Concordia Squash Players,
                                              The Handicap Final will take place on Tuesday 19th May 2015. 6.40pm start.
Gary Storey (-12) will try to take the spoils from Tony Hedley (-20) who hasn't looked too troubled so far !
Please try and make it to the event. The bar is open.
I nearly have sufficient numbers to place an order for both T-shirts and Hoodies. Please get in touch if you haven't already ordered. Black T-shirts are by far the most popular and Grey has just sneaked it for the Hoodies.
Ian Mc     

Concordia Squash Players,

Oh what complicated lives. Due to circumstances beyond my control (nothing to do with court availability) the Handicap final scheduled for Friday has been postponed. On that note there are two courts going spare at 6.40pm and 7.20pm on Friday 1st May if anyone wants to use them, first come first served.

This is how the competition panned out.

On Monday Rob Owen continued his streak of length nicks this time against Keith Grey and off the forehand drive. He was too strong for Keith and won 2-0 to earn a match against Mr Hedley.

Joe Race had a marathon with Robin Ritchie who put up a strong fight. Great match with Joe coming through 21-19 in the third. Tony Hedley eased through his quarter against a plucky Peter Edney, never short on effort.

Gary Storey's fitness and speed overturned Ian Morton's racket skills, a good match to watch.

Tuesday saw 2 straight forward semi finals, Tony Hedley beat Rob Owen and Gary Storey beat Joe Race with a solid length game.

The final with Gary Storey v Tony Hedley is to be arranged.

Cheers Ian Mc

Normally I would give an over view of how the competition unfolded and include some of the highlights. I have a dilemma here since there were so many, in fact I can’t think of any low lights.

For the last 4 years the 1st round format has been the 3 man round robin group stage primarily introduced to get everyone in the club together irrespective of standard. In an ideal world I would have liked to see more players from the lower leagues taking part but I understand not all can commit so much time to a squash tournament. Despite this there was a large entry and the 1st round was split over Monday and Tuesday evening.

On a personal note it was good to see some juniors entrants, I’m sure their experience in the competition will hold them in good stead for the future. All gave good account of themselves. 

With all players having to play 2 games on the night and fighting for the maximum points tally (84- see results table below) there was much toil.

Monday saw all the higher handicapped players going through although non of them had an easy time of it.

Bill Johnson provided the entertainment on the lighter side with good humored banter during his encounters with top handicapper Tony Hedley and Ian Rowe who has just returned to the game after a few years, I won’t say how many.

It seemed the best was saved until last on Monday night with a great battle between Dave Hall and Rory Whalling. No shortage of effort or ability with a closely fought contest and many long rallies.

(In fact Dave went on to provide what was the contest of the tournament so far when he played Gary Storey in the last 16.)

Really entertaining squash.

Tuesday caused some logistic problems for the organiser when we ran out of court time. My error in failing to factor in an additional group late on. Thank you to Keith Grey and Dave Hall who saved the day with a ’spare’ court and to the players who had to play way more squash on Wednesday to catch up, they were Robin Ritchie, Mark Coxon, Martin Davison and particularly Keith Grey and Peter Archibold.             

Just like the previous night, it was late on when 2 real battles unfolded. Robin Ritchie was up against a much improved Mark Coxon while Peter Archibold had a monumental battle with Martin Davison. Martin then had another battle with Keith Grey.

2 games were left unfinished at 1-1 with the game between Keith Grey and Peter Archibold not played at all. With an early Wednesday start these matters were resolved and the last 16 started in earnest. 

 

1st Round Points Tally

 

Joe Race                  84pts

John Ormsby            70pts

Adam Rowe              74pts

 

Tony Hedley              84pts

Bill Johnson              65pts

Ian Rowe                  81pts (unable to play the next round)

 

Ian Morton                84pts

Derek Railston          74pts

Dave Barlow             71pts

 

Gary Story                84pts

Mark Knott               72pts

Steve Lavery            73pts

 

Dave Hall                 84pts

Rory Whaling           75pts

Jonny Woodhouse   79pts

 

Andy Lawrence        84pts

Bruno Gaultier         61pts

James Rowe           82pts

 

Dan Cussak            84pts

Rob Owen               82pts

Luke Fecitt              74pts

 

Nick Fecitt               62pts

Peter Edney            84pts

Elliott Harrison         77pts

 

Peter Archibold        75pts

Martin Davison         77pts

Keith Grey                84pts

 

 

 

Robin Ritchie            81pts

Mark Knott                65pts

Mark Coxon              84pts  

 

Thank you to Mark Knott who selflessly stood in at the last minute to ensure the group stages stayed honest on both Monday and Tuesday night.

 

The last 16.

Robin Ritchie proved too strong for Jonnie Woodhouse although Jonnie is showing he too is improving.

Joe Race beat the young James Rowe.

Andy Lawrence lost to Rob Owen who served strongly on the night, never seen so many nicks off Rob’s serve ! You don’t get the nicks for nothing, clever squash.

Ian Morton beat Dan Cussack.

