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League - Division 3 - Season 2009-2010:-

	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Forres 'B'	20	192
2	Gord 'B'	20	189
3	Kinloss 'B'	20	186
4	Buckpool 'B'	20	140
5	Gord 'C'	20	88
6	JRM 'C'	20	46
7	Nairn 'C'	0	0

League reports from January to April 2010:-

Buckpool 'B' 0-12 Forres 'B'

Last night's match must go down in the annals of Buckpool Squash club as its worst match result ever, with not a point won. All credit to Forres B; we were outclassed, granny'd, whitewashed, gubbed, dusted, annihilated, pick the descriptor that suits best, much to the disgust and chagrin of the home team which expected to do better.

It was simply not to be their night and they were very extremely disappointed; more was expected.

Forres, as requested by another serious rival, Gordonstoun B put us firmly in our place, but wounds will be licked, lessons learned and hopefully we can come back stronger. All the clichés in the world will not change the fact that work will be needed to improve matters.

Fourth string was Ian Munro against a newcomer to the team Dave Levon and one does expect, when new blood is introduced that it is in the form of a younger pair of legs, but Forres managed to increase the team's average age appreciably with the arrival of Dave. It certainly did not turn out to be a disadvantage at all, for Ian did not turn up so to speak and Dave made light work of him; for apart from a slightly closer second game Dave took the match by the scruff of the neck and dispatched Ian in clinical fashion, 1, 6, 1. Ian could make nothing of Dave and gave him no trouble at all. A good acquisition for Forres.

Stephen Wojcik was hoping to exact some revenge against John McKenzie, Forres' resident octogenarian, after the away match at Forres, when Stephen could do little against the wily old fox that is John. However history was to repeat itself and John did not allow Stephen into the game. Too cute (not looking), too sharp, economy of effort on John's part, made sure his opponent was caught out at every turn. A tight enough first game, but always having the edge, John took this 9-6. The second game was a total non event and before Stephen knew what hit him, he was hammered 9-0. The third game fared no better and it was closed out relatively easy at 9-3.

6-0 to the good lads was John's take at this point. Growl, growl!

The first and second strings put up more stubborn resistance, with closer encounters, but not enough to put scores on the doors, but light none the less at the end of the respective tunnels.

Keith Shand then took up the cudgel against Robbie Watson, who muscles his way about the court, much as he did as an over-rated Highland League footballer for second rate teams like Lossiemouth and Forres, teams simply not in the same class as the glorious Buckie Jags, heirs apparent to the Highland League throne this season.

In the first game Keith put in a stout challenge, coming very close to getting that elusive point and with a more measured approach, asking for lets, when restricted to play, might just have edged it. From there on in, it was unfortunately downhill, resistance weakening to a stronger more physical opponent, losing the next two games to 5 and 3. Had Keith slowed things down, relaxed a little and taken more time, things might have gone better a learning for the Buckie loon.

Numero Uno's Paul Smith, our aging local Lothario was up against a very fit, unpredictable, badminton style squash player in Neil Andersen, who can't even spell his surname properly. Although Paul can never be faulted for lack of effort, his opponent Neil is a sparkling example of displaying economy of effort, making the ball and his opponent do most of the work.

Paul has shed many pounds and most of his hair in an attempt to streamline his body, but the variation in Neil's game is a significant challenge indeed, in my humble opinion, his being the best player in this league. All games were pretty tight, but it was the contrasting styles and Neil's ability to change his attack to suit, that proved the difference. In the first, Neil chose to slug it out in a bashing contest, but still took it 9-7. In the second Neil switched to a varying game of drives, drops, lobs and sneaky low and soft cross court shots to wrong foot his opponent and did so consistently to take the game 9-6. To Paul's credit he worked his socks off in an attempt to better his opponent, but put simply, Neil was too good. Third game went in a similar fashion and was closed out 9-5.

A great game to watch and rightly so, both players earned the team man of the match awards.

12-0 to the good lads was heard to emanate from the old yin, but will not to be heard again until the successful extraction of a Wilson's Hammer by the A&E in Leanchoil Hospital!

And so it was to the after match bash, where a good time was had by all in the usual true and best spirit that exists between our two friendly teams. Good scoff, a few hearty libations, gentle natured banter and bon voyage home to Forres until the next time.

Back to the drawing board for us.

Season Round-up so far

Again this could go to the wire with Gordonstoun B holding off Kinloss B and although 19 points in front Kinloss B do have 2 games in hand.

