Duffield go down to Nottingham

It was with some trepidation that we welcomed our near neighbours from Nottingham on Tuesday evening. With a full strength Duffield squad, Nottingham are always formidable rivals,but with the recent unfortunate injury to Nick Matthew which negated his selection, the task was going to be even harder. This said, we had confidence with the team selection, and our new signings of Martin Knight and Steve Copping did us proud on the evening.

Match 1 - Tania Bailey vs Sarah Kippax

This was always going to be a difficult match for Tania, desperately striving for recovery from an operation at the end of last season.Sarah is always a formidable opponent and her recent form suggested that this would be a very tough match, and so it proved to be.The opening game saw Sarah take the advantage and her  current  form was emphasised when she went 2 games up.It was clear Tania was struggling with fitness and indeed, this was confirmed when,sadly,she had to retire.

Match 2 - Joel Hinds vs Eddie Charlton

Eddie came away with the first game in comfortable fashion, but we sensed Joel, who has recently turned professional and who, as a local lad and a great favourite with the home supporters, was just getting into his stride. This was confirmed as Joel prevailed to a fairly comfortable 3-1 win.

Match 3 - Steve Coppinger vs Ong Beng Hee

On his debut for Duffield, Steve produced some Squash of the highest order which, at times, was breath taking. On the night, Ong came through with a 3-1 win, demonstrating what a fine player he is.

Match 4 - Andy Whipp vs John Rooney

On paper,this was going to be a great match, with John in excellent current form, and the "Whippertron" as difficult to beat as ever, and so it proved. John took the early incentive taking a 2-0 lead. This only seemed to spur on Whippy, who, after a titanic struggle,came out as victor with a 3-2 win. A wonderful spectacle which had the home support in raptures of appreciation for both players.

Match 5 - Martin Knight vs Laurens Jan Anjema

This was a gargantuan ask of Martin on his debut, facing a very in form Laurens. On his debut for Duffield,Martin put up a brave fight and showed great potential for the forthcoming campaign.In the end, Laurens proved to strong on the night and demonstrated why he is leaping up the rankings table and came away with a 3-0 victory.

Well done to Nottingham. As always, it was a pleasure to welcome them to Duffield and we all eagerly await the return match.

Felix Frixou