SNELL STUMPS INGHAM

At the same time on the outside court, 16 year old Alex Ingham was making his home debut for UniSport. He was up against his junior colleague James Snell - the two players went to the World Junior Championships together during the summer.

Alex fell behind in both the first two games and as gamely as he fought to get back on terms he was not quite able to do so. Ingham lost both the first two games to a 6 point score. This reflected well on Snell, who played some neat squash and showed a good turn of speed around the court.

At the start of the third Ingham relaxed a little and started to control the ball better and raced into an early lead which he was able to hang on to and win the game 9 - 5. This time the racket was starting to deliver some more accurate and punishing strokes and the match momentarily looked as if it might turn.

However at the start of the fourth game Ingham lapsed into error again and found himself with a deficit and trying to play catch up. As hard as he fought that lead was just too much and while briefly hanging on at 8 - 8 and saving three match balls it was not going to be enough to snare the game and force a fifth.

This was an interesting match between two talented youngsters and with good development they could both make good impacts in the senior game.

0 - 2 Bristol and the night's misery was just beginning to become apparent.
 

HADRIAN HURRIES PAST JESSE

Quickly following Ingham onto the outside court and just as quickly finding himself off court again was UniSport's Jesse Engelbrecht.

For the first two games Hadrian Stiff, the Probuild Bristol team's foreman, was buzzing and chopping the ball succinctly into the front areas with skill and relative abandon.

Shrugging off the twin pressures of managing the team and also being the lynch pin in the playing order, he played some attractive squash to surge into a formidable lead aided and abetted by some nondescript resistance from Engelbrecht.

Clearly it was a back to basics campaign in the third that the UniSport man tried in order to stay alive but it proved to be too little too late. A very good night to forget for Engelbrecht as he was quick to acknowledge.

0 - 3, and  misery was turning to despair ...
   

EVANS' TURN ...

One of the better matches of the night was between old friends and rivals Steve 'Evergreen' Meads and David Evans. Evans is a former British Open winner and Meads is a UniSport favourite.

The Bristol player has now based himself for squash coaching purposes on the island of Jersey and so it was with some optimism that Meads bounced onto court in his own unique way. However in keeping with the overall trend of the night Meads quickly found himself behind to the tall Welshman, losing the first game 4 - 9.

The silky skills matched to the great reach have always been a major test for most players, but to Mead's credit he dug deep and produced his very best form resisting strongly all the while, he forced the second game into a tie break and managed to clinch it 12 - 10.

That was to be the height of his resistance as he found that the control exerted by the Bristol player was too enveloping to allow him such freedom again and he lost the remaining two games, not without some strong defiance, but it was only delaying the inevitable.

Meads and Evans used to be long term training partners and probably the familiarity weighed heavier in favour of Bristol in the end.

0 - 4 was turning despair into a desperate search for a point to give some form of respectability.

TOUCH AND GO…

We had two “older players” on court, but who gave a great show, that’s for sure. Left corner, David Evans, with his lovely touch and deceptions. Right corner, Run Forever Steve Meads. And that gave us a superb match, with long and disputed rallies, played in a perfect manner and the spirit intended.

More like that please…

JOE JUMPS STACEY

Joe Kneipp is a world class player, but Stacey Ross has always relished the challenge and risen to it. However not on this occasion.

Ross won the right to serve and Kneipp's immediate reaction was to smash a return of serve ruthlessly into the cross court nick, collecting the ball to serve while the marker called 1 - 0. That was to set the tone.

Ross was always playing catch up. It was not until game ball that he started to play his best squash and duly posed some difficult questions for Kneipp to solve, but at game ball it is not so difficult as one mistake is all it takes to finish the game.

Sadly Ross did not learn from the first game, as the pattern in the second game was identical and so was the score. Frustration set in for Ross and Kneipp easily took advantage to run out a comfortable 4 - 9 winner in the third.

Ross was always slightly in this match but the loose play and errors were far too dominant to cause a player of Kneipp's undoubted class any real problems.

"It was really a disappointing performance, and there is nothing good I can say about this match. I made a lot of mistakes, I had no length at all. "One to forget. In a hurry. Appalling."

RELAXED JOE…

Joe Kneipp’s trouble was always the pressure he put on himself, a bit like Peter Genever who I saw play in the last PSL encounter. And now that Joe has decided to put his professional career on a slow burner, he plays to perfection. It was a real delight to see him despatching his shots left and right, perfect length, lovely drops, beautifully executed…

It must be said that Stacey Ross didn’t pose too much of a threat really on the night. Wrong tactic, too many errors, mind wandering in and out… Oh well, you cannot win them all…