1st League side beat Parkview 16 – 3 – still 2nd in the league
Francisco won 3 - 2
Mwansa won. 3 - 0
Gareth won. 3 - 1
Kelvin won 3 - 0
Its a great win against parkview well done boys keep it up.
Match Result: 16 - 3
2nd LEAGUE vs Randburg
We played Parkview at home for our last match of the first half, so did 1st league.
Stan played 1 against Brenton, won the first convincingly. Next two were close, but no problem for Stan.
Willem played 2 against Stef. Hard close games with Stef winning.
Mike played 3 against Stef, started slow but came back strong to win in 4.
Jeff played 4 against Adam, too easy for Jeff. We need to play him higher up.
1) Stan 3-0
2) Willem 1-3
3) Mike 3-1
4) Jeff 3-0
Match result : 13 - 4
4th League vs Winchester
Team back to full strength, if not stronger with Gary filling in from 2nd league due to Chris and Flip being sick, Chris however being convinced to sub for a very depleted 5th league side.
Dave after eventually finding the venue played first on the somewhat slippery courts, made life difficult for himself but ended winning confortable in 4 games.
Vevek did exactly the same also winning in 4 sets.
Gary won comfortable without dropping a game, with the first two games being fairly close.
Ryan somewhat rusty after a lengthy absence due to his work travels, went on last against a very determined opponent who hit the ball very well. Ryan needed two games to get rid of the ring rust, then won a very close 3rd game. Won the 4th easily, but just lost focus and lost a very tight 5th game 16-14.
1) Gary 3-0
2) Ryan 2-3
3) Vevek 3-1
4) Dave 3-1
Match result : 14 - 5
5th League “the G Team” vs Alberton
Alberton top of the league and 2 of the teams stalwarts away (LG and BigG both doing some low altitude training in the Durban area) we called upon our reliable reserve FerG and a recovering from flu GEC (General Electric Chris) from 4ths
G-spot on first survived the scare of being 1-0 and 14-9 down in the 2nd before winning that one and beating a demoralized oppo fairly easily 3-1.
GEC then went on against a very capable opponent and managed to sneak the 3rd before narrowly losing the 4th. A very good effort in the circumstances.
G-string on next – never acclimatized to the match going down 3-0 (the less said the better)
Mr Dependent FerG then had to win 3-0 for the win. 2-0 up and cruising to victory, but his opponent (Pieter Botha) dug in and took the 3rd. FerG took the last easily but the race was run
Match result : 7 - 10
6th League A vs Wanderers
Gavin succumbed to Phil, squandering an early first game lead, ending up 1 - 3 down
Stuart tried gallantly to come back after being 2 down, losing in 5 at the end.
Jacques had to throw in the towel after doing himself an injury, sportingly staying on the court to try muster the odd point. 0 - 3
Louis, after 3 league matches, had his first victory. The boy from Cherry Country is getting the hang of Gauteng league very quickly! 3 -1
Match result : 6 - 13
6th B League vs Wits
Up against the top of the log Wits
Lyal at 2: (lost 1-3) Only saw the first game of this which happens to be the one that Lyal won. He looked to be hitting the ball pretty sweetly, but apparently lost his way a bit against an opponent who was tardy in moving out of the way resulting in him getting hit twice. Think Lyal felt sorry for the guy after that and let him back into the game.
Nigel at 3: (lost 1-3) A week’s worth of wine and various other forms of gluttony in the Cape showed in my squash. It was Christmas for my opponent and all my shots came neatly back to the T for him to dispatch as he pleased. Even some late match advice from Mark and Lyal couldn’t save me. Two matches down and looking bleak.
Phil at 4: (won 3-1) The one ray of sunshine on an otherwise depressing evening. Phil played an opponent who hit the ball at great speed, but couldn’t match it with leg speed. Phil ran him down in a comfortable win.
Mark at 1: (lost 1-3) Mark played some guy who was reminiscent of Mr Stretch from the Fantastic Four. He was about 7ft tall and probably weighed only 50kg – all legs and arms. This effectively cancelled out lobs. Mark played a decent game, but was at a major disadvantage in terms of reach. Some good rallies were had, unfortunately most of them going the wrong way.
Not a good evening to finish off the first half of the league season. Let’s hope the second half starts off more positively.
Match score: 6 - 13
7th A League vs. Chamber B
What could be more satisfying than playing the most coveted local derby match and having your spouse watch you win? I do believe there is no bigger ego-booster/buster. It might sound cheesy to some, but not to our dearest foes the “B” team who have retained the bragging rights for yet another season. As we all know, bragging rights are the alpha and omega, the be-all and end-all, the yin and yang and have the power to settle any argument at any time, irrespective of your standing on the log. “We hold the bragging rights” are the words you want in your arsenal. In our own defense – it was only by a few measly points. But who’s counting?
