Matthew, Willstop Winners as Exeter Diamonds Defeat PSL Champions Surrey Health by Howard Harding 27 November 2013
- As midnight approached at the end of a long fourth round Premier
Squash League (PSL) tie in the Devon capital, Exeter Diamonds clinched
a dramatic 3/2 win over title-holders Integrity Surrey Health &
Racquets to become the only unbeaten team in the 30th season of the
world's most prestigious squash league.
West Country
neighbours UWE/Elitesquash Bristol also had cause for celebration in
Group B after beating Winchester 4/1 to record their first PSL win for
20 months.
Honours were shared
after the first four matches in Exeter, with the visitors' Alison
Waters claiming the quickest win of the night (in 13 minutes) and
Italian star Davide Bianchetti the longest (in 75 minutes), while home
heroes Tim Vail and Finn number one Olli Tuominen restored order for
the Diamonds.
The top-string decider
featured Exeter's Omar Mosaad, the world No 9 from Egypt making only
his third appearance in the PSL, and the Croydon club's England
international Adrian Grant, the world No 20 from London. Left-hander
Grant boasted a 4/3 career head-to-head advantage going into the match
- but, buoyed by the partisan home crowd, Mosaad wasted no time in
securing his crucial 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 victory in 35 minutes.
The win not only makes
Exeter Diamonds the only unbeaten team this season - and sees the Devon
side top the Group B tables by an eight-point margin - but it also
inflicted the first defeat on Surrey Health since the team lifted the
PSL trophy for a record fourth consecutive time in last season's final
in May.
PSL stalwarts since
the 2006/07 season, UWE/Elitesquash Bristol last recorded a victory in
March 2012 - and went through the 2012/13 season anchored to the bottom
of the Group B tables without a single win. But a home fixture against
Winchester changed the Avon club's fortunes.
17-year-old Egyptian
Yathreb Adel started Bristol's winning run with a 3/0 victory over the
visitors' Emily Heyes. Exeter-based Michael Harris followed the
teenager's lead by beating Winchester's Phillip John Bull in four games
before Cheltenham 20-year-old Thomas Ford played one of the most
significant games of his life when he recovered from 2/0 down to beat
Alex Phillips 10-12, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 and clinch Bristol's
long-awaited triumph.
Roared on by the
exuberant home crowd, former Welsh international David Evans - now in
his 40th year - rolled back the years to see off Portsmouth-based
21-year-old Robert Downer 11-3, 11-8, 11-3 to establish a 4/1 team win.
"Bristol UWE/Elite
Squash is delighted with its first PSL win in a few seasons," said team
spokesman Richard King. "'Southwest team with southwest squad provide
home win in the southwest': what else can you say! Come on Bristol!"
The other Group B tie
also went to the wire when Luxfords St George's Hill beat Team
Chichester 3/2. Things started badly for the home side when
Chichester's Jaclyn Kemp beat Dominique Lloyd-Walter in straight games
and Olivier Pett fought back from a game down to beat the Weybridge
club's Alex Ingham in four games.
But home wins by
Henrik Mustonen and Tom Richards forced the decider - which Spanish
star Borja Golan, marking his first season for St George's, wasted no
time in winning, beating the Chichester top string Jonathan Kemp 11-7,
12-10, 11-6.
"Welcome to a great
player and fantastic team man Borja," said St George's Hill team
manager Danny Lee afterwards. "A great effort by Alex and good to see
Tom back on form."
An East Midlands derby
in Group A saw last season's runners-up Benz-Bavarian Duffield beat
fellow former champions Air-IT Nottingham 4/1 at the packed Duffield
club in Derbyshire. The opener provided one of the night's biggest
upsets when Nottingham's world No26 Emma Beddoes beat the home side's
world No2 Laura Massaro 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6.
But the visitors were
unable to maintain the momentum as Duffield stars Aqeel Rehman, Andy
Whipp and Joel Hinds all recorded notable wins - Whipp saving
game-balls in all three games before beating Nottingham team manager
Mark Fuller 13-11, 13-11, 16-14.
