Optical Express DLWE v Newlands 2 – Away Match Report 5th October 2016 (amalgamated match report with week 1 v Glasgow Uni) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Well two weeks into the season and the roller-coaster that is ‘The West Squash Leagues’ are back with their weekly outrageous fortune. One week everything is great and the next is a tragedy!
We had a great trip to the University last week and a wonderful team win – I had a lucky win at No.3 against a young Egyptian guy called Omar (who I suspect I’ll never beat again!) who managed to get cramp in the 4th game so I snuck home 3-1 (winning on fitnesss!). However this week I was unceremoniously thrashed off the court 3-0 by Angus Woodward – mind you Angus was playing No.4 in their 1st team last week (and I was awarded two individual points for one outrageous cross-court volley nic! #shotofthematch)
It’s annoying when you play any 2nd team and they have got the full 1st team out (and players returning) because of a big match they have. Thus making them about 4 players stronger than normal! (#newsflash Newlands 1 beat Giffnock 1 last night 15-6 – could The Division 1 Title be returning to Newlands?)
Anyway back to the important stuff! Craig (Vallentie-Wallace) had a good solid win against the Uni at No.1 v Dan Wareing (winning the match with a flat nic!), but lost this week to Brendan Forrister and although I didn’t see it, it appeared that he was chopped a bit like I was.
Doug (Macmillan) joined the 1st team this week at No.5 and it was a massive move up from playing Parklands last week. He was also chopped 3-0 (by Dave Morrison) I’ve seen him play better than that! Mind you it made my terrible performance look a bit better! It’s all relative eh!
Finlay (McGhee) was chopped at No.4 this week; after a great first week against the Uni winning 3-0 at No.5 v Jesse Mills with a really good performance. But this week he was up against a very much improved Fraser McCann (who I sponsor via Harrow Rackets, so it was good to see Fraser in action and playing well). This was always going to be a tough one for Fin and I’m afraid his opponent was just too good (Fraser was 2nd in last week’s Danish Junior Open and leaving tomorrow for the Nordic Junior Open in Malmo! Tough life eh!?!). MOTM to Fraser I’d say.
The silver lining last night was Jason (also sponsored by Harrow….Lang!). A good win in week 1 v Terry Lau against the Uni and an even better win this week (I reckon) against Lisa Aitkin, Scottish No.1.
I could only admire Lisa’s wonderful volleying and movement, but Jase was making life very difficult for her and he managed to keep her stretching into the back corners and then getting on the volley early. Jase played really well to neutralise Lisa’s game and he thoroughly deserves our man of the match (although MOTM was a bit of a shoe-in this week!)
6pm start and curry for dinner meant we were all in the bar about 8.30pm – very nice!
So ‘The Good’ was the win v the Uni last week – ‘The Bad’ was last night’s drubbing and ‘The Ugly’ is…………….. Doug!
(and ‘yes’ I realise I’m on shaky ground with that gag!)
Optical Express DLWE v Hamilton 4 – Home Match Report 5th October 2016
Good win for 3rd team last night 14-6
Youngsters played really well (apart from heading home early to bed without leaving any cash for drinks or food!), it was like watching a 1970’s advert for battling tops at times (google it, for those not old enough to remember) with spins and turns a plenty! Us older members of the team had mixed fortunes with Johnny suffering a 5th game defeat and I managed a 3-1 win on my comeback.
Match tea of luke warm dried out pizzas, were a total embarrasment, so I refused to pay! Lets see what happens. A Dominos delivery would have been cheaper and tasted better; in fact a bag of crisps would have been much better. We got harrased out at 10.25 with the phrase “ the club is closing in 5 mins can you pay your bill” – top notch hospitality!
Scores as follows
3rd Team v Hamilton 4 (H)
1. Andrew Glen v Sophie 15-7, 15-7, 15-13
2. Robert McNaught v Mark 15-10, 16-18, 15-6, 15-10
3. Ewan Macandie v David 15-12, 8-15, 16-14, 15-5
4. Johnny McDonald v Liam 9-15, 15-9, 11-15, 15-10, 12-15
5. David Mazzucco v Colin 15-13, 15-11, 8-15, 15-8
Optical Express DLWE v DLR – Away Match Report 5th October 2016
Everyday , it’s a getting closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey,a – hey, a- hey hey
Buddy Holly
The DLWE love of squash is definitely a roller coaster
One day the teams are dominating their respective divisions (The firsts do not count as usual) the next
we have spinners invading our courts, players moving even to outer England and the third team becoming
the fourths.
