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Team ASRC arrived as punctual as ever (30 minutes late) and
straight away numbers 4 and 5 took to the court. At 5, Lisa
Aitken was up against Amanda Nicoll, both aged just 17 years
old. Lisa, fresh from a successful British Junior National
Championships, was in impressive form. The match was a fairly
one sided affair but Amanda did show promise, and smiled throughout
the match, enjoying her National League debut.
Newlands 0 - 1 ASRC.
The cheery love-struck teenager, Gavin Sutherland, sporting
his usual afro, was making a rare appearance on court. His
opponent, Jamie Macaulay, was raring to go after a trademark
warm-up. The first game was well contested, both players hitting
hard to a length and using precise volley drops when the opportunity
came about. After a lengthy exchange of fairly brutal rallies,
Macaulay took the game 9/5. The second game duplicated the
first game in terms of brutality and was now beginning to
take its effect on Gavin, as untimely errors came from his
racket. That game ended 9/3 to Macaulay who was now 2 games
up, and looking good for a 3-0 victory. Sure enough, game
3 was won 9/1 by Macaulay and the match was now tied.
Newlands 1 - 1 ASRC.
On the opposite court Kevin 'the painter' Milne took on Chris
'agnes' Small.
Small was controlling the rallies right from the beginning
and despite a few hand-outs, won the game 9/0. Into game 2
and Kevin finally started to play to the front of the court.
The game was well contested with both players forcing each
other around the court, trying to find small gaps to put the
ball into. Despite Kevin’s efforts, it was Small who
took the game 9/5. Game 3 was almost exactly the same as the
previous one with similar patterns in the rallies. Producing
a 9/5 win for Small.
Newlands 2 - 1 ASRC.
The 3rd strings were next on court. A resurgent Peter O'Hara
(finalist at the recent Scottish National Championships) took
on the Farmer (known to most as Jamie Jacobsen). A big crowd
formed for this one, the home support keen to watch their
local hero. Farmer was in no mood however to lie down. Fresh
out of the shower (most people shower after their match but
he has turned it into his pre-match ritual to shower before)
Farmer was flying around the court and several hard-hitting
rallies followed, surprisingly with Farmer coming out on top
in most of them. A few crucial mistakes from O'Hara, and some
outrageous nicks from Farmer saw him sneak the first game
9/7. Into game 2, and a similar pattern formed to that of
the previous one with extended hard-hitting rallies keeping
the scores close. Farmer began to slow things down a touch,
he placed some beautiful lobs into the back corners, and combined
with some delightful soft drops into the front corners, Farmer
took the game 10/8 to go 2 games up. This was a crucial turning
point as O'Hara seemed to run out of ideas and mistakes started
to come more frequently. Farmer sensing this, simply kept
the ball going and saw out the game 9/4 for a 3/0 victory.
Newlands 2 - 2 ASRC.
With the crowd realising that the teams were unexpectedly
level at 2 ties all, all eyes were on the final tie of the
night. Hadrian Stiff was the overwhelming favorite for this
match. Hadrian was taking on Ali 'Coach' Gorrie, fresh from
back-to-back defeats to Boughton and Melvin. Aware that a
rather large crowd had gathered, Coach still produced some
of his best squash. Hadrian started nervously and after a
few loose balls and some unforced errors Hadrian was 7/2 down.
Becoming aware of the score, Hadrian began to impose himself
around the court and quickly found himself game ball up at
8/7. Not to be out-done, Coach rallied, and helped by a couple
of lucky shots took the game 10/8. With the overall team match
scores tied at 2 all, and ASRC leading in the deciding fixture,
the crowd were on edge of their seats - were Newlands about
to be dealt their first National League defeat in 5 years?
Hadrian upped the pace significantly, hit some cracking winners,
drew errors from his opponents racket and took games 2, 3
and 4 comfortably.
Coach still competed throughout and both players had a laugh,
usually at the expense of Coach. It finished 3-1 to Hadrian
and the match was secured for Newlands.
Newlands 3 (14) - 2 (7) ASRC.
Thank you to Newlands for their hospitality, in particular
to Mark Ford who was chef for the night.
Regretfully, the Heriot-Watt University team has withdrawn
from the Scottish National League.
