David Coghlan reports on Nottingham v Chapel AllertonExcitement and anticipation at Nottingham squash club last night as MB Nottingham’s first PSL fixture of the 2008/2009 season approached. Facing league new comers Chapel Allerton, it was only after a major delay that we finally got our season underway as we waited for three of our team to negotiate the huge traffic jams on the M1. As a result of this, we had a slightly topsy turvy match order but it did mean that the restless Nottingham crowd got an early chance to see summer signing and US national champion Julian Illingworth make his Premier Squash League debut.
Julian Illingworth vs Scott Arnold - 11/9, 11/1, 5/11, 11/6I had heard only good things about Julian before this match, a young rapidly improving player that could cause some real upsets amongst the establishment at the top of the PSA rankings. It was easy to see why as soon as the match got under way on Nottingham’s show court.
The first was fairly even up to 5/5 as both players kept the ball tight and long, however Illingworth began to find his range, with some ultra attacking long drop shots which is the trade mark of his game. Pushing Arnorld into the back, Illingworth would seize even a slightly loose drive and fire it in short before moving straight up the court and volleying Arnold’s reply. Illingworth quickly closed out the first 11/6 and romped the second 11/1, seemingly hitting winners at will from any where on the court. Arnold tightened his game in the third, reducing Illingworth’s attacking options and minimising his own errors. Illingworth’s own attacking game seemed to falter, Arnold was reading the short balls better and keeping Illingworth well and truly contained, taking the third 11/5. Illingworth started the fourth strongly with renewed aggression, wrestling control of the T from Arnold as he extended an early 4/1 lead. Illingworth’s attacking style was back in control, adding confidence, as a frustrated Arnold struggled to contain the American, eventually succumbing 11/6 to rapturous applause from a hugely impressed Nottingham crowd.
Arthur Gaskin vs Steve Coppinger - 10/12, 0/11, 11/4, 7/11Arthur Gaskin, Irish International and late replacement for injured Lewis Walters was one of the players stuck in traffic so had to have a quick warm up before jumping straight on the back court with South African Steve Coppinger. My concerns that Arthur may be a bit stiff and sluggish were quickly put to rest as Arthur established a huge 8/3 lead in the first with Coppinger looking slow to the ball. Playing some of the best squash I’ve seen from the young Irishman, Arthur dictated the pace of the match pushing Coppinger deep with tight mid pace length followed by punishing short volleys, keeping Coppinger off balance who could do little but chase the ball and wait for an error. From this point, and after a brief discussion with the referee to clarify that the games were now played to 11 and not 9, the game changed. Coppinger reduced his error count to zero as he soaked up what the Irishman could throw at him, forcing Gaskn to take more chances and attempt more winners. The result had an air of inevitability about it as Coppinger hauled back the deficit, with Gaskin chasing everything down pushing for that one winner that would take him over the line. Coppinger had other ideas, managing to force errors from Gaskin and dragging himself level at 10/10 before another tin saw him take the lead for the first time at 11/10. Coppinger quickly wrapped up the game 12/10 as a clearly furious Gaskin rued the loss from such a strong position. The second game was clearly a hang over from the first for Gaskin as he went down 11/0 to a now flowing Coppinger.
The third was much better as Gaskin put his mental demons aside and played a similar game to the first, dominating the T and controlling the pace. This time there was no capitulation as Gaskin weathered Coppinger’s retrieval to take an important 11/4 win. By the fourth Gaskin was starting to feel the pace as Coppinger stuck to his game plan, keeping Gaskin moving and forcing his opponent to hit winners if he wanted to win the game. After a tight start with both players working hard, covering the whole court during brutal rallies, it was Coppinger that managed to force the errors from his opponent. Gaskin rallied hard but ultimately couldn’t keep the ball away from Coppinger eventually going down narrowly 11/7.
Sarah Kippax vs Jenny Duncalf - 5/11, 5/11, 5/11The ladies were second on the show court, as Sarah Kippax was another Nottingham player affected by traffic issues. Before hand this looked like a tall order for Kippax, Duncalf is on top of her game at the moment and at a career high ranking of 5 in the world, would be unlikely to show any mercy with a player ranked 25 places lower. However with two tournament titles to her name in almost as many weeks Kippax, was in good form, confident and eager to take a big name scalp.
