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Match Report 22nd October 2025 v Newlands 1 (away) – West Squash Division 1

October 23, 2025 Leave a comment

Newland 1 away last night for the 1st team and this was always going to be a difficult one against a side who have some record of winning the 1st division over the recent years. Still with a decent side ourselves (apart from me being dragged up!) we would always be competitive.

Chris and I arrived early for a warm up and I was on first against Mic Cockburn. Now Mic and I have played quite a few times over the years and when he said, “Oh F.F.S. – not you again!”, I knew I may have the mental edge if things got tight. They weren’t tight in the first game as Mic romped home and they weren’t tight in the 2nd game either as I took that one. So, to the all-important 3rd game – could I impose my game on him or could he keep the focus? Well unfortunately for me the latter was the case and Mic won the next two games to take the match. I was obviously disappointed, but having said that, I think Mic is playing much better these days so what can you do?!?!?! (train harder Jase!)

Next up was Chris (Murphy) at No.2 against Ross Andrew. Ross and Chris know each other well and I think Ross assumed that this was going to be one way traffic to Chris and he was largely right! Ross did show many examples of great flicks and holds, but really Chris was in charge of this one and 3-0 was the final result.

The match of the night was on next as Angus (Forster) was on against Paul Sweeney at No.3 – and with both men playing very similar styles this was a very explosive match up. Gus won the 1st and 3rd and Paul the 2nd and 4th and so to the 5th! I thought that if Gus just tidies up his game, he was the stronger player, however when he tried to win a rally too quickly, he hit the odd tin…….. or 20 (so much so I was thinking of nicknaming him Hergé, but realised that most of the youngsters would have no idea what I was talking about!). So Tintin went on in the 5th determined to change his ways and he did exactly that – some longer rallies early on set things up for him and then when he started moving the ball around he was in charge and Paul started to fade. So, in the end a comfortable 5th game, but Paul played really well tonight and should be happy with his performance and effort (Newlands MOTM to Paul I’d say).

The No.1s went on next as 2-James Singhs matched up against Newland’s Matt Bedwell and this promised to be a tough physical battle, as both men can retrieve anything from anywhere! And it was a physical one with Matt largely dominating, but when James kept the pressure on (which he did especially well in the 2nd game) he really made Matt dig deep. However just when we though James was going to win the 2nd game, Matt doubled-down his focus and determination and clinched that game. The 3rd game was much easier for Matt with a great start and a dominant performance, but if James had just sneaked the 2nd, that could have been the key to making even deeper inroads into the match. However, this was ultimately a good 3-0 win for Matt.

So the match was poised at 2-2 and last up was Chris (MrMcGreedy) McGeady v Dave Fallis. I fully expected this to be another real slug-out between two gladiators who have quite similar styles. And it was a tough one with some excellent retrieval and loads of pressure on the ball, however, Chris was winning many of the rallies and the scoreboard kept ticking his way. Dave got more into his stride in the 2nd but Chris was just too quick last night and brought home the match 3-0. Whitecraigs MOTM to Chris. 

So the now traditional chat of the team refusing to eat any veggie pizza, because they are fundamentally opposed to vegetables! (Great! More for me!) and I’m getting right into this garlic dip thing (who’d have thought they could make pizza unhealthier!).

Then back to Whitecraigs to meet the Townend boys again (as they played our 3rd team this week). Kenny Hardy was on a threat of divorce if he went out drinking with Chris again and Scotty was in fine form. I think the Townend lads may drop in at Whitecraigs a few more times this season!!    

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Match Report 8th October 2025 v Glasgow Uni (away) – West Squash Division 1

October 9, 2025 Leave a comment

So, a call up for the 1st Team this week and a trip to see the students at Glasgow Uni. All week ‘2-James Singhs’ kept reminding me i) that I was playing and ii) it was at the Uni. I thought maybe the fact that I’ve been doing this for 35 years means he thinks I’m going senile! Anyway, the team bus was back in action and after a quick U-turn as I forgot my shorts (!) I picked the lads up at Whitecraigs just after 6pm and I only had to tell them about three times “Don’t slam the bloody boot!” – which I think is a record. 

