Last night was the turn of our Combi 2 team to take to the courts away to Emerson Eagles 2. The division is still a new concept so we were thankful Emerson were organised and had the games arranged accordingly. The lineup for our team:-
Paula
Penny
Darran
Me
First up were the Ladies v Ladies and the Men v Men. It was a bit of a tough time for myself and Darran getting used to the court and the shuttle and things just didn’t go right at all in the first game, losing 21-6. The next game started better and we were picking up points and working well but some wide shots and miss-hits just scuppered our match and we went down 21-11. Not a great start.
Over on the other court, Paula and Penny fared a lot better and won both of their games. Their first one was close – 19-21 but then they got into their stride and took the second one 11-21.
Next up we swapped things around and I took to the court with Paula while Penny took to the court with Darran for the first of the mixed matches.
Paula and I quickly got into our stride and were matching Eagles point for point. It was a close first game but we edged it 19-21 to take the first game. We then started to work well together and took a good lead in the second game and managed to close it down at 14-21 to make it 1-2 on the night.
Over on the other court, it wasn’t to be for Penny and Darran who slipped to defeat, 21-11 and 21-13 to make it 2-2 on the night and all to play for in the final 2 mixed matches (for those not familiar with the format of the Combination League, it’s played over 6 matches with 2 points for the winner and 1 point each if it’s a draw. There are no bonus league points like in the Men’s and the Mixed.)
So, it was back on court for the final matches. Paula and Darran on one court and Penny and I on the other court.
Paula and Darran played really well together and won their first game 17-21 then went on to better the score to win 14-21 in the second to make it 2-3 on the night and secured at least 1 league point. Meanwhile, Penny and I were having a tough match against the other mixed pair from Eagles. The first game went down to the wire and we took it 19-21. The second game seemed to go on forever and we racked up a big lead only to see it reigned back in when they put a series of long serves in to mix up the game. However, we adjusted well and held on to win 19-21 again and secure the second league point for the outright win.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable night and the format works really well. It’s hard to get straight into it as normally you play with the same partner all night so you get better as the night goes on and your understanding of eachother’s game improves. On these nights, you get one match (best of 3 games) with your partner before swapping so you need to have a good understanding from the off.
Thanks again to everyone who played (and to our solitary supporter on the night – you know who you are!) and we’re now top of the league!