The team has lost four of its original five starters with
Mikkel Pederson forced to return to Denmark for family reasons
and Yvonne Ferguson, Christopher Ferguson and Frania Gillen-Buchert
unable to fulfil their commitments due to a mixture of illness
and injury.
Well the building site that was Aberdeen Squash Racquets Club
has now turned into a swankie new bar & lounge and Aberdeen
were happy to entertain Bridge of Allan as the first "out
of town" visitors to the newly re-furbished club.
First up on the show court was Lisa Aitken and Katy Buchanan.
The early stages saw the girls testing each other out with
long rallies. It stayed close for a while but Lisa gradually
imposed herself on Katy with some excellent shots and court
coverage. The first game went to Lisa 9-3 and the next two
followed fairly quickly, 9-1, 9-0.
On the adjoining court Kevin Milne, newly returned to National
League action following his absence since playing for the
Peter Nicol Centre last year, was up against Callum Reid in
the 2nd string match. Kevin was always in control of this
encounter and soon dispatched Callum 9-3, 9-1, 9-5.
The 1st string followed the ladies onto the show court - and
fittingly so, as the match got off to a spectacular start.
Ali Gorrie was in scintillating form as he beat Graham Melvin
in the first game, sending him the wrong way on several occasions
and hitting some outrageous shots from all areas of the court.
Graham just couldn't read Ali's game at all and Ali went onto
win the first 9-3 with some tremendous play. At the start
of the second game Graham hit Ali with a ninety shot rally,
which saw both players cover every inch of the court over
and over again. That took a lot of the sting out of Ali's
earlier blitz and Graham gradually exerted his style of play
back into the match, winning the second 9-5. The third game
was crucial, to both players, as it looked like the pace and
duration of the first two games was starting to take its toll.
However, the intensity did not let up as they both battled
for every point. It looked as if Ali had got the upper hand
when after a few extremely long rallies, he had edged ahead
to 8-5. However, Graham was not to be denied and he fought
back to 8-all. Ali called one, but made the big mistake of
smacking the ball into the tin early in the rally. Forty five
minutes later and you still couldn't separate Graham and Ali.
The fourth followed similar lines to the third, nip and tuck,
with the points going to the player who made the least mistakes.
But that's where the match was won (or lost depending on which
way you look at it!). Although it was point for point, it
was Graham who held on to his game and made the fewer mistakes
winning the fourth (and the match) 10-8. A tremendous match
and revenge for Graham who had lost to Ali in the Nationals.
During this 65 minute battle, the remaining two matches had
both started and finished. Suffice to say, this reporter had
been engrossed in the Gorrie v Melvin match and hadn't seen
a thing of those matches, but it appears that both Gavin Sutherland
and Jamie Jacobsen had relatively easy passage against Robin
Brainer and Martin Jack.
So a good win for Aberdeen which should guarantee them a jump
up the League table.
First on court were the youngsters of the David Lloyd team
who were feeling the strain of studying for exams and looking
very tired. Ross Lawrie stepped up against Katy Buchanan at
number 5. Ross took the first two games but Katy fought back
to take the 3rd. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and Ross pushed
through to win 3-1.
On the next court Kevin Moran took on Graham Melvin. Graham
was just too strong for the 16 year old and won 3-0 comfortably.
Next up was Claire Kidd, against the hard hitting Andy Meldrum.
Claire fought well but struggled with the power, pace and
unorthodox, yet effective, style of Andy Meldrum who won 3-0.
At the same time on the adjacent court began the biggest
battle of the night between Stuart Crawford, reigning Scottish
National Champion and Alan Clyne, Scottish No 4. The match
was of a high standard even though both players looked as
though they were still feeling the effects of the Nationals
from the previous weekend. The match looked even throughout
then after the 3rd, Alan was leading 2-1 and he looked the
stronger of the 2 players. However, it was Stuart who prevailed
and came out on top 3-2.
The last match to be played was between 2 players of similar
style, Euan Allison vs. Racketlon champion Callum Reid. This
match was the most entertaining of the night as both players
were retrieving everything but neither was able to hit that
crucial winning shot. At 1-1 in the 3rd, after 35 mins of
huffing and puffing it was Euan who took the game 10-9. Callum
had given his all and just had nothing left for the 4th allowing
Euan to win 3-1.
