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DLWE v Newlands – Away (Racketball Match Report) 20th April 2016
So the first ever West League racketball match started last night and we were playing Newlands away – and we all turned up discussing what the rules were and if it was up to 11 or 15. Alan Susskind said 11 so we began.
First on was Dangerous Dave Ritchie against the aforementioned Alan Susskind. This was a good game, but Alan was always in control and David spent more time lambasting himself and hitting his leg with the racket than winning points! Having said that Alan has been playing racketball for ages and is a very steady player, so no real surprise that he beat David 3-0. Having said that the 1st game was 11-8 to Alan until we realised that we were supposed to play to 15, so a curious score line of 11-8 15-13 15-8!!
Next on was Michael Jackson against Kenny McBrearty. Michael hasn’t played that much and doesn’t even own a racket yet! So it was somewhat surprising that he went 2-0 up! (must’ve been the Harrow racket I lent him!). However with every rally Kenny was getting into his stride and he began to reel Michael in. 2-0 became 2-2 and eventually Kenny gained more control of the ‘T’ and brought the match home 3-2. But an excellent two points from Michael.
While this was going on David Craig was playing at No.2 against Gavin Mack. Dave steamed into a great lead in the 1st game and Michael was 2-0 up on the other court at the same time so I dared to dream that we had a chance! However Gavin was a ‘no mistake’ player and Dave (who also does not own a racket yet!) just gave away a little too much. None the less all the games were tight and there was even a tie breaker in the 2nd, but Gavin eventually won 3-0.
I went on last against Ian (the octopus) Donnellan. I played well and didn’t let Ian in the 1st game, however I did let him in the 2nd and at 15-15 it was anyones! Fortunately my mantra of “hit straighter, get to the ‘T’ & volley more” saved the day – not that I did any of those things, I just hit a winner off the frame whilst thinking about them! The 3rd game was easier for me as you can see from the video (I’m not showing any of the points Ian won!) and I won the match 3-0.
A stack of (semi burned) pizza for dinner went down a treat with the lads and we hardly mentioned Michael losing to a girl in the dim and distant past of the squash season!
‘The Flo’ 150g – Our Price £69.99 (RSP £90) The Flo is designed for newer players who are looking for a high end, reliable frame with the head dexterity and maneuverability of an introductory frame. The Flo features a larger surface area for added control and a smaller grip for increased leverage and maneuverability.
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’The Connect’ 160g – Our Price £95.00 (RSP £104) The Connect was designed with the high end player in mind, who demands powerful, controlled strokes. The Connect is a narrower, head light frame with a large sweet spot. Featuring a tight stringing pattern for added control and a larger throat for increased power through the swing
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?!?!
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!
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Giffnock 2 – Away (Match Report) 10th February 2016
- No.1 Jase L with his new Misfit Vapor
A trip to the south side to play Giffnock 2 this week – the Giffnock young guns! You’ve got to hand it to the club, they really have produced some good young players over the past 5 or so years (and some good old ones as well!).
First on this week was at No.4 was Joe ‘old’ McDonald against Jonathan Brady. Jonathan only had one gear and that was overdrive! Everything was hit like a tracer bullet, which meant he found it quite hard to control many shots resulting in lots of mistakes. So Joe got off to a great lead, winning the first 2 games. Jonathan’s teammates must have told him to slow things down because he gradually got back into the match and eventually won in 5 by controlling his pace much better (2 good team points from Joe though and a hard fought performance).
Next on was the new addition to our team Finley McGhee against Mikey Rogerson at No.5. This was an ‘old school’ Giffnock performance with Mikey’s tennis volleying coming into full effect as he took the 1st game. Finley had to keep the ball straighter and lower. He did this in spade-fulls and so took the next 3 games reasonably comfortably to win the match 3-1. Another great performance (this 1st Division malarkey is easy eh Finley?).
