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The Les Carr Challenge 2024

2/1/2025

Friday 13th December 2024 saw 26 squash players battle it out for their teams name on the new Les Carr Trophy. We lost Les earlier in the year after a short illness, after 44 years at the club he is a miss.
Ian Morton headed up ‘Morton’s Nick Flickers’ to take on Tim Gorman’s G-Strings. (See below for the team line up.)
Players were asked to wear squash attire fitting that of Les, renowned for garish pinks and oranges.
Spot prizes for the best went to Ian Morton’s disgusting blob pattern 2 piece while Peter Edney sported the most accurate Fred Perry retro look ever, taking us older players back in time, memories ! A couple of grips a piece if you were wondering.
With a 5.20pm start we managed to get 35 ten minute matches played. A round robin format meant those who wanted to play a few more games than others could do so. It was good to see Norman Jobson turn out and give Dave Macrae a run around. A life long friend and the same age as Les, Norman at Concordia Squash Club go’s back even further than 1980, a great effort.
On that note, Les’s wife Margaret and daughter Sarah also turned out to see how the tournament was going.

As always there was some good squash with many choosing to challenge their regular adversaries. (Owen/Knott, Lawrence/Knott and Edney/Irlam spring to mind)
Stand outs were Jonnie Woodhouse scoring 100pts for his team, followed by Dave Macrae, 97pts and Neil Whitfield with 80pts for theirs.
In the end we saw the G-Strings take the trophy with 744pts against 691pts for the Nick Flickers.

Of course it was the customary few beers to follow and a 18 man showing at the Indian restaurant in the village.
We shall have to do it all again next year, the small trophy just about fits in the trophy cabinet.
There will be another Handicap bash at some point in the New Year, look out for that, a similar turnout would be good.
Ian Mc

The Teams

Morton’s Nick Flickers         Tim Goman’s G-Strings
Ian Morton                           Tim Gorman
Keith Grey                           Graeme Sneddon
James Temperley                Martin Dowd
Dave Hall                             Dave Collis
Charlie Nolan                       Matt Guthery
Rob Owen                            Mark Knott
Norman Jobson                    Dan Cusack
Martin Davison                     Dave Macrae
Andy Lawrence                    Steve Ross
Paul Blakely                         Peter Irlam
Peter Archbold                     Neil Whitfield
Jonnie Woodhouse              Chris Brock
Peter Edney                       Ian McAllister

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2024

13/9/2024

Monday, 1st Round
A slightly smaller field this year with some notable absences,
Tony Hedley being the stand out player not in the line up.
For the organiser it was a convenient 16 names in the draw, except I missed out Keith Grey. Not the first time this has happened, an age thing I guess. 17 now !
With some unlucky players looking to have to play pre-lims, all came good when Graeme Sneddon had to withdraw with Covid.
Back to 16 and 8 games to look forward to.
Thank you to Nick Humphreys and Keith Grey for doing the actual draw.
In no particular order this is a summary of Monday’s openers.

Matt Guthery was keen to get his game played asap, up against Rob Owen it wasn’t going to be over anytime soon, it was 3-1 in the end but during the game it was hard to predict which way it would go. Matt started strongly 15/8, 15/8 but Rob came back fighting and pipped him in the 3rd 15/13. With both players wanting to hit the ball into next week, it was a bish, bash, bosh affair and
only errors at key stages determined the outcome. Matt came good- 3-1.
Ian Morton was simply too accurate and too mobile for Peter Edney, a 3-0 result was inevitable. To be fair to Peter, he hasn’t been able play much squash this year and was always up against it. For all of that, he still showed us what he can do with some intelligent placement and outrageous winners.
In what was expected to be the highlight of the evenings matches,
Charlie Nolan against Tim Gorman didn’t disappoint.
Some intense rallies and a very competitive edge to the match made for good viewing. Charlie took the first with Tim coming back to go 2-1 up. The 4th was tight and the battle for court position meant a cagey exchange with some ‘T’ congestion. At some point (and as marker I didn’t see it) Tim’s right foot was stood on and as Charlie squared things at 2-2, Tim retired injured. Not the ideal end we hoped for but never mind.
Andy Lawrence was simply too strong and too quick for Paul Blakely and 3-0 was the result. Andy’s retrieving can only be admired.
With Chris Brock withdrawing at the last minute, Peter Irlam had a bye, oh well, a few beers with the supporters instead.
Monday night also saw Martin Davison drawn against Mark Knott, I think it would be fair to say it was not the draw Martin would have wished for.
Mark is playing some very effective if unorthodox ’quick finish’ squash with unerring accuracy taking everything super early and killing it at the front on both sides of the court. 2 shot rallies were the norm but credit where it’s due, Martin found a way of getting the ball past Mark and playing his own winners at the front.
As a spectator it was difficult to predict where the ball was going next or who might win the rally. Martin took the first game 15-9 with Mark coming back strong to level it 15-6. The next 2 games were as close as they come and impossible to predict. As it happened 15-14 to Martin in both.
The most improved player in our club over the last 18 months has to be Dave Macrae. Keith Grey was his 1st round opponent and Keith had a giant mountain to climb (see what I did there ?) Playing a lot more orthodox length squash and making the most of his reach, Dave is a worthy adversary. Keith did manage to take a game levelling at 1-1 but after that Dave took control. 3-1 to Dave.
Probably the tightest game of the evening, Martin Dowd and Andy Silver put on an excellent display of determined battling squash both taking hard earned points from each other. A great game to watch, 3-2 to Martin.

Tuesday 2rd Round
A’ Competition.
Might as well start with the match of the evening, in fact the match of the entire tournament with Andy Lawrence playing Martin Davison in the 2nd round. It’s fair to say these 2 have played each other many times and know each others game fairly well. It showed with scores of long battling rallies and unbelievable retrieving from both players. 3-2 to Martin in the end, did it take too much out of Martin before his next match ? We‘ll see.
Dave Macrae was up against Matt Guthery. I was unable to see much of this match but I’m reliably informed that although Matt won it, Dave gave it a good go.
Peter Irlam entered the arena with his first game and against Martin Dowd. Martin was the first to admit he was well beaten,
Perhaps Peters fresh legs gave him the edge, 3-0 to Peter.
Charlie Nolan against Ian Morton looked an intriguing 2nd round match, both with quality in abundance. Unfortunately for Charlie, Ian was well up for it and commanded proceedings throughout.
Charlie just couldn’t live with good placement and good length.
B Competition.
In their 1st round match of the ‘B’, Rob Owen was dominant in his game against Keith Grey. They know each others game so well and both had flourishes of 7 and 8 points in a row but Rob steamrollered through. Keith graciously accepted he was well and truly beaten on the night.
Similarly Mark Knott had no problem overcoming Paul Blakely’s promising start taking the first game off Mark 15-10. Thereafter Mark employed his ’quick squash’ methods and dropped Paul out of sight, Mark won 8, 9 and 9.
Poor Peter Edney had no luck in the draw and in the ’B’ was up against Tim Gorman. Tim was happy to keep it going with steady length and Peter just ran out of steam. 3-0 to Tim.
Andy Silver had a bye in this round, due to play Tim on Wednesday.

Wednesday 4th Semi Finals
A Competition
Matt Guthery made light work of Martin Davison who, indeed had probably played a game too far after the epic with Andy the night before. He was in it and gave Matt plenty to think about but, alas, dragged around the court, fatigue told in the end. 3-0 to Matt.
Ian Morton looked on form against Charlie Nolan the night before and Peter Irlam found nothing had changed. He did however take the first game, the only person to take a game off Ian all week.
Ian stepped up and took the next 3.