Joanna Rae went straight on, from the car to the court against
……. which greatly impacted on her game and she
lost swiftly 3-0; "I enjoyed playing Emma very much,
I was not properly prepared for the game - none the less,
the excitement of traveling through made it worth while".
After Joanna Rae’s rather quick match, Scott Thompson
had a rather similar result. Scott had driven the team through
so he didn't feel on top form either.
An astounding match was between Peter O'Hara and Simon Boughton!
Having been down 2-0, Simon had to radically change his game.
Simon said he felt he was playing "worse than he usually
plays, and even Peter wasn't playing great either". Simon
had to get his frustration out of him, and indeed this is
what happened. By speeding up his game and altering a few
patterns, Simon caught up, leveling the score 2-2. The final
fifth game was brilliant; however Peter hit his racket off
the ground in anger and when Peter was receiving the next
point, his racket head broke off. Simon subsequently won the
fifth 10-8.
After all the excitement the team had a refreshing pint and
looked at the new gym and indoor Tennis courts.
In the end, it was a very memorable action packed evening.
For the first match of the season both
clubs struggled to field a full team. Flu was to blame for
the weakened Heriot-Watt team. A new addition to the squad
Pernille Thomson almost had her first appearance for Heriot-Watt
but Newlands were not able to bring a lady, so Heriot-Watt
luckily started with some points on the board. Unfortunately
Newlands were too strong and swiftly won the match with plenty
of time to watch “Shameless”.
Aberdeen entertained Whitecraigs for the very first time
in a National League match in this re-arranged fixture. The
match got off to an early start with the Nos. 3 & 4 starting
at 6pm. Two very contrasting matches indeed. On one court,
the vastly experienced Barry Sutherland was pitched against
Aberdeen's young gun, Gavin Sutherland, while on the show
court Mike Black and Colin Lindsay were evenly matched.
Barry raced to a 7-0 lead in the first, pushing Gavin all
over the court with a range of shots and deception. Gavin
recovered to 7-4 but Barry soon won it 9-5. Gavin then led
4-2 in the second but Barry came back with a string of points
and soon won that game 9-4, following it up with 9-5 in the
third. A different story was emerging on the adjoining court.
Mike Black and Colin Lindsay were playing massive rallies
in the first game. At 3-3 Mike then tightened up his game
and won 5 straight points. However, this was soon matched
by Colin who tied it at 8-8. More long rallies and Colin finally
won a 22 minute first game 10-8. Mike reacted to this setback
well and came out in the second with all guns blazing, taking
it 9-2, but that just seemed to galvanize Colin as he reversed
that score line in the third game. Both players were now tiring
and a long 4th game saw Mike make less mistakes and take the
game into a fifth and final. Mike chose this game to play
the best squash he has played all season. Colin only got three
serves as Mike totally dominated the game, winning it 9-0.
Fifty four minutes of really competitive squash!
So it was one match all and we awaited the arrival of the
other 3 Whitecraigs players. They duly arrived and the Nos.
1 & 5 took to court. On the show court, and rightly so
as it turned out, Ali Gorrie locked horns with Graham Stewart,
who had a string of impressive results behind him. Ali looked
very focused and very comfortable in the early stages, putting
Graham under lots of pressure with a range of fine shots and
accurate placement. A mix of long rallies and deadly winners
gave Ali a 7-1 lead but Graham fought his way back and forced
Ali into some errors and levelled at 7-7. Graham moved to
game ball and the game then picked up even more pace. Ali
saved the game ball and moved to game ball himself in the
next rally. A massive rally then ensued with Ali making two
incredible pick ups before forcing Graham into a crucial error,
winning the game 10-8. This really tough opener proved to
be crucial as Ali then raced through the second 9-1 as Graham
struggled to live with Ali's pace, movement and accurate shot
making. A similar story in the third and Ali, playing some
of his best squash, put Aberdeen into a 2-1 lead.
The crowd, lifted by that performance on the show court,
moved next door to see the final stages of a very interesting
match indeed. The very young up and coming star of the future,
Lisa Aitken against the former Scottish champion and world
top 20 player, the enigmatic Senga McFie. The first game to'd
and fro'd with Lisa edging ahead 4-1only to be pegged back
and then trail 7-4. However, she again took the initiative
and raced to an 8-7 lead. Senga was not giving in and leveled
at 8-8. Service changed hands 5 times before Lisa finally
won the two points that gave her the important first game
which was to be followed by an even longer second. Senga forged
a 5-0 and fought hard to keep a lead over her much younger
opponent and eventually held game ball at 8-5. However, Lisa
showed tremendous fighting spirit by winning the next 5 points
to win the game 10-8. This second setback knocked the stuffing
out of Senga and Lisa quickly raced to a 9-4 win in the third.
