Last gasp Nottingham pip Oxford in round 10
The tenth and final round of the PSL league season started with only one mathematical certainty – that Group A leaders Duffield were guaranteed a home tie in the semi-finals.
Second place in the group, and a semi-final spot, would be decided at Nottingham where the hosts started the evening three points adrift of visitors Oxford, a gap narrow enough to mean that the winners of the match would take the spoils.
Duffield duly despatched visitors Pontefract 5-0, sending the Yorkshire outfit home pointless, while a thriller was played out a few miles South.
Emma Beddoes and Lewis Walters put Nottingham 2-0 up, but Mark Fuller couldn’t capitalise on a 2/1 lead as Oxford’s Andrew Birks pulled one back for Oxford.
Two veterans then took to the Nottingham showcourt, and with Renan Lavigne and Mark Cairns locked at two games all everything was still to play for. It was the Frenchman though who took the decider, giving Nottingham the win on the night and sufficient points to guarantee themselves a place in the last four.
In Group B, although nothing was definitively decided, the likelihood was that Surrey and St George’s, last year’s champions and runners-up, would progress.
Exeter played hosts to leaders Surrey, and needed an unlikely 5-0, 20-0 win to snatch a playoff place. Aisling Blake took the first match 3-0 to give Exeter some hope, but it was quickly dashed as Alan Clyne and Peter Nicol put the visitors ahead (Clyne no doubt buoyed by the kilted supporters that had taken the 7 hour train journey to the venue with him).
Meanwhile St George’s were at home to Winchester, and quickly wrapped up a 5-0, 20-0 win that left them definitely in the playoffs, while an Exeter win could still deny Surrey top spot.
But that scenario never materialised as Simon Rosner secured the win and top place for Surrey. Shortly afterwards came the news from Nottingham that finalised the semi-final lineups.
Rounding things off, Chichester finished on a high with a 5-0 home win over Bristol, Surrey ended up with a 4-1 win, and the Nottingham crowd are enjoying a five-game ‘dead rubber’ between Eddie Charlton and Scott Handley, Charlton sending them home happy with a 4-1 win (and Crystal Ball goes to bed happy too, after a perfect set of predictions).
[box style=”rounded”]Group A
NOTTINGHAM 4-1 OXFORD (19-8)
Eddie Charlton 3-2 Scott Handley 11/3, 9/11, 8/11, 11/8, 11/9
Renan Lavigne 3-2 Mark Cairns 11/5, 9/11, 8/11, 12/10, 11/5
Lewis Walters 3-1 Ben Coleman 11/5, 11/7, 7/11, 11/6
Mark Fuller 2-3 Andrew Birks 2/11, 12/10, 11/8, 7/11, 5/11
Emma Beddoes 3-0 Victoria Bell 11/5, 11/4, 11/7
DUFFIELD 5-0 PONTEFRACT (20-0)
Jonathan Kemp 3-0 Lee Beachill 11/7, 11/7, 11/5
Andy Whipp 3-0 Neil Cordell 11/9, 11/5, 11/5 (25m)
Laurence Delasaux 3-0 Sam Wileman 11/9, 11/7, 11/4
Aqeel Rehman 3-0 George Wileman 11/2, 11/2, 11/2 (18m)
Tania Bailey 3-0 Sarah Bowles 11/3, 11/0, 11/7 (18m)
Final Positions:
Duffield 138, Nottingham 107, Oxford 99, Pontefract 72, Birmingham 53
Group B
ST GEORGE’S 5-0 WINCHESTER (20-0)
Tom Richards 3-0 Jethro Binns 11/8, 11/7, 11/6 (25m)
Nicolas Mueller 3-0 Alex Phillips 12/10, 11/3, 11/7 (26m)
Mark Krajcsak 3-0 Michael Harris 11/8, 11/3, 11/7 (29m)
Stephen Meads 3-0 Phillip Bull 14/12, 11/4, 11/7 (33m)
Dominique Lloyd-Walter 3-0 Catherine Finlayson 11/4, 11/3, 11/6 (22m)
EXETER 1-4 SURREY (5-17)
Tim Vail 0-3 Peter Barker 8/11, 1/11, 9/11 (40m)
Peter Creed 0-3 Simon Roesner 4/11, 2/11, 3/11 (44m)
Tm Pashley 2-3 Alan Clyne 8/11, 11/6, 3/11, 11//8, 9/11 (59m)
James Snell 0-3 Peter Nicol 10/12, 3/11, 3/11
Aisling Blake 3-0 Harriet Ingham 11/3, 11/4, 116 (21m)
CHICHESTER 5-0 BRISTOL (20-2)
Olly Pett 3-0 Arthur Gaskin 11/5, 1/9, 12/10
Anthony Graham 3-1 Tom Ford 11/7, 9/11, 11/4, 11/6
Alex Ingham 3-0 Sam Ellis 11/2, 11/2, 11/3
Miles Jenkins 3-0 James Bamber 11/0, 9/11, 11/9, 11/7
Lauren Briggs 3-0 Joely Bennett 11/4, 11/5, 11/4
Final Positions:
Surrey 155, St George’s 149, Exeter 124, Chichester 111, Winchester 87, Bristol 66
Semi-Finals, 17th April:
Duffield v St George’s
Surrey v Nottingham
