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Weald 3 v Crawley 2 - what a cliff-hanger!
The first match of the year for the third Weald men’s team was a cliff-hanger as two players had chances of turning the night into a win, which were dashed as Crawley 2 fought back. Even after winning 12 games to Crawley’s 11, Weald could not take home the winner’s five bonus points.
Simon Young started the night well, putting the ball away with his cross courts to take the first by a narrow margin after fighting back from a points deficit, then more confidently keeping ahead in the next two. He attributed his 10-8, 9-6, 9-7 win to his early evening tuna sandwich and mug of tea! Mike Crisp stormed ahead in his first two games as his low cross court backhands kept his opponent on the defensive. However, suddenly in the third, Mike lost his way and struggled to recreate those earlier shots, losing confidence in his shot-play to lose in five 9-1, 9-1, 5-9, 3-9, 0-9.
Bill Baxter started confidently and ran down his opponents shots, using his backhand drive and drops to keep his opponent guessing, and fighting back to level the scores, However, in the deciding game, Bill could not cover enough of his opponent’s cross court drives to fight back, losing 2-9, 9-5, 2-9, 9-2, 1-9. With Weald trailing, Steve Bodsworth also looked in trouble in his first two games as his shots dropped half court for his opponent to polish off. However, Steve fought back with better placed shots to take the third on the tie-break, then confidently took the next two 8-1, 7-9, 10-8, 9-2, 9-1.
So it was up to Dave Beecroft to decide the result of the match, and everything looked to be in Weald’s favour as he led 2-0. However, he also lost his way, taking the pace off his shots and allowing his opponent to make a number of winning drives in the third, a situation which got worse in the fourth as Dave failed to get a point. Despite a rally in the final game, Dave could not recreate his earlier form as he lost 9-5, 9-4, 5-9, 0-9, 5-9. So close for the team, but so far – very like the eventual journey home from Crawley across the snowy wilderness!!
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