I went on next at No.3 against Mark Coyle. I had seen Mark play recently and I fancied my chances of dominating the ‘T’ and taking the game to him. Well I did right up until the middle of the 1st game when I realised that this was never going to happen! Fair play to Mark he put in a very mature performance and didn’t let me in at all (apart from when he let me in to win the 2nd game!). I felt I could have played better, but when someone beats you convincingly that is normally how you feel, so I just have to give credit to Mark for the win (and Owen Haden who told him how to play me!).
We had a new No.1 this week as Jason Lang went on against Matthew Stout (Jason and Craig had a match in The U23 Nationals last weekend which Jason managed to win). This tie was a great match, with Matthew volleying beautifully to take the first two games and Jason digging in to take the next two. And so to the 5th! Well it was tight, but Matthew just managed to get the better of Jason this time by holding the ‘T’ and volleying Jason’s cross courts away. Still two more points to the cause and a decent performance from Jase.
Fresh back from the British Nationals in Manchester and last on was Craig Valente-Wallace against Chris Murphy at No.2. This was only 4 games, but every one was really tight and at 1-1 and with Chris up in the 3rd game it looked like there could be an upset on the cards! Craig did just enough to come back and clinch the 3rd game 12-10 and then he went on to dominate much more in the 4th to force home the victory. You have to hand it to Chris though it was a good performance from him.
So into the bar for five massive pizzas – the food of athletes! Whilst I was in the bar I was having a discussion with a woman and she said “You guys are all the same, you only hear what you want to hear” and I replied “Sure, I’ll have a beer”. Erdinger please!
A narrow 3-2 loss, but a great match and it’s how all matches should be played – hard fought and very even.
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Western 2 – Home (Match Report) 3rd February 2016
It’s all about the ‘T’
It was a Western showdown last week and so hopefully our chance to pick up a few points against their 2nd team.
I was only a couple of minutes late, but when I arrived there was already the discussion that many teams must have most weeks! And I’m equally sure it goes like this for everyone “Oh well if you are No.3 and I am No.4 and we’re here first let’s just play and get things started as there’s not much difference between the numbers” !!!
I managed to divert this and at the same time get on first against the other No.3! So I played against Gavin Picken (who I had sparred with in the first half). I remembered he was an Ironman athlete and a good tennis player so the tactic of trying ‘not’ to get into too much of a run around would be crucial! For me!
So inevitably the first rally seemed to last for an absolute age and I thought I’ve got no chance if this carries on. Fortunately it didn’t and I managed to hit a very good dying length (helped by the fact that Gavin didn’t volley much). In the end the result was comfortable looking, although I can’t help thinking it would have been much closer if I hadn’t got my tactics right. Another frustrated opponent and another one chalked up to experience for me!
At No.2 Jason (Lang) went on next against Dave ‘Hello sailor’ Kelly. I joined this in the third game and Jason was comfortably in control. Unfortunately for Dangerous Dave he was just too quick and so Jase won comfortably 3-0 (no innuendo intended towards Dave, he’s just a sailor! #FrigginInTheRiggin)
Craig (Valente-Wallace) went on next at No.1 against Sam Peacock and at the same time I marked the No.4 match which was Joe (McDonald) against Joseph Ghaemi, so I didn’t see any of Craig’s match. However, he seemed to be winning comfortably 2-0; but then Sam made a great comeback in the 3rd game, but ultimately Craig must have reapplied the pressure as the 4th was comfortable and he won the match 3-1. Sam was delighted with the point and presumably gave himself MOTM!
Meanwhile, in the No.4 match up, our Joe was 2-0 down and not really getting the ball deep enough, then just like the match next door Joe won the 3rd game and looked good doing it with a much better length ball. However the 4th game was quite scrappy with both guys fighting for the dominant ‘T’ position; unfortunately for us Western’s Joe got on the ‘T’ more often than our Joe and eventually won the 4th game to take the match 3-1.
Last on and making his 1st team debut was Finlay McGhee (which comes out as ‘Friendly Maggie’ on my voice recognition doofer!) against Jon Moore. Great performance in the 1st game saw him winning 11-3, but his opponent came back to take the 2nd – game on!
