broadberrysports

Match Report 9th November 2022 v Newlands 1 (home) – West Squash Division 1

November 10, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Well, another tough one tonight against Newlands 1st team and although we’d had some good wins up to now this would be the toughest test so far. Looking at the Newlands team order, we thought we’d have a chance in some of the match-ups, as a fitter Chris had a chance against their No.2 and James would be the favourite at No.1 – someone in out squad ‘WhatsApp chat’ suggested we change our team order to get an advantage, but the team didn’t want to play it that way.

At 7.05pm, I was the only one there and was wondered if I’d got the wrong venue, until the Newlands entourage that arrived on-mass, with traveling support. James was still in his bed apparently and the other 3 arrived soon after whilst I’d gone of first against Vicky Bell from Carlisle, at No.4. Although I’d never played Vicky before, I did know what to expect as she has beaten many players better than me with her master class of tight volleying from her time on tour, and so it was tonight. She dispatched me in the first two and a half games, and I couldn’t get the ball tight enough to stop her. I had a slight resurgence in the 3rd game, but I think that was more to do with a few uncharacteristic mistakes from Vicky rather than anything I did. So, a disappointing 3-0 loss (although all of the lads in our other teams were delighted that I’d lost and said they looked forward to reading the match report!).

Next up was what we thought would be the crucial No.2 match up, but Chris (Murphy) was surprised to find himself up against Matt Bedwell in his first run out at No.2. Matt won the 1st game easily enough, but at the start of the second game Chris played a backhand-crosscourt-volley into the nic however, it was called down! I didn’t hear the subsequent discussion (I think a ‘let’ was played), but after this disagreement the match got a bit spicy, with both players thinking they’d got something to prove for the subsequent ‘justice points’! Chris was really inspired to step up his game and at 7-5 up was looking dangerous, unfortunately Matt’s movement was just too good tonight as he wrestled the game back with longer rallies and ultimately won this game and the next with that tactic. 3-0 to Matt.

Next on at No.3 was Harry (Anderson) against Mark Ford. To say this was a clash of styles would be an understatement! Harry was a blur of Mizukies & mistakes and Mark played his usual ‘right shot at the right time’ experienced game. Harry had flashes of brilliance, but Mark was good enough to cover many of those attacks and kill off the chances. In truth Mark was ahead at the crucial times in every game and won the tie 3-0

Next up was our best hope of some team points as James (Singh) took on Fraser McCann at No.1 and so it proved. James is as quick round the court as I am slow and he really piled the pressure onto Fraser, with some good lobbing quickly followed by shots short to the front, that gave Fraser a 50:50 chance of attacking or not quite getting to the ball (and either way it took a lot out of Fraser’s legs every time he did another court sprint). James said, “I love playing ‘old-man’s squash’ and I though I haven’t seen many old men playing like that! But maybe he meant old as in over 35! Eventually all this movement took its toll on Fraser and despite a good start in the 3rd game James was just too fit (I’m only one vowel away from being fit! 😊). A 3-0 win for ‘Two James Singhs’.

Last on at No.5 was Kiwi-Cammy playing his last match for the club as he’s moving to New Zealand tomorrow! (……now that’s commitment! He obviously isn’t married!). He was up against another Cumbrian in Damien Whelan and was hoping to sign off with a 100% win record this season. Unfortunately, Damien had other ideas! I said to the team I’d go for a quick shower and would be back for the 5th game, knowing Cammy! But when I returned, we were 0-2 down. Apparently, the 2nd game had been a tough one, so I thought maybe this would be the start of a Cammy-comeback. However, it wasn’t to be tonight, and Cammy was playing like he didn’t believe he could win this one, throwing in a couple of ‘crowd pleasing’ shots through his legs. So, a final 0-3 loss and the match was lost 3-15

C’est la vie! Sweet & sour for dinner (with chicken for some and Quorn for others) and it must have gone down well as I was only allowed a small ration of seconds, due to high demand. And ironically a match that left a sweet & sour taste in the mouth!

Au revoir Cammy and bonne chance……………. oh wait a minute he’s going to New Zealand! Well don’t forget to pack your jandals & togs and I hope you find a good squash club out there and also learn the rules of cricket! Bon Voyage!

Final RASTA Rankings of the Year – Congratulations Mark Ford for being the No.1 Player Over the 2022 RASTA Season

November 7, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: racketball, Racketball Around Scotland, RASTA

Photo Montage of RASTA Racketball at Edinburgh Sports Club on 5th November 2022 (Sponsored by Pebble Urns)

November 6, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Pebble Urn, racketball, Racketball Around Scotland, RASTA

Match Report 2nd November 2022 v Giffnock (away) – West Squash Division 1

November 3, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Well you could feel that this wasn’t your ordinary West League match last night, as there was a tension in the air. Some of the team, who got a ‘Bosman’ to Whitecraigs LT&SC this summer, were playing their first squash match against their previous club and were eager to impress. Even the Giffnock squash convenor wished me ‘bad luck’ on the way in! 😊

Harry (Anderson) was one of the Bosman Boys, and he went on first against Neil Bennet (from Townend/Dalgety Bay/Poland!) at No.3. I didn’t see any of this as I was on at the same time against Stu Pitt at No.4 but chatting to Harry after he said that he won the first two games and was exhausted. Neil stormed back in the 3rd, and it was then that Harry realised how much he would have to dig! And dig he did as he took the match 3-1. Neil wanted to storm outside to cool down, but he only stormed out for about 5 seconds, as it was stoatin’ it doon ootside!

