Bristol triumph in West Country showdown as Leicester achieve first PSL win of the season
By Squash Mad Reporter
Exeter Diamonds, despite signing world number one Mohamed Elshorbagy, are still without a win at the halfway stage in the English Premier Squash League (PSL).
Elshorbagy’s appearances have ben curtailed due to tournament commitments, but one match he wasn’t going to miss was the West Country derby in Division B against Bristol, where he trains.
Fresh from a shock defeat to Mathieu Castagnet in the British Grand Prix in Manchester, Elshorbagy dropped the opening game to training partner Tom Ford but hit back to win 3-1.
Tim Vail, fresh from his victory over Adrian Grant, produced another outstanding performance for Exeter to beat Mike Phillips, but visitors Bristol had already won the other three strings.
Lea Van Der Zwalmen beat Alison Thompson in five, and there were wins at three and four for Josh Masters and Hadrian Stiff against James Snell and Luke Bishop.
Division B leaders Surrey kepy their unbeaten record going with a 4-1 win away to Chichester to stretch their lead at the top. Alison Waters, fresh from winning the decider in the Women’s World Teams in Canada, put Surrey ahead, but Lyell Fuller, Fares Dessouki and Peter Barker all had to recover from losing their first games to secure the win for the defending champions.
Winchester welcomed high-flying St George’s, but the first four matches were shared leaving Gregory Gaultier and Borja Golan to battle out the decider in front of a full house of 170 spectators.
Winchester’s Gaultier won in straight games, and although the Hampshire team remain fifth in the table on 55 points, they are just 12 points away from a play-off position, currently occupied by St George’s on 67 points.
Division A leaders Duffield had to hastily rearrange their team after the late withdrawal of number one Nick Matthew, and found themselves in danger of suffering their first defeat of the season as visitors Birmingham Lions took a 2-1 lead thanks to wins from Peter Creed andf Chris Ryder after Millie Tomlinson had put Duffield ahead, coming from 2-1 down against Deon Saffery.
Duffield’s late replacement Ashley Davies was also 2-1 down but took the last two games to set up a decider which Chris Simpson – after being 1-7 down in the first against Jaymie Haycocks – won in four games to the relief of the packed Duffield crowd.
Leicester, seeking their first PSL win, welcomed second-placed Coolhurst, and went 2-0 up with a debut win for James Bowden and a hard-fought victory at number one for Daryl Selby. Madeline Perry pulled one back for Coolhurst, but Ben Coleman beat Jo Green in straight games to bring up the long-awaited win for Leicester, and George Parker put the icing on the cake with a 3-2 win in the final match.
Nottingham made it four wins in a row as they travelled to Pontefract. With Lee Beachill unavailable the home side were up against it, and although Nottingham went two ahead with 3-0 wins from Ollie Holland and Emma Beddoes, it took a five-game win for Mark Fuller over Simon Parke to clinch the points for Nottingham. “I’m not going to lie to you, that was hard!” Fuller tweeted to his younger brother Chris who congratulated the team in his absence.
The second half begins on January 27, with the first half fixtures reversed.
Premier Squash League 2014-15. Round Five, Tuesday December 9, 2014.
Division A
Benz Bavarian Duffield 3-2 Birmingham Lions (16-11)
Chris Simpson 3-1 Jaymie Haycocks 11-8, 11-4, 11-13, 11-6
Declan James 2-3 Chris Ryder 10-12, 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 5-11
Richie Fallows 0-3 Peter Creed 7-11, 10-12, 7-11
Ashley Davies 3-2 Miles Jenkins 11-9, 15-17, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9
Millie Tomlinson 3-2 Deon Saffery 7-11, 5-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-8
Everards Leicester 4-1 Coolhurst London (17-7)
Daryl Selby 3-1 Greg Lobban 9-11, 15-13, 11-6, 12-10
Ben Coleman 3-0 Joe Green 11-3, 11-8, 11-5
George Parker 3-2 Ondrej Uherka 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6
James Bowden 3-1 Nick Sutcliffe 9-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-7
Tania Bailey 0-3 Madeline Perry 8-11, 9-11, 2-11
Pontefract 1-4 Air-IT Nottingham (7-18)
Saurav Ghosal 3-1 Alan Clyne 9-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7
Aqeel Rehman 2-3 Eddie Charlton 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 7-11
Simon Parke 2-3 Mark Fuller 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11
Alex Hodgetts 0-3 Ollie Holland 5-11, 11, 10-12
Sarah Kippax -03 Emma Beddoes 4-11, 4-11, 7-11
Division B
Exeter Diamonds 2-3 UWE/Elite Bristol (10-17)
Mohamed Elshorbagy 3-1 Tom Ford 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 (41m)
Tim Vail 3-2 Mike Harris 11-9, 3-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7 (58m)
James Snell 1-3 Josh Masters 15-13, 6-11, 3-11, 1-11 (37m)
Luke Bishop 1-3 Hadrian Stiff 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 8-11 (54m)
Alison Thompson 2-3 Lea Van Der Zwalmen 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 3-11 (56m)
Chichester 1-4 Virgin Active Surrey HRC (6-17)
Adrian Waller 1-3 Peter Barker 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 6-11
Robbie Temple 1-3 Fares Dessouki 11-6, 4-11, 8-11, 8-11
Alex Gough 1-3 Lyell Fuller 11-4, 4-11, 6-+11, 11-13 (50m)
Kyle Finch 3-0 Robert Dadds 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (28m)
Emma Chorley 0-3 Alison Waters 4-11, 8-11, 6-11 (29m)
Winchester 3-2 Luxford/9 Group St George’s Hill (14-8)
Gregory Gaultier 3-0 Borja Golan 11-8, 13-11, 11-8
Scott Handley 0-3 Joe Lee 10-12, 8-11, 8-11
Scott Fitzgerald 3-2 Tom Richards (Scores not supplied)
Steve Wykes 0-3 Henrik Mustonen 7-11, 8-11, 7-11
Emily Whitlock 3-0 Dom Lloyd-Walter 11-1, 11-3, 11-9
