Woodcote 9
St Andrews 0
Mens Division 3
Our fourth match in just 10 days saw us travel to Aberdour School down the A217. The team was strengthened slightly by the inclusion of Scott at Benno's expense. Steve partnered Gerry again after successfully winning all their rubbers at Ebbisham; Kaz went with "man-flu" sufferer Anushka.
Scott & I went on first and were frustrated to lose the opener 22-24 20-22, whilst Steve & Gerry lost against their top pair 21-11 21-14. This set the tone for the remainder of the match - regardless of our efforts, it seemed as though Woodcote had the answer. However Scott & I may have moved up to 2nd pair billing after Kaz & Anushka slumped to straight defeats in all their games!
The only slightly entertaining aspect of this evening was Woodcote continuing their time-honoured and mildly unsanitary tradition of serving refreshments in the mens changing rooms.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Saturday, 23 February 2013
badminton match 17
Fusion Leisure 3
St Andrews 3
Mens Fours Division 2
A very tricky away match. As captain, I named an above-strength side due to Chris, Ron and Paul being unavailable to play for varying reasons. The team that travelled to Selsdon was me, Steve, Kaz and Anushka. In fairness I advised the Fusion captain of this change to create a closer match...I got my wish! They ended up with a side full of youthful enthusiasm, with an average age probably 10-15 years below ours.
Fusion started very strongly against our top 2 men Steve & Kaz, winning the first game 21-13 17-21 21-5. Not to be denied I went on with Anushka and won in another best of 3, 20-22 21-17 16-21. Steve and Anushka couldn't keep this momentum up though and lost in straight games. I won with Kaz and Steve in the next two rubbers to ensure we at least had a point for our efforts, but unfortunately Kaz & Anushka couldn't convert the final rubber into a 4-2 win.
A fairly good result overall, against a spirited and determined opposition.
St Andrews 3
Mens Fours Division 2
A very tricky away match. As captain, I named an above-strength side due to Chris, Ron and Paul being unavailable to play for varying reasons. The team that travelled to Selsdon was me, Steve, Kaz and Anushka. In fairness I advised the Fusion captain of this change to create a closer match...I got my wish! They ended up with a side full of youthful enthusiasm, with an average age probably 10-15 years below ours.
Fusion started very strongly against our top 2 men Steve & Kaz, winning the first game 21-13 17-21 21-5. Not to be denied I went on with Anushka and won in another best of 3, 20-22 21-17 16-21. Steve and Anushka couldn't keep this momentum up though and lost in straight games. I won with Kaz and Steve in the next two rubbers to ensure we at least had a point for our efforts, but unfortunately Kaz & Anushka couldn't convert the final rubber into a 4-2 win.
A fairly good result overall, against a spirited and determined opposition.
Monday, 18 February 2013
badminton match 16
Ebbisham B2 3
St Andrews 6
Mens Division 3
Mens 2 congregated gratefully in the warmth of the bar at Ebbisham before going on to put up a decent fight against the current bottom-of-the-table team. Luckily it seemed as though the opposition hadn't put out their strongest side either, which definitely helped us.
Kaz, Anushka, Steve and Gerry won all 3 of their games whilst I drew the short straw and had to partner Paul. We actually started brightly enough, winning the 1st game against two different pairs 21-10 and 21-13, but concentration waned and they fought back well to deny us any contribution towards the final score.
In the event, it was a little irrelevant as we had already won at least 5 rubbers to take the match. A good team performance and valuable points in the bag - this year the bottom two teams from our division will be relegated, so it is vital to overtake one of the others!
St Andrews 6
Mens Division 3
Mens 2 congregated gratefully in the warmth of the bar at Ebbisham before going on to put up a decent fight against the current bottom-of-the-table team. Luckily it seemed as though the opposition hadn't put out their strongest side either, which definitely helped us.
Kaz, Anushka, Steve and Gerry won all 3 of their games whilst I drew the short straw and had to partner Paul. We actually started brightly enough, winning the 1st game against two different pairs 21-10 and 21-13, but concentration waned and they fought back well to deny us any contribution towards the final score.
In the event, it was a little irrelevant as we had already won at least 5 rubbers to take the match. A good team performance and valuable points in the bag - this year the bottom two teams from our division will be relegated, so it is vital to overtake one of the others!
Sunday, 17 February 2013
badminton match 15
St Andrews 2
Woodcote 7
Mens Division 3
Decimated by injuries, a makeshift team was hastily scrambled to try take the fight to Woodcote. We won this corresponding fixture last year 6-3 but lacked options or a cohesive strategy this time around. The opposition were alright but beatable. Yesterday marked the start of an intense weekend with 2 mens matches in as many days.
Top player Steve played with Kaz, Anushka went with a barely fit Ringo whilst I partnered Benno. Top pair did quite well winning the only 2 rubbers for our team whilst Benno & I slumped to straight game defeats in all 3 contests.
Unfortunately a predictable outcome, but hopefully better results soon - starting tonight against Ebbisham of course!
Woodcote 7
Mens Division 3
Decimated by injuries, a makeshift team was hastily scrambled to try take the fight to Woodcote. We won this corresponding fixture last year 6-3 but lacked options or a cohesive strategy this time around. The opposition were alright but beatable. Yesterday marked the start of an intense weekend with 2 mens matches in as many days.
Top player Steve played with Kaz, Anushka went with a barely fit Ringo whilst I partnered Benno. Top pair did quite well winning the only 2 rubbers for our team whilst Benno & I slumped to straight game defeats in all 3 contests.
Unfortunately a predictable outcome, but hopefully better results soon - starting tonight against Ebbisham of course!
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