Matthew Leads Duffield To Victory & Extends Unbeaten PSL Run Into Seventh Season by Howard Harding 23 October 2013
- Yorkshire's world No4 Nick Matthew led last season's runners-up
Benz-Bavarian Duffield to a powerful 5/0 victory over AJP Pontefract in
Tuesday's first round of the Premier Squash League with a straight
games win over Indian number one Saurav Ghosal which extends his
unbeaten PSL run of 35 matches into a seventh season.
The first round ties
across the country signal the beginning of the 30th season of the
world's most prestigious squash league - which feature the world's best
men and women players from both the UK and overseas.
Matthew, the
33-year-old former world number one from Sheffield, began his PSL
winning streak in October 2007 - and celebrated the beginning of his
11th successive season for Derbyshire club Duffield with an 11-6, 11-5,
11-7 top string win over Ghosal, the world No17.
The victory followed
3/0 wins by team-mates Stephen Coppinger, the South African number one;
Andy Whipp, of Manchester; team debutant Declan James from Nottingham;
and Tania Bailey, the former world No4 from Lincolnshire playing her
first competitive match for over 18 months.
Duffield - champions
in 1998, 2006 & 2007 - earned a maximum 20 points from the tie to
take top place in the Group A standings.
University of
Birmingham claimed second place in the group tables after an impressive
4/1 home win over Chapel Allerton, the 2009 champions from Leeds. Olga
Ertlova made a promising debut as the PSL's first woman player from the
Czech Republic by putting the West Midlands team into the lead after
beating Yorkshire's Carrie Ramsey 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8.
But the standout match
of the night saw the home team's Australian number one Cameron Pilley
resist a spirited fight-back by Chapel Allerton 'new boy' Daryl Selby -
just home after reaching the finals of two major Tour events in Canada
- by beating the world No14 from Essex 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 3-11, 13-11.
"Good dig!
#jetlagchallenge couldn't have been much closer, so annoyed I lost
after all that hard work!" tweeted Selby later. "Enjoyed the battle
though @campilley"
1999 champions Air-IT
Nottingham also crafted a home win in Group A, beating PSL newcomers
Coolhurst London 3/2. Nottingham stalwart Emma Beddoes - fresh from WSA
Tour title success in the Penang Open in Malaysia - gave the home team
the perfect start with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 win over newly-retired
Lauren Selby.
Later wins by club
regulars Eddie Charlton and Chris Fuller clinched victory for
Nottingham - but German number one Simon Rosner gave the London
visitors the best finish by beating top Scot Alan Clyne 11-5, 11-9,
11-8 in the final top string clash.
In the southern Group
B, title-holders Integrity Surrey Health & Racquets started off the
new season the way they finished the previous one - with a win. Hosted
by UWE/Elitesquash Bristol, the Croydon club recovered from losing the
opening match - won by Bristol's French number one Camille Serme - to
celebrate a 4/1 victory.
Rising German star
Raphael Kandra marked his PSL debut with a 3/1 win over the home club's
Thomas Ford, and the top string clash between Egypt's Mohamed
Elshorbagy and Londoner Peter Barker - ranked 6 and 7, respectively, in
the world - saw Surrey Health's Barker storm home 3-11, 11-9, 11-6,
11-6 in 48 minutes to give the reigning champions the perfect start to
the new season.
But Surrey Health
begin the season in second place in the Group B tables, a single point
behind Team Chichester, who beat near neighbours Winchester 4/1.
Chichester winners
were Lauren Briggs, Anthony Graham, Robbie Temple and Australian
debutant Rex Hedrick - with Winchester gaining some consolation when
top string Marwan Elshorbagy, Mohamed's younger brother, beat the home
side's number one Jonathan Kemp 3/1.
There was all to play
for in the Group B clash between twice former runners-up Luxfords St
George's Hill and Exeter Diamonds when the tie was poised at two-all in
matches and 1/1 in games between top strings Tom Richards, the
newly-promoted St George's No1, and Exeter's Omar Mosaad, the world
No10 from Egypt making his first appearance in the PSL.
Victory went to visitors Exeter when Mosaad took the match 9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5.
"Just got pipped 3-2
by Exeter Diamonds," tweeted the Weybridge club manager Danny Lee
later. "Good night, great crowd, wrong result but congratulations to
Exeter."
RESULTS: Premier Squash League, 1st round, Tuesday 22 October 2013
Group A: Air-IT Nottingham 3 Coolhurst London 2 Alan Clyne lost to Simon Rosner 5-11, 9-11, 8-11 Eddie Charlton bt Ben Coleman 11-6, 11-9, 17-15 Chris Fuller bt Adam Auckland 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 8-11, 11-2 David Wardle lost to Steven London 9-11, 9-11, 5-11 Emma Beddoes bt Lauren Selby 11-6, 11-5, 11-3
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 5 AJP Pontefract 0 Nick Matthew bt Saurav Ghosal 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 Stephen Coppinger bt Lee Beachill 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 Andy Whipp bt Chris van der Salm 11-6, 11-1, 11-7 Declan James bt Alex Hodgetts 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 Tania Bailey bt Katie Smith 11-1, 11-5, 11-6
University of Birmingham 4 Chapel Allerton 1 Cameron Pilley bt Daryl Selby 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 3-11, 13-11 Chris Ryder lost to Chris Simpson 9-11, 2-11, 7-11 Jaymie Haycocks bt Shaun le Roux 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6 Peter Creed bt James Earles 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 Olga Ertlova bt Carrie Ramsey 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8
Group B: Team Chichester 4 Winchester 1 Jonathan Kemp lost to Marwan Elshorbagy 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 12-14 Rex Hedrick bt Robert Downer 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 Robbie Temple bt Scott Fitzgerald 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 Anthony Graham bt Daniel Poleshchuk 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 Lauren Briggs bt Jane Allman 11-3, 11-4, 11-4
Luxfords St George's Hill 2 Exeter Diamonds 3 Tom Richards lost to Omar Mosaad 11-9, 5-11, 3-11, 5-11 Joe Lee lost to Olli Tuominen 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 8-11 Henrik Mustonen bt Joey Barrington 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 Charles Sharpes lost to Tim Vail 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 7-11 Dominique Lloyd-Walter bt Victoria Temple Murray 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
UWE/Elitesquash Bristol 1 Integrity Surrey Health & Racquets 4 Mohamed Elshorbagy lost to Peter Barker 11-3, 9-11, 6-11, 6-11 (48m) David Evans lost to Adrian Waller 9-11, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11 (51m) Thomas Ford lost to Raphael Kandra 7-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11 (44m) Michael Harris lost to Richie Fallows 11-9, 11-8, 1-11, 6-11, 10-12 (65m) Camille Serme bt Katie Wilson 11-1, 11-0, 11-4 (20m)