The only constants are inedible food (See David Mazz report) and me serving out.
After a bitter opening loss against Whitecraigs ,spirits were low facing the noisy neighbours DL Renfrew last week
I turned up with David Wilson to see the Col in a bad mood , (Surely unusual !)
He was playing Jim Cowan and looking at the match I thing normally he would have prevailed
However a bad call in the first game played on his mind, plus maybe still carrying a bit of an injury, resulted in a defeat
The game seemed to be all placement and drops with no pace
He did apologise to the marker for his outburst which I had missed but at least he showed some passion which I
unfortunately did not in mine !
Loss 0-3 8-15 7-15 12-15
Ray at 5 was up against John McConnell , only saw bits and Ray not quite at best and did not get going. Early days and
more training to come
Loss 0-3 6-15 5-15 6-15
I then at 2 played Paul Rogan , the only bright point was I only served out once ,probably because you could have eaten
a tunnocks tea cake in the amount of time I was on court
Insipid, lethargic ,naïve were all phrases I could use ,better Scottish word is Shite
Loss 0-3 9-15 8-15 4-15
David Wilson at 4 was on same time against Andy Cochrane. I was finished so quick I saw the last of this match. David played pretty well.
Lost the first two took the third and was nip and tuck in the fourth . Shots as always technically good and signs of improved mobility.
Loss 1-3 11-15 11-15 17-15 13-15
Last up was Jonny Neil at 1 , Jonny was the one success the first week with a battling 3-2 victory and hopes were high.
The first two games were tight but his opponent Robert Wilson nicked 15-13 15-13 . The fightback started and Jonny took the next two
comfortably. Raymond helpfully informed him to keep on playing how he had played in the third and fourth games. I could not see him
losing ….. Yes he lost narrowly in the 5th. Still good effort
Loss 2-3 13-15 13-15 15-4 15-5 13-15
Overall loss 3-18
Food was an excellent baked potato with beans, cheese and salad (I dread entertaining at home venue) and chat while good was a bit muted on our side
A- Hey . A – hey love like yours will surely come our way
Optical Express DLWE v Hamilton – Home Match Report) 12th October 2016
Hamilton came to call last night and it was one of those Wednesdays when everything goes well. We had 2 courts all night; the team T-shirts arrived; the food was good and we won – amazing!
First on court was all 5 of us as we posed for the team photo in the brand new Optical Express sponsored team tops!
But other than that Finlay (McGhee) v Scott Hay were first on court at No.4 – Fin was catching Scott with his cross-court drops, mixed in with good length. I didn’t see much of the game, but I did hear Scott’s coach (John Kirby) tell him to watch out for ‘this shot’ and ‘that shot’ and I thought I know exactly what you mean as he does it to me all the time as well (and it’s bloody annoying!). 3-0 to Fin
Next on was Craig (V-W) against Calum Phillip at No.1 – a good 1st game for Craig, but Calum started hitting his straps in the 2nd and with the really high swing, power and deception was having a lot of success – so much in fact that he won the 2nd game! But Craig was ready for him after that and was reading all of Calum’s tricks and keeping him tied to the back. So Craig brought home the match 3-1 to a more and more resigned Calum.
I was on next against Chris McGeady at No.3. Now we had a real hum-dinger of a match last time on the Hamilton ‘Sauna’ courts. I’d just managed to pip Chris in the 5th and I’d definitely used up my ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card during that encounter. Fortunately for me I dominated proceedings this time, on the colder courts and I volleyed particularly well (for me). Chris changed tactics in the 2nd game and I was happy to trade a few shots with him. The upshot was a 3-0 win for me – I was very satisfied with my performance (although Chris had a glint in his eye as he said “I look forward to the rematch in the Sauna!”) .
Doug (Macmillan) was 1-0 down and faffing about in the 2nd when I took over marking this match (against Stephen Healy at No.5). Fortunately he faffed his way to a 12-10 win in that game and so at 1-1 it was still anyone’s. Also at 8-8 in the 3rd, it was still anyone’s, but it was about here that Doug put the pedal to the metal and took the initiative with some much more positive squash and good length. So the eagle was landed and 1-1 soon became a 3-1 win to Dougie.