Aberdeen had the match in the bag. The crowd went wild. The
final match was now effectively a dead rubber but both Jamie
Jacobsen and Greg McArthur didn't play it that way. They battled
out a war of attrition for 33 minutes with Greg using his
age advantage to out last his doughty opponent in a gruelling
3 setter - 9-4, 9-7, 9-4.
So final score; Aberdeen 14 - Whitecraigs 8. Roll on the
second half of the season.
After a week off, Bridge of Allan faced the daunting task
of facing top of the league Newlands without Graham Melvin
or Iain Tennant, both of whom had to call off because of an
illness and a knee injury respectively. This left the home
side very much down to the bare bones although Stuart Crawford
returned to the side after missing the defeat to ASRC.
Katy Buchanan once again got Bridge of Allan off to a good
start but not until after she had lost the first game comprehensively
against Emma Ford. After some words of wisdom during the break
between games from Crawford, she managed to turn the match
around and ran out winning in convincing style. While Buchanan
was winning on the show court, Calum Reid was embroiled in
an entertaining match with Newlands’ Jamie Macaulay.
Macaulay took the first game relatively comfortably, although
Reid made things difficult for his opponent with some excellent
pick-ups and solid drives. Calum looked in command of the
second as he produced his best squash to move into a 6/3 lead
but Jamie proved resilient, reeling off a string of impressive
points to take the second. The momentum was continued into
the third game and although Macaulay proved victorious in
this too, Reid could take a lot of heart from his performance
against a talented opponent. At number four Mark Ford proved
far too much for Robin Bairner as he quickly took the match
3/0. Ford made few errors in comparison to his opponent and
the score reflected the comprehensive nature of the match.
Back on the show court Andy Meldrum was being bamboozled
by the fantastic racket skills of Chris Small, who produced
a thoroughly entertaining performance. Meldrum battled hard
and is certainly not the first to fall prey of Small’s
clever use of deception and excellent touch. With Newlands
in an unassailable lead, the number ones went on court with
little other than pride and a few extra points to battle for.
Newlands had called up former PSA player Hadrian Stiff to
their side in order to nullify the threat of Stuart Crawford
and the Englishman did his job excellently. In a match that
was characterised by lengthy rallies, Stiff was unmoved by
Crawford’s relentless pick ups and managed to display
more attacking flair than his opponent to run out a comfortable
winner after three games.
Bridge of Allan now just have one match before the winter
break and will hope that the potential return of Melvin and
Tennant can get them back to winning ways to finish the year
on a high note.
At 6.30pm, half an hour before the scheduled start, we had
two of the Newlands team in the ASRC building site. By 7.15pm
that was still the case, so it was decided to get the show
on the road with the No.1's and No.2's taking to the courts.
By 7.35pm the number of players hadn't increased but ASRC
were already 2 matches to nil down!
Chris Small, fresh from his guest appearance as doubles fodder
to Alex Gough and Simon Parke at the ASRC Exhibition Night
on Friday 10th, took no time at all in seeing off Gavin Sutherland,
promoted to No.1 in the absence of the other half of that
aforementioned doubles team, Ali Gorrie. 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 was
the scoreline. Almost as quick was the demolition job done
by the young and fit Jamie Macaulay over ASRC's regular Gorrie
stand-in, Craig Thomson. Macaulay's youth, speed and fitness
overcame the guile and innovative shot making of his older
opponent 9-4, 9-4, 9-4.
The rest of the Newlands team arrived soon after, so the
4 and 5's got on court. This pitched the young Robyn Hodgson
up against Emma Ford and Robyn's pin-point accuracy and consistent
good length had Emma continually in trouble. Robyn ran out
a comfortable 9-5, 9-4, 9-0 winner. So a point on the board
for ASRC. Could Mike Black tie it all up at 2-2 in the 4's
match?
