Broadberry Sports

Sorry for the lack of a report last week, but I was away ‘dan-saaafff’ with work; some people said to me why didn’t you just make up a squash report! …………………. I thought that would be a great idea, because let’s face it Flash is Flash, and every match is as entertaining as the next and no one would ever know!

Guess who was first on this week!?!!! Yup – Flash Harry Anderson! Well, we were missing our No.1 this week, so we all had to step up! However, when the other ‘2 James Singhs’ turned up for Newlands against our 3rd team, I was thinking of getting him to play for us just for a laugh (!), but I suppose that would be a step too far, so ‘The Flashman’ went on first at No.2 against Dave McCormack from SSRC 2. Dave was looking pretty steady at the start of the 1st game, so I was worried that Harry may get a bit frustrated – but then, out of nowhere, Flash sprang into action and didn’t let Dave settle in any rally. Dave said after that he found it hard to read where Harry was putting the ball, but if Flash doesn’t know where it’s going, how the hell is anyone else supposed to know! So the change of pace and attacking shots worked a treat and although it was a tough encounter Harry won 3-0.

I went on next and there was a sudden change of team order, when the SSRC lads found out I was at No.3! So, I matched up against Sean Kelly, who struck the ball beautifully on his backhand, and this made me nervous! There were a few contentious decisions in the 1st game, which, I felt, all went against me – much to my annoyance, but after I got over that, I was even more motivated me to concentrate on the task in hand (actually that’s a lie – I didn’t really get over it! 😂). I snuck the 1st game and took charge in the 2nd, thanks to some good motivational advice from Chris in-between games, when he basically said “Don’t start playing like a fanny and you should be OK”. The 3rd game was much tighter, and it looked like we were headed to a 4th or 5th – but after retrieving a game ball, I went on the win the match 3-0 and I was relieved to get off with the win.

Angus (Forster) went on next at No.4 against Jack Fenton and again this looked like a tight one, with both guys hitting hard and moving fast. Angus, however, looked like he had slightly better match play experience and he was able to tweak a few things as the match went on to keep his nose in front. Having said that, it was anyone’s game at 1-1 (when Angus declared that “all my boasts are dog **** – but I can’t help playing them anyway!), but as the match went on, Angus did the simple things much better and eventually won the match 3-1.

Ollie (Millen) was on next and was looking like he’d been playing a bit, as he took on Grant Irvine at No.5. This was a great match and I think Grant’s style of game suited Ollie down to the ground. Ollie was able to use his tricky boasts and holds to get a real foot hold in the game and Grant used good retrieving and movement to counter. The match went one way and then the other until we reached the 5th and final game. Unfortunately for us, Grant took control of this one and won the match 3-2, but not before Ollie hit the best roller of the night, to the delight of the crowd!

Last on were the No.1s, as Chris (Murphy) played new man Richard North. I’d heard a lot of good things about Richard (not least than he’d won against the SSRC 1st team No.1 last week!) so this was going to be very interesting. I missed the first game as I nipped away for a (cold) shower, but was back in time for the 2nd game. Richard was well in control of the early skirmishes, and I couldn’t see how Chris was going to get back into this game, but to say Chris timed the come-back to perfection would be an understatement! I think many people playing Richard would be fooled by his ‘hard-to-read’ shots, and he certainly sent me the wrong way a few times ………… and I was only watching! Chris, however, has seen it all before and this didn’t seem to phase him! A more solid start to the 3rd game meant that Chris was in much more control, and he ultimately brought home a very tricky match 3-0 .

The Back Bar was rammed with returning teams, football watchers and other teams, but we managed to squeeze in and enjoy a magical buffet of mini-burgers/pizza/pakoras/samosas/sausage rolls/chips (to name just the things I recognised!). This went down a treat with the teams as we celebrated not only a 17-4 win, but the last match of the half! (Chris gave MOTM to Ollie, which is fair, but I’d say Chris himself was worth a shout for the award).

Now we only have the team Christmas Night Out to negotiate, as we hit Glasgow this Saturday! I say ‘night out’ but we’re meeting at 1pm in the Horseshoe, so this has got disaster written all over it! (well, if you let the youngsters organise the night-oot, then you get what you get I suppose!). A real fun first half of the season and a great team spirit – bring on 2024!