29-Mar: Round NINE
It’s STILL all to play for with one to go …
The penultimate round of the Premier Squash League was a tense affair for many of the twelve teams, with three Division A clubs having chances of making the playoffs, four Division B clubs all within six points of each other, while some were aiming to avoid finishing bottom which could see them replaced next season.
There were no nailbiting finishes tonight though, and no definite decisions made with all four semi-final places still undecided with just one round left.
Division A leaders Everards Leicester were playing their last home match against defending champions Benz Bavarian Duffield, who started 11 points adrift. The home team knew that a 5-0 win would guarantee them a place in the semi-finals, and with Duffield again missing Nick Matthew a home win looked on the cards. It was Duffield’s renowned fighting spirit that prevailed though as they took a 4-1 win to close the gap to a single point.
Starting just a point behind Duffield, University of Birmingham Lions took advantage of the visit of bottom club Air-IT Nottingham as they won the first three rubbers to clinch victory, rounding off a 4-1 win that leaves them still one point behind Duffield!
Coolhurst London,starting just a point ahead of Nottingham, also took advantage of a Pontefract team which lost its top players late on, recording a thumping 5-0 win to ease those ‘relegation’ worries as they overtook Pontefract to move into fourth place.
Division B leaders 9 Telecom St George’s Hill had a long trip to Exeter Diamonds, and after narrowly losing the women’s match their four men quickly wrapped up the win which keeps them top of the table and looking good for a return to the playoffs.
Neighbouring Virgin Active Surrey, three points behind in second place at the start, had a shorter trip to bottom placed ClubNet Winchester and quickly wrapped up their win with victories in the opening pairs of matches. Winchester’s Gregory Gaultier beat Karim Abdel Gawad 3-2 in the final match giving Surrey 19 points to maintain close order with St George’s.
Team Chichester were at home to UWE/Elite Squash Bristol, both knowing that defeat could put a serious dent in their playoff prospects. In the event it was the home side who prevailed, taking the three middle-order matches while Bristol won at first and fifth strings to limit the damage.
The scenario for Round Ten is intriguing and contrasting – in Division A the top three teams play the teams in the bottom half, while in Division B the four teams still in contention play between themselves. Stay tuned ………
Division A
Everards Leicester 1-4 Benz Bavarian Duffield (7-17)
Daryl Selby 2-3 Chris Simpson 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12
Nafiizwan Adnan 1-3 Declan James 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11
Shaun Le Roux 0-3 Richie Fallows 8-11, 7-11, 8-11
Ben Coleman 3-0 Adam Murrills 11-3, 11-9, 11-6
Coline Aumard 1-3 Laura Massaro 7-11, 11-5, 4-11, 6-11
University of Birmingham Lions 4-1 Air-IT Nottingham (17-4)
Jaymie Haycocks 0-3 Eddie Charlton 5-11, 10-12, 4-11
Peter Creed 3-1 Chris Fuller 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7
Chris Ryder 3-0 Matthew Broadberry 11-9, 11-4, 11-9
Joel Makin 3-0 Owain Taylor 11-4, 11-9 , 11-5
Sarah-Jane Perry 3-0 Heidi Mather 11-4, 11-5, 11-6
Coolhurst London 5-0 Pontefract (20-3)
Greg Lobban 3-1 LJ Anjema 11-6, 13-11, 5-11, 11-7
Raphael Kandra 3-0 Patrick Rooney 11-4, 12-10, 11-8
Nick Mulvey 3-1 Taminder Gata-Aura 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8
Steve London 3-0 Lewis Doughty 11-9, 11-7, 11-2
Donna Urquhart 3-1 Fiona Moverley 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-2
Division B
Team Chichester 3-2 UWE/Elite Squash Bristol (17-8)
Adrian Waller 2-3 Marwan Elshorbagy 11-7, 9-11, 14-12, 5-11, 13-15
Paul Coll 3-1 Tom Ford 7-11, 11-5 , 11-5, 11-9
Robbie Temple 3-0 Mike Harris 11-8,11-6, 11-8
Kyle Finch 3-1 David Haley 6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-3
Lauren Briggs 1-3 Tesni Evans 11-5, 5-11, 5-11, 13-15
Exeter Diamonds 1-4 9 Telecom St George’s Hill (5-19)
Olli Tuominen 0-3 Borja Golan 4-11, 6-11, 7-11
Ollie Pett 1-3 Tom Richards 14-12, 8-11, 7-11, 8-11
Tim Vail 0-3 Joe Lee 7-11, 4-11, 2-11
David Evans 1-3 Henrik Mustonen 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 7-11
Natalie Lawrence 3-2 Rawan Elkalaawy 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7
ClubNet Winchester 1-4 Virgin Active Surrey (3-19)
Greg Gaultier 3-2 Karim Abdel Gawad 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 118, 12-10
Scott Handley 0-3 Peter Barker 3-11, 7-11, 7-11.
Rory Pennell 0-3 Charles Sharpes 2-11, 4-11, 8-11
Robbie Keefe 0-3 Lyell Fuller 6-11, 10-12, 7-11
Gina Kennedy 0-3 Alison Waters 7-11, 6-11, 4-11
Round TEN Fixtures, Tue 19th April:
Division A Division B
Nottingham v Leicester St George’s v Chichester
Duffield v Pontefract Bristol v Surrey
Coolhurst v Birmingham Winchester v Exeter