Tony Hedley was far too strong for Mark Coxon despite a -20 handicap. Mark worked very hard but was beaten by an immaculate length game.

Keith Grey beat Elliott Harrison- another junior who shows great promise.   

Never short of effort, Peter Edney put in a great performance to beat Martin Davison. Entertaining stuff.

Last but not least, Gary Storey beat Dave Hall in what was the match of the tournament so far. At one all and after many many long rallies it looked like youth would be the deciding factor with Dave looking tired. Not so. Dave played some great squash, found a new source of energy and kept a 5 point lead until the mid teens.

Gary was showing signs of pressure with the odd unforced error but continued to keep the rallies going. It paid off in the end, Gary took his last 5 points in succession. 21-14 in the end. A great game of squash.

Please support the event, the quarter finals are on Monday 27th April, 6.40pm start.

Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Players,
                                              A combination of factors had meant it has been a bit tricky trying to fit in our Handicap competition this season. I'm looking at organising it for the week AFTER the Easter break. W/C Monday 20th April. 
The end of season 'Closed' will be put back to the early part of the 2015/2016 season.
With 3 men's teams and a hectic fixture list in March, a number of our players entering several county competitions and an Early Easter this year this seems the best course of action.
Can I have entries ASAP for this the 'individual' Handicap Competition.
Don't forget this is all about involving club members from all the leagues, the handicap system hopefully evening things out. Entry is free and you are guaranteed at least 2 games. The format and schedule will be sorted once I have an idea of numbers but should be as previous years. (Round robin 1st round and knockout thereafter)
Cheers
Ian Mc  

Concordia Squash  Players,
                                             
There is much to report following the 1st round of this years   competition  nearly all of it good in a backhanded sort of way. Matches  were off to a  prompt 6pm start but it was clear by 8pm that time was  going to be an  issue.
Most of the matches were evenly fought and most went to 3. The  warm courts made for some long rallies and some truly  entertaining  squash.
This is how it turned out.
Jamie Morton, Dave McRae, Mark Knott Dan Cussack and Michael Jones all got through to the  knock out stage after they  managed to win both their group matches and  thus scored the maximum 84 points  (2x21 in each match) 
Dave McRae  although playing off a useful +10  played some good squash and held his  nerve to win his games. A much  improved player.
Dan Cussack and  Keith Grey had their now customary battle in Group 6, Dan the victor  however it was so very close  and Keith is the current contender for the  highest scoring runner up with 81
points. Daniel Monera and Robin  Ritchie were oh so close with 80 points  each., such were the fine  margins.
The other 2 groups were unresolved after  the lights went out at 10.15pm. In group 1 Martin Davison ended with a  total of 79 points,  the group to be decided on completion of the match between  Tony Hedley  and Rob Owen. That match is evenly poised at 13-5 to Rob in
the third. 
Group 4 is similar, Dave Armstrong ended with a total tally  of 77 points but  the match between Ian McAllister and Andy Lawrence is  still to finish.  The match stands at 21-18 to Ian, in the 1st, with Andy up  13-8 in the  2nd. 
Both these games need to be finalised ASAP, the knock  out stage is on 18th February so there should be plenty of time.
I'll  keep you posted.
I couldn't help noticing nearly all contenders this year  paid particular  attention to the scores, last years maths might have something  to do  with that ! Cheers Don.
Ian Mc

By popular request there is a Handicap Mini League competition on Sunday 8th  December and Sunday 15th December 2013. Probably looking at a  5.20pm or  6pm start with the courts booked no later than 8pm.
Format will largely  stay the same but may need to be tweaked depending on the number of teams
entered.
Can I please have your 3 man team submissions (with team name) by  Sunday 10th November. 
Enjoy your squash
Ian Mc   

Concordia Squash Players,                                     
The final took place last night (Friday 1st March) with Don Pattison putting up a valliant effort against Ian Morton.
With an age difference Don wouldn't  want to mention, he did well to take the first game 21-15, Ian however was  just too strong in the final third of the match and managed to overhaul the -10  to +6 deficit in a measured fashion and won 21-19, 21-16. Match to  Ian 2-1 to take away a trophy and winners prize of £40. 
Thank  you to those who turned out to watch the match, I'm sure the finalists appreciated the support and enjoyed the game all the more playing to a crowd. Thanks to Les Carr who turned out throughout the weeks to mark games during each round of the competition. 
Watch out for the closed competition after Easter. 
Ian Mc 

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    
  The semi finals took place last night (Monday 25th February) Don  Pattison played Keith Gray and Mark Livingstone played Ian
Morton. Don and Keith were closely handicapped at +6 and +4  respectively. As always Keith gave 110% and worked extremely
hard to return many of Don's deceptive and often delayed shots. Don  was just too accurate and showed his experience in mixing things up  throughout the match. Don won 2-1 but truthfully, on another day, it could have gone the other way. A great game to watch.
The other semi was similar  in that both players were closely handicapped. (-8 and -10) Mark  Livingstone has improved massively this season, his introduction to team squash  has seen his game go up to another level in both technical ability  and court movement. Both of these players are fine hitters of the  ball, there is no doubt that Ian has gone through the junior coaching
programme and shows us all how it should be done. This meant for a great  battle with many long rallies to the back of the court as well as  some very hard work by both players retrieving each others drop shots on a  cold court. This also went to the wire with Ian just getting there in the third  game winning 21-17.
There was a good turn out to watch the games  which was great to see. Thank you to Steve Goldie for marking Ian and
Mark's game. 
The final is at 6.40pm on Friday 1st March. Please
come along and watch the match.
Ian Mc      

