Archive
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Strathgryffe – Away (Match Report) 18th November 2015
At 3pm today I was in sunny Spain having a relaxing time on the beach, but just a
few hours later I battled my way through Storm Barney (when did we start naming storms?) to reach Strathgryffe a little late, at around 7.15pm – but it turns out I was very early!
First up tonight and starting early (as he had to leave early) was Joe against Dave at number five. When I arrived the pair were having some humongous rallies and I thought this must be really close. However I soon learned that they were just playing a friendly as Joe had already won! Well he obviously wasn’t that keen to get away! Still 3 points on the board for us!
The number 4s went on next as Doug took on Graham Proud. I had never seen Graham play before and was impressed with his range of shots. This wasn’t one of Doug’s finest games however and he was well beaten.
My opponent still hadn’t turned up so next on at No.1 were Craig against Martin Woods. This was an interesting game as it appears that Craig is now in a position to really challenge Martin. I had the pleasure of marking this one and I said to both players before they went on “Call your own pickups and don’t moan at my decisions” Craig replied that he could only do one of these requests so I would have to pick!
This game was all about whether Craig could put enough physical pressure on Martin to tire him out. After the 1st I was sure he could, but when Martin came back and won the 2nd things were not quite as certain. However Craig knuckled down and really made Martin work harder and harder as the match progressed. It was soon obvious that Martin didn’t have the legs to run all of Craig’s rallies down. So a good 3-1 win for Craig – although neither man seem to want to take the last point and in the end it took an amazing fluke from Craig to secure the match (I would be inclined to give Craig MOTM again this week).
Still no sign of my opponent so on at No.2 was Jason Lang returning to his old club against Ross (Red) Lawrie. Jason has been playing very well recently and so I thought he would be too strong for Ross. But squash constantly surprises you and Ross was playing brilliantly and his range of shots was amazing. Every time Jason went cross-court, Ross was on it in a flash and often volleying away a winner or playing some ridiculously good shot!
So could Jase keep the ball to a good length and straight? Well at 2-2 in games it appeared that he couldn’t do it often enough; so now it was anyone’s game! Ross was putting away all services on the volley time after time and Jason was struggling to straighten the shots, so consequently Ross was dominating the ‘T’ and putting Jason’s cross-court returns away. It was all very close in the end (about 10-10) and it was a shame that the match finished on a stroke, but there you have it and Ross fully deserved the 3-2 victory. MOTM to Ross for them I would say.
Still no sign of my opponent Dave McCormack at 9:05pm – however I was told that he was on his way direct from work. We eventually started around 9:30pm and I was told later that we finished just 12 minutes later. I won 3-0 quite comfortably although the last two rallies in the 3rd game were particularly tough.
So I went for a shower, but Dave just put his clothes on and went back to work (well that’s the first for me in 35 years of league squash!).
The pizzas were even later than Dave! But they were worth waiting for especially the vegetarian one! We chatted all things squash and what could be better than that for a Wednesday night out!
And later, when I did that Facebook thing to see what the main words that I used on Facebook this year were, I don’t think anyone will be too surprised to see the results!
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Hamilton 1 – Home (Match Report) 28th October 2015
I’d organised 6:30 PM starts for Doug and I against Hamilton last Wednesday, so obviously the match started about 7:15 PM! To be fair traffic is a nightmare about our club at match time and the Hamilton guys had to fight their way through the M8 traffic to boot.
Doug eventually made it on first against Chris McGeady and I went on around the same time against Allan Mackay so I missed a lot of Doug’s match. However he appeared to dominate from the word go it appears and won his match 3-0 by keeping it simple and not letting Chris in for a moment.
After our previous ding dong battles in the past couple of seasons I personally was really hoping not to have to pay Calum Philip again (!) so was delighted to hear that he’d challenged his way up to No.2 for this match. Like Doug, I also won 3-0 but my score line flatters me somewhat. Don’t get me wrong I thought I played really well and I was trying to mix it up against Allan. However I was lucky to win the third from 8-2 down, and in fact I was worried throughout the match that it could have gone either way at any time (including at 12-12 in the 2nd!). Win in three don’t lose in five as my old man always used to say to me (I can’t believe I’m quoting my dad! He’ll not let me forget this!)
Next up at No.5 was Joe McDonald v Stephen Healy and this was a real tough one. Joe took the 1st game 11-9 but it was nip and tuck all the way. And it only got tighter from there on as the 2nd and 3rd game games were even closer and Joe unfortunately lost both of them 10-12. Stephen was really tricky to play and it was very difficult to predict his next shot. The 4th game was much easier for Stephen and he won it 11-6 as Joe tired. But an excellent tussle and a 3-1 win for Hamilton.
