Last night our Men’s 1 team took to court in their second match of the season. Keen to make amends for their 0-9 loss at home last month against Ramgarhia, our opponents this time were bottom of the table Harold Hill. Gary decided to try new partnerships for the match so it was going to be interesting to see if the pairings worked.
The pairs for the night were:-
Oliver and Tom
Andy W and Alan
Andy P and Jonas
First up it was Oli and Tom against the first pair from Harold Hill. Quick off the mark and eager to get the points on the board, the lads got into the game really quickly and eased to a 21-11 win. The next game took less time to decide and the guys sat down barely breaking a sweat after finishing it 21-8 to make it 1-0 on the night.
On the adjacent court, Andy W and Alan were up against the second pair from Harold Hill which featured one of our former members Lim. Andy and Alan got off to an even quicker start and ran away with the first game 21-7 then after a quick turnaround they took their foot off the gas slightly but still won the second game 21-13 to make it 2-0 on the night.
Next up were Andy P and Jonas against Harold Hill’s third pair. This was a tough one as their third pair were very strong but Andy and Jonas pushed them all the way, narrowly losing 19-21. The second game didn’t go too well and our lads slipped to a 14-21 defeat to make it 2-1 on the night.
After a brief rest, Andy W and Alan took to court against the first pair from Harold Hill. Boosted by their first match, the lads came out full of confidence which showed as they pulled away to a quick 21-13 win. In the second game they seemed to take their foot off the gas again but they still managed to nick it 21-19 making it 3-1 on the night.
Meanwhile, Andy P and Jonas were back on against the opposition’s second pairing. Eager to make amends for their first match defeat and getting to know each other’s play, the lads just blew the Harold Hill pair away winning 21-5 in the first game. The second game was a bit closer but still a comfortable win, finishing 21-16 to make it 4-1 on the night and secure the first league point of the night.
Time for Oli and Tom to return to court to see if they could secure match win. Playing against the on-form and tough third pair from Harold Hill, our lads managed to get back up to speed quickly after sitting off for a long while. They cruised to a 21-15 first game win then followed it up with a strong 21-17 finish to make it 5-1 on the night and secure 2 league points and the win.
Next it was Andy P and Jonas’ final match of the night. Not wanting to let the side down, they wanted to secure the bonus league point and finish in style against the first pair from Harold Hill. They certainly went out in style and comfortably won their match 21-10, 21-11 to make it 6-1 on the night and secure all 3 league points.
Oli and Tom were up again on court in their final match against the opposition’s second pair. With the league win already secured, it was just game difference and pride to play for. The lads quickly dispatched the first game, winning comfortably 21-11. Taking it easy in the second game, they kept ahead all through the game and won it 21-15 to make it 7-1 on the night and finished with a 100% win rate for the night.
Last up were Andy P and Alan against the strong third pair from Harold Hill. This one didn’t go to plan at all as the lads had been sat off for quite a while and just couldn’t get back into it. They slipped to an unfortunate 10-21, 10-21 loss to finish the night on 7-2.
A great result though and a maximum 3 points for the league. We stay in fourth place but crucially we’re only 3 points behind Barking 2 in third and 4 points behind Ramgarhia in second with two matches in hand. The next match at home to Barking 1 on the 6th January has been postponed so the next match is at home to Barking 2 on the 27th January. A good chance to move up into third place in the league, level on points and still with two games in hand. More practice needed to consolidate the pairings and get a good strong run going.
Keep it up lads!
