Division 3 > Match Card
11-7
13-11
11-3
Match Report
Sonning knew that we were in for a tough night as Clive Taylor, Johns Simmonds and Alexsey Mohkov were representing Pangbourne. For Sonning there was James, Himanshu and Cris.
Starting at 7:30 promptly Cris was first up against Clive with an 81% average. Clive didn’t take long to win the first point for the home side as he beat Cris 11-7, 11-4 and 11-6. The set was over in 10 minutes!
Next was James against Aleksey. A routine win for James as Alexsey could not find his range with his smashes and James just had too much guile for him to win in three straight games. So 1-1.
Himanshu faced John Simmonds and John had too much experience and skill for Himanshu to threaten. A straightforward victory for John.
The second round of singles brought Cris and Alexsey to the table. Alexsey had beaten Cris earlier in the season. Cris wanted to reverse that, and to that end took a two game lead, winning both 12-10. In game three Cris had match point but lost that and the game 12-10. Game 4 Cris was 5-2 down before finding much more consistency and went 9-6 up before Alexsey gifted a fault on service to give Cris 4 match points. No mistake this time! So 2-2 in sets.
Himanshu then faced Clive and although losing in three games made Clive play. The amount of top spin Clive generated, proved difficult and the match winner for Clive.
Set 6 saw James facing John, who had won their match earlier in the season. James set about this set in determined fashion. Winning the first game 11-7. The winning point for James saw John damage a nail on his left hand. The medics were called, plaster applied and John was able to carry on. James was told to retain his focus as injured players are dangerous! James did so and won in three games quite comfortably. So 3-3.
The doubles saw injured John coming out with Clive. This was in spite of suggestions he may want to rest and recuperate! No such luck as James and Cris succumbed in three games, 11-7 13-11 and 11-3.
The last round of singles saw Cris face John. Cris lost in three games. Himanshu then faced Alexsey and this went to five games. Alexsey went two games up before Himanshu struck back winning games three and four. Alexsey won a couple of early points in game 5 and turned round 5-2 up. Himanshu recovered to 5-6 down and then lost it to 6 points. A disappointing end to the evening for Himanshu. So Pangbourne were leading 6-3.
Step up James and Clive. Could Sonning C get a fourth point to help our B Team? The answer was yes! A titanic struggle ensued, as James and Clive went toe to toe. In the first game James enjoyed some fortune as he found two nets and two edges much to frustration of Clive! So James wins the first 11-7. In game 2 it appeared that Clive found another gear as he hurried along to level the set winning 11-8. The third game was tight. James got to 10-8 before Clive won the next point. Thankfully James won through 11-9 to win the crucial game. Game four was a monumental effort by both players. James had match points at 10-8 but Clive squared it to 10-10. Thereafter we had another 18 points played. James probably had a dozen match points and Clive 6 game points. James eventually won game four 20-18. Expletives were heard from both players, some of the rallies were quite superb and a credit to both players! A terrific treble for James!
All in all a good result for both teams. A shame Himanshu could not get over the line in his final game which would given us the draw.
Anyway in summary 8 points in the last two weeks against teams going for promotion is a result. If the C team can carry that on for the rest of the season we may well climb up the table. Will the B team throw any surprises at Pangbourne next week?
Finally thanks Leroy for the drinks afterwards.
by Cris Reynolds
Starting at 7:30 promptly Cris was first up against Clive with an 81% average. Clive didn’t take long to win the first point for the home side as he beat Cris 11-7, 11-4 and 11-6. The set was over in 10 minutes!
Next was James against Aleksey. A routine win for James as Alexsey could not find his range with his smashes and James just had too much guile for him to win in three straight games. So 1-1.
Himanshu faced John Simmonds and John had too much experience and skill for Himanshu to threaten. A straightforward victory for John.
The second round of singles brought Cris and Alexsey to the table. Alexsey had beaten Cris earlier in the season. Cris wanted to reverse that, and to that end took a two game lead, winning both 12-10. In game three Cris had match point but lost that and the game 12-10. Game 4 Cris was 5-2 down before finding much more consistency and went 9-6 up before Alexsey gifted a fault on service to give Cris 4 match points. No mistake this time! So 2-2 in sets.
Himanshu then faced Clive and although losing in three games made Clive play. The amount of top spin Clive generated, proved difficult and the match winner for Clive.
Set 6 saw James facing John, who had won their match earlier in the season. James set about this set in determined fashion. Winning the first game 11-7. The winning point for James saw John damage a nail on his left hand. The medics were called, plaster applied and John was able to carry on. James was told to retain his focus as injured players are dangerous! James did so and won in three games quite comfortably. So 3-3.
The doubles saw injured John coming out with Clive. This was in spite of suggestions he may want to rest and recuperate! No such luck as James and Cris succumbed in three games, 11-7 13-11 and 11-3.
The last round of singles saw Cris face John. Cris lost in three games. Himanshu then faced Alexsey and this went to five games. Alexsey went two games up before Himanshu struck back winning games three and four. Alexsey won a couple of early points in game 5 and turned round 5-2 up. Himanshu recovered to 5-6 down and then lost it to 6 points. A disappointing end to the evening for Himanshu. So Pangbourne were leading 6-3.
Step up James and Clive. Could Sonning C get a fourth point to help our B Team? The answer was yes! A titanic struggle ensued, as James and Clive went toe to toe. In the first game James enjoyed some fortune as he found two nets and two edges much to frustration of Clive! So James wins the first 11-7. In game 2 it appeared that Clive found another gear as he hurried along to level the set winning 11-8. The third game was tight. James got to 10-8 before Clive won the next point. Thankfully James won through 11-9 to win the crucial game. Game four was a monumental effort by both players. James had match points at 10-8 but Clive squared it to 10-10. Thereafter we had another 18 points played. James probably had a dozen match points and Clive 6 game points. James eventually won game four 20-18. Expletives were heard from both players, some of the rallies were quite superb and a credit to both players! A terrific treble for James!
All in all a good result for both teams. A shame Himanshu could not get over the line in his final game which would given us the draw.
Anyway in summary 8 points in the last two weeks against teams going for promotion is a result. If the C team can carry that on for the rest of the season we may well climb up the table. Will the B team throw any surprises at Pangbourne next week?
Finally thanks Leroy for the drinks afterwards.
by Cris Reynolds
Written by: Huzeyfe Borazan
