with Dalgety Bay:

Stokesy showed us how he can still take on the younger player, and won 3-0 against Scott Boswell.
Gerald met Graham Small for the second time this season, 3-0.
Al faced text book squash from Sheena, but won 3-0.
Mike won 3-0.
Allan H v Colin Boswell was expected to be a long match of retrieval and fitness, but Allan didn't let it happen, and quickly closed 3-0 too.

Allan H served up spicy sausage caserole, and Alan S provided the romantic conversation.

Overall 5-0 (18-0 on points). Click here for latest standings

Monday 12 February 2007

Thirds @ Waverley 4 (Mon, 13-Feb-07)

Despite the tag of Waverley 4's, they are top of the division and gave us a sound thrashing in the first half of the season so it was with a degree of trepidation that the Grange Gang headed over on to the South Side of town on Monday ..................-
Chris Molyneaux couldn't have given us a better start taking all 3 off Brian at number 5 (10-8 9-2 9-2) (0-3) Well done Chris, well stuck in.
At 4 John G raced in to a 2-0 lead (9-1 9-7) and it was all looking good, then Keith woke up and sussed John's serves and boasts and eventually edged John (2-9 7-9 5-9) (2-3)
Chris Jeffrey had the edge on experience against Stephen Davey at 3 and only just edged a marathon tussle in the first game (8-10) and once again although our man clawed his way valiently back to take one game, Chris closed it out in 4 ((3-9 9-4 2-9) (1-3)
Pete Young had it all to do to keep the tie alive and for two and a half games it looked like he just might do it! (9-3 9-0 and 5-0 up in the 3rd and cruising, only to be put off by a dodgy call from your scribe who was marking his game and thereafter he conceded 18 points in a row!) losing the 3rd 5-9 and the 4th to love. It all headed for the showdown and Martin Robertson edged it in the fifth (9-6). (No disrespect Pete but I guess his Triathlon t-shirt should have been a clue to Martin probably attracting the tag of favourite to edge it by that stage!) (2-3)
With the tie and the bonus points already gone, Pete T could only try to salvage some points off Donald Shearer at 1 but sadly after a titanic first game (yet another defeat to 8-10 his goose was well and truly cooked on the hottest courts we have yet played on (excuses, excuses....) and the next 2 games passed us by in a bit of a blur! (0-3)

No disrespect; (8-15) so near and yet so far as both John and Pete were right in there with a realistic prospect of winning their ties and on another night who knows............. as has been said before, the bonus points make all the difference at the end of the season.
Enjoy the break from the matches next week before coming back to face the final run-in! Click here for latest standings
The Tweedster

Friday 9 February 2007

Thirds home v Dalgety Bay 3 (Thu, Feb 9,07)

We welcomed Tim Hannay into the 3's for his debut and were rewarded with a fiercesome tussle between Tim and Scott in the number 5 slot, neither of whom fancied calling any of the available let or stroke options and hence a good slug-out ensued! Our man came out victorious in straight sets - Well done Tim and welcome! (3-0)

John G hit a vein of form to close out Doug (who Robin will remember well from the first half as being the one who ended his season! ) in 3; the third going to 10 before John polished it off. (3-0)

Stephen Davey went on at number 3 hoping to claim the bonus points but Paul was a canny and tricky opponent and despite Stephen pulling the 2nd game back to level at 1-1, Paul had just enough experience and cunning to take the next 2 (3-9 4-9) (1-3)

Peter Young deserves a medal for marking a game, then preparing the food and finally stepping on to court against Sandy in the 2nd string match and dominating the match to eventually secure the bonus points (9-4, 9-6 & 9-6) (3-0)

With the pressure off Tweedster could relax in the 1st string game against Ken Maitland and managed to scoop up 3 without concession (9-4, 9-0 & 9-2) (3-0).
Overall a 41, 16 - 3 win to put some points on the board and that hopefully keeps us consolidated in mid-table mediocrity! Man of the match: Peter Young (almost as good as a medal)

Thursday 8 February 2007

Seconds home v Bank of Scotland (Tue, Feb 6,07)

Peter Cockburn hockeyed their number 5 in the first game but Rob Norris returned the favour in the next two. To hi credit, Peter reduced the errors in the fourth and it went point for point but Rob edged it in the end; 1-3. Todd Mitchell was too steady for #4 Phil Brown; 3-0.