Forres B are also in contention and with a game in hand over Kinloss and three games to catch up overall they could prove to be the dark horse. Gordonstoun and Kinloss beware.

Buckpool B, Gord C, JRM C and Nairn C are still in there battling and may yet have a part to play in the Division title.

Nairn C have had a torrid time of late with player availability and have suffered more than most through young players' committment to other sports.

Special mention to Gordonstoun who should take great pride from the progress their boys have shown over this season. Congratulations go, not only to the boys, to Graham Broad, Chris Barton and Richard Devey whose stewardship, drive and personal sacrifices are evident from the results so far this season. Well done Masters and keep up the good work.

Buckpool 'B' 5-9 Gordonstoun 'B'

Ian Munro's match against Kabir Paul was a very one sided affair, made so particularly by Ian's total lack of preparation. He had spent all day helping dig foundations for the new house he is building. No food all day, our man was ill prepared and was humped. This attitude has gone down very badly in some quarters and it is likely his place is in jeopardy and he will face the full wrath of the disciplinary committee. After all, Gordonstoun B is always a well prepared side, being fit as flees and well coached, and should be treated seriously.

Third strings were Stephen Wojcik against Calum Middleton and by all accounts, Stephen took a leaf out of a prop forward's book and battered and barged his opponent into submission to record a straight 3-0 win to restore order and reverse the score above.

Keith Shand took on the might of a very skilled James Barton, a chip off the old block or bloke in his dad Chris, himself a mean player. A very close encounter ensued; all games going close to the wire, with a 3-1 win to the lad. There were many long rallies, a game played in the best of spirits, with Keith never having been so exhausted at the end and although losing out 3-1, yet still earned once more the home man of the match award.

The numero unos then entered the fray, our own Adonis, Paul Smith (his description, not anyone else's) against Mori Thomson, considered by Paul to be the best player in Division 3; he would say that after getting beaten by Mori, eh? A good match resulted with some ten minutes being played before there was any point scored; such was the tightness of the opening salvoes. Although Paul managed to take the third game, it was very much backs to the wall stuff and the Gordonstoun man pulled away to take the tie 3-1 and earn the away man of the match award. The body that was a temple was one crumbling ruin.

A good result of 9-5 for a very strong Gordonstoun side and it must be said, that it is always a pleasure to play these lads. They are a credit to themselves, their master Graham Broad and their school in the way they behave and comport themselves at all times. They might be lacking in sartorial elegance, sometimes appearing to have been dragged through a hedge backwards, but do play in the true spirit of the game and a good laugh off court as well, when the social side is tackled. With youth always on their side, the sooner they get ruined by indulgence in alcohol and drained by fairer sex, the more even will be the playing field for our old timers.

Buckpool 'B' 12 - 1 JRM 'C'

On court at number 4 for the first time for at least a couple of years now, complete with new hip was our own Sandy Innes, the Slochie Slug against that young filly Anna MacLeod and a most entertaining game was on display.

Sandy had to step in and take over from his nephew Liam Cowie, who declined to play because he was preparing his body and doing his hair in anticipation of his coming of age party in Aberdeen on the Friday. What a birthday party has in common with watching a dancing troupe from Poland is beyond me. However this non serious attitude to squash has been noted and a disciplinary procedure may follow.

For those with a long memory, you will be pleased to hear that Sandy has manage to maintain his temple like figure and indeed his array of shots, which he tends to put away from where his opponent is and so Anna fairly had to move her booty around to keep up. Sandy's experience told throughout the game, making for a tight match, pushing his younger and more attractive opponent to work that bit harder. First 2 games went to tie breaks, with our cocky mollusc choosing 1 on each occasion, but losing one of the games. Some serious words from the balcony, to the effect that his place in the team was in jeopardy, should he continue in this vein was enough for Sandy to close out the match 9/5, 9/6. An entertaining match gave both players the deserved person of the match for both sides.

At number three Stephen Wojcik, returning from back surgery in his case, was up against Elgin's answer to that cartoon character the Road Runner, Dave Evans. What Dave lacks in ability, he does his best to make up for in zooming about the court. Unfortunately there is only so much running that can be done and against a more experienced figure like Stephen, that is simply not enough. With too many shots and guile aplenty, a straight sets victory was easily achieved, but credit to Dave for the effort he put in.

Up to the mark then came Keith Shand against the older model of Gordon George, who never really got going. Oor Keith was fast out of the trap and combined with the colder courts of Buckpool, Gordon never got out of the bit and was polished off in straight sets.