After 15 straight points it certainly looked like it. But
Robert Adam wasn't to be denied. Mike let his superiority
slip and Robert took a very long 2nd game 9-8. This proved
to be crucial as Mike completely lost his way, and the following
two games 9-6, 9-0.
So, effectively it was all over for ASRC before Jamie Jacobsen
and Mark Ford started their match. Both players love to rally
but it always seemed that Jamie was the one forced into making
crucial mistakes at crucial times. Ford was relentless, making
very few mistakes. His consistent play, allied to excellent
court coverage, kept Jamie's attacks at bay and he finished
off the night with a comfortable 9-2, 9-5, 9-6 win.
Newlands 17 - ASRC 4
First on court for the home team was Joanna Rae who faced
Yvonne Ferguson. This was always going to be a tough match
for Jo against the more experienced Ferguson. Rae got off
to a good start hitting the ball with pace into the back corners,
but Yvonne slowed the game down and took control winning in
3.
Colin Stirrat levelled the match with a win over Frania Gillen-Buchert,
working hard not to get dragged into the game of Scottish
Champion.
Two crucial games swung the match in favour of the visitors
as Scott Thomson went down 1-3 to Ian Jubb. Thomson took the
second after losing the first 8-10 and called set 1 in a close
third which Jubb took before taking the fourth.
Simon Boughton took on the up and coming Lyall Paterson at
1st string and it initially looked to be a formality, the
first 2 games going quickly in favour of the home player,
but Paterson came out strongly for the 3rd and took it almost
as quickly before opening up a lead in the 4th, which he should
have closed out. A few unforced errors gave Boughton hope
and he levelled at 8-8 when Paterson called set 1 giving the
home player a match ball which he took.
At 2-2 Richard Snowden took to court 1 v Chris Ferguson in
the deciding rubber. Ferguson cruised to a 2-0 lead in a frantically
paced match, but the more experienced former Scottish junior
champion slowed it down and began to dominate levelling the
match at 2-2. It was Ferguson however that came out guns blazing
in the 5th which he took 9-0 to take the rubber and the match.
The fourth week of the season provided high drama as TME
David Lloyd Renfrew took on Heriot-Watt University at home.
With both teams fielding juniors in their line up (a total
of six National Academy juniors between the two teams), the
match always promised some crunch encounters, and it certainly
didn’t disappoint.
The second string rubber was first on, in which Kevin Moran
faced his regular adversary Chris Ferguson, with Moran hungry
for revenge after back to back defeats in both the West and
Central Junior Opens. After a long and hard first game which
Chris won 10/8, Kevin stepped up the pace with a breathtaking
volleying display to take the next three games 9/3, 9/1, 9/2,
giving the home side an early lead, and exacting revenge for
the previous tournament results between the two players.
After Claire Kidd called off through illness, brave David
Lloyd youngster Morgan McGuire made her National League debut
against Yvonne Ferguson at fifth string. After two tight games
both players were tied one game apiece, but Yvonne’s
match experience took her through the next two games safely
to level the match one tie all.
Ross Lawrie had a hard match at fourth string facing Scotland’s
No.1 home based female Frania Gillen-Buchert. Despite a solid
effort from Ross, Frania proved too strong for her young opponent
winning in straight games 9/2, 9/4, 9/2, putting HWU in the
lead 2–1. Ross said after the match “Although
I’m disappointed with the result, Frania played well
and getting matches against opponents of her calibre can only
help give me valuable experience”. Wise words indeed.
Next on was Euan Allison, also known as “The Ayrshire
Alligator” by his team mates, meeting the on-form Ian
Jubb off the back of a good victory against Whitecraigs the
previous week. Jubb was powerless, however, to prevent an
inspired Euan producing his performance of the century to
take out his young but experienced opponent 3–1.
Tied at 2–2, the match was now on a knife edge with
all to play for coming into the last match of the night.
In an eagerly anticipated battle to settle the clearly massive
bar bill, David Lloyd Captain Alan Clyne stepped up to face
the mercurial talent of Lyall Paterson at first string. Despite
some exhilarating rallies and sublime play from the young
pretender, Clyne’s incredible mobility and cunning tactics
once again produced the goods when required, closing out the
tie 9/2, 9/4, 9/4, and winning the match 3–2 for TME
David Lloyd Renfrew.
