Archive
British Open 2016 – Guess Who’s back!
Pictures of the 2016 Newlands Open
2016 Newlands Open Draws – 18th – 20th March
Mathieu Castagnet Champion Canary Wharf Squash Classic $70K
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Giffnock 1 – Home (Match Report) 9th March 2016
Giffnock 1 this week and apparently they only needed 6 points to win the 2015/16 Division 1 title!
They were obviously a bit worried as they had the full squad out this week! And no surprise as we were well in the lead at the start of the match and they were lucky to come back at us!?!?! No really!
Normal proceedings of, ‘Do you want to start early?’ Followed by 1st game on at 7.15pm and no one else there until 7.30pm applied. However eventually the No.5 pairing of Joe ‘well warmed up’ McDonald v Niall Morris were on the show court and:
- Joe got off to a flyer winning the 1st game 11-9
- Next on was Doug Macmillan who also stormed the 1st game at No.3 against James Singh!
- And third on at No.2 was Jason (Lang) who had an epic 1st game win (13-11) against Stuart George!
So The Mighty Giffnock looked down and out – they were quaking in their collective boots – they could see the title slipping away from their grasp……right up until they won every other game! (I’m thinking of changing jobs and becoming a spin doctor! What do you think??)
Still Jason played well (Lang not me) as all his games were very tight. Owen Hadden actually gave me a run and a few points this time at No.4 – and at No.1 Giffnock’s Kevin Moran looked like he was playing some great squash against our own Craig (Vallente Wallace) with a master class in control.
However I always look on the bright side of squash and on the up side we got 2 more points than we did, against Newlands 1, last week and not only that but dinner was actually bordering on nice – as Jase and I went up for seconds!
Next week sees the last match of the season (boo!) and we travel to Newlands to play their 2nd team. We’re currently in 6th position and with a good performance we could hold onto that – which is a massive 5 place improvement for the team on last season.
Onward and upwards!
Jason
PS – Did anyone see the Western v Whitecraigs Rugby Club result? Strange one?!?!
Final Line up of the Canary Wharf Squash Classic $70K
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v SSRC – Away (Match Report) 24th February 2016
It was off to SSRC tonight and no surprise they had targeted us with their big superstars. Dougie Kempsell – PSA World ranked No.101 and Jamie Henderson (Scotland’s No.5) were both at No.1 & No.2 – so we had to win at 3,4 & 5 if we were going to cause an upset on the first half’s results.
I went on first v Brian Robertson at No.3 – so this one for the match then! No pressure!! It was all going well after two games, as I was 2-0 up, but Brian fought back well to clinch the 3rd. It was nip and tuck in the 4th as well….and I had an early lead. But disaster struck as I pulled a groin muscle! I limped on for the next couple of points thinking I could just get some ridiculous nics, but it was soon obvious that I couldn’t even push off my right leg (let alone hit nics that I’ve never hit before!) so unfortunately I had to concede and that was our chance scuppered for the match! So it was straight to the ice machine for me and I think this injury may keep me out for a week or two (especially as we’re playing Newlands and
Giffnock next!)
Next on was Jason (Lang) v Jamie Henderson at No.2. It was great to see Jason flinging himself about the court and he certainly won a lot of the mini battles. However Jamie was just too strong (as you would expect) and it was 3-0 to SSRC.
Doug (Macmillan) played Chris Holt a No.4 next and this was the match of the night. Could Douglas beat the wylie old coyote?
Well the short answer is ‘yes’ – but it went all the way to 5 games and Chris was 2-1 up! However Doug was determined not to let the match slip. He moved Chris around in the first 3 games and by the 4th he had Chris puffing! Doug got good leads in the 4th & 5th games and with a strong final push, crossed the finishing line to win 3-2. Man of the match to both men I would say.
Finley (McGhee) went on after this against Andy McCulley. Finlay stormed the 1st and looked in total control, but Andy won the 2nd in double quick time and so it was anyone’s match at that point. However Finley not only won the 3rd easily, but also got a good lead in the 4th, which he needed as he just scraped home 14-16 to take the match 3-1 (still unbeaten this season!).
