Coach Ford Survives Pupil Marathon In Ireland
by Howard Harding
6 April 2012 - It took 82 minutes for coach Ben Ford to get the better of his 'pupil' Alex Ingham in an all-English first round clash in the Paddy 'Whack' West of Ireland Open, the PSA World Tour International 10 squash event in its sixth year at Galway Lawn Tennis Club in Galway.
"Ford has always been a crowd favourite in Galway where they have witnessed many long battles and incredible comebacks," explained tournament organiser Edwin Brennan. "This evening was no exception. It was always going to be a tight game as both players know each other so well - but would it be youth or experience that would prevail?"
Ingham, a 21-year-old qualifier from Surrey, got off to a flier in the first game and no sooner had the door to the court been closed it was open again after a extremely short first games which Ingham won 11-1.
"Ben quickly re-grouped and started to find his rhythm in the second but Ingham wasn't giving him anything easy. It seemed as though Ingham was in control of the whole match but Ford's experience along with slowing down the pace and questioning refereeing decisions meant that Alex found it difficult to keep a continuous momentum."
Ford, a 36-year-old from Kent, took the second and third games after tie-breaks - and kept a cool head from seven-all in the fourth to close out the match 1-11, 12-10, 15-13, 11-7.
"I think I was very lucky," said Ford later. "He was pretty much in control of the whole match but when it got to the big points I was on top. I felt good physically but just couldn't hit the ball where I wanted it to go, it's normally the other way around. I can only get better tomorrow as long as I recover physically. To all the people I coach - that's the definition of winning ugly!"
Ford will now face Rasmus Nielsen, after the third seed from Denmark also survived a marathon, beating top-ranked Austrian Aqeel Rehman 11-6, 11-5, 11-13, 6-11, 11-6 in 75 minutes.
Local star Arthur Gaskin provided unexpected Irish in the quarter-finals after upsetting Canada's Fred Reid 11-3, 11-5, 11-7.
The reigning Irish champion, a 27-year-old qualifier from Dublin, will now face fourth-seeded Australian Steven Finitsis for a place in the semi-finals.
RESULTS: PSA International 10 Paddy 'Whack' West of Ireland Open, Galway, Ireland
1st round:
[1] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 (45m)
Dylan Bennett (NED) bt [Q] Alex Phillips (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (35m)
Ben Ford (ENG) bt [Q] Alex Ingham (ENG) 1-11, 12-10, 15-13, 11-7 (82m)
[3] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 11-6, 11-5, 11-13, 6-11, 11-6 (75m)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Stuart Hadden (IRL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (27m)
[Q] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Fred Reid (CAN) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (25m)
[Q] Mark Fuller (ENG) bt Chris Truswell (ENG) 8-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 (79m)
[2] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (40m)
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Joe Lee (ENG) v Dylan Bennett (NED)
[3] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) v Ben Ford (ENG)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) v [Q] Arthur Gaskin (IRL)
[2] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) v [Q] Mark Fuller (ENG)
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