B Competition
Mark Knott marched on with his ‘quick squash’ and blew Rob Owen away after a slightly shaky start. Rob took the first game but whatever he did to win it, couldn’t replicate the process.
Rob could not get the ball past Mark who simply dinked everything to the front for a winner. It’s no fluke, Mark ended the rally time and time again with very accurate ’kill’ shots. Rob, like everyone else, had no answer. Devilish and effective - you have to say.
3-1 to Mark.
The second semi final was perhaps the surprise of the week with Andy Silver giving Tim Gorman a bit of a scare. Tim started well enough commanding the court and the game comfortably for two and a half games. Andy came back with a large number of wizzers
and frankly, some unusual shots. Tim, somewhat frustrated, and I don’t think he’ll mind me saying this, lost his way with a handful of unforced errors. Very un-Tim like. It was suddenly 2-2.
There was notable tension on the balcony, an upset a real possibility. Tim rallied, in every sense and began to tidy thing up, 15-9 in the 5th is how it turned out. Not sure Tim would have wanted this had he known how the final would go.

Friday 6th Finals Night

The B Final kicked off shortly after 6pm, it was all over before half past. Mark Knott was simply on fire and he was not going to change how he played irrespective of the calibre of his opponent.
Tim Gorman is a fine squash player but in this match he simply had no answer to Mark’s strategy and execution. The vast majority of the points won were out and out kill shots taken early and delivered to the front of the court with outstanding accuracy.
Tim just couldn‘t live with them, not many would. It ended 15-8,
15/7 and 15/11.
A Final
Ian Morton continued his good form also. Against a very agile, very quick Matt Guthery, Ian played intelligent ’placed’ shots making Matt sweep across the full extent of the court for little reward and the loss of much energy. Ian noticeably eased off towards the end of the 2nd and nearly paid the price with Matt coming back strongly demonstrating that he wasn’t that’ far away. A good game all the same, Ian won 3-0 (9,14 and 7)

The night was rounded off with a few beers and a curry (for some)

Thank you to all the players who marked games and as ever, a big thank you to Bill Johnson who saw it all.
Watch out for the Christmas Handicap probably early December and to fit in with the team fixtures. It would be nice to see a bigger turn out, particularly those in the lower leagues. They are fun nights, primarily a social event, give it a go.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2023

22/4/2023

Finals Night. Friday 21st April.

Bill Johnson had a good few companions on the balcony to watch 2 entertaining games of squash.
First up was Chris Brock against Dan Cusack.
Dan was always going to be up against it facing a (relatively) young and fit opponent who relishes long orthodox length exchanges. And so it panned out.
Dan spent forever at the back of the court retrieving length ball during many 20 and 30 shot rallies. Dan worked very hard and occasionally got the opportunity to cut out the drives and play some good drops. Unfortunately for him, Chris picked many of them up and so the rallies went on.
Many on the balcony were pleased it was Dan and not them.
3-0 to Chris but lets not take anything away from Dan, he stuck in and battled to give us a game to enjoy watching.

In the A competition Matt Guthery had the unenviable task of playing our 9 times club champion who although hasn’t played a lot of squash this year, is still as strong as ever.
No disrespect to Matt but the first game was both a surprise and a credit to him.
Tony Hedley started steady enough and appeared to be prepared to let a few drops go, I’m guessing just easing into the game for fear of over doing it early on, Tony is getting on a bit now and old squash players do this !
Matt had a different approach and took full advantage of what could be called a ‘cagey’ start. Matt attacked the ball and took it as early as possible every time, cutting it out with effective drops and he did this throughout the first game. 15-10 to Matt and a bit of a wake up call for Tony. Very few in the club manage to take a game from Tony so this was no small feat.

All change in the next 3 games where Tony came back on court with a few amendments. He worked on his length with a little added pace and found the width. Some lobs thrown in for good measure meant Matt couldn’t volley anything.
From mid way through the 2nd game Matt often found himself at the back of the court and vulnerable to the drop shot.
Curiously Tony didn’t play too many of those until later in the game working Matt very hard with accurate length and line squash ending with the inevitable loose one which Tony dispatched. Matt played well and worked very hard to help provide a very entertaining game.
3-1 to Tony but there is much promise from Matt.
Beer and curry followed and a good night was had by all.

Just a note on the weeks event as a whole.
Some great squash and good social interaction. For me it was good to see some new players, Eric Tolman and James Templey and a much improved Dave McCrae. Of course there are the usual ‘die hards’ (you know who you are) who always make the competitions what they are.
Look forward to doing it all again.
A handicap competition is scheduled for 7th July where I hope all the players in all of our leagues will get stuck in. Playing squash is what it’s all about.
Thank you to all those who marked games this week, to Andy Silver and Graeme Sneddon for their help with the Monday night conundrum and to the ever present (and wise) Bill Johnson who watched and supported every encounter this week.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2023 Semi Finals Night

20/4/2023

It was good to see a crowd joining Bill Johnson to watch the 4 games on offer on Wednesday evening.
First up was Peter Archbold against Tony Hedley. A daunting task for Peter who knew what was coming.
Tony was in another zone in this match playing powerful controlled and accurate squash. Unfortunately for Peter his opponent found good width and length with every shot and had Peter under pressure from virtually every serve to the inevitable rally ending. Peter battled as he always does and made a match of it but the result was never in any doubt. 3-0 to Tony.
In the other semi, Andy Lawrence was up against Matt Guthery. Previous league encounters were a mixed bag with both players coming out on top on different occasions. In other words- a difficult one to call. As it turned out Matt won it 3-1 with enough shots put out of Andy’s reach to finish the rallies. A good contest.

In the B competition Dan Cusack worked out how to overcome his older opponent Steve Ross.
Steve is an experienced player having won the competition in 1998 as well as last year (2022) and has a number of shots to confuse. Oh that boast.
Steve won the first came before Dan started to mix it up and play many more drop shots and boasts of his own- enough of them out of Steve’s reach. 3-1 to Dan.
In the final match of the night Rob Owen put in a great performance against Chris Brock. As is his way, Chris played much orthodox length squash trying to keep Rob at the back of the court, Rob had other ideas. Apart from his hard hitting- Rob played many out right winners from all over the court making the result of this game very unpredictable indeed. At 2-2 it was anyone’s.
The last game of the night was nip and tuck all the way with neither player getting any sort of foothold.
It was probably 2 or 3 unforced errors from Rob mid way through the game which determined the result, 15-13 to Chris in the end. A great way to finish the evening.
Thank you to those who marked, particularly Graeme Sneddon who stayed the distance and marked to the end.

Finals start at 6pm on Friday (21st) ) followed by a few beers in the village and a curry for those who want one.

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2023

19/4/2023

A Competition 2nd Round Matches and the B Competition on
Tuesday 18th April.