Jason Lang took to the court next against Calum Philip. Calum apparently was apparently equally as relieved not to play me as I was not to play him! However it was out of the frying pan into the fire as he took on t’other Jason, who is very much in form. Having said that at 1-1 Calum was playing really well and crashing his normal shots all over the court and normally in the nic! However Jason managed to regain control and took the 3rd and 4th games by getting excellent leads in both and despite comebacks from Callum he had just too much of a lead
Last on was Craig Valente-Wallace v Kenny Boyle at No.1. No Craig is loving his tough matches this year so it was no surprise that this one was going the whole way!
An excellent 1st game for Craig was followed by a great comeback from Kenny as he went 2-1 up in the match. Craig clawed back the 4th to set up a grandstand finish on the 5th.
Both men must have been very tired, but I suspect that Craig didn’t realise just how tired Kenny was becoming. Despite this Kenny gave it everything in the 5th and came home with a 3-2 win. However I would have liked to see Craig really make Kenny work in the 2nd and 3rd games and then see if the 5th went the same way. Obviously we will never know and fairplay to Kenny as he looks as sharp and determined as ever.
So another excellent 3-2 win for the team and it was just in time for baked potatoes for dinner. This will have taken Jason back to his Renfrew days – it certainly took me back as well! And it was good to see that the 4th team did not nick all the food this week!
I pointed my camera phone at Doug & Jase and said smile for the MOTM award guys, but I had it on ‘selfie mode’ obviously! (mind you Craig almost got it again this week). 
West Squash Leagues 2015/16
Here are the West Squash Leagues for 2015-16
West Squash Gents Fixtures 2015-2016
To see the individual Clubs fixtures click here
2015 Best West Juniors – Prize-giving Sponsored by Harrow
Harrow were proud to Sponsor the Junior Leagues this year and we were delighted that so many players and teams got involved (9 teams and around 80 players).
Giffnock were the West’s winning team, but there were also prizes for the best Junior Boy and Best Junior girl.
Best Junior Girl was won by Elena Murio from DLWE who played 14 fixtures and won 7 (improving her ranking by 480 points, which was the highest for any girl in the league! In fact for anyone I think!)
The Best Junior Boy in the West Junior Leagues was 
Kevin Lynch Small who played for Scotstoun and had a ‘played 17 won 10‘ ratio which was an excellent achievement.
Both players are pictured with their West Trophy’s and Harrow Prizes for winning their category.
Well played to everyone who took part and here’s to next season.
Please click the links in this article to see more.
DLWE (Kelvin Financial Planning) v Hamilton – Away (Match Report) 18th February 2015
Hamilton away tonight and we beat them in the first half of the season, but we got wind that it would be Hamilton & Edinburgh tonight, so we were up against this week – and after last week’s heroics we knew that we were in for a tough night. And so it proved.
First on was Big Davie (Craig) at No.4 against Allan McKay (who played No.1 last time!). A decent first and last game from the big man, but Allan was in control of most of the match and won 3-0.
Craig (V-W) played Alistair Mutch at No.1 next. Ali’s only lost to Kevin Moran, Dougie Kempsell & Peter O’Hara so far this season so Craig was really up against it – to say the least. However great touch, fantastic movement and excellent volleying…………and Ali was pretty decent as well. However 3-0 to Hamilton & Edinburgh.
Colin (Clark) was on at No.5 next against David McAleese. This was the tussle of the night with both players making mistakes by the bucket load and every game was very close. Colin had his chances in the 4th and even had a match ball, but a Dave wrestled it back and he went on to win the 5th as well.
I was on next against ex-U19 No.1 (from the 1990s) Chris Grey. Great bloke and a great talent and I was so outclassed it must have looked ridiculous at times (it certainly felt it). Encouraging words from Doug in-between games with comments like “Seeing as you’re getting tanked you’re actually doing quite well!” helped.
Having said that, the night was not entirely wasted as I invented a new game in the 2nd when I shouted:
“So many times” as I hit another backhand into the tin. A thought came to me, so I followed it up, when the ball came back to me very quickly, by shouting:
“It happened so fast” – do you see where this is going? Well you’re obviously from the 80s & 90s then! The next shout would be more difficult! Would Chris notice?
Another point lost:
“Trade your passion Jason!” he didn’t seem to notice. Next I would need a great shot for the next line – sublime forehand boast:
“For Glory” I shouted. Chris didn’t seem to either know what I was up to (or care!) I can’t believe he didn’t hear me!!