Captain Peter arranged that we play at JCC which turned out to be a blessing with the under-floor heating so that the support from our wives and teammates would be a little more comfortable and warm given the cold snap in the air at the moment. Pairings were made and the battle commenced…
As scribe, I only saw the end of the first game between Karel and Peter LR and for some reason they were marking themselves, which is never a good idea when playing league where egos are at stake and social niceties need to take a bit of a temporary respite. I understand (from Karel’s wife - Elize) that it was not necessarily a pretty battle but Karel remained true to his word that he was not going to loose again in league and his resolve shone through as he fought back from losing the first and won in a five setter. (3-2)
I was busy on the adjacent court fighting my own losing streak demons and a determined Digby all in one match. We did the tick tock thing and were relatively civil with one another and even debated with each other as we received the odd markers call. The gloves finally had to come off in the fifth and it turned out to be a tightly contested affair as we both had match point. In the end Diggers finally pulled it off with overwhelming support from the onlookers, winning the decider 17-15 and giving his wife Kate a reason to celebrate. (2-3)
At this point in the proceedings, at 1 match each and everything to fight for, I must say that I prefer it when we play on one court and are able to see what our teammates are doing and can give support. I never got to see the tussle of the number ones - but it would seem that Graham has found his groove again and beat Paul in a four setter and can wear the crown of “Emperor of the 7th League”. Paul might have to remedy his losing streak in squash league or else he might receive the same rating as per his Comrades status “not yet started”. Maybe a new pair of shoes is not a bad idea for starters!? (1-3)
The only game I managed to watch was that between Michael and David. Michael was slow out the starting blocks (not forgetting that it was a cold evening) with David taking the first. Then Michael stepped up a gear and chased, yes, chased almost everything down and was getting some fine shots down the line and picking up the drops, stirring the memories’ of when he played 2nd league and sported a head of hair. David was a little out of sorts and was making too many unforced errors and Michael pretty much walked it from then on with some showing-off for good measure. (3-1)
So there we were again, in an all too familiar scenario, at 2 matches apiece, 9 games all and having to count the points (the 3rd time in our league season so far) and not 1, but 2 points separated the men from the boys. It would appear that the snot snivelers are not so snotty after all.
Our huge party retired to the JCC clubhouse for the post-battle feast where ruffled feathers were stroked and smoothed and murmurs and threats were made for the 2nd leg. The evening was made all the more notable by the support from the non-playing teammates, Peter F, George (back from running a 10:51 in the Comrades), Chris, Nick and Steph. It was good to see the guys with their wives – it completed the picture. The best part of our fabulous chow-down was that despite having played on two courts we finished the evening close to 11pm, which is much later than if it were just the boys without their spouses (spice), so they can never give us hell about being home late again…
Hold on to your rights, keep them close to your heart and remember your struggle to achieve them and know that if you lose your vigilance – your rights will be taken from you.
“To be wounded in the house of one's friends is perhaps the most grievous affliction that can befall a man.”
“Ear-Ear”
Gary
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Match score: 7 - 9
9th LEAGUE vs Wendywood
Vince won 3-1
Stratford lost 1-3
Roger won 3-1
Mario won 3-0
Match result : 13 - 5
10th LEAGUE vs Southern Suburbs
We played on two courts so a good match report is not possible
Nevertheless, Johan was up first @ # 4 against Justin, a youngster who ran all his shots down. After being 5-0 up in the first, Johan lost 15-17. Grumpy. In the second Johan got 9 points and in the third 12. Not good, 0/3 down
Des played at the same time as Johan @ # 3, he took no nonsense. Des played like a pro and cleaned up 3/0. Thanks for saving a white-wash Des ☺
Keith played @ # 2. His opponent was much stronger. Keith really tried hard, but could not quite get into the game. Keith went down 0/3. Grumpy
Brian played at the same time as Keith @ # 1. Brian played well, and also tried very hard, but lost the first two games. Loud encouragement and tremendous support from the team as well as sheer determination on Brian’s part resulted in him taking the third game. However, his stronger Suburbs opponent came back in the fourth and finished Brian off. Thanks for the game won Brian! So 1/3 down
Match score 4/12
We had an excellent dinner at Del Sol Madeira Restaurant in Regents Park ☺
Final result : 4 - 12
Ladies 4th LEAGUE 03 vs Randburg
The ladies 4th league CE03 played Randburg and all had really good games that were challenging but that we all won.
Kelly played at 4 and lost the first game but then went on to win the next 3.
Caroline played at 3 and also lost the first game, won the next 2 and the last one fairly easily as her partner was feeling 'dizzy'.
Belinda had a lovely running game and won 3 - 0.
Sonelle played a young player who gave her a great run and took the 4th game at 19- 17 for a 3-1 win.
Final result 16 - 3
Caroline
Overall result: 16 - 3
Ladies 4th LEAGUE 02 vs Edenvale
Top of the league
Jenny won 3-2
Josephine won 3-0
Pat won 3-0
Lynda lost 2-3
Overall result: 14 - 5
Ladies 3rd LEAGUE vs Edenvale
2nd in the league
Cheryl won 3-1 (thanks for filling in)
Joanne won 3-1
Audrey lost 0-3
Julie won 3-2
Overall result : 12 - 7
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