Jason (Lang) was last on against Colin Towers at No.2. and this was a mismatch in many ways, such as in height and also in age of racket! Not only was there was about 4 foot separating the two of them, but Jason’s brand new Harrow Vapor was gleaming next to Colin’s 20 year old antique of a racket! Unfortunately for Colin the game was a bit of a mismatch as well because Jason was playing well and was just too sharp for Colin.
So a 3-0 win for Jason meant the team got an excellent 18-point haul. MOTM to either Fin or me I’d (modestly) say and to Stephen Healey for Hamilton.
And the jacket spuds were baked to perfection. Everyone enjoyed them – even me (who doesn’t like potatoes!) and even Colin Towers, who I’ve never seen eat anything at a team match for 25 years, had half a potato!
Craighelen vs. David Lloyd West End 2
Played at: Craighelen Lawn Tennis & Squash Club
1 Kurt Hart 3 – 0 (15-8, 15-9, 15-4) v David Ritchie
2 Kieran Martin 3 – 0 (15-8, 18-16, 15-10) v Alastair McKenzie
3 Ronnie Campbell 3 – 0 (15-3, 15-12, 15-11) v Robert McNaught
4 Steve Graham 3 – 1 (8-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-7) v Ewan MacAndie
5 Chris Moses 3 – 0 (15-13, 15-6, 15-9) Johnathan Neil
Games Won 15 1
Game Points Won 236 156
Penalty Points 0 0
Bonus Points 3.00 0
Total 18 1
Whitecraigs LTC 2 vs. David Lloyd West End 3
Played at: Whitecraigs Lawn Tennis & Squash Clubs
1 Ross McClure 3 – 0 (15-10, 15-12, 17-15) v Johnathan Neil
2 Gianfranco Manini 3 – 1 (15-13, 11-15, 15-6, 15-11) v Graham Sanders
3 Gordon McLure 3 – 0 (15-10, 15-13, 15-9) v David Wilson
4 Scott Morton 3 – 0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-10) v Raymond Gauhl
5 Fred Laing 3 – 0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-4) v Brandon Moshin
Games Won 15 1
Game Points Won 238 170
Penalty Points 0 0
Bonus Points 3.00 0
Total 18 1
broadberrysports
Optical Express DLWE v Newlands 2 – Away Match Report 5th October 2016 (amalgamated match report with week 1 v Glasgow Uni)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Well two weeks into the season and the roller-coaster that is ‘The West Squash Leagues’ are back with their weekly outrageous fortune. One week everything is great and the next is a tragedy!
We had a great trip to the University last week and a wonderful team win – I had a lucky win at No.3 against a young Egyptian guy called Omar (who I suspect I’ll never beat again!) who managed to get cramp in the 4th game so I snuck home 3-1 (winning on fitnesss!). However this week I was unceremoniously thrashed off the court 3-0 by Angus Woodward – mind you Angus was playing No.4 in their 1st team last week (and I was awarded two individual points for one outrageous cross-court volley nic! #shotofthematch)
It’s annoying when you play any 2nd team and they have got the full 1st team out (and players returning) because of a big match they have. Thus making them about 4 players stronger than normal! (#newsflash Newlands 1 beat Giffnock 1 last night 15-6 – could The Division 1 Title be returning to Newlands?)
Anyway back to the important stuff! Craig (Vallentie-Wallace) had a good solid win against the Uni at No.1 v Dan Wareing (winning the match with a flat nic!), but lost this week to Brendan Forrister and although I didn’t see it, it appeared that he was chopped a bit like I was.
Doug (Macmillan) joined the 1st team this week at No.5 and it was a massive move up from playing Parklands last week. He was also chopped 3-0 (by Dave Morrison) I’ve seen him play better than that! Mind you it made my terrible performance look a bit better! It’s all relative eh!
Finlay (McGhee) was chopped at No.4 this week; after a great first week against the Uni winning 3-0 at No.5 v Jesse Mills with a really good performance. But this week he was up against a very much improved Fraser McCann (who I sponsor via Harrow Rackets, so it was good to see Fraser in action and playing well). This was always going to be a tough one for Fin and I’m afraid his opponent was just too good (Fraser was 2nd in last week’s Danish Junior Open and leaving tomorrow for the Nordic Junior Open in Malmo! Tough life eh!?!). MOTM to Fraser I’d say.
The silver lining last night was Jason (also sponsored by Harrow….Lang!). A good win in week 1 v Terry Lau against the Uni and an even better win this week (I reckon) against Lisa Aitkin, Scottish No.1.