Numero unos of Paul Smith and John 'The Bus' Raine, no relation to Jimmy the Bus, although there is some resemblance, took to the fray. Resplendent in his fancy white 'ganzie', knitted by his mother, John is to sartorial elegance as King Herod was to child welfare. But who are we to say; John may well turn out to be a fashion icon and the rest of us may be queuing up at Next before long looking for similar garb. Smith for one being one of the original Buckie posers will undoubtedly be first in there. The match was steady enough, but Paul, more intense, with his new found grip, was in no mood to mess around and set about John in a dogged fashion. Paul's variation of shot, of which he hasn't much clue himself sometimes and intensity of pressure proved too rich for John, who never managed to get his touch game going. Once again a straight sets victory was to ensue, giving an overall score of 12-1 to the Buckpool Boys, a bit like the result would be between Buckie Thistle and Elgin City these days on the football pitch!

One interesting aspect of the match and commendation to Elgin for this achievement was their collective ability to use the racquet frames in preference to the strings. Some might say that you pay for the frame and therefore you should use it to good effect, with another opinion being that this way you don't wear out the strings to the same degree. Whatever their motives the Elgin side seemed to have perfected the art very well, so much so that our coastal friends were beginning to catch on and before the night was out: they too seemed to be working at this craft. Perhaps this skill should be recommended to other teams in the league!

League reports from September to December 2009:-

Forres 'B' 10 - 5 Buckpool 'B'

A rather depleted Buckpool B side faced the pretty strong Forres B, without their normal top two, if not three. We were indebted to Andrew (Papa) Coull for coming out of semi retirement to help us out.

First on court was young Liam, who because of his work as an apprentice plumber, between college and working away has not been able to play much squash and so it was a fair challenge to cope with a very strong opponent in Robbie Watson. He may not have been much of a Highland League football player, for I never remember him troubling the Jags, but he despatched Liam swiftly in 3 clean sets, with no compassion for the young!

Ian Munro suffered a similar fate against that old wily fox John McKenzie and as far as I can judge our man never got out of the stalls. Some deft drop shots from the old man spelled the doom for our man and he was well beaten in 3 sets.

It was left to our last 2 to try to redress the balance and scores and indeed we then witnessed a feast of squash from both ties.

Keith Shand was able to take advantage of some unforced errors on the part of Chris Salton to take a commanding 2 set lead, but these were not easily won, with the pendulum of success swinging back and for within the games and the second game to a tie break, giving Keith a bit of an edge. In the third however Chris managed to cut out some errors and got his prodigious forehand drive into full swing and clawed back this set to give some hope. However Keith extracted the digit once more, managed to push forward, take shots early on the volley and get the ball past Chris and deep to the back of the court, where Chris was having to dig away a return. This Keith managed to exploit and ground out an impressive victory.

Last but not least Papa had to face the might of Neil Andersen, son of the infamous Norrie and like a chip of the old block; Neil is as awkward as his old man to play. Blessed with similar fitness and a game based on being really a badminton player, with a fine touch from early cut off volleys and drops from anywhere on the court - the Sod!

It took a while for Oor Andra to suss out Neil's style and match his pace, by which time our man was down 2 - love. Never a man to give up, Papa set about redeeming matters in the third and powered his way back into the game, took a hard fought game and then romped the fourth using the same tactics. It then looked like our man was favourite for the deciding set, but Neil had other thoughts. Credit to Neil he stepped up a gear and took control and scampered home to clinch the last. Neil obviously had no thought on how much he was to take out of Papa, who then was due to go home to celebrate his wife, the redoubtable Silv's birthday, when he was clearly in no state to go another five sets! Of equal concern for Papa, was how he would get his leg back and be able to get into his work's van the next morning.

All in all a deserved result for the Forres men 10-5.

Buckpool B 6 - 10 Kinloss B

First up was Oor Wullie against Alan and as far as I am aware your man hardly broke sweat and wouldn’t need to really. Willie is a pretty raw beginner, while Alan knows his way about a court. Alan disposed of Willie rather sharpish.