No complication with the A draw. 8 players to battle it out.
Dave McCrae continued with his good form and gave Matt
Guthery something to think about. In truth Matt was too strong throughout but had a lot of running about to do in order to close out the rallies. Some thoughtful squash from Dave, alas 3-0 to Matt.
The Tony Hedley v Mark Knott match had the potential for being an interesting encounter but only if Mark had his ‘eye in’ and could play those winning drops from anywhere on the court. A combination of Tony’s placement and too many errors from Mark ended up with a 3-0 to Tony score line.
Some good rallies along the way !
Andy Lawrence played steady controlled squash which was simply too much for Eric Tolman in the 3rd A competition match. Despite this, Eric gave 110% to make it a game of squash well worth watching. Great effort.
Similarly, Peter Archbold dealt with Andy Silver in tidy fashion. Andy has some great shots up his sleeve and started the contest strongly, there were some very entertaining and evenly matched rallies. Overall Andy had too much to do and gradually ran out of steam. 3-0 to Peter
and a well entertained crowd.

The B Competition needed 2 play off games to fight for the last 2 places in the draw. Dan Cusack was up against Keith Grey and Martin Dowd had to play Peter Edney.
First though, the other matches played out. Steve Ross comfortably dealt with James Templey winning 3-0. James is a newcomer to squash and has much potential, we look forward to seeing his progress and climb up our club ladder as I’m sure he will.
Rob Owen played Nick Humphrey and took the game 3-0.
There are few in the club that hit the ball harder than Rob and this power had Nick in some difficulty too often. As always, Nick gave it his all and took it all with a cheery smile-a great Ambassador for the game.
Dan Cusack and Keith Grey battled it out in the first play-off game. Someone forgot to remind them this was the best of
3 ! So followed a monumental 5 setter. Both know each others game very well and this showed as many of their better shots were anticipated and the rallies stretched.
Dan battled to the win 15-10 in the fifth.
Peter Edney was running late and on arrival seemed unsettled. His play-off match against Martin Dowd was cut short as he had to pull up injured. Get well Peter.
On the face of it, Martin had a slight advantage going into his B match proper against Dan Cusack. (Dan had just had the 5 setter) but Martin had already played a league game earlier in the day, would you believe- against Keith Grey !
Martin and Dan put on a great display of gritty ‘never say die’ battling squash which was great to watch. Another 5 setter for Dan ended in triumph 15-12. Could have gone either way, well played Martin.
Martin Davison and Chris Brock must have decided they would leave the best until last by putting on a very intriguing battle of quality squash. Chris stuck to his game plan of orthodox length squash trying to keep Martin at the back and denying him any ‘volley-kill’ opportunities. More often than not it didn’t work out like that and Martin had Chris running in all directions and pulling him to the front of the court. The balcony had no idea where the ball might end up, never mind Chris. Both players put in a monumental effort to provide quality entertainment. Stamina was the key and Chris showed the stronger in the last few rallies. A joy to watch.
Thank you to all of those players (and non players) who marked games and to those who came along to join Bill Johnson on the balcony. It was one of those nights which made everything worthwhile. Semi finals to be played on Wednesday 19th April, 5.20pm start. Come along and support the event.

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2023

19/4/2023

1st Round

There were 20 entries for this years competition. Not a helpful number when sorting out who plays who. What I should have done was arrange qualifiers a week before the event to get the entries to a handy 16.
Eight to go through and 8 to enter the B competition.
I didn’t.
What then transpired (on the night) was a very mixed bag of names out of the hat and a post 1st round eliminator played by some tired entrants. It got even more confused when Simon Long and Lewis Harding pulled out, Eric Tolman was added, my fault I hadn‘t included him in the first place, and Martin Davison delayed without an ETA when his wife had to attend hospital - thankfully nothing too serious.
More consternation with one or two players on an Anniversary meal deadline or some other appointment and players arranging amongst themselves that they would play a little later !
Not to worry, it all fell into place on the night but not without the help of Andy Silver and Graeme Sneddon.
So...... the squash itself.
Mark Knott gave Rob Owen little chance winning 3-0 and playing any number of devastating drops which Rob just couldn’t cope with. The added bonus was that Rob went on to mark other games for the rest of the evening. Cheers
Rob.
Andy Lawrence went through against Peter Edney but didn’t have it all his own way. Peter took the first game but had to work too hard to get it. His variety of shots are a joy to watch but stamina is the Achilles heel. The next three were 4, 8 and 4. 3-1 to Andy.
Two new entries, (always a joy to see) Eric Tolman and James Templey played their first Concordia competition game and with a marker. Eric was too experienced for James but a good game all the same.
Martin Dowd put up a good fight against Steve Ross, something that Steve would regret later, Steve did get through however.
Matt Gutherey proved too strong for Keith Grey and won 3-1. Shot for shot they looked even enough but whether Matt realised it or not, his shots with pace put Keith on the back foot struggling to get his racket to the ball. Good squash.
Andy Silver looked comfortable against Graeme Sneddon mainly due to his court coverage. Graeme has all the skills and ability but the ball was all too often out of reach.
Tony Hedley beat Dan Cusack in relatively straight forward fashion.
There was some quality squash played late on when Peter Archbold went head to head with Chris Brock. Peter took the spoils but it could have gone either way. All the games got to 14-14, they don’t come closer. Great to watch.
In order to even up the draw there was a need for an elimination game. Steve Ross and Dave McCrae were the unfortunate players having to play again. Dave was going into the contest having made light work of Nick Humphrey in his first round match-proper. Dave made few mistakes.
As mentioned, Steve had a tough one against Martin Dowd so beating Dave straight after wasn’t going to be a stroll.
And so it proved. Dave made the most of both his youth and his reach. He just stuck in and retrieved relentlessly.
Steve ran out of steam, a shoulder strain didn’t help either but we mustn’t take anything away from Dave, he played so well. His reward is a 2nd round match against Matt Guthery. Should be interesting.
2nd round matches start 5.20pm on Tuesday 18th April.

Christmas Handicap Competition 2021

13/12/2021

A slightly lower turnout saw 16 keen players pit their wits against each other for nothing more than the love of the game. 2 teams of eight played each other on a round robin ad -hoc basis (just as it was last time round in September) in ten minute matches.
‘The Pinks’ were lead by Tim Gorman and up against ‘The Greens’ headed up by Steve Ross.
With everyone fairly familiar with the 10 minute match format, there was quick turn around. In all, 32 games were played.
I think the handicaps were just about right and there were some closely fought games.
Matt Gutherey, new to both the club and our competitions was hugely keen and ended up playing 6 games, at no time looking like he might run out of steam.
Jonny Woodhouse, Peter Edney, Graeme Sneddon and Andy Lawrence also shone, all playing 5 games and scoring heavily for their respective teams.
The Green team won in the end with a points tally of 665 over the Pinks total of 603.
The continued doom and gloom of Covid and new variants and therefore the likelihood of further restrictions didn’t dampen what was a great night of squash and ‘social’ in Cramlington village later on. At least we got to do it before the next lockdown !
Ian Mc

Club Handicap Event - 24th September 2021

28/9/2021

There has not been anything written on this website for a very long time, Covid 19 and everything that came with it saw to that.
Although the club leagues have been up and running for a while, for me the handicap event last Friday night reinforced a sense of ’normal’ after such a long period of uncertainty and our Government’s drip fed misery.

So…. after a few tweaks the format was that of two teams of 7 (Hedley’s Hero’s and Brock’s Bronco’s was the best anyone came up with) each of the players against their opponents on an ad-hoc basis and for only 10 minutes per match. It worked out that most players got to play at least 4 games.
The allocated handicap’s raised a few eyebrows but there weren’t too many landslide results (not like the Ryder Cup) Quick fire turn around and a willingness from everyone to mark games meant we rattled through the matches. By 7.30pm, 2 hours after the start, everyone was ready for the bar. Actually a certain Mr Gorman was ready well ahead of that time !