Kippax had a game plan, mix things up, keep Duncalf moving front to back, disrupt her rhythm and keep her guessing. For the most part this was a sound idea and when it worked, was hugely affective. However Duncalf’s footwork and court coverage was hugely impressive, she soaked up the changes in pace and direction to counter attack whatever Kippax could throw at her. Duncalf’s defensive length was also tight to the wall, minimising any further attack from Kippax.
The match was ultimately fairly comfortable for Duncalf, however Kippax held her own and showed flashes of brilliance at the front of the court, Duncalf played very well and was ruthless in her shot execution. The highest ranked female player in the PSL at least Kippax can take heart that it shouldn’t get any harder than this!
John Rooney vs Chris Simpson 11/6, 10/12, 11/5, 11/7With Chapel Allerton now 2-1 up it fell to Irish International and Nottingham regular Rooney, to stop the rot and salvage something for the home team. Beforehand this match had been identified as the pivotal tie, a fact both players were well aware of so there was certainly no holds barred for the entirety of the match.
Rooney raced to a 4-0 lead in the first, dictating the pace with great lobs followed by deft drops that kept Simpson constantly under pressure. After a brief stall and a string of points from Simpson, Rooney eased through the first game 11/6 much to the relief of the packed viewing gallery. The second was much tighter. Neither player giving an inch and Simpson managing to get pretty much every ball back in play, most of the time with interest, stalling Rooney’s attack and on more than one occasion counter attacking to great effect. Rooney dominated the T and largely dictated the pace of the game however it was Simpson’s relentless retrieval that was amazing, a fact that would have ground down many an opponent both physically and mentally. From game ball down Simpson simply didn’t stop fighting, clawing back to level the game at 10/10. The demoralising nature of your opponent doing this was clear for everybody to see as Rooney put two reasonably comfortable balls in the tin to hand the important second game to Simpson.
It’s a testament to Rooney’s mental toughness that he came back out in the third and straight away continued to apply pressure to his opponent. Simpson’s retrieval was on some occasions truly amazing, however Rooney wasn’t fazed and kept the relentless Simpson moving with high lobs, sweet volley drops and a wicked change of pace that clearly took its toll. With Simpson physically wilting at the end of the third Rooney capitalised taking the game 11/5 and a 2/1 game lead.
With Nottingham fans hoping Simpson would now be spent, it was impressive to see Simpson come back on in the fourth and continue chasing down every ball without any apparent sign of the fatigue that appeared in the third. The theme was the same as earlier games, Rooney dictating play, pushing Simpson to the back with great length followed by working volleys. With nothing between them at 7/7 it was three errors forced by a combination of Rooney’s tightness and the inevitable mental and physical toll of the game that gave Rooney match ball. At 10/7 with firstly a tentative let call, then a no let from a Rooney winner, the game was in the bag and MB Nottingham had levelled the match with just the No.1 string players left to play
Ong Beng Hee vs Jon Harford 11/8, 11/7, 11/3
MB Nottingham’s Malaysian star and current World No. 10 is beginning his 3rd season at Nottingham and has already given confirmed availability for the first three fixtures, something the team really missed last year. In his first year at Nottingham Bengy, was unbeaten, getting results against notable players such as James Willstrop, Nick Matthew and Cameron Pilley, he is always a fantastic player to watch and in his current rich vein of form, will be a player of concern for every Premier League team MB Nottingham meets.
With the late withdrawal of Chapel Allerton’s number 1, Alastair Walker through injury, this always looked like a tough job for the World No 60 Harford and that it was. Harford battled hard during the first keeping pace with Bengy and even leading at 7/6 before Bengy’s incredibly deft length and effortless movement started to get results, taking the first 11/8. The second followed suit as Harford worked hard for every point, but Bengy looking so relaxed, seemingly chose exactly where he wanted to put the ball at any time, taking it 11/7. The third was a formality, as an obviously frustrated Hardford had nothing to challenge the dominance of Ong Beng Hee wrapping the game up 11/3 and giving MB Nottingham a great first match victory.
A fantastic night for MB Nottingham and a great start to the Premier Squash League season. My congratulation to the team, who acquitted themselves fantastically and worked hard for the win, lets hopes that this continues in two weeks as we travel to Oxford and then on 4th November as we play host to the East Midlands Derby, taking on former champions Duffield.
David Coghlan
