St George's Through to Premier League Final by Steve Cubbins May 5, 2015
- After a dramatic first semi-final, it was the turn of St George's and
Coolhurst to see who would meet Duffield in the final. Division B
table-toppers St George's were at home, but visitors Coolhurst,
Division A runners-up, probably had their shortest journey so far this
season!
In front of a sellout crowd it was St George's who triumphed, with
their home-grown trio of Joe Lee, Charles Sharpes and Tom Richards
taking the first three men's matches to seal the victory.
So it will be the two divisional winners who face off in the final at Hunts County on Thursday.
Luxford / 9Group St George's Hill 4-1 Coolhurst London
Borja Golan 2-1 Cameron Pilley 11-9, 4-11, 13-11 (29m)
Tom Richards 3-0 Greg Lobban 18-16, 11-9, 11-6 (48m)
Joe Lee 3-2 James Earles 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 13-11 (75m)
Charles Sharpes 3-0 Nick Sutcliffe 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (26m)
Georgie Ingham 0-3 Madeline Perry 3-11, 3-11, 3-11 (12m)
Match Report
Coolhurst got off to a great start as Madeline Perry eased past PSL
debutante Georgie Ingham in double quick time, but Charles Sharpes
levelled the match as he beat Coolhurst manager Nick Sutcliffe in three
games.
Both of those matches were on the traditional court, and by the time
they had finished the first match on the glass court was just about to
go into a fifth game!
St George's Joe Lee took the first two against James Earles, but the
Coolhurst left-hander fought back to level, and had a slight lead
through most of the fifth. An error from Lee game Earles two match
balls at 10-8, and on the second of those he had a great chance but
tinned his dropshot, to his own and his team's horror. Lee took
advantage as Earles made a couple more errors, taking the game 13-11 to
put the home side ahead.
The third men's match saw St George's Tom Richards, elevated to number
two on recent form and rankings, come from 7-10 down against Greg
Lobban to take a nailbiting first game 18-16. Richards streaked ahead
in the second, just about holding off Lobban's comeback for 11-9, and
controlled the third to finish it off 11-6 and put St George's into the
final.
The final match saw Borja Golan - who had some difficulty flying in
from Spain due to the high winds - play a best of three with
hard-hitting Aussie Cameron Pilley, taking it 13-11 in the third to
make the final score 4-1 to St George's.
Home manager Danny Lee was delighted: "We've been trying and trying
with this team, so I'm very proud to have made the final for a second
time, especially with a team of mostly home-grown players - it could
have been five if Borja hadn't been able to get here!
"Joe managed to win when he wasn't playing well and Tom won when he was
playing well but came up against a very tough opponent in Greg.
"It's a credit to the club, the support that our sponsors have shown us
over the years, and to have 220 people here tonight was just amazing.
"it's all happening at St George's, we have a new PSA $25k tournament
in October, but now we just need to concentrate on the final in two
days' time - watch out Duffield!"
Coolhurst manager Nick Sutcliffe was also proud of his side: "It's only
our second year in the league so to make the semis and come so close to
winning without a full strength side is a real credit to them.
"When James lost so narrowly it was really difficult for us to come
back with enough mental energy, and when Tom came back to take a really
tight first game that was another blow.
"We'll be back with a vengeance next year, but best of luck to St George's in the final."
The final is between Duffield and St George's, 7pm on Thu 7th May at Hunts County.