Last on was Craig (Valente-Wallace) v Dougie Kempsell. To say Craig was up against it this week was putting it mildly! I missed this one as I had to go for a shower. And although the score was never in doubt Craig must have kept Dougie running, as after a really long shower they were still at it. Nevertheless Dougie won 3-0
Still 8 more points to the cause and we’re still n 5th position! But with Newlands & Giffnock next I reckon we will end up around 7th (which when you remember that we were 10th & 11th previously means a really strong performance this season – surely we’re the DLWE team of the season!).
Pizza for dinner and when they were put on the table it was said that the veggi one was for me, which kept everyone else at bay until they realised that I had scoffed three-quarters of it and theirs were gone!! Always watch out for the supersized Veggie!
BTW – anyone see this?
Newlands Open – 19th & 20th March 2016
On the 19th-20th March the Newland’s Open will return for the tournament’s 2nd year and it looks as if this time the field is stronger than ever. There will be 4 graded tournaments with some of the best payers in Scotland competing in the main draw for a share of the £1500.00 prize fund.
Harrow are proud to help sponsor the tournament and I look forward to seeing you there (in the D grade!)
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Strathgryffe – Home (Match Report) 17th February 2016
Strathgryffe this week and they looked like they were missing a player or two, so with
My team mates have never heard of these!
home advantage could we capitalise on this? I was feeling old this week and it wasn’t just because I am! The average age used to be brought down by me playing in the team, now (especially with Finlay forcing his way into the squad) I put the average up from about 20 to about 30!
First on at No.5 was the aforementioned Finley (McGee) against John Mechin (who was considerably younger than Finlay). When Finlay won the 1st game I said to him, if you play really well and keep up the pressure you have a great chance of winning – and you should take it because you will never beat this guy again, but you will always be able to say that you have beaten him! In the second game Finlay let the pressure off (for just a couple of points) and lost the game and the momentum. The 3rd was a similar story, but this time he managed to hold on by his fingernails to go 2-1 up. It was only in the 4th game that things were comfortable for Finley and he strolled home to win 3-1. Great effort from Finley and MOTM again for him I’d say.
Next on court was Doug (Macmillan) against Chris ‘The Pirate’ Patrick (although he looks more like Grizzly Adams these days!). By Chris’s own admission he had been demoted to the 1st team this week!! But he still plays a good fast paced game that is difficult to break down. Unfortunately, for him, he came up against a rejuvenated Doug, who was moving well and not letting Chris dominate. Doug went 2-0 up and then Chris had to retire due to a leg injury in the 3rd (maybe he’ll need one of those pirate’s wooden legs!?!?! Arrrrghhhhh! And a parrot!)
I went on next again Scott Adam at No.3 – who amazingly I had never played before. I got into a good 2-0 lead in the match, before Scott sneak the 3rd with some good retrieving and some tricky shots. It looked like this was going to be a real battle (and it was) but fortunately for me I managed to keep my nose in front in the 4th and that proved to be just enough to win the match (3-1)
For the 2nd week at No.1 Jason (Lang) took to the court against his friends and coach Martin Woods. It is always difficult to beat someone who has coached you in the past, as they know your strengths and weaknesses probably better than you do. But Jason was playing particularly well tonight and I though Martin maybe lacked a bit of belief. It was 3-0 to Jason and a great win for him.
Last on was Craig (Valente-Wallace) against James Dare at No.2 and this turned out to be the match of the night. James won the first 2 as Craig looked a bit off the pace. However he made a great comeback to take the 3rd and wrestle 5 match balls back in the 4th! The 5th was a little easier on the nerves and eventually Craig won 3-2. However fair play to James, he puts in a great performance and must have had Craig worried at match ball. Man of the match to James for Strathgryffe I would say.
So off to the restaurant for a nice pasta bake. Unfortunately the cardboard that was served-up was terrible (not even a tonne of mayonnaise could save it!) so we spent most of the meal apologising to the opposition for the quality of the food. Still most people forced it down anyway – but then we’re not as fussy as the 2nd & 3rd team!
Broadberry Sports 