Doug wasn’t very impressed when I told him either (mind you he didn’t recognise the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ lyrics – he must be from the noughties!). Or maybe it’s just a that ‘little amuses the innocent’
Anyway I got thumped and didn’t really get a great run either – it was good to watch Chris play though!
Last up was Doug (Macmillan) v Seigo Masuda (from Japan, via London & now living in Edinburgh). This lad could run! Craig mentioned that he’s had a massive 3-2 with him once and it had lasted about an hour and a half, so when I came out of the shower I wasn’t surprised to find out it was only the 2nd game. Doug was playing well and he won the 2nd to even things up. Seigo didn’t have a bead of sweat on him!
At 16-16 in the 3rd Doug would need to win this one to have a chance in the match, unfortunately he didn’t and lost the 4th as well. However he did play very well.
So a tough 18-3 loss and we’ve slipped back into 3rd last spot in the table. It’s close though
Jase
PS – I see Giffnock beat Newlands last night 15-5 (good win for Pistol Pete though!) – we’ve got them next week!!
DLWE v SSRC Home (Match Report) 11th February 2015
Last Wednesday the 1st team played SSRC and we’d heard it through the grapevine that the SSRC superstars from Edinburgh were not available (due to tournaments and girlfriends) so could this be our chance to put a few points on the board for the team the club and our ‘Kelvin Financial Planning’ Sponsor! Oh yes!
First on with the early start was David Craig. This week he brought the whole family, so my mascot minding duties were limited. Dave played Rahul Gupta at No.4 and went on court like a coiled………banana! Yup the usual 0-1 start from the big man, mind you he was soon up 10-3 in the 2nd game and obviously wasn’t going to lose this one? You’d think! Well Dave tried his hardest to lose it, as Rahul came back to 10-9, but Dave obviously had it all in control and won the next point (I slapped him with a wet fish when he came off court!).
The next two were hard fought but Dave was always in control with and won the match; taking none of the 10 (or so) strokes on offer, although Rauhl was looking for a few strokes that weren’t even lets!
(3-1 DLWE)
On at the same time was Dougie (MacMillan) against Dave McCormick (at No.2). The two players know each other well and big Robert (Dougies old man) joined in the fun by marking the match. I didn’t see the match, but Doug seemed to stroll the first two games, then it became more interesting in the 3rd at 10-9 to Dave (and 12-12!). However Doug wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat and won 3-0 (it didn’t stop Dave claiming the moral victory for almost taking a game though!).
(6-1 DLWE)
Colin (Clark) went on next against Martin Sullivan (at No.5) and when he was safely 2-0 up I knew he would bring the match home so I went on court myself about then.
I was on against Chris Holt who I’d had a few tussles with over the years. And I wasn’t helped by not feeling 100%: the racket felt like I was playing with a tennis bat. Still I was moving OK and won the 1st by volleying well – having said that I lost the 2nd by not volleying. So it was good to get some sound advice from Doug after the 2nd “Volley more you idiot!” The legs were feeling heavy as well, but I managed to keep the advise in mind and won the match 3-1.
So we must be 4-0 up in the match, no? NO?!?! Colin was in the 5th game against Martin and at 8-8 it could have gone either way. Fortunately Colin got the last 3 points and won 3-2. Colin claimed he was just looking for value for money for the night!
(12-4 DLWE)
Last on was Craig (Valentie-Wallace) against Brian Robertson at No.1. Brian came off after the 1st saying “I hate playing guys who get absolutely everything back!” and he was looking suitably red-in-the-face as he said it – having just lost 11-8. However when Brian won the 2nd game he came off and said “I hate playing guys who get absolutely everything back!!”.
Craig had let him in the 2nd by not playing with 100% intensity, but this was the last chance he gave Brian as he made fewer mistakes after that and won the next 2 much more comfortably.
So a win! And our first of the second half! It’s good to win – even the dinner tastes better!
(18-5 DLWE)
DLWE v Newlands 2 – Home (Match Report) 28th January 2015
Newlands 2 tonight and certainly a chance to pick up a few points, maybe even sneak a win if we were really lucky/good/fortunate/on top of our games & lucky!
I got on first this week (as the mascot didn’t make it along) and I played Brendan Rogers at No.2. I’d lost the last one against Brendan 3-1 so it was gonna be tough, but when I won the first 2 games it was looking much more likely. However a great comeback from Brendan saw the match tied at 2-2 and so to the 5th! Well at this point I remembered to try and step up and dominate the ‘T’ as much as possible and what do you know it worked! I won the 5th and the match…….silky!