I had a strange encounter against the gangly giant that is Stu Pitt. He seems to have an ‘on/off switch’ in his head that can flick one way or the other at any moment! Game 1 it was on, and he won reasonably comfortably. Game 2 & 3 it was off, and he lost them both – with his racket going for flying lessons, into the away supporters’ end – Bruce had to take evasive action! However, Owen (Hadden) was down, between every game, trying to re-wire Big Stu, and he must have found the short circuit, as the 4th game was a very easy 11-2 to Stu………. and he was 5-1 up in the 5th. Hold on, were the lights flickering as I came back to 5-7? Well yes, but not enough to turn off and Stu brought the tie home 3-2

Step forward if you want to referee the No.2 match between Chris (Murphy) v Owen Hadden? Everyone takes one step backwards leaving me looking like the volunteer! It was immediately obvious that both players had a (grudging) respect for each other’s contrasting squash styles and both were very keen to impose their style on the match. Tonight it was Chris who won the battle 3-0, but that was far from the whole story. There were very tough moments in all 3 games that could have turned the tide at any time. However, Chris had the right game plan to keep his nose in front at the crucial times, and secure 3 points for the team.

The No.5s went on next for the epic match of the night, as ‘Kiwi’ Cammy (Colquhoun) put his 100% win record up against Niall Morris. I didn’t see the 1st game, but the score (12-10 to Cammy) looked like it was a bruising start. However, when I did start watching in the 2nd, Niall was well in control. Cammy was trying to finish the points too quickly and was making lots of mistakes to lose the 2nd. But if the 1st game was tough, the 3rd was an epic ‘hit & run’ for Cammy! And when it got to 5-3, Niall looked like he’d run out of puff, as Cammy took the next 7 points – and went on to go 2-1 up. So the message was, “same again please!”, but things are rarely that simple with a Cammy match! Niall played much better and again, too many mistakes from our lad……… and so to the 5th! Well this time it was Niall’s turn to make a few mistakes to give Cammy a 5-1 lead and then it was just a matter of if Cammy could hold on. Niall slowed things down very effectively and 9-2 became 10-6, but a fortunate ‘dead nic’ gave Cammy the momentum he needed to push over the winning line 3-2 (and secure the extra 3 match winning points).

At the same time that this was all going on, James (Singh) went on against Jamie ‘Hendo’ Henderson at No.1. The 1st game saw Jamie trying to win every rally in about 2 shots and at 4-2 he looked like he could do it, but James played really well to take the game 11-6. So Hendo had to change his game a bit and that’s exactly what he did; he still took on some ridiculous shots (and got most of them) but he also used a fantastic ‘hold’ to keep James guessing. It was another tough 2nd game, and with a few more points going James’ way at 8-10, he may have sneaked it, but Jamie won the 2nd 11-8. After that Hendo took control of the match and never let go. So a 3-1 win to Jamie.

A good hard 3-2 win for us and M.O.T.M. should probably go to Cammy for his 3-2 match winning performance (but it could equally have gone to either Flash Harry, Hendo, Chris or even Owen for re-wiring Stu just in time!). Then there was some lovely pizza & chips (and Erdinger) for dinner and good chat from all the Giffnock lads past and present. The team returned to the Whitecraigs Back Bar to join our other team members (Ollie & Hamish…….Dumb & Dumber!) and the match was dissected again by one and all! Gotta’ love a Wednesday squash night oot!

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Squash, West, West Squash, West Team Matches, Whitecraigs LT&SC

Match Report 26th October 2022 v Hamilton (home) – West Squash Division 1

October 27, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Tough match last night for us against a very solid Hamilton team, at home, and we were missing our talisman at No.1 – ‘Two James Singhs’😊

So first on at No.5 was Ollie (Millen) v Norman Patterson. Now Norman had won the last encounter between the two and despite the fact that we’d hardly ever mentioned it again to Ollie every week since (especially Cammy!), Ollie was right up for this re-match. He caught Norman cold and won the first game reasonably easily, but then doubled down for the next two games to secure the win and not even give Norman a look-in. Ollie looked very pleased with himself for the rest of the night!

Next up at No.1 was Chris (Murphy) v Kenny Boyle – no one else would referee, so I stepped up, hoping that there wouldn’t be too much controversy…..and there wasn’t! A really good-spirited match of two halves. Chris moved the ball around beautifully in the first two games and Kenny dug in in the next two, getting the ball behind Chris and forcing him to go for a little too much. And so to the 5th! Well, this was a game too far for Chris and he looked a little white around the gills as he came off having been run out of it by Kenny 3-2.