Mark Dutton at #3 left out the dives but still found a way to be the subject of conversation at the bar. One game up, in the second game, he threw in his surprise corkscrew serve and his aussie lefthanded opponent Mark Tucker caught it clean on the volley and accidentally straight onto Dutton's knopper. Crack! Lucky he was looking away but he still went down. Yours truly had to give a stroke against Dutton and a conduct warning against his opponent, another first! The game lost some rhythm for a bit but Dutton recovered to take it. In the third, the Bank man pulled up thinking our Mark had hit him in the leg with the ball. In fact it was severe cramp and he was unable to move after that and our man won 3-0.

Stokesy manfully came in at #2 and went for five games with Robin Nisbet but unfortunately didn't bag the bonus points. Christy at #1 against Ralph Bain, unbeaten this season which is quite an accomplishment for a #1. It was looking good for Christy at 2-0 up but he lost the set-2 and struggled to get the odd point in the next two games; 2-3.

Overall 2-3, 11-12 on points. Man of the match: Todd Mitchell, the non-panda of the team, he never eats shoots and leaves with a win, no fuss & no drama.

Grange I @ Dean (Wed, 07.02.07)

With Dean 2nd from bottom in the league, and with our rivals for promotion taking 15, 16 and 17 points off them in the first half, the pressure was on Grange 1 to secure good points tonight.

Dougie was was confined to the balcony with a numb leg, but it was good to have a non-playing supporter! Let's hope the leg's OK for next week ...
Christy made a special appearance, and windmilled David Grant 3-0. The court was like a fridge.
Al had a sketchy first game, then settled in and won 3-0 against Ross Anderson.
When Allan beat Ian Walford, 3-0, murmurs of demonstration match were heard from Dean, although demonstration of what we weren't quite sure.
Meanwhile in some distant part of the Dean Club on a court like a chest freezer, Gerald was enagaged in a grudge match against his first half rival, Fraser Maxwell. News of the result came back 3-1.
Mike was in the deep freeze too, with Craig Wallace, and came out at 3-1.

Overall 5-0 (18-2 on points).

Man of the match: Gerald Suggett - for taking his revenge on away courts!

An excellent result - we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves about the 2 points. Next week it's Dalgety Bay at home, where we should aim for the same again.

Saturday 3 February 2007

Thirds @ Waverley 3 (Fri, Feb 2, 07)

Chris was on first against Neil and they both sought to knock the cover off the ball. Chris was playing well but giving away too many strokes by playing close to his body and not calling them when his opponent did the same. Lost 3 - 0.

Stephen again played well but lost out 3-0 to an older and wilier opponent.

Derek at no 5 spilit the first two games was up in the third and then ran out of puff to lose in four.

Pete played old timer Willie Wood and won the first reasonably comfortably. Willie then turned on the style with some lovely touch play to win in four.

Match of the night was Jonathon's first game for the Grange 3's. The match was played in great spirit with Jonathon tearing around the court picking up lost causes and surprising his opponent. The match went into the fifth and Jonathon played some great recovery shots to save match point. The Waverley man called 1 at 8-8 and probably regretted it as he lost the next point.

GRG3 lost WVY3 1-4 (5-17) Man of the Match: Jonathan Frame
(Author credit: Peter Young)

Seconds v Sports Club 5 (Thurs, Feb 1,'07)

Peter Cockburn had an appetite for the game missing the previous match- he dismantled #5 Keith Barrett in straight games. Todd Mitchell played his usual steady game and but still had work hard for his 3-0 win at #4.

At #3 Mark Dutton faced Moira Atkinson and served up the usual balcony-pleasing diet of dives but Moira had the edge; 0-3. Alan Stokes faced the other half of the Atkinson team and with the Belford court preventing the high lob needed for the tall opponent, Alan suffered a similar 0-3 result.

Christy faced a young, quick retrieving #1, Ross Carver. He manoeuvred himself into the winning position in most rallies to go two up but Ross did some breataking dive or splits gets to lengthen the rallies even further and take the third. Both men were out on their feet in the fourth but Christy wobbled less than Ross to take it and the bonus points.

A 3- 12-7 win to keep us in promotion position. Man of the match: modesty forbids ;-) he hee

The sports club served up a delighful pasta bake which spawned some great banter comparing Mark's dives with Ross's. Mark's dives won points for the amount of skin removed by the floorboards while Ross got points for artistic interpretation with his affectation of turning up his soles on landing