Once again it was length to the back that was going to make the difference and this time Finlay managed to be the one to create the pressure and bring home the match 3-1. MOTM for Finlay the debutant.
So a good 16 points for the team and I think we are getting vertigo with our lofty position in the 1st Division! So maybe we were due a special dinner to celebrate?? Nope Jacket potatoes! Yuck!!
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Townend – Away (Match Report) 20th January 2016
His nieve a nit!
Away to deepest darkest Ayrshire this week to what proved to be a tough one and on the week o ‘Burns Night’ as well!
Townend away and the team was hoping to pick up some points this week, especially as we won the first half battle at home, albeit with a close 3-2.
First on was the ‘Great Chieftain o the Puddin-race’ Doug at No.4 and this was a bit of a low point in Doug’s season with none of the attributes he’s known for on show tonight. Kenny Hardy his opponent played well and deserved 3 points tonight. Doug left soon after (thro his pores the dews distil, like amber bead!).
I went on next (but mark the Rustic, veggie haggis-fed!) against Scotty ‘Shabana’ Bradford. All good fun and games, but I frustrated Scott tonight with some good boasting and volleying to win 3-0 reasonably comfortably.
Joe (McDonald) went on next at No.5 and played James Ramage. This was a great match up and went all the way to 5 games. At the end of the day it was all about who could hit the best length (as it often is) and James got to grips with it just that little bit better than Joe, all the games were tight but having been 2-0 up, it was disappointing to lose this one. Still Joe put in a big effort and gave it 100% (game for game, they stretch an strive: Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive).
Jason Lang stepped up this week in every sense (Clap in his walie nieve a squash racket, he’ll make it whissle). He is still coming back from that fulie/chesty thing that everyone seemed to have over the Christmas and at 2-2 it looked like that was going to be the difference. It was a great game up to this point with Ross McHoul just managing to qualify for the 2nd half (by sneaking in the last 2 matches of the 1st half). Ross was flashing the shots all over the court and a 100% fit Jason would probably have been able to keep chasing, but not tonight as Ross took the match 3-2. Still you can’t fault the commitment from Jason and he really did everything he could on the night.
A real tough one tonight for Craig at No.1 (Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face) against his friend Rory Stewart. This was close in the first half, but tonight Rory was playing a different brand of squash. He volleyed well and was right on top of his game. Craig gave it everything (the court see rustic Labour dight) but tonight he was just up against a man in form.
Still good effort from the Townend lads on the catering front!
Not really it was (veggie) pizza!
PS – Don’t forget to come along to the Edinburgh Open this week (Thurs-Sun) at ESC for the best standard of squash on show in Scotland (the Draw’s can be seen by clicking here) – including Craig/Rory/Ross and Darly Selby!
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Whitecraigs RFC – Away (Match Report) 11th January 2016
Spot the squash player – Dog or Doug!
You know when you come back after Christmas and you think that the first match will be okay as everyone else is in the same boat as you having eaten and drunk too much all through the festive period? Well this was nothing like that!
This was a real tough one for us in the first half (when we only sneaked a 3-2 win). This time we were missing our No.2 and so everybody had to play up one position which ultimately meant carnage……..for our team!
Still at least we got an early start and we also had 2 courts. On at number five was David Craig and he played Aberdeen University’s Alex Ross (will be interesting to see if West Squash enforce the “You have to play 3 matches in the 1st half” rule!!). The 1st game was a real hum-dinger and it finished 21-19. Both players had their chances, but Alex eventually came through to clinch it. In the second game Alex really got into his stride and Dave didn’t volley well enough, so the game began to slip away from him. The 3rd was also close and we almost secured a crucial team point, but it wasn’t to be (or not to be!).
I noticed that the ball was a bit strange and found out that it wasn’t the normal Dunlop one, so I soon asked for a change of ball. I went on the other court and played at No.2 against Ewan Hearns and was out of the starting blocks like ‘s*** off a shovel’ and secured the golden team point. However after that Ewan woke up and won the next 3 easily! (although I had a sniff in the 3rd?!?!).