There were some notable contests, Rob Owen, one of Hedley’s hero’s battled in every game he played and scored well. With reverse angles galore, it was entertaining stuff.
The Bronco’s - Martin Davison and Peter Irlam were also good value for money, determined and tireless they too scored heavily.
Centre stage was Peter Edney who played some outstanding squash, particularly in his games against Peter Archbold and Michael Jones. Peter was another to score 80+ points for his team.
The result was an overwhelming win for Brock’s Bronco’s 537 points to 410 from Hedley’s Hero’s. In team terms I’m not sure anyone was bothered about the result.

A few beers at Spoon’s and a curry to follow ended what was a great night. It only served to remind us how good things had been before March 2020. Hopefully, despite a near certain set of new restrictions late 2021, we can look forward to better times.

Watch out for the 1st team home games this coming season, I’ll put a list out at the back of the courts. Come along and support the team. (Bring your own refreshments, the bar will not be open.

Individual Handicap Competition Final

29/1/2020

The Final between Martin Davison (-7) v Peter Archbold (-10) on Friday 24th January was a thoroughly entertaining match with Martin hanging on for grim death in most of the rallies and managing to play some spectacular if unorthodox shots. Peter played tidy length squash often keeping Martin at the back but even on the balcony it was hard to judge where Martin was going to put the ball next, for this reason Peter had to work very hard to ‘go seek it.’
Both games were close and could have gone the other way on another night.
21-18, 21-20 to Peter with the spectators hoping for a decider that never came. Great squash.

A few beers and a curry in the village followed.

There was a much lower number of entries for this years Handicap, a competition that has been enjoyed by many in the past. Perhaps the time of year was a factor however I’m open to suggestions as to ways we can encourage those in all of the leagues to take part.
Previous match scores have suggested the handicap system isn’t far away and all entrants have a chance to progress.

Thank you to those who came along to spectate, Bill Johnson of course and to those who helped mark games in the earlier stages.

Ian Mc.

Individual Handicap Competition Semi Finals.

29/1/2020

Played Tuesday 21st January.
Dan Cusack (-6) was up against Martin Davison (-7)
Some great rallies in this one. The score line does not tell the whole story. Dan had opportunities but just didn’t play the right shot at the right time and Martin somehow scrambled through despite being under pressure rally after rally. Entertaining game 21-11, 21-18 to Martin.

Peter Archbold (-10) v a fresh legged Nick Humphrey (+4)
Nick got off to a fantastic start killing many of Peter’s slightly loose shots, his width and length not quite there. Nick chopped everything to the front. Peter got nowhere near reducing the handicap deficit in the opener. 21-4 to Nick.
Second game Peter steadied the ship and slowly and carefully (no mistakes and better length) levelled the score sheet, all square at 10-10. Peter carried on in similar fashion and took the game 21-16. At minus 1-12 down in the third Peter looked in trouble however an 8pt sprint changed all that. It was all square by 14-14 and Pete went on to take it 21-16. Nick did have chances, tiredness lead to the odd error. I’m told Pete slept well that night.

Individual Handicap Competition Quarters

29/1/2020

Monday 20th January was the ‘quarters’ night, team games the previous week meant we had to wait a fortnight for the knockout stage.
Who played who was drawn on the night.
Unfortunately Peter Edney had to withdraw at short notice due to illness and it was too late to draft in a replacement. Funny how things turn out but because we lost the use of one of our courts (dodgy door on court 2) one less match was a blessing in disguise. Court time no longer an issue. Nick Humphrey got a bye.

First up was Dan Cusack (-7) v Andy Lawrence (-10).
Ordinarily this would have been a big ask for Dan since Andy’s squash has moved on, this on top of his fitness and ball retrieval. With only 3 points to help, Dan had to be at his best and no mistakes. However, for some inexplicable reason Andy played a game of squash immediately before their quarter final match and Dan must have believed. And so it was.
Andy took the first game 21-13 but worked hard to get it. Dan came back in the second and it was close. 21-19. Andy needed to win that one, he too had worked hard. It was too much.
The third game was all about legs and stamina, it ebbed and flowed with both players taking 4 and 5 points on the bounce at times. Dan made the break after 8-6. Suddenly it was 14-8. Under pressure and tired- Andy faded. 21-13 to Dan.

The second match followed a similar path. Peter Archbold (-10) lost the first game to Paul Blakely (-2) 21-14 but he too got going and pipped the second game 21-19. With more control Peter eased along taking the 3rd 21-14.

Next up, Martin Davison (-6) v Rob Owen (-2)
Looking at the marking sheets it seems Martin was never under any real pressure, Rob unable to get any momentum, until the end of the second that is. Martin took the game 2-0 but not before a scare at 19-18 down in the 2nd. He came good and took the game 21-19.

Concordia Squash Club 2020 Individual Handicap 1st Round (Round Robin)

7/1/2020

I thought early January would be a good time to fit in the Handicap
Competition but this has proved not to be the case. Unavailability, mainly work related and an unprecedented number of injuries meant a small turn out. I had 12 entries which meant 4 groups of three in the round robin stage with 4 group winners and 4 highest scoring runners up going through to the knock out stage.
Didn’t matter. There was some great squash with the usual suspects providing great entertainment.

In Group1-both Andy Lawrence and Paul Blakely kept their nerve while playing Paul Leedham who started with +8, Paul (Leedham) was always in with a shout but faded as 21 came closer.
Andy’s (-10) match with the fireman (-2) looked a tight game and so it was. 21-20 in the third doesn’t come any closer. Andy won the group by a single point. Must have got the handicaps about right !

On paper the second Group had a similar look 1 with one of the players, Nick Humphrey having a positive handicap (+4)
Peter Irlam and Peter Archbold had their work cut out. Mr Irlam (-3) played Nick first and seemed to be comfortable throughout, until the end of the 2nd that is. 21-14 in the first speaks for itself, 21-19 in the second also. Nick was just starting to take it early and kill with good effect however Mr Irlam just about hung on.
Unlucky Mr Archbold (-10) then played Nick. Despite good steady hard working squash from Archie, Nick kept the pressure on and gradually got into the grove killing anything loose. Peter took the first 21-14 but the next 2 went Nicks way 21-20 and 21-17. Peter definitely needed to take that close 2nd game because he still had Peter Irlam to play. This was one hell of a battle, mental as well as physical, the scores fluctuated and you could actually map out the mental re-application as each won 4 or 5 points on the trot before conceding the same amount. Honours even first two, 21-15, 15-21 leaving the 2 Peters to take it to the wire. 21-20 to Irlam says it all.
Great squash.

Handicap wise Group 3 was evenly matched, Dan the man (-5) up against Peter Edney (-3) another Peter, and Steve Lavery (-5)
So it proved to be. All 3 in the group won one/lost one.
It was all about how they lost with both Dan and Peter only dropping
5 pts from the max’ between them. (Dan 81pts, Peter 82pts)
Steve Lavery’s first game where he lost heavily to Mr Edney’s accurate finishing cost him dearly, impossible to recover from and relying on the others to loose in similar fashion. Didn’t happen.
Dan and Peter’s epic struggle went to the wire in the 3rd, 21-19 to Dan.

