Broadberry Sports

Match reports are back baby!

I’m now playing in the 2nd team, so wasn’t sure whether or not I should carry on with the reports, but then I though “F*** it, just do it”, so here we are, for this week at least!

Well, it’s tough at No.1 in the 2nd division (I’ve been gubbed a couple of times already), so I was glad that last night I was actually at No.2! Our 1st team were at full strength for the first time this season, so a challenge match between Flash and Angus (Forster) was played the night before, to see who was in which team, with Flash edging a 5 set thriller (very sensible to kill yourself the night before a big match!).

Anyway, back to the 2nd team and Craighelen came calling last night. First up for us this week was Sandy (the Barr-man) and he followed up last week’s first win of the season, with a second win of the season against Andy MacLachlan…. and it was 3-0! Sandy has got the ability to time his lunges to perfection and get balls back that you just don’t expect, which I imagine is very annoying if you’re playing him! The 2nd and 3rd games were very had fought, with Sandy winning 15-13 15-13! And they weren’t even tie breaks….. you actually have to play up to 15 in Division 2! So, a positive and well fought win for Sandy that should give him a lot of confidence, especially the shot behind his back, that sailed into a dead length! (it’s all about the confidence Sandy 😉).

Meanwhile on court 1, our 1st team were playing Newlands 1 and Chris Murphy had just won 3-0 against Angus Woodward at No.2, in this potential top of the table clash (great to see Alan Pearson there supporting the Newlands lads, as ever).

Next up was a man that has no lack of confidence, as the new Whitecraigs up-and-comer Alex Hardiman took on Kieran Martin at No.4. Alex’s warm up seemed to consist of vaping whilst chatting to his girlfriend! But fair play, as it got him going in the 1st game and despite a slow start (3-8 down) he came back to time his run to perfection and nick the 1st game 18-16. In comparison the next two games were much more straightforward, and Alex closed the match out 3-0, which is amazing for him as he normally likes to take his foot off the gas and play to the crowd! But not this time and another great performance with some lovely volleying (as well as some average ones!) especially a fantastic roller in the 3rd game to secure his second ever team win!

Meanwhile in the 1st team match next door, Flash had a 3-0 v Paul Sweeney. However it was 12-10 in the 3rd, so Paul must be playing well!

At No.3 for Craighelen was only Graeme Proud! What’s he doing down at No.3? Just as well we had Hamish (Buchanan) at No.3, because Graeme’s racket skills are still there in abundance, which Hamish found out at 0-7 down. Fortunately, Graeme is not a fit as he used to be (unlike me of course!) and at 14-14 the game was right in the balance. Luckily for us, a great shot and a mistake secured the 1st game for Hamish. Graeme started flagging halfway through the 2nd and Hamish took full advantage to win this one, but at 6-11 down in the 3rd it looked like a comeback was on the cards for the Craighelen-man…… right up until Hamish went on a 9 point winning run! So a good 3-0 win for Hamish, and not only that but he actually turned up at the right club tonight, after mistaking Strathclyde for Strathgryffe last week! Muppet!

The No.1s in the 1st team match had just finished on court 1 with Matt Bedwell beating 2-James Singhs 3-0 (looked like a decent last game, in the 3rd at least, at a tight 7-7 before Matt closed it out).

I was on next against Luke Williams at No.2. I’d had a great 3-2 racketball match against him last season, so I knew he was fit, and as we were playing on the hottest court in the West, I thought this was going to be a tough one. It was a tough one, but fortunately for me, when I straightened the ball and got the volley going everything seemed to click (it’s amazing what happens when you play squash like you’re supposed to! I should do some coaching to let other people know about this!). So a good 3-0 win for me – I’ll take every win these days!

An epic 3-2 was going on, on court 1, as Newlands Ross Andrew was 11-10 match-ball up against our new signing Chris McGeady (Mr McGreedy!). As Chris has kicked me out of the 1st team, I obviously hate him, but you can’t hate MrMcGreedy, he’s too nice a guy! And a great battler as well, as he came back from match-ball down, to win 3-2 against a very good player in Ross.

Last up for the 2nd team was the aforementioned Angus Forster, against Scotty Weir (the fastest man in the West!). After about 25 minutes on court, Angus was regretting his 3-2 epic with Flash last night and was looking for a way out of the sauna that is court 2 – and his current predicament against Craighelen’s Billy-Whizz. But he did find a way in the 3rd and 4th games as both men were leaning on their rackets and gulping for air, in the air-less court (I’m glad I wasn’t playing No.1!). So Gus (YI) brought the match home from 7-7 in the 4th to win 15-7 (and 3-1), then he just lay on the floor, exausted, for about 20 minutes!

Albeer (Mehmoov!), who I obviously hate for kicking me out of the 1st team (but you just can’t hate Big Albee, he’s too nice a guy!) was finishing up the 1st team win, with a 3-0 against Carrie Hallum. The chat after was that he played really well to do it, with the best performance of the season, which I’m not surprised at, as Carrie is some competitor (must be the new rackets Albee #gowest).

So a couple of great wins for the 1st and 2nd teams (and the 3rd team match was poised at 2-2 against Townend).

Dinner these days is pizza and chips (bring back Davey!), and not even in the back bar! But we soon returned to the bar to carry on the festivities when the Craighelen boys left for their long trip home across the Clyde. The 3rd team narrowly lost their decider, as Peter Shivas beat Paul Geri to bring home the match win for Townend – he’s still doing it!

As the lads drifted home (carry-oots in tow!) I had a beer with Townend’s Kenny Hardie and we reminisced about the days we were the youngsters on the night’s out, with the likes of Chris Small and Barry Sutherland! (I might even be playing Kenny next week!).

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