Next up was Joe McDonald against Harry Anderson. Harry has got all the shots these days so I advised Joe just to do as much as he could to keep in the match. I didn’t see much of the match as I was on court, but he must have done this quite well as he appeared to be in every game. I joined it late on in the 3rd with Harry 2-0 up – however Joe was 10-6 up -game ball. Unfortunately he couldn’t capitalise on the lead (especially painful was one ‘tinned’ drop, were the whole crowd groaned in sympathy) as Harry dug in. In the end Harry won on a tiebreaker and so three more points to the Rugby Club.
Next on was ‘The clash of the Dougies’ with Dougie Macmillan against Dougie Emery (as I realized when I said “Come on Dougie” halfway through the 1st game). This was 3 easy points to Dougie – t’other Doug had been up all night studying for an exam and I’m not sure he had played much over the festive period, so no real surprise. Three more points to Whitecraigs.
Last on was Craig Valente Wallace v Andy MacBean. These guys had an exciting 3-1 last time so this could have potentially been a real tight one. But it wasn’t to be tonight as Craig never really got going and (I believe) personal circumstances meant we didn’t see the best of him tonight. So The final three points to the Rugby Club.
So off to the bar for veggie chilli for Ewan and I and ordinary chilli for everyone else to celebrate the 1 point gained tonight (down 13 on last time!).
We need a big push in the next few weeks to capitalise on the great start we made last year.
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Giffnock 1 – Away (Match Report) 9th December 2015
A real tough match on Wednesday against top of the table (and 2014/15 champs) Giffnock 1 (it was a task akin to Bournemouth going to Chelsea! Except they played nothing like Chelsea and we played nothing like Bournemouth!)
On first on was Joe McDonald against Patrick O’Sullivan at No.5 (Patrick has already played against us for the 2nd team…. at No.2!). I will gloss over the first game and definitely won’t mention the granny (!) – but after that Joe did really well by dragging Patrick into his game. So much so that he almost nicked the 3rd game and only lost 16-14
I (Jason Broadberry) went on next against Owen (Haddaway – baby don’t hurt me) Hadden at No.3. This was a bit of a non-game as I suspected it might be. I tried to play a lot straighter as that was the only thing that was keeping me in the rally (but only by a few shots per rally). I could go into all the technical reasons that Owen is much better than me but needless to say I got chopped 3-0 (Haddaway hurt me!).
Doug went on next against Naill Morris at No.5 and played really well in patches, including nicking the 2nd game (a team point is gold dust tonight). It was good to see him turn it up this week, having said that he played rubbish in patches as well! But then I can hardly talk as I was much worse! Still he was really up against it as Naill has only lost one game in about 3 years! (I remember the day Naill – you could be like me in a few years! Remember inside every old person is a young person wondering what the f*** happened!)
Next up was Jason Lang against James Singh at No.2 and as they went on court Owen said to James ‘and you can put your fishing rod away if I’m marking as well!” – he didn’t!
This was always going to be a tough one as both players are young and can get anything – and so it proved. James got the first, but only because of a couple of mistakes at the business end of the game (and a stroke on game ball) and then went 2-0 up with some good tactical advice (and another stroke on game ball). Jase came back in to win a lung busting 3rd, but James had plenty left to win the match 3-1.
Craig went on next at number one against Stuart George. He played particularly well in the first game as Stuart was slightly off the pace, and he managed to sneak this one. After that I felt that Craig lost a little bit of belief. Don’t get me wrong Stuart really stepped it up, but I felt Craig didn’t really take the momentum of the first game into the rest of the match. Having said that he did very well to secure another team point so fair play to him, but Stuart was ruthless for the rest of the match and won 3-1.
Well all of our team disappeared in a steady stream, so it was left to me to talk to the Giffnock lads over about 20 pizzas! James Singh had 4 chips for dinner and was completely full! Whereas Owen and I had about four pizzas each! And you’ll never guess who was the only one to have a beer all night!
Jason Broadberry
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