Semi-final (first leg)
Oberthur Strings
Tewkesbury
2-3
Wolverhampton
Ong Beng Hee
lost to
Anthony Ricketts 6-9, 8-10, 8-10
Rodney Durbach
lost to
Alex Gough 7-9, 7-9, 9-5,
9-3, 7-9
Alister
Walker
beat
Scott Handley 9-6, 9-7, 9-6
Daryl Selby
beat
Mark Cairns 6-9, 9-0, 3-9,
9-5, 9-4
Jennifer Wright
lost to
Liz Brown 2-9, 6-9, 5-9
Semi-final (second leg)
Manchester/Pontefract
3-2 Team
Chichester
Lee Beachill
beat
Mohd Azlan Iskandar 9-5, 9-5, 9-7 (29m)
James Willstrop
beat
Peter Genever 7-9, 3-9, 9-4, 9-3,
9-6 (46m)
Marcus Berrett
lost to
Ben Garner 5-9, 3-9, 8-10
(18m)
Nick Taylor
beat
Tim Vail 9-7, 9-7,
9-5 (27m)
Kirsty McPhee
lost to
Suzie Pierrepont 2-9, 4-9, 3-9
(25m)
* Manchester/Pontefract
qualify for final 30-15 in points
Champions Manchester/Pontefract
Back In Final
World No3 Lee Beachill led
title-holders Manchester/Pontefract to a
3/2 victory over Team Chichester in
Tuesday's second semi-final leg of the
National Squash League to put the
trans-Pennine cooperative into the final for the
second successive year.
Despite beating the Sussex team
3/2 in the first leg, it was a nervous
performance by the champions - who appeared to
be on the brink of defeat when second string
James Willstrop went 0/2 down to the
Chichester No2 Peter Genever in the
penultimate match of the tie on the all-glass
court at the National Squash Centre in
Manchester.
The hosts started poorly when
Yorkshire's
19-year-old Kirsty McPhee went down in
straight games to
Chichester's
Suzie Pierrepont, the British U23
champion from
Brighton
who only arrived in
Manchester
from
Doha
in
Qatar
an hour before going on court!
Nick Taylor
delighted the local supporters
when he avenged last week's defeat by Tim
Vail to beat the Sussex club stalwart 9-7
9-7 9-5. But the hosts slipped behind for the
second time in the evening when a less-than-100%
Marcus Berrett, thought to be suffering
with a cold, capitulated in just 18 minutes to
Ben Garner in a 9-5 9-3 10-8 scoreline.
Manchester fans will no doubt
have been relieved to see hero James Willstrop
take to the court – knowing that the world No8
boasts six wins already this season for the
squad, while opponent Peter Genever is still
looking for his first victory this year. But it
was Genever that took the opening two games –
while the Manchester/Pontefract management
reached for their calculators, and soon worked
out that, should Willstrop lose, top string
Beachill would have to win 3/0 to guarantee the
squad their place in the final!
Willstrop, however, was not about
to disappoint his fans on the showcourt which
has staged a series of notable victories by the
21-year-old from Pontefract. Genever persevered
for 46 minutes, but it was Willstrop who came
away as the 7-9 3-9 9-4 9-3 9-6 winner.
Beachill then defeated Malaysian
Mohd Azlan Iskandar 9-5 9-5 9-7 in 29
minutes to ensure Manchester/Pontefract's second
3/2 win, and qualification for the final by a
30-15 points margin.
The other semi-final saw
Wolverhampton
beat Oberthur Strings
Tewkesbury 3/2 in their first leg tie at
Tewkesbury.
The hosts suffered a surprise defeat in the
opening match when Welsh 21-year-old Jennifer
Wright went down in straight games to a
Wolverhampton
opponent more than double her age! Liz
Brown, the reigning British National Over-45
champion, won convincingly 9-2 9-6 9-5.
The Gloucestershire club then
took over the lead when third and fourth strings
Alister Walker and Daryl Selby
recorded victories over the visitors'
experienced opponents Scott Handley and
Mark Cairns, respectively. Selby twice
had to come from behind to overcome Cairns, a
former British champion, 6-9 9-0 3-9 9-5 9-4,
while Walker – fresh from his PSA Tour
title triumph in the Netherlands – maintained
his unbeaten Strings record with a straight
games 9-6 9-7 9-6 win.
Tireless Welshman Alex Gough
brought Wolverhampton back into the tie with
a 9-7 9-7 5-9 3-9 9-7 win over South African
Rodney Durbach – before the in-form
Anthony Ricketts clinched victory for the
West Midlands visitors in a close-fought top
string tussle with Malaysian No1 Ong Beng Hee,
the Australian prevailing 9-6 10-8 10-8.
Wolverhampton
carry a 16-8 points lead through to the second
semi-final leg at home on Tuesday 3rd
May.