Group 4 saw 3 players who all know each others game so so well.
All 3 could, on the right night, beat each other, it was all about their current form. Rob Owen stole the show with maximum points.
Once again the group runner up was all about how heavily they lost and it was close. Martin Davison beat Mark Knott to take 42pts but lost heavily to Rob (12 + 14) Mark who didn’t win either game still took good points.
21 + 19 against Martin but he also lost heavily to Rob (16 + 10)
So Martin totalled 68pts and Mark 66pts.

The top 8 go through although Peter Irlam who would have qualified had to withdraw.
Andy Lawrence 84pts
Rob Owen 84pts
Paul Blakely 83pts
Peter Edney 82pts
Dan Cusack 81pts
Peter Archbold 79pts
Nick Humphrey 75pts
Martin Davison 68 pts.

Despite the smaller turn out the night was a good one, thank you to Jonnie Woodhouse who stayed back and marked some games, also thank you to Keith Grey who also turned out to support the event and mark. We wish Keith a speedy recovery from his injury, it is he who usually provides much on court entertainment on these nights !
Bill Johnson, always turning out, needs a special mention for his continued support.

The knock out stage will be played on Monday 20th January, 6.40pm
start, please come along and watch some good squash.
Ian Mc

2020 individual handicap

3/1/2020

All things Christmas and New Year have come and gone, not sure where, BUT, the Handicap starts Monday 6th January. 6pm
I have 15 entries. 5 group winners and 3 highest scoring runners up go through from the Round Robin stage.
Knock out stage is 20th January due to team game commitments.
If you're not playing, come along and support the event.
Groups and who plays who to be sorted tonight, Friday
Ian Mc

2020 Individual Handicap

2/1/2020

The first round (Round Robin 3 man group stage) goes ahead 6pm Monday 6th January. Due to a number of team games throughout January the next round will be Monday 20th January with the semi's on Tuesday 21st and the final on Friday 24th January 2020.
The 5 group winners and 3 highest scoring runners up go through to play on 20th. The group draw will follow shortly. (needs verified/witnessed)

In no particular order I have ; Rob Owen, Andy Lawrence, Paul Leedham, Peter Irlam, Martin Davison, Dan Cusack, Nick Humphreys, Paul Blakely, Chris Brock, Steve Lavery, Peter Archbold, Keith Grey, Peter Edney, Ian Morton.
Ian Mc

Clentec Cup 2019, Beer and Curry After

16/12/2019

We have traditionally played some sort of tournament on the run up to Christmas usually orchestrating the finals night on a December Friday before the Christmas break. Beer and curry always a follow-up.
This year we drummed up a one night only quick fire Round Robin tournament whereby every game went to 7 and no more.
The plan was that all players got to play all the others but time was not on our side, didn’t matter, we managed to make the cut off point at 11 matches per player. Sound complicated ? it wasn’t.

16 players turned out, some managed to arrive early (it was a 5.20pm start) and got things under way immediately. With all 3 courts at our disposal match results flew in.
It was a hap- hazard affair but it kind of ‘worked’.
Winners of their first match stayed on and played the next player,
they then came off win or lose and the next players joined in. Who played who was in no particular order and one or two managed to get many of their games in pretty quickly.
Andy Lawrence was the stand out front runner with 4 wins and only 5 points dropped in three if his other matches.
Peter Edney was another who caught the eye. He played some excellent shots in terms of outright winners and some intelligent placement putting opponents under pressure and making them work so very hard. Tim Gorman, another of the early runners had to put in a great effort to pip Mr Edney to the post, an entertaining and intriguing match to watch.
Peter Archibold and Paul Blakely found themselves at a disadvantage, detained at work they arrived a little late and found their first opponents had their ‘eye in’ and were well limbered up. Even after only 3 matches played it looked impossible that they could make any inroads on the leading pack.
Jonnie Woodhouse had a good night, some good wins and only dropping a few points in the ones he lost.
Ian Mc had played 6 won 6 but as the court time was running out, the opportunity to get 11 games in faded away. Perhaps just as well, he had to push a lot harder than he wanted to to beat Andy Lawrence who would not stop. 7-6 and only just but the joints were creaking.
The game which decided the night was actually an early encounter between Tim Gorman and Bruno Gaultier. 7-1 to Bruno was wholly unexpected but as Tim said afterwards, Bruno’s plan was a simple one, “just go for everything” and it paid off. Bruno’s winner’s were just that, high risk maybe ? but they were all up on the night and Tim could do nothing about it, no one could have.
Peter Edney continued to play good squash but in his latter games couldn’t maintain momentum and tired. The results fell away.
As all the players logged 11 games it was clearly a 2 horse race.
Andy Lawrence will have his name on the trophy for 2019 with 72 points from a possible 77 and Tim Gorman second with 71 points.
(a nearly 100% record for Tim but for an inspired French intervention)

The competition was only half the story, 14 aching soles then made their way to the village for beer and a curry and of course some Brexit Election Banter.
Keith Grey took time out for a hot bath, such were his efforts.
The burning questions of the night were ‘who’s cellar has Diane Abbott been hidden in ? will she remember her name ? and is she to be the new Labour leader. The world was also put right.

A great night all round, it would be good to see some of the lower league players get involved in the future, watch out for the Individual Handicap in January 2020, I need entries ASAP.

Ian Mc

Handicap 'Couples' competition draw

2/9/2019

Concordia Squash Players,
On Friday 30th August Dave Hall kindly assisted with the draw to determine the team line up for the Handicap 'Couples'. (Overseen by Steve Lavery)
These are;
Andy Lawrence and Jonny Woodhouse
Ian Rowe and Keith Gray
Peter Irlam and Chris Brock
Les Carr and Bruno Gaultier
Lewis Harding and Dave Hall
Ian Morton and Peter Archbold
Dan Cusack and No;22 (position to be filled)
Rob Owen and Martin Davison
Phil Renton and Paul Leedham
Paul Blakely and Adam Rowe
Ian Smith and Nick Fecitt
Each pair need to give themselves a team name (ASAP please) and I'll put together the Round Robin League.
So.........here's the format. Each team (couple) play all the other teams in the league as and when can be arranged and in no particular order. There is no set time scale, if by chance all games are played before Christmas then we can re-run second half !
Each player is individually handicapped and will play one of the opposing team on the night.
Arrange a time and date for a match so that all 4 players attend. 2 courts will be needed, whether you book side by side or consecutive courts is up to you although marking or having a marker might be a consideration. Personally I think consecutive courts is much the better option in case one game were to run over.
Best of 3 games to 21, every point counts, total points for and against will be added together to give an overall winning team. (There is a cash prize waiting for the winners)
Just like previous handicap competitions a maximum match score is 84pts (21+21) and (21+21) per team. The losing team take their best game scores forward. Hypothetically if a team won all their matches to the max then their final tally would be 84 X 10 matches = 840pts. I'm hopeful our handicap committee get it right so this won't happen.
Sounds complicated but it's not. I'll put up the teams, their handicaps and league updates on the notice board along with a reminder of the format.
With our super Whats-AP chat thing games should be easier to arrange than previously.
I would like to attend as many matches as I can (to mark or just watch with beer in hand) so keep me posted of arranged games.
No idea how this will pan out but just trying to get everyone playing.
Sensible Team names to me ASAP please.
Still need a partner for Dan as well.
Cheers
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Club AGM 2019

16/8/2019

Minutes of Concordia Squash Club AGM
2019

Meeting took place at Concordia Bar 7.30pm Tuesday 6th August 2019.

Present.
Ian McAllister, Roland Smith, Dan Cusack, Ian Morton and Jonny Woodhouse.

