Three Long Years

David Coghlan reports on the East Midlands Derby

Does lightning strike twice? Lightning of the unfathomably bad traffic variety strikes Nottingham seemingly every PSL night. Starting our season against Chapel Allerton 45 minutes late was annoying, last night we managed to get going by 7:30pm as players from both teams battled with Nottingham’s plethora of fender benders. When we did get going, the match that had promised so much on paper surpassed everybody’s expectations.

Eddie Charlton Lst Alex Stait 8/11, 11/8, 11/9, 8/11, 4/11

First on the show court were the No.4’s, Eddie Charlton was a last minute stand in for the sick Simon Parke but he had one thing on his mind and demonstrated just how rapid his improvement has been in the last 12 months in front of a packed 100 strong show court.

The first was even with both players finding their range waiting for errors, Stait edged it 11/8. The second started badly for Charlton as Stait got a run of points. Having tightened up and minimised his errors, Charlton began to inflict his will on the game. Drawing level at 6/6 Charlton hit two winners to take an 8/6 lead, which he maintained to close out the game on Stait tin. Momentum now with Charlton it was his turn to extend a lead 5/2 before Stait could get to grips with the game and peg Charlton back to 8/8. An error from Charlton gave Stait 9/8 but a series of outstanding winners and a final tin from Stait handed a 2/1 lead to the home player. The important fourth was even throughout. Neither player wishing to make an error, both players played fantastically and traded winners through out. Importantly Stait seized the advantage at 8/8 and closed out the game 11/8 to set up a fifth and final game. The final game was one-way traffic for the most part as a visibly wilting Charlton made a number of errors to give Stait a substantial lead 7/1. A mini resurgence was halted as a hard working Stait chased down lost causes and closed out the match 11/4.

John Rooney Bt Andy Whipp 11/8, 11/3, 11/4

It seems that spending a few hours in a traffic jam acts as inspiration for Irish international Rooney. Having dragged himself on court against Chapel Allerton to beat Chris Simpson, it was all guns blazing from the off last night as Rooney demanded revenge for a loss to Whipp at the West of Scotland Open last weekend. As is always the case with Whipp the match started at a hectic pace, Rooney was happy with that and established a strong 7/3 lead as a result of some Whipp errors. Whippy was not down and out as he steadied his game and came chipping back at Rooney to level the game at 8/8. Rooney seemed to finally wake up and started to attack, taking a 9/8 lead followed by a skintight volley drop for game ball, ending the game with a held inside out drop nick. Nice. The second Rooney dominated throughout as a stuttering Whipp hit error after error, unable to deal with Rooney’s penetrating length and speed to the front, 11/3. The third was a repeat, as Whipp seemed to struggle with his movement, Rooney hitting winners at will taking the game 11/4, the match 3-0 and levelling the tie 1-1.

Emma Beddoes Bt Laura Hill 11/9, 11/1, 8/11, 11/4

A decisive tie that had to be moved to the backcourt due to the traffic shenanigans, and unfortunately for Hill the traffic didn’t help inspire her to race out of the blocks like Rooney. The first was even as both players sized each other and looked for opportunities, however at 8/8 Beddoes caught a sweet drop that nicked before burying a cross volley into the nick to give her game point 10/8. A quick let followed by a stroke and Beddoes took the first much to the annoyance of the Duffield player. This annoyance was directed at the referee during the second as Hill, clearly flustered, hit four tins and conceded three strokes to hand Beddoes the second 11/1. Beddoes relaxation after the second bore itself out as short length, which Hill now playing more conservatively was able to latch onto to dictate the pace and stay on the T. After halting a mini Beddoes resurgence from 10/6 Hill finally closed out the game 11/8. The fourth was much better from Beddoes as she reverted to the attacking length that had worked so well in the first two. Good length and width kept Hill pinned down so Beddoes could fire winners in short. From 10/4 up it never really looked in doubt even as Hill came back with winners of her own, Beddoes closed out the game 11/7 and the match 3/1 to give Nottingham a slender 2/1 lead.