I went on next at No.3 against Chris McGeady and although Chris played really well (and would undoubtedly have beaten me anyway) I just wasn’t on it tonight. Ollie tried to get me to rally more, and he was right! But there just wasn’t any spring in my bungy! 0-3 loss.

It was a similar story for Hamilton’s Chris McCutcheon, as he took on our No.4 ‘Cammy the Kiwi’ Colquhoun. This was a bit of a pumpin’ and Cammy was just too fast – and Chris admitted that it was, “Hopefully the ass-kicking that may get me to train harder and get fit”. 3-0 win for Cammy.

So with the match tied at 2-2 ‘Flash Harry’ (Anderson) took to the court to take on Callum Philips. I was asked, “Who should win this?” and after thinking about it for a few seconds said, “I honestly don’t have a clue!” Callum came out ‘all-guns-a-blazing’ and Harry had to race around the court to get close to the angles being hit; leading a member of the crowd to remark, “It looks like Harry’s not in control of his own legs!” 😊). So Callum won the first game and things were looking ominous! But we needn’t have worried because as soon as Chris had a ‘magic team-talk’ with Harry, everything changed. I’m not entirely sure if Chris was 100% focused with his thoughts about the match, as he had no idea that Harry had lost the first game!! None-the-less, it had the desired effect, because Harry went on to win the next three games and not only win this tie, but also collect the 3 bonus match points as well!

Well they say ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold’ and that may have been true for Ollie’s Norman conquest (!) but the macaroni was piping hot and there was plenty of it. Even the sceptics went up for seconds and we left with macaroni-carb loading for the next fortnight!

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Squash, West Squash, West Team Matches, Whitecraigs LT&SC

Match Report 5th October 2022 v Newlands 2 (home) – West Squash Division 1

October 6, 2022 broadberrysports Leave a comment

Two James Singhs, There’s Only Two James Singhs – Two Ja………..

Well it’s great to be back in another West League season and despite the fact it was chucking it down outside, it’s always a good day for squash!

With the club now back to its Post-Covid maximum complement of 6 teams this season, the only downside is that with three teams at home, it does mean we only had one court to face Newlands 2.

First on was Ollie (Millen) at No.5 v Euan (Allison). Ollie has been doing a bit of pre-season training this year so he’s playing quite well, but Euan has obviously been doing the same and was very quick to everything.

It was difficult for Ollie to kill the ball on the warm court and Euan ran out a 3-0 winner (with his new ‘ultra-cut’ drop-shot on show!).

Next up, making his West Squash League debut for Whitecraigs was James (Singh) v Dave (Fallis). I though this will be a good (non-controversial) one to ref, so I took to the chair. After the first 5 rallies I had to make about 4 decisions and I’m not sure they were all right! After the initial skirmishes James wone 11-2, but I though I’d be much stricter in the 2nd game, and I put on my glasses and stood up to prove that there would be no mucking about this time! But there was no need as the game fell into a rhythm – James volleyed really well and although Dave moved very fast about the court, young James was just too quick and kept the pace too high for Dave. James went onto win the match 3-0 and the volleying just got better as the game went on. #greatdebut

Next on was another debutant for Whitecraigs, as Harry (Anderson) took on the James Singh from Newlands (and to make things more confusing our James Singh was marking!). This was a bit of a classic, with a clash of youth against experience, not to mention the difference in styles! The 1st game went by in a blur of boasts and tins, with James romping home, and he took the 2nd game as well, although this time it was much closer! Harry got his consistency and length going in the next two games and levelled things up 2-2…. And so to the 5th! There was a bit of a hiatus between games and this, I think, worked in James’s favour as he recovered his breath, consistency and concentration, and Harry was less prepared, going back onto court. And so it proved as James romped home to win 3-2.

Next, on at No.4 was Cammy (Colquhoun) v Mick (Cockburn). This was a tough one for Mick, as Cammy was doing his usual mental retrieving and Mick just couldn’t put him away. There were a few rallies where Mick did enough to win the rally about 5 times, but Cammy just kept digging and digging until he won. I felt a bit sorry for Mick as I knew how he feels! A good 3-0 win to ‘Run Forrest’ Cammey! (That’s not a typo! 3-0 he didn’t let him get back to 2-2!)

So with the match at 2-2 I took to the court (and turned the heaters off) against David Morrison. I was a bit worried when Dave was hitting some cracking shots in the knock up, but when the game got underway he was also making a few errors. The initial parts of the match were very competitive, but I got a good run and won the 1st. The 2nd was much closer and could have gone either way…. and it did….to me again! My old friend Graeme Marshall reminded me of the old adage “Win in 3, don’t lose in 5!” and I certainly didn’t want to let this one slip. So helped by a few more errors by Dave, I was relieved to win the 3rd game and collect the 3 bonus points for the team score.

So a good 14-6 win for the new look Whitecraigs 1st team and we retired to the Back Bar for the new look catering, with Vicky serving up homemade lasagna & garlic bread (with some magic coleslaw). I was in no doubt how well it went down as everyone went up for seconds. It’s great to be back to Wednesday night squash – the highlight of the week!