Top strings Nick
Matthew, the Duffield world champion, and Eddie Charlton then fought
out a blistering final match, with Matthew emerging triumphant 11-7,
11-4, 7-11, 11-7 to extend Duffield's lead at the top of the Group A
tables to six points.
"It was a really busy
night tonight, in front of a total sell-out crowd," said Duffield team
manager Felix Frixou. "Emma was in tremendous form against Laura and
really held her own against our world No2 player. But in fact everyone
played really well tonight - and provided a great evening of squash for
the packed crowd.
"In the final match of
the night, Eddie played out of his skin - but Nick did what he had to
do. It was Nick's first home match since the publication of his
autobiography, so we had a good signing session after the match - and
loads of copies flew out of the door. He must have been disappointed
not to have been shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
award, but he didn't let it affect his match."
PSL newcomers
Coolhurst London strengthened their grip on second place in the tables
with a 3/2 win at University of Birmingham. Irish international
Madeline Perry, Englishman Adam Auckland and Frenchman Yann Perrin were
the Coolhurst winners - but Birmingham University stalwart Chris Ryder
gave the home crowd something to cheer at the end of the evening when
the 33-year-old top string beat the London club's Ben Coleman, aged 22,
11-9, 11-3, 11-2.
It was a 3/2 away win
in the all-Yorkshire clash in Pontefract where Chapel Allerton beat AJP
Pontefract. A stunning performance from the Leeds club's Chris Simpson
saw Chapel Allerton clinch their win - the world No24 from Guernsey
beating India's world No17 Saurav Ghosal 11-6, 11-8, 11-1.
RESULTS: Premier Squash League, 4th round, Tuesday 26 November 2013
Group A: Benz-Bavarian Duffield 4 Air-IT Nottingham 1 Nick Matthew bt Eddie Charlton 11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 Joel Hinds bt Ollie Holland 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 Andy Whipp bt Mark Fuller 13-11, 13-11, 16-14 Aqeel Rehman bt Josh Taylor 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 Laura Massaro lost to Emma Beddoes 5-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 6-11
AJP Pontefract 2 Chapel Allerton 3 James Willstrop bt Daryl Selby 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 Saurav Ghosal lost to Chris Simpson 6-11, 8-11, 1-11 Lee Beachill lost to Shaun le Roux 10-12, 5-11, 7-11 Adam Taylor lost to Simon Parke 6-11, 10-12, 5-11 Sarah Kippax bt Jenny Duncalf 8-11, 9-11, 8-3 ret.
University of Birmingham 2 Coolhurst London 3 Chris Ryder bt Ben Coleman 11-9, 11-3, 11-2 Jaymie Haycocks lost to Yann Perrin 10-12, 8-11, 3-11 Nathan Lake lost to Adam Auckland 4-11, 2-11, 3-11 Bradley Hindle bt Steven London 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 Deon Saffery lost to Madeline Perry 11-9, 7-11, 6-11, 8-11
Group B: Luxfords St George's Hill 3 Team Chichester 2 Borja Golan bt Jonathan Kemp 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 Tom Richards bt Rex Hedrick 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 Henrik Mustonen bt Robbie Temple 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 Alex Ingham lost to Olivier Pett 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 8-11 Dominique Lloyd-Walter lost to Jaclyn Kemp 8-11, 6-11, 7-11
Exeter Diamonds 3 Integrity Surrey Health & Racquets 2 Omar Mosaad bt Adrian Grant 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (35m) Olli Tuominen bt Raphael Kandra 11-5, 13-11, 14-12 (42m) Joey Barrington lost to Davide Bianchetti 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 10-12 (75m) Tim Vail bt Richie Fallows 13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-2 (59m) Rhianne O'Donnell lost to Alison Waters 2-11, 1-11, 1-11 (13m)
UWE/Elitesquash Bristol 4 Winchester 1 David Evans bt Robert Downer 11-3, 11-8, 11-3 Thomas Ford bt Alex Phillips 10-12, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 Michael Harris bt Phillip John Bull 11-5, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4 Jethro Binns lost to Daniel Poleshchuk 11-7, 7-11, 3-11, 8-11 Yathreb Adel bt Emily Heyes 11-2, 11-3, 11-7