Doug (Macmillan) went on shortly after me against Mic Cockburn and was just finishing his match off when I came off court. He’d won 3-0 but didn’t look overly delighted with his performance, but a win’s a win and Mic hits a ferocious ball at times.
So we only needed one more tie for the match, but that’s easier said than done!
Next on was David (Craig) against David Fallis – they had also played in the 1st half and Newlands Dave had won this 3-0!
So DLWE David resorted to his ‘old school’ tactics this week by losing the first 2 games (and a match ball in the 3rd game!) and thus lulling his opponent into a false sense of security, only to run-riot in the next two game and tie things up. And so to the 5th! – and at 14-14 in the 5th both David’s had their chances. Unfortunately Newlands David dove-over the line and so the match was still on for both teams.
At No.5 a much improved Andrew Morris (Newlands) played our Colin (Clark) and he ran riot in this one. Colin actually played quite well, but couldn’t really get near Andrew in the first two games. He played even better in the 3rd and even created a chance to sneak a team point, with some great length, but Andrew held on to win 11-9 and take the match 3-0
So at 2-2 in the match the No.1s went on court – Craig (Valente-Wallace) v Mark Ford. And this would be the 2nd time in two days that they have played – National League last night, where Mark had won, but could Craig turn it round? Well the short answer was 3-0 to Mark, but it was a tougher game than 3-0 may suggest. It was also tougher than Craig may realise; it included a tie break in the 3rd and Mark had to work hard for the win, with Craig having the speed and tenacity to push many of the rallies. It would have been interesting to see a 4th game if Craig had won that tie-break – and ask the question could Mark keep the pace up for another 10/15 minutes! But we’ll never know the answer to that (until the next time!)
So a tantalising 3-2, but on the plus side 8 more points to the cause!
DLWE v Whitecraigs RFC – Away (Match Report) 7th January 2015
Well I’m looking for a positive spin for the match last Wednesday, but really I’m struggling. I was thinking we could get a 3-2 from this tie against Whitecraigs Rugby – and if we played really well we may even win 3-2, however what actually happened was that we all lost and apart from Craig we all got tonked!
First on was Davie (Craig) and mascot/daughter Elvi – against Nairn McMasters. A real tough one for the big man and I would have been amazed if we’d have won this one. He didn’t! Dave was moving well enough, but Nairn was just too clever and kept Dave at bay for the whole match to win 3-0 (I didn’t see a lot of the match as the mascot kept me busy with her James Bond Aston Martin Match Box car (also Doug looked pretty jealous of her Nike gutties!) – she was obviously on Santa’s ‘Nice’ list at Christmas!)
Results of West Select Team v South African Knights
Another great match against the South African Knights last night at Newlands against a ‘West Select’ side of Peter O’Hara, Stuart George, Mark Ford, Peter Halliday and Owen Hadden.
And it went to the last match with a 3-2 win for the Knights. When I arrived it was all finished, but the South African’s were in good ‘spirit’ and were looking forward to going into town to celebrate their win.
Great to see the S.A.Knights again a new team on every trip, but a great bunch of lads every time.
West Select Team v South African Knights at Newlands Thursday 8th Jan 7pm
Come and Support our West Select Team v The South African Knights at Newlands in Glasgow on Thursday 8th January 2015 (7pm).
The Knights are a 5 man team of under 25 Regional players that are already 30 matches into their 2014/15 tour.
The Knights are a famous touring team that come over ever other year to play throughout the UK and have been doing so for many years. The players in the team fund this fantastic trip themselves and normally win many more matches than they lose in their 35 date tour.
Our “West Select” team this year will be Peter O’Hara (Newlands) – Stuart George (Giffnock) – Mark Ford (Newlands) Peter Halliday (Western) – Owen Hadden (Giffnock) – so why not come and support the West Team and have a good night out with some excellent squash on view!
Jason Broadberry
-
broadberrysports
- Final Day of the 2026 West Junior Leagues
- Match Day 6 of the 2026 West Junior Leagues
- Match Day 5 of the 2026 West Junior Leagues
- Match Day 4 of the 2026 West Junior Leagues
- West of Scotland Junior Leagues – Match day 3
- Match Report 22nd October 2025 v Newlands 1 (away) – West Squash Division 1
- Match Report 8th October 2025 v Glasgow Uni (away) – West Squash Division 1
- Match Report 13th November 2024 v Craighelen (home) – West Squash Division 2
- Racketball Match Reports 2024 v SSRC & Newlands (home) – West Squash 57 Division 1
- Match Report 28th February 2024 v Hamilton (home) – West Squash Division 1
Broadberry Sports 