Apologies.
Dave Hall, Pete Archbold, Peter Irlam, Martin Davison.

The minutes from the 2018 AGM were read and agreed.

It was agreed that there were no reasons or any need to change the committee and officials but for the removal of Mark Livingstone who has had no club involvement for the last 18 months or so.

Ian Mc presented a short report outlining last seasons progress and issues, mainly the success in securing warm courts, now at a much appreciated 22 degrees. (warmer during these hot summer days ! )

Finance.
Bank statements from both the general account and the 100 club draw account were made available for inspection , as were the invoices of club expenditure. The club is financially secure with
£735 and £939 in the respective accounts. ES membership was discussed, an unavoidable £12.50 per member although ’on court’ insurance is provided. ES fees due in October.
Roland outlined the haggling required with web page provider and Domain name company fees. £214.92 for the next three years has been agreed and paid. (£25 for the web page admin-also paid)
Team fees (£7 per match home and away) and club membership (£30 due in September) to remain the same.

Competitions.
The Handicap and Closed competitions were mentioned and will remain unchanged as the club’s standard events running January 2020 and April 2020.
Ian Mc proposed a season long 2 man team handicap round robin competition with a prize for the overall winner at the end of the season. Dan suggested random pairings, names out of the hat to make it less ’cozy’ for some players. It should offer an opportunity for players of very mixed standard playing each other for every valuable point for their team.
This was agreed, Ian Mc to put out an e-mail canvassing entries.

Teams.
It was formally announced that there is no longer a ladies team and we are down to 2 men’s team after the collapse of the men’s 1st team last season. In truth this will consolidate our existing line up of players and ease club expenditure. Team selection has been straightforward, Ian Morton and Dan Cusack having already discussed selection.

Leagues.
Ian Morton suggested scrapping Summer and Winter leagues since nearly all in the club play both. This was agreed.
Roland more than happy to continue running the leagues adding that his life would be considerably easier with the suggested league consolidation.

Any Other Business.
Ian Morton suggested we make better use of social media (Insta- gram and twitter primarily, since Face Book is now ‘old hat’. Roland agreed to put out the password for others to adopt administrator status to add/update ‘tweets.’ It’s the future.

T- shirts were discussed however it is now known that Paul Lord is no longer trading. Ian Mc will shop around for an alternative supplier.

Meeting closed at 8.45pm.

Concordia Squash Club Closed Competition 2019

23/5/2019

Semi Finals and Finals.

The B competition Semi’s saw Mark Knott take on Les Carr and Andy Lawrence played Jonnie Woodhouse.
Both games were interesting in different ways.
Les Carr looked so comfortable when he played his orthodox length game keeping Mark in the corners and struggling. However for some reason Les fell into Mark’s mixed up game of boasts and drops during which many errors arose. Mark took the game comfortably in the end.
Jonnie Woodhouse also demonstrated his ability to play tidy length shots and for a while looked the better player. Andy Lawrence however was having none of it. He scrambled and never gave up a thing. Slowly Andy’s fitness took over and won the game. A good game to watch.
The A competition semi’s went very much according to form although both Dan Cusack and Martin Davison worked their socks off to make a game of it. Chris Brock and Tony Hedley went through to the final fairly comfortably.

Finals Night
A good turn out for the finals saw Andy Lawrence take on Mark Knott and Tony Hedley v Chris Brock.
In the B Final Mark was very well aware of Andy’s fitness and stamina and so appeared to go for his cross court drops and reverse angle boasts whenever he could and hope they were winners. Andy managed to get enough of them back and ground out a comfortable result in the end. 3-0.

Tony Hedley was still too controlled and too accurate for Chris Brock in the A Final. Chris worked very hard and made a great spectacle for the crowd but an occasional loose shot was all Tony needed to take the advantage and build up the pressure forcing an error from Chris. Won’t be long before Chris’s name is on the trophy if he continues to improve at his current rate.

A few beers and a curry finished off the night in great style.
Thank you to all who helped mark throughout the week, special thanks to our mascot and key spectator Bill Johnson (always offering his many years of squash insight and knowledge)
Thanks also to Peter Edney who would normally be playing but marked all week while dealing with his injury.

Ian McAllister

Concordia Men‘s Team Report 2018/2019

5/3/2019

Ordinarily I would write a report about the teams at the end of the season, April time, but this has been no ordinary season. The fate of all 3 men‘s teams has already been cast and little of it makes good reading.
To say it’s been an unfortunate season doesn’t quite cover it but here goes;
Before the players’ story there was the court situation. Days before the start of the season no heating, no believable explanations, belligerence and a season long battle for warmer courts.
Player wise early September 2018 looked reasonably healthy with 26 team players to call upon. The 1st team, in Division 1 had always sailed close to the wind with only a handful of players suited to Division 1 standards. The large number of well coached and very fit young players coming through Northumberland’s (Jesmond) Northern and Tynemouth’s third and fourth teams made it all the more challenging.
Days before the start of the season we lost James O’Neill from the first team line up. To be fair we were already aware that Jamie Morton was off to Primrose, our cold courts and their effect upon injuries being the main reason. So….. The 1st team were running with 4 instead of 6 which automatically placed a burden on the team below.
That team below had themselves lost a regular- Steve Goldie.
After only a few games played, 1st team player Andy Dolan fell to injury, team mate Tony Hedley soon followed- he was not to play for the rest of the season.
The 1st team soldiered on short of 2 sometimes 3 players, relying on 2nd and 3rd team members. Results were not good.
We have to bare in mind, the 2nd team are playing Division 4 squash, it’s quite a leap up to Division 1.
Meanwhile Dan Cusack’s 3rd team also had their woes.
Dan had high hopes of promotion this season but immediately lost his two top players, Gary Storey and Joe Race. Neither played much of the first half and declared their season over before Christmas.
The 2nd team made steady if not great progress and remained mid table while Ian Morton, myself and Peter Archbold effectively became tied to the 1st team by Christmas.

1
Although we got a fresh start at the turn of the year in terms of nominations and playing ‘up’ it was clear that the 1st team were struggling. Chris Brock steadfastly insisted his team battle on however it was becoming increasingly difficult to get a team out, particularly when 2nd team players didn’t want to be tied and 3rd team players were not keen to play 10 minutes of murderous squash being on the receiving end of a mis-match. No disrespect but we can’t get away from the dynamics of our club. We have a fantastically enthusiastic group of players many whom are the wrong side of 40. Playing well coached 20 year olds is a big ask.

By the end of February, which is where we are now, the 3rd team are all but relegated. The 2nd team remain strictly mid to lower table but safe (Northumberland 3 and Chester-le-St running away with it- already promoted and 2 bottom teams virtually relegated)
With Chris Brock now also injured, a tennis elbow type injury and out for the season, it’s left Andy Dolan and Simon Long heading up the 1st team. Ian Morton and myself had already played twice, (3 times if you include a cup match) and Peter Archbold available for only one more game, the 1st team were doomed. Virtually all remaining team players were ’unavailable’ or honest enough to declare they were reluctant to play in Division 1, acutely aware of the hike in standard.
Dan Cusack and Martin Davison are perhaps the exception to this who had gone head first into the 1st team challenge.
With 5 fixtures still to play and no pool of players to draw upon it was an obvious decision to make to withdraw the 1st team from the Northumbria League.
It’s a real shame as well as the end of an era, we’ve had a 1st team in Division 1 (Premiere League for a number of years.) for a very long time.

