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| Report: | Week 14 in NWCSL and it’s the return fixture of Whitby v a resurgent Heswall 3 with the relegation positions still firmly in their rear-view mirror, it’s a good time to play a depleted Whitby team who are missing their beloved Charlie & Joe.
There is a new Whitby Squash Clock on display on our famous balcony and sadly it said 7:30 before a single Heswall player arrived but eventually Ian was kind enough to show up only half an hour late to get proceedings underway against Mike.
Mike was still on a high from an epic win the other week and it looked like he was still thinking about it in the first game as he struggled to get going allowing Ian to be too comfortable and in control of the rallies. 1-0. A quick reset at the break and Mike came on court a different animal playing his unique style of squash and putting Ian under pressure from every serve and brining in some of his new-found fitness to battle into a dominant lead and allow himself 6 game points! Sadly, out of nowhere, Mike found himself struggling to return anything and avoid the tin as Ian managed to do what seemed impossible and clawed it back to 10-10. Bemused and probably still daydreaming of his win against Neston Mike managed to steal defeat from the jaws of victory and lose the 2nd game. Completely out of steam now and Ian in full control of the tie, it was just a matter of time as Ian made it 3-0 and 1 up for Heswall. You’re only as good as your last match Mike, you need to let the Neston victory go mate 😊
Next on was John v Matt who for years now have been like ships in the night, constantly on opposite teams but never quite matched against each other. These 2 have probably the most similar games and it definitely showed on court, don’t let the 11-3 or the 11-4 games fool you even those games lasted a while with long rally after long rally it was an entertaining match up for the neutral not that there were any neutrals on the balcony. Matt was certainly the one who got in the flow of his game the quickest as John was still looking for the easy winning shot and as per usual being his own worst enemy. At 2-0 down it looked like it would cost him. John never felt out of this one though and decided to play the long game keeping everything tight down the backhand and pinning Matt to the back of the court keeping the tie alive at 2-1. John, raring to go in the 4th, with the bit between his teeth, found himself unable to win a point and staring down the barrel of defeat at 9-4. Luckily, he had 3 things going for him. A never know when your beat attitude, a balcony that can pick you up when you most need it and a retrieval game that would frustrate Matt into submission and take the tie into a 5th set. 35 minutes had passed on the Whitby Squash Clock and nothing separated the 2 athletes on court until finally John found a drop shot and took a commanding lead giving himself 3 match balls. Unfortunately, John tried to force the victory handing Matt 3 easy points resulting in no less than 4 separate tie breaks. In the end Matt stayed the more patient and composed and after 50 minutes on court came off the victor giving Heswall a 2-0 lead on the night.
Over on the other court Fletch was up against Simon and it seemed all the training sessions were paying off as he strolled into a commanding 2-0 lead. I’d love to be able to write what happened but I have no clue, it seemed that the Whitby Eagle’s wings got clipped by a savvy Simon who managed to pip the match in a tie break on the 5th. Heswall seemingly having all the luck in these 5th set tie breaks tonight, sealing the much needed bonus points in their pursuit for survival.
In the absence of Talisman Charlie up steps the ever confident Hemmo taking on Paul. Absolute dominant display from our very own Salmon fisher with his proud son watching on and telling the cheering balcony “my dads got this!” Harry Chapins Cats and the Cradle and the silver spoon ringing in his ears, Hemmo put the tie to bed and gave Whitby some respect on the night with at least 1 win on the board. Well played Whitby’s #1 ! 😊
Finally, as what felt like midnight approaching we got the 5th and final match underway with Dave and Craig ready for battle. This was a night and a half for long games as the fitness of Dave counteracted the racket skills of Craig and straight away we are hitting a tie break to separate the 2 in the first game which Craig managed to sneak in. Those rallies in the first game took their toll on Craig who was struggling with his fitness as Dave managed to play some excellent squash, driving the ball to the back of the court well then bringing in the drop at the right time taking 2 games and giving him a great chance for the win at 2-1. Craig unfortunately found his second wind and remembered how well he can hit the ball when he needs to. Suddenly the tie was turned upside down and it was Craig who was commanding the play. It doesn’t matter how fit you are when your opponent starts hitting those nicks and corners well and Craig never let up to steal a victory and make it a convincing win for Heswall.
So when all’s said and done Heswall managed to get some very important points on the board which I’m sure will cement their survival and Whitby have to lick our wounds and hope Charlie stops booking things in on a Thursday. It’s not that we can’t win without you mate its just we don’t want to 😊.
Back to the bar, thankfully before last orders, for a well earned Chinese and beers and some eloquent conversation from Mike that went something like and BEEP this and BEEP that and did you know that the BEEP did this, honestly if he’s not saying the F word he’s saying the W word.
Anyway, we go again boys and its Tattenhall next week as we try to get back to winning ways.
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| Author: | John Hamilton |
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