Bridge of Allan welcomed Aberdeen SRC as they attempted to
win consecutive matches for the first time this season however
missing number 1, Stuart Crawford, and number 3, Iain Tennant,
they were aware it was not going to be an easy night.
Katy Buchanan kicked things off for the home side as she
faced Robyn Hodgson on the show court. Robyn started much
the better of the two players, easing
in to the first game comfortably. In the second Katy stepped
things up, changing her tactics to punish her opponent’s
tendency to stand too far back in the court. The Bridge of
Allan ladies champion was well in control at this stage and
took the third and fourth games comfortably.
Graham Melvin was in no mood to hang around on the other
court as he recorded an impressive victory in three games
over Aberdeen’s number 1, Alistair Gorrie. Melv took
the first game to just two points and didn’t allow his
opponent a sniff in the second game. The final game was a
tighter affair with several periods when the players exchanged
services but Graham finished the stronger of the two, winning
9/6 to complete an impressive victory.
The excellent start made by the home side was quickly eradicated
by Aberdeen, who won at numbers 3 and 4. Mike Black proved
to have too much control and touch for Robin Bairner as he
cruised to a comfortable victory in three games while Calum
Reid was defeated in four games by Gavin Sutherland. The first
game was pivotal in the Reid-Sutherland match. Gavin displayed
a greater ability to kill the ball in a game where long rallies
were prevalent and so won a tight opener and ultimately the
match. In the deciding match Jamie Jacobson proved to have
too much power for home player Andy Meldrum, winning 9/4 in
each game, to record a victory for his team.
The evening kicked off with the No.1's playing first. ASRC
had to call in a replacement No.1 due to Ali Gorrie taking
ill just before the start. Craig Thomson stepped into the
breach, but only on the condition he got to the bar first!
Simon Boughton duly obliged and delivered an impressive 3-0
start for ESC.
On the adjoining court Mike Black was renewing acquaintances
with an old adversary in Colin Stirrat. A quick 9-0 start
from Mike kept Colin on the back foot and it was soon 3-0.
Jamie Jacobsen and Rab McGill, both looking for Scotland
caps at over 35, gave us the best match of the night at No.3.
Jamie Jacobsen got off to a flier, winning the first with
powerful accurate shooting but Rab worked extremely hard to
win a very long second game 9-7. That effort obviously came
with a price and he lost the third quickly 9-3. However, he
got back into his stride and pushed Jamie to the limit before
succumbing 9-7 in the fourth.
Meanwhile young Robyn Hodgson was pitched against the vastly
experienced Helen Macfie. She gave a gutsy performance but
was always held at bay by Helen who won 3-0.
That meant it all came down to the last match to see who
picked up the bonus points and the glory. Richard Snowden,
another of ESC's team who has graced the Grampian Leagues,
soon exerted his authority over Gavin Sutherland, racing to
a 2-0 lead. Gavin fought back though in the 3rd and was soon
up 7-0. But that was it! Richard charged back at him and came
through with 9 straight points for a 3-0 win and victory for
the visitors.
Heriot-Watt’s team consisted of Mikkel Pederson, Lyall
Paterson, Chris Ferguson, Ian Jubb and Frania Gillen-Buchert.
Heriot-Watt were hoping for a win as Whitecraigs were weaker
due to Greg McArthur being injured.
First on court was Ian Jubb vs Jason Broadberry. Ian played
extremely well and took the first match for Heriot-Watt. Chris
Ferguson followed and played Colin Lindsay. The rallies were
long with Chris chasing every ball down and unforced errors
from Colin gave Chris the lead, and he continued to dominate
for the rest of the match.
Frania Gillen-Buchert had a slow start losing the first game
9-0 to Caron Lawrie. Caron played some great shots and used
her boasts well. In the second game Frania made a come back,
started running and used solid drives to move Caron around
the court. Frania took the next two games comfortably.
Lyall Patterson played Graham Stewart and lost 3-0. Graham
played clean solid squash and accurately disposed of any loose
balls from Lyall.
For the finale the Danes, Michael and Mikkel, played each
other. As they know each other’s game so well the rallies
were really long and after reminding them that the sports
centre closed at 9:45, Mike took the match 3-0.