We struggled through the Wednesday night traffic and I eventually dropped the team at the Uni’s Stevenson Building and then looked for a place to park (Warning everyone! It costs over £15 to park for a squash evening anywhere withing a mile of the Uni!). After extensive parking research, I eventually wondered into the Uni building to watch the second match of the evening in full flow. ‘2-James Singhs’ had already won at No.1 v James Cargill (from Crieff) and had even handed out a bagel, despite it being Uni James’s birthday! Harsh!! (and Singh-Shady had the cheek to tuck into the birthday cupcakes after!)

Angus ‘YI’ Forster was on against Rowan Niven at No.3 and this looked like a good match as both players traded some hard rallies, with Rowan hitting some excellent length and looking physically tough to beat. However Gus was his normal nippy self and was winning most of the tough rallies, so he ended up winning 3-0 (but he looked relieved to have done so!).

Chris (Murphs) was on next at No.2 v Fraser Spalding, who is up from Englandshire – just a couple of junctions around the M25 from my old stomping ground). Fraser was in no doubt who was in charge of this match, after Chris sent him the wrong way with a massive ‘TAXI’ in the first rally. Having said that, when Chris got out the ‘Mizuki trickle- boast’ a couple of rallies later, Fraser went straight to the ball and hammered it down the wall! I thought ‘Wow! He must see that shot all the time!!’ (mind you his coach, as a junior, was non other than Neil Franklin, so maybe he picked up a few tricks from him! However, in truth that was as close as things got, with Murphs strolling about the court looking like he could have broken into another gear at any time (poser!).

Alex Hardiman also got the call up to the 1st team this week and was on against William Jack (from Nairn). There were a few nerves from both players as a few unforced ‘tins’ (and a couple of floors!) were exchanged. Alex sneaked the 1st game and William then raced to a 10-3 lead in the 2nd, before closing it out 11-9 (Rowan said she fully expected William to bottle it and lose that one! Good to have the full confidence of your teammates!). Alex seemed to settle into the next two games and with less mistakes and better width and he took both to secure not only his first Division 1 win, but also his first ever Division 1 point – congrats big man! MOTM to Alex the Hardman for us and also William (who said it was one of his best performances) for the Uni, for making this a highly competitive match.

I was on last against Maciej Meszka (38 points at Scrabble! 114 if you’re on a Tripple!!). Maciej is at Uni from Orkney……..must be a local island name! Maybe he’s from the clan MacIej!). Anyway, my opponent looked lithe and quick with a booming forehand (don’t put it there!), so I thought, I wonder if he can read the trickle boast… as I flung one in the tin! Fortunately for me tonight, I managed to get the ball to die in the back corners regularly, so my opponent boasted me lots of opportunities to mess about at the front…. and I don’t need a second opportunity to play a shot or two! Luckily, I managed to keep it off Maciej’s booming forehand and was able to lob and drop my way to 3 points….. to give us a great 18-point total for the team.

So off to ‘Bank Street’ bar for pizza and beer with the students – and tonight seemed to be fancy dress night in Glasgow with ‘pyjamas’ being one of the themes. As we made the quick trip back to the Whitecraigs back bar, we saw a queue of fancy dressed students, and Gus, in particular, was both un-impressed and very-impressed with all the outfits on show (although he seemed to think a couple were dressed like gimps!).

We were talking ‘all things squash’ on the way home and many names came up including Kenny Hardy (all bad obviously!). Then just a few minutes later Kenny phoned the car to see where we were, as he was non-playing captain for Townend tonight v our 2nd team; so I put our drinks order in and were soon back to join the end of the squash night. Kenny and Scotty Bradford were in full-flow, and it looks like Scott is on the way back to fitness and Kenny is still trying to wind up anyone he can! The dart board was calling the lads to some more competition, and we also heard tales for an argument at Craighellen v Ross in our 3rd team. Kenny listened on, wide eyed, as he loves a good argument: he then regaled us with his top 3/4 recent Townend rammy’s! 

Darts defiantly wasn’t the winner last night, but Alex and I took on Murphs and Kenny in the last match and there was a mic-drop moment as I slotted an unlikely double-top to win the match! (and don’t let Chris tell you any differently!).

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