19th March 2022

CIVIL SERVICE 8 - GB VETS 6

On Saturday 19th March the GB Vets met up with a national Civil Service for a match at Nottingham Squash Club. Although a competitive match was anticipated there was some effort to ensure players were well matched. This worked out fantastically as there was some great squash played with 7 of the 14 matches played on the day going the full distance to 5 games.

The Civil Service ran out 6-3 winners in the scheduled fixture but a determined effort from the Vets meant that after some second matches had been played the overall result for the day was a much more respectable 8-6 to the Civil Service.

This was the first friendly social match that the Civil Service have played for a few years and a fixture we very much hope to retain and expand in the future. Many thanks go to Nick Hargreaves and the team at Nottingham Squash Club who made it a great venue for the match. After the evening meal and some short speeches, the remaining diehards headed out into Nottingham for a late night of rehydration therapy.

Alison Goy vs Gemma Barber

Gemma took the early initiative in this game with some great fast play and attacking shots not allowing Alison to settle. Gemma quickly rattled off the first two games however the third game was much tighter as Alison settled into a rhythm and a couple of mistakes crept into Gemma’s game. At 10-8 down in the third it looked to be heading for a fourth game but Gemma dug in to take the next 4 points and a 3-0 win.

Geoff Redfern vs Ethan Thornton

Geoff’s recent form in Masters events has been a bit mercurial and this was a good opportunity for him to rediscover his game. Ethan was not expecting to play this fixture until a few days previously when a late change in the order opened an opportunity to get on court. Ethan began a little rusty and loose and that coupled with Geoff playing a clinical game meant a fast first game to Geoff. After that though the match got significantly tighter as Ethan pulled himself together for the second, moving Geoff around the court and forcing mistakes to level things up at 1-1. After some intense coaching in the break, Geoff came out in the third determined to take back the advantage and he duly did so with Ethan looking a little lost and not knowing where to place the ball. The fourth was very tight with neither player able to build up a lead. Eventually Ethan, with a couple of tight drop shots managed to gain a slight advantage which enabled him to take the game 12-10 and set up a decider. The last game followed a similar pattern to the fourth. Again, Ethan managed to take a slight lead with a 10-8 match ball but Geoff clawed his way back to 10-10. Under immense pressure Ethan composed himself to take the next 2 points and the match.

Nick Gollaglee vs Dan Willets

This match was much closer than the 3-0 score line suggests. The first 2 games were very closely fought and Dan had chances in both games but was just edged out in each. Dan has recently recovered from injury and a bit of rustiness showed in the third as the tins became a little too frequent, leaving Nick as a 3-0 winner.

Nigel Bacon vs Chris Mason-Thom

This was arguably the match of the day – and that’s saying something given the quality of squash on offer. Chris is quite relentless in how he plays squash – lots of hard hitting to the back, taking the ball early and keeping his opponent under pressure. Initially, this took Nigel a little by surprise as Chris raced into a 1-0 lead. At this point Nigel found his range and started moving Chris to all four corners of the court. Two close games to Nigel with some draining rallies to take a 2-1 lead. This continued into the fourth as Nigel managed to work himself some match balls at 10-8 up. Chris is not one for giving up and he chased every ball down to force a tie break and eventually win the game. The fifth followed the same frantic pattern and Chris hung in there. Again the game went to a tie-break with Chris just getting over the line to take a 3-2 win.

John Parkes vs Fraser Richards

This was a game of two halves if ever there was one. John has been recovering from a hip injury which has affected his usually electric court coverage. Fraser has won the national Civil Service title in the past and came out very strongly. John didn’t get a look in as Fraser confidently won the first game and raced into the lead in the second. Gradually though John began to lengthen the rallies and a few errors appeared in Fraser’s game. John managed to sneak the second and never looked back as the tables had completely turned and he dominated the remaining games.

Ray Burke MBE vs Marc Aldridge

This was a brutal match! Both players did not give an inch throughout this 5-game encounter. Ray is well known for digging in and Marc was a match for him throughout. Ray won a tight first game with some very tricky shots only for Marc to come out strongly in the second and work up a decent lead. But from 8-5 down Ray decided to turn on the pressure and win 7 straight points to take the game and lead 2-0. This made Marc more determined than ever and with some tricky squash of his own made it back to 2 games each and all to play for. The final game was incredibly tight all the way and the margins were so small with just a few slightly tighter shots from Ray proving the difference as he won 3-2.

Simon Spencer vs James Whelan

This was a classic match up between the raw power and speed of James against the flair and touch of Simon. For the first 2 games Simon had James scampering to all 4 corners of the court and just hanging in there hoping one day his opponent might make a mistake. At 2-0 to Simon he began to look a little weary and a clash between the players looked like it may have left Simon slightly worse off. Still he battled on but the relentlessness of James’ retrieving meant he was able to come back and take the match 3-2.

Tim Burrell vs Tony Webb

These two had recently played in the CSSC national championships and shared a 3-2 and this was no different as neither player was able to pull away from the other. Tim won the first only to be pegged back to 1-1. Again Tim edged ahead only to be pegged back again to 2-2. And so on to the fifth and both players were a bit fearful of making a mistake as the rallies dragged out. Eventually a few mistakes from Tim caused by some tight hitting from Tony gave him a lead that he took all the way to the finishing line to take the match 3-2.

Nick Hargreaves vs James Hodson

The number 1’s took to the court last in front of a large crowd looking forward to this battle. James is well known for his retrieving and Nick equally well known for his fitness and a long battle was expected. It did not disappoint as both players proved very hard to break down. When it came to the business end of each game James just had a little extra that proved the difference and each time just managed to close out the game before his opponent. A very hard fought 3-0 win to James.

Nick Sheppard