I could only admire Lisa’s wonderful volleying and movement, but Jase was making life very difficult for her and he managed to keep her stretching into the back corners and then getting on the volley early. Jase played really well to neutralise Lisa’s game and he thoroughly deserves our man of the match (although MOTM was a bit of a shoe-in this week!)
6pm start and curry for dinner meant we were all in the bar about 8.30pm – very nice!
So ‘The Good’ was the win v the Uni last week – ‘The Bad’ was last night’s drubbing and ‘The Ugly’ is…………….. Doug!
(and ‘yes’ I realise I’m on shaky ground with that gag!)
Optical Express DLWE v Strathclyde Uni – Home Match Report 5th October 2016
Optical Express DLWE v Hamilton 4 – Home Match Report 5th October 2016
Good win for 3rd team last night 14-6
Youngsters played really well (apart from heading home early to bed without leaving any cash for drinks or food!), it was like watching a 1970’s advert for battling tops at times (google it, for those not old enough to remember) with spins and turns a plenty! Us older members of the team had mixed fortunes with Johnny suffering a 5th game defeat and I managed a 3-1 win on my comeback.
Match tea of luke warm dried out pizzas, were a total embarrasment, so I refused to pay! Lets see what happens. A Dominos delivery would have been cheaper and tasted better; in fact a bag of crisps would have been much better. We got harrased out at 10.25 with the phrase “ the club is closing in 5 mins can you pay your bill” – top notch hospitality!
Scores as follows
3rd Team v Hamilton 4 (H)
1. Andrew Glen v Sophie 15-7, 15-7, 15-13
2. Robert McNaught v Mark 15-10, 16-18, 15-6, 15-10
3. Ewan Macandie v David 15-12, 8-15, 16-14, 15-5
4. Johnny McDonald v Liam 9-15, 15-9, 11-15, 15-10, 12-15
5. David Mazzucco v Colin 15-13, 15-11, 8-15, 15-8
Regards,
David
Optical Express DLWE v DLR – Away Match Report 5th October 2016
Everyday , it’s a getting closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey,a – hey, a- hey hey
Buddy Holly
The DLWE love of squash is definitely a roller coaster
One day the teams are dominating their respective divisions (The firsts do not count as usual) the next
we have spinners invading our courts, players moving even to outer England and the third team becoming
the fourths.
The only constants are inedible food (See David Mazz report) and me serving out.
After a bitter opening loss against Whitecraigs ,spirits were low facing the noisy neighbours DL Renfrew last week
I turned up with David Wilson to see the Col in a bad mood , (Surely unusual !)
He was playing Jim Cowan and looking at the match I thing normally he would have prevailed
However a bad call in the first game played on his mind, plus maybe still carrying a bit of an injury, resulted in a defeat
The game seemed to be all placement and drops with no pace
He did apologise to the marker for his outburst which I had missed but at least he showed some passion which I
unfortunately did not in mine !
Loss 0-3 8-15 7-15 12-15
Ray at 5 was up against John McConnell , only saw bits and Ray not quite at best and did not get going. Early days and
more training to come
Loss 0-3 6-15 5-15 6-15
I then at 2 played Paul Rogan , the only bright point was I only served out once ,probably because you could have eaten
a tunnocks tea cake in the amount of time I was on court
Insipid, lethargic ,naïve were all phrases I could use ,better Scottish word is Shite
Loss 0-3 9-15 8-15 4-15
David Wilson at 4 was on same time against Andy Cochrane. I was finished so quick I saw the last of this match. David played pretty well.
Lost the first two took the third and was nip and tuck in the fourth . Shots as always technically good and signs of improved mobility.
Loss 1-3 11-15 11-15 17-15 13-15
Last up was Jonny Neil at 1 , Jonny was the one success the first week with a battling 3-2 victory and hopes were high.
The first two games were tight but his opponent Robert Wilson nicked 15-13 15-13 . The fightback started and Jonny took the next two
comfortably. Raymond helpfully informed him to keep on playing how he had played in the third and fourth games. I could not see him
losing ….. Yes he lost narrowly in the 5th. Still good effort
Loss 2-3 13-15 13-15 15-4 15-5 13-15
Overall loss 3-18
Food was an excellent baked potato with beans, cheese and salad (I dread entertaining at home venue) and chat while good was a bit muted on our side
A- Hey . A – hey love like yours will surely come our way
Optical Express DLWE v Hamilton – Home Match Report) 12th October 2016
Hamilton came to call last night and it was one of those Wednesdays when everything goes well. We had 2 courts all night; the team T-shirts arrived; the food was good and we won – amazing!