The match started well for Lloyd with Scotland U15 No.1 Ross
Lawrie winning 3–0 against fellow junior Scotland star
Robyn Hodgson, although Lawrie had to hold on through a late
comeback by the Scotland U17 player to close out the third
10–8. Next on for Lloyd was Scotland star Claire Kidd,
just back from several good performances in Holland, against
Mike Black. Although Claire started strongly, forcing a tie
break in the first game, the Aberdeen no.4 proved a step too
far for a weary Claire and Aberdeen levelled the match with
a 3–0 victory at fourth string.
At third string for Lloyd was Euan Allison, the rapidly improving
player from sunny Ayr, against the solid Jamie Jacobson. In
a very up and down match, which had more twists than a gymnastic
display, Jacobson steamrollered the fifth game in emphatic
style to put Aberdeen 2–1 ahead in matches, and 6–5
in points.
In what proved to be the crucial match, Scotland U17 No.2
Kevin Moran faced Aberdeen coach Gavin Sutherland at second
string. Sutherland started strongly, taking a 2–0 lead
winning the first two 9/7, 9/8. Young Moran however was determined
not to lose to his older opponent, and showed a gritty display
to take the next three games, pulling a 3-2 victory from the
jaws of defeat. Scoreline; 2–2 matches, with the match
now tied on 8 points apiece…
There was however, no nail biting match to conclude the evening….
Lloyd No.1 and Scotland No.4 Alan Clyne got off to a blistering
start to the season leaving his opponent Alistair Gorrie wondering
if the match had actually happened. In a short lived but frenetic
match, Alan’s strength and cunning proved too much for
the Aberdeen player winning the match for the loss of only
four points. Final scoreline; a close win for Lloyd 16–8.
Tough Night for Bridge of Allan
In the second round of the National League Whitecraigs hosted
Bridge of Allan for their first encounter of this season.
Whitecraigs were favourites to win as Bridge of Allan were
without their no. 1, Stuart Crawford, the current Scottish
National Champion. This moved Bridge of Allans newest edition
to the team, Graham Melvin, into first string position. Whitecraigs
had also strengthened their ranks with the Danish No.1 Michael
Frilund who has recently relocated to Scotland.
First on court was Caron Lawrie for Whitecraigs against Bridge
of Allans Gillian MacKenzie. Caron used straight low drives
and neat volley drops to quickly dispose of her opponent.
On the other court, Colin Lindsay had too much to offer and
ran out a 3-0 win over Callum Reid.
Next on was club pro Barry Sutherland against Andy Meldrum.
Barry dominated the game but excellent retrieving from Andy
pushed Barry and gained himself 6 points in all the games.
Barry won 3-0 to secure the Whitecraigs team win over Bridge
of Allan.
Locking horns on the show court was Greg McArthur and Ian
Tennant. Greg got the better of Ian in a scrappy affair 3-0.
The last match to be played were the first strings Michael
Frilund and Graham Melvin. This would be the 3rd encounter
between the two players, with Michael having won their previous
battle 3-0. However, Graham came on court determined to reverse
these figures, and fought long and hard keeping the score
at 2-0 for 20 minutes. Michael eventually found deep length
and Graham located the tin a little more than he would have
liked. Michael won the last two games in a convincing style
to complete the 20 – 0 Whitecraigs team win.
First on court Moira Atkinson of Edinburgh Sports Club took
on Emma Ford. Moira got off to a great start having a number
of game balls in the first game before Emma managed to clinch
the game 10-8. Emma then took a close second 9-7 before running
away with the third 9-0.
Robert Adam took a quick first against John Hibbert, but
John leveled the match with a close fought second 10/8. This
was a physical encounter which needed some strong refereeing.
Robert took the 3rd and 4th games 9/7 9/5 to clinch the match,
but both games looked as though they could have gone either
way.
Mark Ford got the better of ESC’s Scott Thomson, whilst
Rab Mcgill took a game off Jamie Macaulay, but went down in
4. Simon Boughton and Chris Small had a tough battle, but
it was Chris who had the legs in the last third of each game,
taking the match 3-0 and securing full points for the title
holders.
Final Score 20 points to 2.
For their first match of the season, the HW team consisted
of Yvonne Ferguson and Frania Gillen-Buchert along with 3
juniors players, Lyall Patterson, Ian Jubb and Chris Ferguson.
They put up a good fight but unfortunately experience took
the better of them and they lost 5–0. It provided a
good opportunity for the juniors to play top players and at
least they all got home before midnight!
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