There will be much to discuss before the start of next season but the anticipated outcome is that the 2nd team become the 1st and play in Division 2, the 3rds become the 2nds and play in Division 4. That will be tough.
Ironic since the 3rd team (of old) have been relegated to Division 6.

Andy Dolan and Tony Hedley have indicated they no longer wish to play team squash, I myself have to stop, the injuries and resulting day to day torture has to stop. I have to stop.
Chris Brock is looking to play in a stronger league so may play elsewhere.
Much can happen between now and September so watch this space however the club should continue to thrive. The club ladder is working well, once again a big thank you to Roland Smith who, despite retiring from playing the game, continues to run the league and website for us.
Look out for the closed competition to be arranged for April-ish.
I’ll look at where Easter falls and work the competition around that.
Ian Mc.

2018 Handicap Competition Semi’s and Final

15/1/2019

2018 Handicap Competition Semi’s and Final

The semi finals were played on Wednesday 12th December.
Bill Johnson was one of the few spectators who turned out on a bitterly cold night.
In the first match Peter Archbold was up against Martin Davison. With only a 1 point deficit (-9 to -8) this was a tight match throughout- in the first only a point or two between them, until 15 all. Peter took 4 in a row and at 19-15 looked comfortable. 21-17 to Peter. Martin battled in the 2nd game and won it from 11-15 down. 21-19 to Martin.
Martin had worked hard to get back to 1-1 and it showed.
He went 9-2 down in the third and couldn’t recover. 21-15 to Peter.

The other semi saw Mark Knott with an almost impossible task taking on Tony Hedley (he’s nearly 50 you know) despite a 20 point advantage. Mark knew he had to play his winners and hope enough were good. Pointless trying to rally was his ‘ethos‘.
Unfortunately there weren’t enough ‘winners’ and Tony simply ground out the result with steady accurate length and great retrieving no matter what Mark did.

The Final

Friday 14th December saw a great turn out to watch a final which few had any doubts about. They were however, to be surprised. Tony Hedley was the youngster in this match. His opponent Pete Archbold-looking like the old man of the sea sporting a distinguished beard, was not going to give up anything easily.
This was simply a war of attrition during which Tony carefully eroded away Peter’s 14 point advantage. The first 2 games were shared, 21-19 to Tony and a great come back 21-18 to Peter.
There was a cost and half way through a brutal third game Peter started to tire. 21-12 was the result, another trophy for the Hedley cabinet. A great match followed by a good night in the village and a curry to finish.
Special mention to Bill Johnson who saw every minute of the competition and to Peter Edney for all his help.
Ian Mc.

Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Quarter Finals

12/12/2018

Quarter Finals

It was hats, coats and gloves on the balcony to watch the 4 quarter final matches in Tuesday evening.
In the first match of the night Mark Knott was up against John Ormsby (John went through as highest runner up after Ian Morton pulled out with injury)
Mark coped well with John’s fierce serve and played many cross court drops for winners. At 9 all in the first it looked like it could be a close contest however Mark put his foot down and went through to 21 in no time. 21-11.
The 2nd game was a little closer but Mark held out 21-18.

Martin Davison had a touch of good fortune when up against Dave Hall in the next match of the night. Unfortunately Dave injured himself very early on. It was clear that Dave struggled laterally and any number of Martin’s unorthodox and often unexpected ‘cross courts’ had him beat. 21-12 and 21-9.

Peter Archbold and Rob Owen were next to spar. Rob had a 5 shot advantage (-9 to -4 respectively) It took some time before Peter clawed back the deficit, 9-9 at one point. Peter then went away quickly and won 21-13.
The second game swung back and forth, both players had several runs of 5 or 6 points on the trot. At 9’s Peter ran away to 16-9 and never looked back. 21-13 again- to win the match.

The last game of the night saw the marathon that was Tony Hedley against Chris Brock. Huge handicaps -25 against -11 was going to be lengthy, and so it was. First game was tight all the way through until Tony had a run to 19-14, he looked secure but Chris was having none of it.
After a decision went against him (only a let) Chris hit the ball somewhat harder and battled back winning the first 21-20.
Both players had put in much effort, perhaps Chris working slightly harder……….. but he is 20 years younger !

The next 2 games were simply a war of attrition. Tony placed the ball slightly better throughout and Chris was run-down rally by rally. Tony’s drops also started to tell.
A great game to end the night with Tony going through 21-14,
21-12.

Semi finals on Wednesday (12th December)
Mark Knott plays Tony Hedley and Peter Archbold takes on Martin Davison.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Club Handicap 2018 Part 2 of 1st round

12/12/2018

Part 2 of the 1st Round.

The 2nd part of the Round Robin 1st round matches were played out on Monday 10th December. Despite atrocious court conditions there were some good matches to watch. This is how the evening unfolded.

Group E.
First up was newcomer Paul Leedham against Nick Fecitt.
Nick couldn’t afford to make any mistakes having to claw back from -7 and Paul only needing 11 points to take a game. Nick got off to a good start, perhaps a few nerves on show but it was quickly 11 all. Nick kept it tidy and took the game 21-16. The second game not so straightforward, Paul got into his stride, used his reach and cut out a few of Nick’s shots for winners.
Paul was 17-13 up at one point- just 4 points needed but Nick steadied and went through without dropping another point.
2-0 to Nick.
The other player in this group was Tony Hedley. Even with a -25 handicap Tony had was under little pressure during both his matches and comfortably went through as the group winner.

Group F.
Peter Archbold and Steve Lavery had another up and coming junior to contend with in this group. Luke Fecitt demonstrated his court speed and ability to retrieve just about anything. Fortunately for both elders Luke included a few errors to keep them honest.
I suspect Luke will be a serious contender next year. This group was decided on the result of the game between Peter and Steve. With only 2 points between them (-9 against -7 respectively) it was close throughout their 2 games but Peter remained composed from 10-10 onwards and took the games 21-15, 21-15.

Group G.
A most interesting group with Lorna Chambers on +10 looking difficult to beat. And so Jonny Woodhouse discovered. With accurate drops and boasts Jonny got off to a bad start. With only 3 points on the board (starting from scratch) Lorna had the 21 needed.
The second game was a little different and Jonny realised he had to up the pace of the game. Lorna had no trouble dealing with the power play particularly when loose and managed to cut out enough of Jonny’ s shots for winners. 21-3, 21-13 to Lorna.
Jonny played better squash up against Martin Davison in his 2nd match. With a 8 shot advantage Jonny kept Martin at bay throughout and won 21-18, 21-15.
Lorna’s (and Martin’s) second match had Martin on the ropes.
With such a healthy headstart of +10 Martin was always under pressure. He held on and took both games at the death, 21-19, 21-19. All 3 players had won one, lost one. Lorna had only dropped 4 points but was doubtful for the semi final match. Jonny’s opener with Lorna was his downfall and Martin went through as the groups representative.

Group H.
Put simply I can’t cope with our fridge like courts and during the opening match in this group against Bruno Gaultier I pulled my hamstring. (I was only in it as a stand-in) I could not continue which meant the match between Bruno and the third member - Rob Owen would be the group decider.
There was only 3 between them (-7 against-4 respectively)
It was close throughout but Rob always managed to stay ahead.
21-15 in the first and a fiercely fought 21-20 in the second.

With all group winners decided, Peter Irlam kindly drew lots for the knock out stage to be played on Tuesday.
Martin Davison                    v                Dave Hall
Peter Archbold                    v                Rob Owen
Mark Knott                          v                John Ormsby
Chris Brock                         v               Tony Hedley.

Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Handicap Competition 2018

4/12/2018

I had 24 entries this year and due to scheduled County League matches had to split the 1st round ‘Round Robin‘ games between Monday 3rd and Monday 10th December.
Group’s A to D played their matches first on courts that started off on the cool side and got colder as the night progressed.
The situation regarding the lack of heating on our courts grinds on with little hope of improvement but we continue to campaign.

Group A
Dave Collis as a new comer and with a +10 handicap could have caused an upset. He nearly did. First match to get going saw John Ormsby loose 12-21 to Dave. John (off scratch) had to work hard to turn it around and won the next two 21-20, 21-19. It meant Dave had only dropped 3 points. A great start.
Another Dave (Hall on -8) was next up against Dave Collis.
A similarly good exchange.
Dave Hall came through 21-17, 21-14.
It was winner take all in this groups final match between John Ormsby and Dave Hall. It went to the wire. Dave took it 21-20 in the third….that close.    (11-21,21-14, 21-20)

Group B
I‘m proud to say this group saw a much improved ‘junior’ give two experienced stalwarts a run for their money.
Adam Rowe off only +4 was first up against Mark Knott.(-5) It‘s fair to say Mark ’s unorthodox play meant Adam had to work extremely hard. Adam seemed to work things out and after losing the first game 18-21 was very much on top in the second, at one stage 13-6 up. Credit to Mark who didn’t panic, came back well to take the match 21-18.
Adam was next up against Dan Cusack (-8). A great battle which was to have consequence later for Dan.
Adam took the first game 21-19. There wasn’t much in it point for point but Dan came through the next two games 21-17 and 21-18.
Well played Dan but he had to play Mark Knott to decide the group winner.

                                             -2-

Dan and Mark have played many matches against each other. (This is because they are old)
They know each others game well and it was always going to be a close thing, (-8 against -5 respectively) errors and/or stamina was going to be key.
And so it was.
Mark took the first game 21-20, Dan took the second 21-20.
Can’t get much closer than that.
Dan’s earlier effort took it’s toll and he hit the wall. 21-11 to Mark in the third. A great match to watch.

Group C
Another new comer to the club and to these events, Nick de Pinna had already shown his court speed and fitness, I had his +12 handicap woefully wrong. (I hadn’t seen him play or seen any results when deliberating)
After reviewing previous league results Nick was docked and given +4. Fortunately this was about right.
Nick was first up against Peter Irlam (-4) who I suspect was just after value for money, he seemed to be on court most of the night.
This was a monumental battle with Nick unprepared to give anything up. The scores were 21-16 to Peter, 21-18 to Nick and Peter came through 21-15 in the third but was left in no doubt what a fierce competitor our newest member is.
Nick was next up against Ian Morton (-13) and continued to return just about everything but not without a huge workload. First game to Nick 21-20. Ian remained cool and always placed the ball where Nick had to work the hardest, this took it’s toll and Ian won the next two games 21-16, 21-15. A long and interesting game to watch.
The marathon that was the group C decider was the last match of the night, always seems to be the best saved until last.
An intense battle between Peter Irlam and Ian Morton took us near to 9pm. Both players had worked hard against Nick de Pinna so stamina would be key or so you would think. In actual fact many of the rallies were won with great ‘winners’, particularly in the first two games. 21-18 to Ian then 21-20 to Peter. (Ian had 3 match balls but Peter wouldn’t give them up.)
Then the stamina thing did kick in, only because Mr Irlam had been on court most of Monday evening. The third game ended 21-8 to Ian. Great squash.
Group D
An ever improving Chris Brock was simply too strong for this group despite a -11 handicap. He was up against Andy Lawrence (-6) and Keith Grey (-2) On reflection Chris should have had a ’higher’ handicap.
Chris was relatively comfortable beating Andy 21-12 and 21-13.
Similarly Andy looked comfortable against Keith Grey, 21-14 and 21-10.
The last game in this group saw Chris beat Keith Grey but the plummeting court temperatures seemed to affect Chris in the second game. Keith’s boasts and even his drops (not well known for his drops) had Chris struggling. After a straight forward 21-10 first game, Chris just hung on 21-20 to win the match. Great effort from Keith Grey who nearly caused an upset making the most of the conditions.

I must offer a big thank you to all those who marked games, especially Peter Edney and Martin Davison who marked all night.

The second half of the ‘Round robin’ first round is on Monday 10th December, please come along and support.

Ian Mc

Court temperatures plummet!!

9/10/2018

Concordia Squash Players,
It won't have escaped anyone's attention if they've played recently but the squash court temperatures have plummeted. I have emailed centre management who tell me they have a new BMS as part of cost cutting measures.
The net result is no heat whatsoever at our end of the building and courts which are nearly unplayable. What I'm told is nothing will change.
I naively thought our heating issues were well and truly over with a newly installed and state of the art heating system, alas no, they have now chosen to to switch it off.
Several players have complained to reception staff who I know have passed on the comments to staff upstairs. This is a waste of time. Can I suggest that any complaint be sent to the Head of Leisure at County Hall, a quick email should be all it needs.
I'm not sure what the future holds or what the real agenda is (a subtle attempt to remove the club altogether is not such a fanciful idea and has been mooted) I for one can't play a competitive game of squash on these courts, injuries are bound and frankly it's no fun. I'm not suggesting what players should or shouldn't do but I know one or two are already playing elsewhere.
I shall continue to try and resolve the situation and get court temperatures back to (at least) what they were last winter but so far I have failed. The management position seems unremitting so don't hold your breath.
I would normally sign off "Enjoy Your Squash" I know you can't so I won't.
Ian Mc

Northumberland Racketlon open Sunday 17th June 2018

22/6/2018

4 Members of Concordia squash club participated in the very first Northumberland Racketlon open on Sunday 17th June 2018. Martin Davison, Bruno Gaultier, Michael Jones & Keith Gray (Dan Cussack & Mark Knott pulled out due to unforeseen circumstances). 3 different opponents (3 rounds) – 4 sports each match. Table Tennis, Badminton, Squash, Tennis. All games upto 21 pts – 2 serves alternating and all points count.

It was well worth the effort, 10.30am till 5.30pm ish.

We entered group C based on the official website definitions below.

For the banded events, these categories represent ability, with A players representing the best Racketlon players. A rough guide to each class is as follows:

A - Players will be county standard in two sports and club standard in the second two.
B - Players will be club standard in two sports or club standard in one but regularly training in the other three.
C - Players will be social players in two of the sports with varying levels of experience in the final two
D - Players will be social players in one of the sports with knowledge in one or two of the other sports.
The C - definition of ”social players” and “varying levels of experience” was a bit vague however we all performed respectfully at this level.

We all struggled as expected in the obvious sports due to lack of experience, Keith & Myself especially in table tennis against some very good experienced opposition. We only had one practice and no Tennis practice before hand. Some of out our opponents were very dedicated competitors traveling from all parts of the Country to take part. However due to our strong performances in Badminton and squash we pulled thing round to make Tennis the big decider in all our games. Tennis was frustrating to start with but by the 3rd match we were all making excellent improvements and keeping the ball in play to give us a chance.
I think the day was a great successes overall and would enter again next year. Recommend it to all members and the facilities are top notch in Jesmond.

Better luck next year.
Martin Davison

Please see results from the Men’s C group below:-