Keith Shand against Paul Harris could have been a closer bout than the 3-0 score line suggests, with the last two games a tight as a duck’s proverbial. Keith, recovering from a cold was beaten comprehensibly in the first game and let his head drop a bit, but encouraged from the balcony to get his finger out or else, he slowly clawed his way back into the game forcing it into a tie break, where Paul took his chance where Keith did not. The third game was a complete reversal and with Keith in command and up 8-5, he served 5 times for the game only for Paul to fight back to parity and secure a tie break once more. Both players had chances to seal the game, but once again Keith spurned his chances and Paul closed out the match. However had Keith had a bit of luck, thinks could have been so different.

Paul Smith versus Ian Kerrigan was a very closely fought battle between two players trying to take the skin off the ball and the game results swinging both ways (no slight intended!). Both very fit players, as the match wore on, Paul began to create a gap. The first 3 games were very close, especially the third, but thereafter Paul had the edge and came through strongly in the end, nevertheless Ian winning the man of the match award.

The battle of the number ones was a good contest, with the experience and wiliness of the away man Martin Tucker pitted against the exuberance of his younger home opponent in our own Fireman Sam, Colin Forbes. In the first 2 games Colin fell into the trap of trying to batter Martin off court, by continuing to over hit the ball, playing right into Martin’s lap. Martin took full advantage of this excess of power, using a finer touch to convert into some deft softer shots to the front and took these first 2 games quite convincingly. Inspired by some advice from on high, Colin slowed his game down significantly and began to mix his game much more, playing less boasts and more controlled lengths to great effect and took the next 2 games convincingly. This resulted in a very close fought fifth game, with Colin stretching out an early lead, only to have it clawed back to reach a tight finale. The better fitness of the Buckpool man finally told and squeezed out a fine end result, earning Colin the home team man of the match.

The return match at Kinloss should be a very interesting tussle when it comes round.

Gordonstoun C's 0 v 12 Forres B's home

Although this was a resounding defeat for Gordonstoun, Akshay Dugar put up a fight against Chris Salton and was capable taking a game and Ahmed Mohammed allowed a hard hitting Chris Aldridge to overpower him on the vital points. Neil Anderson and Robbie Watson were too strong for the two Philips, Lye and Eaton but both are learning fast. When someone is better than you there is not much that you can do except try to hit to a length down the wall on the return of service and not into the forecourt as these two inexperienced teenagers did many times. Don't we all!

Gordonstoun B's 7 v. 8 Forres B's away rearranged from September 10th

Robbie Watson and Calum Middleton had a very tough match and although Robbie won in three, Calum was 8/3 up in the second game but could never quite hit enough shots to the Foressian backhand. There was a titanic battle between John McKenzie and James Barton who just prevailed in five with evergreen John complaining bitterly about the warmth of the courts. Stylish Neil Anderson then played Mori Thomson and had to work hard for a 3/1 victory: a fine performance by Mori. There was surprise Neil was not playing higher in the order, no doubt he will soon be challenging Chris Salton, the number one, who went down rather tamely to Adel Khalil . The talented Egyptian put him under a lot of pressure, exposing his defensive game.

This was a strong Forres side and so Gordonstoun B's were pleased with their performance and there is no doubt they will improve as the season progresses and be a formidable side. There were mutterings from the schoolboys of having played soccer and rugby earlier in the day but then when we were young we used to play three sports in one day and John McKenzie had been practising his putting before taking on Graham Broad at Moray on Tuesday.

Elgin C v Forres B

First on was Steven George and Jim Campbell. The first game was close, with Jim winning 9-6 but Steven fought back, winning the the next three games 9-3, 9-4 and 9-2. Next up was Anna MacLeod and Chris Aldridge. Anna won 9-7, 10-9 (despite serving out at 9-8) and 9-4. Following this was John Raine and Rob Watson. Rob won the first game fairly easily with 9-3 but John came back in the second to win 9-6. However, Rob fought hard and won the next two 10-9 and 9-3. Lastly was Euan Christie and John Mckenzie. Euan's stamina gave him the upper hand over John in the first two games but the curry he had earlier slowed him down in the third! Five minutes before the court shut, they started their last game which was over in seconds as John gave up and lost 9-0.

 

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End-of-Document

Date	Event	Link
--- 2010 ---
July
23	HISA AGM at Inverness Tennis & Squash Club - 7.30pm.	-
July & August
-	SUMMER SQUASH CAMPS 2010 These Camps will run for 3 weeks during the school holidays and players should choose which week most suits their ability. Most of the activity will be Squash related but there will also be strength and conditioning sessions and other group activities. The sessions will run from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. each day and lunch is included. CLICK 'GO' to the right for more info or Contact Robin - dancenamix@hotmail.com.	GO