First on court was all 5 of us as we posed for the team photo in the brand new Optical Express sponsored team tops!
But other than that Finlay (McGhee) v Scott Hay were first on court at No.4 – Fin was catching Scott with his cross-court drops, mixed in with good length. I didn’t see much of the game, but I did hear Scott’s coach (John Kirby) tell him to watch out for ‘this shot’ and ‘that shot’ and I thought I know exactly what you mean as he does it to me all the time as well (and it’s bloody annoying!). 3-0 to Fin
Next on was Craig (V-W) against Calum Phillip at No.1 – a good 1st game for Craig, but Calum started hitting his straps in the 2nd and with the really high swing, power and deception was having a lot of success – so much in fact that he won the 2nd game! But Craig was ready for him after that and was reading all of Calum’s tricks and keeping him tied to the back. So Craig brought home the match 3-1 to a more and more resigned Calum.
I was on next against Chris McGeady at No.3. Now we had a real hum-dinger of a match last time on the Hamilton ‘Sauna’ courts. I’d just managed to pip Chris in the 5th and I’d definitely used up my ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card during that encounter. Fortunately for me I dominated proceedings this time, on the colder courts and I volleyed particularly well (for me). Chris changed tactics in the 2nd game and I was happy to trade a few shots with him. The upshot was a 3-0 win for me – I was very satisfied with my performance (although Chris had a glint in his eye as he said “I look forward to the rematch in the Sauna!”) .
Doug (Macmillan) was 1-0 down and faffing about in the 2nd when I took over marking this match (against Stephen Healy at No.5). Fortunately he faffed his way to a 12-10 win in that game and so at 1-1 it was still anyone’s. Also at 8-8 in the 3rd, it was still anyone’s, but it was about here that Doug put the pedal to the metal and took the initiative with some much more positive squash and good length. So the eagle was landed and 1-1 soon became a 3-1 win to Dougie.
Jason (Lang) was last on against Colin Towers at No.2. and this was a mismatch in many ways, such as in height and also in age of racket! Not only was there was about 4 foot separating the two of them, but Jason’s brand new Harrow Vapor was gleaming next to Colin’s 20 year old antique of a racket! Unfortunately for Colin the game was a bit of a mismatch as well because Jason was playing well and was just too sharp for Colin.
So a 3-0 win for Jason meant the team got an excellent 18-point haul. MOTM to either Fin or me I’d (modestly) say and to Stephen Healey for Hamilton.
And the jacket spuds were baked to perfection. Everyone enjoyed them – even me (who doesn’t like potatoes!) and even Colin Towers, who I’ve never seen eat anything at a team match for 25 years, had half a potato!
Craighelen vs. David Lloyd West End 2
Played at: Craighelen Lawn Tennis & Squash Club
1 Kurt Hart 3 – 0 (15-8, 15-9, 15-4) v David Ritchie
2 Kieran Martin 3 – 0 (15-8, 18-16, 15-10) v Alastair McKenzie
3 Ronnie Campbell 3 – 0 (15-3, 15-12, 15-11) v Robert McNaught
4 Steve Graham 3 – 1 (8-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-7) v Ewan MacAndie
5 Chris Moses 3 – 0 (15-13, 15-6, 15-9) Johnathan Neil
Games Won 15 1
Game Points Won 236 156
Penalty Points 0 0
Bonus Points 3.00 0
Total 18 1
Whitecraigs LTC 2 vs. David Lloyd West End 3
Played at: Whitecraigs Lawn Tennis & Squash Clubs
1 Ross McClure 3 – 0 (15-10, 15-12, 17-15) v Johnathan Neil
2 Gianfranco Manini 3 – 1 (15-13, 11-15, 15-6, 15-11) v Graham Sanders
3 Gordon McLure 3 – 0 (15-10, 15-13, 15-9) v David Wilson
4 Scott Morton 3 – 0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-10) v Raymond Gauhl
5 Fred Laing 3 – 0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-4) v Brandon Moshin
Games Won 15 1
Game Points Won 238 170
Penalty Points 0 0
Bonus Points 3.00 0
Total 18 1