Round NINE – 05 Mar
The ninth and penultimate round of the Premier Squash League saw two teams confirmed for the semi-finals, but left more questions to be answered in the final round of group action.
Duffield limp into semis, Oxford almost there …
In Group A leaders Duffield travelled to second-placed Oxford. The visitors suffered travel delays and things got no better after the delayed start as Oxford quickly took advantage, going 3-0 up before Duffield fought back to limit the damage to a 4-1 defeat.
That earned Duffield enough points to guarantee themselves a semi-final place despite losing their last two matches, but the top two positions will be determined in the next round, with Oxford in pole position to join Duffield in the last four.
Nottingham and Chapel Allerton started the evening in third and fourth place, and 4-1 away wins at Birmingham and Pontefract, worth 17 points each, kept both in with an outside chance of making the playoffs.
Duffield will go into the last week needing eight points at home to bottom of the table Birmingham to clinch top spot, while Oxford will travel to Nottingham knowing that seven points will be enough to see them through to the semis – however should Nottingham win well enough to deny them there’s an outside chance that Chapel Allerton could pip them both!
Standings: Duffield 136, Oxford 123, Nottingham 109, Chapel A 107, Pontefract 89, Birmingham 76
Round Ten Fixtures: Duffield v Birmingham, Chapel A v Pontefract, Nottingham v Oxford
Surrey through, Exeter one win away …
In Group B leaders and defending champions Surrey entered the home stretch with matches against the bottom two clubs to come, and a 4-1 win at home to Bristol guaranteed them a place in the semi-finals.
Second placed Exeter did themselves a power of good with a 5-0 home win over Winchester, which leaves them needing to win one of the five matches at home to Chichester to secure their semi-final place.
Two-time runners-up St George’s Hill saw their outside chances disappear despite a fine 5-0 home win over early pacesetters Chichester.
Standings: Surrey 146, Exeter 137, Chichester 122, St George’s 117, Winchester 60, Bristol 40
Round Ten Fixtures: Chichester v Exeter, Winchester v Surrey, Bristol v St George’s
[box type=”note” style=”rounded” icon=”none”]GROUP A:
AJP PONTEFRACT 1-4 MB NOTTINGHAM (5-17)
Siddarth Suchde 3-0 Eddie Charlton 12/10, 11/5, 11/5 (38m)
Lee Beachill 1-3 Lewis Walters 11/9 , 4/11, 9/11, 8/11 (38m)
Thoboki Mohohlo 1-3 Declan James 6/11, 11/5, 7/11, 14/16 (53m)
Alex Hodgetts 0-3 Greg Lobban 5/11, 3/11, 8/11 (24m)
Julia Lecoq 0-3 Emma Beddoes 7/11, 7,11, 6/11 (20m)
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM 1-4 CHAPEL ALLERTON (6-17)
Chris Ryder 1-3 Ong Beng Hee 12/10, 6/11, 2/11, 5/11
Peter Creed 0-3 Chris Simpson 7 -11, 6-11, 7-11
Jaymie Haycocks 1-3 Shaun le Roux 7/11, 11/7, 7/11, 5/11
Nathan Lake 1-3 James Earles 14/12, 11/13, 6/11, 8/11 (73m)
Sarah Jane Perry 3-0 Jenny Duncalf 12/10, 11/7, 11/8 (30m)
OXFORD 4-1 BENZ-BAVARIAN DUFFIELD (18-5)
Borja Golan 3-1 Andy Whipp 11/5, 6/11, 11/9, 11/3 (39m)
Scott Handley 3-0 Adam Murrills 11/7, 11/5, 11/5 (31m)
Ben Coleman 3-1 Chris Fuller 11/7, 11/13, 11/6, 11/4
Mark Cairns 1-3 Aqeel Rehman 9/11, 11/2, 6/11, 8/11 (45m)
Madeline Perry 3-0 Lily Taylor 11/7, 11/4, 11/2
Standings: Duffield 136, Oxford 123, Nottingham 109, Chapel A 107, Pontefract 89, Birmingham 76
Round Ten Fixtures: Duffield v B’ham, Chapel A v Ponte, Nottingham v Oxford
[/box] [box type=”note” style=”rounded” icon=”none”]Group B:
INTEGRITY SURREY H&R 4-1 UWE BRISTOL (19-3)
Peter Barker 3-0 Arthur Gaskin 11/2, 11/7, 11/5
Adrian Grant 2-3 Lucas Serme 4/11, 5/11, 11/8, 14/12, 8/11
Adrian Waller 3-0 Tom Ford 11/6, 11/8, 11/8
Richie Fallows 3-0 Sam Ellis 12/10, 11/8, 11/4
Alison Waters 3-0 Emma Chorley 11/5, 11/2, 11/1
EXETER DIAMONDS 5-0 WINCHESTER (20-3)
Laurens Jan Anjema 3-1 Marwan El Shorbagy 11/7, 11/3, 8/11, 11/5 (38m)
Olli Tuominen 3-0 Robert Downer 11/6, 11/8, 11/5 (35m)
Tim Vail 3-2 Scott Fitzgerald 12/10, 8/11, 4/11, 11/8, 11/1 (42m)
Mike Harris 3-0 Phil Bull 11/1, 11/4, 11/9 (24m)
Aisling Blake 3-0 Jane Allman 11/4, 11/7, 11/6 (21m)
TWP ST GEORGE’S HILL 5-0 TEAM CHICHESTER (20-3)
Daryl Selby 3-1 Jonathan Kemp 4/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/1
Tom Richards 3-0 Nafiizwan Adnan 11/3, 11/8, 11/9
Joe Lee 3-0 Robbie Temple 11/7, 11/5, 11/7
Charles Sharpes 3-2 Olivier Pett 11/4, 11/2, 10/12, 12/14, 11/9 (73m)
Dominique Lloyd-Walter 3-0 Annabelle Collins-Ballands 11/5, 12/10, 11/8
Standings: Surrey 146, Exeter 137, Chichester 122, St George’s 117, Winchester 60, Bristol 40
Round Ten Fixtures: Chichester v Exeter, Winchester v Surrey, Bristol v St George’s
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