Phil went on first against diminutive Rael and struggled to find form in the first game. Slowly his game improved though and it was plain sailing from there on, despite some very questionable let appeals from Rael, which marker Brennan generously conceded. It became clear during this match that it was going to be a long night, due to the Murray factor. He is the self proclaimed Old Eds cheer-leader. Whispering George has some serious competition from this lad, who was in good spirit. Not sure how much spirit he consumed before going on court against Steph, but it was substantial. Besides loudly cheering on his team mates he was not shy with helpful advice to both his mates and the marker during the matches.
Murray started off with some blistering serves, fast body-liners and tricky reverse angles, gaining him the first 5 or 6 points. However, once I stopped panicking and watched the ball, Murray struggled a bit and was summarily dispatched.
Lyal took on Blaiz and showed that Moroccan visits do little harm to his squash. A bit rusty on the first few points, but solid from then on.
Finally, the match of the evening, Brennan against the “youngster” Marnus, who was attentively watched by his girlfriend. It turns out that Marnus is a runner who likes bouncing off the walls. Particularly the glass wall. I swear the back panels distorted about 50cm. on first impact. Scary! Brennan fearlessly stood up to the barrage, but played some loose cross courts in the first game to let Marnus win. The second game was similarly close, but with Brennan prevailing, Marnus’ enthusiasm was somewhat dampened. Brennan now had the measure of his opponent and ran him off the court.
So we got our 16 points. But there was a price to pay. We had to endure the Murray onslaught at the Old Eds bar. When I left at about 22h30 he was pretty much incoherent. I wasn’t doing too well either having had about 6 beers forced on me.
The return match, being the season ender will be brutal.
Rael Segal vs Phil Alves @1 15/9; 9/15; 11/15; 14/16 49/55 1/3
Marnus ? vs Brennan @2 19/17; 17/19; 9/15; 5/15 50/66 1/3
Blaiz ? vs Lyal @3 13/15; 5/15; 9/15 27/45 0/3
Murray Stewart vs Steph @4 8/15; 8/15; 7/15 23/45 0/3
Final result :8 - 8