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    The quarter  finals of the Handicap Competition took place last night (Monday 18th February)
All four matches were fiercely contested and produced some thoroughly  entertaining rallies.
There was virtually nothing between Keith Gray and  Mark Knott, the pair having already played each other several times leading up
to the competition, it could have gone either way however Keith got over the  line first winning 21-14 in the third.
Don Pattison showed his experience and  made good use of his points advantage over Nick Fecitt who just couldn't make
ground. Don took it 21-16, 21-18.
Both Mark Livingstone and Ian Morton  managed to overturn their deficit to catch Chris Brock and Andy Lawrence
respectively but both had to battle hard to do so. Mark beat Chris 21-17 in  the third while Ian beat Andy 21-19, also in the third. They don't come closer  than this.
A big thank you to Les Carr who marked 2 of the games and to those  spectators who made it an event.
The draw for the semi finals, Dave Buckle  doing the honours, came out with Keith Gray (+4) playing Don Pattison (+6) and
Mark Livingstone (-8) playing Ian Morton (-10).
Both of these semi's will be  played on Monday 25th February, 6.40pm start. The final is on Friday 1st March,  also 6.40pm.       
Ian Mc    

Concordia Squash Players,
                                     The first of
the knock out rounds were played on Monday (11th February). The 6 match winners  plus the two highest scoring losers went into the draw for the next round. Thank  you to Dave Buckle for hanging back to draw the names out of the hat, he had a
bottle of lager to finish anyway.
This is how the draw came out. 
 
Andy Lawrence (+3)          v             Ian Morton (-10)
Keith Gray    (+4)               v             Mark Knott (+5)
Don Pattison    (+6)           v             Nick Fecitt  (-6)
Mark Livingstone (-8)        v             Chris Brock (+8)

Keith Gray who always gives 110% reaped the rewards of  his hard work by going through as one of the highest scoring losers (33pts).
Nick Fecitt (30pts) was the other after a hard fought battle with Mark Knott who  is much improved this season and who had a 11 point advantage. Mark went through  winning 2-1.
The quarter finals to be played 6.40pm Monday 18th February  2013. Please come along and support the event.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    The draw for the knock out stage of the competition was carried out at Concordia bar last night (Friday) with the names drawn by Geoff Armstrong from behind the bar and adjudicated by Jim Bell who used to play squash 50 years ago.
This is how the matches came out. 
Kizer Khan (-8)           v     Andy Lawrence (+3)
Tony Hedley (-19)       v     Ian Morton (-10)
Nick Fecitt (-6)            v      Mark Knott (+5)
Don Pattison (+6)       v     Keith Gray (+4)
Mark Livingstone (-8)  v     Steve Goldie (-8)
Roland Smith (+3)      v     Chris Brock (+8)
 
All the games to be played on Monday 11th February 2013. (6.40pm start) The above list is the order in which the names came out of the hat and not necessarily the order of play.
The six match winners plus the two highest scoring losers go through to the last eight. Same format as before, best of three games to 21, American scoring. 
The quarters are scheduled for Monday 18th February 2013, 6.40pm.
Please come along to support the event.
Ian Mc        

Concordia Squash Players,
       Groups 6 to 10  played their 1st round matches last night (Monday 28th January) and here are the  results.

Group 6 Winner      Tony Hedley
Group 7 Winner      Ian  Morton
Group 8 Winner      Andy Lawrence
Group 9 Winner      Kizer  Khan
Group 10 Winner    Steve Goldie

All 5 group winners went through  having won both their matches scoring the maximum 84pts. Chris Brock joined  Roland Smith and Peter Edney on 80pts as highest scoring runners up however on  count back Roland and Chris go through. Sorry Peter but that single tin at 20-20  in the first game against Mark Livingstone was the clincher. Chris and Roland  managed to take a game (1-2) while beaten by Steve Goldie and Andy Patterson  respectively.
The points tally for the other players were as follows; Dave  Hall 42pts, Findlay Mclean 78pts, Dave Mcrae 74pts, Martin Davison 63pts, Jamie  Morton 72pts, John Ormsby 78pts, Neil Taylor 77pts, Rob Owen 73pts, Peter Irlam  71pts.

Those 12 successful players will play in the knock out stage on Monday  11th February 2013 (6.40pm start) I'll do the draw at Concordia bar on Friday  1st February. All handicaps will stay as they are.
A big thank you to Les  Carr and Graeme Sneddon who came up to watch the games and ended up marking  throughout the evening.
A special mention to Rob Owen and Martin Davison who  stepped in at the last to make the round robin format a success.

Cheers
Ian Mc