Renan Lavigne Bt Joey Barrington 7/11, 11/6, 11/4, retired

The pivotal match of the evening for me, this one was going to be tight. With the first finely balanced the 100 + spectators got to see some outstanding squash from both players before Barrington snuck a slender advantage ended fairly unceremoniously by a return of serve into the tin by Lavigne. The second was tight to 5/5 although it was clear to see that Barrington was starting to struggle on what appeared to be a groin injury. Barrington compensating on pretty much every shot, Lavigne showed no mercy, firing the ball in short at every opportunity, trying to twist and turn his opponent. It worked. Barrington simply couldn’t turn onto the ball quick enough and shot after shot had him falling short of the target. The third was painful to watch as Barrington’s movement became more and more hampered. Lavigne unrelenting kept the pace up and chased down every ball to deny Barrington any glimmer of hope. It was inevitable after the third that Barrington would retire; bitter sweet for MB Nottingham who now had an unassailable 3-1 lead but had been denied what could have been a grandstand finish.

Ong Beng Hee Lst Nick Matthew 7/11, 5/11, 11/7, 9/11

A dead rubber at 1 but the disappointment earlier was made up for by the sheer quality on display during this match. Both players started steadily, long hard rallies that had both players covering every inch of the court, however it was Matthew that could finish the rallies hitting two volley nicks to take a 6/2 lead. Bengy was doing a lot of work and playing well but Matthew despatched Bengy’s efforts with outrageous winners that wowed the packed crowd. Bengy did well not to implode from frustration and weathered this storm to edge back a 7/6 lead before Matthew used tight short balls to storm to victory 11/7. During the second Matthew was dominant through out, a player clearly enjoying fine form and full of confidence, he hit winner after winner chasing everything down and turning Bengy’s attacks quickly into counter attack. There was nothing Bengy could do to contain the rampant Matthew, 11/5.

The third was interesting, it seemed Matthew had a slight lapse in concentration, hitting tins not nicks allowing Bengy to establish a lead. Both players used the height of the court so well throughout the match, but in the third Bengy used the lob more effectively than Matthew, allowing him to dictate the pace and frustrate his opponent. Bengy was starting to see reward for his hard work and with Matthew now unable to hit the ridiculous winners he had managed in the first two, Bengy could see light at the end of the tunnel taking it 11/7.

The fourth game continued at the incredibly high standard as both players now dug in, moving the play all around the court to force errors. It seemed Matthew had refocused and once again took his opportunities with vicious efficiency hitting five straight winners for a 7/2 lead. Bengy came right back at him soaking up the pressure and hitting winners of his own to reach 7/8. Matthew hit one more winner for 9/7 before two tins levelled the game at 9/9. With the game really tightening up now, both players steadied, extending the rallies not wanting to give away any cheap points. Both players showed exactly why they are in the Worlds top 10 with breathtaking retrieval that had spectators gasping. A winner by Matthew for 10/9 match ball followed by another incredibly long rally demonstrating everything that makes professional squash players some of the fittest athletes on earth. Bengy had an opportunity to take the point but missed the nick allowing Matthew back into the rally. After what must have 50 shots Bengy received a let call for another chance to level the game. Yet another Matthew winner to take the game 11/9 and the match 3-1 ended another epic rally that again had both players covering every floorboard and the crowd on the edge of their seats. Cue prolonged and rapturous applause from the still packed show court.

A truly fantastic night. Every match was 50/50 before we started and the drama lasted all night. The fact that everybody stayed right to the end, even for a dead rubber is a testament to the sheer quality of the squash on show.

A great night for MB Nottingham who have been on the receiving end of some horrible results, not least two weeks ago at Oxford. This result is a huge positive step for the team, indeed it’s the first time NSRC has beaten Duffield since the Premier Leagues inception. Our last victory coming on 25th February 2005 in the old National League.

I honestly can’t call which two teams will go to the play offs from Division A. Every team is strong, every team has quality throughout and most importantly every team has hunger to succeed. The Premier league has come alive and I can’t wait until we welcome Pontefract on 2nd December.

David Coghlan